David A. Robinson1, B. Bowden2, J. Duncan3, J. Durant4, R. P. Hooper3, J. Jacobs5, R. Knight1, C. Matiuk3, and J. Selker6. (1) Stanford University, Dept of Geophysics, 397 Panama Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-2215, (2) University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, (3) CUAHSI, Washington, DC 20009, (4) Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, (5) University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, (6) Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
Like related environmental
sciences, the hydrologic sciences community has been defining environmental
observatories and the support components necessary for their successful
implementation, such as informatics and instrumentation. Unlike programs, such as
NEON, that have been pursuing large-scale capital funding through the Major
Research Equipment program of the NSF, the consortium of universities for the
advancement of hydrologic sciences inc (CUAHSI) has been pursuing incremental
development of observatories that has allowed us to pilot different parts of
these support functions, namely Hydrologic Information Systems and a Hydrologic
Measurement Facility (HMF), the subject of this paper. The approach has allowed
us to gain greater specificity of the requirements for these facilities and
their operational challenges. The HMF is setting the groundwork to support the
breadth of the Hydrologic Community. The HMF effort is also taking a step-wise,
spin-up model, with a small core grant, to be complemented by further grants,
and through collaborative agreements with federal agencies and industrial
partners. These efforts are guided by the results of a community wide survey
conducted in Nov-Dec 2005, and a series of ongoing workshops. The survey
identified the types of equipment that will advance hydrological sciences.
Respondents to the survey indicated they were keen for HMF to focus on
providing supported equipment such as atmospheric profilers (LIDAR),
geophysical instrumentation including airborne sensors and GPR, and field
isotope mass-spec. The recently signed CRADA, an agreement with USGS will for
the first time provide university researchers with rental access to
hydrological equipment, ranging from data loggers to advanced acoustic doppler
current meters through USGS's Hydrologic Instrument Facility. Soil scientists
should be excited about opportunities that are developing that will provide
access to instrumentation that may enhance their individual research programs.