Water Quality
What is it about?
The availability of clean water is at risk across the globe. Water pollution poses a threat to ecosystems and society. A multi-pollutant modelling approach can help to better understand and manage water quality issues. We develop multi-pollutant models of causes, effects and solutions of future water stress, while accounting for water demand, water availability, and pollution in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coastal seas. Many pollutants have common sources and multiple impacts. A new generation of models is needed to explicitly address the combined exposure of surface waters to multiple pollutants. Such models could serve as a basis for integrated water quantity and water quality assessments. In Wageningen, we co-develop such models, focusing on water quantity (the VIC model) and water quality (nutrients, pathogens, plastic, salinity, toxic chemicals, etcetera). We develop global models, but apply them on multiple scales.
Research sub-themes
Water Quality and Lakes
Algal blooms turn lakes into toxic soups. Why are we unable to prevent them? In this research line we study the interaction between society and environment to find new solutions to prevent algal blooms. These solutions will help us to restore our lakes back to a healthy environment.
Projects
- Booming or blooming? The future of lakes in a changing world
- Multi-pollutant modelling of water quality
- All in the same boat - securing water from raindrop to tap
PhD Research
- Spatial and temporal distribution of algae patterns in Taihu Lake and its impact factors based on big data and deep learning
- Smart Nutrient Retention Networks for good water quality and sustainable nutrient use
Publications
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Characterizing 19 thousand Chinese lakes, ponds and reservoirs by morphometric, climate and sediment characteristics
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Shifting states, shifting services: Linking regime shifts to changes in ecosystem services of shallow lakes
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PCLake+ : A process-based ecological model to assess the trophic state of stratified and non-stratified freshwater lakes worldwide
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Success of lake restoration depends on spatial aspects of nutrient loading and hydrology
Global Water Quality and Rivers
Water systems are increasingly becoming polluted by for example plastics, nutrients, and chemicals. These global water quality issues should be tackled to ensure clean water for society and nature. In this research line we develop the multi-pollutant models for water pollution issues under global change. Those models are used to identify multi-pollutant hotspots, their causes, but also to explore strategies for over 10,000 rivers in the world.
Projects
- The MARINA models family: A multidisciplinary team with researchers from Wageningen and China
- Global NEWS: Nutrient Export from WaterSheds
- VENI project: Clean water for all - optimal solutions for reducing multiple pollutants in rivers worldwide
- Multi-pollutant modelling of water quality
- FertiCycle ITN project: modelling the effects of bio-based fertilizer use on surface water pollution at catchment & EU scales
- InventWater ITN project: Inventive forecasting tools for adapting water quality management to a new climate
- All in the same boat - securing water from raindrop to tap
PhD Research
- Reducing point source inputs of nutrients to rivers and their impact on ecosystems and society in China
- Modelling future nitrogen pollution from agriculture in the Yangtze River, China
- Multi-pollutant assessment of water quality and food production for agricultural green development in China: an integrated, multi-scale modelling approach
- Agricultural Green Development for Integrated Nitrogen Management of air and water in Quzhou and North China Plain
- Agricultural Green Development Pathways for food and water in China
- FertiCycle: New bio-based fertilisers from organic waste upcycling
- Innovative forecasting approaches to assess future trends in pollutant flows from land to water systems for advancing sectoral water quality service
Publications
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Urbanization: an increasing source of multiple pollutants to rivers in the 21st century
: Wageningen University & Research -
Cost-effective management of coastal eutrophication: A case study for the yangtze river basin
Resources, Conservation and Recycling 154 (2020). - ISSN 0921-3449 -
Water, society and pollution in an urbanizing world : recent developments and future challenges
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 46 (2020). - ISSN 1877-3435 - p. 11 - 15. -
The challenge to balance water and food objectives for sustainable development
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 40 (2019). - ISSN 1877-3435 - p. A1 - A4.
Water Quality and Health
In this research line we apply environmental systems analyses to the field of water and health. We mostly develop and use models to do scenario analyses to understand global change impacts on waterborne pathogens and diseases, but also to explore opportunities to use the model in microbial risk assessments. This way, we hope to contribute to solving environmental and health problems worldwide.