CIRMOUNT
Hydrologic Observatory Work Group
Meeting Highlights from 9/19/06 and 9/21/06
Meeting participants:
• Mike Dettinger
• Mauri Palto
• Fengjing Liu
• Anne Nolin
• Larry Smith
• Jessica Lundquist
• Christina Tague
• Alan Hamlet
• Margaret Matter
Participants of the Hydrologic Observatory Work Group (HO WG) identified actions
and projects that are consistent the purpose of CIRMOUNT, and address priority goals
discussed in CIRMOUNT’s, “Mapping New Terrain, Climate Change and America’s
West,” and are intended to promote communication and coordination among HO WG
members and integration with other CIRMOUNT work groups.
Some projects have both near- and long-term components. Near-term goals would
include actions requiring limited or no funding to functionally address more immediate
needs while contributing toward long-term goals which may require funding. Meeting
some long-term goals may involve collaborating with other work groups in CIRMOUNT,
and/or other professional organizations, universities, institutions, etc. with similar
interests to elevate important issues and projects to funding entities.
Projects and Tools Identified:
1. Communication and Coordination
(a) Webpage to serve as clearing house for information and data, and where questions
may be posed and announcements may be made.
•
Many in the group emphasized that the webpage be low-maintenance or as
“self-tending” as possible. In the near-term, type and source of available
data may be announced, but in the long-term, the data could be widely
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available in a national database, perhaps supported by NSF, and the
support would include 1 person to maintain the database.
•
What the webpage may include:
¾ Trip Reports: Reports of conditions, observations, questions, etc.
¾ Announcements: For example, opportunities for collaboration or
coordinate research and monitoring, or request for field help or
equipment; workshops, seminars, conferences and symposia.
¾ Notices of interesting publications.
¾ Discussion Board: Pose questions; discuss issues and concerns;
work toward developing a coherent voice among hydrologists. For
example, two questions posed were: For instance:
ƒ
Short data records – What can be done to make short data
records more useful?
ƒ
Models. What works in particular conditions?
(b) HO WG Interim meetings and volunteers to help with HO WG coordination
•
Interim meetings: Arrange to meet as a group at 2 or more professional
conferences or meetings that will be attended by many of the HO WG
participants, such as at the AGU Fall Meeting. Additional meetings of the HO
WG during the 18 months between MtnClim conferences will facilitate
communication, discussion, and coordination, which are vital to achieving
both our short- and long-term goals, as well as objectives of CIRMOUNT.
•
Volunteers to coordinate for the HO WG: Presently, two members of the
work group, Larry Smith and Margaret Matter, will help with HO WG
coordination, and in moving our projects forward. Project ideas put forth at
the HO WG meetings during MtnClim 2006 are great and right in line with
the purpose and goals of CIRMOUNT. The two volunteers can work for and
coordinate with others who proposed project ideas in order to collect
necessary background and contact information, formulate approaches to the
projects, and coordinate. Interim meetings are opportune for evaluating
projects in greater depth to ensure they are on track to meet needs and goals,
and for planning.
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2. Standardize and certify field methods for mountain regions
CIRMOUNT may work independently or with other organizations, such as USGS, to
certify methods. Examples of methods to standardize include a dye method for
streamflow measurement.
3. Improve potentially useful developing or emerging technology
Members of CIRMOUNT could work with companies to field-test equipment and
provide professional advice. For example:
•
Cosmic Snow Sensors and
•
Tripod Lidar.
•
A technology to promote may be cell phone-based precipitation detection, or a
method to distinguish type of precipitation; rain or snow.
4. Data and information gaps
(a) Assemble and make electronically available existing data and information.
Examples include:
•
Sublimation data,
•
Evaporation data, and
•
Western Snow Conference Proceedings.
(b) Identify key questions and data needs to present to NSF. Some data needs include:
•
Improved meteorological data,
•
ET data, and
•
Sublimation measurements.
5. Monitoring and research coordination
Investigate opportunities to coordinate with NOAA and NRCS to set up monitoring
and research at NOAA Climate Reference Network sites (Tier 2) and NRCS Benchmark
Network sites.
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