Investigating the Potential Impacts of Energy Production in the Marcellus Shale Region Using the Shale Network Database and CUAHSI-Supported Data Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Brazil, L.

2017-12-01

The Shale Network's extensive database of water quality observations enables educational experiences about the potential impacts of resource extraction with real data. Through open source tools that are developed and maintained by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), researchers, educators, and citizens can access and analyze the very same data that the Shale Network team has used in peer-reviewed publications about the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on water. The development of the Shale Network database has been made possible through collection efforts led by an academic team and involving numerous individuals from government agencies, citizen science organizations, and private industry. Thus far, CUAHSI-supported data tools have been used to engage high school students, university undergraduate and graduate students, as well as citizens so that all can discover how energy production impacts the Marcellus Shale region, which includes Pennsylvania and other nearby states. This presentation will describe these data tools, how the Shale Network has used them in developing educational material, and the resources available to learn more.

Unifying Water Data Sources: How the CUAHSI Water Data Center is Enabling and Improving Access to a Growing Catalog of over 100 Data Providers

Science.gov (United States)

Pollak, J.; Berry, K.; Couch, A.; Arrigo, J.; Hooper, R. P.

2013-12-01

Scientific data about water are collected and distributed by numerous sources which can differ tremendously in scale. As competition for water resources increases, increasing access to and understanding of information about water will be critical. The mission of the new CUAHSI Water Data Center (WDC) is to provide those researchers who collect data a medium to publish their datasets and give those wanting to discover data the proper tools to efficiently find the data that they seek. These tools include standards-based data publication, data discovery tools based upon faceted and telescoping search, and a data analysis tool HydroDesktop that downloads and unifies data in standardized formats. The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) is a community developed and open source system for sharing water data. As a federated, web service oriented system it enables data publication for a diverse user population including scientific investigators (Research Coordination Networks, Critical Zone Observatories), government agencies (USGS, NASA, EPA), and citizen scientists (watershed associations). HydroDesktop is an end user application for data consumption in this system that the WDC supports. This application can be used for finding, downloading, and analyzing data from the HIS. It provides a GIS interface that allows users to incorporate spatial data that are not accessible via HIS, simple analysis tools to facilitate graphing and visualization, tools to export data to common file types, and provides an extensible architecture that developers can build upon. HydroDesktop, however, is just one example of a data access client for HIS. The web service oriented architecture enables data access by an unlimited number of clients provided they can consume the web services used in HIS. One such example developed at the WDC is the 'Faceted Search Client', which capitalizes upon exploratory search concepts to improve accuracy and precision during search. We highlight such

The CUAHSI Water Data Center: Empowering scientists to discover, use, store, and share water data

Science.gov (United States)

Couch, A. L.; Hooper, R. P.; Arrigo, J. S.

2012-12-01

The proposed CUAHSI Water Data Center (WDC) will provide production-quality water data resources based upon the successful large-scale data services prototype developed by the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) project. The WDC, using the HIS technology, concentrates on providing time series data collected at fixed points or on moving platforms from sensors primarily (but not exclusively) in the medium of water. The WDC's missions include providing simple and effective data discovery tools useful to researchers in a variety of water-related disciplines, and providing simple and cost-effective data publication mechanisms for projects that do not desire to run their own data servers. The WDC's activities will include: 1. Rigorous curation of the water data catalog already assembled during the CUAHSI HIS project, to ensure accuracy of records and existence of declared sources. 2. Data backup and failover services for "at risk" data sources. 3. Creation and support for ubiquitously accessible data discovery and access, web-based search and smartphone applications. 4. Partnerships with researchers to extend the state of the art in water data use. 5. Partnerships with industry to create plug-and-play data publishing from sensors, and to create domain-specific tools. The WDC will serve as a knowledge resource for researchers of water-related issues, and will interface with other data centers to make their data more accessible to water researchers. The WDC will serve as a vehicle for addressing some of the grand challenges of accessing and using water data, including: a. Cross-domain data discovery: different scientific domains refer to the same kind of water data using different terminologies, making discovery of data difficult for researchers outside the data provider's domain. b. Cross-validation of data sources: much water data comes from sources lacking rigorous quality control procedures; such sources can be compared against others with rigorous quality

Advancing Collaboration through Hydrologic Data and Model Sharing

Science.gov (United States)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Ames, D. P.; Goodall, J. L.; Band, L. E.; Merwade, V.; Couch, A.; Hooper, R. P.; Maidment, D. R.; Dash, P. K.; Stealey, M.; Yi, H.; Gan, T.; Castronova, A. M.; Miles, B.; Li, Z.; Morsy, M. M.

2015-12-01

HydroShare is an online, collaborative system for open sharing of hydrologic data, analytical tools, and models. It supports the sharing of and collaboration around "resources" which are defined primarily by standardized metadata, content data models for each resource type, and an overarching resource data model based on the Open Archives Initiative's Object Reuse and Exchange (OAI-ORE) standard and a hierarchical file packaging system called "BagIt". HydroShare expands the data sharing capability of the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System by broadening the classes of data accommodated to include geospatial and multidimensional space-time datasets commonly used in hydrology. HydroShare also includes new capability for sharing models, model components, and analytical tools and will take advantage of emerging social media functionality to enhance information about and collaboration around hydrologic data and models. It also supports web services and server/cloud based computation operating on resources for the execution of hydrologic models and analysis and visualization of hydrologic data. HydroShare uses iRODS as a network file system for underlying storage of datasets and models. Collaboration is enabled by casting datasets and models as "social objects". Social functions include both private and public sharing, formation of collaborative groups of users, and value-added annotation of shared datasets and models. The HydroShare web interface and social media functions were developed using the Django web application framework coupled to iRODS. Data visualization and analysis is supported through the Tethys Platform web GIS software stack. Links to external systems are supported by RESTful web service interfaces to HydroShare's content. This presentation will introduce the HydroShare functionality developed to date and describe ongoing development of functionality to support collaboration and integration of data and models.

Lowering the Barrier for Standards-Compliant and Discoverable Hydrological Data Publication

Science.gov (United States)

Kadlec, J.

2013-12-01

The growing need for sharing and integration of hydrological and climate data across multiple organizations has resulted in the development of distributed, services-based, standards-compliant hydrological data management and data hosting systems. The problem with these systems is complicated set-up and deployment. Many existing systems assume that the data publisher has remote-desktop access to a locally managed server and experience with computer network setup. For corporate websites, shared web hosting services with limited root access provide an inexpensive, dynamic web presence solution using the Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP) software stack. In this paper, we hypothesize that a webhosting service provides an optimal, low-cost solution for hydrological data hosting. We propose a software architecture of a standards-compliant, lightweight and easy-to-deploy hydrological data management system that can be deployed on the majority of existing shared internet webhosting services. The architecture and design is validated by developing Hydroserver Lite: a PHP and MySQL-based hydrological data hosting package that is fully standards-compliant and compatible with the Consortium of Universities for Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (CUAHSI) hydrologic information system. It is already being used for management of field data collection by students of the McCall Outdoor Science School in Idaho. For testing, the Hydroserver Lite software has been installed on multiple different free and low-cost webhosting sites including Godaddy, Bluehost and 000webhost. The number of steps required to set-up the server is compared with the number of steps required to set-up other standards-compliant hydrologic data hosting systems including THREDDS, IstSOS and MapServer SOS.

The Mason Water Data Information System (MWDIS): Enabling data sharing and discovery at George Mason University

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, C.; Da Silva, A. L.; Nunes, A.; Haddad, J.; Lawler, S.

2014-12-01

Enabling effective data use and re-use in scientific investigations relies heavily not only on data availability but also on efficient data sharing discovery. The CUAHSI led Hydrological Information Systems (HIS) and supporting products have paved the way to efficient data sharing and discovery in the hydrological sciences. Based on the CUAHSI-HIS framework concepts for hydrologic data sharing we developed a unique system devoted to the George Mason University scientific community to support university wide data sharing and discovery as well as real time data access for extreme events situational awareness. The internet-based system will provide an interface where the researchers will input data collected from the measurement stations and present them to the public in form of charts, tables, maps, and documents. Moreover, the system is developed in ASP.NET MVC 4 using as Database Management System, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, and hosted by Amazon Web Services. Currently the system is supporting the Mason Watershed Project providing historical hydrological, atmospheric and water quality data for the campus watershed and real time flood conditions in the campus. The system is also a gateway for unprecedented data collection of hurricane storm surge hydrodynamics in coastal wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay providing not only access to historical data but recent storms such as Hurricane Arthur. Future research includes coupling the system to a real-time flood alert system on campus, and besides providing data on the World Wide Web, to foment and provide a venue for interdisciplinary collaboration within the water scientists in the region.

Integrated Hydrologic Science and Environmental Engineering Observatory: CLEANER's Vision for the WATERS Network

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, J. L.; Minsker, B. S.; Schnoor, J.; Haas, C.; Bonner, J.; Driscoll, C.; Eschenbach, E.; Finholt, T.; Glass, J.; Harmon, T.; Johnson, J.; Krupnik, A.; Reible, D.; Sanderson, A.; Small, M.; van Briesen, J.

2006-05-01

With increasing population and urban development, societies grow more and more concerned over balancing the need to maintain adequate water supplies with that of ensuring the quality of surface and groundwater resources. For example, multiple stressors such as overfishing, runoff of nutrients from agricultural fields and confined animal feeding lots, and pathogens in urban stormwater can often overwhelm a single water body. Mitigating just one of these problems often depends on understanding how it relates to others and how stressors can vary in temporal and spatial scales. Researchers are now in a position to answer questions about multiscale, spatiotemporally distributed hydrologic and environmental phenomena through the use of remote and embedded networked sensing technologies. It is now possible for data streaming from sensor networks to be integrated by a rich cyberinfrastructure encompassing the innovative computing, visualization, and information archiving strategies needed to cope with the anticipated onslaught of data, and to turn that data around in the form of real-time water quantity and quality forecasting. Recognizing this potential, NSF awarded $2 million to a coalition of 12 institutions in July 2005 to establish the CLEANER Project Office (Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research; http://cleaner.ncsa.uiuc.edu). Over the next two years the project office, in coordination with CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc.; http://www.cuahsi.org), will work together to develop a plan for a WATer and Environmental Research Systems Network (WATERS Network), which is envisioned to be a collaborative scientific exploration and engineering analysis network, using high performance tools and infrastructure, to transform our scientific understanding of how water quantity, quality, and related earth system processes are affected by natural and human-induced changes to the environment

Implementing CUAHSI and SWE observation data models in the long-term monitoring infrastructure TERENO

Science.gov (United States)

Klump, J. F.; Stender, V.; Schroeder, M.

2013-12-01

Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO) is an interdisciplinary and long-term research project spanning an Earth observation network across Germany. It includes four test sites within Germany from the North German lowlands to the Bavarian Alps and is operated by six research centers of the Helmholtz Association. The contribution by the participating research centers is organized as regional observatories. The challenge for TERENO and its observatories is to integrate all aspects of data management, data workflows, data modeling and visualizations into the design of a monitoring infrastructure. TERENO Northeast is one of the sub-observatories of TERENO and is operated by the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in Potsdam. This observatory investigates geoecological processes in the northeastern lowland of Germany by collecting large amounts of environmentally relevant data. The success of long-term projects like TERENO depends on well-organized data management, data exchange between the partners involved and on the availability of the captured data. Data discovery and dissemination are facilitated not only through data portals of the regional TERENO observatories but also through a common spatial data infrastructure TEODOOR. TEODOOR bundles the data, provided by the different web services of the single observatories, and provides tools for data discovery, visualization and data access. The TERENO Northeast data infrastructure integrates data from more than 200 instruments and makes the data available through standard web services. Data are stored following the CUAHSI observation data model in combination with the 52° North Sensor Observation Service data model. The data model was implemented using the PostgreSQL/PostGIS DBMS. Especially in a long-term project, such as TERENO, care has to be taken in the data model. We chose to adopt the CUAHSI observational data model because it is designed to store observations and descriptive information (metadata

Three Short Films about Water: Presenting Basic Concepts to Students and Stakeholders

Science.gov (United States)

Arrigo, J. S.; Hooper, R. P.; Michel, A.; Wilde, P.; Lilienfeld, L.

2011-12-01

Three short form (3 - 5 minute) movies were produced for CUAHSI, to convey basic concepts such as a hydrologic budget, stores and fluxes of water, and the flowpaths and residence time of water. The films were originally intended to be used by scientists to explain the concepts behind potential environmental observatories, but evolved into serving a broader purpose. The films combine still photos, satellite images, animation and video clips, and interviews with CUAHSI members explaining hydrologic concepts in simple, accessible terms. In producing these films, we have found the importance of engaging scientists in conversation first, to develop a script around key accessible concepts and relevant information. Film and communication professionals play a critical role in distilling the scientific explanation and concepts into accessible, engaging film material. The films have been widely distributed through CD and online to educators for use in courses. Additionally, they provide a way to engage stakeholders, particularly land owners, by conveying basic concepts that are necessary to understand the hydrologic and earth science foundation of many of today's political and environmental issues. The films can be viewed online at the CUAHSI website, which also contains links to other film related resources and programs.

A Services-Oriented Architecture for Water Observations Data

Science.gov (United States)

Maidment, D. R.; Zaslavsky, I.; Valentine, D.; Tarboton, D. G.; Whitenack, T.; Whiteaker, T.; Hooper, R.; Kirschtel, D.

2009-04-01

Water observations data are time series of measurements made at point locations of water level, flow, and quality and corresponding data for climatic observations at point locations such as gaged precipitation and weather variables. A services-oriented architecture has been built for such information for the United States that has three components: hydrologic information servers, hydrologic information clients, and a centralized metadata cataloging system. These are connected using web services for observations data and metadata defined by an XML-based language called WaterML. A Hydrologic Information Server can be built by storing observations data in a relational database schema in the CUAHSI Observations Data Model, in which case, web services access to the data and metadata is automatically provided by query functions for WaterML that are wrapped around the relational database within a web server. A Hydrologic Information Server can also be constructed by custom-programming an interface to an existing water agency web site so that responds to the same queries by producing data in WaterML as do the CUAHSI Observations Data Model based servers. A Hydrologic Information Client is one which can interpret and ingest WaterML metadata and data. We have two client applications for Excel and ArcGIS and have shown how WaterML web services can be ingested into programming environments such as Matlab and Visual Basic. HIS Central, maintained at the San Diego Supercomputer Center is a repository of observational metadata for WaterML web services which presently indexes 342 million data measured at 1.75 million locations. This is the largest catalog water observational data for the United States presently in existence. As more observation networks join what we term "CUAHSI Water Data Federation", and the system accommodates a growing number of sites, measured parameters, applications, and users, rapid and reliable access to large heterogeneous hydrologic data repositories

Design Drivers of Water Data Services

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, D.; Zaslavsky, I.

2008-12-01

The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) is being developed as a geographically distributed network of hydrologic data sources and functions that are integrated using web services so that they function as a connected whole. The core of the HIS service-oriented architecture is a collection of water web services, which provide uniform access to multiple repositories of observation data. These services use SOAP protocols communicating WaterML (Water Markup Language). When a client makes a data or metadata request using a CUAHSI HIS web service, these requests are made in standard manner, following the CUAHSI HIS web service signatures - regardless of how the underlying data source may be organized. Also, regardless of the format in which the data are returned by the source, the web services respond to requests by returning the data in a standard format of WaterML. The goal of WaterML design has been to capture semantics of hydrologic observations discovery and retrieval and express the point observations information model as an XML schema. To a large extent, it follows the representation of the information model as adopted by the CUASHI Observations Data Model (ODM) relational design. Another driver of WaterML design is specifications and metadata adopted by USGS NWIS, EPA STORET, and other federal agencies, as it seeks to provide a common foundation for exchanging both agency data and data collected in multiple academic projects. Another WaterML design principle was to create, in version 1 of HIS in particular, a fairly rigid and simple XML schema which is easy to generate and parse, thus creating the least barrier for adoption by hydrologists. WaterML includes a series of elements that reflect common notions used in describing hydrologic observations, such as site, variable, source, observation series, seriesCatalog, and data values. Each of the three main request methods in the water web services - GetSiteInfo, GetVariableInfo, and GetValues - has a

From field to cloud: a collaborative software tool to manage hydrological observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Kraft, Philipp; Weber, Chris P.; Windhorst, David; Breuer, Lutz

2017-04-01

marked as an error. Transformation functions convert direct observation to derived data, like discharge, on the fly. Improved stage-discharge relations apply directly to older measurements. The management system consists of a web portal, plotting and mapping facilities, import and export functions, an image database, and a management tool to assign tasks. A transparent link to CUAHSI Hydrological Information System (HIS), a data sharing portal, is currently under development using the standardized WaterML interface. The system is freely available and built upon open source tools. The system is in operational use for three observatories located in Germany, Ecuador and Kenya holding 10 to 50 Million records.

Infrastructure to Support Hydrologic Research: Information Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lall, U.; Duffy, C j

2001-12-01

Hydrologic Sciences are inherently interdisciplinary. Consequently, a myriad state variables are of interest to hydrologists. Hydrologic processes transcend many spatial and temporal scales, and their measurements reflect a variety of scales of support. The global water cycle is continuously modified by human activity through changes in land use, alteration of rivers, irrigation and groundwater pumping and through a modification of atmospheric composition. Since water is a solvent and a medium of transport, the water cycle fundamentally influences other material and energy cycles. This metaphor extends to the function that a hydrologic research information system needs to provide, to facilitate discovery in earth systems science, and to improve our capability to manage resources and hazards in a sustainable manner. At present, we have a variety of sources that provide data useful for hydrologic analyses, that range from massive remote sensed data sets, to sparsely sampled historical and paleo data. Consequently, the first objective of the Hydrologic Information Systems (HIS) group is to design a data services system that makes these data accessible in a uniform and useful way for specific, prioritized research goals. The design will include protocols for archiving and disseminating data from the Long Term Hydrologic Observatories (LTHOs), and comprehensive modeling experiments. Hydrology has a rich tradition of mathematical and statistical modeling of processes. However, given limited data and access to it, and a narrow focus that has not exploited connections to climatic and ecologic processes (among others), there have been only a few forays into diagnostic analyses of hydrologic fields, to identify and evaluate spatial and process teleconnections and an appropriate reduced space for modeling and understanding systems. The HIS initiative consequently proposes an investment in research and the provision of toolboxes to facilitate such analyses using the data

The AGU Hydrology Student Subcommittee (H3S) - fostering the Fall Meeting experience for young hydrologists

Science.gov (United States)

Claes, N.; Beria, H.; Brown, M. R. M.; Kumar, A.; Goodwell, A. E.; Preziosi-Ribero, A.; Morris, C. K.; Cheng, F. Y.; Gootman, K. S.; Welsh, M.; Khatami, S.; Knoben, W.

2017-12-01

The AGU Hydrology Section Student Subcommittee (H3S), the student body of the AGU hydrology section, caters to the needs of students and early career scientists whose research interests contain a hydrological component. The past two years, H3S organized a Student and Early Career Scientist conference addressing both the technical and research needs of young hydrologists. Over the past several years, H3S organized pop-up sessions in Water Sciences and Social Dimensions of Geosciences which allowed young hydrologists to share and learn from their collective experiences. Social events like the early career social mixer, co-organized with CUAHSI, led to increased networking opportunities among peers. Continuous social media engagement led to a general dialogue within the community over varied issues including research productivity, gender equality, etc. Ice-breaker events between junior and senior academics encouraged young hydrologists to talk with their academic crushes and continuously seek out mentorship opportunities. Collating our past experiences, we ponder over our accomplishments, failures, and opportunities to improve representation of early career hydrologists within the community.

Hydrologic information needs for evaluating waste disposal options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huff, D.D.

1983-01-01

Before waste disposal options can be assessed, an objective or set of criteria for evaluation must be established. For hydrologists, the objective is to ensure that ground water and surface water do not become contaminated beyond acceptable limits as a result of waste disposal operations. The focus here is on the information required to quantify hydrologic transport of potential contaminants from the disposal site. It is important to recognize that the composition of the waste, its physical and chemical form, and the intended disposal methods (e.g., surface spreading, incineration, shallow land burial, or interment in a deep geologic repository) must either be specified a priori or set forth as specific options for evaluation, because these factors influence the nature of the hydrologic data needs. The hydrologic information needs of major importance are given together with specific measurable variables to be determined.

Developing a Virtual Network of Research Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, R. P.; Kirschtl, D.

2008-12-01

The hydrologic community has been discussing the concept of a network of observatories for the advancement of hydrologic science in areas of scaling processes, in testing generality of hypotheses, and in examining non-linear couplings between hydrologic, biotic, and human systems. The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) is exploring the formation of a virtual network of observatories, formed from existing field studies without regard to funding source. Such a network would encourage sharing of data, metadata, field methods, and data analysis techniques to enable multidisciplinary synthesis, meta-analysis, and scientific collaboration in hydrologic and environmental science and engineering. The virtual network would strive to provide both the data and the environmental context of the data through advanced cyberinfrastructure support. The foundation for this virtual network is Water Data Services that enable the publication of time-series data collected at fixed points using a services-oriented architecture. These publication services, developed in the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information Systems project, permit the discovery of data from both academic and government sources through a single portal. Additional services under consideration are publication of geospatial data sets, immersive environments based upon site digital elevation models, and a common web portal to member sites populated with structured data about the site (such as land use history and geologic setting) to permit understanding the environmental context of the data being shared.

Why hydrological predictions should be evaluated using information theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. V. Weijs

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Probabilistic predictions are becoming increasingly popular in hydrology. Equally important are methods to test such predictions, given the topical debate on uncertainty analysis in hydrology. Also in the special case of hydrological forecasting, there is still discussion about which scores to use for their evaluation. In this paper, we propose to use information theory as the central framework to evaluate predictions. From this perspective, we hope to shed some light on what verification scores measure and should measure. We start from the ''divergence score'', a relative entropy measure that was recently found to be an appropriate measure for forecast quality. An interpretation of a decomposition of this measure provides insight in additive relations between climatological uncertainty, correct information, wrong information and remaining uncertainty. When the score is applied to deterministic forecasts, it follows that these increase uncertainty to infinity. In practice, however, deterministic forecasts tend to be judged far more mildly and are widely used. We resolve this paradoxical result by proposing that deterministic forecasts either are implicitly probabilistic or are implicitly evaluated with an underlying decision problem or utility in mind. We further propose that calibration of models representing a hydrological system should be the based on information-theoretical scores, because this allows extracting all information from the observations and avoids learning from information that is not there. Calibration based on maximizing utility for society trains an implicit decision model rather than the forecasting system itself. This inevitably results in a loss or distortion of information in the data and more risk of overfitting, possibly leading to less valuable and informative forecasts. We also show this in an example. The final conclusion is that models should preferably be explicitly probabilistic and calibrated to maximize the

Bridging the gap between Hydrologic and Atmospheric communities through a standard based framework

Science.gov (United States)

Boldrini, E.; Salas, F.; Maidment, D. R.; Mazzetti, P.; Santoro, M.; Nativi, S.; Domenico, B.

2012-04-01

Data interoperability in the study of Earth sciences is essential to performing interdisciplinary multi-scale multi-dimensional analyses (e.g. hydrologic impacts of global warming, regional urbanization, global population growth etc.). This research aims to bridge the existing gap between hydrologic and atmospheric communities both at semantic and technological levels. Within the context of hydrology, scientists are usually concerned with data organized as time series: a time series can be seen as a variable measured at a particular point in space over a period of time (e.g. the stream flow values as periodically measured by a buoy sensor in a river); atmospheric scientists instead usually organize their data as coverages: a coverage can be seen as a multidimensional data array (e.g. satellite images acquired through time). These differences make non-trivial the set up of a common framework to perform data discovery and access. A set of web services specifications and implementations is already in place in both the scientific communities to allow data discovery and access in the different domains. The CUAHSI-Hydrologic Information System (HIS) service stack lists different services types and implementations: - a metacatalog (implemented as a CSW) used to discover metadata services by distributing the query to a set of catalogs - time series catalogs (implemented as CSW) used to discover datasets published by the feature services - feature services (implemented as WFS) containing features with data access link - sensor observation services (implemented as SOS) enabling access to the stream of acquisitions Within the Unidata framework, there lies a similar service stack for atmospheric data: - the broker service (implemented as a CSW) distributes a user query to a set of heterogeneous services (i.e. catalogs services, but also inventory and access services) - the catalog service (implemented as a CSW) is able to harvest the available metadata offered by THREDDS

WaterML: an XML Language for Communicating Water Observations Data

Science.gov (United States)

Maidment, D. R.; Zaslavsky, I.; Valentine, D.

2007-12-01

One of the great impediments to the synthesis of water information is the plethora of formats used to publish such data. Each water agency uses its own approach. XML (eXtended Markup Languages) are generalizations of Hypertext Markup Language to communicate specific kinds of information via the internet. WaterML is an XML language for water observations data - streamflow, water quality, groundwater levels, climate, precipitation and aquatic biology data, recorded at fixed, point locations as a function of time. The Hydrologic Information System project of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc (CUAHSI) has defined WaterML and prepared a set of web service functions called WaterOneFLow that use WaterML to provide information about observation sites, the variables measured there and the values of those measurments. WaterML has been submitted to the Open GIS Consortium for harmonization with its standards for XML languages. Academic investigators at a number of testbed locations in the WATERS network are providing data in WaterML format using WaterOneFlow web services. The USGS and other federal agencies are also working with CUAHSI to similarly provide access to their data in WaterML through WaterOneFlow services.

Potential and limitations of using soil mapping information to understand landscape hydrology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Terribile

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the following points: how can whole soil data from normally available soil mapping databases (both conventional and those integrated by digital soil mapping procedures be usefully employed in hydrology? Answering this question requires a detailed knowledge of the quality and quantity of information embedded in and behind a soil map.

To this end a description of the process of drafting soil maps was prepared (which is included in Appendix A of this paper. Then a detailed screening of content and availability of soil maps and database was performed, with the objective of an analytical evaluation of the potential and the limitations of soil data obtained through soil surveys and soil mapping. Then we reclassified the soil features according to their direct, indirect or low hydrologic relevance. During this phase, we also included information regarding whether this data was obtained by qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative methods. The analysis was performed according to two main points of concern: (i the hydrological interpretation of the soil data and (ii the quality of the estimate or measurement of the soil feature.

The interaction between pedology and hydrology processes representation was developed through the following Italian case studies with different hydropedological inputs: (i comparative land evaluation models, by means of an exhaustive itinerary from simple to complex modelling applications depending on soil data availability, (ii mapping of soil hydrological behaviour for irrigation management at the district scale, where the main hydropedological input was the application of calibrated pedo-transfer functions and the Hydrological Function Unit concept, and (iii flood event simulation in an ungauged basin, with the functional aggregation of different soil units for a simplified soil pattern.

In conclusion, we show that special care is required in handling data from soil

Hydrological externalities and livelihoods impacts: Informed communities for better resource management

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, V. Ratna

2012-01-01

SummaryHydrological knowledge or information has mostly remained in the domain of scientific community. The communities that interact with the hydrological aspects such as groundwater and surface water on a day to day basis are hardly aware of the information that could critically influence their livelihoods. From the perspective of the communities' information pertaining to groundwater aquifer characters, potential to provide the water resource, surface groundwater interactions in varying geo-hydrological conditions are important. The 'public good' nature of the resources and their linkages with ecological systems gives rise to externalities that could be pervasive. In a number of countries, especially the developing countries, groundwater is the single largest source of drinking as well as irrigation water. In the absence of scientific information with the communities, extraction of groundwater resources for productive purposes has become a risky venture leading to adverse impacts on livelihoods. The externalities associated with over exploitation of groundwater resources and the resulting widespread well failure is identified as one of the main reasons for pushing farmers into debt trap and one of the reasons for farmer suicides in India. The negative externalities are increasingly becoming severe in the context of climate variability. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of hydrological information to the user communities from a socioeconomic perspective using a newly developed framework 'REDUCE' based on theories of effective communication. It shows, based on the evidence, how farming communities are getting affected in the absence of the basic hydrological information across socioeconomic groups. It is argued, using relevant information that the negative externalities could be mitigated to a large extent with proper dissemination of information among the communities and capacitating them to measure and use the information on their own. In order to

Susquehanna River Basin Hydrologic Observing System (SRBHOS)

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, P. M.; Duffy, C. J.; Dressler, K. A.

2004-12-01

In response to the NSF-CUAHSI initiative for a national network of Hydrologic Observatories, we propose to initiate the Susquehanna River Basin Hydrologic Observing System (SRBHOS), as the northeast node. The Susquehanna has a drainage area of 71, 410 km2. From the headwaters near Cooperstown, NY, the river is formed within the glaciated Appalachian Plateau physiographic province, crossing the Valley and Ridge, then the Piedmont, before finishing its' 444 mile journey in the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehanna is the major source of water and nutrients to the Chesapeake. It has a rich history in resource development (logging, mining, coal, agriculture, urban and heavy industry), with an unusual resilience to environmental degradation, which continues today. The shallow Susquehanna is one of the most flood-ravaged rivers in the US with a decadal regularity of major damage from hurricane floods and rain-on-snow events. As a result of this history, it has an enormous infrastructure for climate, surface water and groundwater monitoring already in place, including the nations only regional groundwater monitoring system for drought detection. Thirty-six research institutions have formed the SRBHOS partnership to collaborate on a basin-wide network design for a new scientific observing system. Researchers at the partner universities have conducted major NSF research projects within the basin, setting the stage and showing the need for a new terrestrial hydrologic observing system. The ultimate goal of SRBHOS is to close water, energy and solute budgets from the boundary layer to the water table, extending across plot, hillslope, watershed, and river basin scales. SRBHOS is organized around an existing network of testbeds (legacy watershed sites) run by the partner universities, and research institutions. The design of the observing system, when complete, will address fundamental science questions within major physiographic regions of the basin. A nested

Terrestrial Hydrological Data from NASA's Hydrology Data and Information Services Center (HDISC): Products, Services, and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Hongliang; Beaudoing, Hiroko K.; Mocko, David M.; Rodell, Matthew; Teng, Bill; Vollmer, Bruce

2010-01-01

Terrestrial hydrological variables are important in global hydrology, climate, and carbon cycle studies. The North American and Global Land Data Assimilation Systems (NLDAS and GLDAS, respectively) have been generating a series of land surface states (soil moisture, snow, and temperature) and fluxes (evapotranspiration, radiation, and heat flux) variables. These data, hosted at and available from NASA s Hydrology Data and Information Services Center (HDISC), include the NLDAS hourly 1/8 degree products and the GLDAS 3-hourly 0.25 and 1.0 degree products. HDISC provides easy access and visualization and analysis capabilities for these products, thus reducing the time and resources spent by scientists on data management and facilitating hydrological research. Users can perform spatial and parameter subsetting, data format transformation, and data analysis operations without needing to first download the data. HDISC is continually being developed as a data and services portal that supports weather and climate forecasts, and water and energy cycle research.

History of Virtual Water , International Trade and Economic Metabolism at the Time Colonialism and a First Attempt to Assess Their Impact on Hydrologic Changes

Science.gov (United States)

Greco, F.

2008-12-01

This research considers the historical impact of virtual water into the geophysical arena by considering it as a human-led phenomenon that impacts the hydrologic system and, consequently, the environment as a whole. This paper is in line with the idea of including the humans into the water-balance model, and it is deepening the idea that this has to be done not only at the light of each watershed, but globally, looking at the role of water-trade embedded in food and tradable goods. Starting from a definition of what virtual water is, this research explores the role of crops export in the early U.S. Colonial time. As early as 1630 a huge biomass from here was already exported to the UK (the fur trade). In 1700 the tobacco export started, along with cereals exports and timber. An entire ecosystem has been "exported" in terms of water-embedded-in-goods. This was the beginning of a massive depletion of bio-mass stocks and flows, a raise in nitrogen discharge into the environment and its impact on the hydrological systems ( CUAHSI Summer Institute findings). Immigration and its effects on the water balance is also considered in this work. The experiment of interdisciplinary work of CUAHSI Summer Institute 2008 has proven that there is space for a historical reconstruction of evidence of human-led changes to the hydrological systems. This has been possible through the analysis of material stocks and flows, water-balance analysis of these stocks and flows, including human-led changes like international trade and population growth. This proposal will argue that these changes can also be identified by the term of 'socio- economic metabolism', in which societies are trading their goods internationally but taking the primary resources, including water, locally. This work will put the basis for the history of virtual water and its implications on both socio-economic metabolism and local geophysical changes.

The Suwannee River Hydrologic Observatory: A Subtropical Coastal Plain Watershed in Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, W. D.

2004-12-01

The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (CUAHSI) proposed to establish a network of 5-15 hydrologic observatories (HO's) across North America is to support fundamental research for the hydrologic science community into the next century. These HO's are projected to be 10,000 to 50,000 km2 and will include a broad range of hydrologic, climatic, bio-geochemical and ecosystem processes, including the critical linkages and couplings. This network is envisioned as the natural laboratory for experimental hydrology in support of scientific investigations focused on predictive understanding at a scale that will include both atmospheric- and ecosystem-hydrologic interaction, as well as the hydrologic response to larger-scale climate variation and change. A group of researchers from Florida and Georgia plan to propose the Suwannee River watershed as a Hydrologic Observatory. The Suwannee River flows through a diverse watershed relatively unimpacted by urbanization but in transition to more intense land-use practices. It thus provides excellent opportunities to study the effects of ongoing changes in land use and water supply on varied hydrological processes. Much background information is available on the hydrology, hydrogeology, geology, chemistry, and biology of the watershed. Several major on-going monitoring programs are supported by state and federal agencies. Four characteristics, discussed in greater detail below, make the Suwannee River watershed ideal for a Hydrologic Observatory: Unregulated and rural - The Suwannee River is one of few major rivers in the United States with largely unregulated flow through rural areas and is relatively unimpaired with regard to water quality, leading to its designation as one of twelve National Showcase Watersheds. At Risk and in Transition - Land use is trending toward increased urbanization and intensive agriculture with an apparent coupled increase in nutrient loads and decline in water quality

Analyzing the Watershed Dynamics project as an example of successful science and education partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Buzby, C. K.; Jona, K.

2009-12-01

The Watershed Dynamics project is a partnership between Northwestern University, the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI), and the GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment). The goal of the project is to develop inquiry-based educational materials that use authentic scientific data and analysis techniques to teach students about the watershed. The relationship between Northwestern, CUAHSI, and GLOBE allows each partner to contribute to the development of the project in the area of their expertise. Science researchers from CUAHSI share science content knowledge and data access through the development of their Hydrologic Information System (HIS). Curriculum developers at Northwestern write inquiry-based curriculum using GIS technology to access and analyze live data. The GLOBE Program is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science education program that provides teacher training opportunities to a network of teachers around the world. This partnership allows each partner to bring their area of expertise to the project and make the best use of one another's resources. The Watershed Dynamics project can serve as a model for future partnerships between the science and education communities. The Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education Partnerships (OSEP) at Northwestern is a service organization that supports Northwestern researchers in developing proposals and implementing research projects that incorporate K-12 educational components, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). OSEP assists faculty with the development of sound plans for education and outreach that reflect current research on learning and educational reform and provides expertise in STEM education materials development, learning technologies, and professional development for K-12 teachers and facilitators in informal education institutions

Evaluating hydrological model performance using information theory-based metrics

Science.gov (United States)

The accuracy-based model performance metrics not necessarily reflect the qualitative correspondence between simulated and measured streamflow time series. The objective of this work was to use the information theory-based metrics to see whether they can be used as complementary tool for hydrologic m...

Water-resources programs and hydrologic-information needs, Marion County, Indiana, 1987

Science.gov (United States)

Duwelius, R.F.

1990-01-01

Water resources are abundant in Marion County, Indiana, and have been developed for public and industrial supply, energy generation, irrigation, and recreation. The largest water withdrawals are from surface water, and the two largest water uses are public supply and cooling water for electrical-generating plants. Water-resources programs in the county are carried out by Federal, State and local agencies to address issues of surface and groundwater availability and quality. The programs of each agency are related to the functions and goals of the agency. Although each agency has specific information needs to fulfill its functions, sometimes these needs overlap, and there are times when the same hydrologic information benefits all. Overlapping information needs and activities create opportunities for interagency coordination and cooperation. Such cooperation could lead to a savings of dollars spent on water-resources programs and could assure an improved understanding of the water resources of the county. Representatives from four agencies-- the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, and the U.S. Geological Survey--met four times in 1987 to describe their own water-resources programs, to identify hydrologic-information needs, and to contact other agencies with related programs. This report presents the interagency findings and is intended to further communication among water resource agencies by identifying current programs and common needs for hydrologic information. Hydrologic information needs identified by the agency representatives include more precise methods for determining the volume of water withdrawals and for determining the volume of industrial and municipal discharges to surface water. Maps of flood-prone areas need to be updated as more of the county is developed. Improved aquifer maps of the inter-till aquifers are needed, and additional observation

Appraisal of Hydrologic Information Needed in Anticipation of Lignite Mining in Lauderdale County, Tennessee

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, William Scott

1981-01-01

Lignite in western Tennessee occurs as lenses or beds at various stratigraphic horizons in the Coastal Plain sediments of Late Cretaceous and Tertiary age. The occurrence of this lignite has been known for many decades, but not until the energy crisis was it considered an important energy resource. In recent years, several energy companies have conducted extensive exploration programs in western Tennessee, and tremendous reserves of lignite have been found. From available information, Lauderdale County was selected as one of the counties where strip-mining of lignite will most likely occur. Lignite in this county occurs in the Jackson and Cockfield Formations, undivided, of Tertiary age. The hydrology of the county is known only from regional studies and the collection of some site-specific data. Therefore, in anticipation of the future mining of lignite, a plan is needed for obtaining hydrologic and geologic information to adequately define the hydrologic system before mining begins and to monitor the effects of strip-mining once it is begun. For this planning effort, available hydrologic, geologic, land use, and associated data were located and compiled; a summary description of the surface and shallow subsurface hydrologic system was prepared: the need for additional baseline hydrologic information was outlined; and plans to monitor the effects of strip-mining were proposed. This planning approach, although limited to a county area, has transferability to other Coastal Plain areas under consideration for strip-mining of lignite.

The HydroShare Collaborative Repository for the Hydrology Community

Science.gov (United States)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Ames, D. P.; Goodall, J. L.; Couch, A.; Hooper, R. P.; Dash, P. K.; Stealey, M.; Yi, H.; Bandaragoda, C.; Castronova, A. M.

2017-12-01

HydroShare is an online, collaboration system for sharing of hydrologic data, analytical tools, and models. It supports the sharing of, and collaboration around, "resources" which are defined by standardized content types for data formats and models commonly used in hydrology. With HydroShare you can: Share your data and models with colleagues; Manage who has access to the content that you share; Share, access, visualize and manipulate a broad set of hydrologic data types and models; Use the web services application programming interface (API) to program automated and client access; Publish data and models and obtain a citable digital object identifier (DOI); Aggregate your resources into collections; Discover and access data and models published by others; Use web apps to visualize, analyze and run models on data in HydroShare. This presentation will describe the functionality and architecture of HydroShare highlighting our approach to making this system easy to use and serving the needs of the hydrology community represented by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc. (CUAHSI). Metadata for uploaded files is harvested automatically or captured using easy to use web user interfaces. Users are encouraged to add or create resources in HydroShare early in the data life cycle. To encourage this we allow users to share and collaborate on HydroShare resources privately among individual users or groups, entering metadata while doing the work. HydroShare also provides enhanced functionality for users through web apps that provide tools and computational capability for actions on resources. HydroShare's architecture broadly is comprised of: (1) resource storage, (2) resource exploration website, and (3) web apps for actions on resources. System components are loosely coupled and interact through APIs, which enhances robustness, as components can be upgraded and advanced relatively independently. The full power of this paradigm is the

Assimilation of qualitative hydrological information in water-related risk framework

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzoleni, Maurizio; Alfonso, Leonardo; Solomatine, Dimitri

2013-04-01

In recent years water-related risks are increasing worldwide. In particular, floods have been one of the most damaging natural disasters in Europe, in terms of economic losses. Non-structural measures such as flood risk mapping are generally used to reduce the impact of flood in important area. The increasing data availability makes it possible to develop new models which can be used to assimilate different kinds of information and reduce the uncertainty of the state of a basin. The aim of this work is to propose a methodology to assimilate uncertain, qualitative information within hydrological models in order to improve the evaluation of catchment responses. Qualitative information is defined here as the one that can be interpreted as and assimilated into a hydrological model as a fuzzy value, for instance those coming from text messages or citizen's pictures. The methodology is applied in the Brue catchment, located in the South West of England, having a drainage area of 135 km2, average annual rainfall of 867 mm and average discharge of 1.92 m3/s at Lovington considering the period among 1961 and 1990. In order to estimate the response of the catchment to a flood event with given intensity, a conceptual distributed hydrological model was implemented. First, the basin was divided in different sub-basins, then, the hydrograph at the outlet section was estimated using a Nash cascade model and the propagation of the flood wave was carried out considering the lag time in the other each sub-basins. The assimilation of the qualitative information was carried out using different techniques. The results of this work show how the spatial location and uncertainty of the qualitative information can affect the flow hydrograph in the outlet section and the consequent flood extent in the downstream area. This study is part of the FP7 European Project WeSenseIt.

Integrating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with Hydrological Modelling – Applicability and Limitations

OpenAIRE

Rajesh VijayKumar Kherde; Dr. Priyadarshi. H. Sawant

2013-01-01

The evolution of Geographic information systems (GIS) facilitated the use digital terrain data for topography based hydrological modelling. The use of spatial data for hydrological modelling emerged from the great capability of GIS tools to store and handle the data associated hydro-morphology of the basin. These models utilize the spatially variable terrain data for converting rainfall into surface runoff.Manual map manipulation has always posed difficulty in analysing and designing large sc...

Clear Creek Environmental Hydrologic Observatory: From Vision Toward Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Just, C.; Muste, M.; Kruger, A.

2006-12-01

The CyberEnviroNet research group at The University of Iowa includes around 25 scientists and engineers from Geography, Geoscience, Computer Science, and various Engineering Departments. The group leads diverse research and education projects involving "cyberinfrastructure" applied to water-resource and environmental concerns. Members of this group actively participate in the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) and the Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research (CLEANER), ongoing NSF-supported activities and initiatives. Most activities are led by IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering (IIHR) and the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER). An outcome of the CyberEnviroNet group activities is the emerging Clear Creek Environmental Hydrologic Observatory at the headwaters of Iowa's Clear Creek. It is envisioned that this process-based observatory will support the scientific investigation of relevant components of water cycle processes. Cyberinfrastructure is a complex concept that is difficult to narrowly define. However, this project will create a working example of cyberinfrastructure in the hydrologic and environmental sciences. It is a system that integrates a broad range of technologies and ideas: wired and wireless sensors, low power wireless communication, embedded microcontrollers, commodity cellular networks, the internet, unattended quality assurance, metadata, relational databases, machine-to-machine communication, interfaces to hydrologic and environmental models, feedback, and external inputs. The creation of this multi-faceted system raises important questions: 1. Will such a system benefit the testing of scientific hypotheses in the areas of "envirohydrology" and hydrology? 2. If the answer is "yes", do we know how to assemble, operate, manage, and make it cost effective? 3. If the answers are "yes", then does it make sense for the hydrologic and

Data and Models as Social Objects in the HydroShare System for Collaboration in the Hydrology Community and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Ames, D. P.; Goodall, J. L.; Band, L. E.; Merwade, V.; Couch, A.; Hooper, R. P.; Maidment, D. R.; Dash, P. K.; Stealey, M.; Yi, H.; Gan, T.; Castronova, A. M.; Miles, B.; Li, Z.; Morsy, M. M.; Crawley, S.; Ramirez, M.; Sadler, J.; Xue, Z.; Bandaragoda, C.

2016-12-01

How do you share and publish hydrologic data and models for a large collaborative project? HydroShare is a new, web-based system for sharing hydrologic data and models with specific functionality aimed at making collaboration easier. HydroShare has been developed with U.S. National Science Foundation support under the auspices of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) to support the collaboration and community cyberinfrastructure needs of the hydrology research community. Within HydroShare, we have developed new functionality for creating datasets, describing them with metadata, and sharing them with collaborators. We cast hydrologic datasets and models as "social objects" that can be shared, collaborated around, annotated, published and discovered. In addition to data and model sharing, HydroShare supports web application programs (apps) that can act on data stored in HydroShare, just as software programs on your PC act on your data locally. This can free you from some of the limitations of local computing capacity and challenges in installing and maintaining software on your own PC. HydroShare's web-based cyberinfrastructure can take work off your desk or laptop computer and onto infrastructure or "cloud" based data and processing servers. This presentation will describe HydroShare's collaboration functionality that enables both public and private sharing with individual users and collaborative user groups, and makes it easier for collaborators to iterate on shared datasets and models, creating multiple versions along the way, and publishing them with a permanent landing page, metadata description, and citable Digital Object Identifier (DOI) when the work is complete. This presentation will also describe the web app architecture that supports interoperability with third party servers functioning as application engines for analysis and processing of big hydrologic datasets. While developed to support the

Integrating remote sensing, geographic information systems and global positioning system techniques with hydrological modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Jay Krishna; Singh, Sudhir Kumar; Ekanthalu, Vicky Shettigondahalli

2017-07-01

Integration of remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) are emerging research areas in the field of groundwater hydrology, resource management, environmental monitoring and during emergency response. Recent advancements in the fields of RS, GIS, GPS and higher level of computation will help in providing and handling a range of data simultaneously in a time- and cost-efficient manner. This review paper deals with hydrological modeling, uses of remote sensing and GIS in hydrological modeling, models of integrations and their need and in last the conclusion. After dealing with these issues conceptually and technically, we can develop better methods and novel approaches to handle large data sets and in a better way to communicate information related with rapidly decreasing societal resources, i.e. groundwater.

Sensors, Cyberinfrastructure, and Examination of Hydrologic and Hydrochemical Response in the Little Bear River Observatory Test Bed

Science.gov (United States)

Horsburgh, J. S.; Stevens, D. K.; Tarboton, D. G.; Mesner, N. O.; Spackman Jones, A.

2008-12-01

The Little Bear River environmental observatory test bed is one of 11 test bed projects that are focused on developing techniques and technologies for environmental observatories ranging from innovative application of environmental sensors to publishing observations data in common formats that can be accessed by investigators nationwide. Specific objectives of the Little Bear test bed include the estimation of water quality constituent fluxes from surrogate data, relation of fluxes to watershed attributes and management practices, examination of high frequency hydrologic and hydrochemical responses, and development of cyberinfrastructure that supports these analyses and publication of the data. We have installed high frequency water quality and discharge monitoring instrumentation at seven locations in the Little Bear, along with two continuous weather stations. Cyberinfrastructure that has been implemented includes the sensors, a telemetry system that transmits data from the field to a central location, a central observations database, software that automates the ingestion of these data into the database so they are available in near real time, and software tools for screening and quality control of the raw data. We have implemented a CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) Server that includes an instance of the Observations Data Model (ODM) relational database that stores the data, web services that provide programmatic data access over the Internet using WaterML, the Data Access System for Hydrology (DASH) that provides an Internet map based interface for data access, and the Time Series Analyst that provides Internet-based plotting and summary functionality. The high frequency data have illustrated the dynamic nature of hydrologic and hydrochemical response in the Little Bear as well as the importance of sampling frequency on estimation of constituent fluxes. Annual estimates of total phosphorus and total suspended solids loads vary over orders of magnitude

A Web GIS Enabled Comprehensive Hydrologic Information System for Indian Water Resources Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Goyal, A.; Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.; Khosa, R.

2017-12-01

Hydrological systems across the globe are getting increasingly water stressed with each passing season due to climate variability & snowballing water demand. Hence, to safeguard food, livelihood & economic security, it becomes imperative to employ scientific studies for holistic management of indispensable resource like water. However, hydrological study of any scale & purpose is heavily reliant on various spatio-temporal datasets which are not only difficult to discover/access but are also tough to use & manage. Besides, owing to diversity of water sector agencies & dearth of standard operating procedures, seamless information exchange is challenging for collaborators. Extensive research is being done worldwide to address these issues but regrettably not much has been done in developing countries like India. Therefore, the current study endeavours to develop a Hydrological Information System framework in a Web-GIS environment for empowering Indian water resources systems. The study attempts to harmonize the standards for metadata, terminology, symbology, versioning & archiving for effective generation, processing, dissemination & mining of data required for hydrological studies. Furthermore, modelers with humble computing resources at their disposal, can consume this standardized data in high performance simulation modelling using cloud computing within the developed Web-GIS framework. They can also integrate the inputs-outputs of different numerical models available on the platform and integrate their results for comprehensive analysis of the chosen hydrological system. Thus, the developed portal is an all-in-one framework that can facilitate decision makers, industry professionals & researchers in efficient water management.

Using open-source programs to create a web-based portal for hydrologic information

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, H.

2013-12-01

Some hydrologic data sets, such as basin climatology, precipitation, and terrestrial water storage, are not easily obtainable and distributable due to their size and complexity. We present a Hydrologic Information Portal (HIP) that has been implemented at the University of California for Hydrologic Modeling (UCCHM) and that has been organized around the large river basins of North America. This portal can be easily accessed through a modern web browser that enables easy access and visualization of such hydrologic data sets. Some of the main features of our HIP include a set of data visualization features so that users can search, retrieve, analyze, integrate, organize, and map data within large river basins. Recent information technologies such as Google Maps, Tornado (Python asynchronous web server), NumPy/SciPy (Scientific Library for Python) and d3.js (Visualization library for JavaScript) were incorporated into the HIP to create ease in navigating large data sets. With such open source libraries, HIP can give public users a way to combine and explore various data sets by generating multiple chart types (Line, Bar, Pie, Scatter plot) directly from the Google Maps viewport. Every rendered object such as a basin shape on the viewport is clickable, and this is the first step to access the visualization of data sets.

Informing a hydrological model of the Ogooué with multi-mission remote sensing data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kittel, Cecile Marie Margaretha; Nielsen, Karina; Tøttrup, C.

2018-01-01

with publicly available and free remote sensing observations. We used a rainfall–runoff model based on the Budyko framework coupled with a Muskingum routing approach. We parametrized the model using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM) and forced it using precipitation from......Remote sensing provides a unique opportunity to inform and constrain a hydrological model and to increase its value as a decision-support tool. In this study, we applied a multi-mission approach to force, calibrate and validate a hydrological model of the ungauged Ogooué river basin in Africa...... model also captures overall total water storage change patterns, although the amplitude of storage change is generally underestimated. By combining hydrological modeling with multi-mission remote sensing from 10 different satellite missions, we obtain new information on an otherwise unstudied basin...

The CUAHSI Water Data Center: Enabling Data Publication, Discovery and Re-use

Science.gov (United States)

Seul, M.; Pollak, J.

