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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
×

INTEGRATING MULTISCALE OBSERVATIONS OF U.S. WATERS

Committee on Integrated Observations for Hydrologic and Related Sciences

Water Science and Technology Board

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

Support for this project was provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant Number NNG05GK08G, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Contract Number DG133R04CQ0009, National Science Foundation Grant Number EAR-0340018, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Grant Number NRC-04-05-087, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract Number W912EK-05-P-0209, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cooperative Agreement Number X3-83146501. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine


The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.


The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.


The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.


The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.


www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
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COMMITTEE ON INTEGRATED OBSERVATIONS FOR HYDROLOGIC AND RELATED SCIENCES

KENNETH W. POTTER, Chair,

University of Wisconsin, Madison

ERIC F. WOOD, Vice Chair,

Princeton University, New Jersey

ROGER C. BALES,

University of California, Merced

LAWRENCE E. BAND,

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

ELFATIH A.B. ELTAHIR,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

ANTHONY W. ENGLAND,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

JAMES S. FAMIGLIETTI,

University of California, Irvine

KONSTANTINE P. GEORGAKAKOS,

Hydrologic Research Center, San Diego, California

DINA L. LOPEZ,

Ohio University, Athens

DANIEL P. LOUCKS,

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

PATRICIA A. MAURICE,

University of Notre Dame, West Lafayette, Indiana

LEAL A. K. MERTES,

University of California, Santa Barbara (until September 2005)

WILLIAM K. MICHENER,

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

BRIDGET R. SCANLON,

University of Texas, Austin

National Research Council Staff

WILLIAM S. LOGAN, Study Director

ANITA A. HALL, Senior Program Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
×

WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD

CLAIRE WELTY, Chair,

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

JOAN G. EHRENFELD,

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey

SIMON GONZALEZ,

National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City

CHARLES N. HAAS,

Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

JAMES M. HUGHES,

Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

THEODORE L. HULLAR,

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

KIMBERLY L. JONES,

Howard University, Washington, DC

G. TRACY MEHAN,

The Cadmus Group, Inc., Arlington, Virginia

JAMES K. MITCHELL,

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

DAVID H. MOREAU,

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

LEONARD SHABMAN,

Resources for the Future, Washington, DC

DONALD I. SIEGEL,

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

SOROOSH SOROOSHIAN,

University of California, Irvine

HAME M. WATT, Independent Consultant,

Washington, DC

JAMES L. WESCOAT, JR.,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

GARRET P. WESTERHOFF,

Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., Fair Lawn, New Jersey

Staff

STEPHEN D. PARKER, Director

LAUREN E. ALEXANDER, Senior Staff Officer

LAURA J. EHLERS, Senior Staff Officer

JEFFREY W. JACOBS, Senior Staff Officer

STEPHANIE E. JOHNSON, Senior Staff Officer

WILLIAM S. LOGAN, Senior Staff Officer

M. JEANNE AQUILINO, Financial and Administrative Associate

ANITA A. HALL, Senior Program Associate

ELLEN A. DE GUZMAN, Research Associate

DOROTHY K. WEIR, Senior Program Associate

MICHAEL J. STOEVER, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
×

Preface

This report is a product of the Committee on Integrated Observations for Hydrologic and Related Sciences. The committee was organized under the auspices of the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) of the National Research Council (NRC) and the WSTB’s Committee on Hydrologic Science (COHS).

This study has interesting origins. The initial idea for the study arose from discussions at the COHS in 2003, and took the form of a one-page prospectus titled Hydrology from Space. While the prospectus mentioned integrating space-based observations with in-situ observations, as envisioned it emphasized a top-down approach. It would have assessed the usefulness of remotely sensed observations for flood and drought prediction and for snow pack measurement, and evaluated the scientific and technical readiness for observations of selected hydrologic states, among other tasks. An assurance of partial funding for the project was made at that time by the Terrestrial Hydrology Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

However, a near simultaneous effort was underway for a broader NRC “decadal survey” to help set an agenda for observations in support of Earth Science and Applications from Space. Among that committee’s key tasks were to develop a consensus on the top-level scientific questions that should provide the focus for Earth and environmental observations for a 10-year period and to develop a prioritized list of recommended space programs, missions, and supporting activities to address those questions. Among the seven study panels organized under that study was a water panel, whose mission would have overlapped somewhat with this study as originally envisioned.

