State and Future of the Science

Water Science and Research

What is the state of the science for hydrologic and water-related sciences? What has been accomplished? What is cutting edge? Where should the science go from here? These are the kinds of questions addressed in WSTB state-of-the-science reports.

Water resources: These reports include summaries of needs for the Twenty-First Century [ view report], areas that appear to require special attention with respect to funding and coordination [ view report], and research priorities for developing countries [view report].

Hydrologic science: The 1991 report on opportunities in the hydrologic sciences [view report] has been updated in areas such as aquatic ecosystems, hydrologic measurements and observations, groundwater dating, and streamflow prediction [view report]. Priorities for the U.S. Global Change Research Program with respect to hydrologic science [view report] and the global water cycle [view report]have also been considered. Another report analyzes the inherent limits on our predictive capabilities in hydrology [view report].

Groundwater: Distribution of recharge and discharge, interactions of groundwater and climate, and spatial and temporal scaling behavior of recharge and discharge are three areas that require further investigation [view report]. Advances in soil and water remediation have been extensively covered in a series of NRC reports. [link to http://water.nationalacademies.org/techdev.shtml]

Limnology: The science and future of limnology, its role in water management, and the need to improve educational programs in the field are extensively covered in a report on freshwater ecosystems [view report].

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