Hydrologic models play a key role in both the advancement of hydrologic science and the predictive contributions that hydrology makes to society. A variety of options for improving hydrologic models are being evaluated as part of a series of workshops and conference sessions coordinated through CUAHSI to investigate the feasibility of developing of a modeling platform for hydrologic sciences. The current vision for the modeling platform is that it will support several major software packages, each with distinct functionality. One package will cover forward models used to represent hydrologic processes, whereas other packages include capabilities to do inverse modeling, geostatistics, advanced graphical rendering, and linkages with data sources such as HIS. One option for a forward modeling package is to use software with capabilities to simulate a wide range of processes, and then tailor the software to specific applications in hydrology. This option is appealing because it offers simulation capabilities that are much broader than those provided by existing hydrologic models. Multiphysics software is the most promising of the general modeling packages, and this type of software has been used for a variety of applications in hydrology. However, the applications have been limited in scope, so the viability of hydrologic multiphysics as an important capability on a hydrologic modeling platform is unclear. The purpose of this exploratory proposal is to obtain licenses and set up a small modeling platform designed to for a proof-of-concept evaluation of hydrologic multiphysics. In particular, we intend to use the software to solve benchmark problems covering a wide range of topics in hydrology in order to evaluate the value of having this type of software represented on a hydrologic modeling platform. The objective is to develop these benchmark problems so the results can be used to evaluate the value of hydrologic multiphysics at the various workshops planned for the next year. The project will be conducted by a team of faculty and graduate students with a range of experience that covers much of the modeling interests in hydrology. We need to get started with the evaluation soon in order to have results when the workshops take place, and this is the reason we are submitting an exploratory proposal. This proposal seeks to begin to evaluate the feasibility of using a single model to solve problems that are currently addressed by many models within hydrology. The intellectual merit of this activity is that it may allow hydrologists to invest more of their intellectual capital in the science of understanding hydrologic processes and less in task of selecting, developing and maintaining relevant models. This type of contribution can lead to advances across the field of hydrology. The broad impact of this project is that it will provide evaluations that will guide decisions on how a hydrologic modeling platform is formulated (it may or may not include hydrologic multiphysics, depending on the outcome of this project). A successful evaluation of hydrologic multiphysics has the potential to demonstrate modeling capabilities that integrate a wide range of processes into hydrologic models (from ecology to economics, or climate forecasting to agricultural and urban planning). This will have broad impacts within both hydrology and associated disciplines. The proposed effort will involve approximately 10 graduate students and several undergraduates, who will learn a new modeling approach, and it will pave the way for introducing this approach to many additional students in the future.
