A Community-based Consortium for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science

为了更全面地了解水文学，包括完整的水文循环以及水文学在相关环境和地球科学中的作用，水文学科学界成立了水文学科学促进大学联盟（CUAHSI）。CUAHSI已经准备了一个科学议程，将大气、地表、地下水和地表水分支学科之间的传统边界之间的界面确定为最有前途的研究领域。只有在更大的空间尺度上应用多学科方法，以获得比过去通常所做的一致数据集，才能取得实质性进展。CUAHSI设想了四个相互支持的基础设施要素来实现这一目标：1)水文观测站网络，2)信息系统，3)测量技术计划，以及4)水文综合设施。该项目要求资金为这些设施的发展和管理提供核心支持，并启动观察站和综合设施。由于水文科学界以前从未尝试过这种规模的协调研究，我们建议从单个河流流域（水文观测站）的“纸上原型”开始，旨在解决精心选择的一小部分特定假设，从而产生一个数据集，该数据集将提供流域的可靠特征。因此，一个足以回答重要问题的数据集将会出现，而且范围足够广泛，对许多研究都有用。该原型将确定在单一流域协调研究的科学和经济协同效应。Neuse河被选为这个原型的场地。第二个提议的活动是启动一个水文综合设施，设想作为一个地方，来自不同学科的水文科学家可以方便地聚集在一起，以低边际成本解决该领域的核心问题。建议举办一个设计设施的研讨会，并为最初的综合项目提供资金，包括竞争其选择。该项目将通过提供社区目前无法获得的设施，使水文科学取得根本性进展。选择这些活动是为了提供最大的投资回报，将水文学科学推向一个新的认识层面。提高对水文学的了解对社会的好处是多方面的，包括更可靠的条件预测和更明智的水资源管理。

0326064MossTo achieve a more comprehensive understanding of hydrology that embraces the full hydrologic cycle as well as the role of hydrology in related environmental and earth sciences, the hydrologic science community formed the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI). CUAHSI has prepared a science agenda that identifies the interfaces among traditional boundaries among the atmosphere, land surface, groundwater and surface-water subdisciplines as the most promising areas for research. Substantive progress will only be achieved with multidisciplinary approaches applied at larger spatial scales to obtain coherent data sets than have typically been done in the past. CUAHSI envisages four mutually supportive infrastructure elements to meet this goal: 1) a network of hydrologic observatories, 2) an information system, 3) a measurement technologies program, and 4) a hydrologic synthesis facility. This project requests funds to provide a core support for the development and management of these facilities as well as to initiate the observatories and synthesis facility.Because this scale of coordinated research has not been previously attempted by the hydrologic science community, we propose to begin with a 'paper prototype' of a single river basin (a hydrologic observatory) designed to address a small set of specific hypotheses carefully chosen to yield a data set that will provide a robust characterization of the basin. Thus a data set sufficient to answer important questions and broad enough to be useful for many studies will emerge. The prototype will identify both the scientific and economic synergies from coordinating research in a single river basin. The Neuse River has been chosen as the site for this prototype.The second proposed activity is to initiate a hydrologic synthesis facility, envisioned as a place where hydrologic scientists from various disciplines can come together conveniently and at low marginal cost to tackle central problems in the field. A workshop to design the facility and funding for an initial synthesis project, including a competition for its selection, are proposed.This project will permit hydrologic science to make fundamental advances by providing facilities with capabilities currently unavailable to the community. These activities have been chosen to provide the greatest return on investment to move hydrologic science to a new plane of understanding. The benefits to society of improved hydrologic understanding are manifold, including more reliable forecasting of conditions and wiser management of water resources.