WSSS Research - Tufts University

Research is organized around six areas where Tufts has well-established research programs: Water, Climate and Environment Change; Water and Public Health; Water Pollution and Remediation Science; Watershed Management; Water, Food and Livelihood Security; and Water and National and International Security. These distinct areas are deeply connected to one another, so that research projects often support the goals of two or more topic areas. Much of our research is located in watersheds throughout the world where Tufts faculty have long-term research partnerships with local organizations and researchers. We also partner with most of the other research programs and centers at Tufts University listed at http://www.tufts.edu/home/research/?p=centers.

1. Water, Climate, and Environmental Change. Water supply, instream flows, river and coastal flood management, waste assimilation, and other uses are affected by long-term climate and environmental change and by the adaptation policies to respond to the impacts. Some recent or current research include:

• The impacts of climate change on flow regimes in the United States and elsewhere, and indicators of the impacts of climate change.

• The adaptation of metropolitan water supply and other infrastructure to climate change.

• The impacts of uncertain population growth, climate change, and transboundary issues on water supply in the Middle East.

• The use of remote sensing to study the influence of socio-economic activities on the environment.

• Distinguishing natural fluctuations in precipitation from anthropogenic or external effects.

• Socio-economic impacts of sea level rise and increased river flooding in the northeastern USA.

• Managing impacts of climate variability and change on socio-economic and biophysical activities in New England.

2. Water and Public Health. Water and public health are intimately related, and integrative scientific, economic and policy analyses are routinely made in public health. In Fall 2004, the WSSS Program received a $1 million, 5 year grant from the National Institutes of Health for funding for Ph.D. students in the area of Water and Health. Some current research follows.

• The linkage between climate variability and change, and endemic and epidemic diseases in the US.

• Relationships between watershed ecosystems, animal life, and human health through heavy metals in the environment and sharing of water supplies

• Integrative “System-Wide” studies in the developed and developing world which link precipitation, streamflow, climate, ecosystem integrity, agricultural chemical and animal pathogen contamination, food security, socio-economic characteristics, and health in the population’s drinking the water.

• The explicit incorporation of health and livelihood objectives into large scale water resources planning in Africa and other regions.

• Sources of arsenic in Bangladesh and the relationship between arsenic poisoning and susceptibility to other waterborne diseases in Bangladesh.

• Using improved water resources operational management and design to help control schistosomiasis, malaria, and other water-related diseases in African watersheds.

• Study on enteric viruses, bacteria and protozoa by the Medical and Veterinary Schools

3. Watershed Pollution and Remediation Science

Because of the complexity of the interactions of biophysical factors influencing groundwater, surface water, and sediment pollution and remediation, research must include multidisciplinary scientific approaches. Examples of multidiscipline research efforts and projects include:

• Research of the Tufts Integrated Multiphase Environmental Systems (IMPES) laboratory includes efficient recovery of entrapped DNAPL mass from contaminated source zones, quantification of uncertainty in field-scale contaminant mass flux estimates, microbial transport and contaminant transformation in subsurface media, and the use of permeable reactive barriers for the removal of heavy metals from ground water. The IMPES lab was created in 2004 by Professor Linda Abriola, Dean of the School of Engineering and National Academy of Engineering member.

• The surface water modeling group conducts research to build computer models of the complex hydraulic, chemical, and biological processes that govern the fate and transport of surface water pollutants. For example, they are developing user-friendly software to support management of rivers and streams subject to problems such as oxygen depletion, excessive plant growth and bacterial contamination.

• Modeling and exploitation of bioemulsifier systems to promote bioremediation and to improve the overall quality of contaminated groundwater and soils.

• Urban watershed remediation including study of arsenic cycling in lakes, fluorescent fingerprinting of organic contamination in water, and field sampling and laboratory experiments to deepen understanding of the mechanisms controlling contaminant fate and transport.

4. Watershed Management. Human activity creates an unavoidable impact on watersheds, including lakes and rivers that are often hidden in the urban environment. Tools for balancing the needs of human and natural systems are key to long-term sustainability of watersheds. Examples of current or recent research include:

• Various Decision Support Systems (DSS) for the purposes of managing watershed nutrient loads in urban watersheds, of supply and demand management in stressed watersheds, and for septage management.

• New algorithms for the estimation and modeling of precipitation, soil and hydraulic properties, and evapotranspiration using multi-sensor remote sensing data and novel modeling techniques.

• The integration of environmental justice and sustainable communities into DSSs.

• The importance of vernal pools and upland forests on amphibians.

• The restoration of urban river channels to enhance animal habitat while simultaneously improving flood carrying capacity as well as instream flow characteristics.

• Watershed management in Central America to protect coastal resources and coral reefs.

