National Cyberinfrastructure Framework for Engaging the Hydrologic Community (NCF)

This project includes several efforts related to the general theme of making the National Water Model (NWM) forecasts into “actionable intelligence”.

• Research Theme 3 Coordination involves coordinating with the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science (CUAHSI), Utah State University (USU), and the University of Iowa to identify hydroinformatics needs across CIROH members, assess NWM stakeholder needs, and interact with NWM stakeholders.
• A NWM data services effort is designing and implementing a cloud-based database for historic NWM forecasts and cloud-based APIs for data retrieval. This will make it easier for researchers and practitioners to access and use NWM data.
• An app platform effort is designing and developing web application app layout templates to accelerate app development and researching open-source options for mobile app development. This will make it easier to develop and deploy NWM-based applications.
• An app feasibility demonstrations effort is developing two prototype applications to demonstrate the potential of NWM-based applications for solving real-world problems. The first prototype is a web application for flood inundation visualization and impact assessment. The second prototype is a national scale groundwater sustainability analysis application. These prototypes will show how NWM-based applications can be used to improve flood management and groundwater sustainability.
• A NWM flood forecasts effort is conducting a multi-year multi-region analysis of flood timing, magnitude, and severity in comparison to the NWM forecasts under various temporal and spatial conditions. This analysis will help to identify areas where the NWM can be improved and will provide valuable information to water resource managers and decision-makers.
• A remote sensing and water quality effort is developing tools and methods to integrate remote sensing water quality with NWM results, including creating automated methods to generate water quality data on a national scale. This will expand the capabilities of the NWM to include water quality modeling, which will be beneficial for a wide range of applications, such as water quality monitoring and forecasting.

These efforts are intended improve the usability and accessibility of the NWM forecasts, helping the NWM become a more powerful tool for water resource managers and decision-makers, which will lead to better water management decisions and benefit society as a whole.