NSF Science and Technology Center for www.sahra.arizona.edu Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas 520-626-6974 EphemeralA NEWSLETTER ABOUT SAHRA Flow JANUARY/FEBRUARY2006 elcome to the January/February issue of Ephemeral Flow, a newsletter UPCOMING EVENTS W for sharing information within the SAHRA community. Ephemeral Flow is sent to SAHRA researchers, staff, and students at all participating institutions Feb. 17: WSP workshop on Innovations in approximately every two months. Your contributions and suggestions are always Arsenic Management for Water Providers, welcome. Please send items to Mary Black at [email protected]. Tucson, AZ; contact Louise MacDermott ([email protected]) for more info. March 7-8: Executive Committee retreat, FEATURES Marshall Bldg., Tucson, AZ March 30-31: Integrated Modeling workshop, Research Blossoming at UC Irvine Socorro, NM (see details under Research) The SAHRA research effort at the They have been able to enhance the May 18-19: SAHRA External Advisory Board University of California, Irvine (UCI) spatial and temporal resolutions of meeting, Tucson AZ is led by SAHRA Founding Director the precipitation estimation over the Soroosh Sorooshian and includes southwest more accurately. Some specific July 9-12: Scenario Development Workshop, researchers Xiaogang Gao, Kuolin Hsu, deliverables by UCI team include: Environmental Modeling and Software Summit of the IEMS Biennial Meeting, Burlington, VT; Jialun Li, Hamid Moradkhani, and 1) The near contact Thorsten Wagener ([email protected]. programming real-time edu) for more info. specialist, high-solution Dan precipitation Braithwaite. CONTACT US! data were Three Ph.D. made available Please let us know when you have news students through a to share or a reason to brag. Students, involved in public website the SAHRA let us know for example when you have for global studies completed your oral exam, defended your 6-hourly graduated thesis/dissertation, or accepted a position 0.25˚×0.25˚ in the past in the real world (or even academia). The Laurel L. Wilkening Rose Garden at UCI data three years Faculty members, are you offering a new (hydis8.eng.edu/hydis-unesco) and for (Yang Hong, 2003; Hamid Moradkhani, course, hosting a workshop, leading a North American hourly 0.04˚×0.04˚ data 2004; and Huiling Yuan, 2005). The panel, editing a new journal? Too bashful (hydis8.eng.edu/ccs). Recently, NESDIS research goal of this group is to develop to talk about your own accomplishments? selected UCI’s global dataset as one of the long-term (10-20 years) multi-resolution Anonymous or second-party tips on major precipitation data sources for the precipitation and meteorological forcing newsworthy announcements are also United States and will include the data in data over the SAHRA study regions using its popular website at gratefully accepted. satellite remote sensing and regional www.nesdis.noaa.gov. climate modeling. These long-term, high- resolution (sub-daily and 4-km) data, now 2) Analysis of the 5-year meteorological 3) Techniques of sequential state- available for 2000-2004, are needed to data from the high-resolution regional parameter estimation were developed drive and examine the new land surface, climate modeling revealed important to improve hydrologic forecast via hydrologic, and water management information about the interannual- ensemble data assimilation (Moradkhani models under development by SAHRA to-seasonal variability of climate and et al.). This approach directly contributes integrated modeling researchers. hydrology in the semiarid southwestern to the modeling effort of SAHRA. U.S. (Li et al. and Gao et al.), which is Partially supported by SAHRA and useful for the improvement of southwest leveraged by NASA funding, the UCI hydrologic forecasting and water research team has developed precipitation management proposed by SAHRA. estimates using cloud classification techniques developed by Hong et al. PAGE 2 JANUARY/FEBRUARY2006 Features, continued from previous page SAHRA’s NEON and CUAHSI efforts would serve as testbeds for the Dave Breshears is involved in NEON development and proof-of-concept for leadership at multiple levels, including the Collaborations Exposed! an HIS system to operate at watershed steering committee for the Southwestern by James Hogan and regional scales, integrate local, state, Ecological Observatory network and SAHRA researchers remain active federal and researcher data streams, NEON’s design subcommittee on in a variety of efforts associated and support “observatory” and climate change impacts. Dave is also with CUAHSI (Consortium integrating modeling activities. the current chair of the Consortium of Regional Ecological Observatories of Universities Allied One relevant question for (COREO, www.neoncoreo.org), NEON’s for