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Don Scavia

Professor Emeritus
Ecosystem Science and Management
Geospatial Data Sciences
scavia@umich.edu
734-646-7808
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440 Church St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104
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Graham Sustainability Institute

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About

Don Scavia, Professor of Environment and Sustainability and Professor of Environmental Engineering, retired from active faculty status at the end of 2017. During his time at U-M, he and students and postdocs developed and applied numerical models and assessments at the science policy interface, focused on the effects of land use and climate change on coastal marine and Great Lakes ecosystems.  From 2009-2016, he was the Graham Family Professor of Sustainability, Special Counsel to the U-M President for Sustainability, and the first Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute.  He is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability. 

Don served previously as SEAS Research Associate Dean, Director of Michigan Sea Grant, and Director of U-M’s cooperative institute with NOAA.  Prior to coming to U-M in 2004, he held positions between 1975 and 2003 as Chief Scientist of NOAA's National Ocean Service, Director of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and a research scientist at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

Publications

Scavia, D., I. Bertani, D.R. Obenour, R.E. Turner, D.R. Forrest, A. Katin. In press.  Ensemble modeling informs environmental policy making: the case of hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1705293114

Testa, J.M., J.B. Clark, W.C. Dennison, E.C. Donovan, A.W. Fisher, W. Ni, M. Parker, D. Scavia, S.E. Spitzer, A.M. Waldrop, V.M.D. Vargas, G. Ziegler.  2017 Ecological forecasting and the science of hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay BioScience. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix048

Scavia, D., M. Kalcic, R. Logsdon Muenich, N. Aloysius,  I. Bertani, C. Boles, R. Confesor, J. DePinto, M. Gildow, J. Martin, J. Read, T. Redder, D. Robertson, S. Sowa, Y. Wang, H Yen.  2017 Multiple models guide strategies for agricultural nutrient reductions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.  15: 126–132

Bertani, I., C. E. Steger, D. R. Obenour, G. L. Fahnenstiel, T. B. Bridgeman, T. H. Johengen, M. J. Sayers, R. A. Shuchman, D. Scavia. 2016. Tracking cyanobacteria blooms: do different monitoring approaches tell the same story? Science of the Total Environment 575: 294-308

Scavia, D., J.V. DePinto, I. Bertani. 2016. A Multi-model approach to evaluating target phosphorus loads for Lake Erie. J. Great Lakes Res. 42: 1139-1150

Kalcic, M., C. Kirchhoff, N. Bosch, R. L. Muenich, M. Murray, J. Gardner. D. Scavia. 2016. Engaging stakeholders to define feasible and desirable agricultural conservation in western Lake Erie watersheds. Env. Sci. Technol. 50:8135-5145

Muenich, R.L., M. Kalcic, D. Scavia. 2016. Evaluating the impact of legacy P and agricultural conservation practices on nutrient loads from the Maumee River Watershed. Env. Sci. Technol. 50: 8146-8154

Rucinski, D., DePinto, J., Beletsky, D., Scavia, D. 2016 Modeling hypoxia in the Central Basin of Lake Erie under potential phosphorus load reduction scenarios. J. Great. Lakes Res. 42: 1206-1211

Bocaniov, S. and D. Scavia 2016 Temporal and spatial dynamics of large lake hypoxia: Integrating statistical and three-dimensional dynamic models to enhance lake management criteria. Water Resources Res. (Supplemental Information) 52: 4247-4263

Bertani, I, D.R. Obenour, C. E. Steger, C. A. Stow, A. D. Gronewold, D. Scavia 2016. Probabilistically assessing the role of nutrient loading in harmful algal bloom formation in western Lake Erie. J Great Lakes. Res. 42: 1184:1192

Research

My students, postdocs, and I combine numerical models and environmental assessments to improve the understanding of interactions between human activities on land and their impacts on coastal marine and freshwater ecosystems. Most of our recent work has focused on impacts on the iconic Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and Great Lakes. My research also supports development and application of Integrated Assessment, a tool that brings together natural systems science, social science, engineering, and environmental policy making.of nutrient loads and climate change on hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay.

Courses Taught:

  • NRE 580: Integrated Problem Solving
  • NRE 501: Integrated Assessment
  • NRE 639: Great Lakes Science and Management
  • NRE 639: Nutrient Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems
  • NRE 369: Role of MPA’s in Ecosystem Management
  • ENVIRON 399: Junior Honors Seminar
  • ENVIRON 499: Senior Honors Seminar 
Education

PhD, University of Michigan (environmental engineering)

MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (environmental engineering)

BS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (environmental engineering)

Affiliations

Editorial Boards

Associate Editor, Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, ESA, 2002-2006

Associate Editor, Estuaries and Coasts, Estuarine Research Federation, 1998-2007.

 

Board of Directors/Trustee

Great Lakes Observing System Board of Directors, 2009-2013

Mpala Wildlife Conservancy Research Center, Trustee, 2011-2014

Secretary, International Association for Great Lakes Research, 1983-1986.

Board of Directors, American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, 1987-1990.

