Challenges And Innovative Solutions In River Sciences

Rivers provide about 60 percent of the nation's drinking water and irrigation water and 10 percent of the nation's electric power needs. The multiple and sometimes incompatible services demanded of rivers often lead to policy and management conflicts that require the integration of science-based information. This report advises the U.S. Geological Survey on how it can best address river science challenges by effectively using its resources and coordinating its activities with other agencies. The report identifies the highest priority river science issues for the USGS, including environmental flows and river restoration, sediment transport and geomorphology, and groundwater surface-water interactions. It also recommends two cross-cutting science activities including surveying and mapping the nation's river systems according to key physical and landscape features, and expanding work on predictive models, especially those that simulate interactions between physical-biological processes. The report identifies key variables to be monitored and data-managed. It proposes enhancements in streamflow, biological, and sediment monitoring; these include establishing multidisciplinary, integrated reach-scale monitoring sites and developing a comprehensive national sediment monitoring program. Finally, it encourages the USGS to be at the forefront of new technology application, including airborne lidar and embedded, networked, wireless sensors.

The global water challenge is unprecedented. Climate change, rapid urbanisation, increasing consumption and demand for food and energy, and changing land use, will leave few countries and communities unaffected. The demand for water and sanitation services is greater than it has ever been, and water has never been higher on the agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) not only provide a framework to address water challenges, they put water at the centre of the global agenda on sustainable development. This presents opportunities for the water sector to develop innovative solutions and scale-up best practice. Water management is a complex multi-disciplinary topic, and water professionals come in many different shapes. One of the unique strengths of IWA is bringing together experts from across the globe and specialisations into communities of practice, IWA's Specialist Groups. Connecting people from across disciplines and across national boundaries accelerates the science, innovation and practice that can make a difference in addressing water challenges and pushes the sustainability agenda. The Global Trends and Challenges in Water Science, Research and Management compendium draws upon the expertise of IWA's specialist groups who have identified the hot topics, innovations and global trends in water science, research and management that will have impact in solving global water challenges. The compendium highlights a diversity of approaches, from detailed technical and scientific aspects to more integrated approaches.

Across much of the industrialized world, rivers that were physically transformed and ecologically ruined to facilitate industrial and agricultural development are now the focus of restoration and rehabilitation efforts. River Futures discusses the emergence of this new era of river repair and documents a comprehensive biophysical framework for river science and management. The book considers what can be done to maximize prospects for improving river health while maintaining or enhancing the provision of ecosystem services over the next fifty to one-hundred years. It provides a holistic overview of considerations that underpin the use of science in river management, emphasizing cross-disciplinary understanding that builds on a landscape template. The book frames the development of integrative river science and its application to river rehabilitation programs develops a coherent set of guiding principles with which to approach integrative river science considers the application of cross-disciplinary thinking in river rehabilitation experiences from around the world examines the crossover between science and management, outlining issues that must be addressed to promote healthier river futures Case studies explore practical applications in different parts of the world, highlighting approaches to the use of integrative river science, measures of success, and steps that could be taken to improve performance in future efforts. River Futures offers a positive, practical, and constructive focus that directly addresses the major challenge of a new era of river conservation and rehabilitation—that of bringing together the diverse and typically discipline-bound sets of knowledge and practices that are involved in repairing rivers. It is a valuable resource for anyone involved in river restoration and management, including restorationists, scientists, managers, and policymakers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students.

This book demonstrates an integrated perspective of trends and challenges in sustainable river science and management, as presented by experts in the fields that form its foundations - ecology, economy and sociology. Their contributions integrate current knowledge of the structure, functioning and management of ‘living rivers’. Also included are data and experiences concerning the rivers Allier, Meuse, Rhine, Sava and Tagliamento in Europe and the Illinois River in the USA.

Produced waterâ€"water from underground formations that is brought to the surface during oil and gas productionâ€"is the greatest volume byproduct associated with oil and gas production. It is managed by some combination of underground injection, treatment and subsequent use, treatment and discharge, or evaporation, subject to compliance with state and federal regulations. Management of these waters is challenging not only for industry and regulators, but also for landowners and the public because of differences in the quality and quantity of produced water, varying infrastructure needs, costs, and environmental considerations associated with produced water disposal, storage, and transport. Unconventional oil and gas development involves technologies that combine horizontal drilling with the practice of hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is a controlled, high-pressure injection of fluid and proppant into a well to generate fractures in the rock formation containing the oil or gas. After the hydraulic fracture procedure is completed, the injected fluid is allowed to flow back into the well, leaving the proppant in the newly created fractures. As a result, a portion of the injected water returns to the surface and this water is called "flowback water" which initially may mix with the naturally occurring produced water from the formation. The chemistry and volume of water returning to the surface from unconventional oil and gas operations thus changes during the lifetime of the well due to the amount of fluid used in the initial stage of well development, the amount of water naturally occurring in the geologic formation, the original water and rock chemistry, the type of hydrocarbon being produced, and the way in which production is conducted. The volume and composition of flowback and produced waters vary with geography, time, and site-specific factors. A workshop was conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to highlight the challenges and opportunities associated in managing produced water from unconventional hydrocarbon development, and particularly in the area of potential beneficial uses for these waters. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

New research opportunities to advance hydrologic sciences promise a better understanding of the role of water in the Earth system that could help improve human welfare and the health of the environment. Reaching this understanding will require both exploratory research to better understand how the natural environment functions, and problem-driven research, to meet needs such as flood protection, supply of drinking water, irrigation, and water pollution. Collaboration among hydrologists, engineers, and scientists in other disciplines will be central to meeting the interdisciplinary research challenges outline in this report. New technological capabilities in remote sensing, chemical analysis, computation, and hydrologic modeling will help scientists leverage new research opportunities.

Despite the development of environmental initiatives, healthcare, and cultural assimilation in today’s global market, significant problems in these areas remain throughout various regions of the world. As countries continue to transition into the modern age, areas across Asia and Africa have begun implementing modern solutions in order to benefit their individual societies and keep pace with the surrounding world. Significant research is needed in order to understand current issues that persist across the globe and what is being done to solve them. Global Issues and Innovative Solutions in Healthcare, Culture, and the Environment is an essential reference source that discusses worldwide conflicts within healthcare and environmental development as well as modern resolutions that are being implemented. Featuring research on topics such as health insurance reform, sanitation development, and cultural freedom, this book is ideally designed for researchers, policymakers, physicians, government officials, sociologists, environmentalists, anthropologists, academicians, practitioners, and students seeking coverage on global societal challenges in the modern age.