We propose to develop a distributed network of field observatories in Brazos River corridor, known as Texas Water Observatory (TWO), for better understanding of the hydrologic flow across various natural and man-made reservoirs in the critical zone (encompassing groundwater, soil water, surface water, and atmospheric water) at various space and time scales. Using many advanced observational platforms and real-time/near-real time sensors, this observatory will be monitoring high frequency data of water stores and fluxes, critical for understanding and modeling the water resources sustainability in the state of Texas and Southern USA.
TWO will be positioned to support high-impact water science that is beyond the existing capabilities at Texas A&M University (or other Texas Universities) and that is highly relevant to societal needs. Among others, this will be a regional resource for better understanding and/or managing agriculture, water resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, disasters, health, energy, and weather/climate. TWO infrastructure will span land uses (cultivation agriculture, range/pasture, forest), landforms (low-relief erosional uplands to depositional lowlands), and across climatic and geologic gradients of Texas to investigate the sensitivity and resilience of fertile soils and the ecosystems they support. Besides developing a network of field water observatory infrastructure/capacity for accounting water flow and storage, TWO will facilitate developing a new generation interdisciplinary water professionals (from various TAMU Colleges) with better understanding and skills for attending to future water challenges of the region. This holistic growth will have great impact on TAMU research enterprise related to water resources, leading to higher federal and state level competitiveness for funding and establishing a center of excellence in the region.
Information
PI: Binayak Mohanty
Co-PI: Gretchen Miller, Georgianne Moore, Mark Everett, Cristine Morgan, Michelle Lawing
Sponsor: Texas A&M University Research Development Fund
Project Dates: Sept. 2015-Dec. 2017
Publications
- Use of PhenoCam Measurements and Image Analysis to Inform the ALMANAC Process-based Simulation Model
- Monitoring agroecosystem productivity and phenology at a national scale: A metric assessment framework
- Influence of land-use change and agriculture practice on water, carbon, and energy fluxes
- Numerical Modeling of Water Flux Interactions Between the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer and the Brazos River: Testing of Alternative Conceptual Models
- Earth Systems Modeling in the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer: Improvement of Computational Methods and Development of Conceptual Model
Links
Texas Water Observatory Homepage
Views from the Field – A Phenocam Image Compilation