EAGER: Collaborative Research: Role of Citizen Science in Watershed Hydrology Research: Relationships between Volunteer Motivations, Data Quantity and Quality, and Decision-Making

人们对利用公民科学项目、公众参与科学研究来测量水文参数越来越感兴趣。水文变异性需要在长时间和大范围的地点重复测量。公民科学可能是水文监测的一种具有成本效益的方法，但对数据可靠性的担忧仍然存在；这种可靠性包括数据质量和数量两个方面，其中数量既指时间频率，也指空间分布。该项目的总体目标是促进对公民科学项目设计、所收集水文数据的数量和质量之间联系的科学理解，以及这种科学研究方法对为流域服务项目设计和支持提供支付信息的贡献。该项目的创新之处在于，它“端到端”地探索了公民科学数据可靠性的影响，包括公民科学志愿者的招募和保留、公民科学数据的收集、将公民科学数据纳入工程工具，以及为政策设计和决策提供信息。该项目的目标是：(1)确定影响公民科学计划保留的因素；(2)测试基于规范的信息传递对收集数据的数量和质量的影响；(3)评估收集的公民科学数据的数量和质量对水文模型可靠性、流域服务计划决策的相应支付以及流域服务计划支付支持的影响。这些目标将通过以下方式实现：(1)在墨西哥韦拉克鲁斯州的两个流域招募公民科学志愿者，持续收集水文数据并为流域服务项目付费；(2)实施实验设计，通过随机分配“轻推”给公民科学志愿者来测试规范信息传递的效果；(3)与公民科学志愿者和接受的水文科学协议同时收集降雨和河流排放数据；(4)根据公认的科学协议收集的数据估计公民科学数据的精度和准确性；(5)利用和不利用公民科学数据对流域水文模型进行定标，包括数据精度和准确度的影响；(6)在有无公民科学数据的情况下，确定流域服务支付的优先领域。墨西哥有世界之一吗？美国对流域服务项目持续时间最长的支付。负责墨西哥流域服务项目支付的国家森林委员会计划使用公民科学志愿者来监测当地流域服务项目支付的水文结果。因此，建议的工作可以改善流域服务项目设计的支付以及监测和评估协议，特别是如果公民科学参与通过改善流域服务项目的知识、行为和支持支付而产生间接效益。pi计划从这项工作的社会科学、生物物理和综合方面产生几篇经过评审的论文和报告。此外，本项目将支持培养两名博士研究生，至少撰写两篇论文。

1644860/1644862Mayer/JonesThere is growing interest in using citizen science projects, public participation in scientific research, to measure hydrologic parameters. Hydrologic variability requires repeated measurements over long periods of time and over a wide range of locations. Citizen science could be a cost-effective approach for hydrologic monitoring, but concerns about data reliability remain; this reliability includes aspects of data quality and quantity, where quantity refers to both temporal frequency and spatial distribution. The overall goal of this project is to advance scientific understanding of the linkages between citizen science project design, the quantity and quality of hydrologic data collected, and the contribution of this method of scientific research to informing payments for watershed services program design and support.This project is innovative in that it explores the impact of citizen science data reliability "end-to-end" including, recruitment and retention of citizen science volunteers, citizen science data collection, incorporation of citizen science data in engineering tools, and informing policy design and decision-making. The project objectives are: (1) to determine the factors affecting retention in citizen science programs, (2) to test the effect that norm-based messaging can have on the quantity and quality of data collected, and, (3) to evaluate the impact of the quantity and quality of citizen science data collected on hydrologic model reliability, corresponding payments for watershed services program decision-making, and support for payments for watershed services programs. These objectives will be met by: (1) recruiting citizen science volunteers in two watersheds in Veracruz, Mexico with ongoing hydrologic data collection and payments for watershed services programs; (2) implementing an experimental design to test the effect of norm messaging by randomly allocating "nudges" to citizen science volunteers; (3) simultaneously collecting rainfall and stream discharge data with citizen science volunteers and accepted hydrologic science protocols; (4) estimating the precision and accuracy of the citizen science data against the data collected with the accepted scientific protocols; (5) calibrating a watershed hydrology model with and without the citizen science data, including the effects of data precision and accuracy; and, (6) determining priority areas for payments for watershed services with and without the citizen science data. Mexico has one of the world?s longest running payments for watershed services programs. The National Forest Commission, responsible for payments for watershed services programs in Mexico, plans to use citizen science volunteers for monitoring hydrologic outcomes of local payments for watershed services programs. Thus, the proposed work could improve payments for watershed services program design and monitoring and evaluation protocols, especially if there are indirect benefits of citizen science participation through improved knowledge, behaviors, and support of payments for watershed services programs. The PIs plan to generate several refereed papers and presentations from this work on the social science, biophysical and integrated aspects of this work. Additionally, this project will support training of two PhD students contributing to at least two dissertations.