NORMAN, Okla. – A University of Oklahoma geography professor was recently awarded a Fulbright fellowship to research how changes in land use affect optical water quality in New Zealand.
Jason Julian, assistant professor in the OU Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, will travel to New Zealand in early 2012 to begin research on his project, titled "Influence of catchment characteristics and land use change on optical water quality in New Zealand rivers." Julian's research will be conducted in collaboration with scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a research and consultancy company in New Zealand with a global reputation for expertise in water and atmospheric research.
"Our department was delighted to hear of Jason's Fulbright award to study optical water quality in New Zealand," said Aondover Tarhule, OU Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability chair. "Jason is a rising star in the area of landscape dynamics and optical water quality, a sub-discipline that is likely to become increasingly critical in the years ahead. This fellowship and the opportunity to work with some outstanding scientists will help him cement his budding research credentials."
Optical water quality, or water clarity, is an often overlooked but valuable natural resource because it influences numerous ecosystem processes and is key to aesthetics, recreation and management of water resources, according to Julian.
"Given this environmental and socio-economic value, New Zealand has placed great importance on maintaining its high level of optical water quality," said Julian. "Recently, however, agricultural intensification – more sheep and cattle per acre of land – and other changes in land use have caused optical water quality to be degraded."
Julian will be combining newly available satellite imagery and land use datasets for New Zealand with water samples from NIWA's National Rivers Water Quality Network to understand the connections among landscape characteristics, land use and optical water quality over the past 20 years, a period in which New Zealand has experienced widespread agricultural intensification.
While his research will be conducted in New Zealand, Julian states that his research has global implications because "agricultural intensification and optical water quality degradation are occurring all over the world. Many of the world's rivers are becoming more turbid, and we are just now starting to appreciate the consequences this has on water resources and ecosystems."
NIWA will host Julian during his time in New Zealand.
"Hosting Fulbright Fellows has proven to be a valuable experience to NIWA," said Clive Howard-Williams, a chief scientist at NIWA. "Jason's project will be an important application of our datasets, and we look forward to working with him. His research will be of great interest to scientists and water managers concerned with protecting optical water quality. I anticipate broader applications to land management as well since pastoral agriculture is rapidly intensifying in many areas of New Zealand."
Julian will provide an education component to his research project during his three-month tenure in New Zealand. He will deliver numerous university seminars, guest lectures, public talks and a high school workshop in order to educate the New Zealand community about the environmental and socio-economic value of optical water quality. In the fall of 2012, Julian will give a colloquium at OU detailing his research and Fulbright experience in New Zealand.
"The international experience and collaborations that I will gain from the Fulbright fellowship will definitely be the highlight of my emerging career in science," states Julian. "In addition to applying lessons learned from New Zealand to my research in the United States, I see the Fulbright experience as an opportunity to work increasingly on global-scale investigations of impacts of land use change."
About the Fulbright Scholar Program
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then-Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. It is an educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Approximately 294,000 "Fulbrighters," 111,000 from the United States and 183,000 from other countries, have participated in the program since its inception. They are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential and given the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
The Fulbright Program awards approximately 8,000 new grants annually. Currently, the Fulbright Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide. For more information, visit http://fulbright.state.gov/.
On the Web:
University of Oklahoma www.ou.edu
College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences www.ags.ou.edu
Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability http://geography.ou.edu/