2014-12-01

The CUAHSI Water Data Center (WDC) supports a standards-based, services-oriented architecture for time-series data and provides a separate service to publish spatial data layers as shape files. Two new services that the WDC offers are a cloud-based server (Cloud HydroServer) for publishing data and a web-based client for data discovery. The Cloud HydroServer greatly simplifies data publication by eliminating the need for scientists to set up an SQL-server data base, a requirement that has proven to be a significant barrier, and ensures greater reliability and continuity of service. Uploaders have been developed to simplify the metadata documentation process. The web-based data client eliminates the need for installing a program to be used as a client and works across all computer operating systems. The services provided by the WDC is a foundation for big data use, re-use, and meta-analyses. Using data transmission standards enables far more effective data sharing and discovery; standards used by the WDC are part of a global set of standards that should enable scientists to access unprecedented amount of data to address larger-scale research questions than was previously possible. A central mission of the WDC is to ensure these services meet the needs of the water science community and are effective at advancing water science.

A system of automated processing of deep water hydrological information

Science.gov (United States)

Romantsov, V. A.; Dyubkin, I. A.; Klyukbin, L. N.

1974-01-01

An automated system for primary and scientific analysis of deep water hydrological information is presented. Primary processing of the data in this system is carried out on a drifting station, which also calculates the parameters of vertical stability of the sea layers, as well as their depths and altitudes. Methods of processing the raw data are described.

WaterML, an Information Standard for the Exchange of in-situ hydrological observations

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, D.; Taylor, P.; Zaslavsky, I.

2012-04-01

The WaterML 2.0 Standards Working Group (SWG), working within the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and in cooperation with the joint OGC-World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Hydrology Domain Working Group (HDWG), has developed an open standard for the exchange of water observation data; WaterML 2.0. The focus of the standard is time-series data, commonly generated from in-situ style monitoring. This is high value data for hydrological applications such as flood forecasting, environmental reporting and supporting hydrological infrastructure (e.g. dams, supply systems), which is commonly exchanged, but a lack of standards inhibits efficient reuse and automation. The process of developing WaterML required doing a harmonization analysis of existing standards to identify overlapping concepts and come to agreement on a harmonized definition. Generally the formats captured similar requirements, all with subtle differences, such as how time-series point metadata was handled. The in-progress standard WaterML 2.0 incorporates the semantics of the hydrologic information: location, procedure, and observations, and is implemented as an application schema of the Geography Markup Language version 3.2.1, making use of the OGC Observations & Measurements standards. WaterML2.0 is designed as an extensible schema to allow encoding of data to be used in a variety of exchange scenarios. Example areas of usage are: exchange of data for operational hydrological monitoring programs; supporting operation of infrastructure (e.g. dams, supply systems); cross-border exchange of observational data; release of data for public dissemination; enhancing disaster management through data exchange; and exchange in support of national reporting The first phase of WaterML2.0 focused on structural definitions allowing for the transfer of time-series, with less work on harmonization of vocabulary items such as quality codes. Vocabularies from various organizations tend to be specific and take time to

Designing Observatories for the Hydrologic Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, R. P.

2004-05-01

The need for longer-term, multi-scale, coherent, and multi-disciplinary data to test hypotheses in hydrologic science has been recognized by numerous prestigious review panels over the past decade (e.g. NRC's Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science). Designing such observatories has proven to be a challenge not only on scientific, but also technological, economic and even sociologic levels. The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) has undertaken a "paper" prototype design of a hydrologic observatory (HO) for the Neuse River Basin, NC and plans to solicit proposals and award grants to develop implementation plans for approximately 10 basins (which may be defined by topographic or groundwater divides) during the summer of 2004. These observatories are envisioned to be community resources with data available to all scientists, with support facilities to permit their use by both local and remote investigators. This paper presents the broad design concepts which were developed from a national team of scientists for the Neuse River Basin Prototype. There are three fundamental characteristics of a watershed or river basin that are critical for answering the major scientific questions proposed by the NRC to advance hydrologic, biogeochemical and ecological sciences: (1) the store and flux of water, sediment, nutrients and contaminants across interfaces at multiple scales must be identified; (2) the residence time of these constituents, and (3) their flowpaths and response spectra to forcing must be estimated. "Stores" consist of subsurface, land surface and atmospheric volumes partitioned over the watershed. The HO will require "core measurements" which will serve the communities of hydrologic science for long range research questions. The core measurements will also provide context for shorter-term or hypothesis-driven research investigations. The HO will support "mobile measurement facilities" designed to support teams

Building hydrologic information systems to promote climate resilience in the Blue Nile/Abay higlands

Science.gov (United States)

Climate adaptation requires information about climate and land-surface conditions – spatially distributed, and at scales of human influence (the field scale). This article describes a project aimed at combining meteorological data, satellite remote sensing, hydrologic modeling, and downscaled clima...

Can climate variability information constrain a hydrological model for an ungauged Costa Rican catchment?

Science.gov (United States)

Quesada-Montano, Beatriz; Westerberg, Ida K.; Fuentes-Andino, Diana; Hidalgo-Leon, Hugo; Halldin, Sven

2017-04-01

Long-term hydrological data are key to understanding catchment behaviour and for decision making within water management and planning. Given the lack of observed data in many regions worldwide, hydrological models are an alternative for reproducing historical streamflow series. Additional types of information - to locally observed discharge - can be used to constrain model parameter uncertainty for ungauged catchments. Climate variability exerts a strong influence on streamflow variability on long and short time scales, in particular in the Central-American region. We therefore explored the use of climate variability knowledge to constrain the simulated discharge uncertainty of a conceptual hydrological model applied to a Costa Rican catchment, assumed to be ungauged. To reduce model uncertainty we first rejected parameter relationships that disagreed with our understanding of the system. We then assessed how well climate-based constraints applied at long-term, inter-annual and intra-annual time scales could constrain model uncertainty. Finally, we compared the climate-based constraints to a constraint on low-flow statistics based on information obtained from global maps. We evaluated our method in terms of the ability of the model to reproduce the observed hydrograph and the active catchment processes in terms of two efficiency measures, a statistical consistency measure, a spread measure and 17 hydrological signatures. We found that climate variability knowledge was useful for reducing model uncertainty, in particular, unrealistic representation of deep groundwater processes. The constraints based on global maps of low-flow statistics provided more constraining information than those based on climate variability, but the latter rejected slow rainfall-runoff representations that the low flow statistics did not reject. The use of such knowledge, together with information on low-flow statistics and constraints on parameter relationships showed to be useful to

Curricula and Syllabi in Hydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France).

This collection of papers is intended to provide a means for the exchange of information on hydrological techniques and for the coordination of research and data collection. The objectives and trends in hydrological education are presented. The International Hydrological Decade (IHD) Working Group on Education recommends a series of topics that…

Model My Watershed: A high-performance cloud application for public engagement, watershed modeling and conservation decision support

Science.gov (United States)

Aufdenkampe, A. K.; Tarboton, D. G.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Mayorga, E.; McFarland, M.; Robbins, A.; Haag, S.; Shokoufandeh, A.; Evans, B. M.; Arscott, D. B.

2017-12-01

The Model My Watershed Web app (https://app.wikiwatershed.org/) and the BiG-CZ Data Portal (http://portal.bigcz.org/) and are web applications that share a common codebase and a common goal to deliver high-performance discovery, visualization and analysis of geospatial data in an intuitive user interface in web browser. Model My Watershed (MMW) was designed as a decision support system for watershed conservation implementation. BiG CZ Data Portal was designed to provide context and background data for research sites. Users begin by creating an Area of Interest, via an automated watershed delineation tool, a free draw tool, selection of a predefined area such as a county or USGS Hydrological Unit (HUC), or uploading a custom polygon. Both Web apps visualize and provide summary statistics of land use, soil groups, streams, climate and other geospatial information. MMW then allows users to run a watershed model to simulate different scenarios of human impacts on stormwater runoff and water-quality. BiG CZ Data Portal allows users to search for scientific and monitoring data within the Area of Interest, which also serves as a prototype for the upcoming Monitor My Watershed web app. Both systems integrate with CUAHSI cyberinfrastructure, including visualizing observational data from CUAHSI Water Data Center and storing user data via CUAHSI HydroShare. Both systems also integrate with the new EnviroDIY Water Quality Data Portal (http://data.envirodiy.org/), a system for crowd-sourcing environmental monitoring data using open-source sensor stations (http://envirodiy.org/mayfly/) and based on the Observations Data Model v2.

Hydrologic Sub-basins of Greenland

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Hydrologic Sub-basins of Greenland data set contains Geographic Information System (GIS) polygon shapefiles that include 293 hydrologic sub-basins of the...

Hydrologic studies for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, P.B.

1994-01-01

The objective of this paper is to provide a general overview of hydrologic conditions at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) by describing several key hydrologic studies that have been carried out as part of the site characterization program over the last 20 years. The paper is composed of three parts: background information about general objectives of the WIPP project; information about the geologic and hydrologic setting of the facility; and information about three aspects of the hydrologic system that are important to understanding the long-term performance of the WIPP facility. For additional detailed information, the reader is referred to the references cited in the text

Improved extraction of hydrologic information from geophysical data through coupled hydrogeophysical inversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinnell, A.C.; Ferre, T.P.A.; Vrugt, J.A.; Huisman, J.A.; Moysey, S.; Rings, J.; Kowalsky, M.B.

2009-11-01

There is increasing interest in the use of multiple measurement types, including indirect (geophysical) methods, to constrain hydrologic interpretations. To date, most examples integrating geophysical measurements in hydrology have followed a three-step, uncoupled inverse approach. This approach begins with independent geophysical inversion to infer the spatial and/or temporal distribution of a geophysical property (e.g. electrical conductivity). The geophysical property is then converted to a hydrologic property (e.g. water content) through a petrophysical relation. The inferred hydrologic property is then used either independently or together with direct hydrologic observations to constrain a hydrologic inversion. We present an alternative approach, coupled inversion, which relies on direct coupling of hydrologic models and geophysical models during inversion. We compare the abilities of coupled and uncoupled inversion using a synthetic example where surface-based electrical conductivity surveys are used to monitor one-dimensional infiltration and redistribution.

The benefit of using additional hydrological information from earth observations and reanalysis data on water allocation decisions in irrigation districts

Science.gov (United States)

Kaune, Alexander; López, Patricia; Werner, Micha; de Fraiture, Charlotte

2017-04-01

Hydrological information on water availability and demand is vital for sound water allocation decisions in irrigation districts, particularly in times of water scarcity. However, sub-optimal water allocation decisions are often taken with incomplete hydrological information, which may lead to agricultural production loss. In this study we evaluate the benefit of additional hydrological information from earth observations and reanalysis data in supporting decisions in irrigation districts. Current water allocation decisions were emulated through heuristic operational rules for water scarce and water abundant conditions in the selected irrigation districts. The Dynamic Water Balance Model based on the Budyko framework was forced with precipitation datasets from interpolated ground measurements, remote sensing and reanalysis data, to determine the water availability for irrigation. Irrigation demands were estimated based on estimates of potential evapotranspiration and coefficient for crops grown, adjusted with the interpolated precipitation data. Decisions made using both current and additional hydrological information were evaluated through the rate at which sub-optimal decisions were made. The decisions made using an amended set of decision rules that benefit from additional information on demand in the districts were also evaluated. Results show that sub-optimal decisions can be reduced in the planning phase through improved estimates of water availability. Where there are reliable observations of water availability through gauging stations, the benefit of the improved precipitation data is found in the improved estimates of demand, equally leading to a reduction of sub-optimal decisions.

Informing a hydrological model of the Ogooué with multi-mission remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Kittel, Cecile M. M.; Nielsen, Karina; Tøttrup, Christian; Bauer-Gottwein, Peter

2018-02-01

Remote sensing provides a unique opportunity to inform and constrain a hydrological model and to increase its value as a decision-support tool. In this study, we applied a multi-mission approach to force, calibrate and validate a hydrological model of the ungauged Ogooué river basin in Africa with publicly available and free remote sensing observations. We used a rainfall-runoff model based on the Budyko framework coupled with a Muskingum routing approach. We parametrized the model using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM) and forced it using precipitation from two satellite-based rainfall estimates, FEWS-RFE (Famine Early Warning System rainfall estimate) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 v.7, and temperature from ECMWF ERA-Interim. We combined three different datasets to calibrate the model using an aggregated objective function with contributions from (1) historical in situ discharge observations from the period 1953-1984 at six locations in the basin, (2) radar altimetry measurements of river stages by Envisat and Jason-2 at 12 locations in the basin and (3) GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) total water storage change (TWSC). Additionally, we extracted CryoSat-2 observations throughout the basin using a Sentinel-1 SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery water mask and used the observations for validation of the model. The use of new satellite missions, including Sentinel-1 and CryoSat-2, increased the spatial characterization of river stage. Throughout the basin, we achieved good agreement between observed and simulated discharge and the river stage, with an RMSD between simulated and observed water amplitudes at virtual stations of 0.74 m for the TRMM-forced model and 0.87 m for the FEWS-RFE-forced model. The hydrological model also captures overall total water storage change patterns, although the amplitude of storage change is generally underestimated. By combining hydrological modeling

Hydrological Bulletin

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Historical report (December 1937-April 1948) containing hydrologic information for the United States, divided into ten regions. While hourly precipitation tables...

Hydrologic applications of weather radar

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Dong-Jun; Habib, Emad; Andrieu, Hervé; Morin, Efrat

2015-12-01

By providing high-resolution quantitative precipitation information (QPI), weather radars have revolutionized hydrology in the last two decades. With the aid of GIS technology, radar-based quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE) have enabled routine high-resolution hydrologic modeling in many parts of the world. Given the ever-increasing need for higher-resolution hydrologic and water resources information for a wide range of applications, one may expect that the use of weather radar will only grow. Despite the tremendous progress, a number of significant scientific, technological and engineering challenges remain to realize its potential. New challenges are also emerging as new areas of applications are discovered, explored and pursued. The purpose of this special issue is to provide the readership with some of the latest advances, lessons learned, experiences gained, and science issues and challenges related to hydrologic applications of weather radar. The special issue features 20 contributions on various topics which reflect the increasing diversity as well as the areas of focus in radar hydrology today. The contributions may be grouped as follows:

Scaling, Similarity, and the Fourth Paradigm for Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Clark, Martyn; Samaniego, Luis; Verhoest, Niko E. C.; van Emmerik, Tim; Uijlenhoet, Remko; Achieng, Kevin; Franz, Trenton E.; Woods, Ross

2017-01-01

In this synthesis paper addressing hydrologic scaling and similarity, we posit that roadblocks in the search for universal laws of hydrology are hindered by our focus on computational simulation (the third paradigm), and assert that it is time for hydrology to embrace a fourth paradigm of data-intensive science. Advances in information-based hydrologic science, coupled with an explosion of hydrologic data and advances in parameter estimation and modelling, have laid the foundation for a data-driven framework for scrutinizing hydrological scaling and similarity hypotheses. We summarize important scaling and similarity concepts (hypotheses) that require testing, describe a mutual information framework for testing these hypotheses, describe boundary condition, state flux, and parameter data requirements across scales to support testing these hypotheses, and discuss some challenges to overcome while pursuing the fourth hydrological paradigm. We call upon the hydrologic sciences community to develop a focused effort towards adopting the fourth paradigm and apply this to outstanding challenges in scaling and similarity.

Hydrologic Process-oriented Optimization of Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Hinnell, A.; Bechtold, M.; Ferre, T. A.; van der Kruk, J.

2010-12-01

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is commonly used in hydrologic investigations. Advances in joint and coupled hydrogeophysical inversion have enhanced the quantitative use of ERT to construct and condition hydrologic models (i.e. identify hydrologic structure and estimate hydrologic parameters). However the selection of which electrical resistivity data to collect and use is often determined by a combination of data requirements for geophysical analysis, intuition on the part of the hydrogeophysicist and logistical constraints of the laboratory or field site. One of the advantages of coupled hydrogeophysical inversion is the direct link between the hydrologic model and the individual geophysical data used to condition the model. That is, there is no requirement to collect geophysical data suitable for independent geophysical inversion. The geophysical measurements collected can be optimized for estimation of hydrologic model parameters rather than to develop a geophysical model. Using a synthetic model of drip irrigation we evaluate the value of individual resistivity measurements to describe the soil hydraulic properties and then use this information to build a data set optimized for characterizing hydrologic processes. We then compare the information content in the optimized data set with the information content in a data set optimized using a Jacobian sensitivity analysis.

Interpreting the Hydrology of a Desert Mountain Stream to a General Public: Using Multimedia to Enhance Informal Experiential Education

Science.gov (United States)

Woodard, G. C.; Carpenter, K. D.

2002-12-01

Sabino Canyon near Tucson, Arizona draws over 1 million visits per year. The centerpiece of the canyon is Sabino Creek, an ephemeral stream fed by seasonal snowmelt and monsoon rains. Frequently asked questions by canyon visitors include: How can a stream flow in the desert environment? Why are the surrounding mountaintops so much cooler and wetter? How can the stream flow without recent rain or snowmelt? Where does the water go? The NSF STC for Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) has partnered with the USGS and the USDA Forest Service to develop static displays and a touch-screen electronic kiosk for the Sabino Canyon Visitors Center that explain what streamflow is, where the waters of Sabino Creek originate, where they go, what conditions produce flash flooding, and the hydrology of sky island environments. The kiosk, and an associated Web site, also give current weather and streamflow conditions at various points in the canyon, plus typical and extreme conditions for the current date. Designing displays that attract and inform a diverse mix of visitors with varying levels of interest, reading levels, and attention spans is a major challenge. We have integrated static displays featuring light boxes with a touch-screen kiosk featuring graphics, animation, video, sound effects, and voice-overs. Optional sub-titles are in five languages. The goal is to attract visitors to the display and then meet their various interests and information needs. Hydrology is a foreign subject to the great majority of people, and opportunities to informally educate them are relatively scarce. This presentation will show how current multimedia technology can be combined with proven methods of informal experiential education to communicate some basic hydrologic principles.

Hydrologic Sub-basins of Greenland, Version 1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Hydrologic Sub-basins of Greenland data set contains Geographic Information System (GIS) polygon shapefiles that include 293 hydrologic sub-basins of the...

Benchmarking observational uncertainties for hydrology (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, H. K.; Krueger, T.; Freer, J. E.; Westerberg, I.

2013-12-01

There is a pressing need for authoritative and concise information on the expected error distributions and magnitudes in hydrological data, to understand its information content. Many studies have discussed how to incorporate uncertainty information into model calibration and implementation, and shown how model results can be biased if uncertainty is not appropriately characterised. However, it is not always possible (for example due to financial or time constraints) to make detailed studies of uncertainty for every research study. Instead, we propose that the hydrological community could benefit greatly from sharing information on likely uncertainty characteristics and the main factors that control the resulting magnitude. In this presentation, we review the current knowledge of uncertainty for a number of key hydrological variables: rainfall, flow and water quality (suspended solids, nitrogen, phosphorus). We collated information on the specifics of the data measurement (data type, temporal and spatial resolution), error characteristics measured (e.g. standard error, confidence bounds) and error magnitude. Our results were primarily split by data type. Rainfall uncertainty was controlled most strongly by spatial scale, flow uncertainty was controlled by flow state (low, high) and gauging method. Water quality presented a more complex picture with many component errors. For all variables, it was easy to find examples where relative error magnitude exceeded 40%. We discuss some of the recent developments in hydrology which increase the need for guidance on typical error magnitudes, in particular when doing comparative/regionalisation and multi-objective analysis. Increased sharing of data, comparisons between multiple catchments, and storage in national/international databases can mean that data-users are far removed from data collection, but require good uncertainty information to reduce bias in comparisons or catchment regionalisation studies. Recently it has

How to handle spatial heterogeneity in hydrological models.

Science.gov (United States)

Loritz, Ralf; Neuper, Malte; Gupta, Hoshin; Zehe, Erwin

2017-04-01

The amount of data we observe in our environmental systems is larger than ever. This leads to a new kind of problem where hydrological modelers can have access to large datasets with various quantitative and qualitative observations but are uncertain about the information content with respect to the hydrological functioning of a landscape. For example digital elevation models obviously contain plenty of information about the topography of a landscape; however the question of relevance for Hydrology is how much of this information is important for the hydrological functioning of a landscape. This kind of question is not limited to topography and we can ask similar questions when handling distributed rainfall data or geophysical images. In this study we would like to show how one can separate dominant patterns in the landscape from idiosyncratic system details. We use a 2D numerical hillslope model in combination with an extensive research data set to test a variety of different model setups that are built upon different landscape characteristics and run by different rainfalls measurements. With the help of information theory based measures we can identify and learn how much heterogeneity is really necessary for successful hydrological simulations and how much of it we can neglect.

Integrating 3D geological information with a national physically-based hydrological modelling system

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Elizabeth; Parkin, Geoff; Kessler, Holger; Whiteman, Mark

2016-04-01

Robust numerical models are an essential tool for informing flood and water management and policy around the world. Physically-based hydrological models have traditionally not been used for such applications due to prohibitively large data, time and computational resource requirements. Given recent advances in computing power and data availability, a robust, physically-based hydrological modelling system for Great Britain using the SHETRAN model and national datasets has been created. Such a model has several advantages over less complex systems. Firstly, compared with conceptual models, a national physically-based model is more readily applicable to ungauged catchments, in which hydrological predictions are also required. Secondly, the results of a physically-based system may be more robust under changing conditions such as climate and land cover, as physical processes and relationships are explicitly accounted for. Finally, a fully integrated surface and subsurface model such as SHETRAN offers a wider range of applications compared with simpler schemes, such as assessments of groundwater resources, sediment and nutrient transport and flooding from multiple sources. As such, SHETRAN provides a robust means of simulating numerous terrestrial system processes which will add physical realism when coupled to the JULES land surface model. 306 catchments spanning Great Britain have been modelled using this system. The standard configuration of this system performs satisfactorily (NSE > 0.5) for 72% of catchments and well (NSE > 0.7) for 48%. Many of the remaining 28% of catchments that performed relatively poorly (NSE land cover change studies and integrated assessments of groundwater and surface water resources.

Wetland Hydrology | Science Inventory | US EPA

Science.gov (United States)

This chapter discusses the state of the science in wetland hydrology by touching upon the major hydraulic and hydrologic processes in these complex ecosystems, their measurement/estimation techniques, and modeling methods. It starts with the definition of wetlands, their benefits and types, and explains the role and importance of hydrology on wetland functioning. The chapter continues with the description of wetland hydrologic terms and related estimation and modeling techniques. The chapter provides a quick but valuable information regarding hydraulics of surface and subsurface flow, groundwater seepage/discharge, and modeling groundwater/surface water interactions in wetlands. Because of the aggregated effects of the wetlands at larger scales and their ecosystem services, wetland hydrology at the watershed scale is also discussed in which we elaborate on the proficiencies of some of the well-known watershed models in modeling wetland hydrology. This chapter can serve as a useful reference for eco-hydrologists, wetland researchers and decision makers as well as watershed hydrology modelers. In this chapter, the importance of hydrology for wetlands and their functional role are discussed. Wetland hydrologic terms and the major components of water budget in wetlands and how they can be estimated/modeled are also presented. Although this chapter does not provide a comprehensive coverage of wetland hydrology, it provides a quick understanding of the basic co

Peculiarities of the Use of Satellite Information for Early Warning of Natural Meteorological and Hydrological Disasters in Georgia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shengelia, L.; Kordzakhia, G.; Tvauri, G.; Tatishvili, M.; Mkurnalidze, I.

2009-01-01

The peculiarities of the use of the information of the satellites for early warning of disasters of meteorological and hydrological origin for the territory of Georgia are investigated. The various characteristics of modern satellites and sensors installed are reviewed. The spheres of their implementation are indicated. The disasters that are typical of Georgia and to which the application of satellite information is effective are considered. (author)

Coordinating standards and applications for optical water quality sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Bergamaschi, B.; Pellerin, B.

2011-01-01

Joint USGS-CUAHSI Workshop: In Situ Optical Water Quality Sensor Networks; Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 8-10 June 2011; Advanced in situ optical water quality sensors and new techniques for data analysis hold enormous promise for advancing scientific understanding of aquatic systems through measurements of important biogeochemical parameters at the time scales over which they vary. High-frequency and real-time water quality data also provide the opportunity for early warning of water quality deterioration, trend detection, and science-based decision support. However, developing networks of optical sensors in freshwater systems that report reliable and comparable data across and between sites remains a challenge to the research and monitoring community. To address this, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), convened a 3-day workshop to explore ways to coordinate development of standards and applications for optical sensors, as well as handling, storage, and analysis of the continuous data they produce.

Applicability of Hydrologic Landscapes for Model Calibration ...

Science.gov (United States)

The Pacific Northwest Hydrologic Landscapes (PNW HL) at the assessment unit scale has provided a solid conceptual classification framework to relate and transfer hydrologically meaningful information between watersheds without access to streamflow time series. A collection of techniques were applied to the HL assessment unit composition in watersheds across the Pacific Northwest to aggregate the hydrologic behavior of the Hydrologic Landscapes from the assessment unit scale to the watershed scale. This non-trivial solution both emphasizes HL classifications within the watershed that provide that majority of moisture surplus/deficit and considers the relative position (upstream vs. downstream) of these HL classifications. A clustering algorithm was applied to the HL-based characterization of assessment units within 185 watersheds to help organize watersheds into nine classes hypothesized to have similar hydrologic behavior. The HL-based classes were used to organize and describe hydrologic behavior information about watershed classes and both predictions and validations were independently performed with regard to the general magnitude of six hydroclimatic signature values. A second cluster analysis was then performed using the independently calculated signature values as similarity metrics, and it was found that the six signature clusters showed substantial overlap in watershed class membership to those in the HL-based classes. One hypothesis set forward from thi

Environmental isotope hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

Environmental isotope hydrology is a relatively new field of investigation based on isotopic variations observed in natural waters. These isotopic characteristics have been established over a broad space and time scale. They cannot be controlled by man, but can be observed and interpreted to gain valuable regional information on the origin, turnover and transit time of water in the system which often cannot be obtained by other techniques. The cost of such investigations is usually relatively small in comparison with the cost of classical hydrological studies. The main environmental isotopes of hydrological interest are the stable isotopes deuterium (hydrogen-2), carbon-13, oxygen-18, and the radioactive isotopes tritium (hydrogen-3) and carbon-14. Isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen are ideal geochemical tracers of water because their concentrations are usually not subject to change by interaction with the aquifer material. On the other hand, carbon compounds in groundwater may interact with the aquifer material, complicating the interpretation of carbon-14 data. A few other environmental isotopes such as 32 Si and 238 U/ 234 U have been proposed recently for hydrological purposes but their use has been quite limited until now and they will not be discussed here. (author)

An eco-hydrological project on Turkey Creek watershed, South Carolina, U.S.A.

Science.gov (United States)

Devendra Amatya; Carl Trettin

2008-01-01

The low-gradient, forested wetland landscape of the southeastern United States’ Coastal Plain represents an important eco-hydrologic system, yet there is a very little information available on the region’s ecological, hydrological and biogeochemical processes. Long-term hydrologic monitoring can provide the information needed to understand basic hydrologic processes...

Information on Hydrologic Conceptual Models, Parameters, Uncertainty Analysis, and Data Sources for Dose Assessments at Decommissioning Sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Philip D.; Gee, Glendon W.; Nicholson, Thomas J.

1999-01-01

This report addresses issues related to the analysis of uncertainty in dose assessments conducted as part of decommissioning analyses. The analysis is limited to the hydrologic aspects of the exposure pathway involving infiltration of water at the ground surface, leaching of contaminants, and transport of contaminants through the groundwater to a point of exposure. The basic conceptual models and mathematical implementations of three dose assessment codes are outlined along with the site-specific conditions under which the codes may provide inaccurate, potentially nonconservative results. In addition, the hydrologic parameters of the codes are identified and compared. A methodology for parameter uncertainty assessment is outlined that considers the potential data limitations and modeling needs of decommissioning analyses. This methodology uses generic parameter distributions based on national or regional databases, sensitivity analysis, probabilistic modeling, and Bayesian updating to incorporate site-specific information. Data sources for best-estimate parameter values and parameter uncertainty information are also reviewed. A follow-on report will illustrate the uncertainty assessment methodology using decommissioning test cases

Information on Hydrologic Conceptual Models, Parameters, Uncertainty Analysis, and Data Sources for Dose Assessments at Decommissioning Sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer D, Philip; Gee W, Glendon

2000-01-01

This report addresses issues related to the analysis of uncertainty in dose assessments conducted as part of decommissioning analyses. The analysis is limited to the hydrologic aspects of the exposure pathway involving infiltration of water at the ground surface, leaching of contaminants, and transport of contaminants through the groundwater to a point of exposure. The basic conceptual models and mathematical implementations of three dose assessment codes are outlined along with the site-specific conditions under which the codes may provide inaccurate, potentially nonconservative results. In addition, the hydrologic parameters of the codes are identified and compared. A methodology for parameter uncertainty assessment is outlined that considers the potential data limitations and modeling needs of decommissioning analyses. This methodology uses generic parameter distributions based on national or regional databases, sensitivity analysis, probabilistic modeling, and Bayesian updating to incorporate site-specific information. Data sources for best-estimate parameter values and parameter uncertainty information are also reviewed. A follow-on report will illustrate the uncertainty assessment methodology using decommissioning test cases

Measurement of environmental tritium for isotope hydrology studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1973-01-01

The Section of Isotope Hydrology of the IAEA Division of Research and Laboratories gains valuable hydrological information from studies of the concentration of environmental tritium in precipitation, surface and groundwater samples from various sites around the world. This photo story shows the steps in the measurement of these very low levels of tritium in water as performed in the Isotope Hydrology Laboratory of the Agency. (author)

Hydrology of Southeast Florida and Associated Topics.

Science.gov (United States)

Monsour, William, Comp.; Moyer, Maureen, Comp.

This booklet deals with the hydrology of southeastern Florida. It is designed to provide the citizen, teacher, or student with hydrological information, to promote an understanding of water resources, and to initiate conservation practices within Florida communities. The collection of articles within the booklet deal with Florida water resources…

Deployment and Evaluation of an Observations Data Model

Science.gov (United States)

Horsburgh, J. S.; Tarboton, D. G.; Zaslavsky, I.; Maidment, D. R.; Valentine, D.

2007-12-01

Environmental observations are fundamental to hydrology and water resources, and the way these data are organized and manipulated either enables or inhibits the analyses that can be performed. The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System project is developing information technology infrastructure to support hydrologic science. This includes an Observations Data Model (ODM) that provides a new and consistent format for the storage and retrieval of environmental observations in a relational database designed to facilitate integrated analysis of large datasets collected by multiple investigators. Within this data model, observations are stored with sufficient ancillary information (metadata) about the observations to allow them to be unambiguously interpreted and used, and to provide traceable heritage from raw measurements to useable information. The design is based upon a relational database model that exposes each single observation as a record, taking advantage of the capability in relational database systems for querying based upon data values and enabling cross dimension data retrieval and analysis. This data model has been deployed, as part of the HIS Server, at the WATERS Network test bed observatories across the U.S where it serves as a repository for real time data in the observatory information system. The ODM holds the data that is then made available to investigators and the public through web services and the Data Access System for Hydrology (DASH) map based interface. In the WATERS Network test bed settings the ODM has been used to ingest, analyze and publish data from a variety of sources and disciplines. This paper will present an evaluation of the effectiveness of this initial deployment and the revisions that are being instituted to address shortcomings. The ODM represents a new, systematic way for hydrologists, scientists, and engineers to organize and share their data and thereby facilitate a fuller integrated understanding of water resources based on

Applied socio-hydrology using volunteer geographic information (VGI) to integrate ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR)

Science.gov (United States)

Mendiondo, Eduardo; Taffarello, Denise; Mohor, Guilherme; Guzmán, Diego; Câmara de Freitas, Clarissa; Fava, Maria Clara; Restrepo, Camilo; Abreu, Fernando; Batalini, Marina; Lago, Cesar; Abe, Narumi; Rosa, Altair

2017-04-01

Socio-hydrology proposes to understand coupled human-water systems by conceptualizing its components to be dynamically connected by bi-directional feedbacks. For practical purposes, especially in developing countries of South America, socio-hydrology does integrate practical, empirical and theoretical fundamentals from citizens' knowledge and culture. This contribution shows South American examples of how volunteer geographic information (VGI) can help socio-hydrology to integrate emerging aspects with heavy feedbacks, exploding uncertainties and relevant scales of socio-hydrological scales. Here we select examples at different scales of using VGI to link aspects of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). On the one hand, we show some learning cases of EbA/VGI linked to socio-hydrology also related with water valuation, both monetary and non-monetary, under scenarios of changing conditions of land-use and land cover changes of strategic water supply systems in subtropical biomes. This example brings a bridge of VGI and EbA towards Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) through water topics of securitization, insurance, smart cities and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Thus, on the other hand, we also depict how VGI support applied elements for socio-hydrology on South American urban areas, capable of policy actions for DRR through SUDS at human-impacted biomes under extremes of droughts, floods and pollution. We here recommend yardsticks of learning conditions from these real examples of using VGI's knowledge and culture biases for a more resilient socio-hydrology, in order to create opportunities for theoretical, conceptual and applied nature of EbA and DRR with viable alliances from IAHS/Panta Rhei with UN/Sendai/DRR Framework and UN/Sustainable Development Goals. From these examples, however, seem plausible co-evolutionary dynamics with stakeholders if local-scale constraints, from sociopolitical nature, institutions' policies and

Status Report: A Hydrologic Framework for the Oak Ridge Reservation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solomon, D.K.

1992-01-01

The Oak Ridge Reservation Hydrology and Geology Study (ORRHAGS) was established in 1989 as an integrated study of the hydrology, geology, and soils of the reservation in support of the extensive activities in environmental monitoring, environmental restoration, waste management, and regulatory compliance on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The Hydrologic Studies Task of ORRHAGS is designed to provide essential information about the hydrologic environment of the ORR to those responsible for dealing with environmental issues, including restoration, environmental monitoring, and waste management, compliance, and enforcement. In order to ensure optimum environmental protection, these systems and their elements must be better understood and quantified. Additionally, in light of the enormous costs attached to environmental protection, restoration, monitoring, and waste management, these activities must be planned and implemented as efficiently as possible. A practical understanding of the hydrologic systems is required for all the objectives associated with contaminants in the hydrologic environment of the ORR. This report describes the current status of the development of a workable framework for the hydrology of the ORR. The framework is based mostly on data and information available from previous investigations.

Integrating Remote Sensing Information Into A Distributed Hydrological Model for Improving Water Budget Predictions in Large-scale Basins through Data Assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Changbo; Jia, Yangwen; Su, Z.(Bob); Zhou, Zuhao; Qiu, Yaqin; Suhui, Shen

2008-01-01

This paper investigates whether remote sensing evapotranspiration estimates can be integrated by means of data assimilation into a distributed hydrological model for improving the predictions of spatial water distribution over a large river basin with an area of 317,800 km2. A series of available MODIS satellite images over the Haihe River basin in China are used for the year 2005. Evapotranspiration is retrieved from these 1×1 km resolution images using the SEBS (Surface Energy Balance System) algorithm. The physically-based distributed model WEP-L (Water and Energy transfer Process in Large river basins) is used to compute the water balance of the Haihe River basin in the same year. Comparison between model-derived and remote sensing retrieval basin-averaged evapotranspiration estimates shows a good piecewise linear relationship, but their spatial distribution within the Haihe basin is different. The remote sensing derived evapotranspiration shows variability at finer scales. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) data assimilation algorithm, suitable for non-linear problems, is used. Assimilation results indicate that remote sensing observations have a potentially important role in providing spatial information to the assimilation system for the spatially optical hydrological parameterization of the model. This is especially important for large basins, such as the Haihe River basin in this study. Combining and integrating the capabilities of and information from model simulation and remote sensing techniques may provide the best spatial and temporal characteristics for hydrological states/fluxes, and would be both appealing and necessary for improving our knowledge of fundamental hydrological processes and for addressing important water resource management problems. PMID:27879946

Advancing the Implementation of Hydrologic Models as Web-based Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Dahal, P.; Tarboton, D. G.; Castronova, A. M.

2017-12-01

Advanced computer simulations are required to understand hydrologic phenomenon such as rainfall-runoff response, groundwater hydrology, snow hydrology, etc. Building a hydrologic model instance to simulate a watershed requires investment in data (diverse geospatial datasets such as terrain, soil) and computer resources, typically demands a wide skill set from the analyst, and the workflow involved is often difficult to reproduce. This work introduces a web-based prototype infrastructure in the form of a web application that provides researchers with easy to use access to complete hydrological modeling functionality. This includes creating the necessary geospatial and forcing data, preparing input files for a model by applying complex data preprocessing, running the model for a user defined watershed, and saving the results to a web repository. The open source Tethys Platform was used to develop the web app front-end Graphical User Interface (GUI). We used HydroDS, a webservice that provides data preparation processing capability to support backend computations used by the app. Results are saved in HydroShare, a hydrologic information system that supports the sharing of hydrologic data, model and analysis tools. The TOPographic Kinematic APproximation and Integration (TOPKAPI) model served as the example for which we developed a complete hydrologic modeling service to demonstrate the approach. The final product is a complete modeling system accessible through the web to create input files, and run the TOPKAPI hydrologic model for a watershed of interest. We are investigating similar functionality for the preparation of input to Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys). Key Words: hydrologic modeling, web services, hydrologic information system, HydroShare, HydroDS, Tethys Platform

GIS environmental information analysis of the Darro River basin as the key for the management and hydrological forest restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Paz; Delgado, Expectación; Lopez-Alonso, Mónica; Poyatos, José Manuel

2018-02-01

This article presents analyses of soil and environmental information for the Darro River basin (Granada-Spain) preliminary to its hydrological and forestry restoration. These analyses were carried out using a geographical information system (GIS) and employing a new procedure that adapts hydrological forest-restoration methods. The complete analysis encompasses morphological conditions, soil and climate characteristics as well as vegetation and land use. The study investigates soil erosion in the basin by using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and by mapping erosion fragility units. The results are presented in a set of maps and their analysis, providing the starting point for river basin management and the hydrological and forestry-restoration project that was approved at the end of 2015. The presence of soft substrates (e.g. gravel and sand) indicates that the area is susceptible to erosion, particularly the areas that are dominated by human activity and have little soil protection. Finally, land use and vegetation cover were identified as key factors in the soil erosion in the basin. According to the results, river authorities have included several measures in the restoration project aimed at reducing the erosion and helping to recover the environmental value of this river basin and to include it in recreation possibilities for the community of Granada. The presented analytical approach, designed by the authors, would be useful as a tool for environmental restoration in other small Mediterranean river basins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrology for Engineers, Geologists, and Environmental Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Ince, Simon

For people who are involved in the applied aspects of hydrology, it is refreshing to find a textbook that begins with a meaningful disclaimer, albeit in fine print on the back side of the frontispiece:“The present book and the accompanying software have been written according to the latest techniques in scientific hydrology. However, hydrology is at best an inexact science. A good book and a good computer software by themselves do not guarantee accurate or even realistic predictions. Acceptable results in the applications of hydrologic methods to engineering and environmental problems depend to a greater extend (sic) on the skills, logical assumptions, and practical experience of the user, and on the quantity and quality of long-term hydrologic data available. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility or any liability, explicitly or implicitly, on the results or the consequences of using the information contained in this book or its accompanying software.”

Forest hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Ge Sun; Devendra Amatya; Steve McNulty

2016-01-01

Forest hydrology studies the distribution, storage, movement, and quality of water and the hydrological processes in forest-dominated ecosystems. Forest hydrological science is regarded as the foundation of modern integrated water¬shed management. This chapter provides an overview of the history of forest hydrology and basic principles of this unique branch of...

Let's Talk About Water: Film as a Resource to Engage Audiences Around Earth Science Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, E.; Hooper, R. P.; Lilienfeld, L.

2017-12-01

Connecting a diverse audience to science can be challenging. Scientists generally publish their findings in ways that are not easily accessible to audiences outside of the science community and translating findings for wider consumption requires a mindful balance of generalization and accuracy. In response to these communication challenges, the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) developed the Let's Talk About Water (LTAW) program as a formula for hosting successful events for Earth Science education. The program uses film as a bridge to open a discussion between scientists and the audience. In this setting, films are powerful educational tools because they use storytelling to engage audiences emotionally, which creates relatable, teachable moments. Originally designed to bring awareness to water issues, the formula can easily be applied to increase literacy on climate change and other critical Earth Science issues facing society. This presentation will discuss the LTAW event formula and the resources that CUAHSI has available to support event organizers in the development of their own LTAW events.

Five Guidelines for Selecting Hydrological Signatures

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, H. K.; Westerberg, I.; Branger, F.

2017-12-01

Hydrological signatures are index values derived from observed or modeled series of hydrological data such as rainfall, flow or soil moisture. They are designed to extract relevant information about hydrological behavior, such as to identify dominant processes, and to determine the strength, speed and spatiotemporal variability of the rainfall-runoff response. Hydrological signatures play an important role in model evaluation. They allow us to test whether particular model structures or parameter sets accurately reproduce the runoff generation processes within the watershed of interest. Most modeling studies use a selection of different signatures to capture different aspects of the catchment response, for example evaluating overall flow distribution as well as high and low flow extremes and flow timing. Such studies often choose their own set of signatures, or may borrow subsets of signatures used in multiple other works. The link between signature values and hydrological processes is not always straightforward, leading to uncertainty and variability in hydrologists' signature choices. In this presentation, we aim to encourage a more rigorous approach to hydrological signature selection, which considers the ability of signatures to represent hydrological behavior and underlying processes for the catchment and application in question. To this end, we propose a set of guidelines for selecting hydrological signatures. We describe five criteria that any hydrological signature should conform to: Identifiability, Robustness, Consistency, Representativeness, and Discriminatory Power. We describe an example of the design process for a signature, assessing possible signature designs against the guidelines above. Due to their ubiquity, we chose a signature related to the Flow Duration Curve, selecting the FDC mid-section slope as a proposed signature to quantify catchment overall behavior and flashiness. We demonstrate how assessment against each guideline could be used to

From engineering hydrology to Earth system science: milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sivapalan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Hydrology has undergone almost transformative changes over the past 50 years. Huge strides have been made in the transition from early empirical approaches to rigorous approaches based on the fluid mechanics of water movement on and below the land surface. However, progress has been hampered by problems posed by the presence of heterogeneity, including subsurface heterogeneity present at all scales. The inability to measure or map the heterogeneity everywhere prevented the development of balance equations and associated closure relations at the scales of interest, and has led to the virtual impasse we are presently in, in terms of development of physically based models needed for hydrologic predictions. An alternative to the mapping of heterogeneity everywhere is a new Earth system science view, which sees the heterogeneity as the end result of co-evolutionary hydrological, geomorphological, ecological, and pedological processes, each operating at a different rate, which help to shape the landscapes that we find in nature, including the heterogeneity that we do not readily see. The expectation is that instead of specifying exact details of the heterogeneity in our models, we can replace it (without loss of information with the ecosystem function that they perform. Guided by this new Earth system science perspective, development of hydrologic science is now addressing new questions using novel holistic co-evolutionary approaches as opposed to the physical, fluid mechanics based reductionist approaches that we inherited from the recent past. In the emergent Anthropocene, the co-evolutionary view has expanded further to involve interactions and feedbacks with human-social processes as well. In this paper, I present my own perspective of key milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science from engineering hydrology to Earth system science, drawn from the work of several students and colleagues of mine, and discuss their implication for

From engineering hydrology to Earth system science: milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science

Science.gov (United States)

Sivapalan, Murugesu

2018-03-01

Hydrology has undergone almost transformative changes over the past 50 years. Huge strides have been made in the transition from early empirical approaches to rigorous approaches based on the fluid mechanics of water movement on and below the land surface. However, progress has been hampered by problems posed by the presence of heterogeneity, including subsurface heterogeneity present at all scales. The inability to measure or map the heterogeneity everywhere prevented the development of balance equations and associated closure relations at the scales of interest, and has led to the virtual impasse we are presently in, in terms of development of physically based models needed for hydrologic predictions. An alternative to the mapping of heterogeneity everywhere is a new Earth system science view, which sees the heterogeneity as the end result of co-evolutionary hydrological, geomorphological, ecological, and pedological processes, each operating at a different rate, which help to shape the landscapes that we find in nature, including the heterogeneity that we do not readily see. The expectation is that instead of specifying exact details of the heterogeneity in our models, we can replace it (without loss of information) with the ecosystem function that they perform. Guided by this new Earth system science perspective, development of hydrologic science is now addressing new questions using novel holistic co-evolutionary approaches as opposed to the physical, fluid mechanics based reductionist approaches that we inherited from the recent past. In the emergent Anthropocene, the co-evolutionary view has expanded further to involve interactions and feedbacks with human-social processes as well. In this paper, I present my own perspective of key milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science from engineering hydrology to Earth system science, drawn from the work of several students and colleagues of mine, and discuss their implication for hydrologic observations

Virtual hydrology observatory: an immersive visualization of hydrology modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Simon; Cruz-Neira, Carolina; Habib, Emad; Gerndt, Andreas

2009-02-01

The Virtual Hydrology Observatory will provide students with the ability to observe the integrated hydrology simulation with an instructional interface by using a desktop based or immersive virtual reality setup. It is the goal of the virtual hydrology observatory application to facilitate the introduction of field experience and observational skills into hydrology courses through innovative virtual techniques that mimic activities during actual field visits. The simulation part of the application is developed from the integrated atmospheric forecast model: Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), and the hydrology model: Gridded Surface/Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA). Both the output from WRF and GSSHA models are then used to generate the final visualization components of the Virtual Hydrology Observatory. The various visualization data processing techniques provided by VTK are 2D Delaunay triangulation and data optimization. Once all the visualization components are generated, they are integrated into the simulation data using VRFlowVis and VR Juggler software toolkit. VR Juggler is used primarily to provide the Virtual Hydrology Observatory application with fully immersive and real time 3D interaction experience; while VRFlowVis provides the integration framework for the hydrologic simulation data, graphical objects and user interaction. A six-sided CAVETM like system is used to run the Virtual Hydrology Observatory to provide the students with a fully immersive experience.

Nuclear well logging in hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1971-01-01

they are described in detail elsewhere. The tracer techniques which have been included involve the use of well-logging methods to locate isotopic tracers inserted either in an adjacent borehole or in the same borehole as that in which the logs are made. Throughout the report, sufficient references have been selected to ensure that proven methods are adequately represented, but a comprehensive bibliography is not included. The International Atomic Energy Agency, at the request of the Coordinating Council of the International Hydrological Decade, is providing the Secretariat for the Working Group on Nuclear Techniques in Hydrology of the International Hydrological Decade (IHD). The Working Group and Secretariat have contributed to and coordinated the preparation of this report as well as an earlier more general report, Guidebook on Nuclear Techniques in Hydrology, IAEA Technical Reports Series No.91. Nuclear logging, along with other borehole geophysical methods, was adopted and developed primarily by the petroleum industry for use in exploration and developmental work. The information in this report shows that nuclear logging may also be useful in hydrology. Qualitative and under proper conditions quantitative interpretations about the physical, chemical, petrographic and hydraulic properties of formations and their contained fluids can be made from nuclear logs. The IHD Working Group on Nuclear Techniques in Hydrology, during its fourth meeting (in 1969), considered in detail the present status of nuclear logging with respect to hydrological investigations. Particularly it considered: (1) whether suitable equipment is at present available; (2) whether it could fulfil the need of hydrologists today; and (3) whether it was yet economic for use in hydrological investigations. The Working Group noted that the two main deficiencies in nuclear logging for hydrological purposes are: (1) the general lack of information in a coordinated form, and (2) the scarcity of

Communicating uncertainty in hydrological forecasts: mission impossible?

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Maria-Helena; Mathevet, Thibault; Thielen, Jutta; Pappenberger, Florian

2010-05-01

Cascading uncertainty in meteo-hydrological modelling chains for forecasting and integrated flood risk assessment is an essential step to improve the quality of hydrological forecasts. Although the best methodology to quantify the total predictive uncertainty in hydrology is still debated, there is a common agreement that one must avoid uncertainty misrepresentation and miscommunication, as well as misinterpretation of information by users. Several recent studies point out that uncertainty, when properly explained and defined, is no longer unwelcome among emergence response organizations, users of flood risk information and the general public. However, efficient communication of uncertain hydro-meteorological forecasts is far from being a resolved issue. This study focuses on the interpretation and communication of uncertain hydrological forecasts based on (uncertain) meteorological forecasts and (uncertain) rainfall-runoff modelling approaches to decision-makers such as operational hydrologists and water managers in charge of flood warning and scenario-based reservoir operation. An overview of the typical flow of uncertainties and risk-based decisions in hydrological forecasting systems is presented. The challenges related to the extraction of meaningful information from probabilistic forecasts and the test of its usefulness in assisting operational flood forecasting are illustrated with the help of two case-studies: 1) a study on the use and communication of probabilistic flood forecasting within the European Flood Alert System; 2) a case-study on the use of probabilistic forecasts by operational forecasters from the hydroelectricity company EDF in France. These examples show that attention must be paid to initiatives that promote or reinforce the active participation of expert forecasters in the forecasting chain. The practice of face-to-face forecast briefings, focusing on sharing how forecasters interpret, describe and perceive the model output forecasted

Hydrology of Ranger land application area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McQuade, C.V.

1992-01-01

In 1984 Ranger Uranium Mines (RUM) began assessing the technique of water treatment by land application as a means of reducing the volume of stored water within the Restricted Release Zone. Knowledge of the hydrological characteristics of the treatment site is necessary for optimal day to day and season to season operation of the system and as an input into the assessment of the long-term viability of the site. This paper provides background information on the hydrological requirements for a water treatment site, describes the RUM's water treatment by land application system and summarises the operational statistics and current hydrological knowledge of the site. The general groundwater hydrology of the area comprises a surface soil aquifer overlying a semi-confined aquifer. Drainage of the surface aquifer follows the surface topography along the sandy clays. Vertical permeability ranges between 3 and 12 times greater than horizontal permeability. 7 refs., 2 tabs., 4 figs

Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Brutsaert, Wilfried

2005-08-01

Water in its different forms has always been a source of wonder, curiosity and practical concern for humans everywhere. Hydrology - An Introduction presents a coherent introduction to the fundamental principles of hydrology, based on the course that Wilfried Brutsaert has taught at Cornell University for the last thirty years. Hydrologic phenomena are dealt with at spatial and temporal scales at which they occur in nature. The physics and mathematics necessary to describe these phenomena are introduced and developed, and readers will require a working knowledge of calculus and basic fluid mechanics. The book will be invaluable as a textbook for entry-level courses in hydrology directed at advanced seniors and graduate students in physical science and engineering. In addition, the book will be more broadly of interest to professional scientists and engineers in hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, agronomy, geology, climatology, oceanology, glaciology and other earth sciences. Emphasis on fundamentals Clarification of the underlying physical processes Applications of fluid mechanics in the natural environment

Radioactivity in the hydrologic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Werner, L.B.

