The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Modeling Non-Point Source Pollution and Erosion into Gulf Coast Bays and Marshes Greg Easson – UM – PI

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Background Nonpoint Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool (N-SPECT) model was designed by the NOAA Coastal Services Center (NOAA-CSC) GIS based modeling systems Predict potential water-quality impacts from nonpoint source pollution and erosion.

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Background Non-point source pollution is a major contributor to the decline in water quality in coastal areas. Sources of the pollution; development and land clearing, deforestation, agriculture, lawn fertilizers and farm practices

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Background Users first enter information about their area (land cover, elevation, precipitation, and soil characteristics) to create the baseline information. They can then add different land cover change scenarios (such as a development) to get information about potential changes in surface water runoff, nonpoint source pollution, and erosion.

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Objectives Integrate existing and next generation NASA data streams into the N-SPECT model and test the model on two estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico –Mobile Bay –St. Louis Bay

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Model Inputs Land cover grid - LDCM Digital elevation model Precipitation grid - GPM Pollutant coefficients (based on land cover) Soil type

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Model Outputs Accumulated runoff, pollutant, and sediment load grids Pollutant concentration grids Pollutant assessment grid, which compares the resulting concentrations in receiving waters to user-specified water-quality standards

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Project Schedule and Issues Schedule under development Research Associate leaving Subcontract to NOAA

The University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center NASA MRC RPC – 11 July 2007 Questions