Green Network Ventures hosts a variety of academic and applied scientific research in addition to entrepreneurial cross-disciplinary projects. Our projects have the ultimate goal of improving food chains using sustainable agriculture, mitigating groundwater depletion, reducing social disparity and tackling global climate change.
Spencer Harris, University of Pennsylvania* (GNV member)
Carl Mastropaolo, University of Pennsylvania
Seawater intrusion is a global problem for coastal communities that rely on groundwater. Excessive groundwater pumping along coastal regions has been shown to accelerate seawater intrusion and to have the potential to render critical water sources unusable. Domestic wells in Fogland Point, Tiverton, RI have recently experienced an increase in groundwater salinity, particularly during summer months, because of increased withdrawals. This project examines the hydrogeology of Fogland Point through field investigation, data analysis, and groundwater modeling.
Abdel Alfahham, University of Pennsylvania* (GNV member)
Alain Plante, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Gimenez, Ph.D., Rutgers University
Emmanuel Omondi, Ph.D., Rodale Institute
Encouraging best farming practices can create agro-ecosystems that are resilient to uncertainties such as droughts and extreme temperatures. Chemical industrialized farm management practices that involve monocropping, high rates of fertilizer and pesticide inputs, minimal carbon sequestration and frequent soil disturbance result in degradation of the ecosystem and reduction in farm resilience. Such practices have led to a global soil health crisis and a broken food chain through which high agro-ecosystems vulnerability spread. Quantifying the extent to which organic farm management can create resilient agro-ecosystems is crucial for farmers and our food security. Scientific analysis of comparative agricultural management experiments provides important predictive tools for scientists, farmers, and food experts. At Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA the Farming System Trial (FST) is a long-running experiment established in 1981 which compares organic and conventional grain cropping management practices including tillage/no-tillage and nutrient inputs. To achieve the goals of this project; organic carbon-nitrogen, soil water retention, hydraulic conductivity, soil grain size distribution data will be collected from organic and conventional farm plots at the Rodale Institute’s Farming System Trial (FST). The proposed research will help determine if organic farming provides a practical and economically viable climate adaptation method by quantifying soil hydraulic characteristics and organic matter.
Abdel Alfahham, University of Pennsylvania* (GNV member)
Aaron McGarvey, University of Pennsylvania* (GNV member)
Spencer Harris, University of Pennsylvania* (GNV member)
For Decades, the State of California has had a groundwater sustainability problem characterized by
declining water levels, increased demand, and extreme drought conditions. In 2014, the State passed the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requiring groundwater-dependent regions to halt
overdraft and bring basins to balanced levels of pumping and recharge by 2040. The task placed upon local
Water Agencies to ensure basin sustainability while protecting the interests of stakeholders has been made
difficult by several factors, including insufficient standard methods of documentation, regulatory
uncertainty, difficulty securing funding for regulatory compliance activities. Our efforts focused on
investigating if a market-exchange platform coupled with a groundwater model can help water managers
and geologist achieve basin sustainability.
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Presented at:
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Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG NY-P) Student Night Poster Presentation
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11th Annual Global Water Alliance Conference at Villanova University (Oral Presentation and Poster)
