Digital Commons Network^™

Water Resources International Development: What On Earth Are We Doing?, Patrick Ray

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Large agencies such as the World Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the United Nations, regional development banks (such as the Asian Development Bank), and philanthropic organizations (such as the Rockefeller Foundation) are actively engaged in water resources development in low-income countries. Why? And what metrics do they use to decide if the investments of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in water infrastructure projects are justified? And what accommodations do they tend to make for risks such as climate change? And what attention do they tend to give to questions of equity? I probably have no idea. But I’ve …

Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways, Marjolijn Haasnoot

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• Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP) is a decision making approach that explicitly includes decision making over time. The essence is proactive and dynamic planning in response to how the future actually unfolds.
• DAPP explores alternative sequences of decisions (adaptation pathways) for multiple futures and illuminates the path dependency of alternative strategies. It opens the decision space and helps to overcome policy paralysis due to deep uncertainty. There are different routes that can achieve the objectives under changing conditions (like ‘different roads leading to Rome’).
• Policy actions have an uncertain design life and might fail sooner or later to continue achieving …

Rapid: Monitoring And Modeling Watershed-Scale Post-Wildfire Streamflow Response Through Space And Time, Belize A. Lane

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Water Infrastructure Planning For A Changing World, Sarah Fletcher

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Water planners face the challenge of ensuring reliable water supply for people and the environment. Long-term changes and short-term variability in both the natural and social environments create large uncertainty in future water supply and demand. This makes it difficult to know when and how to adapt water systems through operational changes, policy, and infrastructure development. Adaptive planning approaches, in which planners defer action and respond as the system changes over time, have the potential to enable robustness to an uncertain future without unnecessary infrastructure development or policy changes. However, adaptive approaches may prevent planners from leveraging economies of scale, …

Adaptive Policy Design In Water Resources Systems Under Uncertain Climate And Human Stressors, Jon Herman

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Long-term planning of water resources systems must contend with severe uncertainty in future projections of hydroclimatic variability across multiple scales, as well as uncertainty in human behavior, such as land use and reservoir operation. This talk will review recent developments in adaptive policy design to meet this challenge, centered around the key question: how should we learn from, and react to, dynamic observations of hydroclimatic, human, and ecological variables to ensure long-term sustainability? Specific contributions will cover three areas: (1) adaptation of short-term control rules, enabling existing infrastructure to manage multiple objectives across a range of possible futures; (2) exploration …

Strategies For Managing The Colorado River In An Uncertain Future, Jian Wang

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Colorado River managers face a deeply uncertain future. Projections of declining watershed runoff are likely to necessitate restructuring of the present interpretation of the Law of the River that allocates water supply among Mexico and the seven states of the Basin. Additionally, the magnitude and distribution of consumptive uses of water will change. Outcomes for river and reservoir ecosystems are poorly predicted. How should we make better decisions given these uncertain factors? To help answer this question and expand conversation about the Colorado River management issues, we (1) classify different levels of uncertainty to guide decisions about which modeling tools …

Sharpening Ecostress And Viirs Land Surface Temperature Using Harmonized Landsat-Sentinel Surface Reflectances, Jie Xue, Martha C. Anderson, Feng Gao, Christopher Hain, Liang Sun, Yun Yang, Kyle R. Knipper, William P. Kustas, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Mitch Schull

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key diagnostic indicator of agricultural water use and crop stress. LST data retrieved from thermal infrared (TIR) band imagery, however, tend to have a coarser spatial resolution (e.g., 100 m for Landsat 8) than surface reflectance (SR) data collected from shortwave bands on the same instrument (e.g., 30 m for Landsat). Spatial sharpening of LST data using the higher resolution multi-band SR data provides an important path for improved agricultural monitoring at sub-field scales. A previously developed Data Mining Sharpener (DMS) approach has shown great potential in the sharpening of Landsat LST using Landsat …

Collaborative Research: Network Hub: Enabling, Supporting, And Communicating Critical Zone Research, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Restoring Lake Urmia: Moving Beyond A Uniform Lake Level (2-Page Summary), Somayeh Sima, Dory Rosenberg, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Sarah E. Null, Karin M. Kettenring

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

More than 5 million people live near Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran, one of the world's largest hypersaline lakes. Over the past two decades, the lake has lost 95% of its volume, lake level has dropped more than 7 m, and lake restoration has gained widespread interest. The government seeks a uniform "ecological" target lake level of 1274.1 m above sea level to lower salinity below 240 gL^-1 and recover brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) and flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus).

