CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System and its role in Hydrologic Observatories

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CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System and its role
in Hydrologic Observatories

• Core Team D. Maidment, J. Helly, P. Kumar, M.
  Piasecki, R. Hooper
• Collaborators W. Graham, V. Lakshmi, X. Liang,
  Y. Liang, U. Lall, L. Poff, K. Reckhow, D.
  Tarboton, I. Zaslavsky, C. Zheng

Thanks to CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System
Standing Committee
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CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) Project

• This a 2-year project to develop an RFP for the
  Center for Hydrologic Information (CHI) and
  perform preliminary research and prototyping for
  HIS
• For years 3 and onwards, all funding will be
  competitively awarded by NSF/CUAHSI
• Center for Hydrologic Information
• HydroInformatics Thematic Centers
• Proposal has been recommended for funding but is
  awaiting final administrative approval at NSF

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CUAHSI Program Components
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Environmental Cyberinfrastructure

• Part of NSF Cyberinfrastructure program
• Special emphasis on environmental sciences
  fostered by Margaret Leinen
• CUAHSI Hydrologic Information Systems is one of
  several pilot projects

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Hydrologic Information Partners
Institutions of participants in the CUAHSI HIS
Proposal
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Hydrologic Information System
Analysis, Modeling, Hypothesis testing
Hydrologic Database
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HIS will facilitate Model Integration
Watershed Models
Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Models
Mesoscale Models
Groundwater Models
SVATs
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CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System
Experiments
Monitoring
1. Assemble data from many sources
Information Sources
GIS
Remote sensing
Climate models
2. Integrate data into a coherent structure
Hydrologic Information Data Model
Hypothesis testing
Analysis and Visualization
3. Do science
Statistics
Data Assimilation
Simulation
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Digital WatershedAn implementation of the
CUAHSI Hydrologic Information Data Model for a
particular region
Created first for the Neuse basin and then for
each of the following CUAHSI Observatory
Planning basins
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Neuse River Basin Data Themes
STATSGO - General soil survey data
Land Use / Land Cover Data
Stream flow gages
Dams
Watersheds
Digital Elevation Model
plus lots of time series of water resources
monitoring data..
Data from the Center for the Analysis
Prediction of River Basin Environmental System _at_
Duke University http//www.env.duke.edu/cares/
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Hydrologic Characterizationat Observatories

• Three properties
• Residence time distribution within stores
• Fluxes across interfaces/stores
• Flowpaths between stores
• Conceptual model
• Include atmosphere as part of model
• Elaboration of stores (boxes) and structure must
  be reconciled among disciplines

Need for spatial definition of stores, perhaps
as control volumes
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3D Control Volume of Neuse Basin
Fluxes
Extrude watershed boundary 15 km up into
atmosphere and 1 km down into subsurface
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Observatory Goal Hydrologic Fluxes

• Improve predictive understanding of fluxes of
• Water
• Sediment
• Nutrients
• Selected Contaminants
• Across spatial scales, including catchment outlet
• Riverine fluxes, at a minimum, but also fluxes
  across other interfaces (PI-specified)

Need for definition of HydroElements, at any
location in hydrologic system
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Riverine HydroElements
Detailed bathymetry points of a river channel
3D HydroElement formed from cross-sections and
profile lines
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Geospatial HydroElements
Triangulated irregular network
Watershed
Grid
3-D
Move smoothly among different views of basin
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CUAHSI HIS Parting Thoughts

• We want to be as open and collaborative as
  possible
• We welcome any ideas and suggestions you may have
• We are open to helping with additional proposals
  to other funding sources to leverage the CUAHSI
  HIS effort
• Email me at maidment_at_mail.utexas.edu