 

Advisory Boards

NAS Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, 2016-present

External Review Board, LA Center of Excellence, Water Institute of the Gulf, 2016-present

National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Leaders Council, 2009 – present

Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State, 2007 - present

Technical Advisory Committee, Healing our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, 2006-present

Environmental Law and Policy Center, 2010-2013

NSF Committee on CLEANER/WATERS Network, 2005-2007

Central Michigan University Biological Station, 2008-2010

 

Review Committee Membership

Georgia Sea Grant Program Review, 2015

Hawaii Sea Grant Program Review, 2014

EPA Science Advisory Board Panel to review the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 2012

NRC Panel to review Missouri River Sediment Planning, 2011

EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Subcommittee to Review EPA Fellowship programs, 2006

Review of Darren Freshwater Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2005

 

Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multi-sector Committees

Vice Chair, National Ocean Partnership Program Working Group, 1996-1999

Co-Chair, Subcommittee on U.S. Coastal Ocean Science, NSTC/CENR

Co-Chair Ecosystem Work Group, NSTC/CENR

Co-Chair Subcommittee on Ecological Systems, CENR

Chair, Hypoxia Assessment Team, CENR

Co-Chair Coastal Research and Monitoring Team, Clean Water Action Plan

Co-Chair, USGCRP Coastal Assessment Team

In the News
Chesapeake Bay
November 17, 2022

Chesapeake Bay sees smaller-than-average ‘dead zone’ in 2022

Contact: Jim Erickson This year’s Chesapeake Bay “dead zone” was the 10th-smallest observed since 1985, according to findings released today by the Chesapeake Bay Program...

algal blooms
June 30, 2022

Below-average harmful algal bloom predicted for western Lake Erie

University of Michigan researchers and their partners are forecasting that western Lake Erie will experience a smaller than average harmful algal bloom this summer, which...

Chesapeake Bay
June 29, 2022

Chesapeake Bay ‘dead zone’ predicted to be 13% lower than average

Contact: Jim Erickson This summer’s Chesapeake Bay “dead zone” is expected to be smaller than the long-term average, according to a forecast released today by researchers...

Gulf of Mexico dead zone
June 3, 2022

NOAA forecasts average-size Gulf of Mexico summer ‘dead zone’

Contact: Jim Erickson A team of scientists including a University of Michigan aquatic ecologist is forecasting a summer “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico of 5,364 square...

Changing weather patterns mix up the size, duration of annual Chesapeake Bay dead zone
December 1, 2021

Changing weather patterns mix up the size, duration of annual Chesapeake Bay dead zone

The Chesapeake Bay Program and its partners, including the University of Michigan, released information today on the state of the 2021 Chesapeake Bay “dead zone.” While...

Hurricane Ida batters Louisiana: U-M experts available
August 30, 2021

Hurricane Ida batters Louisiana: U-M experts available

EXPERTS ADVISORY ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan experts are available to discuss Hurricane Ida and its aftermath. Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a Category...

Western Lake Erie and an algae bloom as seen from a Landsat-8 satellite
June 30, 2021

Smaller summer harmful algal bloom predicted for western Lake Erie

University of Michigan researchers and their partners are forecasting that western Lake Erie will experience a smaller-than-average harmful algal bloom this summer. A...

For the second straight year, smaller Chesapeake Bay dead zone forecast for the summer
June 23, 2021

For the Second Straight Year, Smaller Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Forecast for the Summer

For the second year in a row, researchers are forecasting a smaller than average Chesapeake Bay “dead zone” due to reduced river flows and less nutrient and sediment...

In the Media
11/25/2022
Don Scavia
Ohio must put Lake Erie on ‘pollution diet’ under settlement terms (MLive)
08/17/2022
Don Scavia
Veteran algal bloom scientist calls on EPA to shift priorities from focus on practices to outcomes (Great Lakes Now)
07/20/2022
Don Scavia
As weather warms, algae blooms on waterways nationwide (Food & Environment Reporting Network)
07/18/2022
Don Scavia
To reduce harmful algal blooms and dead zones, the US needs a national strategy for regulating farm pollution (The Conversation)
06/22/2022
Don Scavia
Our Views: A large 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico needs more effective responses (The Advocate)
06/02/2022
Don Scavia
Goal is to shrink Gulf dead zone, but that’s not happening (Associated Press)
01/03/2022
Don Scavia
Michigan releases plan for Lake Erie algae. Water advocates wonder if it's enough (The Detroit News)
06/30/2021
Don Scavia
Another mild algae bloom forecast for Lake Erie this summer (ABC News Network)
06/30/2021
Don Scavia
Researchers forecast Lake Erie cyanobacteria blooms to be below average (Michigan Radio)
06/03/2021
Don Scavia
NOAA: Average-sized 'dead zone' likely off Louisiana (The Washington Post)
03/09/2021
Don Scavia
Too few farmers are curbing pollution in Lake Erie. Should they be forced? (Bridge Michigan)
12/01/2017
Don Scavia
The Most Overlooked Environmental Crisis of 2017
12/01/2017
Don Scavia
Great Lakes, Great Stakes: A Hostile EPA Threatens to Undo Past Progress
07/01/2017
Don Scavia
U-Michigan, partners predict third-largest Gulf of Mexico summer 'dead zone' ever
07/01/2017
Don Scavia
U-M, partners predict significant summer harmful algal bloom for western Lake Erie
07/01/2017
Don Scavia
Larger-than-average summer 'dead zone' predicted for Chesapeake Bay in 2017
07/01/2017
Don Scavia
Lake Erie phosphorus-reduction targets challenging but achievable
07/01/2017
Don Scavia
Nutrient Pollution: Voluntary Steps are failing to shrink algae blooms and dead zones
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