1969-01-01

Certain proposed uses of nuclear explosives for peaceful purposes will introduce radioactive debris into the natural hydrologic environment. Consideration must therefore be given in each situation to the extent and significance to man of resulting radioactively contaminated water. For contained underground detonations, space-time - concentration predictions of radioactive materials in ground water are dependent on several factors: radionuclide production and initial distribution, radioactive decay, sorption on geologic materials, and dispersion during hydrologic transport. For uncontained (cratering) detonations, other aspects of the hydrologic cycle, particularly rainfall, and watershed characteristics must be considered. Programs sponsored principally by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission have investigated these factors. Examination of their net effects on radioactivity concentration in water shows that areas if any, underlain by water exceeding permissible concentrations tend first to increase in size, then decrease, and finally disappear. Hydrologic processes at the surface remove or redistribute radioactive debris deposited on a watershed to other locations. Where sufficient information is available, predictions of location and concentration of radionuclides in natural waters can be made. Any potentially hazardous conditions arising from a particular detonation can then be evaluated. (author)

Radioactivity in the hydrologic environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, L B [Isotopes, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (United States)

1969-07-01

Certain proposed uses of nuclear explosives for peaceful purposes will introduce radioactive debris into the natural hydrologic environment. Consideration must therefore be given in each situation to the extent and significance to man of resulting radioactively contaminated water. For contained underground detonations, space-time - concentration predictions of radioactive materials in ground water are dependent on several factors: radionuclide production and initial distribution, radioactive decay, sorption on geologic materials, and dispersion during hydrologic transport. For uncontained (cratering) detonations, other aspects of the hydrologic cycle, particularly rainfall, and watershed characteristics must be considered. Programs sponsored principally by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission have investigated these factors. Examination of their net effects on radioactivity concentration in water shows that areas if any, underlain by water exceeding permissible concentrations tend first to increase in size, then decrease, and finally disappear. Hydrologic processes at the surface remove or redistribute radioactive debris deposited on a watershed to other locations. Where sufficient information is available, predictions of location and concentration of radionuclides in natural waters can be made. Any potentially hazardous conditions arising from a particular detonation can then be evaluated. (author)

Radiotracer techniques in hydrological studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oladipo, M.O.A.; Funtua, I.I.

2000-07-01

The use of radioactive tracers particularly short-lived radioisotopes frequently offers advantages over conventional methods of analyses. Applications of nuclear techniques in the field of hydrology constitute important and sometimes unique tools for obtaining critical information needed for water resources management. Essentially, radiotracer techniques offer a safe, cost effective and powerful tool in the assessment, management and protection of water resources. The Centre for Energy Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria of late has been offering consultancy services to some industries in the area of radiotracer technique. The first nuclear reactor in Nigeria, the MNSR, is expected to be commissioned in the Centre very soon. Many short-lived radioisotopes such as Cu-64, Ga-72, Br-82, Hg-197 etc which are very important in hydrological studies can be produced by the MNSR facility. This article reports on the basic principles of the technique and its roles in hydrology

Hydrology Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

Research carried out in the 'Hydrology Project' of the Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura', Piracicaba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, are described. Such research comprises: Amazon hydrology and Northeast hydrology. Techniques for the measurement of isotope ratios are used. (M.A.) [pt

TREHS (Temporary Rivers Ecological and Hydrological Status): new software for investigating the degree of hydrologic alteration of temporary streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallart, Francesc; Llorens, Pilar; Cid, Núria; latron, Jérôme; Bonada, Núria; Prat, Narcís

2017-04-01

The evaluation of the hydrological alteration of a stream due to human activities is a first step to assess its overall quality and to design management strategies for its potential restoration. This task is currently made comparing impacted against unimpacted hydrographs, with the help of software tools, such as the IHA (Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration). Then, the environmental evaluation of the hydrological alteration is to be made in terms of its expectable menace for the original biological communities and/or its help for the spread of invasive species. However, when the regime of the target stream is not perennial, there are four main difficulties for implementing methods for assessing hydrological alteration: i) the main hydrological features relevant for biological communities in a temporary stream are not quantitative (discharges) but qualitative (temporal patterns of states such as flowing water, stagnant pools or lack of surface water), ii) stream flow records do not inform on the temporal occurrence of stagnant pools, which act as refugees for many species during the cessation of flow, iii) as most of the temporary streams are ungauged, the evaluation of their regime must be determined by using alternative methods such as remote sensing or citizen science, and iv) the biological quality assessment of the ecological status of a temporary stream must be conducted following a sampling schedule adapted to the flow regime and using adequate reference conditions. In order to overcome these challenges using an operational approach, the TREHS freely available software tool has been developed within the EU LIFE TRIVERS project (LIFE13 ENV/ES/000341). This software allows for the input of information coming from flow simulations obtained using any rainfall-runoff model (to set an unimpacted reference stream regime) and compares them with the information obtained from flow gauging records, interviews made to local citizens, instantaneous observations made by

Hydrological Classification, a Practical Tool for Mangrove Restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Loon, Anne F; Te Brake, Bram; Van Huijgevoort, Marjolein H J; Dijksma, Roel

2016-01-01

Mangrove restoration projects, aimed at restoring important values of mangrove forests after degradation, often fail because hydrological conditions are disregarded. We present a simple, but robust methodology to determine hydrological suitability for mangrove species, which can guide restoration practice. In 15 natural and 8 disturbed sites (i.e. disused shrimp ponds) in three case study regions in south-east Asia, water levels were measured and vegetation species composition was determined. Using an existing hydrological classification for mangroves, sites were classified into hydrological classes, based on duration of inundation, and vegetation classes, based on occurrence of mangrove species. For the natural sites hydrological and vegetation classes were similar, showing clear distribution of mangrove species from wet to dry sites. Application of the classification to disturbed sites showed that in some locations hydrological conditions had been restored enough for mangrove vegetation to establish, in some locations hydrological conditions were suitable for various mangrove species but vegetation had not established naturally, and in some locations hydrological conditions were too wet for any mangrove species (natural or planted) to grow. We quantified the effect that removal of obstructions such as dams would have on the hydrology and found that failure of planting at one site could have been prevented. The hydrological classification needs relatively little data, i.e. water levels for a period of only one lunar tidal cycle without additional measurements, and uncertainties in the measurements and analysis are relatively small. For the study locations, the application of the hydrological classification gave important information about how to restore the hydrology to suitable conditions to improve natural regeneration or to plant mangrove species, which could not have been obtained by estimating elevation only. Based on this research a number of recommendations

Hydrological Classification, a Practical Tool for Mangrove Restoration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne F Van Loon

Full Text Available Mangrove restoration projects, aimed at restoring important values of mangrove forests after degradation, often fail because hydrological conditions are disregarded. We present a simple, but robust methodology to determine hydrological suitability for mangrove species, which can guide restoration practice. In 15 natural and 8 disturbed sites (i.e. disused shrimp ponds in three case study regions in south-east Asia, water levels were measured and vegetation species composition was determined. Using an existing hydrological classification for mangroves, sites were classified into hydrological classes, based on duration of inundation, and vegetation classes, based on occurrence of mangrove species. For the natural sites hydrological and vegetation classes were similar, showing clear distribution of mangrove species from wet to dry sites. Application of the classification to disturbed sites showed that in some locations hydrological conditions had been restored enough for mangrove vegetation to establish, in some locations hydrological conditions were suitable for various mangrove species but vegetation had not established naturally, and in some locations hydrological conditions were too wet for any mangrove species (natural or planted to grow. We quantified the effect that removal of obstructions such as dams would have on the hydrology and found that failure of planting at one site could have been prevented. The hydrological classification needs relatively little data, i.e. water levels for a period of only one lunar tidal cycle without additional measurements, and uncertainties in the measurements and analysis are relatively small. For the study locations, the application of the hydrological classification gave important information about how to restore the hydrology to suitable conditions to improve natural regeneration or to plant mangrove species, which could not have been obtained by estimating elevation only. Based on this research a number

Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program, Amchitka Island, Alaska

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

The purpose of the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program for Amchitka Island, Alaska, is to obtain data that will assure the public safety, inform the public, the news media, and the scientific community relative to radiological contamination, and to document compliance with federal, state, and local antipollution requirements. Amchitka's geographical setting, climate, geology, hydrology, and ecology are described. Site history including event information for LONG SHOT in 1965, MILROW in 1969, and CANNIKIN in 1971 is described. Event related contamination has been observed only at the LONG SHOT site. At this site, tritium in concentrations below the drinking water standards has been observed in mud pits and wells in the area adjacent to surface ground zero. The Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program for Amchitka is described. No radioactive venting, significant radioactive leakage, or bioenvironmental damage resulted from any of the nuclear tests on Amchitka

Providing Data Access for Interdisciplinary Research

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, R. P.; Couch, A.

2012-12-01

Developing an interdisciplinary understanding of human and environmental interactions with water requires access to a variety of data kinds collected by various organizations. The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) is a standards-based, services-oriented architecture designed for time-series data. Such data represents an important type of data in water studies. Through the efforts of HIS, a standard transmission language, WaterML2, has been adopted by the Open Geospatial Consortium and is under consideration by the World Meteorologic Organization as an international standards. Web services have also been developed to retrieve data and metadata. HIS is completed with a metadata catalog, hosted by San Diego Supercomputing Center, which indexes more than 20 million time series provided from over 90 different services. This catalog is supported through a hierarchically organized controlled vocabulary that is open for community input and mediation. Data publishers include federal agencies, universities, state agencies, and non-profit organizations such as watershed associations. Accessing data from such a broad spectrum of sources through a uniform service standard promises to truly transform the way in which hydrologic research is done. CUAHSI HIS is a large-scale prototype at this time, but a proposal is under consideration by the National Science Foundation to operationalize HIS through a data facility, tentatively called the CUAHSI Water Data Center. Establishing HIS is an important step to enable research into human-environment interactions with water, but it is only one step. Other data structures will need to be made accessible and interoperable to support this research. Some data—such as two-dimensional GIS coverages—already have widely used standards for transmission and sharing. The US Federal government has long operated a clearinghouse for federal geographic data that is now being augmented with other services such as ArcGIS OnLine. Other data

1:250,000-scale Hydrologic Units of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Steeves, Peter; Nebert, Douglas

1994-01-01

The Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis System (GIRAS) was developed in the mid 70s to put into digital form a numberof data layers which were of interest to the USGS. One of these data layers was the Hydrologic Units. The map is based on the Hydrologic Unit Maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey Office of Water Data Coordination, together with the list descriptions and name of region, subregion, accounting units, and cataloging unit. The hydrologic units are encoded with an eight-digit number that indicates the hydrologic region (first two digits), hydrologic subregion (second two digits), accounting unit (third two digits), and cataloging unit (fourth two digits). The data produced by GIRAS was originally collected at a scale of 1:250K. Some areas, notably major cities in the west, were recompiled at a scale of 1:100K. In order to join the data together and use the data in a geographic information system (GIS) the data were processed in the ARC/INFO GUS software package. Within the GIS, the data were edgematched and the neatline boundaries between maps were removed to create a single data set for the conterminous

Hydrology and Conservation Ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanan, M.

2006-12-01

Responses to change in the behavior of ecological systems are largely governed by interactions at different levels. Research is essential and is to be necessarily designed to gain insights into various interactions at the community level. Sustainable resource management is only possible if conservation of biodiversity can be accomplished by properly using the knowledge discovered. It is well known that the United States Department of Agriculture provides technical information, resources, and data necessary to assist the researchers in addressing their conservation needs. Conservation aims to protect, preserve and conserve the earth's natural resources. These include, but not limited to the conservation of soil, water, minerals, air, plants and all living beings. The United States Department of Agriculture also encourages farmers and ranchers to voluntarily address threats to soil and water. Protection of wetlands and wildlife habitat has been on the radar screen of conservation experts for a very long time. The main objective has always been to help farmers and landowners conform and comply with federal and state environmental laws. During the implementation phase, farmers should be encouraged to make beneficial, cost-effective changes to methods of irrigation systems. In some cases, the hydrologic regime of the project area can be thought of as principally an issue of river flow regimes for floodplain forests. In this presentation, the author tries to focus on the impact of hydrology and conservation ecology on global warming. He also discusses the impact of hydrology and conservation ecology global air concerns such as greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. References: Chow, V. T, D. R. Maidment, and L. W. Mays. 1988. Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, Inc. U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Technical Release 55: Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds. USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). June 1986. Lehner, B. and P. Döll (2004). Development and validation

[Socio-hydrology: A review].

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Jing-yi; Zhao, Wen-wu; Fang, Xue-ning

2015-04-01

Socio-hydrology is an interdiscipline of hydrology, nature, society and humanity. It mainly explores the two-way feedbacks of coupled human-water system and its dynamic mechanism of co-evolution, and makes efforts to solve the issues that human faces today such as sustainable utilization of water resources. Starting from the background, formation process, and fundamental concept of socio-hydrology, this paper summarized the features of socio-hydrology. The main research content of socio-hydrology was reduced to three aspects: The tradeoff in coupled human-water system, interests in water resources management and virtual water research in coupled human-water system. And its differences as well as relations with traditional hydrology, eco-hydrology and hydro-sociology were dwelled on. Finally, with hope to promote the development of socio-hydrology researches in China, the paper made prospects for the development of the subject from following aspects: Completing academic content and deepening quantitative research, focusing on scale studies of socio-hydrology, fusing socio-hydrology and eco-hydrology.

A Sensor Web and Web Service-Based Approach for Active Hydrological Disaster Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Zhai

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Rapid advancements in Earth-observing sensor systems have led to the generation of large amounts of remote sensing data that can be used for the dynamic monitoring and analysis of hydrological disasters. The management and analysis of these data could take advantage of distributed information infrastructure technologies such as Web service and Sensor Web technologies, which have shown great potential in facilitating the use of observed big data in an interoperable, flexible and on-demand way. However, it remains a challenge to achieve timely response to hydrological disaster events and to automate the geoprocessing of hydrological disaster observations. This article proposes a Sensor Web and Web service-based approach to support active hydrological disaster monitoring. This approach integrates an event-driven mechanism, Web services, and a Sensor Web and coordinates them using workflow technologies to facilitate the Web-based sharing and processing of hydrological hazard information. The design and implementation of hydrological Web services for conducting various hydrological analysis tasks on the Web using dynamically updating sensor observation data are presented. An application example is provided to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed approach over the traditional approach. The results confirm the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed approach in cases of hydrological disaster.

Hydrology in a Mediterranean mountain environment, the Vallcebre Research basins (North Eastern Spain). IV. Testing hydrological and erosion models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallart, F.; Latron, J.; Llorens, P.; Martinez-Carreras, N.

2009-01-01

Three modelling exercises were carried out in the Vallcebre research basins in order to both improve the understanding of the hydrological processes and test the adequate of some models in such Mediterranean mountain conditions. These exercises consisted of i) the analysis of the hydrological role of the agricultural terraces using the TOPMODEL topographic index, ii) the parametrisation of TOPMODEL using internal basin information, and iii) a test of the erosion model KINEROS2 for simulating badlands erosion. (Author) 13 refs.

Hydrologic characteristics of freshwater mussel habitat: novel insights from modeled flows

Science.gov (United States)

Drew, C. Ashton; Eddy, Michele; Kwak, Thomas J.; Cope, W. Gregory; Augspurger, Tom

2018-01-01

The ability to model freshwater stream habitat and species distributions is limited by the spatially sparse flow data available from long-term gauging stations. Flow data beyond the immediate vicinity of gauging stations would enhance our ability to explore and characterize hydrologic habitat suitability. The southeastern USA supports high aquatic biodiversity, but threats, such as landuse alteration, climate change, conflicting water-resource demands, and pollution, have led to the imperilment and legal protection of many species. The ability to distinguish suitable from unsuitable habitat conditions, including hydrologic suitability, is a key criterion for successful conservation and restoration of aquatic species. We used the example of the critically endangered Tar River Spinymussel (Parvaspina steinstansana) and associated species to demonstrate the value of modeled flow data (WaterFALL™) to generate novel insights into population structure and testable hypotheses regarding hydrologic suitability. With ordination models, we: 1) identified all catchments with potentially suitable hydrology, 2) identified 2 distinct hydrologic environments occupied by the Tar River Spinymussel, and 3) estimated greater hydrological habitat niche breadth of assumed surrogate species associates at the catchment scale. Our findings provide the first demonstrated application of complete, continuous, regional modeled hydrologic data to freshwater mussel distribution and management. This research highlights the utility of modeling and data-mining methods to facilitate further exploration and application of such modeled environmental conditions to inform aquatic species management. We conclude that such an approach can support landscape-scale management decisions that require spatial information at fine resolution (e.g., enhanced National Hydrology Dataset catchments) and broad extent (e.g., multiple river basins).

[Gene method for inconsistent hydrological frequency calculation. 2: Diagnosis system of hydrological genes and method of hydrological moment genes with inconsistent characters].

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Ping; Zhao, Jiang Yan; Wu, Zi Yi; Sang, Yan Fang; Chen, Jie; Li, Bin Bin; Gu, Hai Ting

2018-04-01

The analysis of inconsistent hydrological series is one of the major problems that should be solved for engineering hydrological calculation in changing environment. In this study, the diffe-rences of non-consistency and non-stationarity were analyzed from the perspective of composition of hydrological series. The inconsistent hydrological phenomena were generalized into hydrological processes with inheritance, variability and evolution characteristics or regulations. Furthermore, the hydrological genes were identified following the theory of biological genes, while their inheritance bases and variability bases were determined based on composition of hydrological series under diffe-rent time scales. To identify and test the components of hydrological genes, we constructed a diagnosis system of hydrological genes. With the P-3 distribution as an example, we described the process of construction and expression of the moment genes to illustrate the inheritance, variability and evolution principles of hydrological genes. With the annual minimum 1-month runoff series of Yunjinghong station in Lancangjiang River basin as an example, we verified the feasibility and practicability of hydrological gene theory for the calculation of inconsistent hydrological frequency. The results showed that the method could be used to reveal the evolution of inconsistent hydrological series. Therefore, it provided a new research pathway for engineering hydrological calculation in changing environment and an essential reference for the assessment of water security.

The progress of hydrology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chow, V T [University of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States)

1967-05-15

This paper discusses mainly the challenge of hydrology, recent activities, events, and major problems in hydrology, and advances in hydrological techniques. New scientific knowledge and techniques developed in many modern scientific disciplines, and the recognition of the importance of hydrology in water-resources development enable and encourage the hydrologist to advance scientific hydrology. Many programmes to promote hydrology and to expand its attendant activities have been developed in recent years. Therefore, the activities in the United States of America, such as the Universities Council on Water Resources and the President's Water for Peace Programme, and the programmes in the International Hydrological Decade are mentioned. The most important advance in theoretical hydrology is the development of a new concept of dynamic sequential systems for the hydrological cycle, thus creating new fields of systems, parametric, and stochastic hydrology. Modern scientific instrumentation provide the hydrologist with better tools for solving his problems. The most important of these, such as electronic computers, remote sensing, and nuclear techniques are discussed. Today various major problems, both theoretical and practical, face the hydrologist. Theoretical problems concern the basic understanding of hydrological systems and the mathematical simulation and physical interpretation of hydrological phenomena. Major practical problems are numerous and diversified, but they are mostly related to the multiple-purpose development of water resources. Four central problematical subjects are discussed; namely, the effects of man on his environment, the dynamics of aqueous flow systems, hydrological transport mechanism, and groundwater hydrology. Also, the use of nuclear techniques in solving various hydrological problems is discussed. It is believed that the application of nuclear techniques would prove extremely valuable in helping solve problems, but their ultimate use in

The progress of hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chow, V.T.

1967-01-01

This paper discusses mainly the challenge of hydrology, recent activities, events, and major problems in hydrology, and advances in hydrological techniques. New scientific knowledge and techniques developed in many modern scientific disciplines, and the recognition of the importance of hydrology in water-resources development enable and encourage the hydrologist to advance scientific hydrology. Many programmes to promote hydrology and to expand its attendant activities have been developed in recent years. Therefore, the activities in the United States of America, such as the Universities Council on Water Resources and the President's Water for Peace Programme, and the programmes in the International Hydrological Decade are mentioned. The most important advance in theoretical hydrology is the development of a new concept of dynamic sequential systems for the hydrological cycle, thus creating new fields of systems, parametric, and stochastic hydrology. Modern scientific instrumentation provide the hydrologist with better tools for solving his problems. The most important of these, such as electronic computers, remote sensing, and nuclear techniques are discussed. Today various major problems, both theoretical and practical, face the hydrologist. Theoretical problems concern the basic understanding of hydrological systems and the mathematical simulation and physical interpretation of hydrological phenomena. Major practical problems are numerous and diversified, but they are mostly related to the multiple-purpose development of water resources. Four central problematical subjects are discussed; namely, the effects of man on his environment, the dynamics of aqueous flow systems, hydrological transport mechanism, and groundwater hydrology. Also, the use of nuclear techniques in solving various hydrological problems is discussed. It is believed that the application of nuclear techniques would prove extremely valuable in helping solve problems, but their ultimate use in

A framework for improving a seasonal hydrological forecasting system using sensitivity analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Arnal, Louise; Pappenberger, Florian; Smith, Paul; Cloke, Hannah

2017-04-01

Seasonal streamflow forecasts are of great value for the socio-economic sector, for applications such as navigation, flood and drought mitigation and reservoir management for hydropower generation and water allocation to agriculture and drinking water. However, as we speak, the performance of dynamical seasonal hydrological forecasting systems (systems based on running seasonal meteorological forecasts through a hydrological model to produce seasonal hydrological forecasts) is still limited in space and time. In this context, the ESP (Ensemble Streamflow Prediction) remains an attractive forecasting method for seasonal streamflow forecasting as it relies on forcing a hydrological model (starting from the latest observed or simulated initial hydrological conditions) with historical meteorological observations. This makes it cheaper to run than a standard dynamical seasonal hydrological forecasting system, for which the seasonal meteorological forecasts will first have to be produced, while still producing skilful forecasts. There is thus the need to focus resources and time towards improvements in dynamical seasonal hydrological forecasting systems which will eventually lead to significant improvements in the skill of the streamflow forecasts generated. Sensitivity analyses are a powerful tool that can be used to disentangle the relative contributions of the two main sources of errors in seasonal streamflow forecasts, namely the initial hydrological conditions (IHC; e.g., soil moisture, snow cover, initial streamflow, among others) and the meteorological forcing (MF; i.e., seasonal meteorological forecasts of precipitation and temperature, input to the hydrological model). Sensitivity analyses are however most useful if they inform and change current operational practices. To this end, we propose a method to improve the design of a seasonal hydrological forecasting system. This method is based on sensitivity analyses, informing the forecasters as to which element of

Improving Permafrost Hydrology Prediction Through Data-Model Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, C. J.; Andresen, C. G.; Atchley, A. L.; Bolton, W. R.; Busey, R.; Coon, E.; Charsley-Groffman, L.

2017-12-01

The CMIP5 Earth System Models were unable to adequately predict the fate of the 16GT of permafrost carbon in a warming climate due to poor representation of Arctic ecosystem processes. The DOE Office of Science Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment, NGEE-Arctic project aims to reduce uncertainty in the Arctic carbon cycle and its impact on the Earth's climate system by improved representation of the coupled physical, chemical and biological processes that drive how much buried carbon will be converted to CO2 and CH4, how fast this will happen, which form will dominate, and the degree to which increased plant productivity will offset increased soil carbon emissions. These processes fundamentally depend on permafrost thaw rate and its influence on surface and subsurface hydrology through thermal erosion, land subsidence and changes to groundwater flow pathways as soil, bedrock and alluvial pore ice and massive ground ice melts. LANL and its NGEE colleagues are co-developing data and models to better understand controls on permafrost degradation and improve prediction of the evolution of permafrost and its impact on Arctic hydrology. The LANL Advanced Terrestrial Simulator was built using a state of the art HPC software framework to enable the first fully coupled 3-dimensional surface-subsurface thermal-hydrology and land surface deformation simulations to simulate the evolution of the physical Arctic environment. Here we show how field data including hydrology, snow, vegetation, geochemistry and soil properties, are informing the development and application of the ATS to improve understanding of controls on permafrost stability and permafrost hydrology. The ATS is being used to inform parameterizations of complex coupled physical, ecological and biogeochemical processes for implementation in the DOE ACME land model, to better predict the role of changing Arctic hydrology on the global climate system. LA-UR-17-26566.

The Role of Anthropogenic Modifications in Landscape and Hydrological Organization of Mayma River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lubenets Liliya Fedorovna

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The landscape and hydrological organization of the territory is a mosaic of landscapes with different modes of water yield and water balance structure. The landscape and hydrological approach becomes very important under the lack of hydrometeorological information. The factors determining the landscape and hydrological organization of the Mayma river basin, located in the Russian Altai, are considered in the present article. The classification of the landscape and hydrological complexes based on the static and dynamic indicators is performed. The set of interpretive landscape and hydrological maps has been developed. The climatic and hydrological conditions provide the excess moisture over a larger part of the basin. The lithological and hydrological background is characterized by the predominance of rocks and thin weathering products. A peculiarity of the studied area is the prevalence of transit locations that creates risks of dangerous hydrological processes in case of excessive humidity. Using the remote sensing data, the main classes of ground cover are described. A significant anthropogenic impact on the basin landscapes is observed. The analysis of soil structure shows that anthropogenically modified (mostly situated on slopes soils make up approximately 30 %. It is assumed that it leads to the deterioration of the landscape and hydrological situation in the catchment. It is concluded that the landscape and hydrological approach allows solving the problems on minimizing the hydrological objects damage and optimizing the nature management in the catchment in the context of the lack of hydrometeorological information.

Stratigraphic relations and hydrologic properties of the Paintbrush Tuff (PTn) hydrologic unit, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moyer, T.C.; Geslin, J.K.; Flint, L.E.

1996-01-01

Yucca Mountain is being investigated as a potential site for a high- level nuclear waste repository. The intent of this study was to clarify stratigraphic relations within the Paintbrush Tuff (PTn) unit at Yucca Mountain in order to better understand vertical and lateral variations in hydrologic properties as they relate to the lithologic character of these rocks. This report defines informal stratigraphic units within the PTn interval, demonstrates their lateral continuity in the Yucca Mountain region, describes later and vertical variations within them, and characterizes their hydrologic properties and importance to numerical flow and transport models. We present tables summarizing the depth to stratigraphic contacts in cored borehole studies, and unit descriptions and correlations in 10 measured sections

Stratigraphic relations and hydrologic properties of the Paintbrush Tuff (PTn) hydrologic unit, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moyer, T.C.; Geslin, J.K. [Science Applications International Corp., Golden, CO (United States); Flint, L.E. [U.S. Geological Survey, Yucca Mountain Project, Mercury, NV (United States)

1996-08-01

Yucca Mountain is being investigated as a potential site for a high- level nuclear waste repository. The intent of this study was to clarify stratigraphic relations within the Paintbrush Tuff (PTn) unit at Yucca Mountain in order to better understand vertical and lateral variations in hydrologic properties as they relate to the lithologic character of these rocks. This report defines informal stratigraphic units within the PTn interval, demonstrates their lateral continuity in the Yucca Mountain region, describes later and vertical variations within them, and characterizes their hydrologic properties and importance to numerical flow and transport models. We present tables summarizing the depth to stratigraphic contacts in cored borehole studies, and unit descriptions and correlations in 10 measured sections.

Development of hydrological models and surface process modelization Study case in High Mountain slopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loaiza, Juan Carlos; Pauwels, Valentijn R

2011-01-01

Hydrological models are useful because allow to predict fluxes into the hydrological systems, which is useful to predict foods and violent phenomenon associated to water fluxes, especially in materials under a high meteorization level. The combination of these models with meteorological predictions, especially with rainfall models, allow to model water behavior into the soil. On most of cases, this type of models is really sensible to evapotranspiration. On climatic studies, the superficial processes have to be represented adequately. Calibration and validation of these models is necessary to obtain reliable results. This paper is a practical exercise of application of complete hydrological information at detailed scale in a high mountain catchment, considering the soil use and types more representatives. The information of soil moisture, infiltration, runoff and rainfall is used to calibrate and validate TOPLATS hydrological model to simulate the behavior of soil moisture. The finds show that is possible to implement an hydrological model by means of soil moisture information use and an equation of calibration by Extended Kalman Filter (EKF).

Applications of AMS to hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bentley, H.W.; Davis, S.N.

1981-01-01

The evaluation and management of water as a resource requires an understanding of the chemical, and geological interactions that water effects or undergoes in the hydrologic cycle. Delivery of water to the land surface by precipitation, subsequent streamflow, circulation in surface waters and evapotranspiration, infiltration, recharge, movement of waters in the subsurface, and discharge are of interest. Also important are the quality of water, water's role in mineral dissolution, transport, and deposition, and the various water-related geotechnical problems of subsidence, tectonics, slope instability, and earth structures. Mathematical modeling techniques are available and are being improved which describe these phenomena and predict future system behavior. Typically, however, models suffer from substantial uncertainties due to insufficient data. Refinement, calibration,and verification of hydrologic models require expansion of the data base. Examination of chemical constituents of water which act as tracers can often supply the needed information. Unfortunately, few tracers are available which are both mobile and chemically stable. Several long-lived radioisotopic hydrologic tracers exist, however, which have received little attention in hydrologic studies to date because of low concentration, low specific activity, or sample size limitations. Recent development of ultra-sensitive accelerator mass spectrometry techniques (AMS) by Purser and others (1977), Nelson and others (1977), Bennett and others (1978), Muller and others (1978), Raisbeck and others (1978) is now expected to provide access to many of these tracers

High resolution weather data for urban hydrological modelling and impact assessment, ICT requirements and future challenges

Science.gov (United States)

ten Veldhuis, Marie-claire; van Riemsdijk, Birna

2013-04-01

Hydrological analysis of urban catchments requires high resolution rainfall and catchment information because of the small size of these catchments, high spatial variability of the urban fabric, fast runoff processes and related short response times. Rainfall information available from traditional radar and rain gauge networks does no not meet the relevant scales of urban hydrology. A new type of weather radars, based on X-band frequency and equipped with Doppler and dual polarimetry capabilities, promises to provide more accurate rainfall estimates at the spatial and temporal scales that are required for urban hydrological analysis. Recently, the RAINGAIN project was started to analyse the applicability of this new type of radars in the context of urban hydrological modelling. In this project, meteorologists and hydrologists work closely together in several stages of urban hydrological analysis: from the acquisition procedure of novel and high-end radar products to data acquisition and processing, rainfall data retrieval, hydrological event analysis and forecasting. The project comprises of four pilot locations with various characteristics of weather radar equipment, ground stations, urban hydrological systems, modelling approaches and requirements. Access to data processing and modelling software is handled in different ways in the pilots, depending on ownership and user context. Sharing of data and software among pilots and with the outside world is an ongoing topic of discussion. The availability of high resolution weather data augments requirements with respect to the resolution of hydrological models and input data. This has led to the development of fully distributed hydrological models, the implementation of which remains limited by the unavailability of hydrological input data. On the other hand, if models are to be used in flood forecasting, hydrological models need to be computationally efficient to enable fast responses to extreme event conditions. This

HIS Design: Big Data that Supports Hydrologic Modeling from Continental to Hillslope Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, T. C.; Deemy, J. B.; Younger, S. E.; Kirk, S. E.; Brockman, L. E.

2016-12-01

Analogous to Google Maps, hydrologic data, information, and knowledge resolve differently depending upon the spatial and temporal scales of interest. We show how a multi-scale hydrologic information system (HIS) can be designed and populated for a broad range of spatial (e.g., hillslope, local, regional, continental) and temporal (e.g., current, recent, historic, geologic) scales. Surface and subsurface hydrologic and transport processes are assumed to be scale-dependent, requiring unique governing equations and parameters at each scale. This robust and flexible framework is designed to meet the inventory, monitoring, and management needs of multiple federal agencies (i.e., Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Reserves). Multi-scale HIS examples are provided using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the Southeastern US.

Design and Implementation of Hydrologic Process Knowledge-base Ontology: A case study for the Infiltration Process

Science.gov (United States)

Elag, M.; Goodall, J. L.

2013-12-01

Hydrologic modeling often requires the re-use and integration of models from different disciplines to simulate complex environmental systems. Component-based modeling introduces a flexible approach for integrating physical-based processes across disciplinary boundaries. Several hydrologic-related modeling communities have adopted the component-based approach for simulating complex physical systems by integrating model components across disciplinary boundaries in a workflow. However, it is not always straightforward to create these interdisciplinary models due to the lack of sufficient knowledge about a hydrologic process. This shortcoming is a result of using informal methods for organizing and sharing information about a hydrologic process. A knowledge-based ontology provides such standards and is considered the ideal approach for overcoming this challenge. The aims of this research are to present the methodology used in analyzing the basic hydrologic domain in order to identify hydrologic processes, the ontology itself, and how the proposed ontology is integrated with the Water Resources Component (WRC) ontology. The proposed ontology standardizes the definitions of a hydrologic process, the relationships between hydrologic processes, and their associated scientific equations. The objective of the proposed Hydrologic Process (HP) Ontology is to advance the idea of creating a unified knowledge framework for components' metadata by introducing a domain-level ontology for hydrologic processes. The HP ontology is a step toward an explicit and robust domain knowledge framework that can be evolved through the contribution of domain users. Analysis of the hydrologic domain is accomplished using the Formal Concept Approach (FCA), in which the infiltration process, an important hydrologic process, is examined. Two infiltration methods, the Green-Ampt and Philip's methods, were used to demonstrate the implementation of information in the HP ontology. Furthermore, a SPARQL

Retrieval of Landuse and Hydrology-based Parameters from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Landuse and hydrology-based information on the Volta Lake Basin have been retrieved from Satellite remote sensing data. The results obtained could be applied in Hydro-Geographical Information System models, such as the TOPMODEL, for water balance studies. Eight Synthetic Aperture Radar Precision Images of the ...

Hydrological balance of Cauca River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corzo G, J.; Garcia, M.

1992-11-01

This thesis understand the superficial and underground hydrology of the C.c. River Basin; the purpose of this study is to obtain information related to the quantity and behavior of the water resource, in order to make the necessary recommendations for the adequate managing, the aquifer protection and thus be able to have valuable liquid

IAEA/UNESCO Joint International Isotopes in Hydrology Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oezgueler, H.

2002-01-01

International Hydrology Programme (IHP) of UNESCO was established in 1965 as International Hydrological Decade. This programme was transformed to the IHP having the phases of 6-year duration. Presently, IHP-VI Phase (2002-2007) is based on the fundamental principle that freshwater is as essential to sustainable development as it is to life and that water, beyond its geophysical, chemical, biological function in the hydrological cycle, has social, economic and environmental values that are inter-linked and mutually supportive. The international Programme for Isotopes in the Hydrological Cycle 'proposal was presented by IAEA to the Fifth UNESCO-WMO International Conference on Hydrology' held in Geneva in 1999. The Conference noted the proposal and invited UNESCO and IAEA to develop the proposal further in collaboration with WMO, in order to submit it to the relevant bodies of the organizations concerned. At the end of this study, the IAEA / UNESCO Joint International Isotopes in Hydrology Programme (JIIHP) was formed in 2001. The JIIHP will service a number of international needs including the dissemination of research and application results in isotope methodologies through a global infrastructure network. This is foreseen primarily through an appropriate expansion of the IHP National Committees to include experts in isotope methods in hydrology in order to facilitate a more efficient dialogue and mainstreaming of isotope methods in member states of UNESCO. Main areas for co-operation have already been incorporated within the IHP-VI plans. In this paper, with some brief information on the studies to be realised in the near future under the framework of this programme JIIHP, the isotop related priorities of the Turkish hydrology community are explained herewith

Advances in Applications of Hierarchical Bayesian Methods with Hydrological Models

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, R. B.; Schwarz, G. E.; Boyer, E. W.

2017-12-01

Mechanistic and empirical watershed models are increasingly used to inform water resource decisions. Growing access to historical stream measurements and data from in-situ sensor technologies has increased the need for improved techniques for coupling models with hydrological measurements. Techniques that account for the intrinsic uncertainties of both models and measurements are especially needed. Hierarchical Bayesian methods provide an efficient modeling tool for quantifying model and prediction uncertainties, including those associated with measurements. Hierarchical methods can also be used to explore spatial and temporal variations in model parameters and uncertainties that are informed by hydrological measurements. We used hierarchical Bayesian methods to develop a hybrid (statistical-mechanistic) SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) model of long-term mean annual streamflow across diverse environmental and climatic drainages in 18 U.S. hydrological regions. Our application illustrates the use of a new generation of Bayesian methods that offer more advanced computational efficiencies than the prior generation. Evaluations of the effects of hierarchical (regional) variations in model coefficients and uncertainties on model accuracy indicates improved prediction accuracies (median of 10-50%) but primarily in humid eastern regions, where model uncertainties are one-third of those in arid western regions. Generally moderate regional variability is observed for most hierarchical coefficients. Accounting for measurement and structural uncertainties, using hierarchical state-space techniques, revealed the effects of spatially-heterogeneous, latent hydrological processes in the "localized" drainages between calibration sites; this improved model precision, with only minor changes in regional coefficients. Our study can inform advances in the use of hierarchical methods with hydrological models to improve their integration with stream

netherland hydrological modeling instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Hoogewoud, J. C.; de Lange, W. J.; Veldhuizen, A.; Prinsen, G.

2012-04-01

Netherlands Hydrological Modeling Instrument A decision support system for water basin management. J.C. Hoogewoud , W.J. de Lange ,A. Veldhuizen , G. Prinsen , The Netherlands Hydrological modeling Instrument (NHI) is the center point of a framework of models, to coherently model the hydrological system and the multitude of functions it supports. Dutch hydrological institutes Deltares, Alterra, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, RWS Waterdienst, STOWA and Vewin are cooperating in enhancing the NHI for adequate decision support. The instrument is used by three different ministries involved in national water policy matters, for instance the WFD, drought management, manure policy and climate change issues. The basis of the modeling instrument is a state-of-the-art on-line coupling of the groundwater system (MODFLOW), the unsaturated zone (metaSWAP) and the surface water system (MOZART-DM). It brings together hydro(geo)logical processes from the column to the basin scale, ranging from 250x250m plots to the river Rhine and includes salt water flow. The NHI is validated with an eight year run (1998-2006) with dry and wet periods. For this run different parts of the hydrology have been compared with measurements. For instance, water demands in dry periods (e.g. for irrigation), discharges at outlets, groundwater levels and evaporation. A validation alone is not enough to get support from stakeholders. Involvement from stakeholders in the modeling process is needed. There fore to gain sufficient support and trust in the instrument on different (policy) levels a couple of actions have been taken: 1. a transparent evaluation of modeling-results has been set up 2. an extensive program is running to cooperate with regional waterboards and suppliers of drinking water in improving the NHI 3. sharing (hydrological) data via newly setup Modeling Database for local and national models 4. Enhancing the NHI with "local" information. The NHI is and has been used for many

Landfilling: Hydrology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Peter; Beaven, R.

2011-01-01

Landfill hydrology deals with the presence and movement of water through a landfill. The main objective in landfill hydrology is usually to predict leachate generation, but the presence and movement of water in a landfill also affect the degradation of the waste, the leaching of pollutants...... and the geotechnical stability of the fill. Understanding landfill hydrology is thus important for many aspects of landfill, in particular siting, design and operation. The objective of this chapter is to give a basic understanding of the hydrology of landfills, and to present ways to estimate leachate quantities...... under specific circumstances. Initially a general water balance equation is defined for a typical landfill, and the different parts of the water balance are discussed. A separate section discusses water flow and the hydrogeology of landfilled wastes and considers the impact of water short...

Flood Risk and Flood hazard maps - Visualisation of hydrological risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spachinger, Karl; Dorner, Wolfgang; Metzka, Rudolf; Serrhini, Kamal; Fuchs, Sven

2008-01-01

Hydrological models are an important basis of flood forecasting and early warning systems. They provide significant data on hydrological risks. In combination with other modelling techniques, such as hydrodynamic models, they can be used to assess the extent and impact of hydrological events. The new European Flood Directive forces all member states to evaluate flood risk on a catchment scale, to compile maps of flood hazard and flood risk for prone areas, and to inform on a local level about these risks. Flood hazard and flood risk maps are important tools to communicate flood risk to different target groups. They provide compiled information to relevant public bodies such as water management authorities, municipalities, or civil protection agencies, but also to the broader public. For almost each section of a river basin, run-off and water levels can be defined based on the likelihood of annual recurrence, using a combination of hydrological and hydrodynamic models, supplemented by an analysis of historical records and mappings. In combination with data related to the vulnerability of a region risk maps can be derived. The project RISKCATCH addressed these issues of hydrological risk and vulnerability assessment focusing on the flood risk management process. Flood hazard maps and flood risk maps were compiled for Austrian and German test sites taking into account existing national and international guidelines. These maps were evaluated by eye-tracking using experimental graphic semiology. Sets of small-scale as well as large-scale risk maps were presented to test persons in order to (1) study reading behaviour as well as understanding and (2) deduce the most attractive components that are essential for target-oriented risk communication. A cognitive survey asking for negative and positive aspects and complexity of each single map complemented the experimental graphic semiology. The results indicate how risk maps can be improved to fit the needs of different user

Equifinality of formal (DREAM) and informal (GLUE) Bayesian approaches in hydrologic modeling?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrugt, J.A.; ter Braak, C.J.F.; Gupta, H.V.; Robinson, B.A.

2009-01-01

In recent years, a strong debate has emerged in the hydrologic literature regarding what constitutes an appropriate framework for uncertainty estimation. Particularly, there is strong disagreement whether an uncertainty framework should have its roots within a proper statistical (Bayesian) context,

Wetland Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

This chapter discusses the state of the science in wetland hydrology by touching upon the major hydraulic and hydrologic processes in these complex ecosystems, their measurement/estimation techniques, and modeling methods. It starts with the definition of wetlands, their benefit...

Directional connectivity in hydrology and ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Laurel G.; Choi, Jungyill; Nungesser, Martha K.; Harvey, Judson W.

2012-01-01

Quantifying hydrologic and ecological connectivity has contributed to understanding transport and dispersal processes and assessing ecosystem degradation or restoration potential. However, there has been little synthesis across disciplines. The growing field of ecohydrology and recent recognition that loss of hydrologic connectivity is leading to a global decline in biodiversity underscore the need for a unified connectivity concept. One outstanding need is a way to quantify directional connectivity that is consistent, robust to variations in sampling, and transferable across scales or environmental settings. Understanding connectivity in a particular direction (e.g., streamwise, along or across gradient, between sources and sinks, along cardinal directions) provides critical information for predicting contaminant transport, planning conservation corridor design, and understanding how landscapes or hydroscapes respond to directional forces like wind or water flow. Here we synthesize progress on quantifying connectivity and develop a new strategy for evaluating directional connectivity that benefits from use of graph theory in ecology and percolation theory in hydrology. The directional connectivity index (DCI) is a graph-theory based, multiscale metric that is generalizable to a range of different structural and functional connectivity applications. It exhibits minimal sensitivity to image rotation or resolution within a given range and responds intuitively to progressive, unidirectional change. Further, it is linearly related to the integral connectivity scale length—a metric common in hydrology that correlates well with actual fluxes—but is less computationally challenging and more readily comparable across different landscapes. Connectivity-orientation curves (i.e., directional connectivity computed over a range of headings) provide a quantitative, information-dense representation of environmental structure that can be used for comparison or detection of

Directional connectivity in hydrology and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Laurel G; Choi, Jungyill; Nungesser, Martha K; Harvey, Judson W

2012-12-01

Quantifying hydrologic and ecological connectivity has contributed to understanding transport and dispersal processes and assessing ecosystem degradation or restoration potential. However, there has been little synthesis across disciplines. The growing field of ecohydrology and recent recognition that loss of hydrologic connectivity is leading to a global decline in biodiversity underscore the need for a unified connectivity concept. One outstanding need is a way to quantify directional connectivity that is consistent, robust to variations in sampling, and transferable across scales or environmental settings. Understanding connectivity in a particular direction (e.g., streamwise, along or across gradient, between sources and sinks, along cardinal directions) provides critical information for predicting contaminant transport, planning conservation corridor design, and understanding how landscapes or hydroscapes respond to directional forces like wind or water flow. Here we synthesize progress on quantifying connectivity and develop a new strategy for evaluating directional connectivity that benefits from use of graph theory in ecology and percolation theory in hydrology. The directional connectivity index (DCI) is a graph-theory based, multiscale metric that is generalizable to a range of different structural and functional connectivity applications. It exhibits minimal sensitivity to image rotation or resolution within a given range and responds intuitively to progressive, unidirectional change. Further, it is linearly related to the integral connectivity scale length--a metric common in hydrology that correlates well with actual fluxes--but is less computationally challenging and more readily comparable across different landscapes. Connectivity-orientation curves (i.e., directional connectivity computed over a range of headings) provide a quantitative, information-dense representation of environmental structure that can be used for comparison or detection of

Multivariate missing data in hydrology - Review and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Aissia, Mohamed-Aymen; Chebana, Fateh; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.

2017-12-01

Water resources planning and management require complete data sets of a number of hydrological variables, such as flood peaks and volumes. However, hydrologists are often faced with the problem of missing data (MD) in hydrological databases. Several methods are used to deal with the imputation of MD. During the last decade, multivariate approaches have gained popularity in the field of hydrology, especially in hydrological frequency analysis (HFA). However, treating the MD remains neglected in the multivariate HFA literature whereas the focus has been mainly on the modeling component. For a complete analysis and in order to optimize the use of data, MD should also be treated in the multivariate setting prior to modeling and inference. Imputation of MD in the multivariate hydrological framework can have direct implications on the quality of the estimation. Indeed, the dependence between the series represents important additional information that can be included in the imputation process. The objective of the present paper is to highlight the importance of treating MD in multivariate hydrological frequency analysis by reviewing and applying multivariate imputation methods and by comparing univariate and multivariate imputation methods. An application is carried out for multiple flood attributes on three sites in order to evaluate the performance of the different methods based on the leave-one-out procedure. The results indicate that, the performance of imputation methods can be improved by adopting the multivariate setting, compared to mean substitution and interpolation methods, especially when using the copula-based approach.

Hydrologic Landscape Classification to Estimate Bristol Bay Watershed Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

The use of hydrologic landscapes has proven to be a useful tool for broad scale assessment and classification of landscapes across the United States. These classification systems help organize larger geographical areas into areas of similar hydrologic characteristics based on cl...

HyCAW: Hydrological Climate change Adaptation Wizard

Science.gov (United States)

Bagli, Stefano; Mazzoli, Paolo; Broccoli, Davide; Luzzi, Valerio

2016-04-01

Changes in temporal and total water availability due to hydrologic and climate change requires an efficient use of resources through the selection of the best adaptation options. HyCAW provides a novel service to users willing or needing to adapt to hydrological change, by turning available scientific information into a user friendly online wizard that lets to: • Evaluate the monthly reduction of water availability induced by climate change; • Select the best adaptation options and visualize the benefits in terms of water balance and cost reduction; • Quantify potential of water saving by improving of water use efficiency. The tool entails knowledge of the intra-annual distribution of available surface and groundwater flows at a site under present and future (climate change) scenarios. This information is extracted from long term scenario simulation by E-HYPE (European hydrological predictions for the environment) model from Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, to quantify the expected evolution in water availability (e.g. percent reduction of soil infiltration and aquifer recharge; relative seasonal shift of runoff from summer to winter in mountain areas; etc.). Users are requested to provide in input their actual water supply on a monthly basis, both from surface and groundwater sources. Appropriate decision trees and an embedded precompiled database of Water saving technology for different sectors (household, agriculture, industrial, tourisms) lead them to interactively identify good practices for water saving/recycling/harvesting that they may implement in their specific context. Thanks to this service, users are not required to have a detailed understanding neither of data nor of hydrological processes, but may benefit of scientific analysis directly for practical adaptation in a simple and user friendly way, effectively improving their adaptation capacity. The tool is being developed under a collaborative FP7 funded project called SWITCH

Regional Eco-hydrologic Sensitivity to Projected Amazonian Land Use Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Knox, R. G.; Longo, M.; Zhang, K.; Levine, N. M.; Moorcroft, P. R.; Bras, R. L.

2011-12-01

Given business as usual land-use practices, it is estimated that by 2050 roughly half of the Amazon's pre-anthropogenic closed-canopy forest stands would remain. Of this, eight of the Amazon's twelve major hydrologic basins would lose more than half of their forest cover to deforestation. With the availability of these land-use projections, we may start to question the associated response of the region's hydrologic climate to significant land-cover change. Here the Ecosystem-Demography Model 2 (EDM2, a dynamic and spatially distributed terrestrial model of plant structure and composition, succession, disturbance and thermodynamic transfer) is coupled with the Brazilian Regional Atmospheric Model (BRAMS, a three-dimensional limited area model of the atmospheric fluid momentum equations and physics parameterizations for closing the system of equations at the lower boundary, convection, radiative transfer, microphysics, etc). This experiment conducts decadal simulations, framed with high-reliability lateral boundary conditions of reanalysis atmospheric data (ERA-40 interim) and variable impact of land-use scenarios (SimAmazonia). This is done by initializing the regional ecosystem structure with both aggressive and conservationist deforestation scenarios, and also by differentially allowing and not-allowing dynamic vegetation processes. While the lateral boundaries of the simulation will not reflect the future climate in the region, reanalysis data has provided improved realism as compared to results derived from GCM boundary data. Therefore, the ecosystem response (forest composition and structure) and the time-space patterns of hydrologic information (soil moisture, rainfall, evapotranspiration) are objectively compared in the context of a sensitivity experiment, as opposed to a forecast. The following questions are addressed. How do aggressive and conservative scenarios of Amazonian deforestation effect the regional patterning of hydrologic information in the

Acting, predicting and intervening in a socio-hydrological world

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, S. N.

2014-03-01

This paper asks a simple question: if humans and their actions co-evolve with hydrological systems (Sivapalan et al., 2012), what is the role of hydrological scientists, who are also humans, within this system? To put it more directly, as traditionally there is a supposed separation of scientists and society, can we maintain this separation as socio-hydrologists studying a socio-hydrological world? This paper argues that we cannot, using four linked sections. The first section draws directly upon the concern of science-technology studies to make a case to the (socio-hydrological) community that we need to be sensitive to constructivist accounts of science in general and socio-hydrology in particular. I review three positions taken by such accounts and apply them to hydrological science, supported with specific examples: (a) the ways in which scientific activities frame socio-hydrological research, such that at least some of the knowledge that we obtain is constructed by precisely what we do; (b) the need to attend to how socio-hydrological knowledge is used in decision-making, as evidence suggests that hydrological knowledge does not flow simply from science into policy; and (c) the observation that those who do not normally label themselves as socio-hydrologists may actually have a profound knowledge of socio-hydrology. The second section provides an empirical basis for considering these three issues by detailing the history of the practice of roughness parameterisation, using parameters like Manning's n, in hydrological and hydraulic models for flood inundation mapping. This history sustains the third section that is a more general consideration of one type of socio-hydrological practice: predictive modelling. I show that as part of a socio-hydrological analysis, hydrological prediction needs to be thought through much more carefully: not only because hydrological prediction exists to help inform decisions that are made about water management; but also because

Informing groundwater models with near-surface geophysical data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herckenrath, Daan

Over the past decade geophysical methods have gained an increased popularity due to their ability to map hydrologic properties. Such data sets can provide valuable information to improve hydrologic models. Instead of using the measured geophysical and hydrologic data simultaneously in one inversion...... approach, many of the previous studies apply a Sequential Hydrogeophysical Inversion (SHI) in which inverted geophysical models provide information for hydrologic models. In order to fully exploit the information contained in geophysical datasets for hydrological purposes, a coupled hydrogeophysical...... inversion was introduced (CHI), in which a hydrologic model is part of the geophysical inversion. Current CHI-research has been focussing on the translation of simulated state variables of hydrologic models to geophysical model parameters. We refer to this methodology as CHI-S (State). In this thesis a new...

