Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 171
Appendix C
Communicating Data and
Information to Users
Communication of scientific activities is an accomplishment of the
U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS's) National Water Quality Assessment
(NAWQA) program, as discussed in Chapter 3. This appendix contains a
more detailed accounting of the communication efforts to augment and sup-
port this accomplishment and further highlight the scope of these efforts.
The current budget for NAWQA communications effort is modest,
approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total program budget. NAWQA com-
munication activities are directed by the NAWQA Communications Coor-
dinator. NAWQA has a contract with the Environmental and Energy Study
Institute (EESI) to spearhead congressional briefings and liaison meetings.
Separate communication resources are built into each of the program com-
ponents for NAWQA, such as the surface water status and trends, ground-
water status and trends, national synthesis programs, topical teams, and
source-water assessments and are used to develop derivative products (such
as the web, companion articles, fact sheets, video casts, etc.) that are as-
sociated with some of the relatively larger launches. NAWQA benefits from
continued support from the USGS Office of Communication in developing
companion products and social media tools. In public meetings of this com-
mittee, NAWQA leadership conveyed that the number of forums in which
NAWQA results are presented continues to grow with the addition of more
frequent and timely updating of web pages; improved mapping, querying,
and access to related links on the web; and improved functionality of the
data warehouse.
When disseminating NAWQA findings, the overall goal is to reach a
broad audience of technical and non-technical consumers of NAWQA's in-
171
OCR for page 172
172 APPENDIX C
formation products and tools through multiple media, varying technical de-
tail, and appealing graphics. Products are tailored to each targeted audience
and structured around answering NAWQA's three core questions related to
the status of the water resource, changes in quality and related conditions
over time and space, and understanding of the factors influencing status and
trends. The program's communication strategy follows a tiered approach,
ranging from detailed scientific reports for technically trained audiences
to one-page fact sheets for lay audiences. Thus, the program attempts to
match the level of technical detail in its various information products to the
needs of decision-makers and stakeholders who are trying to understand
and make informed choices about policy, management, and investments
related to water quality.
NAWQA typically employs an aggressive communications strategy in
its release of a major report, which employs written products, briefings,
and Internet-based formats. These reports are typically released with fact
and briefing sheets, a press release, a dedicated web page linked to the main
NAWQA program website, an email "blast" to stakeholders and decision-
makers,1 and stakeholder and congressional briefings. The dedicated web-
page includes not only the main product but also a variety of other products
including a Frequently Asked Questions document, downloadable graphics
and tables with the raw and supporting data, and a podcast of key findings.
The selection of products used depends on the scale and content of the
report. The communication strategy is flexible and will expand or contract
depending upon the attention received during release. It also ensures that
NAWQA studies are communicated at both the local and national level.
The release of the NAWQA pesticide circular in 2006 (Gilliom et al., 2006),
which was a "major release," had a 10-part communication strategy and
included a variety of derivative products and activities (Box C-1).
WRITTEN PRODUCTS
NAWQA's written publications are the foundation of the program's
communications strategy. NAWQA publishes a variety of written publica-
tions that have no political agenda, target various audiences, and contain
no specific policy recommendations. These publications come in a variety
of formats targeting various audiences and subjects:
1 NAWQA's Contacts Database includes approximately 1,700 relevant stakeholders who
are prioritized according to their interest in the program judged by attendance at briefings,
requests for NAWQA publications, etc. NAWQA uses this list and prioritization to distribute
its publications and tailors outreach accordingly.
OCR for page 173
APPENDIX C 173
· Circulars are synthesis reports on a broad topic that are widely dis-
tributed, reaching a large audience. This includes scientists in government,
industry, and academia; water managers; public-health officials; utilities;
regulators; elected officials; and watershed groups and others in the general
public.
· Scientific Investigations Reports contain information of lasting
scientific interest because of significant data and interpretation.
· Open File Reports are publications that are released immediately
and contain interpretive information such as supporting data referenced in
another product or preliminary findings.
· Water-Resources Information Reports are a discontinued series
of reports. When used, they contained hydrologic information of local
interest.
