The Desert Research Institute is part of a group of U.S. and Mexican universities, government agencies and research organizations that will establish a new Science and Technology Center (STC) funded by the National Science Foundation. The new center, under the direction of the University of Arizona, will develop ways to efficiently manage water resources in semi-arid regions.
DRI President Stephen G. Wells said Dr. Joseph McConnell, a hydrogeologist in DRI's Division of Hydrologic Sciences, had a major role in developing the successful proposal for the five-year, $16 million STC program, which may be renewed for an additional five years. NSF received more than 280 pre-proposals when it called for ideas for new centers in 1997. Of these, 44 were invited to submit full proposals and five eventually were selected.
McConnell said DRI's efforts will be aimed at developing a set of advanced tools for accurately estimating the spatial distribution of snow accumulation and when and how fast it will melt.
"Multi-billion-dollar water resource management decisions depend on forecasts of the timing and quantity of seasonal stream runoff," McConnell said, "and the majority of this seasonal stream runoff in semi-arid regions originates from snow-covered mountain catchments."
He said DRI will collaborate closely with the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Environmental Labs, the University of Arizona, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
University of Arizona Professor Soroosh Sorooshian who will direct the new center said the world's water resources are under extreme stress in many semi-arid regions because of rapid development, variations in climate and disruptions caused by long-term climate change. He said sustaining these resources through the 21st century will depend on correctly managing water resources systems.
Sorooshian noted that the large number of researchers from diverse locations involved in the center will enable the investigation of larger, more complex problems than can be addressed by individuals or small groups working in a local area. Also participating in the STC are New Mexico Tech, Penn State University, University of California (UCLA, Scripps and Riverside), Columbia University's Biosphere 2, University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Mexico Institute of Water Technology, Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua, State of Sonora Institute of Environmental Media and Sustainable Development, Instituto el Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustenable del Estado de Sonora, Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the International Boundary and Water Commission, and World Laboratory of Lausanne, Switzerland.