Universities allied for water research CUAHSI: Advancing Hydrologic Science through Community Engagement Rick Hooper, President

Universities allied for water research What is hydrologic science? Hydrologic science studies the occurrence, distribution, circulation and properties of water, and its interaction with a wide range of physical, chemical and biological processes, acknowledging also the added complexity of social and behavioral sciences (NRC, 1991).

Universities allied for water research Boundaries of hydrologic science Water links atmosphere, earth, and ocean sciences Water links living and physical world Water is a solvent of minerals and sculptor of the landscape Water is a key determinant of habit Water is an economic resource and extensively engineered by humans Hydrologic science interfaces with all these fields.

Universities allied for water research Getting the water ‘right’ A sufficient description of the hydrologic cycle for describing water’s interaction with the physical and living world – Stores, fluxes, flowpaths, residence times – Coupling of components hydrologic cycle – Recognition of biological controls on terrestrial water cycle Linkage to biogeochemistry, ecology, geomorphology, water resources engineering,…

Universities allied for water research Developing a Community Disciplinary Foundations – Intellectual Basis – Rigor in Observational Science – Consensus Building Interdisciplinary Opportunities – Enrichment from Multiple Perspectives – New Transdisciplinary Science

Universities allied for water research Community Science Complements investigator-driven science Articulates community goals and needs Undertakes projects impossible for individuals – Generality of findings (cross-site comparison) – Larger scale and coherent data (top-down design) – Multidisciplinary efforts (synthesis teams) Develops and Operates Infrastructure – Information systems – Instrumentation development and sharing

Universities allied for water research Defining the Community Agenda Move beyond “what” hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists study “How” does each discipline approach science? – How are hypotheses posed? – What constitutes “proof”? – What are valid data?

Universities allied for water research How do hydrologists work? Hydrologic cycle as organizing principle Quantitative approaches (e.g., budgets) Deterministic and stochastic approaches Both ‘bottom-up’ (fluid mechanics) and ‘top- down’ (systems) approaches Inferential rather than empirical Observation-limited (→ right for the wrong reason) Multifaceted role of water (→ multiple perspectives)

Universities allied for water research Hydrologic subdisciplines Different phenomena – Streamflow generation, contaminant transport, land surface-atmosphere interactions …have different – Spatial scales, temporal scales, dynamics, dominant processes …leading to disciplinary fragmentation and limited understanding among hydrologists – Bottom-up/ Top-down – Catchment, groundwater, surface water

Universities allied for water research Subdisciplines: Compound Names Hydrometeorology, ecohydrology, geohydrology, hydropedology, biogeochemistry Names don’t define intellectual endeavor Names don’t define relationships among subdisciplines

Universities allied for water research Traditional Views of Hydrologic Cycle

Universities allied for water research Dimensions of Hydrologic Cycle Vertical: Bedrock to Boundary Layer Down-slope: Ridge to Stream Down-valley: Headwater to Ocean

Universities allied for water research The Vertical Dimension Sub-disciplines: ecohydrology, hydrometeorology, Phenomenon: transpiration, precipitation fields, precipitation partitioning, pedogenesis Spatial Scales: plot to continental Temporal Scales: seconds to days

Universities allied for water research The Down-slope Dimension Sub-disciplines: hydropedology, hillslope hydrology Phenomenon:, streamflow generation, weathering (bioGEOchemistry), catena Spatial Scales: 10’s to 100’s m [Hydrologic] Temporal Scales: minutes to seasons

Universities allied for water research The Down-Valley Dimensions Sub-disciplines: fluvial geomorphology, BIOgeochemistry Phenomenon: flood scaling, local to regional groundwater systems, hyporheic exchange Spatial Scales: reach/local gw systems to river basin/regional aquifer system [Hydrologic] Temporal Scales: seconds to millennia

Universities allied for water research Towards a taxonomy Dimensions of hydrologic cycle combine disciplines to study phenomena within a range of space and time Encourage dialog: see where my research ‘fits’ into bigger picture Clarify goals of subdisciplines One approach for organizing discipline

Universities allied for water research Disciplinary Foundations Understand epistemology of our own science – Discussed epistemology with your graduate students lately? Explain goals to non-specialists Achieve consensus on ‘open questions’ among subdisciplines

Universities allied for water research Observations and Observatories The dilemma of place-based science – Extensive ‘characterization’ needed to ‘pin down’ theory – Establish generality of findings that transcend uniqueness of place Network of Observatories with “comparable” data – Difficulty of top-down design – Emergence of CZO’s and other field sites Virtual Network with data publication

Universities allied for water research -Mathematical Formulae -Solution Techniques Abstractions in Modeling Physical World Conceptual Frameworks Data Representation Model Representations “Digital Environment”Real World Measurements Theory/Process Knowledge Perceptions of this place Intuition Water quantity and quality Meteorology Remote sensing Geographically Referenced Mapping Validation DNA Sequences Vegetation Survey Hydrologist Q, Gradient, Roughness? Groundwater Contribution? Snowmelt Processes? Biogeochemist Hyporheic exchange? Mineralogy? Chemistry? Redox Zones? DOC Quality? Geomorphologist Glaciated Valley Perifluvial Well sorted? Thalweg? Aquatic Ecologist Backwater habitat Substrate Size, Stability? Benthic Community Oligotrophic? Carbon source?

Universities allied for water research Data Integration USGS EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

Universities allied for water research CUAHSI National Water Metadatabase Indexes: 20 observation networks 1.73 million sites 8.38 million time series NWIS STORET TCEQ

Universities allied for water research Vision: Network of “Observatories” Access data from all sites, regardless of funding source or location Develop larger scale context for research watersheds Enable analysis – Across gradients – Across scale to river basin – Test generality of hypotheses in different settings Improve predictive capacity

Universities allied for water research Realizing the Vision Geospatial Data Publication Dynamic Grid Data Publication Time Series Data Publication Modeling Platform Regional Models Global Models

Universities allied for water research Moving Forward Data and Model Sharing – Publication of academic data – Explicit mapping of conceptual models to improve communication Synthesis – Re-analysis of data from multiple perspectives – Pilot synthesis activities are underway

Universities allied for water research Building Communities Pay attention to the disciplinary foundation – Need explicit definition – Taxonomy to show how subdisciplines relate – Aids in building consensus Engage across communities – Place-based observatories as research vessels – Better communication of conceptual models – Synthesis

Universities allied for water research Summary Collaboration to leverage existing resources – NSF investments (NEON, LTER, OOI, CZO…) – Federal Mission Agencies (USGS, USFS, ARS,…) Partnerships – Move research scale to management scale Limited resources, but pressing needs

Universities allied for water research CUAHSI Member Universities