Around the same time, the COHS was made aware that the National Science Foundation (NSF) was considering the establishment of “observatories” with field measurements and cyberinfrastructure to assemble water data into a common framework. At the time, planned observatories included the HYDRO

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
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Program of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI) in NSF’s GEO (Geosciences) Directorate and the Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research (CLEANER) supported by the Engineering Directorate (these two are now being combined into a program called WATer and Environmental Research Systems [WATERS] Network), along with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) supported by the Biological Sciences Directorate and the Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) funded by the Directorate for Geosciences. (As of this writing, not all of these proposed activities have been funded.) And the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other agencies had been collecting various data from field measurements and experimental watersheds for many years and were exploring ways to use modern technology to increase information content and reduce costs.

Thus, while NASA, NOAA, and the USGS Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center were collecting satellite information, other programs were collecting field data and additional data-intensive programs were planned for the near future. But how would the collection of these data and information be optimized? How would satellite, airborne, and in-situ data be integrated? What overarching principles might be followed? This was an issue of considerable interest to NSF and, as it turned out, to other federal agencies, including NASA.

The committee met six times between February 2005 and September 2006 in open and closed sessions. Representatives from many federal, state, and nongovernmental agencies attended and participated in open sessions. This report is based on those discussions, the scientific literature, and the best professional judgment of the committee members.

The committee was deeply saddened by the September 30, 2005, passing of Leal Mertes, who was a respected and well-liked colleague and a valued committee member. We are grateful for her contributions both to this report and to our own lives.

We have many other people to thank for their help over the course of this project and in the preparation of this report. In particular, we would like to express appreciation to the following individuals for their presentations, discussions, and written submissions: Peter Arzberger, University of California, San Diego; Chaitan Baru, San Diego Supercomputer Center; Elizabeth Blood, National Science Foundation; Art Charo, NRC Space Studies Board; Tim Cohn, U.S. Geological Survey; Jared Entin, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Frank Gehrke, California Cooperative Snow Surveys; Tom Harmon, University of California, Merced; Robert Hartman, National Weather Service; Jin Huang, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Doug James, National Science Foundation; Toshio Koike, The University of Tokoyo; Richard Lawford, GEWEX; Dennis Lettenmaier, University of Washington; Kent Lindquist, Lindquist Consulting; David Maidment, University of Texas at Austin; Robert Mason, U.S. Geological Survey;

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
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Tom Nicholson, Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Peter van Oevelen, GEWEX; Jeff Talley, University of Notre Dame; and Stu Townsley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the NRC in making its published report as sound as possible and will ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Jean M. Bahr, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Matthew W. Becker, University of Buffalo; Charles T. Driscoll, Syracuse University; Dara Entekhabi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Tony R. Fountain, University of California, San Diego; Charles D. D. Howard, Canada; Anne W. Nolin, Steven W. Running, University of Montana; Anne W. Nolin, Oregon State University; and Claire Welty, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Dr. Mary P. Anderson, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Appointed by the National Research Council, Dr. Anderson was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.


Kenneth Potter, Chair

Eric Wood, Vice Chair

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2008. Integrating Multiscale Observations of U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12060.
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Water is essential to life for humans and their food crops, and for ecosystems. Effective water management requires tracking the inflow, outflow, quantity and quality of ground-water and surface water, much like balancing a bank account. Currently, networks of ground-based instruments measure these in individual locations, while airborne and satellite sensors measure them over larger areas. Recent technological innovations offer unprecedented possibilities to integrate space, air, and land observations to advance water science and guide management decisions. This book concludes that in order to realize the potential of integrated data, agencies, universities, and the private sector must work together to develop new kinds of sensors, test them in field studies, and help users to apply this information to real problems.

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