Observatory

In collaboration with the Center for Geospatial Solutions and the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative, we are building a state-wide data visualization application for monitoring water conditions. By bringing together products from ground stations, remote sensing platforms and modeling systems, the platform enables better water management decisions through actionable and evidence-based maps and analytics.

In collaboration with Planet and Salt River Project, we are building a web-based visualization and snow classification tool for the watersheds of Arizona. A machine-learning algorithm allows for high-resolution (3-m, daily) snow detection in forested areas. The products provide a rapid assessment of fine-scale snow variations in complex terrain and aid decisions on reservoir releases during the winter and spring seasons.

In collaboration with Aquaveo and Salt River Project, we developed a visualization and workflow management tool for the tRIBS distributed hydrologic model and its applications for forest hydrology. When applied to watersheds in Arizona, the cloud-based system provides rapid model deployment and scaling of efforts to quantify water resilience and stewardship under proposed and on-going forest treatments.

In collaboration with Central Arizona Project, we developed a web-based visualization tool to explore the outcomes of future scenario modeling of the Colorado River Basin. The results from the VIC model are displayed for Warm/Wet and Hot/Dry future climates up to the year 2100 under different levels of forest disturbance. The tool provides stakeholders the ability to explore potential future changes in this critical river basin.