Nonpoint-source pollution refers to diffuse contamination of air, soil, or water arising from multiple, spatially distributed sources rather than a single, identifiable discharge point, making it analytically and regulatorily distinct from point-source emissions. In environmental science and management, it typically encompasses runoff from agricultural lands, urban surfaces, and forested or disturbed areas that mobilizes nutrients, sediments, pesticides, metals, and organic contaminants. Because pollutant loading varies with land use, hydrologic conditions, and meteorological events, nonpoint-source pollution is modeled using watershed-scale approaches, stochastic or process-based transport models, and is addressed through best management practices, land-use controls, and integrated catchment management rather than end-of-pipe treatment.
When bright green water appeared in the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, it drew national attention and sparked political finger-pointing. The culprit: cyanobacteria—sometimes called blue-green algae—a type ...
Environment
17 hours ago
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Florida International University scientists have, for the first time, detected a toxic tire-derived chemical in Florida waterways and developed a new testing method that makes it easier to find and monitor the pollutant at ...
Environment
Jun 24, 2026
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As rain falls, lurking within stormwater runoff are hidden microplastics, polluting the water sources they drain into. Even though microplastics originate in urban environments such as cities, existing data sets focus on ...
Environment
Apr 30, 2026
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After months of relentlessly miserable weather for most of the UK, spring brings renewed enthusiasm for spending time outdoors hiking, wild swimming, paddling, or on walks.
Environment
Apr 10, 2026
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When pollution gets bad enough in the rivers supplying Iowa's largest city with drinking water, it costs Des Moines around $16,000 a day to run a special system to filter out dangerous nitrates. It's a fact of life in the ...
Environment
Apr 1, 2026
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Across Europe, many banks alongside motorways are planted with grass to stabilize soil and keep roadside landscapes tidy.
Environment
Mar 22, 2026
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A new study from the University of British Columbia has found that artificial turf fields across Metro Vancouver leach 6PPD-quinone, a chemical known to kill coho salmon, into municipal stormwater systems—and the contamination ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2026
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The Environment Agency and the University of Stirling have published a new report on the links between phosphorus concentrations and ecology in English rivers. Phosphorus remains one of the most significant pollutants in ...
Ecology
Mar 7, 2026
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Pesticides can harm aquatic ecosystems and human health, so scientists need to understand how they move from farm fields into streams. A management tool commonly implemented is riparian buffers—strips of vegetation, like ...
Environment
Feb 24, 2026
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Ditches and canals are the underdog of the freshwater world. These human-made waterways are often forgotten, devalued, and perceived negatively—think "dull as ditchwater." But these unsung heroes have a hidden potential for ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 1, 2026
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