|
|
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND SPARROW
Overview
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), has prepared two water-quality models to assist in regional total maximum daily load (TMDL) studies and nutrient criteria development efforts in New England. SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes) are spatially detailed, statistical models in a geographic information systems (GIS) framework that use regression equations to relate total phosphorus and total nitrogen stream loads to contaminant sources and watershed characteristics. These statistical relations are then used to predict nutrient loads in unmonitored streams.
|
Click for abstract and
download option for report
|
Results
SPARROW model results provide estimates and confidence intervals of nutrient loads, area-weighted yields of nutrients, sources of nutrients, and the downstream movement of nutrients.
Applications
The SPARROW models can be used by water-resources managers as tools in water-quality assessment and management activities such as total maximum daily load (TMDL) studies, nutrient-criteria development, and determination of nutrient loadings to coastal waters.
|
U.S. Department of the Interior,
U.S. Geological Survey
