Tool for a cleaner Long Island Sound.
There are 116 rivers, estuaries, harbors, and bays along Long Island Sound, and the amount of nitrogen runoff varies enormously from one to another.
They spent four years collecting data on where the nitrogen comes from in each of the 116 estuaries, rivers, and harbors, because while people may only care a little about Long Island Sound in the abstract, they care a lot about their own specific place.
"[The model] is a tool for citizens and managers to explore the impact of different actions," says Vaudrey, an assistant research professor in marine sciences.
There’s also a page called ‘interesting results’ that shows the 27 places with the highest load of nitrogen per water area.
With this information, decision-makers can identify the most significant sources of nitrogen pollution and use proven solutions — such as upgrading and modernizing septic systems or reducing fertilizer use — to sustain clean water," says Holly Drinkuth, director of outreach and watershed projects at The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut.
Vaudrey hopes to work with organizations adept at outreach, such as The Nature Conservancy, Save the Sound, and the Long Island Sound Study, to better inform management decisions at the local level.
She is also starting work on a second model, one that looks at what happens in the coastal waters once nitrogen is introduced.
"Tool for a cleaner Long Island Sound: Model could help citizens manage nitrogen pollution in their local waterways."
"Tool for a cleaner Long Island Sound: Model could help citizens manage nitrogen pollution in their local waterways."