This USGS / NBII (National Biological Information Infrastructure) funded project is studying the spatial distribution of aquatic invasive species based on suitable habitat that can maintain the plant's nutrient needs. We start by locating and mapping stream gages that report water quality parameters, specifically for the nutrients nitrates, phosphorous and phosphate. One of the greatest challenges is acquiring data for spatial models. Data is usually from different organizations, in different projections and different file formats. This initial study focused on a six year range of data from 2005 to 2011. Searching through all the stream gages for specific information was daunting. Fortunately, CUAHSI-HIS developed an open source tool for searching hydrologic information. HydroDesktop, provides an interface to search a region-of-interest based on input parameters. In our case, the parameters are stream gages that measure water quality with information on nutrient concentrations. The power of HydroDesktop is it takes all data found from different organizations and automatically organizes the data into a common format. The figure above (click for larger view) displays results for a search using parameters mentioned above.

This map illustrates initial work based strictly on stream gage water quality data from HydroDesktop that's been queried to phosphorous concentrations greater than 0.2 ppm. The concentration has been determined by mesocosm experiments. The yellow dots correspond to ground truthing of aquatic invasive species from 2006 to 2009 surveys. Using Spatial Analyst's Interpolate to Raster function in ESRI's ArcMap, a raster surface is produced indicating areas of suitable nutrient habitat for the aquatic invasive species, Parrot Feather.

To better understand the environment surrounding each stream gage the National Landuse Landcover Dataset (NLCD), National Hydrograhy Dataset (NHD) and 10 digit Hydrologic Unit (HUC) are combined to better understand the relationships of flowing water over the land and the stream gage nutrient quality concentrations. A geospatial model is being developed to locate suitable nutrient habitat for aquatic invasive species. HydroDesktop provides the primary data input for the model.

Goals of the project are to better understand the geographic relationships that lead to a nutrient habitat that is suitable for aquatic invasive species and provide this information to decision makers for better water quality management.

PIs: Dr. John Madsen, Dr. Ryan Wersal
Co-PI: Louis Wasson (primary content contributor to this article)
Mississippi State University's Geosystems Research Institute / Northern Gulf Institute

June 8 -10, 2011 . National Conservation Training Center . Shepherdstown, WV — Advanced in situ optical water quality sensors-together with new techniques for data analysis-hold enormous promise for advancing scientific understanding through high frequency measuring and monitoring of important biogeochemical parameters. Real-time sensors also provide tools for early trend detection, identifying monitoring gaps and science-based decision support.

Developing networks of optical sensors in freshwater systems that report reliable and comparable data across and between sites remains an important challenge. To address this, the USGS Office of Water Quality and CUAHSI are co-sponsoring a workshop to identify opportunities and begin developing community standards for making nationally-consistent, high-quality environmental measurements.

The workshop will focus on the complete life cycle of optical sensor deployment:

Sensor Deployment → Network Design → Data Transmission →
Data Management → Data Visualization and Analysis

Workshop discussions/breakouts will include:

• Identifying the near- and long-term uses and capabilities for in situ optical data
• Identifying the critical needs (infrastructure, data analysis, etc.) required to implement in situ optical sensors in existing and planned networks
• Identifying the steps to optimize the application of in situ optical sensor deployments in rivers and streams
• Developing guidelines for instrument performance, calibration and validation
• Developing a vision for the next generation of optical sensors needed to support water-quality monitoring in rivers and streams

Pre-registration is open and accepted until April 15, 2011. For more detailed information on pre-registering for the workshop, visit the Joint USGS-CUAHSI Workshop page.

June 22-24, 2011 . Utah State University . Logan, UT — CUAHSI is hosting a conference on Hydrologic Data and Information Systems. This will showcase the scientific progress enabled through the use of advanced information and data management systems. We welcome contributed presentations of your work on or related to data management in hydrology. The conference will also showcase the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS), a Web-based system for sharing hydrologic data. Sessions will include presentations on all aspects of hydroinformatics and hands-on training, workshops and expert advice on HIS. Sessions are planned to benefit a broad cross section of users and developers, including:

• Researchers: science enabled by hydrologic data and information systems
• Educators: uses of water data and HIS software tools for teaching
• Modelers: coupling models and data from multiple sources using HIS and related systems
• Data Publishers: organizing, storing, and making data available to others

Abstracts due May 15, 2011 — Registration due May 30, 2011

See the HIS website for more information.

April 1, 2011; 3:00pm ET

• Sankar Arumugam, North Carolina State University
  Title: Climate Forecasts and Water Management: Opportunities and Challenges

April 15, 2011; 3:00pm ET

• Laurence Smith, University of California, Los Angeles
  Title: The New North: Four Forces Shaping our Northern Future

For additional information about CUAHSI cyberseminars and to view recordings of previous seminars, please go to the Cyberseminars page.