We have synthesized over 40 years of available data, defined 8 ecosystem services for human health, water quality, ecology, recreation, and …

A Low-Cost, Open Source Monitoring System For Collecting High Temporal Resolution Water Use Data On Magnetically Driven Residential Water Meters, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Robb J. Tracy

Publications

We present a low-cost (≈$150) monitoring system for collecting high temporal resolution residential water use data without disrupting the operation of commonly available water meters. This system was designed for installation on top of analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters and can collect data at a variable time resolution interval. The system couples an Arduino Pro microcontroller board, a datalogging shield customized for this specific application, and a magnetometer sensor. The system was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and was deployed for testing on five single family residences in Logan and Providence, Utah, for …

Nappe Oscillations On Free-Overfall Structures, Data From Laboratory Experiments, Maurine Lodomez, Blake Tullis, Pierre Archambeau, Vasileios Kitsikoudis, Michel Pirotton, Benjamin Dewals, Sébastien Erpicum

Publications

This paper presents a dataset obtained from fifty-two laboratory experiments of nappe oscillations on free overfall structures. Data were collected on two complementary experimental setups, each consisting of a linear weir model. The dataset covers test configurations involving varied geometric parameters (i.e. weir crest shape, weir width, fall height and nappe confinement) and inflow discharges. The following experimental data were produced: assessment of nappe oscillation occurrence and associated frequencies. The later measurements were performed using characterization techniques (image and sound analysis) developed for this research. Reuse of the collected data will support efforts to improve the understanding of the physical …

Developing Open Source Software Using Version Control Systems: An Introduction To The Git Language For Documenting Your Computational Research, Jared D. Smith, Jonathan D. Herman

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Version control systems track the history of code as it is committed (saved) by any number of developers. Have you made a coding error and cannot debug it? Version control systems allow for resetting code back to when it worked, and show what code has changed since previous commits.

The contents of this lecture provide an introduction to the git version control language, GitHub for cloud hosting open source code repositories, and tutorials that demonstrate common and useful git and GitHub practices. This lecture is intended to be coupled with a discussion on creating reproducible computational research.

The zipped folder …

Fast Summarizing Algorithm For Polygonal Statistics Over A Regular Grid, Scott Haag, David G. Tarboton, Martyn Smith, Ali Shokoufandeh

Publications

We describe a data structure and associated algorithm called Fast Zonal Statistics (FZS) for the retrieval of the summary characteristics of an arbitrary polygon derived from a regular grid. The FZS algorithm can return numerical (e.g., mean, sum, and count) attributes for a polygonal object over a regular grid (e.g., raster data model). The computational complexity of the FZS algorithm is constant in relation to the length of the polygon perimeter. This contrasts with existing approaches which scale in relation to the polygon area, therefore we expect and measure geometric decreases in execution time using the proposed approach for simple …

Implications Of Soil And Canopy Temperature Uncertainty In The Estimation Of Surface Energy Fluxes Using Tseb2t And High-Resolution Imagery In Commercial Vineyards, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, William Kustas, Héctor Nieto, Mac Mckee, Lawrence Hipps, Joseph Alfieri, John H. Prueger, Maria Mar Alsina, Lynn Mckee, Calvin Coopmans, Luis Sanchez, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Estimation of surface energy fluxes using thermal remote sensing–based energy balance models (e.g., TSEB2T) involves the use of local micrometeorological input data of air temperature, wind speed, and incoming solar radiation, as well as vegetation cover and accurate land surface temperature (LST). The physically based Two-source Energy Balance with a Dual Temperature (TSEB2T) model separates soil and canopy temperature (Ts and Tc) to estimate surface energy fluxes including Rn, H, LE, and G. The estimation of Ts and Tc components for the TSEB2T model relies on the linear relationship between the composite land surface temperature and a vegetation index, namely …

