(v1.0)
A Regional, Electronic Hydrometeorological Data Network
For South America, Central America, And The Caribbean
Banco De Datos Del Agua
Sobre Sudamerica, Centroamerica Y El Caribe
by
Charles J. Vörösmarty
University of New Hampshire (Durham NH, USA)
Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui
UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology (ROSTLAC /
Montevideo URUGUAY)
Maria Concepcion Donoso
Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin American and
the Caribbean (CATHALAC / Panama City PANAMA)
GOAL:
Establish and test a prototype version of a World-Wide Web-based,
regional hydrometeorological data bank (R-HydroNET v1.0) to support
water sciences and water resource assessment in South America, Central
America, and the Caribbean, using joint pan-American scientific and monitoring
station information resources.
RATIONALE:
- With impending population growth, urbanization, and climate change
a critical need exists for baseline data upon which to better plan
for the wise and sustainable use of water.
- There is an important need to inventory and make available data
for water resources assessments in the context of deteriorating monitoring
networks.
- The assembly and use of such hydromet data consolidates ongoing
computerized data bank activities including UNESCO ROSTLAC/LACHYCIS
(Latin and Central American Hydrological Cycle and Water Resources Activities
Information System) and the Global River Discharge Database (RivDIS 1.0)
published recently by UNESCO as part of the Technical Documents in
Hydrology series.
- Interactions within the regional scientific community via
WWW-connectivity are necessary to promote state-of-the-art science
in this area of the world.
- An operational data bank system would serve as a tool for further
regional water resources activities, including regional workshops
and short-courses.
- Successful development of R-HyMet in South and Central America
and the Caribbean will serve as a prototype water resources data bank that
could be emulated by other UNESCO regional offices.
- A regional electronic data base in the 1997 timeframe lends support
to the planning and execution of the Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere
Experiment (LBA) in Amazonia.
NATURE OF THE DATA BANK:
- Data will exist on a World Wide Web (WWW) site, with periodic
publications and CD-ROMs of data contents.
- On-line access to approved subscribers and data base donors.
- All data holdings will be geographically-referenced.
- The data bank will be fully updatable as new holdings are assembled
and entered.
- The time frame 1967-present is targeted -- corresponding to the
Atlas of Surface Water & Hydrogeology and Regional Water Balance Studies
sponsored by ROSTLAC.
- All data entries will be fully documented and contain a full suite of
on-line meta-data.
INITIAL CONTENTS:Version 1.0 of the data bank will target the
assembly of existing hydromet data resources among the participating
organizations.
Some is already available in the public domain, while additional
data reside currently at the participating organizations. All data will
require assembly and synthesis into R-HydroNET. For data of a time-varying
nature, monthly composite data will initially be assembled. Some
examples of data to be included:
- UNESCO River Discharge Data Base (RivDIS v1.0)
- Legates and Willmott Temperature and Precipitation
- Global Historic Climatology Network v. 2.0
- Amazonian Precipitation data (DNAEE / UCSB)
- Station-based meteorological and river monitoring data sets from
the participating regional hydromet services
- USGS Discharge Gauging Stations data in the humid tropical region
- UNH Simulated River Networks, 30-min. spatial resolution (STN-30)
MANAGEMENT PLAN
- ROSTLAC will be responsible for organizing the participation of South
American hydrometeorological organizations in the following countries:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
- CATHALAC will be responsible for organizing the participation
of Central American/Caribbean hydrometeorological organizations and those in
South America in the following countries: Columbia, French Guiana, Guyana,
Panama, Suriname, Venezuela.
- ROSTLAC and CATHALAC will jointly support travel and local expenses
for UNH technician to install WWW server and carry-out local training.
- University of New Hampshire will be responsible for the technical
implementation of the R-HyMet system, importation of electronic data,
error-checking, and creation of meta-data base listings. The system
will adhere to protocols of the Global Hydrological Archive and Analysis
System (UNH-GHAAS).
Back to R-HydroNET