Flood Modelling of Banjir Kanal Barat (Integration of Hydrology Model and GIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Aris Marfai

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Hydrological modelling has an advantage on river flood study. Hydrological factors can be easily determined and calculated using hydrological model. HEC-RAS (Hydrological Engineering Centre-River Analysis System software is well known as hydrological modelling software for flood simulation and encroachment analysis of the floodplain area. For spatial performance and analysis of flood, the integration of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS and hydrological model is needed. The aims of this research are 1 to perform a flood encroachment using HEC-RAS software, and 2 to generate a flood hazard map. The methodology for this research omprise of 1 generating geometric data as a requirement of the data input on HEC-RAS hydrological model, 2 Hydrological data inputting, 3 generating of the flood encroachment analysis, and 4 transformation of flood encroachment into flood hazard map. The spatial pattern of the flood hazard is illustrated in a map. The result shows that hydrological model as integration with GIS can be used for flood hazard map generation. This method has advantages on the calculation of the hydrological factors of flood and spatial performance of the flood hazard map. For further analysis, the landuse map can be used on the overlay operation with the flood hazard map in order to obtain the impact of the flood on the landuse.

Uncertainty in hydrological signatures

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Hilary; Westerberg, Ida

2015-04-01

Information that summarises the hydrological behaviour or flow regime of a catchment is essential for comparing responses of different catchments to understand catchment organisation and similarity, and for many other modelling and water-management applications. Such information types derived as an index value from observed data are known as hydrological signatures, and can include descriptors of high flows (e.g. mean annual flood), low flows (e.g. mean annual low flow, recession shape), the flow variability, flow duration curve, and runoff ratio. Because the hydrological signatures are calculated from observed data such as rainfall and flow records, they are affected by uncertainty in those data. Subjective choices in the method used to calculate the signatures create a further source of uncertainty. Uncertainties in the signatures may affect our ability to compare different locations, to detect changes, or to compare future water resource management scenarios. The aim of this study was to contribute to the hydrological community's awareness and knowledge of data uncertainty in hydrological signatures, including typical sources, magnitude and methods for its assessment. We proposed a generally applicable method to calculate these uncertainties based on Monte Carlo sampling and demonstrated it for a variety of commonly used signatures. The study was made for two data rich catchments, the 50 km2 Mahurangi catchment in New Zealand and the 135 km2 Brue catchment in the UK. For rainfall data the uncertainty sources included point measurement uncertainty, the number of gauges used in calculation of the catchment spatial average, and uncertainties relating to lack of quality control. For flow data the uncertainty sources included uncertainties in stage/discharge measurement and in the approximation of the true stage-discharge relation by a rating curve. The resulting uncertainties were compared across the different signatures and catchments, to quantify uncertainty

The social network and the geo-hydrological information: the CNR IRPI Facebook page as example of communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiorucci, Federica; Bianchi, Cinzia; Marchesini, Ivan; Salvati, Paola; Fugnoli, Federico; Guzzetti, Fausto

2014-05-01

Good communication is a fundamental step for the spread of news and knowledge. The effectiveness and persuasiveness of a message is a function of the interaction of characteristics of the audience, the source of the message, and content of the message. Italian Research Institute for the Hydrogeological Protection (CNR-IRPI) has been publishing information on geo-hydrological events using the Internet (http://sici.irpi.cnr.it/, http://webmap.irpi.cnr.it/, http://geomorphology.irpi.cnr.it/, http://polaris.irpi.cnr.it/, http://giida.irpi.cnr.it/, http://events.irpi.cnr.it/ ). Our websites are mainly visited by experts and the information are used for technical purposes. The contents and the interface of the websites are designed for this type of users. Our intention is to increase the type of users, and we are testing the use of social network to catch the wide public's attention. Social networks have emerged as critical factor in information dissemination, search, marketing expertise and influence discovery, and are an important channel for people to share information. Social scientist have long recognized the importance of social networks in the spread of information. Facebook and Twitter are the most widely used social networking services. They make it simpler to communicate with multiple people at one time. Social media may also make it easier for users to monitor activities of people (friends or followers). An official Facebook page of the Italian Research Institute for the Hydrogeological Protection (CNR-IRPI, https://www.facebook.com/CNR.IRPI ), was created and linked to a Twitter account. The purpose of this page is to disseminate information on flood and landslide events and on our research activities, in order to raise awareness of geo-hydrological matters among users. This page publishes news on current or historical landslide and flood events involving the Italian territory, or news from around the world collected on the network. The news are published as

AMIGHO: Automated Metadata Ingest for GNSS Hydrology within OODT

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — GNSS sites installed by surveyors and geophysicists to measure land motions can also provide valuable and cost-efficient information about three critical hydrologic...

Scale effect challenges in urban hydrology highlighted with a distributed hydrological model

Science.gov (United States)

Ichiba, Abdellah; Gires, Auguste; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Schertzer, Daniel; Bompard, Philippe; Ten Veldhuis, Marie-Claire

2018-01-01

Hydrological models are extensively used in urban water management, development and evaluation of future scenarios and research activities. There is a growing interest in the development of fully distributed and grid-based models. However, some complex questions related to scale effects are not yet fully understood and still remain open issues in urban hydrology. In this paper we propose a two-step investigation framework to illustrate the extent of scale effects in urban hydrology. First, fractal tools are used to highlight the scale dependence observed within distributed data input into urban hydrological models. Then an intensive multi-scale modelling work is carried out to understand scale effects on hydrological model performance. Investigations are conducted using a fully distributed and physically based model, Multi-Hydro, developed at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. The model is implemented at 17 spatial resolutions ranging from 100 to 5 m. Results clearly exhibit scale effect challenges in urban hydrology modelling. The applicability of fractal concepts highlights the scale dependence observed within distributed data. Patterns of geophysical data change when the size of the observation pixel changes. The multi-scale modelling investigation confirms scale effects on hydrological model performance. Results are analysed over three ranges of scales identified in the fractal analysis and confirmed through modelling. This work also discusses some remaining issues in urban hydrology modelling related to the availability of high-quality data at high resolutions, and model numerical instabilities as well as the computation time requirements. The main findings of this paper enable a replacement of traditional methods of model calibration by innovative methods of model resolution alteration based on the spatial data variability and scaling of flows in urban hydrology.

Adaptable Web Modules to Stimulate Active Learning in Engineering Hydrology using Data and Model Simulations of Three Regional Hydrologic Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, E. H.; Tarboton, D. G.; Lall, U.; Bodin, M.; Rahill-Marier, B.; Chimmula, S.; Meselhe, E. A.; Ali, A.; Williams, D.; Ma, Y.

2013-12-01

The hydrologic community has long recognized the need for broad reform in hydrologic education. A paradigm shift is critically sought in undergraduate hydrology and water resource education by adopting context-rich, student-centered, and active learning strategies. Hydrologists currently deal with intricate issues rooted in complex natural ecosystems containing a multitude of interconnected processes. Advances in the multi-disciplinary field include observational settings such as Critical Zone and Water, Sustainability and Climate Observatories, Hydrologic Information Systems, instrumentation and modeling methods. These research advances theory and practices call for similar efforts and improvements in hydrologic education. The typical, text-book based approach in hydrologic education has focused on specific applications and/or unit processes associated with the hydrologic cycle with idealizations, rather than the contextual relations in the physical processes and the spatial and temporal dynamics connecting climate and ecosystems. An appreciation of the natural variability of these processes will lead to graduates with the ability to develop independent learning skills and understanding. This appreciation cannot be gained in curricula where field components such as observational and experimental data are deficient. These types of data are also critical when using simulation models to create environments that support this type of learning. Additional sources of observations in conjunction with models and field data are key to students understanding of the challenges associated with using models to represent such complex systems. Recent advances in scientific visualization and web-based technologies provide new opportunities for the development of active learning techniques utilizing ongoing research. The overall goal of the current study is to develop visual, case-based, data and simulation driven learning experiences to instructors and students through a web

Evaluating Hydrologic Response of an Agricultural Watershed for Watershed Analysis

OpenAIRE

Manoj Kumar Jha

2011-01-01

This paper describes the hydrological assessment of an agricultural watershed in the Midwestern United States through the use of a watershed scale hydrologic model. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was applied to the Maquoketa River watershed, located in northeast Iowa, draining an agriculture intensive area of about 5,000 km2. The inputs to the model were obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency’s geographic information/database system called Better Assessment Science...

Leveraging Open Software and Open Data to Transform Environmental Management

Science.gov (United States)

Chatelier, N.; Pollak, J.; Brazil, L.; Salinas, C. A. A.; Seul, M.; Valdivia, A. D. P.; Geraud, M.; Mueller, S.

2017-12-01

Pressures on water resources in regions dependent on farming and mining are to be expected but they take on a whole new meaning in the driest place on earth - the Atacama region of Chile. In 2016, the IBM Corporation sent an international team of consultants selected to participate in a philanthropic international development consulting project for the Atacama regional office of the Chilean ministry of the environment. As of the 1981 signing of the Ramsar agreement, Chile currently has 13 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). One of these sites, the Maricunga basin, at over 4000m AMSL in the High-Andean plateau suffered an ironic setback. The devastating floods of 2015 caused data monitoring program allocations to be re-directed to the recovery effort. This meant that critical sensor data could no longer be managed by the ministry staff. This presentation will discuss how environmental scientists transformed science and policy in Chile by partnering with the IBM Corporate Service Corps to implement an open source and open data technology, the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS), to make environmental observations widely available. This has led to a democratization of environmental analysis and raised visibility of the region's environmental issues both within the country of Chile as well as within the context of the international Ramsar Convention. Specific outcomes due to the success of this project include an openly available database of environmental observations in the Atacama Region, a new Ramsar office location in the Atacama region, and the possibility of the Chilean federal government adopting the CUAHSI HIS as a national standard to further propagate open and transparent data sharing.

Tritium and other environmental isotopes in the hydrological cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1967-04-01

It is common knowledge that water world resources are being increasingly strained to meet the requirements of the growth of population, industry and agriculture. Nuclear techniques are being applied to the problem of water shortage in two quite different ways: in nuclear desalination, and in hydrological investigations and development. The use of isotopes in hydrological investigation is, however, not very widely known. One of the principal obstacles to the application of the environmental isotopes by the hydrologist is that there is relatively little information on the techniques in the literature. This report attempts to improve that situation - principally for tritium - by assembling information on such matters as the precipitation of tritium, its input into the ground-water, and sampling techniques. Refs, figs and tabs.

Hydrological information system based on on-line monitoring--from strategy to implementation in the Brantas River Basin, East Java, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Marini, G W; Wellguni, H

2003-01-01

The worsening environmental situation of the Brantas River, East Java, is addressed by a comprehensive basin management strategy which relies on accurate water quantity and quality data retrieved from a newly installed online monitoring network. Integrated into a Hydrological Information System, the continuously measured indicative parameters allow early warning, control and polluter identification. Additionally, long-term analyses have been initiated for improving modelling applications like flood forecasting, water resource management and pollutant propagation. Preliminary results illustrate the efficiency of the installed system.

Science Academies' Refresher Course on Hydrology of Floods

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 22; Issue 10. Science Academies' Refresher Course on Hydrology of Floods. Information and Announcements Volume 22 Issue 10 October 2017 pp 978-978. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Refresher Course on Mountain Hydrology and Climate Change

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 21; Issue 1. Refresher Course on Mountain Hydrology and Climate Change. Information and Announcements Volume 21 Issue 1 January 2016 pp 106-107. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Integration of Local Hydrology into Regional Hydrologic Simulation Model

Science.gov (United States)

Van Zee, R. J.; Lal, W. A.

2002-05-01

South Florida hydrology is dominated by the Central and South Florida (C&SF) Project that is managed to provide flood protection, water supply and environmental protection. A complex network of levees canals and structures provide these services to the individual drainage basins. The landscape varies widely across the C&SF system, with corresponding differences in the way water is managed within each basin. Agricultural areas are managed for optimal crop production. Urban areas maximize flood protection while maintaining minimum water levels to protect adjacent wetlands and local water supplies. "Natural" areas flood and dry out in response to the temporal distribution of rainfall. The evaluation of planning, regulation and operational issues require access to a simulation model that captures the effects of both regional and local hydrology. The Regional Simulation Model (RSM) uses a "pseudo-cell" approach to integrate local hydrology within the context of a regional hydrologic system. A 2-dimensional triangulated mesh is used to represent the regional surface and ground water systems and a 1-dimensional canal network is superimposed onto this mesh. The movement of water is simulated using a finite volume formulation with a diffusive wave approximation. Each cell in the triangulated mesh has a "pseudo-cell" counterpart, which represents the same area as the cell, but it is conceptualized such that it simulates the localized hydrologic conditions Protocols have been established to provide an interface between a cell and its pseudo-cell counterpart. . A number of pseudo-cell types have already been developed and tested in the simulation of Water Conservation Area 1 and several have been proposed to deal with specific local issues in the Southwest Florida Feasibility Study. This presentation will provide an overview of the overall RSM design, describe the relationship between cells and pseudo-cells, and illustrate how pseudo-cells are be used to simulate agriculture

Measuring what we manage - the importance of hydrological data to water resources management

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, B.

2015-04-01

Water resources cannot be managed, unless we know where they are, in what quantity and quality, and how variable they are likely to be in the foreseeable future. Data from hydrological networks are used by public and private sectors for a variety of different applications. This paper discusses the value proposition behind the collection, analysis and use of hydrological data in support of these applications. The need for hydrological data and the requirements for the data are outlined, and information is provided on topics such as status of networks and data access and sharing. This paper outlines elements of the contribution by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to hydrological data collection and covers aspects related to quality management in the collection of hydrological data, especially regarding streamflow gauging, network design and capacity building for services delivery. It should be noted that the applications which make use of hydrological data may also be significantly impacted by climate change.

Integration of a Hydrological Model within a Geographical Information System: Application to a Forest Watershed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitris Fotakis

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Watershed simulation software used for operational purposes must possess both dependability of results and flexibility in parameter selection and testing. The UBC watershed model (UBCWM contains a wide spectrum of parameters expressing meteorological, geological, as well as ecological watershed characteristics. The hydrological model was coupled to the MapInfo GIS and the software created was named Watershed Mapper (WM. WM is endowed with several features permitting operational utilization. These include input data and basin geometry visualization, land use/cover and soil simulation, exporting of statistical results and thematic maps and interactive variation of disputed parameters. For the application of WM two hypothetical scenarios of forest fires were examined in a study watershed. Four major rainfall events were selected from 12-year daily precipitation data and the corresponding peak flows were estimated for the base line data and hypothetical scenarios. A significant increase was observed as an impact of forest fires on peak flows. Due to its flexibility the combined tool described herein may be utilized in modeling long-term hydrological changes in the context of unsteady hydrological analyses.

Regional frameworks applied to hydrology: can landscape-based frameworks capture the hydrologic variability?

Science.gov (United States)

R. McManamay; D. Orth; C. Dolloff; E. Frimpong

2011-01-01

Regional frameworks have been used extensively in recent years to aid in broad-scale management. Widely used landscape-based regional frameworks, such as hydrologic landscape regions (HLRs) and physiographic provinces, may provide predictive tools of hydrologic variability. However, hydrologic-based regional frameworks, created using only streamflow data, are also...

Hydrological Decision Support Framework (HDSF) – Initial design ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The HDSF will facilitate linking and running models within a common graphical user interface containing appropriate geographic information system and data analysis tools linked to a common database designed to store spatial and temporal data. Selected hydrological modelling framework applications and modelling ...

HydroViz: evaluation of a web-based tool for improving hydrology education

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, E.; Ma, Y.; Williams, D.; Sharif, H.; Hossain, F.

2012-02-01

HydroViz is a web-based, student-centered, highly visual educational tool designed to support active learning in the field of Engineering Hydrology. The development of HydroViz is informed by recent advances in hydrologic data, numerical simulations, visualization and web-based technologies. An evaluation study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of HydroViz, to examine the buy-in of the program, and to identify project components that need to be improved. A total of 182 students from seven freshmen and junior-/senior-level undergraduate classes in three universities participated in the study over the course of two semesters (spring 2010 and fall 2010). Data sources included homework assignments, online surveys, and informal interviews with students. Descriptive statistics were calculated for homework and the survey. Qualitative analysis of students' comments and informal interview notes were also conducted to identify ideas and patterns. HydroViz was effective in facilitating students' learning and understanding of hydrologic concepts and increasing related skills. Students had positive perceptions of various features of HydroViz and they believe that HydroViz fits well in the curriculum. The experience with HydroViz was somewhat effective in raising freshmen civil engineering students' interest in hydrology. In general, HydroViz tend to be more effective with students in junior- or senior-level classes than students in freshmen classes. There does not seem to be obvious differences between different universities. Students identified some issues that can be addressed to improve HydroViz. Future adaptation and expansion studies are under planning to scale-up the application and utility of HydroViz into various hydrology and water-resource engineering curriculum settings.

Towards Reproducibility in Computational Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Hutton, Christopher; Wagener, Thorsten; Freer, Jim; Han, Dawei; Duffy, Chris; Arheimer, Berit

2017-04-01

Reproducibility is a foundational principle in scientific research. The ability to independently re-run an experiment helps to verify the legitimacy of individual findings, and evolve (or reject) hypotheses and models of how environmental systems function, and move them from specific circumstances to more general theory. Yet in computational hydrology (and in environmental science more widely) the code and data that produces published results are not regularly made available, and even if they are made available, there remains a multitude of generally unreported choices that an individual scientist may have made that impact the study result. This situation strongly inhibits the ability of our community to reproduce and verify previous findings, as all the information and boundary conditions required to set up a computational experiment simply cannot be reported in an article's text alone. In Hutton et al 2016 [1], we argue that a cultural change is required in the computational hydrological community, in order to advance and make more robust the process of knowledge creation and hypothesis testing. We need to adopt common standards and infrastructures to: (1) make code readable and re-useable; (2) create well-documented workflows that combine re-useable code together with data to enable published scientific findings to be reproduced; (3) make code and workflows available, easy to find, and easy to interpret, using code and code metadata repositories. To create change we argue for improved graduate training in these areas. In this talk we reflect on our progress in achieving reproducible, open science in computational hydrology, which are relevant to the broader computational geoscience community. In particular, we draw on our experience in the Switch-On (EU funded) virtual water science laboratory (http://www.switch-on-vwsl.eu/participate/), which is an open platform for collaboration in hydrological experiments (e.g. [2]). While we use computational hydrology as

Hydrological analysis in R: Topmodel and beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Buytaert, W.; Reusser, D.

2011-12-01

R is quickly gaining popularity in the hydrological sciences community. The wide range of statistical and mathematical functionality makes it an excellent tool for data analysis, modelling and uncertainty analysis. Topmodel was one of the first hydrological models being implemented as an R package and distributed through R's own distribution network CRAN. This facilitated pre- and postprocessing of data such as parameter sampling, calculation of prediction bounds, and advanced visualisation. However, apart from these basic functionalities, the package did not use many of the more advanced features of the R environment, especially from R's object oriented functionality. With R's increasing expansion in arenas such as high performance computing, big data analysis, and cloud services, we revisit the topmodel package, and use it as an example of how to build and deploy the next generation of hydrological models. R provides a convenient environment and attractive features to build and couple hydrological - and in extension other environmental - models, to develop flexible and effective data assimilation strategies, and to take the model beyond the individual computer by linking into cloud services for both data provision and computing. However, in order to maximise the benefit of these approaches, it will be necessary to adopt standards and ontologies for model interaction and information exchange. Some of those are currently being developed, such as the OGC web processing standards, while other will need to be developed.

Avenues for crowd science in Hydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Julian; Stisen, Simon

2016-04-01

Crowd science describes research that is conducted with the participation of the general public (the crowd) and gives the opportunity to involve the crowd in research design, data collection and analysis. In various fields, scientists have already drawn on underused human resources to advance research at low cost, with high transparency and large acceptance of the public due to the bottom up structure and the participatory process. Within the hydrological sciences, crowd research has quite recently become more established in the form of crowd observatories to generate hydrological data on water quality, precipitation or river flow. These innovative observatories complement more traditional ways of monitoring hydrological data and strengthen a community-based environmental decision making. However, the full potential of crowd science lies in internet based participation of the crowd and it is not yet fully exploited in the field of Hydrology. New avenues that are not primarily based on the outsourcing of labor, but instead capitalize the full potential of human capabilities have to emerge. In multiple realms of solving complex problems, like image detection, optimization tasks, narrowing of possible solutions, humans still remain more effective than computer algorithms. The most successful online crowd science projects Foldit and Galaxy Zoo have proven that the collective of tens of thousands users could clearly outperform traditional computer based science approaches. Our study takes advantage of the well trained human perception to conduct a spatial sensitivity analysis of land-surface variables of a distributed hydrological model to identify the most sensitive spatial inputs. True spatial performance metrics, that quantitatively compare patterns, are not trivial to choose and their applicability is often not universal. On the other hand humans can quickly integrate spatial information at various scales and are therefore a trusted competence. We selected

Regional basalt hydrology of the Columbia Plateau in Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, H.; Barrett, G.; Wildrick, L.

1979-10-01

This study is part of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, operated for the US Department of Energy by Rockwell Hanford Operations. The overall purpose of the study is to assess locations within the Columbia River Basalt Group beneath the Hanford Site in south-central Washington suitable for a geologic repository for radioactive waste. This hydrologic study was made to describe the hydrologic characteristics of the basalt units of the Columbia Plateau. This was done by comprehensive data compilation, data interpretation and analysis. Data are presented in the form of maps and tables suitable as input information about the regional hydrology for possible future analysis by computer models. The report includes: an introduction; basic data; interpretation which covers stratigraphic trend surface, water levels, transmissivity and storage of aquifers, recharge, discharge, flow, subbasins, cross sections, references and appendix of record of wells

Streamflow estimation in ungauged basins using remote sensed hydrological data

Science.gov (United States)

Vasquez, Nicolas; Vargas, Ximena

2017-04-01

In several parts of the world the scarcity of streamflow gauging stations produces an important deficit of information, and calibrating these basins remains a challenge for hydrologists. Improvements in remote sensing have provided significant information about hydrological cycle, which can be used to calibrate a hydrological model when streamflow information is not available. Several satellite products related to snow, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, among other variables provide essential information about hydrological processes, and can be used to calibrate physically based hydrological models. Despite this useful information, other aspects are unknown like aquifers dimensions or precipitation heterogeneity. We calibrated three snow driven basins in the Coquimbo Region in Northern Chile, using fSCA from MODIS (MOD10 and MYD10) and NDSI from Landsat. We also considered the MOD16 product to estimate evapotranspiration. Soil Moisture from AMSR-E was considered but it was not useful due to the spatial resolution of the product and the high heterogeneity of the terrain. The Cold Regional Hydrological Modal (CHRM) was selected to represent the hydrological processes due to the importance of snow processes which are, by far, the most important in this area, where precipitation falls as snow principally in winter (June to August) and the melting period begins in spring (September) and ends in the beginning of summer (December and January). The inputs used in the model are precipitation, temperature, short wave radiation, wind speed and relative humidity. The meteorological information was obtained from stations available in the area, and distributed spatially using orographic gradients for wind and precipitation and lapse rates for air temperature and dew point temperature. Short wave radiation was computed and corrected by cloud cover data from MODIS. Streamflow data was available but it was not used in the calibration process. The three basins are Cochiguaz river

Continuous hydrological modelling in the context of real time flood forecasting in alpine Danube tributary catchments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanzel, Ph; Kahl, B; Haberl, U; Herrnegger, M; Nachtnebel, H P

2008-01-01

A hydrological modelling framework applied within operational flood forecasting systems in three alpine Danube tributary basins, Traisen, Salzach and Enns, is presented. A continuous, semi-distributed rainfall-runoff model, accounting for the main hydrological processes of snow accumulation and melt, interception, evapotranspiration, infiltration, runoff generation and routing is set up. Spatial discretization relies on the division of watersheds into subbasins and subsequently into hydrologic response units based on spatial information on soil types, land cover and elevation bands. The hydrological models are calibrated with meteorological ground measurements and with meteorological analyses incorporating radar information. Operationally, each forecasting sequence starts with the re-calculation of the last 24 to 48 hours. Errors between simulated and observed runoff are minimized by optimizing a correction factor for the input to provide improved system states. For the hydrological forecast quantitative 48 or 72 hour forecast grids of temperature and precipitation - deterministic and probabilistic - are used as input. The forecasted hydrograph is corrected with an autoregressive model. The forecasting sequences are repeated each 15 minutes. First evaluations of resulting hydrological forecasts are presented and reliability of forecasts with different lead times is discussed.

Evaluating the hydrological consistency of satellite based water cycle components

KAUST Repository

Lopez Valencia, Oliver Miguel

2016-06-15

Advances in multi-satellite based observations of the earth system have provided the capacity to retrieve information across a wide-range of land surface hydrological components and provided an opportunity to characterize terrestrial processes from a completely new perspective. Given the spatial advantage that space-based observations offer, several regional-to-global scale products have been developed, offering insights into the multi-scale behaviour and variability of hydrological states and fluxes. However, one of the key challenges in the use of satellite-based products is characterizing the degree to which they provide realistic and representative estimates of the underlying retrieval: that is, how accurate are the hydrological components derived from satellite observations? The challenge is intrinsically linked to issues of scale, since the availability of high-quality in-situ data is limited, and even where it does exist, is generally not commensurate to the resolution of the satellite observation. Basin-scale studies have shown considerable variability in achieving water budget closure with any degree of accuracy using satellite estimates of the water cycle. In order to assess the suitability of this type of approach for evaluating hydrological observations, it makes sense to first test it over environments with restricted hydrological inputs, before applying it to more hydrological complex basins. Here we explore the concept of hydrological consistency, i.e. the physical considerations that the water budget impose on the hydrologic fluxes and states to be temporally and spatially linked, to evaluate the reproduction of a set of large-scale evaporation (E) products by using a combination of satellite rainfall (P) and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) observations of storage change, focusing on arid and semi-arid environments, where the hydrological flows can be more realistically described. Our results indicate no persistent hydrological

Using videos, apps and hands-on experience in undergraduate hydrology teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Van Loon, Anne

2016-04-01

Hydrological sciences teaching always needs to make a link between the classroom and the outside world. This can be done with fieldwork and excursions, but the increasing availability of open educational resources gives more-and-more other options to make theory more understandable and applicable. In the undergraduate teaching of hydrology at the University of Birmingham we make use of a number of tools to enhance the hydrology 'experience' of students. Firstly, we add hydrological science videos available in the public domain to our explanations of theory. These are both visualisations of concepts and recorded demonstrations in the field or the lab. One example is the concept of catchments and travel times which has been excellently visualised by MetEd. Secondly, we use a number of mobile phone apps, which provide virtual reality information and real-time monitoring information. We use the MySoil App (by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), British Geological Survey (BGS) and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH)) and iGeology / iGeology3D (by BGS) to let students explore soil properties and hydrogeology of an area of interest. And we use the River Levels App (by OGL based on Environment Agency real time data) for exploring real time river levels and investigating spatial variability. Finally, we developed small hands-on projects for students to apply the theory outside the classroom. We for instance let them do simple infiltration experiments and ask them to them design a measurement plan. Evaluations have shown that students enjoy these activities and that it helps their learning. In this presentation we hope to share our experience so that the options for using open (educational) resources for hydrology teaching become more used in linking the classroom to the outside world.

Darwinian hydrology: can the methodology Charles Darwin pioneered help hydrologic science?

Science.gov (United States)

Harman, C.; Troch, P. A.

2013-05-01

There have been repeated calls for a Darwinian approach to hydrologic science or for a synthesis of Darwinian and Newtonian approaches, to deepen understanding the hydrologic system in the larger landscape context, and so develop a better basis for predictions now and in an uncertain future. But what exactly makes a Darwinian approach to hydrology "Darwinian"? While there have now been a number of discussions of Darwinian approaches, many referencing Harte (2002), the term is potentially a source of confusion while its connections to Darwin remain allusive rather than explicit. Here we discuss the methods that Charles Darwin pioneered to understand a variety of complex systems in terms of their historical processes of change. We suggest that the Darwinian approach to hydrology follows his lead by focusing attention on the patterns of variation in populations, seeking hypotheses that explain these patterns in terms of the mechanisms and conditions that determine their historical development, using deduction and modeling to derive consequent hypotheses that follow from a proposed explanation, and critically testing these hypotheses against new observations. It is not sufficient to catalogue the patterns or predict them statistically. Nor is it sufficient for the explanations to amount to a "just-so" story not subject to critical analysis. Darwin's theories linked present-day variation to mechanisms that operated over history, and could be independently test and falsified by comparing new observations to the predictions of corollary hypotheses they generated. With a Darwinian framework in mind it is easy to see that a great deal of hydrologic research has already been done that contributes to a Darwinian hydrology - whether deliberately or not. The various heuristic methods that Darwin used to develop explanatory theories - extrapolating mechanisms, space for time substitution, and looking for signatures of history - have direct application in hydrologic science. Some

Hydrological peculiarities of high mountain basins: the case of the Spanish Pyrenees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrer Castillo, Cesar; Alonso-Muiioyerro, Justo Mora; Parra, Miguel Arenillas; Campos, Guillermo Cobos

2004-01-01

The exploitation of a reservoir is determined by the availability of information within which the information provided by hydrological information systems must be included. This should be complemented, especially in flood circumstances, by meteorological forecasts and the results obtained by from hydrological and hydraulic simulation and forecasting models. In mountain basins with marked influence of snow, specific hydrological modelling is necessary, permitting simulation of the phenomenon of snow runoff. In particular, the hydrology of the basin of the River Ebro (Spain) is clearly influenced by this phenomenon. This basin is affected by flood situations caused by rapid melt of the snow accumulated on its Pyrenean slopes. This has brought about the need for a specific study to be undertaken in order to facilitate greater understanding and control. Additionally, the volume of accumulated snow in the catchment areas determines the management and everyday exploitation of the reservoirs for the achievement of maximum yield from water resources. This interest in the understanding of snow phenomena has given rise to numerous studies in the Pyrenean area: field study campaigns to carry out point measurements of thickness and density, hydrological-statistical modelling for the forecasting of melts and course flows and the development and application of hydrological simulation models. In the Pyrenean slopes basin the ASTER model has been applied to the reservoir of Yesa during a period of more than five years, achieving quite satisfactory results with regard to watercourse flow forecasting and the volume of water stored in the form of snow. This has enabled appropriate management of the reservoir during flood circumstances - minimising possible damage as well as under everyday conditions. The results obtained from this period have led to the generalisation of the ASTER model to apply to all sources of the Pyrenean tributaries of the Ebro with clear snow influence and

Hydrological responses to channelization and the formation of valley plugs and shoals

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Aaron R.; King, Sammy L.

2017-01-01

Rehabilitation of floodplain systems focuses on restoring interactions between the fluvial system and floodplain, however, there is a paucity of information on the effects of valley plugs and shoals on floodplain hydrological processes. We investigated hydrologic regimes in floodplains at three valley plug sites, two shoal sites, and three unchannelized sites. Valley plug sites had altered surface and sub-surface hydrology relative to unchannelized sites, while only sub-surface hydrology was affected at shoal sites. Some of the changes were unexpected, such as reduced flood duration and flood depth in floodplains associated with valley plugs. Our results emphasize the variability associated with hydrologic processes around valley plugs and our rudimentary understanding of the effects associated with these geomorphic features. Water table levels were lower at valley plug sites compared to unchannelized sites, however, valley plug sites had a greater proportion of days when water table inundation was above mean root collar depth than both shoal and unchannelized sites as a result of lower root collar depths and higher deposition rates. This study has provided evidence that valley plugs can affect both surface and sub-surface hydrology in different ways than previously thought and illustrates the variability in hydrological responses to valley plug formation.

Diagnosing the impact of alternative calibration strategies on coupled hydrologic models

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, T. J.; Perera, C.; Corrigan, C.

2017-12-01

Hydrologic models represent a significant tool for understanding, predicting, and responding to the impacts of water on society and society on water resources and, as such, are used extensively in water resources planning and management. Given this important role, the validity and fidelity of hydrologic models is imperative. While extensive focus has been paid to improving hydrologic models through better process representation, better parameter estimation, and better uncertainty quantification, significant challenges remain. In this study, we explore a number of competing model calibration scenarios for simple, coupled snowmelt-runoff models to better understand the sensitivity / variability of parameterizations and its impact on model performance, robustness, fidelity, and transferability. Our analysis highlights the sensitivity of coupled snowmelt-runoff model parameterizations to alterations in calibration approach, underscores the concept of information content in hydrologic modeling, and provides insight into potential strategies for improving model robustness / fidelity.

Arid Zone Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Arid zone hydrology encompasses a wide range of topics and hydro-meteorological and ecological characteristics. Although arid and semi-arid watersheds perform the same functions as those in humid environments, their hydrology and sediment transport characteristics cannot be readily predicted by inf...

Hydrological considerations in providing data for water agreements

Science.gov (United States)

Shamir, U.

2011-12-01

Conflicts over water are as old as human history. Still, analysis of past and present water conflicts, cooperation and agreements clearly indicate a preponderance of cooperation over conflict. How can hydrologists contribute to maximizing the probability that this will be the outcome when interests of adjacent political entities over water move towards conflict? Hydrology is among the most important data bases for crafting a water agreement across a political boundary (others include: political, social, and economic) and are often the most elusive and controversial. We deal here with cases of water scarcity, although flood protection issues are no less interesting and challenging. For hydrologists, some of the important points in this regard are: - Agreed and "stable" hydrological data base: hydrologists know that data bases are always a "moving target" that keeps changing with new and better information, improved understanding of the hydrological components and the use of models, as well as due to the influence of changing internal and external drivers (land use and land cover, modified precipitation fields, climate change). On the other hand, it is not possible to manage an agreement that requires continuous change of the hydrological information. To do so would cause endless discussions between the parties, causing the agreement to become unstable. The tendency is therefore to "freeze" the hydrological information in the agreement and introduce a mechanism for periodic update. - Variability and uncertainty: while the basic hydrology is to be kept "stable", the agreement must recognize variability and uncertainty. Various mechanisms can be used for this, depending on the specific circumstances of the case, including: the range of variability and the degree of uncertainty and the consequences of excursions systematic from nominal values and the effects of random variability. - Water quality is an important parameter that determines usability for various purposes

Statistical analysis of hydrologic data for Yucca Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rutherford, B.M.; Hall, I.J.; Peters, R.R.; Easterling, R.G.; Klavetter, E.A.

1992-02-01

The geologic formations in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain are currently being studied as the host rock for a potential radioactive waste repository. Data from several drill holes have been collected to provide the preliminary information needed for planning site characterization for the Yucca Mountain Project. Hydrologic properties have been measured on the core samples and the variables analyzed here are thought to be important in the determination of groundwater travel times. This report presents a statistical analysis of four hydrologic variables: saturated-matrix hydraulic conductivity, maximum moisture content, suction head, and calculated groundwater travel time. It is important to modelers to have as much information about the distribution of values of these variables as can be obtained from the data. The approach taken in this investigation is to (1) identify regions at the Yucca Mountain site that, according to the data, are distinctly different; (2) estimate the means and variances within these regions; (3) examine the relationships among the variables; and (4) investigate alternative statistical methods that might be applicable when more data become available. The five different functional stratigraphic units at three different locations are compared and grouped into relatively homogeneous regions. Within these regions, the expected values and variances associated with core samples of different sizes are estimated. The results provide a rough estimate of the distribution of hydrologic variables for small core sections within each region

Scaling Hydrologic Processes in Boreal Forest Stands: New Eco-hydrological Perspectives or Deja vu?

Science.gov (United States)

Silins, U.; Lieffers, V. J.; Landhausser, S. M.; Mendoza, C. A.; Devito, K. J.; Petrone, R. M.; Gan, T. Y.

2006-12-01

The leaf area of forest canopies is both main attribute of stands controlling water balance through transpiration and interception, and "engine" driving stand growth, stand dynamics, and forest succession. While transpiration and interception dynamics are classic themes in forest hydrology, we present results from our eco-hydrological research on boreal trees to highlight how more recent eco-physiological insights into species specific controls over water use and leaf area such as hydraulic architecture, cavitation, sapwood-leaf area relationships, and root system controls over water uptake are providing new insights into integrated atmospheric-autecological controls over these hydrologic processes. These results are discussed in the context of newer eco-hydrological frameworks which may serve to aid in exploring how forest disturbance and subsequent trajectories of hydrologic recovery are likely to affect both forest growth dynamics and hydrology of forested landscapes in response to forest management, severe forest pest epidemics such as the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in Western Canada, and climate change.

Identifying dominant controls on hydrologic parameter transfer from gauged to ungauged catchments: a comparative hydrology approach

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, R.; Archfield, S.A.; Wagener, T.

2014-01-01

Daily streamflow information is critical for solving various hydrologic problems, though observations of continuous streamflow for model calibration are available at only a small fraction of the world’s rivers. One approach to estimate daily streamflow at an ungauged location is to transfer rainfall–runoff model parameters calibrated at a gauged (donor) catchment to an ungauged (receiver) catchment of interest. Central to this approach is the selection of a hydrologically similar donor. No single metric or set of metrics of hydrologic similarity have been demonstrated to consistently select a suitable donor catchment. We design an experiment to diagnose the dominant controls on successful hydrologic model parameter transfer. We calibrate a lumped rainfall–runoff model to 83 stream gauges across the United States. All locations are USGS reference gauges with minimal human influence. Parameter sets from the calibrated models are then transferred to each of the other catchments and the performance of the transferred parameters is assessed. This transfer experiment is carried out both at the scale of the entire US and then for six geographic regions. We use classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to determine the relationship between catchment similarity and performance of transferred parameters. Similarity is defined using physical/climatic catchment characteristics, as well as streamflow response characteristics (signatures such as baseflow index and runoff ratio). Across the entire US, successful parameter transfer is governed by similarity in elevation and climate, and high similarity in streamflow signatures. Controls vary for different geographic regions though. Geology followed by drainage, topography and climate constitute the dominant similarity metrics in forested eastern mountains and plateaus, whereas agricultural land use relates most strongly with successful parameter transfer in the humid plains.

Measuring what we manage – the importance of hydrological data to water resources management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Stewart

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Water resources cannot be managed, unless we know where they are, in what quantity and quality, and how variable they are likely to be in the foreseeable future. Data from hydrological networks are used by public and private sectors for a variety of different applications. This paper discusses the value proposition behind the collection, analysis and use of hydrological data in support of these applications. The need for hydrological data and the requirements for the data are outlined, and information is provided on topics such as status of networks and data access and sharing. This paper outlines elements of the contribution by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO to hydrological data collection and covers aspects related to quality management in the collection of hydrological data, especially regarding streamflow gauging, network design and capacity building for services delivery. It should be noted that the applications which make use of hydrological data may also be significantly impacted by climate change.

Isotope hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drost, W.

1978-01-01

The International Symposium on Isotope Hydrology was jointly organized by the IAEA and UNESCO, in co-operation with the National Committee of the Federal Republic of Germany for the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the Gesellschaft fuer Strahlen- und Umweltforschung mbH (GSF). Upon the invitation of the Federal Republic of Germany the Symposium was held from 19-23 June 1978 in Neuherberg on the GSF campus. The Symposium was officially opened by Mr. S. Eklund, Director General of the IAEA. The symposium - the fifth meeting held on isotope hydrology - was attended by over 160 participants from 44 countries and four international organizations and by about 30 observers from the Federal Republic of Germany. Due to the absence of scientists from the USSR five papers were cancelled and therefore only 46 papers of the original programme were presented in ten sessions

Initial hydrological modelling to assess impacts of different land uses on process hydrology in a small-scale semi-arid catchment in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Steudel, T

2010-06-01

Full Text Available in those areas. GIS DATA ? highly precise GPS field measurements and contour line information for digital elevation model (DEM) generation and watershed derivation ? different raster layers (spatial resolution = 7.6 m) containing plot specific...2000 is capable of representing the hydrological conditions within such a small- scale catchment (Fig. 5, Fig 6) OUTLOOK ? J2000 can be used for a detailed analysis of the individual hydrological components affected by land use change ? further...

Evaluation of Hydrologic Simulations Developed Using Multi-Model Synthesis and Remotely-Sensed Data within a Portfolio of Calibration Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Lafontaine, J.; Hay, L.; Markstrom, S. L.

2016-12-01

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a National Hydrologic Model (NHM) to support coordinated, comprehensive and consistent hydrologic model development, and facilitate the application of hydrologic simulations within the conterminous United States (CONUS). As many stream reaches in the CONUS are either not gaged, or are substantially impacted by water use or flow regulation, ancillary information must be used to determine reasonable parameter estimations for streamflow simulations. Hydrologic models for 1,576 gaged watersheds across the CONUS were developed to test the feasibility of improving streamflow simulations linking physically-based hydrologic models with remotely-sensed data products (i.e. snow water equivalent). Initially, the physically-based models were calibrated to measured streamflow data to provide a baseline for comparison across multiple calibration strategy tests. In addition, not all ancillary datasets are appropriate for application to all parts of the CONUS (e.g. snow water equivalent in the southeastern U.S., where snow is a rarity). As it is not expected that any one data product or model simulation will be sufficient for representing hydrologic behavior across the entire CONUS, a systematic evaluation of which data products improve hydrologic simulations for various regions across the CONUS was performed. The resulting portfolio of calibration strategies can be used to guide selection of an appropriate combination of modeled and measured information for hydrologic model development and calibration. In addition, these calibration strategies have been developed to be flexible so that new data products can be assimilated. This analysis provides a foundation to understand how well models work when sufficient streamflow data are not available and could be used to further inform hydrologic model parameter development for ungaged areas.

Storm water infiltration in a monitored green roof for hydrologic restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Palla, A; Sansalone, J J; Gnecco, I; Lanza, L G

2011-01-01

The objectives of this study are to provide detailed information about green roof performance in the Mediterranean climate (retained volume, peak flow reduction, runoff delay) and to identify a suitable modelling approach for describing the associated hydrologic response. Data collected during a 13-month monitoring campaign and a seasonal monitoring campaign (September-December 2008) at the green roof experimental site of the University of Genova (Italy) are presented together with results obtained in quantifying the green roof hydrologic performance. In order to examine the green roof hydrologic response, the SWMS_2D model, that solves the Richards' equation for two-dimensional saturated-unsaturated water flow, has been implemented. Modelling results confirm the suitability of the SWMS_2D model to properly describe the hydrologic response of the green roofs. The model adequately reproduces the hydrographs; furthermore, the predicted soil water content profile generally matches the observed values along a vertical profile where measurements are available.

Hands-On Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Mathews, Catherine E.; Monroe, Louise Nelson

2004-01-01

A professional school and university collaboration enables elementary students and their teachers to explore hydrology concepts and realize the beneficial functions of wetlands. Hands-on experiences involve young students in determining water quality at field sites after laying the groundwork with activities related to the hydrologic cycle,…

A Comprehensive Hydrologic Projections Resource to support Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments in the Western U.S

Science.gov (United States)

Brekke, L. D.; Pruitt, T.; Gangopadhyay, S.; Raff, D. A.

2010-12-01

The SECURE Water Act § 9503(b)(2) authorizes the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation to assess climate change risks for water and environmental resources in eight "major Reclamation river basins" in the Western United States (i.e. Colorado, Columbia, Klamath, Missouri, Rio Grande, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Truckee basins). The legislation calls for Reclamation to provide periodic reports on implications for water supplies, water deliveries, hydropower generation, fish and wildlife, water quality, flood control, ecological resiliency, and recreation. Reclamation's is developing a framework for consistently characterizing risks in Western U.S. river basins through the West-Wide Climate Risk Assessments, part of the Basin Study Program. One initial activity within this framework is focused on characterizing hydrologic and water supply implications of climate change. The centerpiece of this activity is the development of a west-wide ensemble of hydrologic projections, tiering from information in the online archive "Bias Corrected and Downscaled WCRP CMIP3 Climate Projections" (http://gdo-dcp.ucllnl.org/downscaled_cmip3_projections/dcpInterface.html) and utilizing a network of hydrologic model applications featured in the University of Washington and Princeton University's "Experimental National Hydrologic Prediction System" (http://www.hydro.washington.edu/forecast/westwide/index.shtml). The resulting hydrologic information has the same space and time attributes as the underlying downscaled climate information: 112 projections of monthly downscaled CMIP3 conditions from 1950-2099 at 1/8° resolution over the Western U.S. (nested within the underlying archive’s contiguous U.S. domain). Such attributes permit a time evolving risk-based portrayal of hydrologic conditions, which is useful for climate change adaptation discussions where the timing of impacts matters in relation the initiation and investment of adaptation or mitigation measures

Palaeoflood hydrology in Europe: towards a better understanding of extreme floods

Science.gov (United States)

Benito, G.; Thorndycraft, V. R.; Rico, M.; Sheffer, N.; Enzel, Y.

2003-04-01

Floods are the most common natural disasters in Europe and, in terms of economic damage, costs are increasing spectacularly with time. Flood risk assessment associated with extreme floods is difficult due to the scarcity of hydrological measurements, that rarely go beyond 1000 years, which is clearly not sufficient for flood management in urban and industrial areas. Besides the use of conventional hydrologic data, the pre-instrumental record can be completed from palaeoflood hydrology or from documentary flood information, or through the combined use of both these tools. Recent developments of palaeoflood hydrology in Europe provide (1) major improvements in flood risk assessment, and (2) a better understanding of long-term flood-climate relationships. Palaeoflood hydrology has been successfully applied in large, medium rivers as well as small ungauged mountain drainage basins. Long-term palaeoflood records from Spain and France show that recent extraordinary flooding (causing huge economic damages) are not the largest ones, but that similar or even greater floods occurred several times in the past. In addition, clusters of floods coinciding in time at several European rivers point out to climatic factors as responsible mechanisms, although in recent time flood magnitude can be magnified by increasing human activity.

Water Conservation and Hydrological Transitions in Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Hornberger, G. M.; Gilligan, J. M.; Hess, D. J.

2014-12-01

A 2012 report by the National Research Council, Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences, called for the development of "translational hydrologic science." Translational research in this context requires knowledge about the communication of science to decision makers and to the public but also improved understanding of the public by the scientists. This kind of knowledge is inherently interdisciplinary because it requires understanding of the complex sociotechnical dimensions of water, policy, and user relations. It is axiomatic that good governance of water resources and water infrastructure requires information about water resources themselves and about the institutions that govern water use. This "socio-hydrologic" or "hydrosociological" knowledge is often characterized by complex dynamics between and among human and natural systems. Water Resources Research has provided a forum for presentation of interdisciplinary research in coupled natural-human systems since its inception 50 years ago. The evolution of ideas presented in the journal provides a basis for framing new work, an example of which is water conservation in cities. In particular, we explore the complex interactions of political, sociodemographic, economic, and hydroclimatological factors in affecting decisions that either advance or retard the development of water conservation policies.

PATHS groundwater hydrologic model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nelson, R.W.; Schur, J.A.

1980-04-01

A preliminary evaluation capability for two-dimensional groundwater pollution problems was developed as part of the Transport Modeling Task for the Waste Isolation Safety Assessment Program (WISAP). Our approach was to use the data limitations as a guide in setting the level of modeling detail. PATHS Groundwater Hydrologic Model is the first level (simplest) idealized hybrid analytical/numerical model for two-dimensional, saturated groundwater flow and single component transport; homogeneous geology. This document consists of the description of the PATHS groundwater hydrologic model. The preliminary evaluation capability prepared for WISAP, including the enhancements that were made because of the authors' experience using the earlier capability is described. Appendixes A through D supplement the report as follows: complete derivations of the background equations are provided in Appendix A. Appendix B is a comprehensive set of instructions for users of PATHS. It is written for users who have little or no experience with computers. Appendix C is for the programmer. It contains information on how input parameters are passed between programs in the system. It also contains program listings and test case listing. Appendix D is a definition of terms.

HESS Opinions "The art of hydrology"

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Savenije, H.H.G.

2008-01-01

Hydrological modelling is the same as developing and encoding a hydrological theory. A hydrological model is not a tool but a hypothesis. The whole discussion about the inadequacy of hydrological models we have witnessed of late, is related to the wrong concept of what a model is. Good models don't

Geospatial technology applications in forest hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

S.S. Panda; E. Masson; S. Sen; H.W. Kim; Devendra Amatya

2016-01-01

Two separate disciplines, hydrology and forestry, together constitute forest hydrology. It is obvious that forestry and forest hydrology disciplines are spatial entities. Forestry is the science that seeks to understand the nature of forests throygh their life cycle and interactions with the surrounding environment. Forest hydrology includes forest soil water, streams...

Resource manager information needs regarding hydrologic regime shifts for the North Pacific Landscape Conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Woodward, Andrea; Jenni, Karen

2014-01-01

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) are a network of 22 public-private partnerships, defined by ecoregion, that share and provide science to ensure the sustainability of land, water, wildlife, and cultural resources in North America. LCCs were established by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in recognition of the fact that response to climate change must be coordinated on a landscape-level basis because important resources, ecosystem processes, and resource management challenges extend beyond most of the boundaries considered in current natural resource management. The North Pacific LCC (NPLCC) covers the range of the Pacific coastal temperate rainforest, including an area of 528,360 km2 spanning 22 degrees of latitude from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, to Bodega Bay, California. The coverage area includes parts of four States, two Canadian provinces, and more than 100 Tribes and First Nation language groups. It extends from alpine areas at the crest of coastal mountains across subalpine, montane, and lowland forests to the nearshore marine environment. This wide range of latitudes and elevation zones; terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats; and complex jurisdictional boundaries hosts a diversity of natural resources and their corresponding management issues are equally diverse. As evidenced by the Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (S-TEK) Strategy guiding principles, identifying and responding to the needs of resource managers is key to the success of the NPLCC. To help achieve this goal of the NPLCC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has organized several workshops with resource managers and resource scientists to identify management information needs relevant to the priority topics identified in the S-TEK Strategy. Here, we detail the results from a first workshop to address the effects of changes in hydrologic regime on rivers, streams, and riparian corridors. The workshop focused on a subset of the full NPLCC geography and was

Hydrologic-Process-Based Soil Texture Classifications for Improved Visualization of Landscape Function

Science.gov (United States)

Groenendyk, Derek G.; Ferré, Ty P.A.; Thorp, Kelly R.; Rice, Amy K.

