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URBAN HYDROLOGY & WATER SUPPLY
Projects:
 Chemical Sensors for AUV's The main goal of this project is to develop sensors for environmental chemical monitoring capable of deployment on AUV's. An associated goal would be the implementation of underwater data networking to enable real-time data display and analysis, and permit users to control vehicles in an adaptive manner as desired. One main focus will be on underwater mass spectrometry for monitoring of natural waters, measuring low molecular weight hydrocarbons, metabolic gases for geochemical studies, and volatile organic compounds for pollution monitoring. This is an outgrowth of the prior MIT research (focused on methane cycling in Upper Mystic Lake), and will entail a major effort to reduce the size of the mass spectrometer while enhancing its analytical capability. This advance in compactness and performance will almost surely require an entirely new instrument designed from the `ground up', though commercial components will be used to the extent possible. Other sensors may include fluorescence-based instruments such as may be capable of measuring higher-molecular-weight hydrocarbons, biological entities such as chlorophyll, or aquatic humic substances.
 NEREUS: Prototype AUV-mounted mass spectrometer  The Mystic Lake sensor network for observing methane cycling (Nepf, 2004) Contact PI: Harry Hemond Related References:
Distributed Hydrologic Modeling and Data Assimilation The intricate relations between soil, water, vegetation and topography will be examined using an eco-hydro-geomorphological modeling tool based on the tRIBS model (developed in prior MIT research). The Triangular Irregular Network (TIN-) based Real-Time Integrated Basin Simulator (tRIBS) is a physically-based, distributed hydrologic model that provides a computational framework to account for the spatial variability of continuous rainfall-runoff processes subject to distributed rainfall observations or stochastic climate forcing. The proposed research will involve the linkage of tRIBS with meso-scale weather prediction models. A preliminary interface has recently been developed between tRIBS and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models. This will enable assimilation of atmospheric data (using modules available within WRF). Further studies will be carried out to assimilate soil moisture data within tRIBS.
  tRIBS Model and Example Map of Depth to Groundwater
Contact PI: Dara Entekhabi
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Continuous Monitoring of Water Distribution Systems The goal of this research is to develop generic Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) capabilities to enable real time monitoring of water distribution and sewer networks. The project will be directed towards three main applications: 1) Water conservation (through efficient control of pumping operations) based on the integration of measurements from a ¡®dense¡¯ network of low cost pressure and flow sensors with hydraulic models of the distribution system. 2) Integrated monitoring of hydraulic and water quality parameters. This task will comprise a detailed evaluation of the long term performance and robustness of non-specific water quality sensor. 3) Development of systems to enable remote detection of leaks and prediction of pipe burst events. The initial tasks during Year 1 of the project will involve the design and field installation of a pilot network of low cost pressure and flow sensor nodes, and the integration of these data with hydraulic models of the water distribution system. One of the main challenges in this first task will be the development of back-end software and application integration to provide an effective user interface for handling data streams.
 Prototype Monitoring System for Water Distribution Network  Integrated Hydraulic and Water Quality Monitoring System
Contact PI: Andrew Whittle
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Cyberinfrastructure for CENSAM During the initial year of the project, we intend to identify and work with a subset of CENSAM researchers to develop a prototype data archive that will tag and record real time geo-referenced data from sensors. The archive will optimize the availability of the data for present and future researchers through metadata tagging of the archived data and an organization that will optimize query processing. The initial design phase of the archive will require discussions with groups generating sensor data (Whittle, Patrikalakis), modelers fusing and processing the resulting data sets (Rizzoli, Entekhabi), and the computer graphics team at CAMTech (Mueller-Wittig). While this project will not generate new algorithms for data assimilation, the proposed architecture should be able to accommodate a variety of data assimilation and data fusion techniques.
Contact PI: Judson Harward
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Systems for Measuring Subsurface Chemical Fluxes Large fluxes of chemicals are transported from soils into groundwater by recharge water and, likewise, are released from aquifers to rivers and the coastal ocean by groundwater discharge. Processes occurring at the interfaces between groundwater and soils, or between groundwater and surface water, are particularly important for ecosystems because many species thrive on the abundant chemical energy at these sharp interfaces. However, the processes that occur at these interfaces are difficult to characterize because the chemical gradients are extremely sharp and can move very quickly, and these important fluxes are often poorly represented in models of global element and nutrient cycles. To quantify fluxes across these interfaces, and to understand biogeochemical transformations in these areas, we must develop measurement methods with very high resolution in both time and space. The CENSAM program will continue an existing study using a network of physical sensors (time domain reflectometry (TDR) and tensiometers) to determine water and gas flows through the rice field. By coupling this network with the appropriate geochemical sensors, the project aims to we could characterize important chemical fluxes such as methane output to the atmosphere, and arsenic accumulation in the rice field.
 Bio-Geochemical Fluxes in a Rice Paddy  Field Installation Contact PI: Charles Harvey
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