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.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
Support for this project was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant No. 1434-93-A-0982.
Copies of this report are available from the Water Science and Technology Board, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418.
Cover art by Angela Brubaker. Angela is a research assistant with the Water Science and Technology Board staff. The sketch is intended to convey an image of the relationship between the "scales" of interest in hydrology, a characteristic that presents one of the great challenges to the science.
Copyright 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chairman,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
LISA ALVAREZ-COHEN,
University of California, Berkeley
KENNETH R. BRADBURY,
Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Madison
KIMBERLY A. GRAY,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
C. THOMAS HAAN,
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
CONSTANCE HUNT,
World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.
DAWN S. KABACK,
Colorado Center for Environmental Management, Denver
DAVID H. MOREAU,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
CYNTHIA L. PAULSON,
Brown & Caldwell, Denver, Colorado
FREDERICK G. POHLAND,
University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
LEONARD SHABMAN,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
MITCHELL J. SMALL,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
DAVID A. WOOLHISER,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
National Research Council Staff
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Project Director
ANITA A. HALL, Project Assistant
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
DAVID L. FREYBERG, Chair,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
BRUCE E. RITTMANN, Vice Chair,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
LINDA M. ABRIOLA,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
JOHN BRISCOE,
The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
WILLIAM M. EICHBAUM,
The World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.
WILFORD R. GARDNER,
University of California, Berkeley
EVILLE GORHAM,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul
THOMAS M. HELLMAN,
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, New York, New York
CHARLES D.D. HOWARD,
Charles Howard and Associates, Victoria, British Columbia
CAROL A. JOHNSTON,
University of Minnesota, Duluth
WILLIAM M. LEWIS, JR.,
University of Colorado, Boulder
JOHN W. MORRIS,
J.W. Morris Ltd., Arlington, Virginia
CHARLES R. O'MELIA,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
REBECCA T. PARKIN,
American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.
IGNACIO RODRIGUEZ-ITURBE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
FRANK W. SCHWARTZ,
Ohio State University, Columbus
HENRY J. VAUX, JR.,
University of California, Riverside
Staff
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Director
SHEILA D. DAVID, Senior Staff Officer
CHRIS ELFRING, Senior Staff Officer
JACQUELINE MACDONALD, Senior Staff Officer
GARY D. KRAUSS, Staff Officer
JEANNE AQUILINO, Administrative Associate
ANGELA F. BRUBAKER, Research Assistant
ANITA A. HALL, Administrative Assistant
ELLEN de GUZMAN, Senior Project Assistant
STEPHANIE VANN, Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chair,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JAMES P. BRUCE,
Canadian Climate Program Board, Ottawa, Ontario
WILLIAM L. FISHER,
University of Texas, Austin
JERRY F. FRANKLIN,
University of Washington, Seattle
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
DEBRA S. KNOPMAN,
Progressive Foundation, Washington, D.C.
KAI N. LEE,
Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
PERRY L. MCCARTY,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
JUDITH E. McDOWELL,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
RICHARD A. MESERVE,
Covington and Burling, Washington, D.C.
S. GEORGE PHILANDER,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario
THOMAS C. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park
ELLEN K. SILBERGELD,
University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
E-AN ZEN,
University of Maryland, College Park
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director
GREGORY SYMMES, Reports Officer
JAMES E. MALLORY, Administrative Officer
SANDRA S. FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
MARQUITA SMITH, Administrative Assistant/Technology Analyst
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Preface
This report is a product of the Committee on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Research, which provides consensus advice to the Water Resources Division (WRD) of the USGS on scientific, research, and programmatic issues. The committee is one of the groups that works under the auspices of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council. The committee considers a variety of topics that are important scientifically and programmatically to the USGS and the nation and issues reports when appropriate.
This report concerns WRD watershed research activities. Within the USGS, this work is dispersed in a number of WRD program areas, including basic research, regional and site assessments, and data collection activities.
The work of the USGS in this area is important, as government agencies with natural resource management responsibilities are exploring the potential for program integration on a watershed basis. The interest in program integration and multiple-objective watershed management creates new demands for understanding of and information on hydrologic processes and related chemical, physical, and biological effects. Improvements in our understanding of the total ecosystem within a watershed, including the complex interrelationships among the various components, are needed.
This report addresses an overall framework for the agency's research in watershed systems while suggesting general areas of scientific opportunity, including communications and education. The report does not represent an in-depth review of all germane WRD watershed-related programs and projects but instead is intended to provide strategic advice to WRD management.
The committee began this project in November 1994, with briefings by USGS personnel and the selection of a set of questions to be addressed.
Subsequently, the committee met five more times before completing this report. At the meetings committee members were briefed by USGS personnel on a variety of watershed-related programs and visited USGS field sites at Panola Mountain, Georgia, and Luquillo Experiment Forest, Puerto Rico. Committee members drafted individual contributions and deliberated as a group to achieve consensus on the content of this report.
As the committee became more cognizant of USGS watershed-related activities, productive discussions occurred between committee members and USGS personnel. This interaction was critical to the success of the project. The committee is particularly grateful to Dr. Robert M. Hirsch, chief hydrologist, Dr. Harry F. Lins, WRD hydrologist, and their colleagues for all the information and cooperation they provided.
It is hoped that this report will convey the importance of understanding hydrologic processes in a watershed context and will lead to improvements in watershed and environmental management, consistent with society's broader goal of sustainable development. Successful work by the USGS in this area is very important to making progress in this critical aspect of hydrologic science.
George M. Hornberger, Chair
Committee on U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research