NEESPI Focus Research Center for Water System Studies
The Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative was established to develop a large-scale, interdisciplinary program of funded research aimed at developing a better understanding of the interactions between the ecosystem, atmosphere, and human dynamics in northern Eurasia in support of international science programs with particular relevance to global climate change research interests and government agency funding priorities. The long range goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the Northern Eurasia terrestrial ecosystem dynamics, biogeochemical cycles, surface energy and water cycles, and human activities and how they interact with and alter the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere or the Earth.
The Water Systems Analysis Group acts as one of the NEESPI Focus Research Centers for Water System Studies. The main objectives of the center are to conduct, promote, and facilitate research aimed to improve understanding and modeling of the water cycle and water management in the earth System focusing on Northern Eurasia. The following projects and activities directly contribute to NEESPI progress:
- Collaborative research to develop a hydrological observing system for pan-Arctic land mass (NSF)
- A global rapid integrated monitoring system for water cycle and water resource assessment (NASA)
- An integrated assessment of the pan-Arctic freshwater system: Analysis of retrospective and contemporary conditions (NSF)
- River discharge from the Russian Federation: An understanding of contemporary trends and their placement in a holocene context (NSF)
- A prototype hydrological data assimilation system using remotely sensed precipitation field (NASA)
- Assessment of recent hydrologic change over the Arctic terrestrial drainage system (NASA ESE)
- Water indicators: Mapping the links between water, food security, and poverty (GWSP)
- Understanding the changing carbon, nitrogen and water cycles in the Earth System (NASA)
- Contributions of changes in land use/land cover, water use, and climate to the hydrological cycle across the Central Asian states (NASA LCLUC)
- Role of land cover and land use change in the hydrology of Eurasian pan-Arctic (NASA LCLUC)
The NEESPI home page is available at NEESPI.