Advancing Cyberinfrastructure for Collaborative Data Sharing and Modeling in Hydrology

Hydrologic research is increasingly data and computationally intensive, and often involves hydrologic model simulation and collaboration among researchers. With the development of cyberinfrastructure, researchers are able to improve the efficiency, impact, and effectiveness of their research by utilizing online data sharing and hydrologic modeling functionality. However, further efforts are still in need to improve the capability of cyberinfrastructure to serve the hydrologic science community. This dissertation first presents the evaluation of a physically based snowmelt model as an alternative to a temperature index model to improve operational water supply forecasts in the Colorado River Basin. Then it presents the design of the functionality to share multidimensional space-time data in the HydroShare hydrologic information system. It then describes a web application developed to facilitate input preparation and model execution of a snowmelt model and the storage of these results in HydroShare. The snowmelt model evaluation provided use cases to evaluate the cyberinfrastructure elements developed. This research explored a new approach to advance operational water supply forecasts and provided potential solutions for the challenges associated with the design and implementation of cyberinfrastructure for hydrologic data sharing and modeling

From Models to Simulations

This book analyses the impact computerization has had on contemporary science and explains the origins, technical nature and epistemological consequences of the current decisive interplay between technology and science: an intertwining of formalism, computation, data acquisition, data and visualization and how these factors have led to the spread of simulation models since the 1950s. Using historical, comparative and interpretative case studies from a range of disciplines, with a particular emphasis on the case of plant studies, the author shows how and why computers, data treatment devices and programming languages have occasioned a gradual but irresistible and massive shift from mathematical models to computer simulations

Big Data Computing for Geospatial Applications

The convergence of big data and geospatial computing has brought forth challenges and opportunities to Geographic Information Science with regard to geospatial data management, processing, analysis, modeling, and visualization. This book highlights recent advancements in integrating new computing approaches, spatial methods, and data management strategies to tackle geospatial big data challenges and meanwhile demonstrates opportunities for using big data for geospatial applications. Crucial to the advancements highlighted in this book is the integration of computational thinking and spatial thinking and the transformation of abstract ideas and models to concrete data structures and algorithms

Design of a Metadata Framework for the Environmental Models with an Example Hydrologic Application in HydroShare

Environmental modelers rely on a variety of computational models to make predictions, test hypotheses, and address specific problems related to environmental science and natural resource management. Scientists and engineers must devote significant effort to preparing these computational models. While significant attention has been devoted to sharing and reusing environmental data, less attention has been devoted to sharing and reusing environmental models. A first step toward increasing environmental model sharing and reuse is to define a general metadata framework for models that is flexible and, therefore, applicable across the wide variety of models used by environmental modelers. This paper proposes a general approach for representing environmental model metadata that extends the Dublin Core metadata framework. The framework is implemented within the HydroShare system and applied for a hydrologic model sharing use case. This example application demonstrates how the metadata framework implemented within HydroShare can assist in model sharing, publication, reuse, and reproducibility

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 2 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division 9 Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 12 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 14 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 16 Advertisements IEEE

NEW TOOLS FOR NEW TIMES

The purpose of this presentation is to challenge statisticians to develop new tools needed by modern scientists. We are in the midst of a Scientific Revolution being driven by computers and the internet. Scientists are gathering huge amounts of data on the usual measurements while continually developing new instruments for new measurements. Data sets full of measurements which may pertain to the scientist\u27s research are easily available on the internet. Scientists are being overwhelmed with data. Agricultural producers and consumers are asking for more information. Scientists need new tools to evaluate variation. They need help with sampling - numbers of observations required and proper sampling schemes. Examples and suggestions will be offered. Statistical Process Control as applied to farming systems will be discussed

Open Educational Content for Digital Public Libraries

If the production of digital content for teaching -- particularly free content -- is to expand substantially, there must be mechanisms to establish a link to fame and fortune that was not perceived in a pre-digital world. How that might be done is the central question this report addresses, in the context of examining the movement for open educational content. Understanding that movement requires delving into the history of what may seem, on first pass, a totally unrelated field of endeavor. The reader's patience is requested....