The Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research-Hydrologic Observatory Network: A Vision for Transforming Environmental Research

The National Science Foundation is planning several national environmental observatory networks that represent a major and exciting paradigm shift for both the Foundation and the academic communities it serves. The networks are intended to transform and radically advance the ways engineers and scientists conduct research on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems by providing integrated data and tools to move the science and engineering communities to a collaborative problem-solving approach. Among these, the Collaborative Large-scale Engineering Analysis Network for Environmental Research (CLEANER)–Hydrologic Observatory initiative will focus on water resources problems, with special emphasis on large-scale, human-impacted systems. CLEANER is an initiative in NSF’s Engineering Directorate; the Hydrologic Observatory Program is an initiative in NSF’s Geosciences Directorate through the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. The two initiatives recently joined forces because they share similar goals and approaches, and they will be developed as a joint effort. The network will be characterized by advanced technology to measure and analyze environmental characteristics and processes. It will include advanced sensor networks and cyberinfrastructure tools to allow engineers and scientists to work together in virtual “collaboratories.”

Scientific goals of the network are to (1) transform our understanding of the earth’s water cycle and associated biogeochemical cycles across spatial and temporal scales, enabling quantitative forecasts of critical water-related processes, especially those that affect and are affected by human activities, and to (2) develop scientific and engineering tools that will enable more effective adaptive approaches for resource management. The need for the network is based on three critical deficiencies in current abilities to understand large-scale environmental processes and thereby develop more effective management strategies. First, we lack important data and the infrastructure to collect them at the needed resolution. Second, even it we could collect them, we lack the means to integrate data across scales from different media and types of sources (observations, experiments, simulations). Third, we lack modeling and decision-support tools that are sufficiently accurate to predict the underlying processes, let alone forecast the effects of different management strategies. The network itself, which is projected to require more than $200 million in capital costs, will be constructed over a 4–5 year period early in the next decade. Meanwhile, NSF is investing in research to develop enabling technologies (new and better sensors, modeling platforms, and cyberinfrastructure) for the network. The academic communities in environmental engineering and hydrologic science are starting to assemble a detailed science plan and conceptual design for the network through a newly formed CLEANER Project Office at the University of Illinois (http://cleaner.ncse.uiuc.edu) and the CUAHSI Program Office (http://ww.cuahsi.org). I encourage individuals interested in this ambitious project to visit those Web sites for more information and to become involved in the planning process.