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Areas of Emphasis

The Water Resources Science (WRS) graduate program has eight areas of emphasis from which students may choose.

Aquatic Biology

The aquatic biology area of emphasis focuses on analysis and understanding of lakes, streams and wetlands as integrated biological communities.

Environmental Chemistry

Students receive instruction in the chemistry of water, air and soil environments, geochemical cycles, processes that transform and transport pollutants, and remediation technologies.

Hydrologic Science

The hydrologic science track provides instruction for students wishing to study water and its movement through various landscapes.

Limnology

Limnology in the WRS program takes a holistic approach to understanding the functioning of lake ecosystems. Students gain understanding of physical, chemical, geological, and biological aspects of lakes including nutrient cycling, trophic interactions, circulation dynamics, sedimentary processes and paleolimnology. In addition, the program addresses the effects of human activities on the structure and function of lake ecosystems.

Excellent resources for limnological study include the Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, the Limnological Research Center on the Minneapolis Campus, The Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior on the St. Paul campus, and more than 10,000 lakes within Minnesota, representing a broad range of physical, chemical, biological, and climatic conditions.

Water Management Technology

The water management technology emphasis provides instruction on the application of technology to water management, e.g. water supply, stormwater handling, flood protection and water quality improvement. Students acquire knowledge on such topics as hydrological analysis, open channel flow, sediment transport, groundwater mechanics, water and waste water treatment and water quality modeling.

Water Policy and Economics

Students in the water resource policy and economics program learn an array of policy and economic analysis tools to help guide decision makers in formulating good investments and sound policy based on technical and scientific work. The emphasis is a developing area in the program.

Water Quality

The water quality emphasis focuses on understanding aquatic ecosystems, the ways those ecosystems function and the ways they are distributed in landscapes. The emphasis helps students and society understand the goods and services offered by various water bodies and the technologies as well as decisions needed to sustain those goods and services.

Watershed Science and Management

This emphasis takes an integrative approach to understanding the biophysical and socio-economic reasons for watershed science and management. Students study physical, biological, and socio-economic aspects of watersheds in an effort to understand the complex interplay between landscape and aquatic ecosystems.
November 5, 2007