BAE 590-007 (BAE 590-604): Biogeochemical Processes for Ecological Engineers

Semester:

Fall: Face to face and Distance Education
Spring: Distance Education only

Time: Mon - Wed - Fri | 12:25 to 1:15

Credit hours: 3 hours

Course prerequisites

Disciplines include thermodynamics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology and Engineering. A 400-level course in two or more of the following areas are recommended: soil science, aquatic chemistry, ecology, and hydrology. Open to Graduate students and seniors.

Course purpose

The course provides the detailed theoretical knowledge required for Ecological Engineers to better design natural systems and for watershed planners to better understand and protect water quality. The course particularly applies to naturally occurring and human-designed filters, which may reduce excess nutrient concentrations and loads in rural and suburban environments. Systems reviewed include wetlands, riparian buffers and vegetated filter strips, streams, stormwater ponds and bioretention zones. Emphasis is given on the linkage between the micro-scale biogeochemical processes, the transport of water and nutrients to the micro-sites, and the apparent functioning at the whole system scale. The course focuses on the major nutrient and pollutants of concern including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, suspended solids and pesticides.

Course Objectives

Principles of aquatic ecology: explain the general matter and energy flow in healthy and polluted surface water environments. Explain the central role played by oxygen and organic carbon in surface aquatic and underground environment.
Energy generation and capture at the molecular level: Derive the major flow of electrons and protons, to generate energy. Describe for a variety of microbes and redox conditions the source of electrons, the electron acceptors and the products of these processes, which are at the heart of ecological engineering processes.
Biogeochemical processes at the micro-scale: Derive the major reaction chains and pathways for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur as a function of Redox potentials.
Concentration gradients in porous media: Draw the general gradients and direction of transfer of dissolved constituents in the porous media at different scales and for different reduction conditions.
Transport of water and nutrients in treatment systems: Explain the dual role of diffusion and advection in the transport of nutrients in the different filter systems. Using available computer models, calculate the flow path and residence time of water in several porous media for the treatment system of your choice. Explain how this may affect the retention efficiency of the system.
Modeling: derive simple first order equation at the micro- and the whole system scale. Explain why different modeling approaches may be better suited for certain approaches.

Instructor

Dr. François Birgand
148 Weaver labs
Campus Box 7625
3110 Faucette Dr
Raleigh, NC 27695-7625

tel:(919) 513-2499
francois_birgand@ncsu.edu

Class Material

Course text: none

Required Materials: All required reading material available directly on the NCSU Moodle web site.

Recommended Reading

Boudreau B. P. and B. B. Jørgensen. The Benthic Boundary Layer – Transport processes and Biogeochemistry. Oxford, London.
Chapra, S. C. 1997. Surface water quality modeling. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Jones, B. J. and P. J. Mulholland (Eds). 2000. Streams and Ground waters. Academic Press, San Diego.
Mitsch W. J. and J. G. Gosselink. 2000. Wetlands. Third Edition. Wiley, New York.
Mitsch, W. J. and S. E. Jørgensen. Ecological Engineering and Ecosystem Restoration. Wiley, New York.
Moldan, B. and J. Cerný (Eds). 1992. Biogeochemistry of Small Catchment – A Toll of Environmental Research. Wiley, New York.
Schlesinger, W. H. (Ed.) 2005. Biogeochemistry. Treatise on Geochemistry Vol. 8. H.D. Holland and K.K. Turekian (Eds.), Elsevier – Pergamon, Oxford.
Stumm, W. and J. J. Morgan. 1996. Aquatic Chemistry – Chemical Equilibria and Rates in Natural Waters. Wiley Interscience, New York.
Wetzel, R. G. 2001. Limnology – Lake and River Ecosystems. Academic Press, San Diego.

Grading

Homework: Homework will generally be assigned along with the topics and due in a week.

Mid-term Project: Each student will complete a mid term literature review for this class. The project can be done alone or in groups of two to three.

The project will involve preparing a literature review of biogeochemical processes at work for a specific nutrient or pollutant and in a specific natural of artificial filter. Subjects can be taken from the list below or be proposed by students.

A literature review on the isotope pairing technique: theory, how to use it, results provided and short falls
What remains unclear about riparian processes and how one may go about providing answers
What happens under the hyporheic zone: a prospective analysis of the fate of deep groundwater borne nutrients
Using the 15N and 18O tools for Nitrogen studies in watersheds
What are reaction isotherms and how to use them in treatment systems
Definition of an ideal stream natural series of structure for optimal water quality and ecological benefits
Roles of macrophytes for Phosphorus retention in Constructed wetlands
Roles of macrophytes for Nitrogen retention in Constructed wetlands
Roles of algae in the cycle of N, P and S in Constructed wetlands
Maintaining a saturation zone in bioretention filters: the theoretical and practical advantages for nutrient retention
Water quality benefits provided by tree hedges in the watershed landscape.
Factors affecting Nitrous Oxide emissions in constructed wetlands and what could be done to minimize them
The concept of Koc for pesticides and how it may be used in treatment systems
Constructed wetlands do retain nutrients: what do they export in the short and long term; what to do about this
Stormwater ponds: known water quality benefits and what could be done to improve them
Nutrient retention benefits of floodplains near streams and rivers
Review of the measurement techniques used to measure Nitrogen retention in riparian zones.