To What Extent Does The Eddy Covariance Footprint Cutoff Influence The Estimation Of Surface Energy Fluxes Using Two Source Energy Balance Model And High-Resolution Imagery In Commercial Vineyards?, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, William Kustas, Héctor Nieto, Mac Mckee, Lawrence Hipps, Joseph Alfieri, John H. Prueger, Maria Mar Alsina, Lynn Mckee, Calvin Coopmans, Louis Sanchez, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Validation of surface energy fluxes from remote sensing sources is performed using instantaneous field measurements obtained from eddy covariance (EC) instrumentation. An eddy covariance measurement is characterized by a footprint function / weighted area function that describes the mathematical relationship between the spatial distribution of surface flux sources and their corresponding magnitude. The orientation and size of each flux footprint / source area depends on the micro-meteorological conditions at the site as measured by the EC towers, including turbulence fluxes, friction velocity (u_star), and wind speed, all of which influence the dimensions and orientation of the footprint. The …

Empirical Models For Predicting Water And Heat Flow Properties Of Permafrost Soils, Michael T. O'Connor, M. Bayani Cardenas, Stephen B. Ferencz, Yue Wu, Bethany T. Neilson, Jingyi Chen, George W. Kling

Publications

Warming and thawing in the Arctic are promoting biogeochemical processing and hydrologic transport in carbon‐rich permafrost and soils that transfer carbon to surface waters or the atmosphere. Hydrologic and biogeochemical impacts of thawing are challenging to predict with sparse information on arctic soil hydraulic and thermal properties. We developed empirical and statistical models of soil properties for three main strata in the shallow, seasonally thawed soils above permafrost in a study area of ~7,500 km² in Alaska. The models show that soil vertical stratification and hydraulic properties are predictable based on vegetation cover and slope. We also show that …

Estimation Of Evapotranspiration And Energy Fluxes Using A Deep-Learning-Based High-Resolution Emissivity Model And The Two-Source Energy Balance Model With Suas Information, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Andres Ticlavilca, Mahyar Aboutalebi, Héctor Nieto, Maria Mar Alsina, Alex White, John H. Prueger, Joseph Alfieri, Lawrence Hipps, Lynn Mckee, William Kustas, Calvin Coopmans, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Surface temperature is necessary for the estimation of energy fluxes and evapotranspiration from satellites and airborne data sources. For example, the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model uses thermal information to quantify canopy and soil temperatures as well as their respective energy balance components. While surface (also called kinematic) temperature is desirable for energy balance analysis, obtaining this temperature is not straightforward due to a lack of spatially estimated narrowband (sensor-specific) and broadband emissivities of vegetation and soil, further complicated by spectral characteristics of the UAV thermal camera. This study presents an effort to spatially model narrowband and broadband emissivities for …

Quantitative Assessment Of Contested Water Uses And Management In The Conflict-Torn Yarmouk River Basin, Nicolas Avisse, Amaury Tilmant, David E. Rosenberg, Samer Talozi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Yarmouk River basin is shared between Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Since the 1960s, Yarmouk River flows have declined more than 85% despite the signature of bilateral agreements. Syria and Jordan blame each other for the decline and have both developed their own explanatory narratives: Jordan considers that Syria violated their 1987 agreement by building more dams than what was agreed on, while Syria blames climate change. In fact, because the two countries do not share information, neither on hydrological flows nor on water management, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the flow regime. …

Integrating Hydrologic Modeling Web Services With Online Data Sharing To Prepare, Store, And Execute Hydrologic Models, Tian Gan, David G. Tarboton, Pabitra Dash, Tseganeh Z. Gichamo, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Web based applications, web services, and online data and model sharing technology are becoming increasingly available to support hydrologic research. This promises benefits in terms of collaboration, computer platform independence, and reproducibility of modeling workflows and results. In this research, we designed an approach that integrates hydrologic modeling web services with an online data sharing system to support web-based simulation for hydrologic models. We used this approach to integrate example systems as a case study to support reproducible snowmelt modeling for a test watershed in the Colorado River Basin, USA. We demonstrated that this approach enabled users to work within …

Energy Dissipation Of Type A Piano Key Weirs, Kam R. Eslinger, Brian M. Crookston

