Spokes: MEDIUM: MIDWEST: Collaborative: An Integrated Big Data Framework for Water Quality Issues in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will develop a cyberinfrastructure framework to facilitate research on the efficient management of agricultural practices and their impact on water resources in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). Large-scale data acquisition, integration, analysis, and visualization using data-enabled information technologies will accelerate the dissemination of knowledge, experience, and shared resources (e.g., technology, equipment, and people) among communities and partners. The key element of the project is a new cyber platform, the Upper Mississippi Information System (UMIS), which will provide water quality data within a rich spatio-temporal hydrologic context. The UMIS directly addresses three of the Grand Challenges for Engineering identified by the National Academy of Engineering: i) provide access to clean drinking water; ii) manage the nitrogen cycle; and iii) engineer the tools of scientific discovery. The UMIS will immediately begin facilitating data access, integration, and scientific discovery for water quality challenges in the UMRB. UMIS will offer internet-based open access to water quality information in its meteorological, hydrological, and geographical context, providing almost endless potential benefits for stakeholders. For example, the experimental design of the UMIS will enable researchers to study spatial scaling, efficiency of various land use and agricultural practices to improve water quality, and the impact of climate change on land management and water quality. Decision-makers, producers, and extension staff will be able to assess the relative efficacy of local (e.g., best management practices) versus system-level (e.g., state programs) solutions designed to reduce pollution, optimize the use of resources, and evaluate tradeoffs among competing objectives. For all stakeholders, the UMIS will support partnerships and collaborations, increase dissemination of information about a critical natural resource to empower stakeholders at all levels, and set new standards in the communication of scientific data. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.