Regression modeling of combined sewer overflows to assess system performance.

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) occur when untreated raw sewage mixed with rainwater, runoff, or snowmelt is released during or after a storm in any community with a combined sewer system (CSS). Climate change makes CSOs worse in many locales; as the frequency and severity of wet weather events increases, so do the frequency and volume of CSO events. CSOs pose risks to humans and the environment, and as such, CSS communities are under regulatory pressure to reduce CSOs.

Advancing the scholarship and practice of stakeholder engagement in working landscapes: a co-produced research agenda.

Unlabelled: Participatory approaches to science and decision making, including stakeholder engagement, are increasingly common for managing complex socio-ecological challenges in working landscapes. However, critical questions about stakeholder engagement in this space remain. These include normative, political, and ethical questions concerning who participates, who benefits and loses, what good can be accomplished, and for what, whom, and by who.

COVID-19 Reveals Vulnerabilities of the Food-Energy-Water Nexus to Viral Pandemics.

Food, energy, and water (FEW) sectors are inextricably linked, making one sector vulnerable to disruptions in another. Interactions between FEW systems, viral pandemics, and human health have not been widely studied. We mined scientific and news/media articles for causal relations among FEW and COVID-19 variables and qualitatively characterized system dynamics.

Quantifying uncertainty cascading from climate, watershed, and lake models in harmful algal bloom predictions.

In response to increased harmful algal blooms (HABs), hypoxia, and nearshore algae growth in Lake Erie, the United States and Canada agreed to phosphorus load reduction targets. While the load targets were guided by an ensemble of models, none of them considered the effects of climate change. Some watershed models developed to guide load reduction strategies have simulated climate effects, but without extending the resulting loads or their uncertainties to HAB projections.

Bias correction of climate model outputs influences watershed model nutrient load predictions.

Waterbodies around the world experience problems associated with elevated phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) loads. While vital for ecosystem functioning, when present in excess amounts these nutrients can impair water quality and create symptoms of eutrophication, including harmful algal blooms. Under a changing climate, nutrient loads are likely to change.