Spokes: MEDIUM: MIDWEST: Collaborative: An Integrated Big Data Framework for Water Quality Issues in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

该项目将开发一个网络基础设施框架，以促进对密西西比河上游流域（UMRB）农业实践的有效管理及其对水资源的影响的研究。利用数据支持的信息技术进行大规模数据采集、集成、分析和可视化，将加速知识、经验和共享资源（如技术、设备和人员）在社区和合作伙伴之间的传播。该项目的关键要素是一个新的网络平台，即密西西比河上游信息系统（UMIS），它将在丰富的时空水文背景下提供水质数据。UMIS直接解决了美国国家工程院确定的三大工程挑战：1)提供清洁饮用水；Ii)氮循环管理；iii)设计科学发现的工具。UMIS将立即开始促进UMRB中水质挑战的数据访问、整合和科学发现。UMIS将在气象、水文和地理背景下提供基于互联网的水质信息开放访问，为利益相关者提供几乎无穷无尽的潜在利益。例如，UMIS的实验设计将使研究人员能够研究空间尺度、各种土地利用效率和改善水质的农业实践，以及气候变化对土地管理和水质的影响。决策者、生产者和推广人员将能够评估当地（例如，最佳管理实践）与系统级（例如，国家计划）解决方案的相对有效性，这些解决方案旨在减少污染，优化资源使用，并评估竞争目标之间的权衡。对于所有利益攸关方，UMIS将支持伙伴关系和合作，增加关于关键自然资源的信息传播，以增强各级利益攸关方的权能，并为科学数据的传播制定新的标准。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will develop a cyberinfrastructure framework to facilitate research on the efficient management of agricultural practices and their impact on water resources in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). Large-scale data acquisition, integration, analysis, and visualization using data-enabled information technologies will accelerate the dissemination of knowledge, experience, and shared resources (e.g., technology, equipment, and people) among communities and partners. The key element of the project is a new cyber platform, the Upper Mississippi Information System (UMIS), which will provide water quality data within a rich spatio-temporal hydrologic context. The UMIS directly addresses three of the Grand Challenges for Engineering identified by the National Academy of Engineering: i) provide access to clean drinking water; ii) manage the nitrogen cycle; and iii) engineer the tools of scientific discovery. The UMIS will immediately begin facilitating data access, integration, and scientific discovery for water quality challenges in the UMRB. UMIS will offer internet-based open access to water quality information in its meteorological, hydrological, and geographical context, providing almost endless potential benefits for stakeholders. For example, the experimental design of the UMIS will enable researchers to study spatial scaling, efficiency of various land use and agricultural practices to improve water quality, and the impact of climate change on land management and water quality. Decision-makers, producers, and extension staff will be able to assess the relative efficacy of local (e.g., best management practices) versus system-level (e.g., state programs) solutions designed to reduce pollution, optimize the use of resources, and evaluate tradeoffs among competing objectives. For all stakeholders, the UMIS will support partnerships and collaborations, increase dissemination of information about a critical natural resource to empower stakeholders at all levels, and set new standards in the communication of scientific data.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.