University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a university that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
Study quantifies how aquifer depletion threatens crop yields
Three decades of data have informed a new Nebraska-led study that shows how the depletion of groundwater—the same that many farmers rely on for irrigation—can threaten food production amid drought and drier climes. The study found that, due in part to the challenges of extracting groundwater, an aquifer's depletion can curb crop yields even when it appears […]
Revising estimates of crops’ water loss could help conserve groundwater
As the state sitting above the largest portion of the United States' largest aquifer, Nebraska relies on groundwater not just for hydrating but irrigating. In growing corn, soybean and other crops, Nebraska farmers irrigate roughly 60% of their fields—more than 8 million acres, the most of any U.S. state. Though groundwater does get replenished by […]
Temperature, drought influencing movement of Plains bison
It epitomizes the Great Plains in spirit and in form: a 2,000-pound tank on hooves, cloaked in shaggy winter-tested coat, capped by horns acting as warning and weapon. Even its scientific name, Bison bison bison, seems to conjure an echo worthy of its majesty. Still, the implacable profile of the Plains bison — the national mammal of […]
Study confirms nitrate can release uranium into groundwater
Eight years ago, the data was sound but only suggestive, the evidence strong but circumstantial. Now, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Karrie Weber and colleagues have experimentally confirmed that nitrate, a compound common in fertilizers and animal waste, can help transport naturally occurring uranium from the underground to groundwater. Their new research backs a 2015 Weber-led study showing that […]
Rust-coated irrigation pipes hint at lack of nitrate in groundwater
Finding could guide sampling of groundwater for contaminant linked to health issues. According to a study from Husker researchers, irrigation pivots covered with rust may signal the absence of nitrate — a contaminant linked to birth defects and cancers — in nearby groundwater.
Project aims to reduce water, energy in ethanol production
Nebraska researchers are studying how to make ethanol production more environmentally sensitive by reducing the amount of water and energy required to produce it and cutting the air emissions that result. The Nebraska Environmental Trust is helping fund this University of Nebraska–Lincoln research — $155,663 this year and $44,232 in a second year. Ethanol fermentation generates gaseous […]
Study finds change in Niobrara’s nutrients following 2019 flood
Rivers transport important nutrients across landscapes and into larger bodies of water. Among those nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorous, which stimulate the growth of crops but, when accumulating in water, may also yield "dead zones" that deprive marine animals of oxygen. Precipitation can influence how nutrients get into and flow within rivers. But relatively few […]
Groundwater measurements of herbicide may underestimate human exposure
Atrazine ranks as a common herbicide in the United States, where it’s frequently used to boost corn and sorghum yields by curbing weed growth. Conversely, the European Union has banned atrazine, which some research suggests can disrupt hormone production in wildlife and potentially humans. A 2021 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center indicated that […]
Without a trace? Adding mineral to irrigation may lower toxic elements in soils
Arsenic, uranium and other trace elements naturally occur in topsoil across the U.S. Corn Belt, including the Cornhusker State. Crops grown in soils containing elevated levels of those trace elements can absorb them through roots, potentially curbing growth and threatening the health of those who regularly consume them. So what? Nebraska’s Arindam Malakar, Chittaranjan Ray and colleagues were curious […]