BOX C-1
NAWQA Communication Strategy for Circular
1291: Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground
Water, 1992-2001 (released March, 2006)
1.Conducted formal external review of the Circular (two formal USGS peer
reviews, 15 external reviews);
2. Briefed federal agencies and others on major findings and implications
(Department of the Interior [DOI], U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's [EPA's]
Office of Water and Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture
[USDA];
3. Posted the Circular and companion materials on an internal website so
USGS scientists (such as Water Science Center Directors) could become familiar
with findings and implications;
4.Worked collaboratively with communications staff at EPA and USDA during
release (exchanged press releases);
5. Briefed DOI external and public affairs stakeholders on key findings and
communications plan;
6.Held congressional briefing;
7.Posted USGS Circular and companion materials on the NAWQA homepage;
8.Distributed Circular and companion materials to agencies and stakeholders
(printed and electronic versions);
9.Derivative articles written to communicate information about specific issues
of interest to selected organizations; and
10. Continued distribution through conferences, workshops, follow-up meet-
ings, and briefings.
SOURCE: P. Hamilton, personal communication, June 25, 2010.
OCR for page 174
174 APPENDIX C
· Fact Sheets are abbreviated publications that summarize and pro-
vide details about various USGS activities, typically a Circular.
· Techniques and Methods Reports detail the techniques and meth-
ods used in NAWQA studies, both in the field and in the laboratory. These
are useful and promote consistent water-quality monitoring among the
scientific community at large.
· Briefing sheets are used as a tool at various meetings and on the
website to brief interested parties. These do not appear in the NAWQA
publications database and go through an unofficial peer review within
NAWQA, in contrast to the more formal USGS peer-review process dis-
cussed below.
· Journal articles and special journal issues are often used as com-
panions for the larger reports. For example, three papers on Mercury
Cycling in Stream Ecosystems were published in the April 15, 2009, issue of
Environmental Science and Technology, slightly prior to the report release
in August of 2009.
· Program design, strategy, and goal documents are authored when
the program experiences a shift in program design. These documents are
often used to engage input from stakeholders such as the National Liaison
Committee.
USGS publications go through the rigorous peer-review process.
NAWQA supplements this by including an additional external reviewer(s),
a practice started in 1991 with the Delmarva Circular in 1991 (Hamilton
and Shedlock, 1992). For example, the pesticide circular released in 2006
had two formal USGS peer reviewers and 15 external reviewers including
federal agencies, private and industry representatives, as well as represen-
tatives from trade, professional, and other non-profit organizations. When
choosing this group of external reviewers, NAWQA's goal is to cover all
relevant and potentially contrasting perspectives, i.e., non-regulatory, mu-
nicipal, state, and tribal perspective (P. Hamilton, personal communication,
June 17, 2010).
BRIEFINGS
NAWQA participates in approximately two congressional briefings a
year, on a variety of topics that coincide with the release of new NAWQA
research. Briefings typically employ a USGS scientists and a non-USGS
scientist to address the topic. In large part, these briefings have been sup-
ported by the Water Environment Federation (a frequent co-sponsor) and
EESI. Media and trade coverage is common and can include both local and
national outlets. For example, the briefing on the NAWQA study assessing
water-quality conditions of domestic wells across the United States held
OCR for page 175
APPENDIX C 175
in March of 2009 had 42 media and trade press requests (P. Hamilton,
NAWQA, personal communication, June 17, 2010).
When invited, NAWQA or USGS leadership will give congressional
testimony on the program's scientific output. NAWQA hosted a Nitrogen
and Phosphorus National Press Conference in 2007, was a press conference
on SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW)
(P. Hamilton, personal communication, June 17, 2010).
NAWQA scientists frequently attend scientific meetings and present
research on new monitoring and analytical methods, analysis of findings,
and innovations in modeling and technology. Conferences include but are
not limited to:
· America Benthological Society,
· Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry,
· American Geophysical Union, American Geological Institute,
· American Water Resources Association--national and regional
conferences,
· National Groundwater Association,
· Association of State Drinking Water Administrations,
· Geological Society of America, and
· American Association of Advancement of Science.
These presentations are important to overall success of the program
because they increase the transparency of technical methods, and the cred-
ibility of the underlying analysis, and they engage a broader community of
peers in the challenges of characterizing water quality over multiple time
and spatial scales for a wide range of applications.
DATA AND OTHER MEDIA PRODUCTS ON THE INTERNET
During Cycle 2, the NAWQA program has expanded the use of digi-
tal media and appealing graphics to better communicate products and
tools. NAWQA's primary web-based interface with the public is the pro-
gram website,2 has been significantly improved since the National Research
Council encouraged NAWQA to improve it (NRC, 2002). Today, most
users are satisfied or very satisfied with the program's website (Figure C-1).