2015-01-01

Soils lie at the interface between the atmosphere and the subsurface and are a key component that control ecosystem services, food production, and many other processes at the Earth’s surface. There is a long-established convention for identifying and mapping soils by texture. These readily available, georeferenced soil maps and databases are used widely in environmental sciences. Here, we show that these traditional soil classifications can be inappropriate, contributing to bias and uncertainty in applications from slope stability to water resource management. We suggest a new approach to soil classification, with a detailed example from the science of hydrology. Hydrologic simulations based on common meteorological conditions were performed using HYDRUS-1D, spanning textures identified by the United States Department of Agriculture soil texture triangle. We consider these common conditions to be: drainage from saturation, infiltration onto a drained soil, and combined infiltration and drainage events. Using a k-means clustering algorithm, we created soil classifications based on the modeled hydrologic responses of these soils. The hydrologic-process-based classifications were compared to those based on soil texture and a single hydraulic property, Ks. Differences in classifications based on hydrologic response versus soil texture demonstrate that traditional soil texture classification is a poor predictor of hydrologic response. We then developed a QGIS plugin to construct soil maps combining a classification with georeferenced soil data from the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The spatial patterns of hydrologic response were more immediately informative, much simpler, and less ambiguous, for use in applications ranging from trafficability to irrigation management to flood control. The ease with which hydrologic-process-based classifications can be made, along with the improved quantitative predictions of soil responses and visualization of landscape

CBEO:N, Chesapeake Bay Environmental Observatory as a Cyberinfrastructure Node

Science.gov (United States)

Zaslavsky, I.; Piasecki, M.; Whitenack, T.; Ball, W. P.; Murphy, R.

2008-12-01

Chesapeake Bay Environmental Observatory (CBEO) is an NSF-supported project focused on studying hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay using advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) technologies. The project is organized around four concurrent and interacting activities: 1) CBEO:S provides science and management context for the use of CI technologies, focusing on hypoxia and its non-linear dynamics as affected by management and climate; 2) CBEO:T constructs a locally-accessible CBEO test bed prototype centered on spatio-temporal interpolation and advanced querying of model runs; 3) CBEO:N incorporates the test bed CI into national environmental observation networks, and 4) CBEO:E develops education and outreach components of the project that translate observational science for public consumption. CBEO:N activities, which are the focus of this paper, are four-fold: - constructing an online project portal to enable researchers to publish, discover, query, visualize and integrate project-related datasets of different types. The portal is based on the technologies developed within the GEON (the Geosciences Network) project, and has established the CBEO project data server as part of the GEON network of servers; * developing a CBEO node within the WATERS network, taking advantage of the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) Server technology that supports online publication of observation data as web services, and ontology-assisted data discovery; *developing new data structures and metadata in order to describe water quality observational data, and model run output, obtained for the Chesapeake Bay area, using data structures adopted and modified from the Observations Data Model of CUAHSI HIS; * prototyping CBEO tools that can be re-used through the portal, in particular implementing a portal version of R-based spatial interpolation tools. The paper describes recent accomplishments in these four development areas, and demonstrates how CI approaches transform research and data sharing

HYDROLOGY, CALHOUN COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, DOUGLAS COUNTY, MINNESOTA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, NESHOBA COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LEFLORE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, NEWTON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

Weber County Hydrology Report

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LEAKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, CHISAGO COUNTY, MN

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, HOUSTON COUNTY, ALABAMA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating ALood discharges for a ALood Insurance...

HYDROLOGY, WAYNE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

Hydrology, OCONEE COUNTY, SC

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, SUNFLOWER COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, OSCEOLA COUNTY, FL

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, STEARNS COUNTY, MN

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, TIPPAH COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, Lawrence County, ARKANSAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a Flood Insurance...

HYDROLOGY, Allegheny County, PA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a Flood Insurance...

HYDROLOGY, SIMPSON COUNTY, MS

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, CLAIBORNE COUNTY, MS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LAFAYETTE COUNTY, MS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, Yazoo COUNTY, MS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, GILCHRIST COUNTY, FL

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, GLADES COUNTY, FLORIDA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a Flood Insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LEE COUNTY, TEXAS

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a Flood Insurance...

HYDROLOGY, GREENE County, ARKANSAS

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a Flood Insurance...

The relative influence of climate and catchment properties on hydrological drought

Science.gov (United States)

Van Loon, Anne; Laaha, Gregor; Koffler, Daniel

2014-05-01

Studying hydrological drought (a below-normal water availability in groundwater, lakes and streams) is important to society and the ecosystem, but can also reveal interesting information about catchment functioning. This information can later be used for predicting drought in ungauged basins and to inform water management decisions. In this study, we used an extensive Austrian dataset of discharge measurements in clusters of catchments and combine this dataset with thematic information on climate and catchment properties. Our aim was to study the relative effects of climate and catchment characteristics on drought duration and deficit and on hydrological drought typology. Because the climate of the region is roughly uniform, our hypothesis was that the effect of differences of catchment properties would stand out. From time series of precipitation and discharge we identified droughts with the widely-used threshold level approach, defining a drought when a variable falls below a pre-defined threshold representing the regime. Drought characteristics that were analysed are drought duration and deficit. We also applied the typology of Van Loon & Van Lanen (2012). To explain differences in drought characteristics between catchments we did a correlation analysis with climate and catchment characteristics, based on Pearson correlation. We found very interesting patterns in the correlations of drought characteristics with climate and catchment properties: 1) Droughts with long duration (mean and maximum) and composite droughts are related to catchments with a high BFI (high baseflow) and a high percentage of shallow groundwater tables. 2) The deficit (mean and maximum) of both meteorological droughts and hydrological droughts is strongly related to catchment humidity, in this case quantified by average annual precipitation. 3) The hydrological drought types that are related to snow, i.e. cold snow season drought and snow melt drought, occur in catchments that are have a

Hydrology team

Science.gov (United States)

Ragan, R.

1982-01-01

General problems faced by hydrologists when using historical records, real time data, statistical analysis, and system simulation in providing quantitative information on the temporal and spatial distribution of water are related to the limitations of these data. Major problem areas requiring multispectral imaging-based research to improve hydrology models involve: evapotranspiration rates and soil moisture dynamics for large areas; the three dimensional characteristics of bodies of water; flooding in wetlands; snow water equivalents; runoff and sediment yield from ungaged watersheds; storm rainfall; fluorescence and polarization of water and its contained substances; discriminating between sediment and chlorophyll in water; role of barrier island dynamics in coastal zone processes; the relationship between remotely measured surface roughness and hydraulic roughness of land surfaces and stream networks; and modeling the runoff process.

Critical Hydrologic and Atmospheric Measurements in Complex Alpine Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Parlange, M. B.; Bou-Zeid, E.; Barrenetxea, G.; Krichane, M.; Ingelrest, F.; Couach, O.; Luyet, V.; Vetterli, M.; Lehning, M.; Duffy, C.; Tobin, C.; Selker, J.; Kumar, M.

2007-12-01

The Alps are often referred to as the « Water Towers of Europe » and as such play an essential role in European water resources. The impact of climatic change is expected to be particularly pronounced in the Alps and the lack of detailed hydrologic field observations is problematic for predictions of hydrologic and hazard assessment. Advances in information technology and communications provide important possibilities to improve the situation with relatively few measurements. We will present sensorscope technology (arrays of wireless weather stations including soil moisture, pressure, and temperature) that has now been deployed at the Le Genepi and Grand St. Bernard pass. In addition, a Distributed Temperature Sensor array on the stream beds has been deployed and stream discharge monitored. The high spatial resolution data collected in these previously "ungaged" regions are used in conjunction with new generation hydrologic models. The framework as to what is possible today with sensor arrays and modeling in extreme mountain environments is discussed.

Comparison of global optimization approaches for robust calibration of hydrologic model parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, I. W.

2015-12-01

Robustness of the calibrated parameters of hydrologic models is necessary to provide a reliable prediction of future performance of watershed behavior under varying climate conditions. This study investigated calibration performances according to the length of calibration period, objective functions, hydrologic model structures and optimization methods. To do this, the combination of three global optimization methods (i.e. SCE-UA, Micro-GA, and DREAM) and four hydrologic models (i.e. SAC-SMA, GR4J, HBV, and PRMS) was tested with different calibration periods and objective functions. Our results showed that three global optimization methods provided close calibration performances under different calibration periods, objective functions, and hydrologic models. However, using the agreement of index, normalized root mean square error, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency as the objective function showed better performance than using correlation coefficient and percent bias. Calibration performances according to different calibration periods from one year to seven years were hard to generalize because four hydrologic models have different levels of complexity and different years have different information content of hydrological observation. Acknowledgements This research was supported by a grant (14AWMP-B082564-01) from Advanced Water Management Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Exploring the utility of real-time hydrologic data for landslide early warning

Science.gov (United States)

Mirus, B. B.; Smith, J. B.; Becker, R.; Baum, R. L.; Koss, E.

2017-12-01

Early warning systems can provide critical information for operations managers, emergency planners, and the public to help reduce fatalities, injuries, and economic losses due to landsliding. For shallow, rainfall-triggered landslides early warning systems typically use empirical rainfall thresholds, whereas the actual triggering mechanism involves the non-linear hydrological processes of infiltration, evapotranspiration, and hillslope drainage that are more difficult to quantify. Because hydrologic monitoring has demonstrated that shallow landslides are often preceded by a rise in soil moisture and pore-water pressures, some researchers have developed early warning criteria that attempt to account for these antecedent wetness conditions through relatively simplistic storage metrics or soil-water balance modeling. Here we explore the potential for directly incorporating antecedent wetness into landslide early warning criteria using recent landslide inventories and in-situ hydrologic monitoring near Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. We use continuous, near-real-time telemetered soil moisture and pore-water pressure data measured within a few landslide-prone hillslopes in combination with measured and forecasted rainfall totals to inform easy-to-interpret landslide initiation thresholds. Objective evaluation using somewhat limited landslide inventories suggests that our new thresholds based on subsurface hydrologic monitoring and rainfall data compare favorably to the capabilities of existing rainfall-only thresholds for the Seattle area, whereas there are no established rainfall thresholds for the Portland area. This preliminary investigation provides a proof-of-concept for the utility of developing landslide early warning criteria in two different geologic settings using real-time subsurface hydrologic measurements from in-situ instrumentation.

Hydrologic Services Course.

Science.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC), Rockville, MD. National Weather Service.

A course to develop an understanding of the scope of water resource activities, of the need for forecasting, of the National Weather Service's role in hydrology, and of the proper procedures to follow in fulfilling this role is presented. The course is one of self-help, guided by correspondence. Nine lessons are included: (1) Hydrology in the…

Open source data assimilation framework for hydrological modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Ridler, Marc; Hummel, Stef; van Velzen, Nils; Katrine Falk, Anne; Madsen, Henrik

2013-04-01

An open-source data assimilation framework is proposed for hydrological modeling. Data assimilation (DA) in hydrodynamic and hydrological forecasting systems has great potential to improve predictions and improve model result. The basic principle is to incorporate measurement information into a model with the aim to improve model results by error minimization. Great strides have been made to assimilate traditional in-situ measurements such as discharge, soil moisture, hydraulic head and snowpack into hydrologic models. More recently, remotely sensed data retrievals of soil moisture, snow water equivalent or snow cover area, surface water elevation, terrestrial water storage and land surface temperature have been successfully assimilated in hydrological models. The assimilation algorithms have become increasingly sophisticated to manage measurement and model bias, non-linear systems, data sparsity (time & space) and undetermined system uncertainty. It is therefore useful to use a pre-existing DA toolbox such as OpenDA. OpenDA is an open interface standard for (and free implementation of) a set of tools to quickly implement DA and calibration for arbitrary numerical models. The basic design philosophy of OpenDA is to breakdown DA into a set of building blocks programmed in object oriented languages. To implement DA, a model must interact with OpenDA to create model instances, propagate the model, get/set variables (or parameters) and free the model once DA is completed. An open-source interface for hydrological models exists capable of all these tasks: OpenMI. OpenMI is an open source standard interface already adopted by key hydrological model providers. It defines a universal approach to interact with hydrological models during simulation to exchange data during runtime, thus facilitating the interactions between models and data sources. The interface is flexible enough so that models can interact even if the model is coded in a different language, represent

Approaches to communication in response to geo-hydrological risk: POLARIS an Italian web initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvati, Paola; Pernice, Umberto; Bianchi, Cinzia; Fiorucci, Federica; Marchesini, Ivan; Guzzetti, Fausto

2015-04-01

In the contemporary information and knowledge-based society, communication can foster effective responses to geo-hydrological risks, by increasing awareness on the causes and consequences of specific hazards, e.g., landslides, debris flows, and floods, and by fostering the capacity of individuals, groups, and organizations to prepare, manage and recover from geo-hydrological events. In this context, communication plays a vital role in all phases of the disaster cycle. Although in the last few years the scientific community has begun to disseminate information on geo-hydrological hazards and the associated risks through thematic websites, these remain mainly addressed to experts for specific technical purposes with contents and web interfaces hardly appreciated by a wider audience and rarely synchronised with social networks. To address the problem posed by the lack of communication on geo-hydrological hazards with potential human consequence in Italy, we designed the POLARIS Web site. The initiative we are conducting has the main object of contributing, in different ways and at different geographical scales, to raise awareness about landslides and floods, and their impact on the Italian society. The website is structured into six main sections (i.e. Reports, Are you ready, Events, Alert Zones, Focus and Blog) that provide different and complementary information including, respectively: periodical reports on landslide and flood risk to the population of Italy, suitable behaviors to adopt during damaging events, data and analyses on specific events, visual and detailed info on damaging events of the Italian Alert Zones defined by the Civil Protection Authority and blog-posts on landslide and flood events encouraging citizens' participation to crowd-sourcing information. Consultants experienced in project management, web-communication strategies on natural hazards, info-graphics, and user experience design were involved in the initiative to arrange and publish the

Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, John M.

1977-01-01

Lists many recent research projects in hydrology, including flow in fractured media, improvements in remote-sensing techniques, effects of urbanization on water resources, and developments in drainage basins. (MLH)

Evaluation of Airborne Lidar Elevation Surfaces for Propagation of Coastal Inundation: The Importance of Hydrologic Connectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Poppenga

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Detailed information about coastal inundation is vital to understanding dynamic and populated areas that are impacted by storm surge and flooding. To understand these natural hazard risks, lidar elevation surfaces are frequently used to model inundation in coastal areas. A single-value surface method is sometimes used to inundate areas in lidar elevation surfaces that are below a specified elevation value. However, such an approach does not take into consideration hydrologic connectivity between elevation grids cells resulting in inland areas that should be hydrologically connected to the ocean, but are not. Because inland areas that should drain to the ocean are hydrologically disconnected by raised features in a lidar elevation surface, simply raising the water level to propagate coastal inundation will lead to inundation uncertainties. We took advantage of this problem to identify hydrologically disconnected inland areas to point out that they should be considered for coastal inundation, and that a lidar-based hydrologic surface should be developed with hydrologic connectivity prior to inundation analysis. The process of achieving hydrologic connectivity with hydrologic-enforcement is not new, however, the application of hydrologically-enforced lidar elevation surfaces for improved coastal inundation mapping as approached in this research is innovative. In this article, we propagated a high-resolution lidar elevation surface in coastal Staten Island, New York to demonstrate that inland areas lacking hydrologic connectivity to the ocean could potentially be included in inundation delineations. For inland areas that were hydrologically disconnected, we evaluated if drainage to the ocean was evident, and calculated an area exceeding 11 ha (~0.11 km2 that could be considered in inundation delineations. We also assessed land cover for each inland area to determine the type of physical surfaces that would be potentially impacted if the inland areas

Evaluation of airborne lidar elevation surfaces for propagation of coastal inundation: the importance of hydrologic connectivity

Science.gov (United States)

Poppenga, Sandra K.; Worstell, Bruce B.

2015-01-01

Detailed information about coastal inundation is vital to understanding dynamic and populated areas that are impacted by storm surge and flooding. To understand these natural hazard risks, lidar elevation surfaces are frequently used to model inundation in coastal areas. A single-value surface method is sometimes used to inundate areas in lidar elevation surfaces that are below a specified elevation value. However, such an approach does not take into consideration hydrologic connectivity between elevation grids cells resulting in inland areas that should be hydrologically connected to the ocean, but are not. Because inland areas that should drain to the ocean are hydrologically disconnected by raised features in a lidar elevation surface, simply raising the water level to propagate coastal inundation will lead to inundation uncertainties. We took advantage of this problem to identify hydrologically disconnected inland areas to point out that they should be considered for coastal inundation, and that a lidar-based hydrologic surface should be developed with hydrologic connectivity prior to inundation analysis. The process of achieving hydrologic connectivity with hydrologic-enforcement is not new, however, the application of hydrologically-enforced lidar elevation surfaces for improved coastal inundation mapping as approached in this research is innovative. In this article, we propagated a high-resolution lidar elevation surface in coastal Staten Island, New York to demonstrate that inland areas lacking hydrologic connectivity to the ocean could potentially be included in inundation delineations. For inland areas that were hydrologically disconnected, we evaluated if drainage to the ocean was evident, and calculated an area exceeding 11 ha (~0.11 km2) that could be considered in inundation delineations. We also assessed land cover for each inland area to determine the type of physical surfaces that would be potentially impacted if the inland areas were considered as

Characterization of the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County, New Mexico, and identification of hydrologic data gaps, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Matherne, Anne Marie; Stewart, Anne M.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with San Miguel County, New Mexico, conducted a study to assess publicly available information regarding the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County and to identify data gaps in that information and hydrologic information that could aid in the management of available water resources. The USGS operates four continuous annual streamgages in San Miguel County. Monthly discharge at these streamgages is generally bimodally distributed, with most runoff corresponding to spring runoff and to summer monsoonal rains. Data compiled since 1951 on the geology and groundwater resources of San Miguel County are generally consistent with the original characterization of depth and availability of groundwater resources and of source aquifers. Subsequent exploratory drilling identified deep available groundwater in some locations. Most current (2011) development of groundwater resources is in western San Miguel County, particularly in the vicinity of El Creston hogback, the hogback ridge just west of Las Vegas, where USGS groundwater-monitoring wells indicate that groundwater levels are declining. Regarding future studies to address identified data gaps, the ability to evaluate and quantify surface-water resources, both as runoff and as potential groundwater recharge, could be enhanced by expanding the network of streamgages and groundwater-monitoring wells throughout the county. A series of seepage surveys along the lengths of the rivers could help to determine locations of surface-water losses to and gains from the local groundwater system and could help to quantify the component of streamflow attributable to irrigation return flow; associated synoptic water-quality sampling could help to identify potential effects to water quality attributable to irrigation return flow. Effects of groundwater withdrawals on streamflow could be assessed by constructing monitoring wells along transects between production wells and stream reaches

The A.B.Cs of isotope hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maduabuchi, C.

2000-01-01

The steady growth in world population coupled with the extension of irrigated agriculture and accelerated industrial development and other economic activities have put tremendous stress on the quantity and quality aspects of surface and groundwater resources the world over. The situation calls for necessary monitoring mechanism to safeguard these renewable but potentially depletable resources. A proper understanding of water resources systems is a prerequisite to their sustainable development. This informed the application of isotope techniques in hydrology as they provide vital information that are not readily obtainable from the classical hydrological techniques. These include issues relating to origin and history of groundwater, recharge estimates, vulnerability of aquifers to pollution, mixing proportion of component flows and study of geothermal systems amongst others. Maximum benefits are derived from the application of isotope techniques when they are complemented with conventional techniques in an integrated manner. The paper discusses the basic concepts which include configuration of the nucleus of the atom, isotopes, radioactivity and radioactive decay law. It further explains the occurrence of environmental isotopes including their measurement in natural compounds and the general application of isotopes in water resources development and management

Reviewing innovative Earth observation solutions for filling science-policy gaps in hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmann, Anthony; Giuliani, Gregory; Ray, Nicolas; Rahman, Kazi; Abbaspour, Karim C.; Nativi, Stefano; Craglia, Massimo; Cripe, Douglas; Quevauviller, Philippe; Beniston, Martin

2014-10-01

Improved data sharing is needed for hydrological modeling and water management that require better integration of data, information and models. Technological advances in Earth observation and Web technologies have allowed the development of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) for improved data sharing at various scales. International initiatives catalyze data sharing by promoting interoperability standards to maximize the use of data and by supporting easy access to and utilization of geospatial data. A series of recent European projects are contributing to the promotion of innovative Earth observation solutions and the uptake of scientific outcomes in policy. Several success stories involving different hydrologists' communities can be reported around the World. Gaps still exist in hydrological, agricultural, meteorological and climatological data access because of various issues. While many sources of data exists at all scales it remains difficult and time-consuming to assemble hydrological information for most projects. Furthermore, data and sharing formats remain very heterogeneous. Improvements require implementing/endorsing some commonly agreed standards and documenting data with adequate metadata. The brokering approach allows binding heterogeneous resources published by different data providers and adapting them to tools and interfaces commonly used by consumers of these resources. The challenge is to provide decision-makers with reliable information, based on integrated data and tools derived from both Earth observations and scientific models. Successful SDIs rely therefore on various aspects: a shared vision between all participants, necessity to solve a common problem, adequate data policies, incentives, and sufficient resources. New data streams from remote sensing or crowd sourcing are also producing valuable information to improve our understanding of the water cycle, while field sensors are developing rapidly and becoming less costly. More recent data

Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program, Gnome site, Eddy County, New Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

The Gnome site is located in Eddy County, approximately 31 miles southeast of the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Project Gnome, with a yield of 3.1 kilotons, was detonated December 10, 1961. It was the first nuclear detonation designed specifically for peaceful purposes and the first underground event of the Plowshare Program to take place outside the Nevada Test Site. The purpose of the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program at the Gnome site is to obtain data that will assure the public safety; inform the public, the news media, and the scientific community relative to radiological contamination; and to document compliance with federal, state, and local antipollution requirements. The Gnome site geographical setting, climate, geology, and hydrology are described. Site history, including Gnome event information and pre- and post-Gnome monitoring by the US Public Health Service and the USGS, is described. Site cleanups of 1968 and 1979 are described. Postoperational surveys indicate that the Gnome site is well below the established decontamination criteria and that no hazard exists or will likely occur during public use of the surface of the Gnome site. The Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program for the Gnome site is described

High resolution time-lapse gravity field from GRACE for hydrological modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, Pernille Engelbredt

Calibration of large scale hydrological models have traditionally been performed using point observations, which are often sparsely distributed. The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission provides global remote sensing information about mass fluxes with unprecedented accuracy...... than for the mascon only solution, but later than the GLDAS/Noah TWS and the CNES/GRGS SH solutions. The deviations are 10–20 days. From this point of view, the tuning of hydrological models with KBRR data is certainly feasible, though highly time consuming and complicated at the moment. The method...

Assimilation of remote sensing observations into a continuous distributed hydrological model: impacts on the hydrologic cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Laiolo, Paola; Gabellani, Simone; Campo, Lorenzo; Cenci, Luca; Silvestro, Francesco; Delogu, Fabio; Boni, Giorgio; Rudari, Roberto

2015-04-01

The reliable estimation of hydrological variables (e.g. soil moisture, evapotranspiration, surface temperature) in space and time is of fundamental importance in operational hydrology to improve the forecast of the rainfall-runoff response of catchments and, consequently, flood predictions. Nowadays remote sensing can offer a chance to provide good space-time estimates of several hydrological variables and then improve hydrological model performances especially in environments with scarce in-situ data. This work investigates the impact of the assimilation of different remote sensing products on the hydrological cycle by using a continuous physically based distributed hydrological model. Three soil moisture products derived by ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) are used to update the model state variables. The satellite-derived products are assimilated into the hydrological model using different assimilation techniques: a simple nudging and the Ensemble Kalman Filter. Moreover two assimilation strategies are evaluated to assess the impact of assimilating the satellite products at model spatial resolution or at the satellite scale. The experiments are carried out for three Italian catchments on multi year period. The benefits on the model predictions of discharge, LST, evapotranspiration and soil moisture dynamics are tested and discussed.

SEDAH. Data Server for hydrologic alteration evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez Romero, R.; Magdaleno Mas, F.; Ortiz Rodriguez, J.; Fernandez Yuste, J. A.; Martinez Santa-Maria, C.

2011-01-01

Several tasks and studies have been developed from 2008 till 2010 all around the country in order to evaluate the hydrologic alteration of water bodies. In most cases this alteraction has been evaluated through IAHRIS (Martinez and Fernandez, 2006). The necessity of creating a new toll that allowed a better performance of the National Flow-Stage Stations Network data was showed up by developing these works. The output data series should match IAHRIS and IHA. SEDAH (Data Server for Evaluating Hydrologic Alteration) Helps to solve some of these problems by supplying an easy way to select flow stations, dates, flow series typology, etc. Moreover, other useful utilities are: a preliminary appraisement of quality data, calssification of altered or reference flow series and exportation of data in different file formats. The web application works with different data bases, daily, monthly and annual series belonging to, wither actual series from flow station data or completed series by statistical procedures. Through SEDAH the user has easy access to all this huge information ready for being applied in hydrologic alteration assessment, environmental fows regime, river restoration projects, etc. Furthermore, this first phase of the application constitute the basis for future powerful functionalities related to the natural flow series obtaining. (Author) 5 refs.

Identifying influential data points in hydrological model calibration and their impact on streamflow predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, David; Thyer, Mark; Westra, Seth

2015-04-01

study establish the feasibility and importance of including influential point detection diagnostics as a standard tool in hydrological model calibration. They provide the hydrologist with important information on whether model calibration is susceptible to a small number of highly influent data points. This enables the hydrologist to make a more informed decision of whether to (1) remove/retain the calibration data; (2) adjust the calibration strategy and/or hydrological model to reduce the susceptibility of model predictions to a small number of influential observations.

Hydrological Process Simulation of Inland River Watershed: A Case Study of the Heihe River Basin with Multiple Hydrological Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lili Wang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Simulating the hydrological processes of an inland river basin can help provide the scientific guidance to the policies of water allocation among different subbasins and water resource management groups within the subbasins. However, it is difficult to simulate the hydrological processes of an inland river basin with hydrological models due to the non-consistent hydrological characteristics of the entire basin. This study presents a solution to this problem with a case study about the hydrological process simulation in an inland river basin in China, Heihe River basin. It is divided into the upper, middle, and lower reaches based on the distinctive hydrological characteristics in the Heihe River basin, and three hydrological models are selected, applied, and tested to simulate the hydrological cycling processes for each reach. The upper reach is the contributing area with the complex runoff generation processes, therefore, the hydrological informatic modeling system (HIMS is utilized due to its combined runoff generation mechanisms. The middle reach has strong impacts of intensive human activities on the interactions of surface and subsurface flows, so a conceptual water balance model is applied to simulate the water balance process. For the lower reach, as the dissipative area with groundwater dominating the hydrological process, a groundwater modeling system with the embedment of MODFLOW model is applied to simulate the groundwater dynamics. Statistical parameters and water balance analysis prove that the three models have excellent performances in simulating the hydrological process of the three reaches. Therefore, it is an effective way to simulate the hydrological process of inland river basin with multiple hydrological models according to the characteristics of each subbasin.

Global hydrological droughts in the 21st century under a changing hydrological regime

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wanders, Niko|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/364253940; Wada, Yoshi|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/341387819; van Lanen, H.A.J

2015-01-01

Climate change very likely impacts future hydrological drought characteristics across the world. Here, we quantify the impact of climate change on future low flows and associated hydrological drought characteristics on a global scale using an alternative drought identification approach that

Development of a Historical Hydrological online research and application platform for Switzerland - Historical Hydrological Atlas of Switzerland (HHAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Wetter, Oliver

2017-04-01

It is planned to develop and maintain a historical hydrological online platform for Switzerland, which shall be specially designed for the needs of research and federal, cantonal or private institutions being interested in hydrological risk assessment and protection measures. The aim is on the one hand to facilitate the access to raw data which generally is needed for further historical hydrological reconstruction and quantification, so that future research will be achieved in significantly shorter time. On the other hand, new historical hydrological research results shall be continuously included in order to establish this platform as a useful tool for the assessment of hydrological risk by including the long term experience of reconstructed pre-instrumental hydrological extreme events like floods and droughts. Meteorological parameters that may trigger extreme hydrological events, like monthly or seasonally resolved reconstructions of temperature and precipitation shall be made accessible in this platform as well. The ultimate goal will be to homogenise the reconstructed hydrological extreme events which usually appeared in the pre anthropogenic influence period under different climatological as well as different hydrological regimes and topographical conditions with the present day state. Long term changes of reconstructed small- to extreme flood seasonality, based on municipal accounting records, will be included in the platform as well. This helps - in combination with the before mentioned meteorological parameters - to provide an increased understanding of the major changes in the generally complex overall system that finally causes hydrological extreme events. The goal of my presentation at the Historical Climatology session is to give an overview about the applied historical climatological and historical hydrological methodologies that are applied on the historical raw data (evidence) to reconstruct pre instrumental hydrological events and meteorological

Hydrological system dynamics of glaciated Karnali River Basin Nepal Himalaya using J2000 Hydrological model

Science.gov (United States)

Khatiwada, K. R.; Nepal, S.; Panthi, J., Sr.; Shrestha, M.

2015-12-01

Hydrological modelling plays an important role in understanding hydrological processes of a catchment. In the context of climate change, the understanding of hydrological characteristic of the catchment is very vital to understand how the climate change will affect the hydrological regime. This research facilitates in better understanding of the hydrological system dynamics of a himalayan mountainous catchment in western Nepal. The Karnali River, longest river flowing inside Nepal, is one of the three major basins of Nepal, having the area of 45269 sq. km. is unique. The basin has steep topography and high mountains to the northern side. The 40% of the basin is dominated by forest land while other land cover are: grass land, bare rocky land etc. About 2% of the areas in basin is covered by permanent glacier apart from that about 12% of basin has the snow and ice cover. There are 34 meteorological stations distributed across the basin. A process oriented distributed J2000 hydrologial model has been applied to understand the hydrological system dynamics. The model application provides distributed output of various hydrological components. The J2000 model applies Hydrological Response Unit (HRU) as a modelling entity. With 6861 HRU and 1010 reaches, the model was calibrated (1981-1999) and validated (2000-2004) at a daily scale using split-sample test. The model is able to capture the overall hydrological dynamics well. The rising limbs and recession limbs are simulated equally and with satisfactory ground water conditions. Based on the graphical and statistical evaluation of the model performance the model is able to simulate hydrological processes fairly well. Calibration shows that Nash Sutcliffe efficiency is 0.91, coefficient of determination is 0.92 Initial observation shows that during the pre-monsoon season(March to May) the glacial runoff is 25% of the total discharge while in the monsoon(June to September) season it is only 13%. The surface runoff

Multi-model analysis in hydrological prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Lanthier, M.; Arsenault, R.; Brissette, F.

2017-12-01

Hydrologic modelling, by nature, is a simplification of the real-world hydrologic system. Therefore ensemble hydrological predictions thus obtained do not present the full range of possible streamflow outcomes, thereby producing ensembles which demonstrate errors in variance such as under-dispersion. Past studies show that lumped models used in prediction mode can return satisfactory results, especially when there is not enough information available on the watershed to run a distributed model. But all lumped models greatly simplify the complex processes of the hydrologic cycle. To generate more spread in the hydrologic ensemble predictions, multi-model ensembles have been considered. In this study, the aim is to propose and analyse a method that gives an ensemble streamflow prediction that properly represents the forecast probabilities and reduced ensemble bias. To achieve this, three simple lumped models are used to generate an ensemble. These will also be combined using multi-model averaging techniques, which generally generate a more accurate hydrogram than the best of the individual models in simulation mode. This new predictive combined hydrogram is added to the ensemble, thus creating a large ensemble which may improve the variability while also improving the ensemble mean bias. The quality of the predictions is then assessed on different periods: 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months using a PIT Histogram of the percentiles of the real observation volumes with respect to the volumes of the ensemble members. Initially, the models were run using historical weather data to generate synthetic flows. This worked for individual models, but not for the multi-model and for the large ensemble. Consequently, by performing data assimilation at each prediction period and thus adjusting the initial states of the models, the PIT Histogram could be constructed using the observed flows while allowing the use of the multi-model predictions. The under-dispersion has been

Hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obando G, E.

1989-01-01

Isotopical techniques are used in hydrology area for exploration, evaluation and exploration of water investigation. These techniques have been used successfully and are often the best or only means for providing certain hydrogeological parameters

Copula Entropy coupled with Wavelet Neural Network Model for Hydrological Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yin; Yue, JiGuang; Liu, ShuGuang; Wang, Li

2018-02-01

Artificial Neural network(ANN) has been widely used in hydrological forecasting. in this paper an attempt has been made to find an alternative method for hydrological prediction by combining Copula Entropy(CE) with Wavelet Neural Network(WNN), CE theory permits to calculate mutual information(MI) to select Input variables which avoids the limitations of the traditional linear correlation(LCC) analysis. Wavelet analysis can provide the exact locality of any changes in the dynamical patterns of the sequence Coupled with ANN Strong non-linear fitting ability. WNN model was able to provide a good fit with the hydrological data. finally, the hybrid model(CE+WNN) have been applied to daily water level of Taihu Lake Basin, and compared with CE ANN, LCC WNN and LCC ANN. Results showed that the hybrid model produced better results in estimating the hydrograph properties than the latter models.

OHD/HL - National Weather Hydrology Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Laboratory Branches Hydrologic Software Engineering Branch (HSEB) Hydrologic Science and Modeling Branch enter or select the go button to submit request City, St Go Science Research and Collaboration Hydrology Subversion Usage Guidelines updated 11/18/2008 Other Documents Science Algorithm Description Document (doc

Nuclear techniques in hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, H.

1976-01-01

The nuclear techniques used in hydrology are usually tracer techniques based on the use of nuclides either intentionally introduced into, or naturally present in the water. The low concentrations of these nuclides, which must be detected in groundwater and surface water, require special measurement techniques for the concentrations of radioactive or of stable nuclides. The nuclear techniques can be used most fruitfully in conjunction with conventional methods for the solution of problems in the areas of hydrology, hydrogeology and glacier hydrology. Nuclear techniques are used in practice in the areas of prospecting for water, environment protection and engineering hydrogeology. (orig.) [de

Dealing with regional hydrologic data-base limitations. Case example: the Columbia River basalts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schalla, R.; Leonhart, L.S.

1981-01-01

Limitations are encountered in assembling hydrologic data for a broad geographic region, such as the Columbia Plateau in the northwestern US, into a conceptual model of the hydrologic system. These limitations may become resonant in subsequent numerical simulations of hydrologic system behavior. Included among such data limitations are irregular spatial distributions of data, decreases in information with increasing depth from the land surface, uncertainties about the reliability of reported hydrologic data, disparities in time-dependent parameters, and lack of field verification of data. The preparation of a regional hydrologic system description, therefore, first involves a comprehensive data evaluation, wherein the data are classified and ranked in terms of their utility to the study. The results of this evaluation are essential in planning future data acquisition activities, as well as in selecting and developing models. In turn, iterative use of modeling, data refinement, and data acquisition is considered to be highly effective. The case example of preparing a hydrologic system description for the Columbia Plateau, as required for repository siting, illustrates methods of determining the accuracy of certain data, compensating for data limitations, evaluating the need for acquiring additional data, and refining data through iterative techniques. Emphasis is placed on professional subjectivity, which has proven to be essential in data base evaluation and refinement

Isotope methods in hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, H.; Rauert, W.

1980-01-01

Of the investigation methods used in hydrology, tracer methods hold a special place as they are the only ones which give direct insight into the movement and distribution processes taking place in surface and ground waters. Besides the labelling of water with salts and dyes, as in the past, in recent years the use of isotopes in hydrology, in water research and use, in ground-water protection and in hydraulic engineering has increased. This by no means replaces proven methods of hydrological investigation but tends rather to complement and expand them through inter-disciplinary cooperation. The book offers a general introduction to the application of various isotope methods to specific hydrogeological and hydrological problems. The idea is to place the hydrogeologist and the hydrologist in the position to recognize which isotope method will help him solve his particular problem or indeed, make a solution possible at all. He should also be able to recognize what the prerequisites are and what work and expenditure the use of such methods involves. May the book contribute to promoting cooperation between hydrogeologists, hydrologists, hydraulic engineers and isotope specialists, and thus supplement proven methods of investigation in hydrological research and water utilization and protection wherever the use of isotope methods proves to be of advantage. (orig./HP) [de

Curricula and Syllabi in Hydrology. A Contribution to the International Hydrological Programme. UNESCO Technical Papers in Hydrology No. 22. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandra, Satish, Ed.; Mostertman, L. J., Ed.

Hydrology is the science dealing with the earth's waters, their occurrence, circulation, and distribution, their chemical and physical properties, and their reaction with the environment. As such, hydrology is an indispensible requirement for planning in the field of water resources. Objectives for, spectrum of, and topics for education in…

Hydrological-niche models predict water plant functional group distributions in diverse wetland types.

Science.gov (United States)

Deane, David C; Nicol, Jason M; Gehrig, Susan L; Harding, Claire; Aldridge, Kane T; Goodman, Abigail M; Brookes, Justin D

2017-06-01

Human use of water resources threatens environmental water supplies. If resource managers are to develop policies that avoid unacceptable ecological impacts, some means to predict ecosystem response to changes in water availability is necessary. This is difficult to achieve at spatial scales relevant for water resource management because of the high natural variability in ecosystem hydrology and ecology. Water plant functional groups classify species with similar hydrological niche preferences together, allowing a qualitative means to generalize community responses to changes in hydrology. We tested the potential for functional groups in making quantitative prediction of water plant functional group distributions across diverse wetland types over a large geographical extent. We sampled wetlands covering a broad range of hydrogeomorphic and salinity conditions in South Australia, collecting both hydrological and floristic data from 687 quadrats across 28 wetland hydrological gradients. We built hydrological-niche models for eight water plant functional groups using a range of candidate models combining different surface inundation metrics. We then tested the predictive performance of top-ranked individual and averaged models for each functional group. Cross validation showed that models achieved acceptable predictive performance, with correct classification rates in the range 0.68-0.95. Model predictions can be made at any spatial scale that hydrological data are available and could be implemented in a geographical information system. We show the response of water plant functional groups to inundation is consistent enough across diverse wetland types to quantify the probability of hydrological impacts over regional spatial scales. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Hydrological simulation of the Brahmaputra basin using global datasets

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, Biswa; Conway, Crystal; Craven, Joanne; Masih, Ilyas; Mazzolini, Maurizio; Shrestha, Shreedeepy; Ugay, Reyne; van Andel, Schalk Jan

2017-04-01

Brahmaputra River flows through China, India and Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal and is one of the largest rivers of the world with a catchment size of 580K km2. The catchment is largely hilly and/or forested with sparse population and with limited urbanisation and economic activities. The catchment experiences heavy monsoon rainfall leading to very high flood discharges. Large inter-annual variation of discharge leading to flooding, erosion and morphological changes are among the major challenges. The catchment is largely ungauged; moreover, limited availability of hydro-meteorological data limits the possibility of carrying out evidence based research, which could provide trustworthy information for managing and when needed, controlling, the basin processes by the riparian countries for overall basin development. The paper presents initial results of a current research project on Brahmaputra basin. A set of hydrological and hydraulic models (SWAT, HMS, RAS) are developed by employing publicly available datasets of DEM, land use and soil and simulated using satellite based rainfall products, evapotranspiration and temperature estimates. Remotely sensed data are compared with sporadically available ground data. The set of models are able to produce catchment wide hydrological information that potentially can be used in the future in managing the basin's water resources. The model predications should be used with caution due to high level of uncertainty because the semi-calibrated models are developed with uncertain physical representation (e.g. cross-section) and simulated with global meteorological forcing (e.g. TRMM) with limited validation. Major scientific challenges are seen in producing robust information that can be reliably used in managing the basin. The information generated by the models are uncertain and as a result, instead of using them per se, they are used in improving the understanding of the catchment, and by running several scenarios with varying

Integrating hydrologic modeling web services with online data sharing to prepare, store, and execute models in hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Gan, T.; Tarboton, D. G.; Dash, P. K.; Gichamo, T.; Horsburgh, J. S.

2017-12-01

Web based apps, web services and online data and model sharing technology are becoming increasingly available to support research. This promises benefits in terms of collaboration, platform independence, transparency and reproducibility of modeling workflows and results. However, challenges still exist in real application of these capabilities and the programming skills researchers need to use them. In this research we combined hydrologic modeling web services with an online data and model sharing system to develop functionality to support reproducible hydrologic modeling work. We used HydroDS, a system that provides web services for input data preparation and execution of a snowmelt model, and HydroShare, a hydrologic information system that supports the sharing of hydrologic data, model and analysis tools. To make the web services easy to use, we developed a HydroShare app (based on the Tethys platform) to serve as a browser based user interface for HydroDS. In this integration, HydroDS receives web requests from the HydroShare app to process the data and execute the model. HydroShare supports storage and sharing of the results generated by HydroDS web services. The snowmelt modeling example served as a use case to test and evaluate this approach. We show that, after the integration, users can prepare model inputs or execute the model through the web user interface of the HydroShare app without writing program code. The model input/output files and metadata describing the model instance are stored and shared in HydroShare. These files include a Python script that is automatically generated by the HydroShare app to document and reproduce the model input preparation workflow. Once stored in HydroShare, inputs and results can be shared with other users, or published so that other users can directly discover, repeat or modify the modeling work. This approach provides a collaborative environment that integrates hydrologic web services with a data and model sharing

Simulating hydrologic response to climate change scenarios in four selected watersheds of New Hampshire

Science.gov (United States)

Bjerklie, David M.; Ayotte, Joseph D.; Cahillane, Matthew J.

2015-01-01

The State of New Hampshire has initiated a coordinated effort to proactively prepare for the effects of climate change on the natural and human resources of New Hampshire. An important aspect of this effort is to develop a vulnerability assessment of hydrologic response to climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, is developing tools to predict how projected changes in temperature and precipitation will affect change in the hydrology of watersheds in the State. This study is a test case to assemble the information and create the tools to assess the hydrologic vulnerabilities in four specific watersheds.

A bottom-up partnership of Andean institutions to improve hydrological interventions using a participatory network of research basins

Science.gov (United States)

Buytaert, W.; Ochoa-Tocachi, B. F.; De Bièvre, B.

2017-12-01

Many watershed interventions in remote data-scarce areas respond to information gaps by extrapolating conventional approaches based on very limited local evidence. However, most interventions, including conservation strategies and adaptation measures, have not been evaluated properly for their hydrological benefits. This is particularly the case for the Andean region, where the complex climatic and hydrological characteristics combined with a very dynamic anthropogenic disturbance, require better monitoring. Here, we present the experience of a partnership of academic and non-governmental institutions who pioneered participatory hydrological monitoring in the Andes. Established in 2009, the Regional Initiative for Hydrological Monitoring of Andean Ecosystems (iMHEA), is a bottom-up initiative that complements the national monitoring networks and more conventional scientific observatories. Using a design based on a trading-space-for-time approach, over 30 paired catchments with a variety of watershed interventions are currently being monitored by 18 local stakeholders in 15 sites in the tropical Andes. Pooling these data into a hydrological impact model allowed the consortium to make more robust predictions about the effectiveness of catchment interventions to improve water resources management and to reduce risks. The collaborative nature of iMHEA has several strengths. We identify as most important of those the ability to: (i) standardize monitoring practices; (ii) ensure quality and technical support; (iii) share responsibility of monitoring activities; (iv) obtain project co-funding and complementarity; and, (v) promote decision maker-scientist engagement. As a result, this network has started to deliver useful information to multi-scale and multi-stakeholder decision making arenas. For example, in the context of growing investment in hydrological ecosystem services in Peru, the sites provide a new generation of hydrological information that allows for evidence

Remote sensing inputs to landscape models which predict future spatial land use patterns for hydrologic models

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, L. D.; Tom, C.; Nualchawee, K.

1977-01-01

A tropical forest area of Northern Thailand provided a test case of the application of the approach in more natural surroundings. Remote sensing imagery subjected to proper computer analysis has been shown to be a very useful means of collecting spatial data for the science of hydrology. Remote sensing products provide direct input to hydrologic models and practical data bases for planning large and small-scale hydrologic developments. Combining the available remote sensing imagery together with available map information in the landscape model provides a basis for substantial improvements in these applications.

Small scale green infrastructure design to meet different urban hydrological criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Z; Tang, S; Luo, W; Li, S; Zhou, M

2016-04-15

As small scale green infrastructures, rain gardens have been widely advocated for urban stormwater management in the contemporary low impact development (LID) era. This paper presents a simple method that consists of hydrological models and the matching plots of nomographs to provide an informative and practical tool for rain garden sizing and hydrological evaluation. The proposed method considers design storms, infiltration rates and the runoff contribution area ratio of the rain garden, allowing users to size a rain garden for a specific site with hydrological reference and predict overflow of the rain garden under different storms. The nomographs provide a visual presentation on the sensitivity of different design parameters. Subsequent application of the proposed method to a case study conducted in a sub-humid region in China showed that, the method accurately predicted the design storms for the existing rain garden, the predicted overflows under large storm events were within 13-50% of the measured volumes. The results suggest that the nomographs approach is a practical tool for quick selection or assessment of design options that incorporate key hydrological parameters of rain gardens or other infiltration type green infrastructure. The graphic approach as displayed by the nomographs allow urban planners to demonstrate the hydrological effect of small scale green infrastructure and gain more support for promoting low impact development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear Prediction Model for Hydrologic Time Series Based on Wavelet Decomposition

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, H.; Khalil, A.; Brown, C.; Lall, U.; Ahn, H.; Moon, Y.

2005-12-01

Traditionally forecasting and characterizations of hydrologic systems is performed utilizing many techniques. Stochastic linear methods such as AR and ARIMA and nonlinear ones such as statistical learning theory based tools have been extensively used. The common difficulty to all methods is the determination of sufficient and necessary information and predictors for a successful prediction. Relationships between hydrologic variables are often highly nonlinear and interrelated across the temporal scale. A new hybrid approach is proposed for the simulation of hydrologic time series combining both the wavelet transform and the nonlinear model. The present model employs some merits of wavelet transform and nonlinear time series model. The Wavelet Transform is adopted to decompose a hydrologic nonlinear process into a set of mono-component signals, which are simulated by nonlinear model. The hybrid methodology is formulated in a manner to improve the accuracy of a long term forecasting. The proposed hybrid model yields much better results in terms of capturing and reproducing the time-frequency properties of the system at hand. Prediction results are promising when compared to traditional univariate time series models. An application of the plausibility of the proposed methodology is provided and the results conclude that wavelet based time series model can be utilized for simulating and forecasting of hydrologic variable reasonably well. This will ultimately serve the purpose of integrated water resources planning and management.

Agricultural watershed modeling: a review for hydrology and soil erosion processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Rogério de Mello

2016-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Models have been used by man for thousands of years to control his environment in a favorable way to better human living conditions. The use of hydrologic models has been a widely effective tool in order to support decision makers dealing with watersheds related to several economic and social activities, like public water supply, energy generation, and water availability for agriculture, among others. The purpose of this review is to briefly discuss some models on soil and water movement on landscapes (RUSLE, WEPP, GeoWEPP, LASH, DHSVM and AnnAGNPS to provide information about them to help and serve in a proper manner in order to discuss particular problems related to hydrology and soil erosion processes. Models have been changed and evaluated significantly in recent years, highlighting the use of remote sense, GIS and automatic calibration process, allowing them capable of simulating watersheds under a given land-use and climate change effects. However, hydrology models have almost the same physical structure, which is not enough for simulating problems related to the long-term effects of different land-uses. That has been our challenge for next future: to understand entirely the hydrology cycle, having as reference the critical zone, in which the hydrological processes act together from canopy to the bottom of aquifers.

Development and comparison of Bayesian modularization method in uncertainty assessment of hydrological models

Science.gov (United States)

Li, L.; Xu, C.-Y.; Engeland, K.

2012-04-01

With respect to model calibration, parameter estimation and analysis of uncertainty sources, different approaches have been used in hydrological models. Bayesian method is one of the most widely used methods for uncertainty assessment of hydrological models, which incorporates different sources of information into a single analysis through Bayesian theorem. However, none of these applications can well treat the uncertainty in extreme flows of hydrological models' simulations. This study proposes a Bayesian modularization method approach in uncertainty assessment of conceptual hydrological models by considering the extreme flows. It includes a comprehensive comparison and evaluation of uncertainty assessments by a new Bayesian modularization method approach and traditional Bayesian models using the Metropolis Hasting (MH) algorithm with the daily hydrological model WASMOD. Three likelihood functions are used in combination with traditional Bayesian: the AR (1) plus Normal and time period independent model (Model 1), the AR (1) plus Normal and time period dependent model (Model 2) and the AR (1) plus multi-normal model (Model 3). The results reveal that (1) the simulations derived from Bayesian modularization method are more accurate with the highest Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency value, and (2) the Bayesian modularization method performs best in uncertainty estimates of entire flows and in terms of the application and computational efficiency. The study thus introduces a new approach for reducing the extreme flow's effect on the discharge uncertainty assessment of hydrological models via Bayesian. Keywords: extreme flow, uncertainty assessment, Bayesian modularization, hydrological model, WASMOD

Description of the National Hydrologic Model for use with the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Regan, R. Steven; Markstrom, Steven L.; Hay, Lauren E.; Viger, Roland J.; Norton, Parker A.; Driscoll, Jessica M.; LaFontaine, Jacob H.

2018-01-08

This report documents several components of the U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrologic Model of the conterminous United States for use with the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). It provides descriptions of the (1) National Hydrologic Model, (2) Geospatial Fabric for National Hydrologic Modeling, (3) PRMS hydrologic simulation code, (4) parameters and estimation methods used to compute spatially and temporally distributed default values as required by PRMS, (5) National Hydrologic Model Parameter Database, and (6) model extraction tool named Bandit. The National Hydrologic Model Parameter Database contains values for all PRMS parameters used in the National Hydrologic Model. The methods and national datasets used to estimate all the PRMS parameters are described. Some parameter values are derived from characteristics of topography, land cover, soils, geology, and hydrography using traditional Geographic Information System methods. Other parameters are set to long-established default values and computation of initial values. Additionally, methods (statistical, sensitivity, calibration, and algebraic) were developed to compute parameter values on the basis of a variety of nationally-consistent datasets. Values in the National Hydrologic Model Parameter Database can periodically be updated on the basis of new parameter estimation methods and as additional national datasets become available. A companion ScienceBase resource provides a set of static parameter values as well as images of spatially-distributed parameters associated with PRMS states and fluxes for each Hydrologic Response Unit across the conterminuous United States.

The European 2015 drought from a hydrological perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Laaha

2017-06-01

(magnitude. These results emphasize that drought is a hazard which leaves different footprints on the various components of the water cycle at different spatial and temporal scales. The difference in the dynamic development of meteorological and hydrological drought also implies that impacts on various water-use sectors and river ecology cannot be informed by climate indices alone. Thus, an assessment of drought impacts on water resources requires hydrological data in addition to drought indices based solely on climate data. The transboundary scale of the event also suggests that additional efforts need to be undertaken to make timely pan-European hydrological assessments more operational in the future.

