Future Water Priorities for the Nation Directions for the U.S. Geological Survey Water Mission Area (2018) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 9-16
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 9... ...
Flooding, for example, may occur in response to extreme precipitation, rapid snowmelt, or storm surge. In 2017, the extreme precipitation from Hurricane Harvey inundated more than 300,000 structures in Houston, Texas, causing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, with the costs of flood damage from the event estimated to exceed $125 billion.1 Just as too much water in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to human, economic, and ecological losses, too little water also poses risks.
|
From page 10... ...
At present, the state of knowledge is incomplete relative to how the various stocks of water are organized across the landscape, how flows among them change, and how and why water quality varies temporally and spatially. Understanding the natural processes related to water, the ways humans influence and control these processes, and the related changes in water quality and quantity over time is key to sustaining human health and prosperity and maintaining environmental quality.
|
From page 11... ...
WMA works closely with federal, state, and regional partners to coordinate and conduct scientific studies and is the most important national source of basic water resources data for other federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) , the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
|
From page 12... ...
. Furthermore, WMA seeks to provide water resources monitoring, assessment, modeling, and research data and tools through observing the water cycle, improving understanding of critical processes, predicting changes in water availability and quality over time, and delivering water science data and information to federal, state, and local agencies, the public, tribes, and industry to support informed decision-making.4 To support its efforts to implement that strategy and to refine it in light of the significant water challenges the nation continues to face, USGS requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's (the National Academies')
|
From page 13... ...
plays an essential role in meeting the nation's water resource needs through its well-established observational network and renowned water science and research activities. A study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine would provide guidance to the USGS Water Mission Area (WMA)
|
From page 14... ...
These products will include not only customizable and specialized current and forecast precipitation, surface water flows, groundwater levels, and water quality, but also emergency warnings for floods, droughts, and related hazards. From a societal perspective, stronger integration of natural and social sciences with hydrological, climatological, and ecological analyses will improve understanding of the values, governance, and instruments that underlie water policy and management, including the needs and tradeoffs among important water-use sectors.
|
From page 15... ...
The committee also consulted peer-reviewed research literature, state and federal government reports, and international documents to provide a strong scientific foundation for this report. Although the committee heard several presentations from USGS WMA personnel about their ongoing work, a complete review of WMA programs and an evaluation of the effectiveness of current WMA programs was outside the scope of its Statement of Task (see Box 1.1)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.