The National Water Information System (NWIS)3 is the USGS data-
base, which houses streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality, and biol-
ogy data. Ten to 15 years ago, NAWQA made its information accessible
online through NWISweb, which is maintained by USGS's Office of Infor-
2 See http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa.
3 See http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/qw.
OCR for page 176
176 APPENDIX C
Content 59 36 5
Relevance 56 37 7
Navigation 31 57 12
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied
FIGURE C-1A customer satisfaction survey indicates user satisfaction with the
NAWQA website. SOURCE: USGS, personal communication.
mation. However, NAWQA's metadata were
Figure C-1not completely compatible
with NWISweb; thus, a subset of NWIS for NAWQA data, the NAWQA
data warehouse, was born in 1999.4 Containing information on approxi-
mately 2,000 water-quality and biological constituents, which are available
for public use (Bell and Williamson, 2006), water-quality data are com-
municated to the public in a variety of formats including location maps,
graphics, and links to NAWQA reports as well as instructions on data
retrieval or exporting data. Biological information in the NAWQA data
warehouse is not yet sophisticated, but part of this is a product of biological
sampling constraints. USGS is currently building a database for biological
data that will fit into NWISweb and the NAWQA data warehouse that will
be released in late 2012, "BioData."5 Even though this is a NAWQA-led
effort, the biology database will serve and provide all biology data from
water-related programs to the public (P. Hamilton, personal communica-
tion, May 13, 2009).
In recent years NAWQA has developed a social media presence by, for
example, using USGS CoreCasts, an audio or video podcast, as a method
of dissemination.6 The first USGS CoreCast, on Hurricanes and Extreme
4 See http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/data.
5 See https://aquatic.biodata.usgs.gov/.
6 See http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/.
OCR for page 177
APPENDIX B 177
Storms, was released in August of 2007. Since then, NAWQA has devel-
oped and published several CoreCasts when a report or study is released.
In February 2010, a CoreCast was released featuring the USGS NAWQA
Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to Supply Wells
or TANC effort.7 The CoreCast explains the relevance of the study for the
educated lay person, notes that the results of the study illustrate why some
public-supply wells are more vulnerable to contaminants in aquifers than
others, and mentions that the study provides information for public supply
well managers to protect their drinking water supply--conclusions that are
very important to the public. The CoreCast continues by linking the video
to USGS fact sheets providing the viewer with a mechanism for obtaining
more information.
For the recent study on the Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosys-
tems, NAWQA scientists developed a complimentary set of video casts,
which received 7,000 page views the day the study was released (G. Mc-
Mahon, personal communication, June 21, 2010). The urbanization story
is reaching the international community despite the geographical focus on
the United States; upon release, Spanish Univision reported on the study,
and the NAWQA leadership is considering using Spanish subtitles in its
CoreCasts (P. Hamilton, personal communication, June 17, 2010).
USGS, through the Office of Communications, is also participating in
additional social media outlets including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
NAWQA is contemplating involvement in these outlets. The USGS Office
of Communications commented on NAWQA's 2009 mercury study upon
release and received 20,000 "tweets" in response and discussion. The public
took a particular interest in understanding if fish were safe to eat. However,
it is reasonable to note that the public might not show the same interest in
carbonate aquifers or NAWQA's more technically oriented products.
REFERENCES
Bell, R. W., and A. K. Williamson. 2006. Data Delivery and Mapping Over the Web: National
Water-Quality Assessment Data Warehouse. USGS Fact Sheet 2006-3101.
Gilliom, R. J., J. E. Barbash, C. G. Crawford, P. A. Hamilton, J. D. Martin, N. Nakagaki,
L. H. Nowell, J. C. Scott, P. E. Stackelberg, G. P. Thelin, and D. M. Wolock. 2006. Pes-
ticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water, 1992-2001. U.S. Geological Survey
Circular 1291.
Hamilton, P. A., and R. J. Shedlock. 1992. Are fertilizers and pesticides in the ground water--
A case study of the Delmarva Peninsula, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia: U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey Circular 1080. 16 pp.
NRC (National Research Council). 2002. Opportunities to Improve the U.S. Geological Sur-
vey National Water Quality Assessment Program. Washington, DC: National Academies
Press.
7 See http://oh.water.usgs.gov/tanc/NAWQATANC.htm.
OCR for page 178