Near-term Project: The goal of this project is to tell the same story to three different audiences and adapt the style and the level of details to these audiences. The story is about the ability of constructed wetlands to dissipate nutrients. One of the stories is to be told to a member of your family who knows little about the environment but is still enthusiastic about what you are doing. The dialog starts as:"So, what are you studying right now?"... and it ends by ..."Wow, that is fascinating!".

Exam: One quiz and one final exam will be scheduled during the course. They will be open-book exams. Permission for a make-up exam needs to be obtained from the instructor before the exam.

Grading Policy: Grading for classroom students will be based on homework assignments, class project, mid-term and final exams, and class participation with the following distribution:

Homework Assignments	11 assignments (60%)
Mid- and Near-term Projects	(2×14%)
Final Exam	(12%)

Final Letter Grades: Final letter grades will be assigned as follows:

Range	Grd	Range	Grd	Range	Grd
97 ≤ Average ≤ 100	A+	93 ≤ Average < 97	A	90 ≤ Average < 93	A-
87 ≤ Average < 90	B+	83 ≤ Average < 87	B	80 ≤ Average < 83	B-
77 ≤ Average < 80	C+	73 ≤ Average < 77	C	70 ≤ Average < 73	C-
67 ≤ Average < 70	D+	63 ≤ Average < 67	D	60 ≤ Average < 63	D-
Below 60	F

Attendance Policy

Class participation is an important element of this course, and attendance is required. Permission for excused absence(s) can be obtained from the instructor according to University policy (http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/courses_undergrad/REG02.20.3.php)

Academic Integrity

Students will be expected to adhere to the guidelines for academic integrity as outlined in the NCSU Code of Student Conduct (http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php)

Student with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 515-7653. http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/courses_undergrad/REG02.20.1.php

Course Syllabus and Schedule:

Date	Topic
Week 1	Introduction - Course objectives - The objects of this class: Natural and artificial 'treatment' systems [2 lectures (#1-2)]
Week 2 hmwk#1	Fundamental requirements of life - Water, nutrients, energy, electron acceptor - What are organisms made of? - the four major molecular families - Organisms must obtain nutrients from their environment [3 lectures (#3-5)]
Week 3 hmwk#2	Energy generation and capture - The molecular details of energy generation: basis of all important processes in treatment systems, the central role of electron transport, proton pumps and ATP generation - The molecular basis of the respiration chains, glycolysis, Krebs cycle - Capturing and storing solar energy: The molecular basis of photosynthesis, Calvin cycle, C3 vs C4 plants [3 lectures (#6-8)]
Week 4	The microbial trophic systems - Auto- vs Heterotrophs - Litho- vs Organotrophs - Photo- vs Chemotrophs - Important families of microbes doing the work in treatment systems - the fate of excess nutrients in the respiratory/energy generation of these microbes [2 lectures (#9-10)]
Week 5 Quiz#1	Intro to mid-term project How to write a literature review and some tips [0.5 lecture (#11)]
Week 5	Levels of nutrient concentrations in treatments systems Overview of expected levels of concentrations associated with typical land uses - Brief overview of analytical methods for most common analyses [2.5 lectures (#11-13)]
Week 6 hmwk#3	Introduction to eutrophication and to algae - overview of the consequences of excessives nutrient concentrations on aquatic ecosystems - brief overview of algae and living organisms in treatment systems [2 lectures (#14-15)]
Week 6 Midterm title	Introduction to thermochemistry - prepoderant forms of nutrients in treatment systems depend on pH and Redox conditions - introduction to reaction equilibria - introduction to Acid-base equilibria [1 lecture (#16)]
Week 7 Midterm review table hmwk#4	Acid-base equilibria - pKa, Prevalent forms of weak acids as a function of pH - graphical method - calculating pH of a given solution - Polyprotic acids - mole fraction - gas/aqueous/solid Phase transition - closed system vs system open to the atmosphere - pH of rain water - pH of sea water [3 lectures (#17-19)]
Week 8 hmwk#5	Intro to redox reactions - Introduction to oxidation states - introduction to redox reactions - equilibrating redox reactions - prevalent form - graphical method [2 lectures (#20-21)]
Week 9 Midterm due hmwk#6	pe-pH diagrams - deriving pe-pH diagrams - consequences on stability of nutrient forms in treatment wetlands - redox sequence in treatment systems [3 lectures (#22-24)]
Week 10 hmwk#7	Processes at the sediment water interface - diffusion mechanisms - concentration gradients and profiles - zero/first order rates in sediment [3 lectures (#25-28)]
Week 11 hmwk#8	Fate of organic matter at the sediment interface - breakdown kinetics - nutrient leaching - organic matter diagenesis [1 lecture (#29)]
Week 11 hmwk#9	Nutrient fate at the sediment interface - downward/upward diffusion - apparent nutrient dissipation rates in the water column - different modeling approaches - [2 lecture (#30-31)]
Week 12 hmwk#10	Dissipation efficiencies in treatment systems - the four factors affecting nutrient dissipation efficiency - advection as a major factor affecting efficiency - modeling of treatment efficiencies [3 lecture (#32-34)]
Week 13 hmwk#11 essays	Dissipation efficiencies in treatment systems - analyses of published results - write three essays on the wetlands ability to dissipate excess nitrate [3 lecture (#35-38)]
Week 14	Published paper review - presentation of published papers on chosen treatment systems - review of the whole class for final exam [3 lecture (#39-42)]
	Final Exam