Cyberseminars Spring 2009 Schedule

March 27, 2009; 3:00pm ET

• Peter Troch, University of Arizona
  

April 10, 2009; 3:00pm ET

• Thanos Papanicolaou, University of Iowa
  Title: The Effects of Agriculture Management Practices on Hydrologic Forcing at the Watershed Scale Under Various Hydrologic Conditions
  

April 17, 2009; 3:00pm ET

• Harmut Holländer, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus
  Title: Hydrological aspects of the artificial catchment Chicken Creek [more information]
  

Visit the CUAHSI Cyberseminar page for more information.

Workshop on Community Hydrologic Modeling Platform (CHyMP): Blueprint for a CHyMP

CUAHSI is still accepting registrations for the 2nd Workshop on a Community Hydrologic Modeling Platform (CHyMP) at the University of Memphis on March 31 and April 1, 2009. CUAHSI has reserved a block of 80 rooms at the Doubletree Memphis Hotel. The room block will close after March 21, 2009. The room rate is guaranteed at $114.00 until March 21, 2009. The second workshop follows the Scoping Workshop held in Washington, D.C. in March, 2008. The goals of the first workshop were to scope the needs and requirements of a community modeling activity in hydrology from a small group with diverse modeling expertise. The idea was very well received.

Featured speakers at the CHyMP workshop include:

• Cecilia DeLuca, The Earth System Modeling Framework
• David Gochis, Regional Modeling of Hydrology and Climate
• George Leavesley, Experiences with the USGS Modular Modeling System
• David Maidment, Model/Data Integration: Linking the CHyMP with CUAHSI Data Services
• Christa Peters-Lidard, The NASA Land Information System

A prelimnary agenda as well as other logistical information is available at www.cuahsi.org/chymp-20090331.html.

For additional background information, refer to the Community Modeling in Hydrologic Science article in Eos, Vol. 89, No. 32, 5 August 2008.

Job Opportunity: CUAHSI Seeking A Water Data Services User Support Specialist

CUAHSI is seeking applications for the position of User Support Specialist. The incumbent will assist users in deploying CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) Water Data Services (WDS). HIS is an internet-based system to support the sharing of hydrologic data that consists of databases connected using the internet through web services as well as software for data discovery, access and publication. The incumbent will fill a support role as an intermediary between system users and developers. Extensive interactions with users who publish data and analysts who seek to discover and access data using these services will be required, both in a one-on-one support mode and in formal training settings. A degree (masters or equivalent in experience) in information science, business information systems, hydrologic science, or a related discipline extensive experience in working with relational data bases and internet-based data publication systems is required. Knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and the Microsoft .NET development environment is highly desirable. Domain knowledge of hydrologic science, environmental science, or related disciplines is also desirable. Further information on this position is available at www.cuahsi.org/suppspec.html or by contacting Richard Hooper (exdir@cuahsi.org). Submit your resume and references electronically to busmgr@cuahsi.org. CUAHSI is an equal opportunity employer. [Additional Information]

CSIRO & CUAHSI Collaborating on Water Information Standards

The need for standards for transfer of water information is relatively clear. Too much effort is wasted throughout the world in the processes involved in understanding and manipulating data prior to using it. Water information standards would provide unambiguous and stable definitions of all the features of the hydrosphere and define the relationships among these features. A useful standard must provide clear benefits over the status quo, such as compatibility with technologies from related domains. Effective standards must also evolve and, hence, require a sustainable governance process.

Over the past few years a number of groups from around the world have discussed the creation of an international working group looking at the development of standards for water information. David Maidment (CUAHSI) and David Lemon (CSIRO) are collaborating on the formation of such a working group under the joint auspices of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Commission for Hydrology (CHy). CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

Since September 2007, a couple of groups have been working on elements of a standards-based solution. The CUAHSI HIS project has been developing WaterML, an XML encoding for water information that is in wide use in the U.S. CSIRO showed how this format could be aligned with OGC standards in an format called WOML (Water Observations Markup Language). CSIRO and CUAHSI are now collaborating on the development of WaterML 2.0.

For more information about CSIRO, please visit their Web site at www.csiro.au. Of particular interest is their Water for a Healthy Country Flagship site.

NSF "Dear Colleague Letter" on Environment, Society, and the Economy (ESE)

NSF — GEO and SBE will consider proposals that describe new research efforts relating to the integrated study of environment, society, and economics. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers are strongly encouraged. Projects are expected to involve researchers in the geosciences and social and behavioral sciences, but they may also include other disciplines.

• Directorate for Geosciences (GEO)
• Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences (SBE)

Read the full letter at www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09031/nsf09031.jsp?govDel=USNSF_25the