Water and Biogeochemical Cycles

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Sustaining Life

Water is at the nexus of the energy-environment relationship, and water scarcity involves the inherent trade-offs between the production of food, goods, and services and the maintenance of natural ecosystems.

Flowing throughout the Earth

Water is essential to the health of people and communities, ecosystems, regional and national economies, and the security of nations, supporting personal health, food production, manufacturing, energy generation, recreation, and a spectrum of other socially-valued ecosystem services.

Likewise, the biogeochemical cycles, such as nutrients and carbon, which are circulated through water, terrestrial ecosystems, and the atmosphere are essential to our world's health.

Population growth, development, and environmental changes put increasing stresses on water resources throughout the world. The challenges of droughts, floods, and degraded water quality—which serve to underscore our dependence on a balanced quantity and adequate quality of water—exacerbate population challenges. 

Additionally, changes to our ecosystem place stressors on biogeochemical cycles.

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 Olivia Mroczko, graduate student in agricultural and biological engineering, is evaporating filtered wastewater samples with a nitrogen gas generator in the Natural Resources Engineering Water Quality Laboratory in the Agricultural Engineering Building. She will then analyze the filtered water for pharmaceuticals.
Olivia Mroczko, graduate student in agricultural and biological engineering, is evaporating filtered wastewater samples with a nitrogen gas generator in relation to a project that uses wastewater to detect COVID-19 outbreaks.

Water and Biogeochemical Cycles Research

 

Featured IEE Researchers

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Water and Biogeochemical Cycles News

Featured Stories

2024 Climate Solutions Symposium registration open

| psu.edu

Registration is open for the 2024 Climate Solutions Symposium, which is designed to bring people together to stimulate projects and partnerships where Penn State’s interdisciplinary research strengths can inform and transform climate solutions.

Connecting researchers and legislators can lead to policies that reflect scientific evidence

| theconversation.com

Researchers want real-world impact. Lawmakers want programs that work. The public wants to benefit from taxpayer-funded research. Building a bridge from academia to legislatures is key to all three. This article was originally written for The Conversation by Taylor Scott, associate research professor of human development and family studies.

Mentions: Max Crowley

crashing ocean wave

Water Initiative

A new University-wide Water Initiative involves faculty and staff engaged in research, teaching, and outreach.

Penn State has a long and rich history of engaged, innovative, and impactful water and water-related research. This portfolio of work encompasses the natural, social, and health sciences, engineering, policy and law, communications, the arts, and more.

Learn More about the Water Initiative