Joint 118th Annual Cordilleran/72nd Annual Rocky Mountain Section Meeting - 2022

Paper No. 8-1
Presentation Time: 8:30 AM-6:00 PM

COLORADO RIVER BASIN INTEGRATED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY USGS APPROACH TO CONVERGENT RESEARCH


DAHM, Katharine1, ANDERSON, Eric D.2, ANDERSON, Patrick3, BRADFORD, John4, DICK, Meghan5, FRUS, Rebecca6, HOUSE, Sally5, JONES, Daniel7, MONROE, Adrian8, QI, Sharon9, TILLERY, Anne C.10 and THOMAS, Kathryn11, (1)U.S. Geological Survey, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, CO 80225, (2)U.S. Geological Survey, 1301 19th Street, Golden, CO 80401, (3)U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526, (4)U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, (5)U.S. Geological Survey, California Water Science Center, San Diego, CA 92101, (6)U.S. Geological Survey, Nevada Water Science Center, 500 Date Street, Boulder City, NV 89005, (7)U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center, Salt Lake City, UT 84119, (8)Fort Collins Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO 80526, (9)U.S. Geological Survey, (10)U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Water Science Center, 6700 Edith Blvd NE STE B, Albuquerque, NM 87113, (11)U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Tucson, AZ 85719

In 2020, the USGS initiated a new scientific approach focused on building cross-disciplinary connections to weave together science related to complex challenges in the Colorado River Basin. In 2021, the USGS supported a series of internal Science and Technology Collaboration Workshops between scientists and technology specialists including:

  • Application of Innovative Data Collection Technologies and Integrated, Multi-scale Observation Networks
  • Integrated Science to Address Climate Change Impacts in the Colorado River Basin
  • Groundwater Dependent Streams, Ecosystems, and Research
  • Wildfire Risk and Post Fire Impacts
  • Impacts of Drought at High Elevations: Landcover, Forest Health, Snowpack, etc.
  • Impacts of Drought on the Human System and Development
  • Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing and High Performance Computing Applications
  • Integrating Ecosystem Responses to Drought and Climate Change
  • Stakeholder Engagement Strategies and Approaches in the Colorado River Basin
  • Development of Science Communication Materials and Communication of Uncertainty
  • Applications of Data and Information Visualization
  • Drought Prediction, Integrated Predictive Modeling, and Early Warning Indicators

Participants identified challenges, capabilities, knowledge gaps, and potential opportunities to work in collaboration across disciplines to understand the complexity of drought effects on human and natural systems in the Colorado River Basin. Results from initial discussions and plans for similar discussions in 2022 with external scientists, colleagues, partners, and collaborators across the Colorado River Basin will be presented. Science is continually advancing, and there is an increasing need to interpret the connections between integrated and convergent research and science applications to provide actionable science for complex challenges. This approach supports interdisciplinary science integration to form science connections and networks in the Colorado River Basin.

Handouts
  • GSA Poster_Final.pdf (3.0 MB)