UK Drought, Hydrology Corner, Hydrologist, Water Monitoring

Making Connections: Where Does Your Water Come From?

My previous post was in response to an argument against the proliferation of dams and diversions. Therefore I should also offer a response to this diametrically opposite perspective written by Richard Black, in the article “Drought summit: Why not pipe the water from north to south?”, calling for engineered solutions to droughts in southern England. The climate is unlikely to read from the script laid out for it by the global climate models. It would be naïve to believe that we can accurately predict something as complex as the climate when we have never demonstrated skill at predicting any dynamic … Read More

Hydrology-Blog, Hydrologist, Hydrology Corner, Water Monitoring, Ecosystem, Environmental

A Dam Shame: Water Where We Need It When We Need It

Video: Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers – with Nnimmo Bassey. It is a dam shame that water isn’t where we need it, when we need it. I was asked for an opinion of this video clip after my previous blog post on water diversions. I am very conflicted about water resource development projects. I have fond memories of whitewater kayaking in Northern California in the late 1970’s and several of my favorite rivers have since been lost for good. On the other hand, I understand that if there were no dams or diversions the global population would be limited to … Read More

Hydrologist Blog,

Man vs Nature – Aqueduct vs Stream: Monitoring, Understanding and Protecting

Aqueducts are to natural streams what wheat fields are to tall grass prairies. There is an undeniable elegance in form that comes from simplification of function to unity. Whereas any pristine stream serves many ecological, geomorphic, social, spiritual and economic functions, an aqueduct exists for the sole function of moving water from one place to another. Nature – left on its own – is dynamic, unpredictable and chaotic. A concrete-lined channel is tranquil, reliable and orderly. Inter-basin transfer of water is a typical solution for issues of water scarcity; with the direction of flow from wild lands to populated regions. … Read More

BLOG-OGC-01

The Future of Water Data Sharing – Discoverable, Searchable and Accessible

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is seeking public comment on part 1 of the new WaterML 2.0 data standard for time-series data encoding Aquatic Informatics is actively participating in the Hydrological Domain Working Group, which has a mandate from both the OGC and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to explore issues of hydrological data interoperability. We are very excited for the potential that international adoption of a common data exchange format will have for advancing hydrological science and improving water resources management. No one agency can provide data that comprehensively spans all three socio-spatial scales of relevance namely the Assessment … Read More

Horseshoe Bend Colorado River, River Hydrology

A Battle of the Ages: Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River

Every river has a story to tell. We don’t often understand the story because it is told in terms of quaternary geology, climatology, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, aquatic and riparian ecology, and basic chemistry and physics. This horseshoe bend in the Colorado River is telling a story of the battle of the ages between the force of gravity against the force of continental drift. At any given point in this battle it would seem to be an unwinnable war for the force of gravity. The force of gravity only has the mass of water, delivered at a rate supplied from the … Read More

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