940 research outputs found

    Hydrological Models as Web Services: An Implementation using OGC Standards

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    <p>Presentation for the HIC 2012 - 10th International Conference on Hydroinformatics. "Understanding Changing Climate and Environment and Finding Solutions" Hamburg, Germany July 14-18, 2012</p> <p> </p

    A FOSS Based Web Geo- Service Architecture For Data Management In Complex Water Resources Contexts

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    Advances in environmental monitoring systems from remote sensing to pervasive real and virtual sensor networks are enlarging the amount and types of data available at local and global scale at increasingly higher temporal and spatial resolution. However, accessing and integrating these data for modeling and operational purposes can be challenging and highly time consuming, particularly in complex physical and institutional contexts, where data are from different sources. This research focuses on the design of a web geo- service architecture, based on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), to enable collection and sharing of data coming from complex water resources domains and managed by multiple institutions. The heterogeneous nature of these data requires the combination of different geospatial data servers (Catalog Service for the Web, Web Map Service, Web Feature service, Web Coverage Service, Sensor Observations Service,) and interface technologies that enable interoperability of all complex resources data types. This is a key feature of web geo- service tools in multidata and multiowners environment. Besides the storage of the available hydrological data according to the Open Geospatial Consortium standards, the architecture provides a platform for comparatively analyzing alternative water supply and demand management strategies. The architecture is developed for the Lake Como system (Italy), a regulated lake serving multiple and often competing water uses (irrigation, hydropower, flood control) in northern Italy. . This research gives important insights on currently operating GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) architectures, demonstrating that Spatial Data Infrastructures using FOSS are a feasible and effective alternative to data and metadata collection, storage, sharing and visualization in complex water resources management contexts, using open international standards

    WEB MAPPING ARCHITECTURES BASED ON OPEN SPECIFICATIONS AND FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE IN THE WATER DOMAIN

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    The availability of water-related data and information across different geographical and jurisdictional scales is of critical importance for the conservation and management of water resources in the 21st century. Today information assets are often found fragmented across multiple agencies that use incompatible data formats and procedures for data collection, storage, maintenance, analysis, and distribution. The growing adoption of Web mapping systems in the water domain is reducing the gap between data availability and its practical use and accessibility. Nevertheless, more attention must be given to the design and development of these systems to achieve high levels of interoperability and usability while fulfilling different end user informational needs. This paper first presents a brief overview of technologies used in the water domain, and then presents three examples of Web mapping architectures based on free and open source software (FOSS) and the use of open specifications (OS) that address different users' needs for data sharing, visualization, manipulation, scenario simulations, and map production. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate how the latest developments in OS for geospatial and water-related data collection, storage, and sharing, combined with the use of mature FOSS projects facilitate the creation of sophisticated interoperable Web-based information systems in the water domain

    Implementing Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure for Cities, Citizens and Rivers - The SEE-URBAN-WATER Project

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    Cities and their rivers are undergoing significant transformations owing to the impact of multiples challenges at a time such as rapid population growth, infrastructure development, and climate change. The consequences are evident in increased flood risks, groundwater pollution, accelerated soil erosion, drinking water scarcity, green space depletion, and biodiversity loss. In light of this, interest in novel concepts such as Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) is growing, extending beyond academia to influence micro-, meso-, and macro-urban scales. Motivated by the potential of NbS to deliver social, ecological, and societal benefits, the SEE-URBAN-WATER (SUW) research group aimed to provide a robust knowledge and methodological basis for achieving socio-ecological transformation through the inter- and transdisciplinary planning, design, and implementation of NbS and Green Infrastructures in highly urbanized areas susceptible to environmental and climate risks. From 2018 to 2023, SUW, funded within the framework of the Research for Sustainability program (known by its German acronym FONA) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (abbreviated to BMBF in German), produced numerous master’s and doctoral theses, methodological frameworks, scientific publications, and technical guidelines. Nevertheless, this book goes beyond being a mere compendium of these outcomes; it clearly illustrates the systematic inter- and transdisciplinary evolution and interconnection of ideas for building more socially and environmentally resilient cities

