The IAHS Digital Water Globe: A Novel Virtual Platform for Sharing Hydrological Research, Data, and Publications

Código

I-EBHE0119

Autores

Luis Miguel Castillo Rápalo, christina Oriesching, Santosh Palmate, Ouachani Rim, Khosro Morovati, Eduardo Mário Mendiondo

Tema

WG 3.2: Outreach, Communication & Science Interfaces

Resumo

Global climate change and human impacts are putting unprecedented stresses on the world's water resources, requiring effective interdisciplinary scientific communication and cross-border collaboration. The Digital Water Globe (DWG), as an innovative platform developed by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), serves as a virtual space for hydrologists globally to facilitate knowledge exchange by sharing case studies, professional research profiles, links to publications, and data repositories. Crucially, it provides an understanding of the geographical distribution of hydrological research, which could enhance efforts to establish future partnerships to address hydrological challenges. This contribution provides a brief overview of the DWG content organized by continent, highlighting the Unsolved Problems in Hydrology (UPH), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the synergies between contributed case studies. Among the current 73 contributions, this includes: (a) 32% are from Europe, which mainly focus on SDGs such as climate actions, sustainable cities, life and land, and clean water addressing UPHs related to measurements and data, interfaces with society, and hydrology. (b) 27% of the contributions are from the Americas, centered around climate actions and clean water goals, addressing the same UPHs as Europe. (c) Asia holds the 24%, addressing similar hydrological challenges and goals as America, with an additional emphasis on the no poverty goal. (d) 13% of the case studies are from Africa, focusing on goals like affordable and clean energy, and addressing problems such as modeling methods and uncertainty in hydrological predictions and (e) 1% is from Australia, which is related to climate action and data measurements. Regarding personal research profiles on the DWG, researchers from the North, Central and South America have the most prominent presence, followed by Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The relation of case studies and profiles reinforces the ability of researchers to show-up their expertise location on a global map, as case studies underscores their profiles. While the initial data and profiles showcased in the DWG are promising, though, it must be mentioned that it is still a new and expanding tool and will only reach its full potential as researchers populate it. Currently, for instance, there is only a limited number of publications and databases showcased in the DWG, and multiple SDGs and UPHs are not yet mentioned. Apart from fostering scientific communication, the DWG will serve as an educational and outreach tool in the future, making recent hydrological discoveries accessible to non-academic stakeholders such as practitioners, policymakers, and citizens. This platform has the potential to revolutionize how hydrological knowledge is shared, synthesized, and applied, acting as a central hub for global scientific communication. With the research community embracing this tool, significant advancements in interdisciplinary understanding can be anticipated.