Data and Tools

This page shows all of the pages at www.epa.gov that are tagged with Data and Tools.

  • Previous Versions of EPA Platforms Using IPM

    Find previous versions of EPA's Integrated Planning Model (IPM) including versions 5.16; 5.15; 5.14; and 5.13.

  • Management Goals

    Management goals are narrative statements that express the desired condition of an aquatic system and can be used as a guide in developing conceptual models that relate nutrient pollution thresholds to assessment endpoints in the problem formulation phase.

  • N-STEPS Online References Cited

    A list of references cited in N-STEPS Online.

  • N-STEPS Online Data Library

    This page serves as a collection of known data resources and tools to aid in planning and developing numeric nutrient criteria.

  • N-STEPS Online Glossary and Additional Resources

    Glossary of terms and definitions used in N-STEPS Online, as well as additional resources on mechanistic modeling and combined criteria.

  • Planning

    N-Steps Online: Planning is the first step in the criteria development process.

  • Problem Formulation

    N-Steps Online: Problem Formulation is the second step in the criteria development process.

  • Analysis

    Data analysis is crucial for developing nutrient criteria. It involves reviewing goals, planning, and data. This section provides guidance on choosing analytical methods and using empirical approaches.

  • Reference Condition: Identify Reference Water Bodies

    Step 1 in developing numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) using the reference condition approach is to establish your reference condition.

  • Water Body Types

    Identifying water body types is an important initial step in the planning phase because they define the resources for which you will be setting management goals and developing numerical nutrient criteria (NNC).

  • Reference Condition: Computation

    In step 3, you will typically (1) estimate a distribution of each set of screened variable values and (2) select a percentile cutoff point within that distribution that defines the value that will serve as the NNC.

  • Conceptual Models

    A conceptual model visually and descriptively outlines relationships between stressors and ecological conditions. It aids in deriving numeric nutrient criteria by detailing biological, physical, and chemical interactions of a water body.

  • Reference Condition: Classification

    This page covers developing a classification scheme and your reference water body classification database.

  • Reference Condition

    This page describes the reference condition approach to develop numeric nutrient criteria.

  • Data Considerations

    High-quality data sets are critical to deriving successful numeric nutrient criteria. This section provides basic info about selecting variables as well as acquiring, organizing, and reviewing variable data for possible use in developing criteria.

  • Assessment Endpoints

    Assessment endpoints are measurable water body traits that link nutrient pollution to management goals, helping support designated uses like fisheries and recreation by identifying necessary nutrient concentrations.

  • Stressor-Response: Data Preparation

    The availability of data often determines whether stressor-response analysis can be applied.

  • Select Approach

    A range of factors—including regulatory priorities, spatial scales, conceptual models, data quantity and quality, and resource constraints—should be considered in selecting the analytical approach, or combination of approaches, to use for developing NNC.

  • Mechanistic Modeling: Data Preparation

    Data are required to define the parameters for mechanistic models, setup model spatial boundaries, describe boundary conditions, and calibrate model predictions to observed conditions.

  • Stressor-Response: Calculation

    Simple linear regression is the recommended approach for estimating relationships between stressor and response within groups of water bodies.

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