5. Water, Food and Livelihood Security. Water availability, access, and use affect agricultural production, other income-generating activities, and household livelihood security. Risks to these elements of water security can be reduced. Some research efforts include:

• Increasing the use of seasonal climate forecasting in different regions of the world to minimize livelihood vulnerability.

• The relationships between water insecurity, environmental stresses, livelihoods, poverty, and sustainability in developing countries.

• Health and hygiene promotion interventions and their impact on health and social well-being of women and children.

• Research on how immigrant farmers from South Asia and Africa re-engage in farming in metro Boston.

• The Feinstein International Center at Tufts studies livelihoods at risk in crisis-affected and marginalized communities. It aims to understand the interplay of biophysical, socio-economic, and conflict-induced stresses, famine, and forced-displacement. Water resources play a large role in understanding these relationships.

6. Water and National and International Security. Because of the importance of water to all human activities, it requires special protection from targeted human threats. Here we have strong research programs in the specific areas of sensor development, basic science in human pathogens, and policy analysis. Research efforts include:

• The development of fiber optical chemical sensors to measure concentration changes of various components of biological and environmental samples continuously. This is a major area of investigation at Tufts.

• Study of ways to detect, identify, and treat diseases terrorists could use to pollute the nation’s food and water supply. Tufts is one of six Centers designated within the Food and Waterborne Disease Integrated Research Network (FWD IRN) as part of a seven-year contract from the National Institutes of Health. The research focuses on 13 microorganisms—including salmonella, E. coli O157H7, tularemia, the Norwalk virus, and others—that could be used to infect large numbers of people and animals.

• Research into water as source of cooperation at both the local and transboundary scales. Because water is such a vital resource necessary for survival, negotiation over its allocation can actually bring together apparent adversaries to not only resolve water issues but also to cooperate on other environment, social, economic, political and security issues. In February 2005, a workshop at Tufts initiated much research into this topic. By examining many case studies, cooperation over water was found to either result from or lead to cooperation over other issues.

