Proof of Concept of a Hydrologic Multiphysics Model

水文模型在水文学科学的发展和水文学对社会的预测贡献中发挥着关键作用。目前正在评价改善水文模型的各种备选办法，这是通过国家水文科学研究所协调的一系列讲习班和会议的一部分，目的是调查开发水文科学建模平台的可行性。建模平台的当前愿景是它将支持几个主要的软件包，每个软件包都具有不同的功能。一个软件包将涵盖用于表示水文过程的正演模型，而其他软件包则包括反向建模、地质统计学、高级图形渲染以及与HIS等数据源的联系。正向建模包的一种选择是使用具有模拟广泛过程能力的软件，然后根据水文中的特定应用定制软件。这个选项很有吸引力，因为它提供了比现有水文模型更广泛的模拟功能。多物理场软件是通用建模软件包中最有前途的，这种类型的软件已被用于各种水文应用。然而，应用范围有限，因此水文多物理场作为水文建模平台的重要能力的可行性尚不清楚。该探索性提案的目的是获得许可并建立一个小型建模平台，旨在对水文多物理场进行概念验证评估。特别是，我们打算使用该软件来解决涵盖水文学广泛主题的基准问题，以便评估在水文建模平台上表示这种类型的软件的价值。目标是开发这些基准问题，以便结果可用于评估水文多物理场在计划于明年举行的各种研讨会上的价值。该项目将由教师和研究生组成的团队进行，他们具有丰富的经验，涵盖了水文学建模的许多兴趣。我们需要尽快开始评估，以便在研讨会举行时取得结果，这就是我们提交探索性提案的原因。本提案旨在开始评估使用单一模型来解决水文学中目前由许多模型解决的问题的可行性。这项活动的智力价值在于，它可以使水文学家将更多的智力资本投入到理解水文过程的科学上，而不是投入到选择、开发和维护相关模型的任务上。这种类型的贡献可以导致整个水文学领域的进步。这个项目的广泛影响是，它将提供评估，指导如何制定水文建模平台的决策（它可能包括也可能不包括水文多物理场，这取决于这个项目的结果）。对水文多物理场的成功评估有可能展示将广泛的过程整合到水文模型中的建模能力（从生态学到经济学，或气候预测到农业和城市规划）。这将对水文学和相关学科产生广泛的影响。提议的工作将涉及大约10名研究生和几名本科生，他们将学习一种新的建模方法，并且它将为将来向更多的学生介绍这种方法铺平道路。

Hydrologic models play a key role in both the advancement of hydrologic science and the predictive contributions that hydrology makes to society. A variety of options for improving hydrologic models are being evaluated as part of a series of workshops and conference sessions coordinated through CUAHSI to investigate the feasibility of developing of a modeling platform for hydrologic sciences. The current vision for the modeling platform is that it will support several major software packages, each with distinct functionality. One package will cover forward models used to represent hydrologic processes, whereas other packages include capabilities to do inverse modeling, geostatistics, advanced graphical rendering, and linkages with data sources such as HIS. One option for a forward modeling package is to use software with capabilities to simulate a wide range of processes, and then tailor the software to specific applications in hydrology. This option is appealing because it offers simulation capabilities that are much broader than those provided by existing hydrologic models. Multiphysics software is the most promising of the general modeling packages, and this type of software has been used for a variety of applications in hydrology. However, the applications have been limited in scope, so the viability of hydrologic multiphysics as an important capability on a hydrologic modeling platform is unclear.The purpose of this exploratory proposal is to obtain licenses and set up a small modeling platform designed to for a proof-of-concept evaluation of hydrologic multiphysics. In particular, we intend to use the software to solve benchmark problems covering a wide range of topics in hydrology in order to evaluate the value of having this type of software represented on a hydrologic modeling platform. The objective is to develop these benchmark problems so the results can be used to evaluate the value of hydrologic multiphysics at the various workshops planned for the next year. The project will be conducted by a team of faculty and graduate students with a range of experience that covers much of the modeling interests in hydrology. We need to get started with the evaluation soon in order to have results when the workshops take place, and this is the reason we are submitting an exploratory proposal.This proposal seeks to begin to evaluate the feasibility of using a single model to solve problems that are currently addressed by many models within hydrology. The intellectual merit of this activity is that it may allow hydrologists to invest more of their intellectual capital in the science of understanding hydrologic processes and less in task of selecting, developing and maintaining relevant models. This type of contribution can lead to advances across the field of hydrology. The broad impact of this project is that it will provide evaluations that will guide decisions on how a hydrologic modeling platform is formulated (it may or may not include hydrologic multiphysics, depending on the outcome of this project). A successful evaluation of hydrologic multiphysics has the potential to demonstrate modeling capabilities that integrate a wide range of processes into hydrologic models (from ecology to economics, or climate forecasting to agricultural and urban planning). This will have broad impacts within both hydrology and associated disciplines. The proposed effort will involve approximately 10 graduate students and several undergraduates, who will learn a new modeling approach, and it will pave the way for introducing this approach to many additional students in the future.