Hydrometdss

WaterNet EARS, ZAMG, EGU CoP Spring 2009

Met with Janez Polajnar and Gregor Gregoic to discuss Slovenian WaterNet plan and development of networking between them as end-users and WaterNet NASA NWRs. Reviewed the PowerPoint presentations at EGU and TUG with new information on our meta data needs. The primary needs at EARS are: snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates, soil moisture estimates, and various drought monitoring information from remote sensing for vegetation indices, and other related information. EARS would like to participate in WaterNet as an end-user to demonstrate value added for drought monitoring in the Drought Monitoring Center for SouthEastern Europe (DMCSEE) and for flood and streamflow forecasting within Slovenia and in the Drava project with Austria.

Below EU and NA Cryosphere and Alpine environment experts review recession of glaciers and climate variability impacts on ecosystems and water supplies.

European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC ) sponsors much research related to the water cycle and natural hazards, like floods and droughts.  This paper showed the value of ensemble predictions for improved understanding of forecast uncertainty in hydrology.  

ZAMG, Salzburg Office

ZAMG meeting with Dr. Michael Staudinger, Salzburg, 27 April 2009 to discuss applications of WaterNet for alpine snowpack analysis and integration of INCA data into the avalanche forecast systems in Austria.  Dr. Thomas Heyden, INCA ZAMG coordinator met briefly in Wien to review progress in his work to integrate remote sensing information into their INCA nowcasting system which is used in many parts of Europe.  Below Dr.Staudinger who is taking the lead for ZAMG extreme forecasts and warnings for Austria’s efforts within the EU. 

May 6, 2009, Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), NL, meeting with Joop Kroes, agricultural soil moisture expert and SWAP international trainer to discuss applications of WaterNet for agrimeteorological decision-making.  The SWAP team at WUR under the leadership of the NL provided a detailed field program with India to examine remote sensing applications for agricultural water productivity.  The RAMS/HYPACT team at WUR is also examining mesoscale modeling applications for decision-makers.  We discussed WaterWatch , WaterWatch is the original developer and intellectual owner of Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL).

Joop Kroes, WRU soil expert at his Atlas Building office (left), Lemmer 1920 steam pump plant that pumps 6 Million m3 per day from the Freysln Polders back into the Illsemeer and Zuiderzee during flooding periods. 

April 19-24th Wien

We participated in the EGU meetings again this spring with a paper on WaterNet that summarized European applications of GLDAS over Slovenia and showed the value of coarse resolution 0.5 degree analyses of precipitation and soil moisture for flood and drought monitoring.  The paper sought further development of the EU-WaterNet Community of Practice of scientists and engineers interested in the Water Cycle.  To this end we made over 30 contacts with direct interests, and they were directed to our WaterNet web site page. Photo below-shows Dr. Mira Kobold, ARSO Hydrology expert and co-author of our WaterNet poster discussing Slovenian flood forecasting-

WaterNet NOPSN and CUNY Meetings

WaterNet – NOPSN Meeting Madras, OR  15 July 2009

Dr. Lucien Cox, NASA HQ program director for WaterNet called a meeting between WaterNet and NOPSN (North Olympic Peninsula Solutions Network) teams to discuss progress and ways to enhance the projects in the final stages of their contracts. Mike Doherty, RC&D provided an overview of the end-user network and public awareness work of NOPSN, the strong point of their network building. Jeff Ward, Battell NW Labs provided the project technical overview and coordination among the Marine Science Lab, Battell, and the local communities. Wigmosta, PNNL reviewed his Hybrid Model hydrologic model.  Lydia Gates introduced WaterNet and Will Pozzi and Dave Matthews provided details of the project.

Waternet Final Review Meeting, CUNY, NY  13-14 August 2009

The WaterNet co-investigators met in NY to review the project and plan the writing of the final report.  Dr. Charles Vorsomarty hosted the meeting at CUNY.  All investigators presented a summary of their work and plans for contributions to the final report. Dr. Lydia Gates, WaterNet PI, led the meeting with Rick Lawford, Clair Welty, UMD, Adam Schlosser, MIT, Hoshin Gupta, U AZ, Georgina Fekete, CUNY, and Will Pozzi, CREW.

{mosimage}  Dr. Wigmosta, PNNL reviewed his Hybrid Model a high resolution hydrologic model. The WaterNet team met in New York to review progress and plan the final report at CUNY.

Columbia River in Eastern Washington with irrigation dam and center pivot irrigation.   WaterNet Meetings at CUNY.  Debris flow above Vipava Valley in SW SLO.

EARS Hydrometeorology Meetings Spring 2009

Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (EARS-ARSO)  

May-June 2009

Today I met with Janez Polajnar, EARS chief of hydrologic forecasting to discuss the ARSO data collection and display systems used for analysis and forecasting in Slovenia.  This led to the ideas regarding the need for international data sharing and information exchange of benefit to ARSO and Austria in the Drava River basin.  In response, I prepared a WaterNet Community of Practice brief review of international data sharing and inter state data sharing in the US Pacific Northwest, California, and in the Missouri Basin.  Photo shows Janez demonstrating the real-time products for hydrologic analysis and prediction. 

Next, Dr. Jozef Roskar, retired director of the SLO Meteorological Organization, reviewed his current work on integrating atmospheric mesoscale numerical models into hydrologic prediction systems to improve streamflow predictions see photo of presentations at the WMO sponsored “Regional Workshop on Hydrological Forecasting and Real Time Data Management” posted on the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate web site.. 

Dr. Roskar then demonstrated current applications of the 9 km resolution NMM model analyses of this past winter and Spring 2009 climate summaries of precipitation and soil moisture over southeastern Europe in support of the DMCSEE project.  Photos show examples from those modeling efforts.  NCEP's STAR program provides remote sensing analyses of Vegetation Health with real-time current analyses on a global basis.  WaterNet discovery meetings with Dr. Felix Kogan in November 2007 provided the first contact with this valuable program. 
His Vegetation Health Index and VCI provide useful analyses for drought impacts.

EU WaterNet DEMO Project Fall 09

European Demonstration Project Final Report
SEPT-NOV 2009

During the fall Dave Matthews met with partners Janez Polajnar and Gregor Gregoric at the EARS and Mitja Brilly, FGG to plan the final report and follow-on efforts.  Dave and Janez investigated a 100-yr flood event on the Sava near Kranjska Gora where over 200 mm of rain fell in late August.  Several large debris flows were located on the north and south slopes of the Sava valley.  Gregor discussed the DMCSEE drought monitoring project and need for soil moisture observations and high resolution modeling.  Dave took several trips to photograph water resources hydropower and control structure facilities and rivers from the Mura in the east to the Sava and Soca Rivers in the Julien Alps of the west.  Hyperlinks to photos are provided for the highlighted text.

Janez also took us on a sailing adventure across the Gulf of Trieste, where we experienced a moderate Bora on our return with 1.5 to 2 m waves and 20-30 kt winds from the NE.