In May 2019, Janet Barclay received her Ph.D. in hydrology and water resources science from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. She is currently a hydrologist with the New England Water Science Center of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and continues to collaborate on an ongoing research project with the College.
Funded by a $696,000 National Science Foundation grant awarded to Barclay’s Ph.D. advisor, Associate Professor Ashley Helton, Barclay and Helton are collaborating with co-PIs Jeffrey Starn and Martin Briggs from the US Geological Survey to assess groundwater nitrogen within the Farmington River watershed.
The Farmington River watershed drains into the Connecticut River and then to the Long Island (LI) Sound, where excess nitrogen has been a pervasive problem, leading to massive algae blooms. Oxygen is depleted as the algae die and decompose, resulting in dead zones, or hypoxia.
Most nitrogen studies focus on runoff to surface water (streams, ponds, wetlands, etc.) from septic systems, fertilizers and wastewater treatment facilities. Surface runoff is a fairly quick process, while nitrogen moving through groundwater may take years or possibly decades to reach the Sound. This means that management efforts to reduce nitrogen application may also take years or decades to show visible decreases in the Sound as the nitrogen that’s already in the groundwater continues to make its way to the Sound.
