Integrated Hydro-Terrestrial Modeling: Opportunities and Challenges for Advancing a National Capability for the U.S.
Abstract
Multiple federal government agencies have mission elements that address national needs related to water and underlying science. These diverse mission needs have engendered a large base of water-related data and modeling capabilities that, while useful for their intended purposes, are not well integrated to address overarching national problems. An interagency workshop was held on September 4-6, 2019, at the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, VA, bringing together 120 representatives of these agencies and their scientific partners (including university researchers) to refine a vision for and initiate action toward the development of an Integrated Hydro-Terrestrial Modeling (IHTM) and data infrastructure system. More seamless and integrated data and modeling capabilities and improved methodologies will not only advance the water-related missions, collectively and individually, of the participating agencies, but will also enhance national capabilities for prediction and scenario-building in cross-cutting areas of high priority, including but not limited to water availability in the West, hypoxia and harmful algal blooms, and flooding and other extreme weather-related hazards. Additionally, the capabilities of individual water-related agencies will become more available to sister agencies and the research community to address collective water-related concerns and interactions at national, basin, regional, state and local scales. A significant focus of the workshop is on establishing methodologies for sustainable IHTM development, extending from research to operations and back to research, and leveraging synergies to overcome fragmentation while managing dependencies between system components.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.H13D..06L
- Keywords:
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- 1899 General or miscellaneous;
- HYDROLOGY