Combined effects of climate models, hydrological model structures and land use scenarios on hydrological impacts of climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlsson, Ida B.; Sonnenborg, Torben O.; Refsgaard, Jens Christian

2016-01-01

Impact studies of the hydrological response of future climate change are important for the water authorities when risk assessment, management and adaptation to a changing climate are carried out. The objective of this study was to model the combined effect of land use and climate changes...... use scenarios. The results revealed that even though the hydrological models all showed similar performance during calibration, the mean discharge response to climate change varied up to 30%, and the variations were even higher for extreme events (1th and 99th percentile). Land use changes appeared...... to cause little change in mean hydrological responses and little variation between hydrological models. Differences in hydrological model responses to land use were, however, significant for extremes due to dissimilarities in hydrological model structure and process equations. The climate model choice...

Development of isotope hydrology technology in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhangsu

1988-01-01

The development of isotope hydrology technology in China is described. The isotope technology provides an independent approach for solving hydrological problems. Isotope hydrology is applied in three ways: the use of change in environmental isotopic composition of water (especially used in water resources exploitation), the use of artificial radioactive tracers and the use of redioisotope instruments. Many important achievements have been obtained in application of isotopic hydrology technology. For the sake of promoting rapid development of isotope hydrology the topics on management, technology and others are commented

Global hydrological droughts in the 21st century under a changing hydrological regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Wanders

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Climate change very likely impacts future hydrological drought characteristics across the world. Here, we quantify the impact of climate change on future low flows and associated hydrological drought characteristics on a global scale using an alternative drought identification approach that considers adaptation to future changes in hydrological regime. The global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB was used to simulate daily discharge at 0.5° globally for 1971–2099. The model was forced with CMIP5 climate projections taken from five global circulation models (GCMs and four emission scenarios (representative concentration pathways, RCPs, from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. Drought events occur when discharge is below a threshold. The conventional variable threshold (VTM was calculated by deriving the threshold from the period 1971–2000. The transient variable threshold (VTMt is a non-stationary approach, where the threshold is based on the discharge values of the previous 30 years implying the threshold to vary every year during the 21st century. The VTMt adjusts to gradual changes in the hydrological regime as response to climate change. Results show a significant negative trend in the low flow regime over the 21st century for large parts of South America, southern Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean. In 40–52% of the world reduced low flows are projected, while increased low flows are found in the snow-dominated climates. In 27% of the global area both the drought duration and the deficit volume are expected to increase when applying the VTMt. However, this area will significantly increase to 62% when the VTM is applied. The mean global area in drought, with the VTMt, remains rather constant (11.7 to 13.4%, compared to the substantial increase when the VTM is applied (11.7 to 20%. The study illustrates that an alternative drought identification that considers adaptation to an altered hydrological regime has a

Using tracers to understand the hydrology of an abandoned underground coal mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canty, G.A.; Everett, J.W.

1998-01-01

Flooded underground mines pose a difficult problem for remediation efforts requiring hydrologic information. Mine environments are hydraulically complicated due to sinuous travel paths and variable hydraulic gradients. For an acidic mine remediation project, conducted by the University of Oklahoma in conjunction with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, a tracer study was undertaken to identify basic hydrologic properties of a flooded coal mine. The study was conducted to investigate the possibility of in-situ remediation of acidic mine water with the use of alkaline coal combustion by-products. Information on the rate of flow and ''connectiveness'' of injection wells with the discharge point was needed to develop a treatment strategy. Fluorescent dyes are not typically used in mine tracer studies because of the low pH values associated with certain mines and a tendency to adsorb ferric iron precipitates. However, Rhodamine WT was used in one tracer test because it can be detected at low concentrations. Due to poor recovery, a second tracer test was undertaken using a more conservative tracer-chloride. Each tracer produced similar travel time results. Findings from this study suggest that Rhodamine WT can be used under slightly acidic conditions, with mixed results. The more conservative tracer provided somewhat better results, but recovery was still poor. Use of these tracers has provided some valuable information with regard to mine hydrology, but additional questions have been raised

Simplifying a hydrological ensemble prediction system with a backward greedy selection of members – Part 1: Optimization criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Brochero

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Hydrological Ensemble Prediction Systems (HEPS, obtained by forcing rainfall-runoff models with Meteorological Ensemble Prediction Systems (MEPS, have been recognized as useful approaches to quantify uncertainties of hydrological forecasting systems. This task is complex both in terms of the coupling of information and computational time, which may create an operational barrier. The main objective of the current work is to assess the degree of simplification (reduction of the number of hydrological members that can be achieved with a HEPS configured using 16 lumped hydrological models driven by the 50 weather ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF. Here, Backward Greedy Selection (BGS is proposed to assess the weight that each model must represent within a subset that offers similar or better performance than a reference set of 800 hydrological members. These hydrological models' weights represent the participation of each hydrological model within a simplified HEPS which would issue real-time forecasts in a relatively short computational time. The methodology uses a variation of the k-fold cross-validation, allowing an optimal use of the information, and employs a multi-criterion framework that represents the combination of resolution, reliability, consistency, and diversity. Results show that the degree of reduction of members can be established in terms of maximum number of members required (complexity of the HEPS or the maximization of the relationship between the different scores (performance.

Fundamentals of watershed hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Pamela J. Edwards; Karl W.J. Williard; Jon E. Schoonover

2015-01-01

This is a primer about hydrology, the science of water. Watersheds are the basic land unit for water resource management and their delineation, importance, and variation are explained and illustrated. The hydrologic cycle and its components (precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, soil water, groundwater, and streamflow) which collectively provide a foundation for...

Uncertainty in hydrological change modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seaby, Lauren Paige

applied at the grid scale. Flux and state hydrological outputs which integrate responses over time and space showed more sensitivity to precipitation mean spatial biases and less so on extremes. In the investigated catchments, the projected change of groundwater levels and basin discharge between current......Hydrological change modelling methodologies generally use climate models outputs to force hydrological simulations under changed conditions. There are nested sources of uncertainty throughout this methodology, including choice of climate model and subsequent bias correction methods. This Ph.......D. study evaluates the uncertainty of the impact of climate change in hydrological simulations given multiple climate models and bias correction methods of varying complexity. Three distribution based scaling methods (DBS) were developed and benchmarked against a more simplistic and commonly used delta...

HYDROLOGY, LAMAR COUNTY, GEORGIA, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, IONIA COUNTY, MI, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, WHITLEY COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, TUSCOLA COUNTY, MI, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, JEFFERSON COUNTY, WI, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, DODGE COUNTY, WI, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, WASHINGTON COUNTY, WI, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, DUNN COUNTY, WI, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, yakima County, WA, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LEVY COUNTY, FL, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, WASHINGTON COUNTY, FL, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, HAMILTON COUNTY, FL, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LIBERTY COUNTY, FL, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS, HONOLULU COUNTY, HI

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, BALLARD COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, Richland County, ND, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, Grant County, SD, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, MONITEAU COUNTY, MISSOURI USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, IRON COUNTY, UTAH, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, Bourbon COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, MADISON COUNTY, FL, USA

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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, RICE COUNTY, MN, USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, LAUREL COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, SIMPSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS, MONO COUNTY, CA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS, EDGEFIELD COUNTY, SC

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, STORY COUNTY, IOWA USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

Integrated hydrologic model of Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, California

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Randall T.; Schmid, Wolfgang; Faunt, Claudia C.; Lear, Jonathan; Lockwood, Brian

2014-01-01

Increasing population, agricultural development (including shifts to more water-intensive crops), and climate variability are placing increasingly larger demands on available groundwater resources in the Pajaro Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This study provided a refined conceptual model, geohydrologic framework, and integrated hydrologic model of the Pajaro Valley. The goal of this study was to produce a model capable of being accurate at scales relevant to water management decisions that are being considered in the revision and updates to the Basin Management Plan (BMP). The Pajaro Valley Hydrologic Model (PVHM) was designed to reproduce the most important natural and human components of the hydrologic system and related climatic factors, permitting an accurate assessment of groundwater conditions and processes that can inform the new BMP and help to improve planning for long-term sustainability of water resources. Model development included a revision of the conceptual model of the flow system, reevaluation of the previous model transformed into MODFLOW, implementation of the new geohydrologic model and conceptual model, and calibration of the transient hydrologic model.

Conceptual hydrologic model of flow in the unsaturated zone, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montazer, P.; Wilson, W.E.

1984-01-01

The purpose of this report is to propose a conceptual hydrologic model that reasonably describes the flow of fluids through the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, for use as a basis for preliminary site-performance assessment and as a guide to further investigations. Scott and others (1983) presented an initial conceptual hydrogeologic model for the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, based on detailed geologic, but very limited hydrologic, information. In this report, some of their concepts are examined and either supported or modified, and new concepts are developed. The model describes the manner in which flow probably occurs at Yucca Mountain and is based on: (1) current understanding of the hydrogeologic framework; (2) application of the principles of unsaturated flow; and (3) interpretation of some preliminary data from ongoing field and laboratory investigations. Included are extensive geologic information but relatively few hydrologic data that currently exist from the unsaturated zone in the Yucca Mountain area. Many uncertainties remain to be resolved concerning hydrologic conditions and processes. As a result, most of the concepts presented are intentionally descriptive and conjectural, with little quantitative basis provided. However, for the sake of directness and simplicity of expression, the model is presented as if it were a true expression of the facts. The authors recognize, and the reader should be aware, that the proposed model probably is not the only reasonable description that could be made at this point, and it certainly is subject to revision and quantification as more data become available. Although various alternative models probably could be developed, the one described in this report seems to fit current understanding of the unsaturated flow through a section of layered, fractured-rock formations with contrasting hydrologic properties, such as occurs at Yucca Mountain. 41 refs., 14 figs., 1 tab

Citizen Hydrology - Tradeoffs between Traditional Continuous Approaches and Temporally Discrete Hydrologic Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Davids, Jeffrey; Rutten, Martine; van de Giesen, Nick; Mehl, Steffen; Norris, James

2016-04-01

results of these analyses it appears that, in certain circumstances, citizen science based observations of hydrologic data can provide sufficiently reliable information for both real-time management and water resources planning purposes. To further evaluate the merits of citizen science methodologies, S4W is launching field pilot projects in Nepal.

iTree-Hydro: Snow hydrology update for the urban forest hydrology model

Science.gov (United States)

Yang Yang; Theodore A. Endreny; David J. Nowak

2011-01-01

This article presents snow hydrology updates made to iTree-Hydro, previously called the Urban Forest Effects—Hydrology model. iTree-Hydro Version 1 was a warm climate model developed by the USDA Forest Service to provide a process-based planning tool with robust water quantity and quality predictions given data limitations common to most urban areas. Cold climate...

Mountaintop Removal Mining and Catchment Hydrology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Miller

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Mountaintop mining and valley fill (MTM/VF coal extraction, practiced in the Central Appalachian region, represents a dramatic landscape-scale disturbance. MTM operations remove as much as 300 m of rock, soil, and vegetation from ridge tops to access deep coal seams and much of this material is placed in adjacent headwater streams altering landcover, drainage network, and topography. In spite of its scale, extent, and potential for continued use, the effects MTM/VF on catchment hydrology is poorly understood. Previous reviews focus on water quality and ecosystem health impacts, but little is known about how MTM/VF affects hydrology, particularly the movement and storage of water, hence the hydrologic processes that ultimately control flood generation, water chemistry, and biology. This paper aggregates the existing knowledge about the hydrologic impacts of MTM/VF to identify areas where further scientific investigation is needed. While contemporary surface mining generally increases peak and total runoff, the limited MTM/VF studies reveal significant variability in hydrologic response. Significant knowledge gaps relate to limited understanding of hydrologic processes in these systems. Until the hydrologic impact of this practice is better understood, efforts to reduce water quantity and quality problems and ecosystem degradation will be difficult to achieve.

Geophysical Monitoring of Hydrological and Biogeochemical Transformations associated with Cr(VI) Bioremediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hubbard, Susan; Williams, Kenneth H.; Conrad, Mark E.; Faybishenko, Boris; Peterson, John; Chen, Jinsong; Long, Philip E.; Hazen, Terry C.

2008-01-01

Understanding how hydrological and biogeochemical properties change over space and time in response to remedial treatments is hindered by our ability to monitor these processes with sufficient resolution and over field relevant scales. Here, we explored the use of geophysical approaches for monitoring the spatiotemporal distribution of hydrological and biogeochemical transformations associated with a Cr(VI)bioremediation experiment performed at Hanford, WA. We first integrated hydrological wellbore and geophysical tomographic datasets to estimate hydrological zonation at the study site. Using results from laboratory biogeophysical experiments and constraints provided by field geochemical datasets, we then interpreted time-lapse seismic and radar tomographic datasets, collected during thirteen acquisition campaigns over a three year experimental period, in terms of hydrological and biogeochemical transformations. The geophysical monitoring datasets were used to infer: the spatial distribution of injected electron donor; the evolution of gas bubbles; variations in total dissolved solids (nitrate and sulfate) as a function of pumping activity; the formation of precipitates and dissolution of calcites; and concomitant changes in porosity. Although qualitative in nature, the integrated interpretation illustrates how geophysical techniques have the potential to provide a wealth of information about coupled hydrobiogeochemical responses to remedial treatments in high spatial resolution and in a minimally invasive manner. Particularly novel aspects of our study include the use of multiple lines of evidence to constrain the interpretation of a long-term, field-scale geophysical monitoring dataset and the interpretation of the transformations as a function of hydrological heterogeneity and pumping activity

The Water Cycle from Space: Use of Satellite Data in Land Surface Hydrology and Water Resource Management

Science.gov (United States)

Laymon, Charles; Blankenship, Clay; Khan, Maudood; Limaye, Ashutosh; Hornbuckle, Brian; Rowlandson, Tracy

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews how our understanding of the water cycle is enhanced by our use of satellite data, and how this informs land surface hydrology and water resource management. It reviews how NASA's current and future satellite missions will provide Earth system data of unprecedented breadth, accuracy and utility for hydrologic analysis.

Embedding complex hydrology in the climate system - towards fully coupled climate-hydrology models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Butts, M.; Rasmussen, S.H.; Ridler, M.

2013-01-01

Motivated by the need to develop better tools to understand the impact of future management and climate change on water resources, we present a set of studies with the overall aim of developing a fully dynamic coupling between a comprehensive hydrological model, MIKE SHE, and a regional climate...... distributed parameters using satellite remote sensing. Secondly, field data are used to investigate the effects of model resolution and parameter scales for use in a coupled model. Finally, the development of the fully coupled climate-hydrology model is described and some of the challenges associated...... with coupling models for hydrological processes on sub-grid scales of the regional climate model are presented....

Integrated Application of Remote Sensing, GIS and Hydrological Modeling to Estimate the Potential Impact Area of Earthquake-Induced Dammed Lakes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Cao

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Dammed lakes are an important secondary hazard caused by earthquakes. They can induce further damage to nearby humans. Current hydrology calculation research on dammed lakes usually lacks spatial expressive ability and cannot accurately conduct impact assessment without the support of remote sensing, which obtains important characteristic information of dammed lakes. The current study aims to address the issues of the potential impact area estimate of earthquake-induced dammed lakes by combining remote sensing (RS, a geographic information system (GIS, and hydrological modeling. The Tangjiashan dammed lake induced by the Wenchuan earthquake was selected as the case for study. The elevation-versus-reservoir capacity curve was first calculated using the seed-growing algorithm based on digital elevation model (DEM data. The simulated annealing algorithm was applied to train the hydrological modeling parameters according to the historical hydrologic data. Then, the downstream water elevation variational process under different collapse capacity conditions was performed based on the obtained parameters. Finally, the downstream potential impact area was estimated by the highest water elevation values at different hydrologic sections. Results show that a flood with a collapse elevation of at least 680 m will impact the entire downstream region of Beichuan town. We conclude that spatial information technology combined with hydrological modeling can accurately predict and demonstrate the potential impact area with limited data resources. This paper provides a better guide for future immediate responses to dammed lake hazard mitigation.

Stochastic Modelling of Hydrologic Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsdottir, Harpa

2007-01-01

In this PhD project several stochastic modelling methods are studied and applied on various subjects in hydrology. The research was prepared at Informatics and Mathematical Modelling at the Technical University of Denmark. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part contains...... an introduction and an overview of the papers published. Then an introduction to basic concepts in hydrology along with a description of hydrological data is given. Finally an introduction to stochastic modelling is given. The second part contains the research papers. In the research papers the stochastic methods...... are described, as at the time of publication these methods represent new contribution to hydrology. The second part also contains additional description of software used and a brief introduction to stiff systems. The system in one of the papers is stiff....

Gradation of complexity and predictability of hydrological processes

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Yan-Fang; Singh, Vijay P.; Wen, Jun; Liu, Changming

2015-06-01

Quantification of the complexity and predictability of hydrological systems is important for evaluating the impact of climate change on hydrological processes, and for guiding water activities. In the literature, the focus seems to have been on describing the complexity of spatiotemporal distribution of hydrological variables, but little attention has been paid to the study of complexity gradation, because the degree of absolute complexity of hydrological systems cannot be objectively evaluated. Here we show that complexity and predictability of hydrological processes can be graded into three ranks (low, middle, and high). The gradation is based on the difference in the energy distribution of hydrological series and that of white noise under multitemporal scales. It reflects different energy concentration levels and contents of deterministic components of the hydrological series in the three ranks. Higher energy concentration level reflects lower complexity and higher predictability, but scattered energy distribution being similar to white noise has the highest complexity and is almost unpredictable. We conclude that the three ranks (low, middle, and high) approximately correspond to deterministic, stochastic, and random hydrological systems, respectively. The result of complexity gradation can guide hydrological observations and modeling, and identification of similarity patterns among different hydrological systems.

Integrating local research watersheds into hydrologic education: Lessons from the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, J. P.; Aishlin, P. S.; Flores, A. N.; Benner, S. G.; Marshall, H. P.; Pierce, J. L.

2014-12-01

While a proliferation of instrumented research watersheds and new data sharing technologies has transformed hydrologic research in recent decades, similar advances have not been realized in hydrologic education. Long-standing problems in hydrologic education include discontinuity of hydrologic topics from introductory to advanced courses, inconsistency of content across academic departments, and difficulties in development of laboratory and homework assignments utilizing large time series and spatial data sets. Hydrologic problems are typically not amenable to "back-of-the-chapter" examples. Local, long-term research watersheds offer solutions to these problems. Here, we describe our integration of research and monitoring programs in the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed into undergraduate and graduate hydrology programs at Boise State University. We developed a suite of watershed-based exercises into courses and curriculums using real, tangible datasets from the watershed to teach concepts not amenable to traditional textbook and lecture methods. The aggregation of exercises throughout a course or degree allows for scaffolding of concepts with progressive exposure of advanced concepts throughout a course or degree. The need for exercises of this type is growing as traditional lecture-based classes (passive learning from a local authoritative source) are being replaced with active learning courses that integrate many sources of information through situational factors.

Debates—Hypothesis testing in hydrology: Introduction

Science.gov (United States)

Blöschl, Günter

2017-03-01

This paper introduces the papers in the "Debates—Hypothesis testing in hydrology" series. The four articles in the series discuss whether and how the process of testing hypotheses leads to progress in hydrology. Repeated experiments with controlled boundary conditions are rarely feasible in hydrology. Research is therefore not easily aligned with the classical scientific method of testing hypotheses. Hypotheses in hydrology are often enshrined in computer models which are tested against observed data. Testability may be limited due to model complexity and data uncertainty. All four articles suggest that hypothesis testing has contributed to progress in hydrology and is needed in the future. However, the procedure is usually not as systematic as the philosophy of science suggests. A greater emphasis on a creative reasoning process on the basis of clues and explorative analyses is therefore needed.

Calibration process of highly parameterized semi-distributed hydrological model

Science.gov (United States)

Vidmar, Andrej; Brilly, Mitja

2017-04-01

Hydrological phenomena take place in the hydrological system, which is governed by nature, and are essentially stochastic. These phenomena are unique, non-recurring, and changeable across space and time. Since any river basin with its own natural characteristics and any hydrological event therein, are unique, this is a complex process that is not researched enough. Calibration is a procedure of determining the parameters of a model that are not known well enough. Input and output variables and mathematical model expressions are known, while only some parameters are unknown, which are determined by calibrating the model. The software used for hydrological modelling nowadays is equipped with sophisticated algorithms for calibration purposes without possibility to manage process by modeler. The results are not the best. We develop procedure for expert driven process of calibration. We use HBV-light-CLI hydrological model which has command line interface and coupling it with PEST. PEST is parameter estimation tool which is used widely in ground water modeling and can be used also on surface waters. Process of calibration managed by expert directly, and proportionally to the expert knowledge, affects the outcome of the inversion procedure and achieves better results than if the procedure had been left to the selected optimization algorithm. First step is to properly define spatial characteristic and structural design of semi-distributed model including all morphological and hydrological phenomena, like karstic area, alluvial area and forest area. This step includes and requires geological, meteorological, hydraulic and hydrological knowledge of modeler. Second step is to set initial parameter values at their preferred values based on expert knowledge. In this step we also define all parameter and observation groups. Peak data are essential in process of calibration if we are mainly interested in flood events. Each Sub Catchment in the model has own observations group

Hydrologic characterization for Spring Creek and hydrologic budget and model scenarios for Sheridan Lake, South Dakota, 1962-2007

Science.gov (United States)

Driscoll, Daniel G.; Norton, Parker A.

2009-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey cooperated with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks to characterize hydrologic information relevant to management of water resources associated with Sheridan Lake, which is formed by a dam on Spring Creek. This effort consisted primarily of characterization of hydrologic data for a base period of 1962 through 2006, development of a hydrologic budget for Sheridan Lake for this timeframe, and development of an associated model for simulation of storage deficits and drawdown in Sheridan Lake for hypothetical release scenarios from the lake. Historically, the dam has been operated primarily as a 'pass-through' system, in which unregulated outflows pass over the spillway; however, the dam recently was retrofitted with an improved control valve system that would allow controlled releases of about 7 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) or less from a fixed depth of about 60 feet (ft). Development of a hydrologic budget for Sheridan Lake involved compilation, estimation, and characterization of data sets for streamflow, precipitation, and evaporation. The most critical data need was for extrapolation of available short-term streamflow records for Spring Creek to be used as the long-term inflow to Sheridan Lake. Available short-term records for water years (WY) 1991-2004 for a gaging station upstream from Sheridan Lake were extrapolated to WY 1962-2006 on the basis of correlations with streamflow records for a downstream station and for stations located along two adjacent streams. Comparisons of data for the two streamflow-gaging stations along Spring Creek indicated that tributary inflow is approximately proportional to the intervening drainage area, which was used as a means of estimating tributary inflow for the hydrologic budget. Analysis of evaporation data shows that sustained daily rates may exceed maximum monthly rates by a factor of about two. A long-term (1962-2006) hydrologic budget was developed for computation of reservoir outflow from

Geochemical, hydrological, and biological cycling of energy residual. Research plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wobber, F.J.

1983-03-01

Proposed research goals and specific research areas designed to provide a base of fundamental scientific information so that the geochemical, hydrological, and biophysical mechanisms that contribute to the transport and long term fate of energy residuals in natural systems can be understood are described. Energy development and production have resulted in a need for advanced scientific information on the geochemical transformations, transport rates, and potential for bioaccumulation of contaminants in subsurface environments

Hydrologic classification of rivers based on cluster analysis of dimensionless hydrologic signatures: Applications for environmental instream flows

Science.gov (United States)

Praskievicz, S. J.; Luo, C.

2017-12-01

Classification of rivers is useful for a variety of purposes, such as generating and testing hypotheses about watershed controls on hydrology, predicting hydrologic variables for ungaged rivers, and setting goals for river management. In this research, we present a bottom-up (based on machine learning) river classification designed to investigate the underlying physical processes governing rivers' hydrologic regimes. The classification was developed for the entire state of Alabama, based on 248 United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages that met criteria for length and completeness of records. Five dimensionless hydrologic signatures were derived for each gage: slope of the flow duration curve (indicator of flow variability), baseflow index (ratio of baseflow to average streamflow), rising limb density (number of rising limbs per unit time), runoff ratio (ratio of long-term average streamflow to long-term average precipitation), and streamflow elasticity (sensitivity of streamflow to precipitation). We used a Bayesian clustering algorithm to classify the gages, based on the five hydrologic signatures, into distinct hydrologic regimes. We then used classification and regression trees (CART) to predict each gaged river's membership in different hydrologic regimes based on climatic and watershed variables. Using existing geospatial data, we applied the CART analysis to classify ungaged streams in Alabama, with the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) catchment (average area 3 km2) as the unit of classification. The results of the classification can be used for meeting management and conservation objectives in Alabama, such as developing statewide standards for environmental instream flows. Such hydrologic classification approaches are promising for contributing to process-based understanding of river systems.

Hydrologic Design in the Anthropocene

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, R. M.; Farmer, W. H.; Read, L.

2014-12-01

In an era dubbed the Anthropocene, the natural world is being transformed by a myriad of human influences. As anthropogenic impacts permeate hydrologic systems, hydrologists are challenged to fully account for such changes and develop new methods of hydrologic design. Deterministic watershed models (DWM), which can account for the impacts of changes in land use, climate and infrastructure, are becoming increasing popular for the design of flood and/or drought protection measures. As with all models that are calibrated to existing datasets, DWMs are subject to model error or uncertainty. In practice, the model error component of DWM predictions is typically ignored yet DWM simulations which ignore model error produce model output which cannot reproduce the statistical properties of the observations they are intended to replicate. In the context of hydrologic design, we demonstrate how ignoring model error can lead to systematic downward bias in flood quantiles, upward bias in drought quantiles and upward bias in water supply yields. By reincorporating model error, we document how DWM models can be used to generate results that mimic actual observations and preserve their statistical behavior. In addition to use of DWM for improved predictions in a changing world, improved communication of the risk and reliability is also needed. Traditional statements of risk and reliability in hydrologic design have been characterized by return periods, but such statements often assume that the annual probability of experiencing a design event remains constant throughout the project horizon. We document the general impact of nonstationarity on the average return period and reliability in the context of hydrologic design. Our analyses reveal that return periods do not provide meaningful expressions of the likelihood of future hydrologic events. Instead, knowledge of system reliability over future planning horizons can more effectively prepare society and communicate the likelihood

2003 hydrological drought - natural disaster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trninic, Dusan; Bosnjak, Tomislava

2004-01-01

An exceptionally dry and warm period from February to early October 2003 resulted in hydrological drought with attributes of a natural disaster in most of the Croatian regions. The paper presents hydrological analysis of the Sava River near Zupanja for the period 1945-2003 (N=59 years). In defining maximum annual volumes of isolated waves below the reference discharges, the following reference discharges were used:Q 30,95% = 202m 3 s -1 - minimum mean 30-day discharge, 95 % probability, Q 30,80% = 254m 3 s -1 - minimum mean 30-day discharge, 80 % probability, Q 95% = 297m 3 s -1 - (H = -17cm minimum navigation level = 95 % of water level duration from average duration curve). The analysis results have shown that the hydrological drought recorded during the current year belongs to the most thoroughly studied droughts in 59 years. For example, hydrological analysis of the reference discharge of 297m 3 s -1 has shown that this year drought comes second, immediately after the driest year 1946. However, this year hydrological drought hit the record duration of 103 days, unlike the one from 1946, which lasted 98 days. It is interesting that the hydrological droughts affect the Sava River usually in autumn and summer, rarely in winter, and it has never been recorded in spring (referring to the analysed 1945-2003 period). In conclusion, some recommendations are given for increase in low streamflows and on possible impacts of climate changes on these flows.(Author)

Entropy: From Thermodynamics to Hydrology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Demetris Koutsoyiannis

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Some known results from statistical thermophysics as well as from hydrology are revisited from a different perspective trying: (a to unify the notion of entropy in thermodynamic and statistical/stochastic approaches of complex hydrological systems and (b to show the power of entropy and the principle of maximum entropy in inference, both deductive and inductive. The capability for deductive reasoning is illustrated by deriving the law of phase change transition of water (Clausius-Clapeyron from scratch by maximizing entropy in a formal probabilistic frame. However, such deductive reasoning cannot work in more complex hydrological systems with diverse elements, yet the entropy maximization framework can help in inductive inference, necessarily based on data. Several examples of this type are provided in an attempt to link statistical thermophysics with hydrology with a unifying view of entropy.

Informing hydrological models with ground-based time-lapse relative gravimetry: potential and limitations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer-Gottwein, Peter; Christiansen, Lars; Rosbjerg, Dan

2011-01-01

parameter uncertainty decreased significantly when TLRG data was included in the inversion. The forced infiltration experiment caused changes in unsaturated zone storage, which were monitored using TLRG and ground-penetrating radar. A numerical unsaturated zone model was subsequently conditioned on both......Coupled hydrogeophysical inversion emerges as an attractive option to improve the calibration and predictive capability of hydrological models. Recently, ground-based time-lapse relative gravity (TLRG) measurements have attracted increasing interest because there is a direct relationship between...

Results of Detailed Hydrologic Characterization Tests—Fiscal and Calendar Year 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spane, Frank A.; Newcomer, Darrell R.

2008-02-27

This report provides the results of detailed hydrologic characterization tests conducted within selected Hanford Site wells during fiscal and calendar year 2005. Detailed characterization tests performed included groundwater-flow characterization, barometric response evaluation, slug tests, in-well vertical groundwater-flow assessments, and a single-well tracer and constant-rate pumping test. Hydraulic property estimates obtained from the detailed hydrologic tests include hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, specific yield, effective porosity, in-well lateral and vertical groundwater-flow velocity, aquifer groundwater-flow velocity, and depth-distribution profiles of hydraulic conductivity. In addition, local groundwater-flow characteristics (i.e., hydraulic gradient and flow direction) were determined for a site where detailed well testing was performed. Results obtained from these tests provide hydrologic information that supports the needs of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act waste management area characterization as well as sitewide groundwater monitoring and modeling programs. These results also reduce the uncertainty of groundwater-flow conditions at selected locations on the Hanford Site.

Crowdsourcing Stream Stage in Data Scarce Regions: Applications of CrowdHydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, C.; Fienen, M. N.

2013-12-01

Crowdsourced data collection using citizen scientists and mobile phones is a promising way to collect supplemental information in data scarce or remote regions. The research presented here explore the possibilities and pitfalls of crowdsourcing hydrologic data via mobile phone text messaging through the example of CrowdHydrology, a distributed network of over 40 stream gages in four states. Signage at the CrowdHydrology gages ask citizen scientists to answer to a simple question via text message: 'What is the water height?'. While these data in no way replace more traditional measurements of stream stage, they do provide low cost supplemental measurements in data scarce regions. Results demonstrate the accuracy of crowdsourced data and provide insight for successful future crowdsourced data collection efforts. A less recognized benefit is that even in data rich areas, crowdsourced data collection is a cost-effective way to perform quality assurance on more sophisticated, and costly, data collection efforts.

Seasonal isotope hydrology of a coffee agroforestry watershed in Costa Rica

Science.gov (United States)

Welsh Unwala, K.; Boll, J.; Roupsard, O.

2014-12-01

Improved information of seasonal variations in watershed hydrology in the tropics can strengthen models and understanding of hydrology of these areas. Seasonality in the tropics produces rainy seasons versus dry seasons, leading to different hydrologic and water quality processes throughout the year. We questioned whether stable isotopes in water can be used to trace the seasonality in this region, despite experiencing a "drier" season, such as in a Tropical Humid location. This study examines the fluctuations of stable isotope compositions (δ18O and δD) in water balance components in a small (deep groundwater system contributes significantly to baseflow, although a shallow, spring-driven system also contributes to stream water within the watershed. During storm events, precipitation contributes to stormflow in the short-term, confirming the role of superficial runoff. These results indicate that isotopes are helpful to partition the water balance even in a Tropical Humid situation where the rainfall seasonality is weak.

Isotope hydrology in Latin America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payne, B.R.

1976-01-01

There are a broad range of nuclear techniques applicable to a variety of hydrological problems and these techniques are becoming recognized as an additional and, in some cases, indispensable tool available to the hydrologist in his quest to meet the increasing demands for water by agriculture, industry and community water supply. In Latin America we find examples of almost all the nuclear hydrological techniques. This article endeavours to give a summary account of the status of isotope hydrology in the region and the types of problems to which these techniques have been applied

Artificial radioisotopes in hydrological investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plata-Bedmar, A.

1988-01-01

Radioisotope techniques have an important part in hydrological investigations. Sealed radiation sources have been used for measurements of sediments transported by river water, of thickness and density of sediment layers. X-ray fluorescence analysis and well-logging are widely applied in hydrological research. Tracer techniques have been useful in flow rate and river dynamics research, sediments tracing, irrigation and ground water problems, infiltration rate evaluation etc. The IAEA is supporting several projects involving the use of radioactive tracers in hydrological investigations p.e. in Guatemala, Romania, South East Asia, Brazil, Chile and Nicaragua

HESS Opinions "The art of hydrology"*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. H. G. Savenije

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Hydrological modelling is the same as developing and encoding a hydrological theory. A hydrological model is not a tool but a hypothesis. The whole discussion about the inadequacy of hydrological models we have witnessed of late, is related to the wrong concept of what a model is. Good models don't exist. Instead of looking for the "best" model, we should aim at developing better models. The process of modelling should be top-down, learning from the data while at the same time connection should be established with underlying physical theory (bottom-up. As a result of heterogeneity occurring at all scales in hydrology, there always remains a need for calibration of models. This implies that we need tailor-made and site-specific models. Only flexible models are fit for this modelling process, as opposed to most of the established software or "one-size-fits-all" models. The process of modelling requires imagination, inspiration, creativity, ingenuity, experience and skill. These are qualities that belong to the field of art. Hydrology is an art as much as it is science and engineering.

Temporal variations in the potential hydrological performance of extensive green roof systems

Science.gov (United States)

De-Ville, Simon; Menon, Manoj; Stovin, Virginia

2018-03-01

Existing literature provides contradictory information about variation in potential green roof hydrological performance over time. This study has evaluated a long-term hydrological monitoring record from a series of extensive green roof test beds to identify long-term evolutions and sub-annual (seasonal) variations in potential hydrological performance. Monitoring of nine differently-configured extensive green roof test beds took place over a period of 6 years in Sheffield, UK. Long-term evolutions and sub-annual trends in maximum potential retention performance were identified through physical monitoring of substrate field capacity over time. An independent evaluation of temporal variations in detention performance was undertaken through the fitting of reservoir-routing model parameters. Aggregation of the resulting retention and detention variations permitted the prediction of extensive green roof hydrological performance in response to a 1-in-30-year 1-h summer design storm for Sheffield, UK, which facilitated the comparison of multi and sub-annual hydrological performance variations. Sub-annual (seasonal) variation was found to be significantly greater than long-term evolution. Potential retention performance increased by up to 12% after 5-years, whilst the maximum sub-annual variation in potential retention was 27%. For vegetated roof configurations, a 4% long-term improvement was observed for detention performance, compared to a maximum 63% sub-annual variation. Consistent long-term reductions in detention performance were observed in unvegetated roof configurations, with a non-standard expanded-clay substrate experiencing a 45% reduction in peak attenuation over 5-years. Conventional roof configurations exhibit stable long-term hydrological performance, but are nonetheless subject to sub-annual variation.

Socio-hydrological model to inform community adaptation to seasonal drought and climate variability in rural agricultural watersheds in Costa Rica

Science.gov (United States)

Hund, S. V.; Johnson, M. S.; Morillas, L.; McDaniels, T.; Romero Valpreda, J.; Allen, D. M.

2017-12-01

Climate variability and seasonal droughts associated with ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) and increasing water demand due to growing population are leading to serious water conflicts in the wet-dry tropics of Central America. Integrated methods are needed to understand the linkages of these complex socio-hydrological systems and design reliable adaption strategies in a period of global change. With increasing pressure on surface and groundwater resources during long annual dry seasons, rural agricultural communities suffer water shortages, especially in those years preceded by wet seasons with lower rainfall (and reduced groundwater recharge). To support community resilience to rainfall variability and droughts, we conducted a combination of fieldwork (development of hydrologic monitoring system and local stakeholder cooperation), and hydrological modeling for two watersheds with a shared aquifer (Potrero and Caimital) in Northwestern Costa Rica. The agricultural land use of the region and the many rural villages that draw directly on their local water resource and live in close interaction with their watersheds necessitated a socio-hydrological systems approach. In this talk we present results from our hydrologic modeling, for which we used the WEAP (Water Evaluation and Planning) model and locally recorded data. With the integrated water supply and demand features of the WEAP model, we were able to synthesize both the hydrological system and the societal system (specifically, household and agricultural water use), and show feedbacks such as that water use tends to increase during the dry season, likely exacerbating water shortages issues. Further, applying a range of ENSO related rainfall scenarios to the model demonstrated that community adaptation will become in particular important in response to lower water availability in future El Niño years. In collaboration with local stakeholders, we identified a set of feasible adaptation strategies to seasonal

Assessing the Added Value of Dynamical Downscaling in the Context of Hydrologic Implication

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, M.; IM, E. S.; Lee, M. H.

2017-12-01

There is a scientific consensus that high-resolution climate simulations downscaled by Regional Climate Models (RCMs) can provide valuable refined information over the target region. However, a significant body of hydrologic impact assessment has been performing using the climate information provided by Global Climate Models (GCMs) in spite of a fundamental spatial scale gap. It is probably based on the assumption that the substantial biases and spatial scale gap from GCMs raw data can be simply removed by applying the statistical bias correction and spatial disaggregation. Indeed, many previous studies argue that the benefit of dynamical downscaling using RCMs is minimal when linking climate data with the hydrological model, from the comparison of the impact between bias-corrected GCMs and bias-corrected RCMs on hydrologic simulations. It may be true for long-term averaged climatological pattern, but it is not necessarily the case when looking into variability across various temporal spectrum. In this study, we investigate the added value of dynamical downscaling focusing on the performance in capturing climate variability. For doing this, we evaluate the performance of the distributed hydrological model over the Korean river basin using the raw output from GCM and RCM, and bias-corrected output from GCM and RCM. The impacts of climate input data on streamflow simulation are comprehensively analyzed. [Acknowledgements]This research is supported by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) grant funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Grant 17AWMP-B083066-04).

Development and comparison in uncertainty assessment based Bayesian modularization method in hydrological modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lu; Xu, Chong-Yu; Engeland, Kolbjørn

2013-04-01

SummaryWith respect to model calibration, parameter estimation and analysis of uncertainty sources, various regression and probabilistic approaches are used in hydrological modeling. A family of Bayesian methods, which incorporates different sources of information into a single analysis through Bayes' theorem, is widely used for uncertainty assessment. However, none of these approaches can well treat the impact of high flows in hydrological modeling. This study proposes a Bayesian modularization uncertainty assessment approach in which the highest streamflow observations are treated as suspect information that should not influence the inference of the main bulk of the model parameters. This study includes a comprehensive comparison and evaluation of uncertainty assessments by our new Bayesian modularization method and standard Bayesian methods using the Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm with the daily hydrological model WASMOD. Three likelihood functions were used in combination with standard Bayesian method: the AR(1) plus Normal model independent of time (Model 1), the AR(1) plus Normal model dependent on time (Model 2) and the AR(1) plus Multi-normal model (Model 3). The results reveal that the Bayesian modularization method provides the most accurate streamflow estimates measured by the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and provide the best in uncertainty estimates for low, medium and entire flows compared to standard Bayesian methods. The study thus provides a new approach for reducing the impact of high flows on the discharge uncertainty assessment of hydrological models via Bayesian method.

Hydrologic monitoring and analysis in the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Wahid, Shahriar Md.; Babel, Mukand S.; Bhuiyan, Abdur Rahman

2007-01-01

SummaryThe unique habitat of the Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem is dependent upon the hydrological regime. Therefore, a comprehensive study to understand the hydrologic behaviour and the changes that have taken place due to anthropogenic activities in and around the area is fundamental to the management of natural resources and environment. In the past, ad hoc and uncoordinated efforts were made due to the inherent inaccessibility and high cost of data collection. The present article documents the results of the hydrologic monitoring, modelling and analysis in the Sundarbans. The study results show that the annual maximum tidal range has increased by about 0.75 m in the eastern and central parts during the last two decades. About 60% area remains in higher salinity condition (>20 ppt) for at least 1.5 months in a year. Organic pollution in the waterways is within the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) of Bangladesh with the average Dissolved Oxygen (DO) of 5.99 mg/L. Total Ammonia, Nitrate (NO 3-N) and Phosphate (PO 4-P) level are present in sufficient quantity for the aquatic life to survive and are within EQS limit. Lead and Chromium occasionally exceed EQS limit especially along the large barge routes in the western part. The data and information presented in the paper will serve as a baseline for future hydrological and environmental studies.

Making sense of Big Data in Hydrology (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, N.; Blodgett, D. L.; Briar, D.

2013-12-01

of interest (hydrology, weather/climate, oceans, health, landscape) and adapt our hydrologic data platforms to deliver, consume and broker information accordingly.

Remote sensing, hydrological modeling and in situ observations in snow cover research: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Chunyu

2018-06-01

Snow is an important component of the hydrological cycle. As a major part of the cryosphere, snow cover also represents a valuable terrestrial water resource. In the context of climate change, the dynamics of snow cover play a crucial role in rebalancing the global energy and water budgets. Remote sensing, hydrological modeling and in situ observations are three techniques frequently utilized for snow cover investigations. However, the uncertainties caused by systematic errors, scale gaps, and complicated snow physics, among other factors, limit the usability of these three approaches in snow studies. In this paper, an overview of the advantages, limitations and recent progress of the three methods is presented, and more effective ways to estimate snow cover properties are evaluated. The possibility of improving remotely sensed snow information using ground-based observations is discussed. As a rapidly growing source of volunteered geographic information (VGI), web-based geotagged photos have great potential to provide ground truth data for remotely sensed products and hydrological models and thus contribute to procedures for cloud removal, correction, validation, forcing and assimilation. Finally, this review proposes a synergistic framework for the future of snow cover research. This framework highlights the cross-scale integration of in situ and remotely sensed snow measurements and the assimilation of improved remote sensing data into hydrological models.

Hydrological Process Simulation of Inland River Watershed: A Case Study of the Heihe River Basin with Multiple Hydrological Models

OpenAIRE

Lili Wang; Zhonggen Wang; Jingjie Yu; Yichi Zhang; Suzhen Dang

2018-01-01

Simulating the hydrological processes of an inland river basin can help provide the scientific guidance to the policies of water allocation among different subbasins and water resource management groups within the subbasins. However, it is difficult to simulate the hydrological processes of an inland river basin with hydrological models due to the non-consistent hydrological characteristics of the entire basin. This study presents a solution to this problem with a case study about the hydrolo...

CrowdHydrology: crowdsourcing hydrologic data and engaging citizen scientists.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, Christopher S; Fienen, Michael N

2013-01-01

Spatially and temporally distributed measurements of processes, such as baseflow at the watershed scale, come at substantial equipment and personnel cost. Research presented here focuses on building a crowdsourced database of inexpensive distributed stream stage measurements. Signs on staff gauges encourage citizen scientists to voluntarily send hydrologic measurements (e.g., stream stage) via text message to a server that stores and displays the data on the web. Based on the crowdsourced stream stage, we evaluate the accuracy of citizen scientist measurements and measurement approach. The results show that crowdsourced data collection is a supplemental method for collecting hydrologic data and a promising method of public engagement. © 2012, The Author(s). Ground Water © 2012, National Ground Water Association.

A question driven socio-hydrological modeling process

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, M.; Portney, K.; Islam, S.

2016-01-01

Human and hydrological systems are coupled: human activity impacts the hydrological cycle and hydrological conditions can, but do not always, trigger changes in human systems. Traditional modeling approaches with no feedback between hydrological and human systems typically cannot offer insight into how different patterns of natural variability or human-induced changes may propagate through this coupled system. Modeling of coupled human-hydrological systems, also called socio-hydrological systems, recognizes the potential for humans to transform hydrological systems and for hydrological conditions to influence human behavior. However, this coupling introduces new challenges and existing literature does not offer clear guidance regarding model conceptualization. There are no universally accepted laws of human behavior as there are for the physical systems; furthermore, a shared understanding of important processes within the field is often used to develop hydrological models, but there is no such consensus on the relevant processes in socio-hydrological systems. Here we present a question driven process to address these challenges. Such an approach allows modeling structure, scope and detail to remain contingent on and adaptive to the question context. We demonstrate the utility of this process by revisiting a classic question in water resources engineering on reservoir operation rules: what is the impact of reservoir operation policy on the reliability of water supply for a growing city? Our example model couples hydrological and human systems by linking the rate of demand decreases to the past reliability to compare standard operating policy (SOP) with hedging policy (HP). The model shows that reservoir storage acts both as a buffer for variability and as a delay triggering oscillations around a sustainable level of demand. HP reduces the threshold for action thereby decreasing the delay and the oscillation effect. As a result, per capita demand decreases during

Revisiting an interdisciplinary hydrological modelling project. A socio-hydrology (?) example from the early 2000s

Science.gov (United States)

Seidl, Roman; Barthel, Roland

2016-04-01

Interdisciplinary scientific and societal knowledge plays an increasingly important role in global change research. Also, in the field of water resources interdisciplinarity as well as cooperation with stakeholders from outside academia have been recognized as important. In this contribution, we revisit an integrated regional modelling system (DANUBIA), which was developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers and relied on stakeholder participation in the framework of the GLOWA-Danube project from 2001 to 2011 (Mauser and Prasch 2016). As the model was developed before the current increase in literature on participatory modelling and interdisciplinarity, we ask how a socio-hydrology approach would have helped and in what way it would have made the work different. The present contribution firstly presents the interdisciplinary concept of DANUBIA, mainly with focus on the integration of human behaviour in a spatially explicit, process-based numerical modelling system (Roland Barthel, Janisch, Schwarz, Trifkovic, Nickel, Schulz, and Mauser 2008; R. Barthel, Nickel, Meleg, Trifkovic, and Braun 2005). Secondly, we compare the approaches to interdisciplinarity in GLOWA-Danube with concepts and ideas presented by socio-hydrology. Thirdly, we frame DANUBIA and a review of key literature on socio-hydrology in the context of a survey among hydrologists (N = 184). This discussion is used to highlight gaps and opportunities of the socio-hydrology approach. We show that the interdisciplinary aspect of the project and the participatory process of stakeholder integration in DANUBIA were not entirely successful. However, important insights were gained and important lessons were learnt. Against the background of these experiences we feel that in its current state, socio-hydrology is still lacking a plan for knowledge integration. Moreover, we consider necessary that socio-hydrology takes into account the lessons learnt from these earlier examples of knowledge integration

Genetic Programming for Automatic Hydrological Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Chadalawada, Jayashree; Babovic, Vladan

2017-04-01

One of the recent challenges for the hydrologic research community is the need for the development of coupled systems that involves the integration of hydrologic, atmospheric and socio-economic relationships. This poses a requirement for novel modelling frameworks that can accurately represent complex systems, given, the limited understanding of underlying processes, increasing volume of data and high levels of uncertainity. Each of the existing hydrological models vary in terms of conceptualization and process representation and is the best suited to capture the environmental dynamics of a particular hydrological system. Data driven approaches can be used in the integration of alternative process hypotheses in order to achieve a unified theory at catchment scale. The key steps in the implementation of integrated modelling framework that is influenced by prior understanding and data, include, choice of the technique for the induction of knowledge from data, identification of alternative structural hypotheses, definition of rules, constraints for meaningful, intelligent combination of model component hypotheses and definition of evaluation metrics. This study aims at defining a Genetic Programming based modelling framework that test different conceptual model constructs based on wide range of objective functions and evolves accurate and parsimonious models that capture dominant hydrological processes at catchment scale. In this paper, GP initializes the evolutionary process using the modelling decisions inspired from the Superflex framework [Fenicia et al., 2011] and automatically combines them into model structures that are scrutinized against observed data using statistical, hydrological and flow duration curve based performance metrics. The collaboration between data driven and physical, conceptual modelling paradigms improves the ability to model and manage hydrologic systems. Fenicia, F., D. Kavetski, and H. H. Savenije (2011), Elements of a flexible approach

Plan for a Sierra Nevada Hydrologic Observatory: Science Aims, Measurement Priorities, Research Opportunities and Expected Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Bales, R.; Dozier, J.; Famiglietti, J.; Fogg, G.; Hopmans, J.; Kirchner, J.; Meixner, T.; Molotch, N.; Redmond, K.; Rice, R.; Sickman, J.; Warwick, J.

2004-12-01

different systems? (iv) How can the predictive ability for these responses be improved? The water resources question is then "how can new information inform decision-making aimed at achieving water resources sustainability?" The planning group is soliciting participation from the wider community with a stake in mountain hydrology and related fields, in order to develop a focused yet broadly useful infrastructure that will accelerate science scientific progress for years and decades to come.

Predicting Hydrologic Function With Aquatic Gene Fragments

Science.gov (United States)

Good, S. P.; URycki, D. R.; Crump, B. C.

2018-03-01

Recent advances in microbiology techniques, such as genetic sequencing, allow for rapid and cost-effective collection of large quantities of genetic information carried within water samples. Here we posit that the unique composition of aquatic DNA material within a water sample contains relevant information about hydrologic function at multiple temporal scales. In this study, machine learning was used to develop discharge prediction models trained on the relative abundance of bacterial taxa classified into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on 16S rRNA gene sequences from six large arctic rivers. We term this approach "genohydrology," and show that OTU relative abundances can be used to predict river discharge at monthly and longer timescales. Based on a single DNA sample from each river, the average Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) for predicted mean monthly discharge values throughout the year was 0.84, while the NSE for predicted discharge values across different return intervals was 0.67. These are considerable improvements over predictions based only on the area-scaled mean specific discharge of five similar rivers, which had average NSE values of 0.64 and -0.32 for seasonal and recurrence interval discharge values, respectively. The genohydrology approach demonstrates that genetic diversity within the aquatic microbiome is a large and underutilized data resource with benefits for prediction of hydrologic function.

Perspective on Eco-Hydrology Developing Strategy in China

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, J.

2017-12-01

China is one of developing countries with higher eco-environmental press in the world due to large population and its socio-economic development. In China, water is not only the sources for life, but also the key for production, and the foundation for eco-system. Thus, Eco-hydrology becomes a fundamental also an applied sciences related to describe the hydrologic mechanisms that underlie ecologic patterns and processes. This paper addresses the issue of Eco-hydrology Developing Strategy in China, supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Major contents include four aspects, namely: (1) Demands and frontier of eco-hydrology in the world; (2) Major theories and approaches of Eco-hydrology; (3) Perspective of future development on Eco-hydrology; (4) Enacting and proposal for China development strategy on Eco-hydrology. Application fields involves urban, rural area, wetland, river & lake, forest and special regions in China, such as the arid and semi-arid region and so on. The goal is to promote the disciplinary development of eco-hydrology, and serve for national demands on ecological civilization construction in China.