Hydrologic Sciences, SAHRA’s involvement with primary user community. COREO was www.cuahsi.org) and the HIS effort is whether created in Oct. 2004 by representatives NEON (National Ecological it is possible to create a from regions self-organized to support Observatory Network, distributed (multiple node) NEON’s creation. In Jan. 2005, COREO www. neoninc.org). database that appears received funding from NSF to support seamless. For example, could CUAHSI is an organization regional meetings of scientists to data for the lower Rio Grande sponsored by the NSF to develop contribute local expertise and perspectives below El Paso be stored in Austin, and infrastructure and services for the to national observatory discussions. advancement of hydrologic science the data for the northern reaches stored and education in the United States, at SAHRA? SAHRA researchers also One outgrowth of NEON planning in the and represents more than a hundred remain interested in the possibility of an Southwest is the development of a new universities in the U.S. CUAHSI is environmental observatory that would USA National Phenology Network that presently writing a National Hydrologic build on the infrastructure that SAHRA will focus on the timing of key biological Science Plan, led by SAHRA researcher and its collaborators have developed events such as time of plant blooming. John Wilson and former SAHRA in the Rio Grande. Currently, the path Such a network is needed to detect graduate student Kevin Dressler. The plan forward for HOs or other environmental regional-scale environmental responses supports CUAHSI’s HydroView, a shared observatories is unclear and will certainly to temporal dynamics in the water budget infrastructure that represents the first not be short. SAHRA’s efforts in the Rio (www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geography/npn/). nationwide, coordinated effort to collect, Grande, however, serve as a smaller-scale Last August, the Institute for the Study synthesize and disseminate hydrologic proof-of-concept for the hydrological of Planet Earth at UA sponsored and information. HydroView includes four science that an observatory might helped organize a workshop in Tucson to integrated facilities: the Hydrologic enable. Finally, the UA plans to submit begin developing an implementation plan Measurement Facility (HMF), Hydrologic a proposal for the CUAHSI Synthesis for a USA-National Phenology Network Information Systems (HIS), Hydrologic Center when the RFP is released. (USA-NPN). The workshop summary, which appeared in the December 20 Observatories (HO), and a National Center NEON is an NSF initiative to develop issue of EOS, is available online at for Hydrologic Synthesis (NCHS). the first national ecological measurement www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geography/npn/ and observation system designed both SAHRA is presently active in several meetings/2005/betancourt_etal_2005. to answer regional- to continental-scale efforts related to HydroView. The pilot pdf. A team will meet this spring, scientific questions and to have the HIS effort, led by David Maidment of the probably in Tucson, to further develop interdisciplinary participation necessary University of Texas has been underway the implementation plan. An important to achieve credible ecological forecasting for the past three years. A second phase issue is the location, management, and and prediction. NEON is addressing is now being proposed in which SAHRA’s funding for a national network office, three Grand Challenges, including one Rio Grande and San Pedro database which could be established at the UA. in Hydroecology. SAHRA researcher ADMIN NOTES Jacobs Assumes New Position consortium of the three state agencies and communities to state universities, and advance technologies related to water SAHRA Deputy Director Kathy Jacobs will draw on faculty and provide support for policy makers. has been named Executive Director and researchers on Good work, Kathy! The Arizona of the new Arizona Water Institute by issues pertaining to Water Institute will cohabitate with Governor Janet Napolitano, effective sustainable water SAHRA, on the 5th floor of the Marshall Jan. 1. Jacobs will also retain her position resources. The institute Building at the University of Arizona. at SAHRA. The new organization is a will also work with PAGE 3 JANUARY/FEBRUARY2006 PEOPLE Student and Faculty DSS which carries out simulation of water As Joe says, “They’ve got a unique ice resources allocation, reservoir operation core; I’ve got a unique ice core analytical News/Milestones policies, increased water distribution system, so it is a win-win situation.” He We regret to report the impending efficiencies, and temporary water rights also expects to work with Argentineans, departure