Digital Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering using the California Data Cube
| PI: | James Hunt(BWC) |
| Collaborators: | NOAA National Marine Fisheries, Sonoma County Water Agency, Sonoma Ecology Center, and University of California, Davis Hopland Research Station. |
| website: | http://bwc.berkeley.edu/California/ |
The science of hydrology was formerly driven by the practical needs of the engineering profession where floods, droughts, and water quality could be estimated from prior but limited environmental data collected by various state and federal agencies. Population growth in the United States has placed demands on water resources that can not be met by traditional means and anticipated climate change is casting doubt on the prior assumptions that historical data can be used to predict future conditions. The science of hydrology has shifted to more sensor-based systems for stream flows and spatially distributed meteorological conditions obtained from ground and satellite systems. The sensor data are coupled with weather and climate models at finer and finer spatial resolution. The net result is a vastly increased data collection rate and the generation of model simulations that require storage, retrieval and archiving on a scale not previous contemplated.
We have developed a data server providing an integrated view of discharge, precipitation, stream temperature,and air temperature across California watersheds. This data server is now being used to support researchers working on a variety of questions including impact of frost protection pumping, recovery of endangered fish populations, long term impact on a watershed of human activity, coastal lagoon dynamics, and modeling of annual watershed water balance.
Publications
Please see the publications page.