Nitrogen in Stormwater and Wetlands

Nitrogen in stormwater and wetlands

In 2015 4-VA awarded Dr. Zhiwu Wang, Dr. Changwoo Ahn and Dr. Xixi Wang a grant called Biological nitrogen removal of stormwater: A 4-VA collaborative study. In this proposed study, researchers from VT, GMU and ODU will take advantage of mathematical modeling tools and data from either experimental analyses of the stormwater samples or hydrological model prediction of the stormwater characterization to infer how the complex interactions in biological nitrogen removal (BNR) communities will evolve at low organics and nitrogen concentrations, and then identify the domain of design and operating conditions that are conductive to long-term BNR effectiveness in stormwater treatment.

Then in 2016 4-VA awarded the team with another grant called A 4-VA collaborative study of wetland resilience to nitrogen pollutant loading. Virginia has lost approximately 42% of her original wetlands. There is a high demand for creating or restoring wetlands to mitigate these losses. This study will provide better scientific understanding of exactly what ecosystem functions to expect from created or restored wetlands in response to nitrogen pollutant loading, and how we can collectively enhance these functions with better knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the biogeochemical processes.