CUAHSI is pleased to announce the release of the CUAHSI Science Plan entitled “Hydrology of a Dynamic Earth: A Decadal Research Plan for Hydrologic Science” for your review and comment. This report is the culmination of many months of effort by the Science Advisory Team, led by John Wilson and assisted by Kevin Dressler.
Comments are due by May 15 if we are to consider them in the final version of the science plan. Although we welcome your comments on any aspect of the plan, we ask you to focus on Section 3, the implementation plan. Are these the activities of highest priority for our community during the coming decade? What else should be added? What is your opinion of the proposed phases and staging of these efforts? Please send us your thoughts and ideas. This implementation plan forms the basis for the CUAHSI renewal grant that must be submitted by August 2007.
HIS Phase II Begins, Version 1.0 Released
The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) team, led by David Maidment from the University of Texas at Austin, has received phase II funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to operationalize and further advance the HIS capability that was prototyped over the first two years of the project. Team members include: Maidment (PI), E To, T Whiteaker (UT Austin); I Zaslavsky, D Valentine, T. Whitenack (SDSC); D Tarboton, J Horsburgh (USU); M Piasecki, B Beran (Drexel); J Goodall (Duke). One of the significant milestones at the beginning of phase II is the release of HIS Version 1.0 for beta testing at the 11 WATERS network test bed sites in April of this year. This beta testing phase will take between 6 and 12 months, after which HIS 1.0 will be available for use more broadly by the CUAHSI community. HIS 1.0 comprises enterprise and workgroup server capability.
For more news on the Observations Data Model (ODM), ODM Tools, Web services, and the Hydrologic Data Access System (HDAS), see: http://www.cuahsi.org/his/odm.html.
HIF 1Stop Milestone
On March 7, 2007 Utah State University placed the first order for a Steampro ADCP (Stock number 1115010). They plan to rent the equipment for at least one month in order to take discharge measurements of the Little Bear River. Everything went very well and USU is pleased with the on-line HIF system as well as the registration process. In fact, they have plans to place several more CUAHSI orders in the near future. Temple University has recently joined Utah State in participating in the HIF system.
There are currently 8 additional slots for University participation. Additional information regarding participation in the HIF s available by visiting www.cuahsi.org/docs/hif-pilot.pdf.
EU and US agree to cooperate on environmental research and ecoinformatics
Under a new agreement concluded on February 9, 2007 by the European Union and the United States, scientists and researchers from both continents will be working closer together to more strategically address common environmental challenges. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States government and the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), have agreed on an “Implementing Arrangement on Environmental Research and Ecoinformatics” (the science of information in ecology and environmental science) which was negotiated under the auspices of the bilateral Science and Technology Agreement between the United States and the European Union.
“This bilateral research framework marks a new level of collaboration between the US EPA and the Commission to help ensure that our efforts to protect the environment and public health, while promoting wealth through eco-innovation, are strongly supported by sound science. The collaboration will bring closer together scientists who are involved in policy analysis research and in this way help mutual understanding of topical environmental policy questions” said José Manuel Silva Rodríguez, Director-General for Research of the European Commission.
Following EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson’s signature in Washington, Director-General José Manuel Silva Rodríguez signed the implementing arrangement on the margins of the EU-US Joint Consultative Group meeting on February 9 in Brussels. The Joint Consultative Group monitors the bilateral science and technology cooperation and discussed new transatlantic initiatives. See ec.europa.eu/research/press/2007/pr0902-2en.cfm.
CUAHSI Board of Directors
Term expires 12/31/2007
Wendy Graham*, U Florida (WATERS Design Liaison)
Jeff Dozier*, UC Santa Barbara
Claire Welty*, UMBC
Laura Toran, Temple (Observatories Liaison)
David Tarboton, Utah State (Education & Outreach Liaison)
Term expires 12/31/2008
Jay Famiglietti*, UC Irvine
Praveen Kumar, U Illinois
Venkat Lakshmi, U South Carolina (Science Plan Liaison)
Greg Pasternak, UC Davis (HMF Liaison)
Fred Scatena, Penn
Term expires 12/31/2009
Efi Foufoula*, U Minnesota
Larry Murdoch, Clemson (Synthesis Liaison)
John Selker, Oregon State
Fred Ogden, U Wyoming
Juan Valdes, U Arizona (HIS Liaison)
Current Officers:
President: Rick Hooper, CUAHSI
Secretary: Kevin Dressler, Penn State U
Treasurer: Chunmiao Zheng, U Alabama
* = Executive committee member
Board Actions - Jan 9-10, 2007
Efi Foufoula (University of Minnesota) was elected by the majority to be Chair-elect.
Rick Hooper (CUAHSI) was elected by the majority to be President of the Corporation.
