IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

Anthropogenic, Direct Pressures on Coastal Wetlands (Page 1)

Anthropogenic, Direct Pressures on Coastal Wetlands

Newton A, Icely J, Cristina S, Perillo GME, Turner RE, Ashan D, Cragg S, Luo Y, Tu C, Li Y, Zhang H, Ramesh R, Forbes DL, Solidoro C, Béjaoui B, Gao S, Pastres R, Kelsey RH, Taillie D, Nguyen Nhan N, Brito AC, Lima RD, Kuenzer C ·
2020

Coastal wetlands, such as saltmarshes and mangroves that fringe transitional waters, deliver important ecosystem services that support human development. Coastal … wetlands are complex social-ecological systems that occur at all latitudes, from polar … regions to the tropics. This overview covers wetlands in five continents. The wetlands … are of varying size, catchment size, human population and stages of economic … development.

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Quantifying the Response of Nitrogen Speciation to Hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay  Watershed Using a Multilevel Modeling Approach (Page 1)

Quantifying the Response of Nitrogen Speciation to Hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Using a Multilevel Modeling Approach

Bertani I, Bhatt G, Shenk GW, Linker LC ·
2020

Excessive nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal waters can lead to severe eutrophication and different chemical forms of N exhibit varying levels of effectiveness in fueling primary production. Efforts to mitigate N fluxes from coastal watersheds are often guided by models that predict changes in N loads as a function of changes in land use, management practices, and climate. However, relatively little is known on the impacts of such changes on the relative fractions of different N forms.

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Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long-term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA (Page 1)

Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long-term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

Noe GB, Cashman MJ, Skalak K, Gellis A, Hopkins KG, Moyer D, Webber J, Benthem A, Maloney K, Brakebill J, Sekellick A, Langland M, Zhang Q, Shenk G, Keisman J, Hupp C ·
2020

This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long-term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical of many impaired watersheds and estuaries around the world, and this synthesis is intended to be relevant and transferable to other sediment-impaired systems.

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Using Socioenvironmental Report Cards as a Tool for Transdisciplinary Collaboration (Page 1)

Using Socioenvironmental Report Cards as a Tool for Transdisciplinary Collaboration

Vargas‐Nguyen V, Kelsey RH, Jordahl H, Nuttle W, Somerville C, Thomas J, Dennison WC ·
2020

The process of developing a socioenvironmental report card through transdisciplinary collaboration can be used in any system and can provide the foundation for collaborative solutions for sustainable resource management by creating a holistic assessment that balances environmental, economic, and social concerns that incorporates multiple perspectives from multisectoral actors.

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Adapting the dynamic LakeMab model to simulate seasonal variations of phosphorus concentration in reservoirs: a case study of Lake Bultière (France) (Page 1)

Adapting the dynamic LakeMab model to simulate seasonal variations of phosphorus concentration in reservoirs: A case study of Lake Bultière (France)

Roubeix V, Minaudo C, Prats J, Reynaud N, Zhang Q, Moatar F, Danis PA ·
2020

Controlling phosphorus is fundamental to limit the risk of eutrophication of continental aquatic ecosystems. Integrated modelling of its concentration in the aquatic continuum requires specific tools for water bodies. However, although simple static empirical models and complex biogeochemical models are numerous, there are few relatively simple and flexible models able to simulate seasonal variations in phosphorus concentrations in water bodies and particularly in reservoirs.

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Using macroalgal bioindicators to map nutrient plumes from fish farms and other sources at a bay-wide scale (Page 1)

Using macroalgal bioindicators to map nutrient plumes from fish farms and other sources at a bay-wide scale

Howarth LM, Filgueira R, Jiang D, Koepke H, Frame MK, Buchwald C, Finnis S, Chopin T, Costanzo SD, Grant J ·
2019

Human activities can elevate coastal levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). As macroalgae readily absorb and accumulate DIN, the elemental (total N and C:N ratio) composition of their tissues is less affected by temporal fluctuations compared to more direct measures of DIN concentration. Additionally, their isotopic (δ15N) composition can reflect that of the source, which could potentially be used to identify between multiple effluent sources.

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River Water‐Quality Concentration and Flux Estimation Can be Improved by Accounting for Serial Correlation Through an Autoregressive Model (Page 1)

River water‐quality concentration and flux estimation can be improved by accounting for serial correlation through an autoregressive model

Zhang Q, Hirsch RM ·
2019

Accurate quantification of riverine water‐quality concentration and flux is challenging because monitoring programs typically collect concentration data at lower frequencies than discharge data. Statistical methods are often used to estimate concentration and flux on days without observations. One recently developed approach is the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS), which has been shown to provide among the most accurate estimates compared to other common methods.

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Moving beyond the ecosystem in ecosystem health report cards (Page 1)

Moving beyond the ecosystem in ecosystem health report cards

Laumann KM, Nastase EA, Vargas-Nguyen V, Kelsey RH, Carew A, Donovan EC, Fries AS, Spitzer SE, and Dennison WC ·
2019

Early ecosystem health report cards focused on assessing the health of natural ecosystems, producing a “snapshot” of ecosystem health at one point in time. Ecosystem health report cards are used to guide efforts that improve ecosystem health through natural resources manage- ment and stakeholder engagement. Common themes among Report Cards include water quality and quantity and habitat. These indicators are not strictly environmental concerns, though.

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Water quality gradients and trends in New York Harbor (Page 1)

Water quality gradients and trends in New York Harbor

Taillie DM, O’Neil JM, Dennison WC ·
2019

New York Harbor is a complex of interconnected waterways that have supported the rapid development of a thriving megacity and metropolitan region. The water quality of New York, a partner city in the World Harbour Project, is a reflection of the combined impacts of this metropolitan region. Water quality health and trends were assessed between 1996–2017 in 9 different reporting regions using publicly available data.

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Long-term Annual Aerial Surveys of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Support Science, Management, and Restoration (Page 1)

Long-term Annual Aerial Surveys of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Support Science, Management, and Restoration

Orth RJ, Dennison WC, Gurbisz C, Hannam M, Keisman J, Landry JB, Lefcheck JS, Moore KA, Murphy RR, Patrick CJ, Testa J, Weller DE, Wilcox DJ, and Batiuk RA ·
2019

Aerial surveys of coastal habitats can uniquely inform the science and management of shallow, coastal zones, and when repeated annually, they reveal changes that are otherwise difficult to assess from ground-based surveys. This paper reviews the utility of a long- term (1984–present) annual aerial monitoring program for submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and nearby Atlantic coastal bays, USA.

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