Collaborative Research Proposal: Pilot Hydrologic Measurement Facility

0447377Knight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，水文科学界成立了水文科学促进大学联盟。（CUAHSI）。 CUAHSI制定了一项科学议程，确定大气、地表、地下水和地表水分支学科之间传统边界的界面是最有前途的研究领域。要取得实质性进展，就必须在更大的空间尺度上采用多学科方法，以获得比以往通常所做的更连贯的数据集。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）测量技术方案，4）水文综合设施。该项目要求资金为这些设施的开发和管理提供核心支持，并启动观测站和综合设施，因为水文科学界以前没有尝试过这种规模的协调研究，我们建议开始以一个单一流域的“纸上原型”开始（水文观测站），旨在解决精心选择的一小部分特定假设，以产生一个数据集，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和足够广泛的有用的许多研究将出现。该原型将通过协调单一流域的研究来确定科学和经济的协同作用。Neuse河已被选为该原型的地点。第二个拟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，以较低的边际成本解决该领域的核心问题。建议举办一个讲习班来设计该设施，并为初步综合项目提供资金，包括竞争其选择，该项目将通过提供社区目前无法提供的设施，使水文科学取得根本性的进展。选择这些活动是为了提供最大的投资回报，将水文科学推向一个新的理解层面。提高对水文的认识给社会带来的好处是多方面的，包括更可靠地预测情况和更明智地管理水资源。

0447377KnightTo 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.