Evaluation of the value of radar QPE data and rain gauge data for hydrological modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

He, Xin; Sonnenborg, Torben Obel; Refsgaard, Jens Christian

2013-01-01

rainfall and subsequently the simulated hydrological responses. A headwater catchment located in western Denmark is chosen as the study site. Two hydrological models are built using the MIKE SHE code, where they have identical model structures expect for the rainfall forcing: one model is based on rain...... value of the extra information from radar when rain gauge density decreases; however it is not able to sustain the level of model performance preceding the reduction in number of rain gauges......Weather radar-based quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) is in principle superior to the areal precipitation estimated by using rain gauge data only, and therefore has become increasingly popular in applications such as hydrological modeling. The present study investigates the potential...

Detection of Hydrological changes of Wujiang River

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, L.; Chen, Y.

2016-12-01

In the century our earth experienced a rapid environment changes due to strong human activities, which impactedthe earth'shydrology and water resources systems negatively, and causedsevere problems to the society, such as increased flood and drought risk, water pollution and ecosystem degradation. Understanding the variations of hydrological characteristics has important meaning to solve the problem of hydrology and water resources and maintain sustainable development of river basin water resources.This paper takesWujiangriveras an example,which is a typical medium watershedaffected by human activities seriously in southern China.Using the methods of Mann-Kendall test and serial cluster analysis, this paper studies the characteristics and laws of historical hydrological process inWujiang river, detectsthe impact of changing environment to watershed hydrological processes, based on the observed hydrological data of 36 years from 1980 to 2015 in three representative hydrological stationsnamedFenshi,Chixi and Pingshi. The results show that the annual runoffandannual precipitation has some kind of changes.

Mapping (dis)agreement in hydrologic projections

Science.gov (United States)

Melsen, Lieke A.; Addor, Nans; Mizukami, Naoki; Newman, Andrew J.; Torfs, Paul J. J. F.; Clark, Martyn P.; Uijlenhoet, Remko; Teuling, Adriaan J.

2018-03-01

Hydrologic projections are of vital socio-economic importance. However, they are also prone to uncertainty. In order to establish a meaningful range of storylines to support water managers in decision making, we need to reveal the relevant sources of uncertainty. Here, we systematically and extensively investigate uncertainty in hydrologic projections for 605 basins throughout the contiguous US. We show that in the majority of the basins, the sign of change in average annual runoff and discharge timing for the period 2070-2100 compared to 1985-2008 differs among combinations of climate models, hydrologic models, and parameters. Mapping the results revealed that different sources of uncertainty dominate in different regions. Hydrologic model induced uncertainty in the sign of change in mean runoff was related to snow processes and aridity, whereas uncertainty in both mean runoff and discharge timing induced by the climate models was related to disagreement among the models regarding the change in precipitation. Overall, disagreement on the sign of change was more widespread for the mean runoff than for the discharge timing. The results demonstrate the need to define a wide range of quantitative hydrologic storylines, including parameter, hydrologic model, and climate model forcing uncertainty, to support water resource planning.

Evaporation in hydrology and meteorology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brandsma, T.

1990-01-01

In this paper the role of evaporation in hydrology and meteorology is discussed, with the emphasis on hydrology. The basic theory of evaporation is given and methods to determine evaporation are presented. Some applications of evaporation studies in literature are given in order to illustrate the

Hydrology: The interdisciplinary science of water

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Richard M.; Lall, Upmanu; Cai, Ximing; Rajagopalan, Balaji; Weiskel, Peter K.; Hooper, Richard P.; Matalas, Nicholas C.

2015-01-01

We live in a world where biophysical and social processes are tightly coupled. Hydrologic systems change in response to a variety of natural and human forces such as climate variability and change, water use and water infrastructure, and land cover change. In turn, changes in hydrologic systems impact socioeconomic, ecological, and climate systems at a number of scales, leading to a coevolution of these interlinked systems. The Harvard Water Program, Hydrosociology, Integrated Water Resources Management, Ecohydrology, Hydromorphology, and Sociohydrology were all introduced to provide distinct, interdisciplinary perspectives on water problems to address the contemporary dynamics of human interaction with the hydrosphere and the evolution of the Earth’s hydrologic systems. Each of them addresses scientific, social, and engineering challenges related to how humans influence water systems and vice versa. There are now numerous examples in the literature of how holistic approaches can provide a structure and vision of the future of hydrology. We review selected examples, which taken together, describe the type of theoretical and applied integrated hydrologic analyses and associated curricular content required to address the societal issue of water resources sustainability. We describe a modern interdisciplinary science of hydrology needed to develop an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the connectedness between human and natural systems and to determine effective solutions to resolve the complex water problems that the world faces today. Nearly, every theoretical hydrologic model introduced previously is in need of revision to accommodate how climate, land, vegetation, and socioeconomic factors interact, change, and evolve over time.

Improving student comprehension of the interconnectivity of the hydrologic cycle with a novel 'hydrology toolbox', integrated watershed model, and companion textbook

Science.gov (United States)

Huning, L. S.; Margulis, S. A.

2013-12-01

Concepts in introductory hydrology courses are often taught in the context of process-based modeling that ultimately is integrated into a watershed model. In an effort to reduce the learning curve associated with applying hydrologic concepts to real-world applications, we developed and incorporated a 'hydrology toolbox' that complements a new, companion textbook into introductory undergraduate hydrology courses. The hydrology toolbox contains the basic building blocks (functions coded in MATLAB) for an integrated spatially-distributed watershed model that makes hydrologic topics (e.g. precipitation, snow, radiation, evaporation, unsaturated flow, infiltration, groundwater, and runoff) more user-friendly and accessible for students. The toolbox functions can be used in a modular format so that students can study individual hydrologic processes and become familiar with the hydrology toolbox. This approach allows such courses to emphasize understanding and application of hydrologic concepts rather than computer coding or programming. While topics in introductory hydrology courses are often introduced and taught independently or semi-independently, they are inherently interconnected. These toolbox functions are therefore linked together at the end of the course to reinforce a holistic understanding of how these hydrologic processes are measured, interconnected, and modeled. They are integrated into a spatially-distributed watershed model or numerical laboratory where students can explore a range of topics such as rainfall-runoff modeling, urbanization, deforestation, watershed response to changes in parameters or forcings, etc. Model output can readily be visualized and analyzed by students to understand watershed response in a real river basin or a simple 'toy' basin. These tools complement the textbook, each of which has been well received by students in multiple hydrology courses with various disciplinary backgrounds. The same governing equations that students have

Hydrologic Drought Decision Support System (HyDroDSS)

Science.gov (United States)

Granato, Gregory E.

2014-01-01

The hydrologic drought decision support system (HyDroDSS) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB) for use in the analysis of hydrologic variables that may indicate the risk for streamflows to be below user-defined flow targets at a designated site of interest, which is defined herein as data-collection site on a stream that may be adversely affected by pumping. Hydrologic drought is defined for this study as a period of lower than normal streamflows caused by precipitation deficits and (or) water withdrawals. The HyDroDSS is designed to provide water managers with risk-based information for balancing water-supply needs and aquatic-habitat protection goals to mitigate potential effects of hydrologic drought. This report describes the theory and methods for retrospective streamflow-depletion analysis, rank correlation analysis, and drought-projection analysis. All three methods are designed to inform decisions made by drought steering committees and decisionmakers on the basis of quantitative risk assessment. All three methods use estimates of unaltered streamflow, which is the measured or modeled flow without major withdrawals or discharges, to approximate a natural low-flow regime. Retrospective streamflow-depletion analysis can be used by water-resource managers to evaluate relations between withdrawal plans and the potential effects of withdrawal plans on streams at one or more sites of interest in an area. Retrospective streamflow-depletion analysis indicates the historical risk of being below user-defined flow targets if different pumping plans were implemented for the period of record. Retrospective streamflow-depletion analysis also indicates the risk for creating hydrologic drought conditions caused by use of a pumping plan. Retrospective streamflow-depletion analysis is done by calculating the net streamflow depletions from withdrawals and discharges and applying these depletions

Isotope hydrology applied to evaluation of groundwater in arid areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Froehlich, K.; Geyh, M.A.; Verhagen, B.T.; Wirth, K.

1987-01-01

Capture of underground water in arid or semi-arid areas in developing countries is essential to safeguarding life. In order to realize in time, or to prevent, endangerment of exploitable groundwater resources due to pollution or excess exploitation, isotope hydrology offers low-cost methods that are applied along with other methods. Their results contribute to determine the origin, mixing, residence time (or age), and pollution of endangered groundwater resources. The research report in hand uses the results of hydrochemical analyses and isotope hydrological data from hydrogeological studies made over some years by the Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe in six selected countries: Jordan, Cyprus, Brazil, Sudan, Djibouti, Senegal. It also uses data of recent analyses of the years 1985 and 1986. Data evaluation is done applying modern, qualitative and quantitative methods of interpretation. The available long-term series of isotopic data are scanned for any early information on water quality deterioration that is not otherwise detected. The information thus obtained is a prerequisite of urgently needed measures for protecting the groundwater reserves. (orig./HP) [de

Hydrologic-information needs for oil-shale development, northwestern Colorado. [Contains glossary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, O.J. (comp.)

1982-04-01

The Piceance basin of northwestern Colorado contains large reserves of oil shale. Expected development of oil shale will affect the regional hydrologic systems because most oil-shale mines will require drainage; industrial requirements for water may be large; and oil-shale mines, wastes, and retorts may affect the quantity and quality of surface water and ground water. In addition, the oil-shale industry may discharge particles and gases to the atmosphere that could alter the quality of high-altitude lakes and surface-water reservoirs. Hydrologic data need to be collected in order to plan for oil-shale development and to estimate the effects of development. Test-well drilling and aquifer testing are needed to provide a better understanding of the local and regional flow system, to furnish additional data for a model that simulates mine drainage, and to explore for water supplies in aquifers of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age. Much of the ground water in the bedrock aquifers discharges through springs, and a systematic study of the springs will help to predict the effects of mine drainage on spring discharge and quality. Surface runoff, dissolved and suspended loads in streams, and the aquatic environment in streams would be highly susceptible to the disruptions in the land surface and will require additional study in order to estimate the effects of development. A water-quality assessment is proposed for the White River basin because it is a possible source of water and a region likely to be affected by development. The effects of emissions to the atmosphere from oil-shale plants require study because these emissions may affect the quality of water in lakes downwind. Spoil piles of retorted oil shale may be very large and require study to anticipate any problems caused by leaching and erosion. Processing wastes resulting from in-situ retorts and other waste materials need to be studied in greater detail. 71 refs., 30 figs., 5 tabs.

Application of isotopic information for estimating parameters in Philip infiltration model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Wang

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Minimizing parameter uncertainty is crucial in the application of hydrologic models. Isotopic information in various hydrologic components of the water cycle can expand our knowledge of the dynamics of water flow in the system, provide additional information for parameter estimation, and improve parameter identifiability. This study combined the Philip infiltration model with an isotopic mixing model using an isotopic mass balance approach for estimating parameters in the Philip infiltration model. Two approaches to parameter estimation were compared: (a using isotopic information to determine the soil water transmission and then hydrologic information to estimate the soil sorptivity, and (b using hydrologic information to determine the soil water transmission and the soil sorptivity. Results of parameter estimation were verified through a rainfall infiltration experiment in a laboratory under rainfall with constant isotopic compositions and uniform initial soil water content conditions. Experimental results showed that approach (a, using isotopic and hydrologic information, estimated the soil water transmission in the Philip infiltration model in a manner that matched measured values well. The results of parameter estimation of approach (a were better than those of approach (b. It was also found that the analytical precision of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes had a significant effect on parameter estimation using isotopic information.

Ensemble catchment hydrological modelling for climate change impact analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Vansteenkiste, Thomas; Ntegeka, Victor; Willems, Patrick

2014-05-01

It is vital to investigate how the hydrological model structure affects the climate change impact given that future changes not in the range for which the models were calibrated or validated are likely. Thus an ensemble modelling approach which involves a diversity of models with different structures such as spatial resolutions and process descriptions is crucial. The ensemble modelling approach was applied to a set of models: from the lumped conceptual models NAM, PDM and VHM, an intermediate detailed and distributed model WetSpa, to the highly detailed and fully distributed model MIKE-SHE. Explicit focus was given to the high and low flow extremes. All models were calibrated for sub flows and quick flows derived from rainfall and potential evapotranspiration (ETo) time series. In general, all models were able to produce reliable estimates of the flow regimes under the current climate for extreme peak and low flows. An intercomparison of the low and high flow changes under changed climatic conditions was made using climate scenarios tailored for extremes. Tailoring was important for two reasons. First, since the use of many scenarios was not feasible it was necessary to construct few scenarios that would reasonably represent the range of extreme impacts. Second, scenarios would be more informative as changes in high and low flows would be easily traced to changes of ETo and rainfall; the tailored scenarios are constructed using seasonal changes that are defined using different levels of magnitude (high, mean and low) for rainfall and ETo. After simulation of these climate scenarios in the five hydrological models, close agreement was found among the models. The different models predicted similar range of peak flow changes. For the low flows, however, the differences in the projected impact range by different hydrological models was larger, particularly for the drier scenarios. This suggests that the hydrological model structure is critical in low flow predictions

Approach to the fracture hydrology at Stripa: preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gale, J.E.; Witherspoon, P.A.

1979-05-01

There are two main problems associated with the concept of geologic storage of radioactive waste in fractured crystalline rock: (1) the thermo-mechanical effects of the heat generated by the waste, and (2) the potential for transport of radioactive materials by the groundwater system. In both problems, fractures play a dominant role. An assessment of the hydraulic and mechanical characteristics of fractued rock requires a careful series of laboratory and field investigations. The complexity of the problem is illustrated by the field studies in a fractured granite that are currently underway in an abandoned iron-ore mine at Stripa, Sweden. Much information is being gathered from an extensive series of boreholes and fracture maps. The approach being taken to integrate these data into an analysis of the fracture hydrology is reviewed and preliminary results from the hydrology program are presented. 13 figures

Indian contribution to applications of artificially injected tritium in hydrological investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Datta, P.S.

1982-01-01

The paper gives a brief description on significance of groundwater hydrology and sets it in the context of radioisotopic investigations. The topics described pertain to potential applications of artificially injected tritium in local or regional scale to determine water movement in the unsaturated zone, rate of infiltration, groundwater recharge, direction and velocity of groundwater, interconnection of groundwater bodies, dispersion of pollutants, etc. The Indian contribution on these topics is incorporated giving informations on techniques adopted and the major findings and conclusions of the experiments conducted. Merits and demerits of each technique have also been described. Some aspects deserving urgent consideration are outlined to gain maximum benefits from the applications of artificially injected tritium tracer techniques in hydrology. (author)

Hydrologic Alterations from Climate Change Inform Assessment of Ecological Risk to Pacific Salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Wobus

Full Text Available We developed an integrated hydrologic model of the upper Nushagak and Kvichak watersheds in the Bristol Bay region of southwestern Alaska, a region under substantial development pressure from large-scale copper mining. We incorporated climate change scenarios into this model to evaluate how hydrologic regimes and stream temperatures might change in a future climate, and to summarize indicators of hydrologic alteration that are relevant to salmon habitat ecology and life history. Model simulations project substantial changes in mean winter flow, peak flow dates, and water temperature by 2100. In particular, we find that annual hydrographs will no longer be dominated by a single spring thaw event, but will instead be characterized by numerous high flow events throughout the winter. Stream temperatures increase in all future scenarios, although these temperature increases are moderated relative to air temperatures by cool baseflow inputs during the summer months. Projected changes to flow and stream temperature could influence salmon through alterations in the suitability of spawning gravels, changes in the duration of incubation, increased growth during juvenile stages, and increased exposure to chronic and acute temperature stress. These climate-modulated changes represent a shifting baseline in salmon habitat quality and quantity in the future, and an important consideration to adequately assess the types and magnitude of risks associated with proposed large-scale mining in the region.

Hydrology submission for Middlesex County, NJ

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

DCS Hydrology Submission for Orleans LA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

APPROXIMATE HYDROLOGY, ROSS COUNTY,OH USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

DCS Hydrology Submission for Denton TX

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

APPROXIMATE HYDROLOGY, IOSCO COUNTY, MI USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

APPROXIMATE HYDROLOGY, FAIRFIELD COUNTY,OH USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

APPROXIMATE HYDROLOGY, HIGHLAND COUNTY,OH USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

APPROXIMATE HYDROLOGY, ALPENA COUNTY, MI USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGY, UPPER CUMBERLAND WATERSHED, KENTUCKY USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS, SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

DCS Hydrology, Santa Clara County, California

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

APPROXIMATE HYDROLOGY, SCIOTO COUNTY,OH USA

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security — Hydrology data include spatial datasets and data tables necessary for documenting the hydrologic procedures for estimating flood discharges for a flood insurance...

Weather radar rainfall data in urban hydrology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorndahl, Søren; Einfalt, Thomas; Willems, Patrick

2017-01-01

estimation, radar data adjustment and data quality, and (3) nowcasting of radar rainfall and real-time applications. Based on these three fields of research, the paper provides recommendations based on an updated overview of shortcomings, gains, and novel developments in relation to urban hydrological...... applications. The paper also reviews how the focus in urban hydrology research has shifted over the last decade to fields such as climate change impacts, resilience of urban areas to hydrological extremes, and online prediction/warning systems. It is discussed how radar rainfall data can add value......Application of weather radar data in urban hydrological applications has evolved significantly during the past decade as an alternative to traditional rainfall observations with rain gauges. Advances in radar hardware, data processing, numerical models, and emerging fields within urban hydrology...

Hyphenated hydrology: Interdisciplinary evolution of water resource science

Science.gov (United States)

McCurley, Kathryn L.; Jawitz, James W.

2017-04-01

Hydrology has advanced considerably as a scientific discipline since its recognized inception in the mid-twentieth century. Modern water resource related questions have forced adaptation from exclusively physical or engineering science viewpoints toward a deliberate interdisciplinary context. Over the past few decades, many of the eventual manifestations of this evolution were foreseen by prominent expert hydrologists. However, their narrative descriptions have lacked substantial quantification. This study addressed that gap by measuring the prevalence of and analyzing the relationships between the terms most frequently used by hydrologists to define and describe their research. We analyzed 16,591 journal article titles from 1965-2015 in Water Resources Research, through which the scientific dialogue and its time-sensitive progression emerged. Our word frequency and term cooccurrence network results revealed the dynamic timing of the lateral movement of hydrology across multiple disciplines as well as the deepening of scientific discourse with respect to traditional hydrologic questions. The conversation among water resource scientists surrounding the hydrologic subdisciplines of catchment-hydrology, hydro-meteorology, socio-hydrology, hydro-climatology, and eco-hydrology gained statistically significant momentum in the analyzed time period, while that of hydro-geology and contaminant-hydrology experienced periods of increase followed by significant decline. This study concludes that formerly exotic disciplines can potentially modify hydrology, prompting new insights and inspiring unconventional perspectives on old questions that may have otherwise become obsolete.

Towards Sustainability and Scalability of Educational Innovations in Hydrology:What is the Value and who is the Customer?

Science.gov (United States)

Deshotel, M.; Habib, E. H.

2016-12-01

There is an increasing desire by the water education community to use emerging research resources and technological advances in order to reform current educational practices. Recent years have witnessed some exemplary developments that tap into emerging hydrologic modeling and data sharing resources, innovative digital and visualization technologies, and field experiences. However, such attempts remain largely at the scale of individual efforts and fall short of meeting scalability and sustainability solutions. This can be attributed to number of reasons such as inadequate experience with modeling and data-based educational developments, lack of faculty time to invest in further developments, and lack of resources to further support the project. Another important but often-overlooked reason is the lack of adequate insight on the actual needs of end-users of such developments. Such insight is highly critical to inform how to scale and sustain educational innovations. In this presentation, we share with the hydrologic community experiences gathered from an ongoing experiment where the authors engaged in a hypothesis-driven, customer-discovery process to inform the scalability and sustainability of educational innovations in the field of hydrology and water resources education. The experiment is part of a program called Innovation Corps for Learning (I-Corps L). This program follows a business model approach where a value proposition is initially formulated on the educational innovation. The authors then engaged in a hypothesis-validation process through an intense series of customer interviews with different segments of potential end users, including junior/senior students, student interns, and hydrology professors. The authors also sought insight from engineering firms by interviewing junior engineers and their supervisors to gather feedback on the preparedness of graduating engineers as they enter the workforce in the area of water resources. Exploring the large

Upscaling from research watersheds: an essential stage of trustworthy general-purpose hydrologic model building

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, J. P.; Semenova, O.; Restrepo, P. J.

2011-12-01

Highly instrumented research watersheds provide excellent opportunities for investigating hydrologic processes. A danger, however, is that the processes observed at a particular research watershed are too specific to the watershed and not representative even of the larger scale watershed that contains that particular research watershed. Thus, models developed based on those partial observations may not be suitable for general hydrologic use. Therefore demonstrating the upscaling of hydrologic process from research watersheds to larger watersheds is essential to validate concepts and test model structure. The Hydrograph model has been developed as a general-purpose process-based hydrologic distributed system. In its applications and further development we evaluate the scaling of model concepts and parameters in a wide range of hydrologic landscapes. All models, either lumped or distributed, are based on a discretization concept. It is common practice that watersheds are discretized into so called hydrologic units or hydrologic landscapes possessing assumed homogeneous hydrologic functioning. If a model structure is fixed, the difference in hydrologic functioning (difference in hydrologic landscapes) should be reflected by a specific set of model parameters. Research watersheds provide the possibility for reasonable detailed combining of processes into some typical hydrologic concept such as hydrologic units, hydrologic forms, and runoff formation complexes in the Hydrograph model. And here by upscaling we imply not the upscaling of a single process but upscaling of such unified hydrologic functioning. The simulation of runoff processes for the Dry Creek research watershed, Idaho, USA (27 km2) was undertaken using the Hydrograph model. The information on the watershed was provided by Boise State University and included a GIS database of watershed characteristics and a detailed hydrometeorological observational dataset. The model provided good simulation results in

International symposium on isotope hydrology and integrated water resources management. Unedited proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Global effects to overcome the growing challenge of freshwater availability have been at the forefront of the world development agenda for nearly three decades. For developing policies towards sustainable management of freshwater resources, an improved understanding of the Earth's water cycle bas been widely recognized as one of the key elements of scientific information. The IAEA has played a crucial role in promoting and expanding the field of isotope hydrology. Starting in 1963, the IAEA's quadrennial symposia on isotope hydrology have played a central role in developing this scientific discipline. This publication contains 174 extended abstracts of papers and posters presented during 11 technical sessions of the 11th symposium in the series that was convened during 19-23 May 2003 in Vienna. Nearly 275 participants from 69 countries participated in the symposium to discuss the past, present and future of isotope applications in hydrology and climate research. Each of the papers and poster presentations have been analysed and indexed separately

The relation between geometry, hydrology and stability of complex hillslopes examined using low-dimensional hydrological models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Talebi, A.

2008-01-01

Key words: Hillslope geometry, Hillslope hydrology, Hillslope stability, Complex hillslopes, Modeling shallow landslides, HSB model, HSB-SM model.

The hydrologic response of a hillslope to rainfall involves a complex, transient saturated-unsaturated interaction that usually leads to a

Masteŕ s Programme at Stockholm University: Hydrology, Hydrogeology and Water Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Jarsjö, J.; Destouni, G.; Lyon, S. W.; Seibert, J.

2009-04-01

Many environmental risks and societal concerns are directly related to the way we manage our land and water environments. The two-year master's programme "Hydrology, Hydrogeology and Water Resources" at Stockholm University, Sweden, is based on a system perspective and provides extended knowledge about water and soil-rock-sediment systems and how these interact with each other and with land use, socio-economic and water resource policy and management systems. This water system perspective includes the spreading of dissolved substances and pollutants in various water systems and associated risks for society. Questions related to water resources are also covered: the management of water resources and conflicts as well as collaborations caused by shared water resources on local, regional and global scales. A common learning objective for the courses in the programme is to be able to identify, extract and combine relevant information from databases and scientific publications, and use the resulting dataset in hydrological, hydrogeological and water resources analyses, on local, regional or global levels. Traditional classroom teaching is to large extent complemented by case study analyses, performed as project assignments. The importance of water resources for both the society and the environment is emphasized through applications to practical water resources management challenges in society. The courses in this program include the following topics: · Hydrological and hydrogeological processes, main components of the water cycle (e.g., precipitation, evapotranspiration, discharge) and the spreading of dissolved substances and pollutants in various water systems. · Water resources and water quality, pollution spreading through surface, ground and coastal water systems, as well as vulnerability and resilience of water resources. · Regional analyses related to global water resource vulnerability and resilience. · Models and information systems as important tools for

Continuity vs. the Crowd-Tradeoffs Between Continuous and Intermittent Citizen Hydrology Streamflow Observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Davids, Jeffrey C; van de Giesen, Nick; Rutten, Martine

2017-07-01

Hydrologic data has traditionally been collected with permanent installations of sophisticated and accurate but expensive monitoring equipment at limited numbers of sites. Consequently, observation frequency and costs are high, but spatial coverage of the data is limited. Citizen Hydrology can possibly overcome these challenges by leveraging easily scaled mobile technology and local residents to collect hydrologic data at many sites. However, understanding of how decreased observational frequency impacts the accuracy of key streamflow statistics such as minimum flow, maximum flow, and runoff is limited. To evaluate this impact, we randomly selected 50 active United States Geological Survey streamflow gauges in California. We used 7 years of historical 15-min flow data from 2008 to 2014 to develop minimum flow, maximum flow, and runoff values for each gauge. To mimic lower frequency Citizen Hydrology observations, we developed a bootstrap randomized subsampling with replacement procedure. We calculated the same statistics, and their respective distributions, from 50 subsample iterations with four different subsampling frequencies ranging from daily to monthly. Minimum flows were estimated within 10% for half of the subsample iterations at 39 (daily) and 23 (monthly) of the 50 sites. However, maximum flows were estimated within 10% at only 7 (daily) and 0 (monthly) sites. Runoff volumes were estimated within 10% for half of the iterations at 44 (daily) and 12 (monthly) sites. Watershed flashiness most strongly impacted accuracy of minimum flow, maximum flow, and runoff estimates from subsampled data. Depending on the questions being asked, lower frequency Citizen Hydrology observations can provide useful hydrologic information.

Assessing Student Understanding of Physical Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, A. J.; Marshall, J.; Cardenas, M. B.

2012-12-01

Our objective is to characterize and assess upper division and graduate student thinking by developing and testing an assessment tool for a physical hydrology class. The class' learning goals are: (1) Quantitative process-based understanding of hydrologic processes, (2) Experience with different methods in hydrology, (3) Learning, problem solving, communication skills. These goals were translated into two measurable tasks asked of students in a questionnaire: (1) Describe the significant processes in the hydrological cycle and (2) Describe laws governing these processes. A third question below assessed the students' ability to apply their knowledge: You have been hired as a consultant by __ to (1) assess how urbanization and the current drought have affected a local spring and (2) predict what the effects will be in the future if the drought continues. What information would you need to gather? What measurements would you make? What analyses would you perform? Student and expert responses to the questions were then used to develop a rubric to score responses. Using the rubric, 3 researchers independently blind-coded the full set of pre and post artifacts, resulting in 89% inter-rater agreement on the pre-tests and 83% agreement on the post-tests. We present student scores to illustrate the use of the rubric and to characterize student thinking prior to and following a traditional course. Most students interpreted Q1 in terms of physical processes affecting the water cycle, the primary organizing framework for hydrology, as intended. On the pre-test, one student scored 0, indicating no response, on this question. Twenty students scored 1, indicating rudimentary understanding, 2 students scored a 2, indicating a basic understanding, and no student scored a 3. Student scores on this question improved on the post-test. On the 22 post-tests that were blind scored, 11 students demonstrated some recognition of concepts, 9 students showed a basic understanding, and 2

National water summary 1988-89: Hydrologic events and floods and droughts

Science.gov (United States)

Paulson, Richard W.; Chase, Edith B.; Roberts, Robert S.; Moody, David W.

1991-01-01

National Water Summary 1988-89 - Hydrologic Events and Floods and Droughts documents the occurrence in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands of two types of extreme hydrologic events floods and droughts on the basis of analysis of stream-discharge data. This report details, for the first time, the areal extent of the most notable floods and droughts in each State, portrays their severity in terms of annual peak discharge for floods and annual departure from long-term discharge for droughts for selected stream-gaging stations, and estimates how frequently floods and droughts of such severity can be expected to recur. These two types of extreme hydrologic events are very different in their duration, cause, areal extent, and effect on human activities. Floods are short-term phenomena that typically last only a few hours to a few days and are associated with weather systems that produce unusually large amounts of rain or that cause snow to melt quickly. The large amount of runoff produced causes rivers to overflow their banks and, thus, is highly dangerous to human life and property. In contrast, droughts are long-term phenomena that typically persist for months to a decade or more and are associated with the absence of precipitation producing weather. They affect large geographic areas that can be statewide, regional, or even nationwide in extent. Droughts can cause great economic hardship and even loss of life in developing countries, although the loss of life results almost wholly from diminished water supplies and catastrophic crop failures rather than from the direct and obvious peril to human life that is common to floods. The following discussion is an overview of the three parts of this 1988-89 National Water Summary "Hydrologic Conditions and Water-Related Events, Water Years 1988-89," "Hydrologic Perspectives on Water Issues," and "State Summaries of Floods and Droughts." Background information on sources of atmospheric moisture to the

The integrated water balance and soil data set of the Rollesbroich hydrological observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Wei; Bogena, Heye R.; Huisman, Johan A.; Schmidt, Marius; Kunkel, Ralf; Weuthen, Ansgar; Schiedung, Henning; Schilling, Bernd; Sorg, Jürgen; Vereecken, Harry

2016-10-01

The Rollesbroich headwater catchment located in western Germany is a densely instrumented hydrological observatory and part of the TERENO (Terrestrial Environmental Observatories) initiative. The measurements acquired in this observatory present a comprehensive data set that contains key hydrological fluxes in addition to important hydrological states and properties. Meteorological data (i.e., precipitation, air temperature, air humidity, radiation components, and wind speed) are continuously recorded and actual evapotranspiration is measured using the eddy covariance technique. Runoff is measured at the catchment outlet with a gauging station. In addition, spatiotemporal variations in soil water content and temperature are measured at high resolution with a wireless sensor network (SoilNet). Soil physical properties were determined using standard laboratory procedures from samples taken at a large number of locations in the catchment. This comprehensive data set can be used to validate remote sensing retrievals and hydrological models, to improve the understanding of spatial temporal dynamics of soil water content, to optimize data assimilation and inverse techniques for hydrological models, and to develop upscaling and downscaling procedures of soil water content information. The complete data set is freely available online (http://www.tereno.net, doi:10.5880/TERENO.2016.001, doi:10.5880/TERENO.2016.004, doi:10.5880/TERENO.2016.003) and additionally referenced by three persistent identifiers securing the long-term data and metadata availability.

Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) Products, Services and Application from NASA Hydrology Data and Information Services Center (HDISC)

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Hongliang; Beaudoing, Hiroko K.; Rodell, matthew; Teng, William L.; Vollmer, Bruce E.

2009-01-01

The Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) is generating a series of land surface state (e.g., soil moisture and surface temperature) and flux (e.g., evaporation and sensible heat flux) products simulated by four land surface models (CLM, Mosaic, Noah and VIC). These products are now accessible at the Hydrology Data and Information Services Center (HDISC), a component of the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). Current data holdings include a set of 1.0 degree resolution data products from the four models, covering 1979 to the present; and a 0.25 degree data product from the Noah model, covering 2000 to the present. The products are in Gridded Binary (GRIB) format and can be accessed through a number of interfaces. Users can search the products through keywords and perform on-the-fly spatial and parameter subsetting and format conversion of selected data. More advanced visualization, access and analysis capabilities will be available in the future. The long term GLDAS data are used to develop climatology of water cycle components and to explore the teleconnections of droughts and pluvial.

A SMART groundwater portal: An OGC web services orchestration framework for hydrology to improve data access and visualisation in New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Klug, Hermann; Kmoch, Alexander

2014-08-01

Transboundary and cross-catchment access to hydrological data is the key to designing successful environmental policies and activities. Electronic maps based on distributed databases are fundamental for planning and decision making in all regions and for all spatial and temporal scales. Freshwater is an essential asset in New Zealand (and globally) and the availability as well as accessibility of hydrological information held by or held for public authorities and businesses are becoming a crucial management factor. Access to and visual representation of environmental information for the public is essential for attracting greater awareness of water quality and quantity matters. Detailed interdisciplinary knowledge about the environment is required to ensure that the environmental policy-making community of New Zealand considers regional and local differences of hydrological statuses, while assessing the overall national situation. However, cross-regional and inter-agency sharing of environmental spatial data is complex and challenging. In this article, we firstly provide an overview of the state of the art standard compliant techniques and methodologies for the practical implementation of simple, measurable, achievable, repeatable, and time-based (SMART) hydrological data management principles. Secondly, we contrast international state of the art data management developments with the present status for groundwater information in New Zealand. Finally, for the topics (i) data access and harmonisation, (ii) sensor web enablement and (iii) metadata, we summarise our findings, provide recommendations on future developments and highlight the specific advantages resulting from a seamless view, discovery, access, and analysis of interoperable hydrological information and metadata for decision making.

Exploring drivers of wetland hydrologic fluxes across parameters and space

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, C. N.; Cheng, F. Y.; Mclaughlin, D. L.; Basu, N. B.; Lang, M.; Alexander, L. C.

2017-12-01

Depressional wetlands provide diverse ecosystem services, ranging from critical habitat to the regulation of landscape hydrology. The latter is of particular interest, because while hydrologic connectivity between depressional wetlands and downstream waters has been a focus of both scientific research and policy, it remains difficult to quantify the mode, magnitude, and timing of this connectivity at varying spatial and temporary scales. To do so requires robust empirical and modeling tools that accurately represent surface and subsurface flowpaths between depressional wetlands and other landscape elements. Here, we utilize a parsimonious wetland hydrology model to explore drivers of wetland water fluxes in different archetypal wetland-rich landscapes. We validated the model using instrumented sites from regions that span North America: Prairie Pothole Region (south-central Canada), Delmarva Peninsula (Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain), and Big Cypress Swamp (southern Florida). Then, using several national scale datasets (e.g., National Wetlands Inventory, USFWS; National Hydrography Dataset, USGS; Soil Survey Geographic Database, NRCS), we conducted a global sensitivity analysis to elucidate dominant drivers of simulated fluxes. Finally, we simulated and compared wetland hydrology in five contrasting landscapes dominated by depressional wetlands: prairie potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools, and Texas coastal prairie wetlands. Results highlight specific drivers that vary across these regions. Largely, hydroclimatic variables (e.g., PET/P ratios) controlled the timing and magnitude of wetland connectivity, whereas both wetland morphology (e.g., storage capacity and watershed size) and soil characteristics (e.g., ksat and confining layer depth) controlled the duration and mode (surface vs. subsurface) of wetland connectivity. Improved understanding of the drivers of wetland hydrologic connectivity supports enhanced, region

Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program. Project Shoal site, Sand Springs Range, Churchill County, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-05-01

The Shoal site is located in Churchill County in the northern part of the Sand Springs Range, approximately 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) southeast of Fallon, Nevada. Project Shoal, with a yield of 12 kilotons, was detonated October 26, 1963. It was conducted as part of the Vela program to obtain event measurements relating to the detection of underground nuclear detonations. The purpose of the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program at the Shoal site is to obtain data that will assure public safety; inform the public, the news media, and the scientific community relative to radiological contamination; and to document compliance with federal, state, and local antipollution requirements. The Shoal site geographical setting, climate, geology, and hydrology are described. Site history, including Shoal event information and Shoal monitoring is described. The final radiological surveys following the Shoal site cleanup described in this report indicate that there are no radiation levels above natural background on or near the land surface and that no hazard exists or is likely to occur during public use of the surface of the Shoal site. The Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program for the Shoal site is described. 17 references, 4 figures

Hydrologic consistency as a basis for assessing complexity of monthly water balance models for the continental United States

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Guillermo F.; Gupta, Hoshin V.

2011-12-01

Methods to select parsimonious and hydrologically consistent model structures are useful for evaluating dominance of hydrologic processes and representativeness of data. While information criteria (appropriately constrained to obey underlying statistical assumptions) can provide a basis for evaluating appropriate model complexity, it is not sufficient to rely upon the principle of maximum likelihood (ML) alone. We suggest that one must also call upon a "principle of hydrologic consistency," meaning that selected ML structures and parameter estimates must be constrained (as well as possible) to reproduce desired hydrological characteristics of the processes under investigation. This argument is demonstrated in the context of evaluating the suitability of candidate model structures for lumped water balance modeling across the continental United States, using data from 307 snow-free catchments. The models are constrained to satisfy several tests of hydrologic consistency, a flow space transformation is used to ensure better consistency with underlying statistical assumptions, and information criteria are used to evaluate model complexity relative to the data. The results clearly demonstrate that the principle of consistency provides a sensible basis for guiding selection of model structures and indicate strong spatial persistence of certain model structures across the continental United States. Further work to untangle reasons for model structure predominance can help to relate conceptual model structures to physical characteristics of the catchments, facilitating the task of prediction in ungaged basins.

Study on the construction of multi-dimensional Remote Sensing feature space for hydrological drought

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiang, Daxiang; Tan, Debao; Wen, Xiongfei; Shen, Shaohong; Li, Zhe; Cui, Yuanlai

2014-01-01

Hydrological drought refers to an abnormal water shortage caused by precipitation and surface water shortages or a groundwater imbalance. Hydrological drought is reflected in a drop of surface water, decrease of vegetation productivity, increase of temperature difference between day and night and so on. Remote sensing permits the observation of surface water, vegetation, temperature and other information from a macro perspective. This paper analyzes the correlation relationship and differentiation of both remote sensing and surface measured indicators, after the selection and extraction a series of representative remote sensing characteristic parameters according to the spectral characterization of surface features in remote sensing imagery, such as vegetation index, surface temperature and surface water from HJ-1A/B CCD/IRS data. Finally, multi-dimensional remote sensing features such as hydrological drought are built on a intelligent collaborative model. Further, for the Dong-ting lake area, two drought events are analyzed for verification of multi-dimensional features using remote sensing data with different phases and field observation data. The experiments results proved that multi-dimensional features are a good method for hydrological drought

Hydrologi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, Hans F.

Hydro1ogi er den videnskab, der omhand1er jordens vand, dets forekomst, cirku1ation og forde1ing, dets kemiske og fysiske egenskaber samt indvirkning på omgivelserne, herunder dets relation ti1 alt liv på jorden. Således lyder en b1andt mange definitioner på begrebet hydrologi, og som man kan se...

Hydrological models are mediating models

Science.gov (United States)

Babel, L. V.; Karssenberg, D.

2013-08-01

Despite the increasing role of models in hydrological research and decision-making processes, only few accounts of the nature and function of models exist in hydrology. Earlier considerations have traditionally been conducted while making a clear distinction between physically-based and conceptual models. A new philosophical account, primarily based on the fields of physics and economics, transcends classes of models and scientific disciplines by considering models as "mediators" between theory and observations. The core of this approach lies in identifying models as (1) being only partially dependent on theory and observations, (2) integrating non-deductive elements in their construction, and (3) carrying the role of instruments of scientific enquiry about both theory and the world. The applicability of this approach to hydrology is evaluated in the present article. Three widely used hydrological models, each showing a different degree of apparent physicality, are confronted to the main characteristics of the "mediating models" concept. We argue that irrespective of their kind, hydrological models depend on both theory and observations, rather than merely on one of these two domains. Their construction is additionally involving a large number of miscellaneous, external ingredients, such as past experiences, model objectives, knowledge and preferences of the modeller, as well as hardware and software resources. We show that hydrological models convey the role of instruments in scientific practice by mediating between theory and the world. It results from these considerations that the traditional distinction between physically-based and conceptual models is necessarily too simplistic and refers at best to the stage at which theory and observations are steering model construction. The large variety of ingredients involved in model construction would deserve closer attention, for being rarely explicitly presented in peer-reviewed literature. We believe that devoting

Representing Northern Peatland Hydrology and Biogeochemistry with ALM Land Surface Model

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, X.; Ricciuto, D. M.; Thornton, P. E.; Hanson, P. J.; Xu, X.; Mao, J.; Warren, J.; Yuan, F.; Norby, R. J.; Sebestyen, S.; Griffiths, N.; Weston, D. J.; Walker, A.

2017-12-01

Northern peatlands are likely to be important in future carbon cycle-climate feedbacks due to their large carbon pool and vulnerability to hydrological change. Predictive understanding of northern peatland hydrology is a necessary precursor to understanding the fate of massive carbon stores in these systems under the influence of present and future climate change. Current models have begun to address microtopographic controls on peatland hydrology, but none have included a prognostic calculation of peatland water table depth for a vegetated wetland, independent of prescribed regional water tables. Firstly, we introduce a new configuration of the land model (ALM) of Accelerated Climate model for Energy (ACME), which includes a fully prognostic water table calculation for a vegetated peatland. Secondly, we couple our new hydrology treatment with vertically structured soil organic matter pool, and the addition of components from methane biogeochemistry. Thirdly, we introduce a new PFT for mosses and implement the water content dynamics and physiology of mosses. We inform and test our model based on SPRUCE experiment to get the reasonable results for the seasonal dynamics water table depths, water content dynamics and physiology of mosses, and correct soil carbon profiles. Then, we use our new model structure to test the how the water table depth and CH4 emission will respond to elevated CO2 and different warming scenarios.

Hydrological AnthropoScenes

Science.gov (United States)

Cudennec, Christophe

2016-04-01

The Anthropocene concept encapsulates the planetary-scale changes resulting from accelerating socio-ecological transformations, beyond the stratigraphic definition actually in debate. The emergence of multi-scale and proteiform complexity requires inter-discipline and system approaches. Yet, to reduce the cognitive challenge of tackling this complexity, the global Anthropocene syndrome must now be studied from various topical points of view, and grounded at regional and local levels. A system approach should allow to identify AnthropoScenes, i.e. settings where a socio-ecological transformation subsystem is clearly coherent within boundaries and displays explicit relationships with neighbouring/remote scenes and within a nesting architecture. Hydrology is a key topical point of view to be explored, as it is important in many aspects of the Anthropocene, either with water itself being a resource, hazard or transport force; or through the network, connectivity, interface, teleconnection, emergence and scaling issues it determines. We will schematically exemplify these aspects with three contrasted hydrological AnthropoScenes in Tunisia, France and Iceland; and reframe therein concepts of the hydrological change debate. Bai X., van der Leeuw S., O'Brien K., Berkhout F., Biermann F., Brondizio E., Cudennec C., Dearing J., Duraiappah A., Glaser M., Revkin A., Steffen W., Syvitski J., 2016. Plausible and desirable futures in the Anthropocene: A new research agenda. Global Environmental Change, in press, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.09.017 Brondizio E., O'Brien K., Bai X., Biermann F., Steffen W., Berkhout F., Cudennec C., Lemos M.C., Wolfe A., Palma-Oliveira J., Chen A. C-T. Re-conceptualizing the Anthropocene: A call for collaboration. Global Environmental Change, in review. Montanari A., Young G., Savenije H., Hughes D., Wagener T., Ren L., Koutsoyiannis D., Cudennec C., Grimaldi S., Blöschl G., Sivapalan M., Beven K., Gupta H., Arheimer B., Huang Y

Model Calibration in Watershed Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Koray K.; Vrugt, Jasper A.; Gupta, Hoshin V.; Sorooshian, Soroosh

2009-01-01

Hydrologic models use relatively simple mathematical equations to conceptualize and aggregate the complex, spatially distributed, and highly interrelated water, energy, and vegetation processes in a watershed. A consequence of process aggregation is that the model parameters often do not represent directly measurable entities and must, therefore, be estimated using measurements of the system inputs and outputs. During this process, known as model calibration, the parameters are adjusted so that the behavior of the model approximates, as closely and consistently as possible, the observed response of the hydrologic system over some historical period of time. This Chapter reviews the current state-of-the-art of model calibration in watershed hydrology with special emphasis on our own contributions in the last few decades. We discuss the historical background that has led to current perspectives, and review different approaches for manual and automatic single- and multi-objective parameter estimation. In particular, we highlight the recent developments in the calibration of distributed hydrologic models using parameter dimensionality reduction sampling, parameter regularization and parallel computing.

Hillslope hydrology and stability

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Ning; Godt, Jonathan

2012-01-01

Landslides are caused by a failure of the mechanical balance within hillslopes. This balance is governed by two coupled physical processes: hydrological or subsurface flow and stress. The stabilizing strength of hillslope materials depends on effective stress, which is diminished by rainfall. This book presents a cutting-edge quantitative approach to understanding hydro-mechanical processes across variably saturated hillslope environments and to the study and prediction of rainfall-induced landslides. Topics covered include historic synthesis of hillslope geomorphology and hydrology, total and effective stress distributions, critical reviews of shear strength of hillslope materials and different bases for stability analysis. Exercises and homework problems are provided for students to engage with the theory in practice. This is an invaluable resource for graduate students and researchers in hydrology, geomorphology, engineering geology, geotechnical engineering and geomechanics and for professionals in the fields of civil and environmental engineering and natural hazard analysis.

Exploiting the information content of hydrological ''outliers'' for goodness-of-fit testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Laio

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Validation of probabilistic models based on goodness-of-fit tests is an essential step for the frequency analysis of extreme events. The outcome of standard testing techniques, however, is mainly determined by the behavior of the hypothetical model, F_X(x, in the central part of the distribution, while the behavior in the tails of the distribution, which is indeed very relevant in hydrological applications, is relatively unimportant for the results of the tests. The maximum-value test, originally proposed as a technique for outlier detection, is a suitable, but seldom applied, technique that addresses this problem. The test is specifically targeted to verify if the maximum (or minimum values in the sample are consistent with the hypothesis that the distribution F_X(x is the real parent distribution. The application of this test is hindered by the fact that the critical values for the test should be numerically obtained when the parameters of F_X(x are estimated on the same sample used for verification, which is the standard situation in hydrological applications. We propose here a simple, analytically explicit, technique to suitably account for this effect, based on the application of censored L-moments estimators of the parameters. We demonstrate, with an application that uses artificially generated samples, the superiority of this modified maximum-value test with respect to the standard version of the test. We also show that the test has comparable or larger power with respect to other goodness-of-fit tests (e.g., chi-squared test, Anderson-Darling test, Fung and Paul test, in particular when dealing with small samples (sample size lower than 20–25 and when the parent distribution is similar to the distribution being tested.

An Educational Model for Hands-On Hydrology Education

Science.gov (United States)

AghaKouchak, A.; Nakhjiri, N.; Habib, E. H.

2014-12-01

This presentation provides an overview of a hands-on modeling tool developed for students in civil engineering and earth science disciplines to help them learn the fundamentals of hydrologic processes, model calibration, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty assessment, and practice conceptual thinking in solving engineering problems. The toolbox includes two simplified hydrologic models, namely HBV-EDU and HBV-Ensemble, designed as a complement to theoretical hydrology lectures. The models provide an interdisciplinary application-oriented learning environment that introduces the hydrologic phenomena through the use of a simplified conceptual hydrologic model. The toolbox can be used for in-class lab practices and homework assignments, and assessment of students' understanding of hydrological processes. Using this modeling toolbox, students can gain more insights into how hydrological processes (e.g., precipitation, snowmelt and snow accumulation, soil moisture, evapotranspiration and runoff generation) are interconnected. The educational toolbox includes a MATLAB Graphical User Interface (GUI) and an ensemble simulation scheme that can be used for teaching more advanced topics including uncertainty analysis, and ensemble simulation. Both models have been administered in a class for both in-class instruction and a final project, and students submitted their feedback about the toolbox. The results indicate that this educational software had a positive impact on students understanding and knowledge of hydrology.

Hydrological model parameter dimensionality is a weak measure of prediction uncertainty (discussion paper)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pande, S.; Arkesteijn, L.; Savenije, H.H.G.; Bastidas, L.A.

2015-01-01

This paper shows that instability of hydrological system representation in response to different pieces of information and associated prediction uncertainty is a function of model complexity. After demonstrating the connection between unstable model representation and model complexity, complexity is

A polynomial chaos ensemble hydrologic prediction system for efficient parameter inference and robust uncertainty assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S.; Huang, G. H.; Baetz, B. W.; Huang, W.

2015-11-01

This paper presents a polynomial chaos ensemble hydrologic prediction system (PCEHPS) for an efficient and robust uncertainty assessment of model parameters and predictions, in which possibilistic reasoning is infused into probabilistic parameter inference with simultaneous consideration of randomness and fuzziness. The PCEHPS is developed through a two-stage factorial polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) framework, which consists of an ensemble of PCEs to approximate the behavior of the hydrologic model, significantly speeding up the exhaustive sampling of the parameter space. Multiple hypothesis testing is then conducted to construct an ensemble of reduced-dimensionality PCEs with only the most influential terms, which is meaningful for achieving uncertainty reduction and further acceleration of parameter inference. The PCEHPS is applied to the Xiangxi River watershed in China to demonstrate its validity and applicability. A detailed comparison between the HYMOD hydrologic model, the ensemble of PCEs, and the ensemble of reduced PCEs is performed in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Results reveal temporal and spatial variations in parameter sensitivities due to the dynamic behavior of hydrologic systems, and the effects (magnitude and direction) of parametric interactions depending on different hydrological metrics. The case study demonstrates that the PCEHPS is capable not only of capturing both expert knowledge and probabilistic information in the calibration process, but also of implementing an acceleration of more than 10 times faster than the hydrologic model without compromising the predictive accuracy.

High-school software development project helps increasing students' awareness of geo-hydrological hazards and their risks

Science.gov (United States)

Marchesini, Ivan; Rossi, Mauro; Balducci, Vinicio; Salvati, Paola; Guzzetti, Fausto; Bianchini, Andrea; Grzeleswki, Emanuell; Canonico, Andrea; Coccia, Rita; Fiorucci, Gianni Mario; Gobbi, Francesca; Ciuchetti, Monica

2015-04-01

In Italy, inundation and landslides are widespread phenomena that impact the population and cause significant economic damage to private and public properties. The perception of the risk posed by these natural geo-hydrological hazards varies geographically and in time. The variation in the perception of the risks has negative consequences on risk management, and limits the adoption of effective risk reduction strategies. We maintain that targeted education can foster the understanding of geo-hydrological hazards, improving their perception and the awareness of the associated risk. Collaboration of a research center experienced in geo-hydrological hazards and risks (CNR IRPI, Perugia) and a high school (ITIS Alessandro Volta, Perugia) has resulted in the design and execution of a project aimed at improving the perception of geo-hydrological risks in high school students and teachers through software development. In the two-year project, students, high school teachers and research scientists have jointly developed software broadly related to landslide and flood hazards. User requirements and system specifications were decided to facilitate the distribution and use of the software among students and their peers. This allowed a wider distribution of the project results. We discuss two prototype software developed by the high school students, including an application of augmented reality for improved dissemination of information of landslides and floods with human consequences in Italy, and a crowd science application to allow students (and others, including their families and friends) to collect information on landslide and flood occurrence exploiting modern mobile devices. This information can prove important e.g., for the validation of landslide forecasting models.

