VIRGINIA TECH’S STREAM LAB: A “COMMON” FOR TRULY INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH RELATED TO THE DYNAMICS OF WATER AND SOCIETAL SYSTEMS

Sustainable management of water resources at local, regional, and global scales has been identified as one of the key challenges of the 21st century. The world population is predicted to expand from 6.5 to 9.1 billion between 2005 and 2050, creating unprecedented strains on natural resources. The majority of this population growth will occur in high-density urban areas, which will change land use, while exerting extreme demands for clean water supplies and increased agricultural production. The dynamics of Earth’s freshwater processes, though essential for humans and natural ecosystems, are extremely complex.

The complex interactions between Stroubles Creek and the upland anthropomorphic influences of the Town of Blacksburg, VA and the campus of Virginia Tech (VT) provide an incredible resource for a truly interdisciplinary research laboratory. This direct connection positions the Stream Research, Education and Management (StREAM) Laboratory in an excellent position to observe changes in water quality and stream structure related to upland and/or adjacent community behavior. StREAM Lab is a full-scale, outdoor lab equipped with high-resolution monitoring capabilities (spatially and temporally) that provide VT faculty with a unique opportunity to concurrently conduct research, education, and outreach activities adjacent to campus. StREAM Lab currently has storm-sampling bridges with water-quality datasondes collecting data continuously, a groundwater well array with continuous depth measurements, two instream stage transducers, a full weather station, and a wireless transmission system for routing all sensor data and made available live via our website (http://streamlab.bse.vt.edu/). StREAM Lab has been used for numerous VT courses (>14) across four colleges, and has provided the backbone for conducting a range of interdisciplinary research efforts, including: stream restoration design and uncertainty; groundwater-surface water interactions; floodplain biogeochemistry; sediment fate and transport; instream hydraulics and turbulence; denitrifying bioreactors; antibiotic resistant gene fate and transport; pathogen source tracking and transport; and greenhouse gas fluxes.