Hydrology Corner Blog: Irrigation and Electricity

Forty Centuries of Water Monitoring

A team of hydrologists and hydrographers with the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity (MWRIE) in Sudan recently took part in some AQUARIUS training where I had the chance to learn about their monitoring program.

Water News

Colorado River Data Visualization Challenge

The Bureau of Reclamation is partnering with 4 other agencies and looking to crowdsourcing solutions to improve data visualization using multiple datasets. They are offering a prize for the winning solution. Watch the video as they clearly articulate the problem they are trying to solve and their motivation and aspiration for solving it.
– Stu Hamilton

Why Are Arctic Rivers Rising in Winter?

Glacier melt is enhancing aquifer recharge in headwater stream corridors, resulting in an increase in lowland winter discharge.
– Stu Hamilton

Changes in Floodplain Inundation Under Nonstationary Hydrology for an Adjustable, Alluvial River Channel

This study shows that the extent of floodplain inundation is a function of the peak-flow coefficient of variation but that the frequency of floodplain inundation primarily depends on the amount of channel adjustment permitted annually (i.e. changes in channel width, depth and slope).
– Stu Hamilton

Enhanced Water Permeability and Tunable Ion Selectivity in Subnanometer Carbon Nanotube Porins

This is a potentially disruptive technology that uses 0.8 nanometer diameter carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) to confine water transport down to a single file chain. CNTPs block anion transport, and electric charges at the mouth of the nanotube can be tuned to alter ion selectivity.
– Stu Hamilton

African Leaders Unite to Modernize Hydromet Services

African leaders are meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this week to coordinate modernization of weather and climate services, which inextricably link the Continent’s development, climate, and resilience agendas. “Effective hydromet services, such as advanced weather and climate forecasting or simple – and sustainable – river level gauges, ensure that communities have the early warnings needed to prepare before disasters hit. Climate services permit government agencies to effectively plan for climate change based on the latest information, and businesses in climate-sensitive sectors to incorporate timely, accurate data in the decisions that affect their industry.” – Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization.
– Stu Hamilton

What Controls Channel Form in Steep Mountain Streams?

This is a good article for those interested in the dynamic in-stream interaction between flow and bed form, which is helpful for making sense of rating curve dynamics in steep mountain streams. “Channel state depends on local flow structure, supply of sediment, and forcing/boundary conditions, resulting in feedbacks between hydraulics, sediment transport, and bed topography.”
– Stu Hamilton

Small Streams Make Big Contribution to Carbon Cycle

Small streams (<500 km²) account for more than 96% of the total number of streams and rivers worldwide, yet there is still lots to discover about their collective role, not only in water delivery but also in delivery of sediments and solutes. Streams are an important link in the global carbon cycle. Improved monitoring of aquatic carbon flux will likely lead to new insight into carbon dynamics.
– Stu Hamilton

WMO Expert Team Statement on Hurricane Harvey

If you were wondering about whether the intensity of Hurricane Harvey can be attributed to climate change, here is an opinion from a panel of experts. There is an indirect attribution based on attributable human influence on water vapor near the earth’s surface due to warming of the Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperature. However, a detectable human influence on hurricane rainfall rates has not yet been convincingly documented.
– Stu Hamilton

In Pursuit of Flash Flood Data

A project called Automated Non-Contact Hydrologic Observations in Rivers (ANCHOR) is being evaluated in 14 streams across the United States. The concept is based on the use of radar for measuring water level and surface velocity, and water-penetrating, bank-to-bank scanning LiDAR to measure bathymetry. The product of the cross sectional area of flow times the adjusted surface velocity provides continuous discharge data.
– Stu Hamilton

“We Told You So!” Is Never Welcomed If You’re on the Receiving End

I was thinking of writing a blog post from the perspective given in this post. Now I don’t need to.
– Stu Hamilton

Aquatic Informatics

Water Monitoring & Analysis Solutions

Hydrology Corner Blog: Irrigation and Electricity

Forty Centuries of Water Monitoring