universities allied for water research cuahsi: advancing hydrologic science through community...

Universities allied for water research

CUAHSI: Advancing Hydrologic Science through Community

Engagement

Rick Hooper, President


What is hydrologic science?

Hydrologic science studies the occurrence, distribution, circulation and properties of water, and its interaction with a wide range of physical, chemical and biological processes, acknowledging also the added complexity of social and behavioral sciences (NRC, 1991).


Boundaries of hydrologic science

• Water links atmosphere, earth, and ocean sciences

• Water links living and physical world• Water is a solvent of minerals and sculptor of the

landscape• Water is a key determinant of habit• Water is an economic resource and extensively

engineered by humans• Hydrologic science interfaces with all these fields.


Getting the water ‘right’

• A sufficient description of the hydrologic cycle for describing water’s interaction with the physical and living world– Stores, fluxes, flowpaths, residence times– Coupling of components hydrologic cycle– Recognition of biological controls on terrestrial water

cycle

• Linkage to biogeochemistry, ecology, geomorphology, water resources engineering,…


Developing a Community

• Disciplinary Foundations– Intellectual Basis– Rigor in Observational Science– Consensus Building

• Interdisciplinary Opportunities– Enrichment from Multiple Perspectives– New Transdisciplinary Science


Community Science

• Complements investigator-driven science• Articulates community goals and needs• Undertakes projects impossible for individuals

– Generality of findings (cross-site comparison)– Larger scale and coherent data (top-down design)– Multidisciplinary efforts (synthesis teams)

• Develops and Operates Infrastructure– Information systems– Instrumentation development and sharing


Defining the Community Agenda

• Move beyond “what” hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists study

• “How” does each discipline approach science?– How are hypotheses posed?– What constitutes “proof”?– What are valid data?


How do hydrologists work?• Hydrologic cycle as organizing principle• Quantitative approaches (e.g., budgets)• Deterministic and stochastic approaches• Both ‘bottom-up’ (fluid mechanics) and ‘top-

down’ (systems) approaches• Inferential rather than empirical• Observation-limited (→ right for the wrong

reason)• Multifaceted role of water (→ multiple

perspectives)


Hydrologic subdisciplines

• Different phenomena– Streamflow generation, contaminant transport, land

surface-atmosphere interactions• …have different

– Spatial scales, temporal scales, dynamics, dominant processes

• …leading to disciplinary fragmentation and limited understanding among hydrologists– Bottom-up/ Top-down– Catchment, groundwater, surface water


Subdisciplines: Compound Names

• Hydrometeorology, ecohydrology, geohydrology, hydropedology, biogeochemistry

• Names don’t define intellectual endeavor• Names don’t define relationships among

subdisciplines


Traditional Views of Hydrologic Cycle


Dimensions of Hydrologic Cycle

• Vertical: Bedrock to Boundary Layer

• Down-slope: Ridge to Stream

• Down-valley: Headwater to Ocean


The Vertical Dimension

• Sub-disciplines: ecohydrology, hydrometeorology,

• Phenomenon: transpiration, precipitation fields, precipitation partitioning, pedogenesis

• Spatial Scales: plot to continental• Temporal Scales: seconds to days


The Down-slope Dimension

• Sub-disciplines: hydropedology, hillslope hydrology

• Phenomenon:, streamflow generation, weathering (bioGEOchemistry), catena

• Spatial Scales: 10’s to 100’s m• [Hydrologic] Temporal Scales: minutes to

seasons


The Down-Valley Dimensions

• Sub-disciplines: fluvial geomorphology, BIOgeochemistry

• Phenomenon: flood scaling, local to regional groundwater systems, hyporheic exchange

• Spatial Scales: reach/local gw systems to river basin/regional aquifer system

• [Hydrologic] Temporal Scales: seconds to millennia


Towards a taxonomy

• Dimensions of hydrologic cycle combine disciplines to study phenomena within a range of space and time

• Encourage dialog: see where my research ‘fits’ into bigger picture

• Clarify goals of subdisciplines• One approach for organizing discipline


Disciplinary Foundations

• Understand epistemology of our own science– Discussed epistemology with your graduate

students lately?

• Explain goals to non-specialists• Achieve consensus on ‘open questions’ among

subdisciplines


Observations and Observatories

• The dilemma of place-based science– Extensive ‘characterization’ needed to ‘pin down’

theory– Establish generality of findings that transcend

uniqueness of place• Network of Observatories with “comparable”

data– Difficulty of top-down design– Emergence of CZO’s and other field sites

• Virtual Network with data publication


-Mathematical Formulae-Solution Techniques

Abstractions in Modeling

Physical World

ConceptualFrameworks

DataRepresentation

ModelRepresentations

“Digital Environment”Real World

Measurements

•Theory/Process Knowledge•Perceptions of this place•Intuition

Water quantity and quality

MeteorologyRemote sensing

GeographicallyReferenced

Mapping

Validation

DNA SequencesVegetation SurveyHydrologist

Q, Gradient, Roughness?

GroundwaterContribution?

SnowmeltProcesses?

Biogeochemist

Hyporheic exchange?

Mineralogy? Chemistry?

Redox Zones?

DOC Quality?

Geomorphologist

Glaciated Valley

Perifluvial

Well sorted?Thalweg?

Aquatic Ecologist

Backwater habitat

Substrate Size, Stability?Benthic Community

Oligotrophic?Carbon source?


Data Integration

USGSEPA

Chesapeake Bay Program


CUAHSI National Water MetadatabaseIndexes:• 20 observation networks• 1.73 million sites• 8.38 million time series

NWIS

STORET

TCEQ


Vision: Network of “Observatories”

• Access data from all sites, regardless of funding source or location

• Develop larger scale context for research watersheds

• Enable analysis– Across gradients– Across scale to river basin– Test generality of hypotheses in different settings

• Improve predictive capacity


Realizing the Vision

Geospatial Data Publication

Dynamic Grid Data Publication

Time Series Data Publication

Modeling Platform

Regional Models

Global Models


Moving Forward

• Data and Model Sharing– Publication of academic data– Explicit mapping of conceptual models to improve

communication

• Synthesis– Re-analysis of data from multiple perspectives– Pilot synthesis activities are underway


Building Communities

• Pay attention to the disciplinary foundation– Need explicit definition– Taxonomy to show how subdisciplines relate– Aids in building consensus

• Engage across communities– Place-based observatories as research vessels – Better communication of conceptual models– Synthesis


Summary

• Collaboration to leverage existing resources– NSF investments (NEON, LTER, OOI, CZO…)– Federal Mission Agencies (USGS, USFS, ARS,…)

• Partnerships – Move research scale to management scale

• Limited resources, but pressing needs


CUAHSI Member Universities

universities allied for water research cuahsi: advancing hydrologic science through community...

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