    Real-Time Water Decision Support Services For Droughts

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    Through application of computational methods and an integrated information system, real-time data and river modeling systems can help decision makers identify more effective actions for management practice. The purpose of this study is to develop a real-time decision support model to recommend optimal curtailments during water shortages for decision makers. To enable ease of use and re-use, the workflows (i.e., analysis and model steps) of the real-time decision support model are published as Web services delivered through an internet browser, including model inputs, a published workflow service, and visualized outputs. The model consists of two major components: the real-time river flow prediction system and the optimization model. The RAPID model, which is a river routing model developed at University of Texas Austin for parallel computation of river discharge, is applied to predict real-time river flow rates. The workflow of the RAPID model has been built and published as a Web application that allows non-technical users to remotely execute the model and visualize results as a service through a simple Web interface. An optimization model is being developed to provide real-time water withdrawal decision support using the RAPID output and the clustering particle swarm optimization algorithm (CPSO) and genetic algorithm methods. The model is being tested using historical drought data from 2011 in the Upper Guadalupe River Basin in Texas. The objective of the optimization is to assist the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in minimizing the total daily curtailment hours of all permit holders, with constraints on user seniority and ecological river flow. The optimization model workflows is linked to the RAPID model workflow to provide real-time water decision support services. Finally, visualization of the output using Bing-map and WorldWide Telescope helps decision makers predict outcomes from alternative weather or policy scenarios

    National scale evaluation of the InVEST nutrient retention model in the United Kingdom

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    A wide variety of tools aim to support decision making by modelling, mapping and quantifying ecosystem services. If decisions are to be properly informed, the accuracy and potential limitations of these tools must be well understood. However, dedicated studies evaluating ecosystem service models against empirical data are rare, especially over large areas. In this paper, we report on the national-scale assessment of a new ecosystem service model for nutrient delivery and retention, the InVEST Nutrient Delivery Ratio model. For 36 river catchments across the UK, we modelled total catchment export of phosphorus (P) and/or nitrogen (N) and compared model outputs to measurements derived from empirical water chemistry data. The model performed well in terms of relative magnitude of nutrient export among catchments (best Spearman’s rank correlation for N and P, respectively: 0.81 and 0.88). However, there was wide variation among catchments in the accuracy of the model, and absolute values of nutrient exports frequently showed high percentage differences between modelled and empirically-derived exports (best median absolute percentage difference for N and P, respectively: ± 64%, ± 44%). The model also showed a high degree of sensitivity to nutrient loads and hydrologic routing input parameters and these sensitivities varied among catchments. These results suggest that the InVEST model can provide valuable information on nutrient fluxes to decision makers, especially in terms of relative differences among catchments. However, caution is needed if using the absolute modelled values for decision-making. Our study also suggests particular attention should be paid to researching input nutrient loadings and retentions, and the selection of appropriate input data resolutions and threshold flow accumulation values. Our results also highlight how availability of empirical data can improve model calibration and performance assessment and reinforce the need to include such data in ecosystem service modelling studies

    Launching the Grand Challenges for Ocean Conservation

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    The ten most pressing Grand Challenges in Oceans Conservation were identified at the Oceans Big Think and described in a detailed working document:A Blue Revolution for Oceans: Reengineering Aquaculture for SustainabilityEnding and Recovering from Marine DebrisTransparency and Traceability from Sea to Shore:  Ending OverfishingProtecting Critical Ocean Habitats: New Tools for Marine ProtectionEngineering Ecological Resilience in Near Shore and Coastal AreasReducing the Ecological Footprint of Fishing through Smarter GearArresting the Alien Invasion: Combating Invasive SpeciesCombatting the Effects of Ocean AcidificationEnding Marine Wildlife TraffickingReviving Dead Zones: Combating Ocean Deoxygenation and Nutrient Runof

    Online watershed boundary delineation: sharing models through Spatial Data Infrastructures

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    Geographic Citizen Science Design

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    Little did Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and other ‘gentlemen scientists’ know, when they were making their scientific discoveries, that some centuries later they would inspire a new field of scientific practice and innovation, called citizen science. The current growth and availability of citizen science projects and relevant applications to support citizen involvement is massive; every citizen has an opportunity to become a scientist and contribute to a scientific discipline, without having any professional qualifications. With geographic interfaces being the common approach to support collection, analysis and dissemination of data contributed by participants, ‘geographic citizen science’ is being approached from different angles. Geographic Citizen Science Design takes an anthropological and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) stance to provide the theoretical and methodological foundations to support the design, development and evaluation of citizen science projects and their user-friendly applications. Through a careful selection of case studies in the urban and non-urban contexts of the Global North and South, the chapters provide insights into the design and interaction barriers, as well as on the lessons learned from the engagement of a diverse set of participants; for example, literate and non-literate people with a range of technical skills, and with different cultural backgrounds. Looking at the field through the lenses of specific case studies, the book captures the current state of the art in research and development of geographic citizen science and provides critical insight to inform technological innovation and future research in this area
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