CUAHSI Biennial Colloquium on Hydrologic Science and Engineering
July 14-16, 2008 | Boulder, Colorado - registration now open

This first CUAHSI colloquium, Resilience & Vulnerability of Natural and Managed Hydrologic Systems, features an exciting line-up of sessions exploring cutting-edge issues in hydrologic science, biogeochemistry, and environmental engineering that can benefit from the community planning that CUAHSI has been leading. Session topics are drawn from the hydrologic synthesis projects currently underway and from observatory planning efforts, including the WATERS Test Beds, Critical Zone Observatories ,and various state efforts. Each session will consist of 3 30-minute invited talks from leading scientists around the world to be followed by a moderated 30-minute discussion session. Contributed papers will be presented as posters that will be viewed immediately following the oral session.

Keynote speakers are Wilfried Brutsaert (Cornell University), who will present the Peter Eagleson Lecture on Hydrologic Science and Robert Hirsch (USGS), who will present the Reds Wolman Lecture on Humans and Water.

Contributed papers are currently being solicited for sessions. The abstract deadline is May 31, 2008. Abstracts may be submitted during the registration process. Note that students from CUAHSI member institutions who present papers will have their registration fee refunded at the meeting.

Mark your calendars and plan to join us in Boulder for this exciting colloquium and workshop. It will be a CUAHSIpalooza!

For additional information, please visit the meeting Web site at www.cuahsi.org/biennial/.

WATERS Community Workshop - March 24-25, 2008

The WATERS Network Community Workshop will be held at the Hilton Arlington in Arlington, VA on March 24th-25th, 2008. The meeting will start at 1:00 pm on Monday March 24th and finish at 4:30 pm on Tuesday March 25th. The purpose of the workshop will be to review and seek input into the draft Science, Education and Design Strategy (SEDS) document, which has been released to the public (see www.watersnet.org). This meeting will provide an opportunity for all members of the engineering and social and natural science communities to provide input into the proposed design of the network and plans for Phase II of the project office. The results of these discussions will inform revisions to the SEDS document, which will be submitted to the National Research Council for review in Summer 2008, and a forthcoming proposal to the National Science Foundation for Phase 2 activities. Those interested in responding to the WATERS Network Request for Information (RFI) will find this meeting helpful in preparing their responses for the Chief Scientist/Engineer to consider in the Phase II proposal. More information.

Science, Education, and Design Strategy (SEDS) for the WATer and Environmental Research Systems Network - February 27, 2008

The WATERS Network Project Office (WNPO) is pleased to announce the release of the draft WATERS Network Science, Education, and Design Strategy (SEDS) document for community review. Both the main body and the appendices of the document are available on the workshop website (www.watersnet.org/workshop-20080324.html), where you will also find a blog for submitting comments. The Science, Education, and Design Strategy (SEDS) document is the culmination of years of intensive planning in committees, meetings, and workshops involving hundreds of researchers and educators across the country, under the auspices of CLEANER (Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research), CZEN (Critical Zone Exploration Network), and CUAHSI hydrologic observatories. These groups have all contributed to the document through representatives on the WATERS Network Management Team hence the SEDS document represents a joint vision among these communities for infrastructure investment needs. While substantial community input went into the document, it is essential that the broader community carefully review the document and provide comments, which will be revised and delivered to the National Science Foundation for review by the National Research Council in Summer 2008.

SEDS document links: main document (draft) | appendices.

CUAHSI-HMF Hands-on Workshop — Distributed Sensing: Taking it to the field

A Hands-on Workshop on Wireless Autonomously Powered Environmental Sensing will be held July 16-18 in Boulder Colorado. The workshop will immediately follow the CUAHSI Biennial Science Meeting. It will be a hands-on workshop exploring the current state of the art of distributed sensing for environmental observation. The workshop will include field installations, current practitioners, manufacturers, and scientists interested in including these methods in their research programs. The spaces in the workshop will be limited to 60 participants, with representation balanced between each of the categories. [more information]

Upcoming Cyberseminar Series Schedule

Hydrology Opportunities at DUSEL

Plans to establish a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) are accelerating. DUSEL is expected to be one of the major scientific investments made by our country in the next decade, and there are significant opportunities for research in hydrology at the lab. The site for DUSEL will be the former Homestake gold mine in South Dakota, an area underlain by fractured Precambrian meta-sediments and volcanics. Subsurface access is excellent, making the site well suited to a deep Critical Zone Observatory. Investigators interested in fractured rock hydrology, hydrologic interactions between the ground surface and the deep subsurface, coupling between hydrology and deformation, geochemical transport, growth and transport of microbial life in the deep subsurface, and related processes are encouraged to get involved.

An initial suite of experiments at DUSEL is being developed for a MREFC proposal, which will be submitted to NSF in 2009. If you want to get involved with this project, you should contact the leaders of appropriate working groups with your interests and ideas as soon as possible [www.lbl.gov/nsd/homestake/aprilworkinggroups.html]. You should also plan to attend a workshop in Lead, South Dakota, on April 20-26, 2008 [www.lbl.gov/nsd/homestake/Workshops.html].
See timeline at www.cuahsi.org/funding.html.

Consequences of Global Change for Water Quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research to better understand the effect of global change on U.S. water quality. Overview: Grant awards (approximately 5 regular awards, 2 early career awards); approximately $4,500,000 total for all awards. See full announcement for more details.