EPA Postdoctoral Fellowship: Wetland Nutrient Mitigation Modeling Across Multiple Watershed Scales

Nutrient-driven harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events in lakes, estuaries, and other downgradient receiving waters (e.g., the Gulf of Mexico, Lake Erie) are increasing in their frequency, magnitude, and duration, with excess nutrients as a primary cause. Wetland restoration and creation, as part of a suite of conservation practices, have been advanced to mitigate excess nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus) effects on downstream water quality. However, discerning the effects or “signal” of nutrient-mitigating wetland-based conservation practices (alone and coupled with “best management practices” or BMPs) at the watershed outlet from the “noise” inherent in landscape biogeochemical processing, downgradient transport, and source- and sink-dynamics in receiving waters has been challenging.

This research project aims to better understand and characterize these wetland-mitigation effects on downstream nutrient levels via process-based watershed modeling. The research project focuses on coupling wetland spatial locations and potential local, landscape-, and watershed-scale processes influencing the efficacy of wetlands as nutrient mitigation strategies.

The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to achieve research objectives by developing and applying process-based watershed modeling approaches coupled with state-of-the-science big data (i.e., monitored gauge, geospatial, and remote sensing data). The research participant will collaborate with our productive and enthusiastic research team of watershed hydrologists, biogeochemists, and systems ecologists for a two- to three-year postdoctoral research appointment. The research participant will gain experience with cross-agency collaboration (e.g., with US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service). The research participant will lead multiple publications of the study outcomes in leading scientific journals, as well as present research findings at multiple professional conferences.

Additional information and application instructions can be found at:

https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/EPA-ORD-CEMM-WECD-2023-03

Accepting applications from US Citizens.

Feel free to contact Dr. Heather Golden (golden.heather@epa.gov) with questions.