A PSU-USGS research team was recently awarded the 2024 104(g) General RFP grant funded by the US Geological Survey’s Water Resources Research Act Program. This program is a federal-state partnership that plans, facilitates, and coordinates water resources research, training, and information sharing to address regional and national water science issues.
Peyman Abbaszadeh (PSU), Adam Stonewall (USGS), Caelan Simeone (USGS), Susan Wherry (USGS), Alison Hopcroft (PSU), and Heejun Chang (PSU) as well as two graduate research assistants will investigate how USGS Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) can be used for improving the streamflow forecasting skill of hydrology model in the Willamette River Basin.
“The results of this project will provide valuable insights for water resource managers in the region. They will learn how to utilize the newly available datasets from NGWOS to enhance the predictability of various hydrologic variables” says Peyman. The project will specifically focus on water quantity, examining streamflow—how much water is present and how its dynamics vary across different seasons. By enhancing the forecasting capabilities of hydrology models, the team aims to improve water resource management and support informed decision-making.
Nearly every person on the team is a UPP affiliate and like other joint projects, collaboration will be integral to the success of this work. Since NGWOS provides real-time observational data, it's important to account for the uncertainty of these observations when performing hydrologic modeling. Despite this challenge, Peyman remains optimistic, confident that he can rely on his USGS collaborators for support.
“We have three awesome USGS scientists on this project–Adam, Caelan, and Susan– and I’m sure their help and support will be crucial throughout this project. Caelan is going to help us with collecting the NGWOS observational data, Adam and Susan will help us to effectively use the NGWOS observational data (plus other USGS observations available in the region) to calibrate the hydrology model and assimilate them into it to improve streamflow forecasting while accounting for uncertainties associated with the NGWOS observation data.”
“This project will enable me to recruit graduate students and help with building my research group in the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department where I am an assistant professor,” says Peyman. Dr. Abbaszadeh, who is entering his second year of teaching in the CEE department, sees this grant as a chance for graduate students to work in a research team and apply the knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom to a tangible effort.
“Heejun and I will guide our PhD students to work collaboratively, allowing them to learn from one another, from us as their supervisors, and from our USGS partners. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to contribute to a real project alongside USGS scientists.”
The grant officially starts January 2025. Together, Peyman, Heejun, and their respective PhD students will analyze and present the results once the project finalizes in December 2027. Two PhD dissertations and several peer reviewed articles will also come out of this.
Peyman would also like to thank UPP Manager, Alison Hopcroft, for bringing the team together. “Alison reached out to me and others, inviting us to collaborate. We were really fortunate — despite the short notice, everyone worked well together, and we put together a strong proposal.”