Evaluation and hydrological modelization in the natural hazard prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pla Sentis, Ildefonso

2011-01-01

Soil degradation affects negatively his functions as a base to produce food, to regulate the hydrological cycle and the environmental quality. All over the world soil degradation is increasing partly due to lacks or deficiencies in the evaluations of the processes and causes of this degradation on each specific situation. The processes of soil physical degradation are manifested through several problems as compaction, runoff, hydric and Eolic erosion, landslides with collateral effects in situ and in the distance, often with disastrous consequences as foods, landslides, sedimentations, droughts, etc. These processes are frequently associated to unfavorable changes into the hydrologic processes responsible of the water balance and soil hydric regimes, mainly derived to soil use changes and different management practices and climatic changes. The evaluation of these processes using simple simulation models; under several scenarios of climatic change, soil properties and land use and management; would allow to predict the occurrence of this disastrous processes and consequently to select and apply the appropriate practices of soil conservation to eliminate or reduce their effects. This simulation models require, as base, detailed climatic information and hydrologic soil properties data. Despite of the existence of methodologies and commercial equipment (each time more sophisticated and precise) to measure the different physical and hydrological soil properties related with degradation processes, most of them are only applicable under really specific or laboratory conditions. Often indirect methodologies are used, based on relations or empiric indexes without an adequate validation, that often lead to expensive mistakes on the evaluation of soil degradation processes and their effects on natural disasters. It could be preferred simple field methodologies, direct and adaptable to different soil types and climates and to the sample size and the spatial variability of the

eWaterCycle: A high resolution global hydrological model

Science.gov (United States)

van de Giesen, Nick; Bierkens, Marc; Drost, Niels; Hut, Rolf; Sutanudjaja, Edwin

2014-05-01

In 2013, the eWaterCycle project was started, which has the ambitious goal to run a high resolution global hydrological model. Starting point was the PCR-GLOBWB built by Utrecht University. The software behind this model will partially be re-engineered in order to enable to run it in a High Performance Computing (HPC) environment. The aim is to have a spatial resolution of 1km x 1km. The idea is also to run the model in real-time and forecasting mode, using data assimilation. An on-demand hydraulic model will be available for detailed flow and flood forecasting in support of navigation and disaster management. The project faces a set of scientific challenges. First, to enable the model to run in a HPC environment, model runs were analyzed to examine on which parts of the program most CPU time was spent. These parts were re-coded in Open MPI to allow for parallel processing. Different parallelization strategies are thinkable. In our case, it was decided to use watershed logic as a first step to distribute the analysis. There is rather limited recent experience with HPC in hydrology and there is much to be learned and adjusted, both on the hydrological modeling side and the computer science side. For example, an interesting early observation was that hydrological models are, due to their localized parameterization, much more memory intensive than models of sister-disciplines such as meteorology and oceanography. Because it would be deadly to have to swap information between CPU and hard drive, memory management becomes crucial. A standard Ensemble Kalman Filter (enKF) would, for example, have excessive memory demands. To circumvent these problems, an alternative to the enKF was developed that produces equivalent results. This presentation shows the most recent results from the model, including a 5km x 5km simulation and a proof of concept for the new data assimilation approach. Finally, some early ideas about financial sustainability of an operational global

Hydrologic refugia, plants, and climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Blair C; Ackerly, David D; Klos, P Zion; Natali, Jennifer; Dawson, Todd E; Thompson, Sally E

2017-08-01

Climate, physical landscapes, and biota interact to generate heterogeneous hydrologic conditions in space and over time, which are reflected in spatial patterns of species distributions. As these species distributions respond to rapid climate change, microrefugia may support local species persistence in the face of deteriorating climatic suitability. Recent focus on temperature as a determinant of microrefugia insufficiently accounts for the importance of hydrologic processes and changing water availability with changing climate. Where water scarcity is a major limitation now or under future climates, hydrologic microrefugia are likely to prove essential for species persistence, particularly for sessile species and plants. Zones of high relative water availability - mesic microenvironments - are generated by a wide array of hydrologic processes, and may be loosely coupled to climatic processes and therefore buffered from climate change. Here, we review the mechanisms that generate mesic microenvironments and their likely robustness in the face of climate change. We argue that mesic microenvironments will act as species-specific refugia only if the nature and space/time variability in water availability are compatible with the ecological requirements of a target species. We illustrate this argument with case studies drawn from California oak woodland ecosystems. We posit that identification of hydrologic refugia could form a cornerstone of climate-cognizant conservation strategies, but that this would require improved understanding of climate change effects on key hydrologic processes, including frequently cryptic processes such as groundwater flow. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Concepts and Challenges in Disturbance Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Ebel, B. A.; Mirus, B. B.

2016-12-01

Landscape disturbances are increasing, often promoted and enhanced by climate shifts and human activities. Insect infestations, wildfires, earthquakes, urban development, forest harvest, mineral and petroleum resource extraction, and hurricanes are common landscape disturbances that can have profound hydrologic consequences. These cause relatively abrupt changes in the landscape, which alter local processes on plots and hillslopes in addition to coarser-scale processes across watersheds through cross-scale interactions. Shifts in soil properties and cover of vegetation and leaf litter change the water storage or buffering capacity as well as the hydrologic functional connectivity across multiple scales. These changes increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, erosion, and mass movements that degrade water resources, ecosystem services, and protection from hydrologically driven natural hazards. Although it is imperative that we understand the hydrologic effects of these disturbances, several major barriers exist. Four challenges are: (i) overlapping disturbances in space and time with unknown recovery trajectories, (ii) a paucity of long-term recovery records (>5 years duration), (iii) inefficacy of traditional modeling and parameterization approaches, and (iv) lack of pre-disturbance characterization. Examples of these challenges will be presented along with proposed opportunities for improved mechanistic understanding of processes and thresholds in disturbance hydrology.

Steponas Kolupaila's contribution to hydrological science development

Science.gov (United States)

Valiuškevičius, Gintaras

2017-08-01

Steponas Kolupaila (1892-1964) was an important figure in 20th century hydrology and one of the pioneers of scientific water gauging in Europe. His research on the reliability of hydrological data and measurement methods was particularly important and contributed to the development of empirical hydrological calculation methods. Kolupaila was one of the first who standardised water-gauging methods internationally. He created several original hydrological and hydraulic calculation methods (his discharge assessment method for winter period was particularly significant). His innate abilities and frequent travel made Kolupaila a universal specialist in various fields and an active public figure. He revealed his multilayered scientific and cultural experiences in his most famous book, Bibliography of Hydrometry. This book introduced the unique European hydrological-measurement and computation methods to the community of world hydrologists at that time and allowed the development and adaptation of these methods across the world.

Comparison and Validation of Hydrological E-Flow Methods through Hydrodynamic Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Kuriqi, Alban; Rivaes, Rui; Sordo-Ward, Alvaro; Pinheiro, António N.; Garrote, Luis

2017-04-01

Flow regime determines physical habitat conditions and local biotic configuration. The development of environmental flow guidelines to support the river integrity is becoming a major concern in water resources management. In this study, we analysed two sites located in southern part of Portugal, respectively at Odelouca and Ocreza Rivers, characterised by the Mediterranean climate. Both rivers are almost in pristine condition, not regulated by dams or other diversion construction. This study presents an analysis of the effect on fish habitat suitability by the implementation of different hydrological e-flow methods. To conduct this study we employed certain hydrological e-flow methods recommended by the European Small Hydropower Association (ESHA). River hydrology assessment was based on approximately 30 years of mean daily flow data, provided by the Portuguese Water Information System (SNIRH). The biological data, bathymetry, physical and hydraulic features, and the Habitat Suitability Index for fish species were collected from extensive field works. We followed the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) to assess the flow-habitat relationship taking into account the habitat suitability of different instream flow releases. Initially, we analysed fish habitat suitability based on natural conditions, and we used it as reference condition for other scenarios considering the chosen hydrological e-flow methods. We accomplished the habitat modelling through hydrodynamic analysis by using River-2D model. The same methodology was applied to each scenario by considering as input the e-flows obtained from each of the hydrological method employed in this study. This contribution shows the significance of ecohydrological studies in establishing a foundation for water resources management actions. Keywords: ecohydrology, e-flow, Mediterranean rivers, river conservation, fish habitat, River-2D, Hydropower.

Hydrological impacts of land use change in three diverse South African catchments

Science.gov (United States)

Warburton, Michele L.; Schulze, Roland E.; Jewitt, Graham P. W.

2012-01-01

SummaryIn order to meet society's needs for water, food, fuel and fibre, the earth's natural land cover and land use have been significantly changed. These changes have impacted on the hydrological responses and thus available water resources, as the hydrological responses of a catchment are dependent upon, and sensitive to, changes in the land use. The degree of anthropogenic modification of the land cover, the intensity of the land use changes and location of land uses within a catchment determines the extent to which land uses influences hydrological response of a catchment. The objective of the study was to improve understanding of the complex interactions between hydrological response and land use to aid in water resources planning. To achieve this, a hydrological model, viz. the ACRU agrohydrological model, which adequately represents hydrological processes and is sensitive to land use changes, was used to generate hydrological responses from three diverse, complex and operational South African catchments under both current land use and a baseline land cover. The selected catchments vary with respect to both land use and climate. The semi-arid sub-tropical Luvuvhu catchment has a large proportion of subsistence agriculture and informal residential areas, whereas in the winter rainfall Upper Breede catchment the primary land uses are commercial orchards and vineyards. The sub-humid Mgeni catchment is dominated by commercial plantation forestry in the upper reaches, commercial sugarcane and urban areas in the middle reaches, with the lower reaches dominated by urban areas. The hydrological responses of the selected catchments to land use change were complex. Results showed that the contributions of different land uses to the streamflow generated from a catchment is not proportional to the relative area of that land use, and the relative contribution of the land use to the catchment streamflow varies with the mean annual rainfall of the catchment. Furthermore

Hydrology of southwestern encinal oak ecosystems: A review and more

Science.gov (United States)

Gerald J. Gottfried; Peter F. Ffolliott; Daniel G. Neary

2007-01-01

Information about the hydrology of oak ecosystems of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico is lacking (Lopes and Ffolliott 1992, Baker et al. 1995) even though the woodlands and savannas cover more than 31,000 square miles. These ecosystems generally are found between 4,000 and 7,300 feet in elevation. Precipitation occurs in the winter and summer and...

An integrated crop and hydrologic modeling system to estimate hydrologic impacts of crop irrigation demands

Science.gov (United States)

R.T. McNider; C. Handyside; K. Doty; W.L. Ellenburg; J.F. Cruise; J.R. Christy; D. Moss; V. Sharda; G. Hoogenboom; Peter Caldwell

2015-01-01

The present paper discusses a coupled gridded crop modeling and hydrologic modeling system that can examine the benefits of irrigation and costs of irrigation and the coincident impact of the irrigation water withdrawals on surface water hydrology. The system is applied to the Southeastern U.S. The system tools to be discussed include a gridded version (GriDSSAT) of...

Hydrology under change: an evaluation protocol to investigate how hydrological models deal with changing catchments

Science.gov (United States)

G. Thirel; V. Andreassian; C. Perrin; J.-N. Audouy; L. Berthet; Pamela Edwards; N. Folton; C. Furusho; A. Kuentz; J. Lerat; G. Lindstrom; E. Martin; T. Mathevet; R. Merz; J. Parajka; D. Ruelland; J. Vaze

2015-01-01

Testing hydrological models under changing conditions is essential to evaluate their ability to cope with changing catchments and their suitability for impact studies. With this perspective in mind, a workshop dedicated to this issue was held at the 2013 General Assembly of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) in Göteborg, Sweden, in July 2013...

Emerging Technologies for Integrating Multi-Scale Observations of the Hydrologic Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, W. S.; Potter, K. W.; Wood, E. F.

2007-12-01

The results are presented of a recent National Research Council study on examining the potential for integrating spaceborne observations with complementary airborne and ground-based observations to gain holistic understanding of hydrologic and related biogeochemical and ecological processes and to help support water and related land-resource management. The study was motivated by the interrelated challenges of population growth, global climate change, and regional changes in land use and land management that will increasingly stress water resources around the world. Meeting these challenges will require significant improvement in our management of water resources, which in turn will require improvements in our capacity to understand and quantify the hydrologic cycle and its interactions with the natural and built environment. Recent and potential future technological innovations in sensors (in-situ, airborne, and space-borne) and sensor networks, cyber-infrastructure, data assimilation, modeling, and decision-support tools offer unprecedented opportunities to improve our capacity to observe, understand, and manage hydrologic systems. The committee investigated a number of aspects to turning this potential into a reality. These included development and field deployment of land-based chemical and biological sensors; the role of airborne remote sensing; interagency gaps between the steps of sensor development, demonstration, and operational deployment; the coordination of federal responsibilities for measurement, monitoring and modeling; and getting the new information to those who can use it. A variety of case studies were used to illustrate the needs and opportunities for new measurement capacity, including hydrologic monitoring in the Everglades, water quantity and quality in the Southern High Plains, malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa, hydroclimatic research in the Arctic, hydrologic extremes and water quality in the Neuse River watershed, and mountain hydrology in the

Adaptation to hydrological extremes through insurance: a financial fund simulation model under changing scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman, Diego; Mohor, Guilherme; Câmara, Clarissa; Mendiondo, Eduardo

2017-04-01

, reinsurance schemes, and incentives for risk reduction. The methodology tested by members of the Integrated Nucleus of River Basins (NIBH) (University of Sao Paulo (USP) School of Engineering of São Carlos (EESC) - Brazil) presents an alternative to the analysis and planning of insurance funds, aiming to mitigate the impacts of hydrological droughts and stream flash floods. The presented procedure is especially important when information relevant to studies and the development and implementation of insurance funds are difficult to access and of complex evaluation. A sequence of academic applications has been made in Brazil under the South American context, where the market of hydrological insurance has a low penetration compared to developed economies and insurance markets more established as the United States and Europe, producing relevant information and demonstrating the potential of the methodology in development.

Crowdsourcing to Acquire Hydrologic Data and Engage Citizen Scientists: CrowdHydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Fienen, Michael N.; Lowry, Chris

2013-01-01

Spatially and temporally distributed measurements of processes, such as baseflow at the watershed scale, come at substantial equipment and personnel cost. Research presented here focuses on building a crowdsourced database of inexpensive distributed stream stage measurements. Signs on staff gauges encourage citizen scientists to voluntarily send hydrologic measurements (e.g., stream stage) via text message to a server that stores and displays the data on the web. Based on the crowdsourced stream stage, we evaluate the accuracy of citizen scientist measurements and measurement approach. The results show that crowdsourced data collection is a supplemental method for collecting hydrologic data and a promising method of public engagement.

International symposium on advances in isotope hydrology and its role in sustainable water resources management (IHS-2007). Book of abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

The quadrennial IAEA isotope hydrology symposia provide an international forum for a comprehensive review of the state of the art and recent advances in this field. The symposia also facilitate the transfer of information, knowledge and interactions between developed and developing countries. Isotopes are increasingly being used to address many of the challenges in sustainable water resources management. The integration of these tools with classical methods and spatial information technologies has been growing rapidly over the past sel years. These have provided unsurpassed capabilities to apply nuclear and geochemical techniques in complex hydrological systems. The main objectives of this symposium are to: - Review the state of the art in isotope hydrology; - Outline recent developments in the application of isotope techniques for water resources management; - Identify future trends and developments for research and applications.

International symposium on advances in isotope hydrology and its role in sustainable water resources management (IHS-2007). Book of abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

The quadrennial IAEA isotope hydrology symposia provide an international forum for a comprehensive review of the state of the art and recent advances in this field. The symposia also facilitate the transfer of information, knowledge and interactions between developed and developing countries. Isotopes are increasingly being used to address many of the challenges in sustainable water resources management. The integration of these tools with classical methods and spatial information technologies has been growing rapidly over the past several years. These have provided unsurpassed capabilities to apply nuclear and geochemical techniques in complex hydrological systems. The main objectives of this symposium are to: - Review the state of the art in isotope hydrology; - Outline recent developments in the application of isotope techniques for water resources management; - Identify future trends and developments for research and applications

Land Cover Influence on Wet Season Storm Runoff Generation and Hydrologic Flowpaths in Central Panama

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, A. L.; Stallard, R. F.; Barnard, H. R.

2017-12-01

While relationships between land use/land cover and hydrology are well studied and understood in temperate parts of the world, little research exists in the humid tropics, where hydrologic research is often decades behind. Specifically, quantitative information on how physical and biological differences across varying land covers influence runoff generation and hydrologic flowpaths in the humid tropics is scarce; frequently leading to poorly informed hydrologic modelling and water policy decision making. This research effort seeks to quantify how tropical land cover change may alter physical hydrologic processes in the economically important Panama Canal Watershed (Republic of Panama) by separating streamflow into its different runoff components using end member mixing analysis. The samples collected for this project come from small headwater catchments of four varying land covers (mature tropical forest, young secondary forest, active pasture, recently clear-cut tropical forest) within the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Agua Salud Project. During the past three years, samples have been collected at the four study catchments from streamflow and from a number of water sources within hillslope transects, and have been analyzed for stable water isotopes, major cations, and major anions. Major ion analysis of these samples has shown distinct geochemical differences for the potential runoff generating end members sampled (soil moisture/ preferential flow, groundwater, overland flow, throughfall, and precipitation). Based on this finding, an effort was made from May-August 2017 to intensively sample streamflow during wet season storm events, yielding a total of 5 events of varying intensity in each land cover/catchment, with sampling intensity ranging from sub-hourly to sub-daily. The focus of this poster presentation will be to present the result of hydrograph separation's done using end member mixing analysis from this May-August 2017 storm dataset. Expected

Temperature as a tracer of hydrological dynamics in an anchialine cave system with a submarine spring

Science.gov (United States)

Domínguez-Villar, David; Cukrov, Neven; Krklec, Kristina

2018-01-01

Although temperature is a nonconservative tracer, it often provides useful information to understand hydrological processes. This study explores the potential of temperature to characterize the hydrological dynamics of a submarine spring and its coastal karst aquifer in Krka Estuary (Croatia). The estuary is well stratified and its water column has a clear thermocline. A network of loggers was designed to monitor the temperature along vertical profiles in the estuary and the coastal aquifer, taking advantage of an anchialine cave that enabled access to the subterranean estuary. The location of the thermocline in the groundwater, which defines the upper boundary of the saline intrusion, depends on (1) the recharge of the aquifer via infiltration of precipitation, (2) the evolution of the thermocline in the estuary, and (3) the tidal oscillations. The sources of water flowing though the anchialine cave were identified: brackish water from the estuary above the thermocline, saline water from the estuary below the thermocline, and freshwater from infiltrated precipitation. A conceptual model is described that characterizes the hydrological dynamics of this coastal aquifer and its interactions with the estuary. Thus, at least for some hydrological settings, temperature is a valid tracer to characterize the main hydrological processes. The measurement of temperature is inexpensive compared to other (conservative) tracers. Therefore, for those hydrological settings that have water masses with distinct temperatures, the use of temperature as a tracer to establish conceptual models of the hydrological dynamics is encouraged.

Revealing, Reducing, and Representing Uncertainties in New Hydrologic Projections for Climate-changed Futures

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Jeffrey; Clark, Martyn; Gutmann, Ethan; Wood, Andy; Nijssen, Bart; Rasmussen, Roy

2016-04-01

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has had primary responsibility for multi-purpose water resource operations on most of the major river systems in the U.S. for more than 200 years. In that time, the USACE projects and programs making up those operations have proved mostly robust against the range of natural climate variability encountered over their operating life spans. However, in some watersheds and for some variables, climate change now is known to be shifting the hydroclimatic baseline around which that natural variability occurs and changing the range of that variability as well. This makes historical stationarity an inappropriate basis for assessing continued project operations under climate-changed futures. That means new hydroclimatic projections are required at multiple scales to inform decisions about specific threats and impacts, and for possible adaptation responses to limit water-resource vulnerabilities and enhance operational resilience. However, projections of possible future hydroclimatologies have myriad complex uncertainties that require explicit guidance for interpreting and using them to inform those decisions about climate vulnerabilities and resilience. Moreover, many of these uncertainties overlap and interact. Recent work, for example, has shown the importance of assessing the uncertainties from multiple sources including: global model structure [Meehl et al., 2005; Knutti and Sedlacek, 2013]; internal climate variability [Deser et al., 2012; Kay et al., 2014]; climate downscaling methods [Gutmann et al., 2012; Mearns et al., 2013]; and hydrologic models [Addor et al., 2014; Vano et al., 2014; Mendoza et al., 2015]. Revealing, reducing, and representing these uncertainties is essential for defining the plausible quantitative climate change narratives required to inform water-resource decision-making. And to be useful, such quantitative narratives, or storylines, of climate change threats and hydrologic impacts must sample

Multi-criteria decision analysis using hydrological indicators for decision support - a conceptual framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Butchart-Kuhlmann, Daniel; Kralisch, Sven; Meinhardt, Markus; Fleischer, Melanie

2017-04-01

Assessing the quantity and quality of water available in water stressed environments under various potential climate and land-use changes is necessary for good water and environmental resources management and governance. Within the region covered by the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) project, such areas are common. One goal of the SASSCAL project is to develop and provide an integrated decision support system (DSS) with which decision makers (DMs) within a given catchment can obtain objective information regarding potential changes in water flow quantity and timing. The SASSCAL DSS builds upon existing data storage and distribution capability, through the SASSCAL Information System (IS), as well as the J2000 hydrological model. Using output from validated J2000 models, the SASSCAL DSS incorporates the calculation of a range of hydrological indicators based upon Indicators of Hydrological Alteration/Environmental Flow Components (IHA/EFC) calculated for a historic time series (pre-impact) and a set of model simulations based upon a selection of possible climate and land-use change scenarios (post-impact). These indicators, obtained using the IHA software package, are then used as input for a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) undertaken using the open source diviz software package. The results of these analyses will provide DMs with an indication as to how various hydrological indicators within a catchment may be altered under different future scenarios, as well providing a ranking of how each scenario is preferred according to different DM preferences. Scenarios are represented through a combination of model input data and parameter settings in J2000, and preferences are represented through criteria weighting in the MCDA. Here, the methodology is presented and applied to the J2000 Luanginga model results using a set of hypothetical decision maker preference values as input for an MCDA based on

Teaching geographical hydrology in a non-stationary world

Science.gov (United States)

Hendriks, Martin R.; Karssenberg, Derek

2010-05-01

Understanding hydrological processes in a non-stationary world requires knowledge of hydrological processes and their interactions. Also, one needs to understand the (non-linear) relations between the hydrological system and other parts of our Earth system, such as the climate system, the socio-economic system, and the ecosystem. To provide this knowledge and understanding we think that three components are essential when teaching geographical hydrology. First of all, a student needs to acquire a thorough understanding of classical hydrology. For this, knowledge of the basic hydrological equations, such as the energy equation (Bernoulli), flow equation (Darcy), continuity (or water balance) equation is needed. This, however, is not sufficient to make a student fully understand the interactions between hydrological compartments, or between hydrological subsystems and other parts of the Earth system. Therefore, secondly, a student also needs to be knowledgeable of methods by which the different subsystems can be coupled; in general, numerical models are used for this. A major disadvantage of numerical models is their complexity. A solution may be to use simpler models, provided that a student really understands how hydrological processes function in our real, non-stationary world. The challenge for a student then lies in understanding the interactions between the subsystems, and to be able to answer questions such as: what is the effect of a change in vegetation or land use on runoff? Thirdly, knowledge of field hydrology is of utmost importance. For this a student needs to be trained in the field. Fieldwork is very important as a student is confronted in the field with spatial and temporal variability, as well as with real life uncertainties, rather than being lured into believing the world as presented in hydrological textbooks and models, e.g. the world under study is homogeneous, isotropic, or lumped (averaged). Also, students in the field learn to plan and

Design, Development and Testing of Web Services for Multi-Sensor Snow Cover Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Kadlec, Jiri

This dissertation presents the design, development and validation of new data integration methods for mapping the extent of snow cover based on open access ground station measurements, remote sensing images, volunteer observer snow reports, and cross country ski track recordings from location-enabled mobile devices. The first step of the data integration procedure includes data discovery, data retrieval, and data quality control of snow observations at ground stations. The WaterML R package developed in this work enables hydrologists to retrieve and analyze data from multiple organizations that are listed in the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences Inc (CUAHSI) Water Data Center catalog directly within the R statistical software environment. Using the WaterML R package is demonstrated by running an energy balance snowpack model in R with data inputs from CUAHSI, and by automating uploads of real time sensor observations to CUAHSI HydroServer. The second step of the procedure requires efficient access to multi-temporal remote sensing snow images. The Snow Inspector web application developed in this research enables the users to retrieve a time series of fractional snow cover from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for any point on Earth. The time series retrieval method is based on automated data extraction from tile images provided by a Web Map Tile Service (WMTS). The average required time for retrieving 100 days of data using this technique is 5.4 seconds, which is significantly faster than other methods that require the download of large satellite image files. The presented data extraction technique and space-time visualization user interface can be used as a model for working with other multi-temporal hydrologic or climate data WMTS services. The third, final step of the data integration procedure is generating continuous daily snow cover maps. A custom inverse distance weighting method has been developed

Hydrological Modeling in Alaska with WRF-Hydro

Science.gov (United States)

Elmer, N. J.; Zavodsky, B.; Molthan, A.

2017-12-01

The operational National Water Model (NWM), implemented in August 2016, is an instantiation of the Weather Research and Forecasting hydrological extension package (WRF-Hydro). Currently, the NWM only covers the contiguous United States, but will be expanded to include an Alaska domain in the future. It is well known that Alaska presents several hydrological modeling challenges, including unique arctic/sub-arctic hydrological processes not observed elsewhere in the United States and a severe lack of in-situ observations for model initialization. This project sets up an experimental version of WRF-Hydro in Alaska mimicking the NWM to gauge the ability of WRF-Hydro to represent hydrological processes in Alaska and identify model calibration challenges. Recent and upcoming launches of hydrology-focused NASA satellite missions such as the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) expand the spatial and temporal coverage of observations in Alaska, so this study also lays the groundwork for assimilating these NASA datasets into WRF-Hydro in the future.

Northern hydrology and water resources in a changing environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kane, D.L.

1993-01-01

The role that climatic change may play in altering various components of the hydrologic cycle in Arctic regions is discussed. The hydrologic setting of these regions is first described, noting the importance of subsurface freezing and thawing on hydrologic pathways and the lack of incorporation of soil freezing and thawing into climate models. Major processes of interest in the relation between climate change and hydrology are the timing and magnitude of fluxes entering and leaving a basin: precipitation, evaporation and transpiration, and runoff. The active layer of the soil could be drastically increased by only a few degrees of surface warming. The natural hydrologic cycle has considerable yearly variation, tending to mask any hydrologic changes caused by climatic change. There are too many unknowns at present for an adequate prediction of the impact of climate change on the hydrologic cycle. The biggest uncertainty is how the timing and quantity of precipitation is going to change. This quantity could be altered by any major changes in vegetation, which would be closely related to the amount of warming. In hydrologic scenarios where air temperature rises 4 degree C over 50 y, under stable, high, and low precipitation conditions, there are no significant changes in hydrologic response. 24 refs., 6 figs

The national hydrologic bench-mark network

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Ernest D.; Biesecker, J.E.

1971-01-01

The United States is undergoing a dramatic growth of population and demands on its natural resources. The effects are widespread and often produce significant alterations of the environment. The hydrologic bench-mark network was established to provide data on stream basins which are little affected by these changes. The network is made up of selected stream basins which are not expected to be significantly altered by man. Data obtained from these basins can be used to document natural changes in hydrologic characteristics with time, to provide a better understanding of the hydrologic structure of natural basins, and to provide a comparative base for studying the effects of man on the hydrologic environment. There are 57 bench-mark basins in 37 States. These basins are in areas having a wide variety of climate and topography. The bench-mark basins and the types of data collected in the basins are described.

Use of artificial tracers in hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-05-01

The IAEA has convened an Advisory Group Meeting with the following objectives: To define the role of artificial radioactive tracers for water tracing in comparison with other non-radioactive tracers. To evaluate the real needs of artificial radioactive tracers in hydrology. To identify the fields for which artificial radioactive tracers are useful as well as those in which they can be substituted by other tracers. To discuss the strategy to be adopted to overcome the difficulties derived from the restrictions on the use of radioactive tracers in hydrology. The meeting was held at IAEA Headquarters from 19 to 22 March 1990, and was attended by 30 participants from 15 Member States. The conclusions and recommendations are that the use of artificial radioactive tracers should be restricted to cases where other tracers cannot be used or do not provide the same quality of information. Tritium, iodine-131, bromine-82, chromium-51 in the form of Cr-EDTA, technetium-99m obtained from 99 Mo-generators and gold-198 as an adsorbable tracer are, practically, the only radionuclides used for water tracing. The use of other radionuclides for this purpose does not appear to be necessary, possible and/or convenient. Refs, figs and tabs

airGRteaching: an R-package designed for teaching hydrology with lumped hydrological models

Science.gov (United States)

Thirel, Guillaume; Delaigue, Olivier; Coron, Laurent; Andréassian, Vazken; Brigode, Pierre

2017-04-01

Lumped hydrological models are useful and convenient tools for research, engineering and educational purposes. They propose catchment-scale representations of the precipitation-discharge relationship. Thanks to their limited data requirements, they can be easily implemented and run. With such models, it is possible to simulate a number of hydrological key processes over the catchment with limited structural and parametric complexity, typically evapotranspiration, runoff, underground losses, etc. The Hydrology Group at Irstea (Antony) has been developing a suite of rainfall-runoff models over the past 30 years. This resulted in a suite of models running at different time steps (from hourly to annual) applicable for various issues including water balance estimation, forecasting, simulation of impacts and scenario testing. Recently, Irstea has developed an easy-to-use R-package (R Core Team, 2016), called airGR (Coron et al., 2016, 2017), to make these models widely available. Although its initial target public was hydrological modellers, the package is already used for educational purposes. Indeed, simple models allow for rapidly visualising the effects of parameterizations and model components on flows hydrographs. In order to avoid the difficulties that students may have when manipulating R and datasets, we developed (Delaigue and Coron, 2016): - Three simplified functions to prepare data, calibrate a model and run a simulation - Simplified and dynamic plot functions - A shiny (Chang et al., 2016) interface that connects this R-package to a browser-based visualisation tool. On this interface, the students can use different hydrological models (including the possibility to use a snow-accounting model), manually modify their parameters and automatically calibrate their parameters with diverse objective functions. One of the visualisation tabs of the interface includes observed precipitation and temperature, simulated snowpack (if any), observed and simulated

Evaluating Hydrologic Response of an Agricultural Watershed for Watershed Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manoj Kumar Jha

2011-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the hydrological assessment of an agricultural watershed in the Midwestern United States through the use of a watershed scale hydrologic model. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT model was applied to the Maquoketa River watershed, located in northeast Iowa, draining an agriculture intensive area of about 5,000 km2. The inputs to the model were obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency’s geographic information/database system called Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS. Meteorological input, including precipitation and temperature from six weather stations located in and around the watershed, and measured streamflow data at the watershed outlet, were used in the simulation. A sensitivity analysis was performed using an influence coefficient method to evaluate surface runoff and baseflow variations in response to changes in model input hydrologic parameters. The curve number, evaporation compensation factor, and soil available water capacity were found to be the most sensitive parameters among eight selected parameters. Model calibration, facilitated by the sensitivity analysis, was performed for the period 1988 through 1993, and validation was performed for 1982 through 1987. The model was found to explain at least 86% and 69% of the variability in the measured streamflow data for calibration and validation periods, respectively. This initial hydrologic assessment will facilitate future modeling applications using SWAT to the Maquoketa River watershed for various watershed analyses, including watershed assessment for water quality management, such as total maximum daily loads, impacts of land use and climate change, and impacts of alternate management practices.

Hydrologic restoration in a dynamic subtropical mangrove-to-marsh ecotone

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Rebecca J.; Day, Richard H.; Krauss, Ken W.; From, Andrew S.; Allain, Larry K.; Cormier, Nicole

2017-01-01

Extensive hydrologic modifications in coastal regions across the world have occurred to support infrastructure development, altering the function of many coastal wetlands. Wetland restoration success is dependent on the existence of hydrologic regimes that support development of appropriate soils and the growth and persistence of wetland vegetation. In Florida, United States, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) seeks to restore, protect, and preserve water resources of the greater Everglades region. Herein we describe vegetation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone within the impact area of a CERP hydrologic restoration project currently under development. Vegetation communities are also described for a similar area outside the project area. We found that vegetation shifts within the impact area occurred over a 7-year period; cover of herbaceous species varied by location, and an 88% increase in the total number of mangrove seedlings was documented. We attribute these shifts to the existing modified hydrologic regime, which is characterized by a low volume of freshwater sheet flow compared with historical conditions (i.e. before modification), as well as increased tidal influence. We also identified a significant trend of decreasing soil surface elevation at the impact area. The CERP restoration project is designed to increase freshwater sheet flow to the impact area. Information from our study characterizing existing vegetation dynamics prior to implementation of the restoration project is required to allow documentation of long-term project effects on plant community composition and structure within a framework of background variation, thereby allowing assessment of the project's success in restoring critical ecosystem functions.

Hydrologic bibliography of the Columbia River basalts in Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, H.H.; Wildrick, L.

1978-07-01

This bibliography is part of the hydrologic data compilation effort of the Columbia Plateau Hydrology Study, Rockwell Hanford Operations' Waste Isolation Program. It includes references on both surface and subsurface hydrology directly or indirectly related to the Washington State portion of the Columbia River basalts. A comprehensive, annotated bibliography of the Pasco Basin (including the Hanford site) hydrology has been prepared for Rockwell Hanford Operations under the Pasco Basin Hydrology Study. In order to avoid unnecessary duplication, no effort was made to include a complete list of bibliographic references on Hanford in this volume

NATO Advanced Study Institute on Recent Advances in the Modeling of Hydrologic Systems

CERN Document Server

O’Connell, P

1991-01-01

Modeling of the rainfall-runoff process is of both scientific and practical significance. Many of the currently used mathematical models of hydrologic systems were developed a genera­ tion ago. Much of the effort since then has focused on refining these models rather than on developing new models based on improved scientific understanding. In the past few years, however, a renewed effort has been made to improve both our fundamental understanding of hydrologic processes and to exploit technological advances in computing and remote sensing. It is against this background that the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Recent Advances in the Modeling of Hydrologic Systems was organized. The idea for holding a NATO ASI on this topic grew out of an informal discussion between one of the co-directors and Professor Francisco Nunes-Correia at a previous NATO ASI held at Tucson, Arizona in 1985. The Special Program Panel on Global Transport Mechanisms in the Geo-Sciences of the NATO Scientific Affairs Division agreed to sp...

Linking scientific disciplines: Hydrology and social sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Seidl, R.; Barthel, R.

2017-07-01

The integration of interdisciplinary scientific and societal knowledge plays an increasing role in sustainability science and more generally, in global change research. In the field of water resources, interdisciplinarity has long been recognized as crucial. Recently, new concepts and ideas about how to approach water resources management more holistically have been discussed. The emergence of concepts such as socio-hydrology indicates the growing relevance of connections between social and hydrological disciplines. In this paper, we determine how well social sciences are integrated with hydrological research by using two approaches. First, we conducted a questionnaire survey with a sample of hydrology researchers and professionals (N = 353) to explore current opinions and developments related to interdisciplinary collaboration between hydrologists and social scientists. Second, we analyzed the disciplinary composition of author teams and the reference lists of articles pertaining to the socio-hydrology concept. We conclude that interdisciplinarity in water resources research is on a promising track but may need to mature further in terms of its aims and methods of integration. We find that current literature pays little attention to the following questions: What kind of interdisciplinarity do different scholars want? What are social scientists' preferred roles and knowledge from a hydrology perspective?

Use of hydrochemistry and environmental isotopes for evaluation of the hydrological connection between groundwater and wetland swamp Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santa A, Diana P; Martinez F, Diana C; Betancur V, Teresita

2008-01-01

The understanding of water flow paths around a wetland is based on the hydrologic information interpretation. Although the incorporation of non-conventional techniques like hydrochemistry and isotopic hydrology allows a major compression level of hydrologic systems: They allow identify origin and evolution of water, movement times, permanence in the hydrologic cycle components. Cienaga Colombia wetland and its catch area, represent a strategic ecosystem located in the Bajo Cauca antioqueno. The natural conditions and the consequences of the human intervention on the wetland impose the need to approach its study and understanding, seeking to be able lo design effective measures to guarantee its sustainability. We presents the firsts results of the project developed by Antioquia University and IAEA: Hydrochemical and Isotopic techniques for the assessment of hydrological processes in the wetlands of Bajo Cauca Antioqueno which is part of the program: Isotopic techniques for assessment of hydrological processes in wetlands by International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA. The general objective of the study is evaluate the dynamic of water flow, in and out of the wetland in the Bajo Cauca Antioqueno, using geochemical and isotopic techniques.

A micro-hydrology computation ordering algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Croley, T.E. II

1980-01-01

Discrete-distributed-parameter models are essential for watershed modelling where practical consideration of spatial variations in watershed properties and inputs is desired. Such modelling is necessary for analysis of detailed hydrologic impacts from management strategies and land-use effects. Trade-offs between model validity and model complexity exist in resolution of the watershed. Once these are determined, the watershed is then broken into sub-areas which each have essentially spatially-uniform properties. Lumped-parameter (micro-hydrology) models are applied to these sub-areas and their outputs are combined through the use of a computation ordering technique, as illustrated by many discrete-distributed-parameter hydrology models. Manual ordering of these computations requires fore-thought, and is tedious, error prone, sometimes storage intensive and least adaptable to changes in watershed resolution. A programmable algorithm for ordering micro-hydrology computations is presented that enables automatic ordering of computations within the computer via an easily understood and easily implemented node definition, numbering and coding scheme. This scheme and the algorithm are detailed in logic flow-charts and an example application is presented. Extensions and modifications of the algorithm are easily made for complex geometries or differing micro-hydrology models. The algorithm is shown to be superior to manual ordering techniques and has potential use in high-resolution studies. (orig.)

Impact of Uncertainty Characterization of Satellite Rainfall Inputs and Model Parameters on Hydrological Data Assimilation with the Ensemble Kalman Filter for Flood Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Vergara, H. J.; Kirstetter, P.; Hong, Y.; Gourley, J. J.; Wang, X.

2013-12-01

The Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) is arguably the assimilation approach that has found the widest application in hydrologic modeling. Its relatively easy implementation and computational efficiency makes it an attractive method for research and operational purposes. However, the scientific literature featuring this approach lacks guidance on how the errors in the forecast need to be characterized so as to get the required corrections from the assimilation process. Moreover, several studies have indicated that the performance of the EnKF is 'sub-optimal' when assimilating certain hydrologic observations. Likewise, some authors have suggested that the underlying assumptions of the Kalman Filter and its dependence on linear dynamics make the EnKF unsuitable for hydrologic modeling. Such assertions are often based on ineffectiveness and poor robustness of EnKF implementations resulting from restrictive specification of error characteristics and the absence of a-priori information of error magnitudes. Therefore, understanding the capabilities and limitations of the EnKF to improve hydrologic forecasts require studying its sensitivity to the manner in which errors in the hydrologic modeling system are represented through ensembles. This study presents a methodology that explores various uncertainty representation configurations to characterize the errors in the hydrologic forecasts in a data assimilation context. The uncertainty in rainfall inputs is represented through a Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS), which provides information about second-order statistics of quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE) error. The uncertainty in model parameters is described adding perturbations based on parameters covariance information. The method allows for the identification of rainfall and parameter perturbation combinations for which the performance of the EnKF is 'optimal' given a set of objective functions. In this process, information about

30 CFR 819.15 - Auger mining: Hydrologic balance.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Auger mining: Hydrologic balance. 819.15... MINING § 819.15 Auger mining: Hydrologic balance. (a) Auger mining shall be planned and conducted to minimize disturbances of the prevailing hydrologic balance in accordance with the requirements of §§ 816.41...

Disturbance Hydrology: Preparing for an Increasingly Disturbed Future

Science.gov (United States)

Mirus, Benjamin B.; Ebel, Brian A.; Mohr, Christian H.; Zegre, Nicolas

2017-12-01

This special issue is the result of several fruitful conference sessions on disturbance hydrology, which started at the 2013 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco and have continued every year since. The stimulating presentations and discussions surrounding those sessions have focused on understanding both the disruption of hydrologic functioning following discrete disturbances, as well as the subsequent recovery or change within the affected watershed system. Whereas some hydrologic disturbances are directly linked to anthropogenic activities, such as resource extraction, the contributions to this special issue focus primarily on those with indirect or less pronounced human involvement, such as bark-beetle infestation, wildfire, and other natural hazards. However, human activities are enhancing the severity and frequency of these seemingly natural disturbances, thereby contributing to acute hydrologic problems and hazards. Major research challenges for our increasingly disturbed planet include the lack of continuous pre and postdisturbance monitoring, hydrologic impacts that vary spatially and temporally based on environmental and hydroclimatic conditions, and the preponderance of overlapping or compounding disturbance sequences. In addition, a conceptual framework for characterizing commonalities and differences among hydrologic disturbances is still in its infancy. In this introduction to the special issue, we advance the fusion of concepts and terminology from ecology and hydrology to begin filling this gap. We briefly explore some preliminary approaches for comparing different disturbances and their hydrologic impacts, which provides a starting point for further dialogue and research progress.

Disturbance hydrology: Preparing for an increasingly disturbed future

Science.gov (United States)

Mirus, Benjamin B.; Ebel, Brian A.; Mohr, Christian H.; Zegre, Nicolas

2017-01-01

This special issue is the result of several fruitful conference sessions on disturbance hydrology, which started at the 2013 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco and have continued every year since. The stimulating presentations and discussions surrounding those sessions have focused on understanding both the disruption of hydrologic functioning following discrete disturbances, as well as the subsequent recovery or change within the affected watershed system. Whereas some hydrologic disturbances are directly linked to anthropogenic activities, such as resource extraction, the contributions to this special issue focus primarily on those with indirect or less pronounced human involvement, such as bark-beetle infestation, wildfire, and other natural hazards. However, human activities are enhancing the severity and frequency of these seemingly natural disturbances, thereby contributing to acute hydrologic problems and hazards. Major research challenges for our increasingly disturbed planet include the lack of continuous pre- and post-disturbance monitoring, hydrologic impacts that vary spatially and temporally based on environmental and hydroclimatic conditions, and the preponderance of overlapping or compounding disturbance sequences. In addition, a conceptual framework for characterizing commonalities and differences among hydrologic disturbances is still in its infancy. In this introduction to the special issue, we advance the fusion of concepts and terminology from ecology and hydrology to begin filling this gap. We briefly explore some preliminary approaches for comparing different disturbances and their hydrologic impacts, which provides a starting point for further dialogue and research progress.

Hydrologic Analysis of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Science.gov (United States)

2015-08-01

drainage areas are different, hydrological analysis will be conducted on the two basins individually. The results of the two analyses will be combined to...ER D C TR -1 5- 4 Environmental Quality and Installations Hydrologic Analysis of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri En gi ne er R es ea rc h...Environmental Quality and Installations ERDC TR-15-4 August 2015 Hydrologic Analysis of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Michael L. Follum, Darla C. McVan

Towards an Improved Represenation of Reservoirs and Water Management in a Land Surface-Hydrology Model

Science.gov (United States)

Yassin, F.; Anis, M. R.; Razavi, S.; Wheater, H. S.

2017-12-01

Water management through reservoirs, diversions, and irrigation have significantly changed river flow regimes and basin-wide energy and water balance cycles. Failure to represent these effects limits the performance of land surface-hydrology models not only for streamflow prediction but also for the estimation of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and feedbacks to the atmosphere. Despite recent research to improve the representation of water management in land surface models, there remains a need to develop improved modeling approaches that work in complex and highly regulated basins such as the 406,000 km2 Saskatchewan River Basin (SaskRB). A particular challenge for regional and global application is a lack of local information on reservoir operational management. To this end, we implemented a reservoir operation, water abstraction, and irrigation algorithm in the MESH land surface-hydrology model and tested it over the SaskRB. MESH is Environment Canada's Land Surface-hydrology modeling system that couples Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) with hydrological routing model. The implemented reservoir algorithm uses an inflow-outflow relationship that accounts for the physical characteristics of reservoirs (e.g., storage-area-elevation relationships) and includes simplified operational characteristics based on local information (e.g., monthly target volume and release under limited, normal, and flood storage zone). The irrigation algorithm uses the difference between actual and potential evapotranspiration to estimate irrigation water demand. This irrigation demand is supplied from the neighboring reservoirs/diversion in the river system. We calibrated the model enabled with the new reservoir and irrigation modules in a multi-objective optimization setting. Results showed that the reservoir and irrigation modules significantly improved the MESH model performance in generating streamflow and evapotranspiration across the SaskRB and that this our approach provides

30 CFR 784.14 - Hydrologic information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... proposed mining operation. Water quantity descriptions shall include, at a minimum, baseline information on... mining on surface- and ground-water systems as required by paragraph (f) of this section shall be...; provide water treatment facilities when needed; and control drainage. The plan shall specifically address...

Comparison of GRACE with in situ hydrological measurement data ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Comparison of GRACE with in situ hydrological measurement data shows storage depletion in Hai River basin, Northern China. ... of the world, their application in conjunction with hydrological models could improve hydrological studies.

Understanding and seasonal forecasting of hydrological drought in the Anthropocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Yuan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Hydrological drought is not only caused by natural hydroclimate variability but can also be directly altered by human interventions including reservoir operation, irrigation, groundwater exploitation, etc. Understanding and forecasting of hydrological drought in the Anthropocene are grand challenges due to complicated interactions among climate, hydrology and humans. In this paper, five decades (1961–2010 of naturalized and observed streamflow datasets are used to investigate hydrological drought characteristics in a heavily managed river basin, the Yellow River basin in north China. Human interventions decrease the correlation between hydrological and meteorological droughts, and make the hydrological drought respond to longer timescales of meteorological drought. Due to large water consumptions in the middle and lower reaches, there are 118–262 % increases in the hydrological drought frequency, up to 8-fold increases in the drought severity, 21–99 % increases in the drought duration and the drought onset is earlier. The non-stationarity due to anthropogenic climate change and human water use basically decreases the correlation between meteorological and hydrological droughts and reduces the effect of human interventions on hydrological drought frequency while increasing the effect on drought duration and severity. A set of 29-year (1982–2010 hindcasts from an established seasonal hydrological forecasting system are used to assess the forecast skill of hydrological drought. In the naturalized condition, the climate-model-based approach outperforms the climatology method in predicting the 2001 severe hydrological drought event. Based on the 29-year hindcasts, the former method has a Brier skill score of 11–26 % against the latter for the probabilistic hydrological drought forecasting. In the Anthropocene, the skill for both approaches increases due to the dominant influence of human interventions that have been implicitly

CORDEX - a treasure trove of open climate data for hydrological modelling

Science.gov (United States)

O'Rourke, Eleanor; Nikulin, Grigory; Kjellström, Erik

2015-04-01

The Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) was initiated by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) to coordinate high-resolution Regional Climate Modelling and provide a set of regional climate projections for the majority of global land regions. Additionally making this data available, and importantly useable, to impact and adaptation communities was a fundamental goal. Phase I of CORDEX, which came to a close in November 2013, was successful in developing a framework in which scientists around the world adopted a common protocol to guide the development of high-resolution Regional Climate Model (RCM) and empirical statistical downscaling (ESD) projections, and the intercomparison of these projections, on each continent, with a particular focus on the African region. As a result of these intensive activities by groups across the globe more than 47000 quality checked open datasets are now freely available to users through the searchable Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). The integration of this data into large scale hydrological modelling is in action within the Swedish Meteorological & Hydrological Institute (SMHI) exemplifying the great potential use of this resource to the hydrological community. The aim of CORDEX Phase II is to enhance the dialogue with end-users so as to meet the growing demand for tailored regional climate information. Here, greater interaction between the CORDEX and hydrological modelling community can only prove hugely beneficial leading to greater protection for those vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate.

Data assimilation in hydrological modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drecourt, Jean-Philippe

Data assimilation is an invaluable tool in hydrological modelling as it allows to efficiently combine scarce data with a numerical model to obtain improved model predictions. In addition, data assimilation also provides an uncertainty analysis of the predictions made by the hydrological model....... In this thesis, the Kalman filter is used for data assimilation with a focus on groundwater modelling. However the developed techniques are general and can be applied also in other modelling domains. Modelling involves conceptualization of the processes of Nature. Data assimilation provides a way to deal...... with model non-linearities and biased errors. A literature review analyzes the most popular techniques and their application in hydrological modelling. Since bias is an important problem in groundwater modelling, two bias aware Kalman filters have been implemented and compared using an artificial test case...

The Italian Cloud-based brokering Infrastructure to sustain Interoperability for Operative Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Boldrini, E.; Pecora, S.; Bussettini, M.; Bordini, F.; Nativi, S.

2015-12-01

This work presents the informatics platform carried out to implement the National Hydrological Operative Information System of Italy. In particular, the presentation will focus on the governing aspects of the cloud infrastructure and brokering software that make possible to sustain the hydrology data flow between heterogeneous user clients and data providers.The Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale) in collaboration with the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection in the Emilia-Romagna region, ARPA-ER (Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e l´Ambiente dell´Emilia-Romagna) and CNR-IIA (National Research Council of Italy) designed and developed an innovative platform for the discovery and access of hydrological data coming from 19 Italian administrative regions and 2 Italian autonomous provinces, in near real time. ISPRA has deployed and governs such a system. The presentation will introduce and discuss the technological barriers for interoperability as well as social and policy ones. The adopted solutions will be described outlining the sustainability challenges and benefits.

Urban water - a new frontier in isotope hydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehleringer, James R; Barnette, Janet E; Jameel, Yusuf; Tipple, Brett J; Bowen, Gabriel J

2016-01-01

Isotope hydrology has focused largely on landscapes away from densely inhabited regions. In coming decades, it will become increasingly more important to focus on water supplies and dynamics within urban systems. Stable isotope analyses provide important information to water managers within large cities, particularly in arid regions where evaporative histories of water sources, vulnerabilities, and reliabilities of the water supplies can be major issues. Here the spatial and vertical understanding of water supporting urban systems that comes from stable isotope analyses can serve as a useful management tool. We explore this research frontier using the coupled natural-human landscape of the Salt Lake Valley, USA, with its greater than one million inhabitants. We first provide data on the stable isotope ratios of the hydrologic system's primary components: precipitation, incoming surface waters, and terminus waters in this closed basin. We then explore the spatial and temporal patterns of drinking waters within the urban landscape and the new opportunities to better link isotope ratio data with short- and long-term management interests of water managers.

Areal rainfall estimation using moving cars - computer experiments including hydrological modeling