U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey
The National Research Program: Overview and Data preservation
challenge
Don CampbellNRP Central Branch
Since the birth of NRP in 1957, scientists in 6 interdependent subdisciplines have worked to provide research leadership and vision for:
- Water Mission Area - USGS - DOI - the scientific community - the public
Luna B. LeopoldChief Hydraulic Engineer
1956-1966
John D. Bredehoeft, the first Deputy Associate Chief Hydrologist for Research spent ~80% of his work time coordinating NRP with 2 major intentions:
1. Activities by NRP and the WSCs would be complementary (consistent with Leopold’s vision), and
2. NRP would not follow the research model of the academia but provide a “different kind of
science” with the capacity to generate a concerted, sustained effort to understand complex hydrologic systems (e.g., San Francisco Bay studies, Toxic Substances Hydrology sites, and NAWQA collaborations).
Cape Cod Toxics
SF Bay Toxics / PES
NAWQA Hg in Stream Ecosystems
Williamette Basin
Water-related research– Future Directions
Understanding water serves many USGS missions:
• Water
• Energy & Minerals
• Environmental Health
• Climate & Land Use
• Ecosystems
• Hazards
• Core Science
New Methods
New TheoryNew Data
NRP Products:
Characterization Tools
Modeling Tools
USGS Hydrologic Research• Scientists in 48 Water Science Centers
- Both RGE and non-RGE scientists- Supported by appropriated and reimbursable funds
- Focus on addressing cooperator needs- Studies usually 1-3 year duration
• National Research Program (NRP) scientists(in Reston, Denver / Boulder, Menlo Park)
- Supported mainly by appropriated funds - Focus on basic hydrologic processes - Serve resource management needs of science
centers- Long-term studies, methods & model development
- Contribute to long-term research directions- Teach USGS courses
Water research scientists, 2011.
2011
010203040506070
Ecology
G&ST
GWC
GWH
SWC
SWH
HQ
WSC
NRP
EcologyGeomorphology/Sediment
Groundwater ChemistryGroundwater Hydrology
Surface Water ChemistrySurface Water Hydrology
• Ecology (J. Kuwabara, L. Miller)• Groundwater Chemistry (W. Evans, I. Cozzarelli)• Surface Water Chemistry (C. Rostad, C. Kendall)• Groundwater Hydrology (M. Hill, D. Stonestrom)• Surface Water Hydrology (L. Hay, M. Dettinger)• Geomorphology & Sediment Transport (C. Hupp)
Water Research Advisors,
NRP Management• Jerad Bales and Earl Greene, Office of Chief Scientist • Pierre Glynn, Reston, NRP- EB• Don Campbell, Denver, NRP- CB• Cindy Brown (acting), Menlo Park, NRP- WB
SURFACE WATER CHEMISTRY DISCIPLINEOctober 2011
Analytical methods development and applicationContaminant occurrence and fateOrganic chemistry, natural & synthetic compoundsInorganic geochemistry, metals, processesNutrient source, transport, and cyclingWatershed processes, biogeochemistry and fluxesClimate change and carbon fluxes
Budget2011-SWC
http://water.usgs.gov/nrp/
• Project descriptions• Bibliographies• Modeling software• Links
The NRP web site
Types of information Field notes
Handwritten notebooks Photos, videos
Field data Physical and biological surveys Pysical, chemical, biological
measurements with field instruments (discrete and continuous).
Laboratory data Lab chemical and isotopic analyses of
field samples Lab experiments
• Cost of producing USGS-series reports.• Many scientists retiring. • Metadata needs to characterize continually
evolving methods and models.• Data quality indicators, esp. for older data.
• Need simple, cost-effective tools for persistent and reliable data preservation.
Data Preservation Challenges:
• Need to add value to the science to motivate scientists to do this.
• Data can be readily discovered on web searches, indexed on other web pages.
• Data in easily usable format. • Metadata is complete.• Has to be easy and cheap to get it in
there!
Attributes for data preservation