Publications

A Piano Key weir (PK weir) is a nonlinear, labyrinth-type weir well suited for rehabilitation projects due to a relatively small footprint and the ability to pass large discharges for lesser upstream-head values when compared with other weir types. A critical component of a hydraulic structure is the energy-dissipative properties. Currently, information and guidance is limited, with previous energy dissipation studies of PK weirs primarily of specific projects. Therefore, to document and quantify energy dissipation, four laboratory-scale Type A PK weir models with different width ratios (W_i/W_o) were studied, with 255 tests comprising this new …

Dynamics Of The Ionospheric Energetics (Dione) 2018, Ryan Davidson, Charles Swenson

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Sharing Of Multidimensional Space-Time Date In A Next Generation Hydrologic Information System, Tian Gan, David G. Tarboton, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Pabitra Dash, Ray Idaszak, Hong Yi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In hydrologic research, there is a need to manage, archive, and publish data in a discoverable way to increase data reuse, transparency, and reproducibility. Multidimensional space-time data are commonly used in hydrologic research, and systems are needed for sharing and exchanging such data. Simply exchanging files may result in loss of metadata information and can be challenging when files are large. We developed an approach to manage, share, and publish multidimensional space-time data in HydroShare, a next generation hydrologic information system and domain specific repository. This paper presents the design, development, and testing of this approach. We selected the Network …

Lecture Notes: Multi-Objective Optimization, Lina Sela

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No abstract provided.

Lecture Notes: Nonlinear Optimization And Matlab Optimization Toolbox Example, Lina Sela

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No abstract provided.

Video Conversations - The Future Of The Colorado River, John C. Schmidt, David E. Rosenberg

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This video series explores key Colorado River management issues with key managers across the basin. Video discussions in the table on the next page are presented in the order they were recorded. Topics include river ecosystems, California, Upper Basin, Tribal, and Federal perspectives, as well as future hydrology and climate. Each video runs for 60 to 90 minutes. Speakers start by describing how they got to the place they are professionally. There are prepared remarks and questions and answers from participants who attended at the time the video was recorded. Links to suggested readings are provided. Click the VIDEO url …

Extending Water Resources Performance Metrics To River Ecosystems, Belize A. Lane, J. Pablo Ortiz-Partida, Samuel Sandoval-Solis

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A persistent challenge in integrated water management is the ability to accurately evaluate human and ecological tradeoffs. Two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic models are frequently used to evaluate water management alternatives concerning aquatic species physical habitat needs or preferences. Recent studies have assessed the timing or duration of suitable habitat conditions, but no standardized approach exists to integrate and interpret ecohydraulic model outputs within a water management framework. Such an approach is needed to maximize the information obtained from model outputs and to facilitate communication between river scientists and water managers. This study presents a general framework to aggregate and summarize 2D …

Influence Of Model Grid Size On The Estimation Of Surface Fluxes Using The Two Source Energy Balance Model And Suas Imagery In Vineyards, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, William Kustas, Hector Nieto, Mac Mckee, Lawrence E. Hipps, David King Stevens, Joseph Alfieri, John Prueger, Maria Mar Alsina, Lynn Mckee, Calvin Coopmans, Luis Sanchez, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key variable for hydrology and irrigation water management,with significant importance in drought-stricken regions of the western US. This is particularly true for California, which grows much of the high-value perennial crops in the US. The advent of small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) with sensor technology similar to satellite platforms allows for the estimation of high-resolution ET at plant spacing scale for individual fields. However, while multiple efforts have been made to estimate ET from sUAS products, the sensitivity of ET models to different model grid size/resolution in complex canopies, such as vineyards, is still unknown.The variability …

Would You Rather Teleport Or Spend Some Time Commuting? Investigating Individuals’ Teleportation Preferences, Prasanna Humagain, Patrick A. Singleton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

• Teleportation test, a survey instrument developed to measure Positive Utility of travel (PUT)

"If you could snap your fingers or blink your eyes and instantaneously teleport yourself to the desired destination, would you do so"

• "Yes"- Regarding travel as disutility i.e. means to reach destination
• "No"- Find benefits during travel or traveling itself