Project Info
Surface water prediction for the lakes of the Colorado River Basin
Eric Anderson
ejanderson@mines.edu
Project Goals and Description:
Real-time information on surface water of rivers and lakes is critical for water resource managers. While atmospheric and watershed hydrology models commonly incorporate coarse representations of lakes, they often cannot resolve lake dynamics appropriately, which comes at the expense of forecast uncertainty. The goal of this project is to investigate the improvement to surface water prediction that can be achieved by using more appropriate representations of lakes with hydrodynamic computer models. This will entail applying community lake models to several key lakes in the Colorado River Basin or beyond, and using real-time weather model forecasts to predict surface water conditions. This endeavor can better inform water resource managers, atmospheric model developers, and operational water/weather forecasters.
More Information:
Grand Challenge: Not applicable.
https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/
https://ams.confex.com/ams/2020Annual/webprogram/Paper367207.html
https://rapidrefresh.noaa.gov/hrrr/
https://gmd.copernicus.org/preprints/gmd-2021-409/
Primary Contacts:
Eric Anderson, ejanderson@mines.edu
Student Preparation
Qualifications
Qualified candidates will have an interest in hydrology or Earth system science, computer modeling, and environmental prediction. In addition, candidates should have experience in computer programming (R, Fortran, Python, etc.) and coursework in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. Ability or interest to work on a linux interface, obtain data from internet servers, and interest in learning to work with parallel (or High-Performance) Computing is a plus.
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
5
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
Computer modeling, surface water / hydrology prediction, and Earth System modeling.
MENTORING PLAN
We will meet every (or every other) week to discuss project details and progress
PREFERRED STUDENT STATUS
Junior
Senior