Farmers in Burkina Faso participating in a Tufts climate forecasting project

back to top




			WSSS HOME WSSS RESEARCH AREAS PROGRAM DESCRIPTION APPLICATION PROCESS CORE AREAS AND COURSES WSSS FACULTY & RESEARCH AREAS WSSS STUDENTS & RESEARCH AREAS WSSS AFFINITY GROUPS WSSS THESES ON THE WEB INTERDISCIPLINARY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/INTERNSHIP (IPE) RESEARCH PRACTICUM STUDENT HANDBOOK STUDENT FORMS EVENTS/SEMINARS/ WORKSHOPS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES WATER FELLOWSHIPS LINKS CONTACT INFORMATION A Partnership Among Tufts University's: School of Arts and Sciences School of Engineering The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Medical School The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy School of Veterinary Medicine			WSSS RESEARCH AREAS Research is organized around six areas where Tufts has well-established research programs: Water, Climate and Environment Change; Water and Public Health; Water Pollution and Remediation Science; Watershed Management; Water, Food and Livelihood Security; and Water and National and International Security. These distinct areas are deeply connected to one another, so that research projects often support the goals of two or more topic areas. Much of our research is located in watersheds throughout the world where Tufts faculty have long-term research partnerships with local organizations and researchers. We also partner with most of the other research programs and centers at Tufts University listed at http://www.tufts.edu/home/research/?p=centers. 1. Water, Climate, and Environmental Change. Water supply, instream flows, river and coastal flood management, waste assimilation, and other uses are affected by long-term climate and environmental change and by the adaptation policies to respond to the impacts. Some recent or current research include: • The impacts of climate change on flow regimes in the United States and elsewhere, and indicators of the impacts of climate change. • The adaptation of metropolitan water supply and other infrastructure to climate change. • The impacts of uncertain population growth, climate change, and transboundary issues on water supply in the Middle East. • The use of remote sensing to study the influence of socio-economic activities on the environment. • Distinguishing natural fluctuations in precipitation from anthropogenic or external effects. • Socio-economic impacts of sea level rise and increased river flooding in the northeastern USA. • Managing impacts of climate variability and change on socio-economic and biophysical activities in New England. 2. Water and Public Health. Water and public health are intimately related, and integrative scientific, economic and policy analyses are routinely made in public health. In Fall 2004, the WSSS Program received a $1 million, 5 year grant from the National Institutes of Health for funding for Ph.D. students in the area of Water and Health. Some current research follows. • The linkage between climate variability and change, and endemic and epidemic diseases in the US. • Relationships between watershed ecosystems, animal life, and human health through heavy metals in the environment and sharing of water supplies • Integrative “System-Wide” studies in the developed and developing world which link precipitation, streamflow, climate, ecosystem integrity, agricultural chemical and animal pathogen contamination, food security, socio-economic characteristics, and health in the population’s drinking the water. • The explicit incorporation of health and livelihood objectives into large scale water resources planning in Africa and other regions. • Sources of arsenic in Bangladesh and the relationship between arsenic poisoning and susceptibility to other waterborne diseases in Bangladesh. • Using improved water resources operational management and design to help control schistosomiasis, malaria, and other water-related diseases in African watersheds. • Study on enteric viruses, bacteria and protozoa by the Medical and Veterinary Schools 3. Watershed Pollution and Remediation Science Because of the complexity of the interactions of biophysical factors influencing groundwater, surface water, and sediment pollution and remediation, research must include multidisciplinary scientific approaches. Examples of multidiscipline research efforts and projects include: • Research of the Tufts Integrated Multiphase Environmental Systems (IMPES) laboratory includes efficient recovery of entrapped DNAPL mass from contaminated source zones, quantification of uncertainty in field-scale contaminant mass flux estimates, microbial transport and contaminant transformation in subsurface media, and the use of permeable reactive barriers for the removal of heavy metals from ground water. The IMPES lab was created in 2004 by Professor Linda Abriola, Dean of the School of Engineering and National Academy of Engineering member. • The surface water modeling group conducts research to build computer models of the complex hydraulic, chemical, and biological processes that govern the fate and transport of surface water pollutants. For example, they are developing user-friendly software to support management of rivers and streams subject to problems such as oxygen depletion, excessive plant growth and bacterial contamination. • Modeling and exploitation of bioemulsifier systems to promote bioremediation and to improve the overall quality of contaminated groundwater and soils. • Urban watershed remediation including study of arsenic cycling in lakes, fluorescent fingerprinting of organic contamination in water, and field sampling and laboratory experiments to deepen understanding of the mechanisms controlling contaminant fate and transport. 4. Watershed Management. Human activity creates an unavoidable impact on watersheds, including lakes and rivers that are often hidden in the urban environment. Tools for balancing the needs of human and natural systems are key to long-term sustainability of watersheds. Examples of current or recent research include: • Various Decision Support Systems (DSS) for the purposes of managing watershed nutrient loads in urban watersheds, of supply and demand management in stressed watersheds, and for septage management. • New algorithms for the estimation and modeling of precipitation, soil and hydraulic properties, and evapotranspiration using multi-sensor remote sensing data and novel modeling techniques. • The integration of environmental justice and sustainable communities into DSSs. • The importance of vernal pools and upland forests on amphibians. • The restoration of urban river channels to enhance animal habitat while simultaneously improving flood carrying capacity as well as instream flow characteristics. • Watershed management in Central America to protect coastal resources and coral reefs. 5. Water, Food and Livelihood Security. Water availability, access, and use affect agricultural production, other income-generating activities, and household livelihood security. Risks to these elements of water security can be reduced. Some research efforts include: • Increasing the use of seasonal climate forecasting in different regions of the world to minimize livelihood vulnerability. • The relationships between water insecurity, environmental stresses, livelihoods, poverty, and sustainability in developing countries. • Health and hygiene promotion interventions and their impact on health and social well-being of women and children. • Research on how immigrant farmers from South Asia and Africa re-engage in farming in metro Boston. • The Feinstein International Center at Tufts studies livelihoods at risk in crisis-affected and marginalized communities. It aims to understand the interplay of biophysical, socio-economic, and conflict-induced stresses, famine, and forced-displacement. Water resources play a large role in understanding these relationships. 6. Water and National and International Security. Because of the importance of water to all human activities, it requires special protection from targeted human threats. Here we have strong research programs in the specific areas of sensor development, basic science in human pathogens, and policy analysis. Research efforts include: • The development of fiber optical chemical sensors to measure concentration changes of various components of biological and environmental samples continuously. This is a major area of investigation at Tufts. • Study of ways to detect, identify, and treat diseases terrorists could use to pollute the nation’s food and water supply. Tufts is one of six Centers designated within the Food and Waterborne Disease Integrated Research Network (FWD IRN) as part of a seven-year contract from the National Institutes of Health. The research focuses on 13 microorganisms—including salmonella, E. coli O157H7, tularemia, the Norwalk virus, and others—that could be used to infect large numbers of people and animals. • Research into water as source of cooperation at both the local and transboundary scales. Because water is such a vital resource necessary for survival, negotiation over its allocation can actually bring together apparent adversaries to not only resolve water issues but also to cooperate on other environment, social, economic, political and security issues. In February 2005, a workshop at Tufts initiated much research into this topic. By examining many case studies, cooperation over water was found to either result from or lead to cooperation over other issues. Farmers in Burkina Faso participating in a Tufts climate forecasting project back to top