Organizing and Synthesizing Ogallala Aquifer Data to Facilitate Research and Resource Management Completed
The Ogallala Aquifer lies beneath 111 million acres of land in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The aquifer provides water for approximately 1.9 million people and has been instrumental in the development of the robust agriculture economy of the Great Plains region. It is also vitally important to the ecology of the region, serving as a critical source of groundwater and sustaining creeks and streams that would otherwise run dry during periods of water scarcity. However, the various social, economic, and ecological challenges of managing this aquifer are expected to increase with climate change as hotter, drier summers exacerbate already unsustainable water demands.
Regional water managers have requested scientific information to assist in the planning process for future use and management of the aquifer. Much of this information is currently available but is unorganized and difficult to access. This project will organize and synthesize information on datasets from the Ogallala Aquifer region into a single, searchable database. The Ogallala Data Directory will act as a virtual “phone book” of Ogallala region data. It will allow users to easily locate and integrate datasets relevant to their area of interest, and to address emerging issues within the region, such as the effects of climate change and reduced aquifer water availability on human health or ecosystem services. Researchers will also create targeted visualizations using the data in the directory, to display information such as the economic impacts of aquifer depletion for land management agencies and agriculture.
The directory will be built with the help of Colorado State University’s Natural Resources and Ecology Laboratory and an advisory committee of stakeholders from the region who will provide input and feedback to ensure that the final product is both useful and user-friendly. This project will provide water resource managers in the Ogallala Aquifer region with easy access to information about the aquifer that will support science-informed water management decisions in the Great Plains region.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 5d49b777e4b01d82ce8de6f2)
The Ogallala Aquifer lies beneath 111 million acres of land in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The aquifer provides water for approximately 1.9 million people and has been instrumental in the development of the robust agriculture economy of the Great Plains region. It is also vitally important to the ecology of the region, serving as a critical source of groundwater and sustaining creeks and streams that would otherwise run dry during periods of water scarcity. However, the various social, economic, and ecological challenges of managing this aquifer are expected to increase with climate change as hotter, drier summers exacerbate already unsustainable water demands.
Regional water managers have requested scientific information to assist in the planning process for future use and management of the aquifer. Much of this information is currently available but is unorganized and difficult to access. This project will organize and synthesize information on datasets from the Ogallala Aquifer region into a single, searchable database. The Ogallala Data Directory will act as a virtual “phone book” of Ogallala region data. It will allow users to easily locate and integrate datasets relevant to their area of interest, and to address emerging issues within the region, such as the effects of climate change and reduced aquifer water availability on human health or ecosystem services. Researchers will also create targeted visualizations using the data in the directory, to display information such as the economic impacts of aquifer depletion for land management agencies and agriculture.
The directory will be built with the help of Colorado State University’s Natural Resources and Ecology Laboratory and an advisory committee of stakeholders from the region who will provide input and feedback to ensure that the final product is both useful and user-friendly. This project will provide water resource managers in the Ogallala Aquifer region with easy access to information about the aquifer that will support science-informed water management decisions in the Great Plains region.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 5d49b777e4b01d82ce8de6f2)