National Park Service Grant: Hydrologic Modeling of Glacier Bay National Park

Include a paragraph that explain the overview of the project to be awarded.

Freshwater runoff plays a first order role in controlling the spatial and temporal distribution of water column properties (salinity, temperature, density) in the waters of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP). Runoff also strongly controls circulation patterns and residence times. These physical oceanographic processes are linked in many ways to ecological processes, demonstrating the broad impact of freshwater runoff on Glacier Bay. Streamflow is undersampled in Alaska in general and in GBNPP in particular. As a result, the hydrologic budget of Glacier Bay can not be determined through monitoring alone, and a modeling campaign is needed.

Glacier Bay and Oregon State University will jointly develop a physical process-based hydrologic model for GBNPP that models snow and ice melt, and that routes runoff through the landscape to the coastline. The model will be highly resolved in space (100-500 m) and in time (daily step) allowing for estimates among and within seasons and years, and can accommodate individual rainfall events. The model will ultimately be validated using physical oceanographic data collected by park staff. Since runoff is strongly controlled by the precipitation and weather data, we will make model runs using three different weather products (NARR [North American Regional Reanalysis], MERRA [Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications], and PRISM [Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model]). The ensemble of data sets will help to quantify the uncertainty in runoff associated with uncertainty in forcing weather data.

Outcomes of this project will include a dataset in netcdf format covering the entire GBNPP watershed that specifies runoff on a daily time step for a 30-year hindcast period. ’Derived’ products will also include files describing the runoff extracted only at coastline grid cells to allow for the specification of the runoff into Glacier Bay. These data files will be suitable for immediate inclusion into an oceanographic model of the bay by other interested parties. Finally, a number of visual materials will also be generated based on input from park management and interpretation staff, including images (at a given time step, for example) and movies (covering a year, or the entire model period) that demonstrate the rich behavior of snowfall, icemelt, and runoff.

STATEMENT OF JOINT OBJECTIVES/PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

NPS and Oregon State University will jointly develop a hydrologic model for GBNPP that models snow and ice melt, and that routes runoff through the landscape to the coastline. This collaborative project will improve our understanding of the present levels and distribution of runoff and how levels and distribution can change in response to changing precipitation, temperature and land cover. The variety of products produced by this project will contribute to greater public understanding of the hydrology of the system and how changing climate conditions can influence this critical component of the ecosystem.

Explain the mutual and cooperative participation of the project to be awarded.

1. Generate a 30-year dataset on streamflow for the entire GBNPP watershed. This dataset will have a daily time step and will have a spatial resolution of 100-500 m.
2. Convert model results into netcdf format, which is a machine-independent data structure preferred for array-oriented data.
3. Generate model datasets for three widely-used weather reanalysis products.
4. Calibrate and validate the model results with available field data (subject to data availability).
5. Produce informative and visually appealing media (images, animations) related to the hydrologic cycle of Glacier Bay.
6. Present results to park staff and to park visitors.

RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT

Recipient Involvement: This should provide a summary of the recipient’s activities to be funded by the award. It must be detailed enough for the public to understand, yet CANNOT include any proprietary information.

1. Collaboratively undertake a project titled “High-resolution hydrologic modeling of Glacier Bay National Park” as described throughout this Task Agreement.
2. Appoint David F. Hill, Ph.D. as Principal Investigator (PI).
3. Appoint a graduate student (name TBD) to work on the project.
4. Participate in a model-development conference call to develop input data, formatting, and other considerations.
5. Develop a hydrologic model of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) watershed.
6. Calibrate and validate this model with publicly available field data (as available)
7. Run 30-year simulations of hydrologic processes with a daily time step and a spatial grid of 100-500 m.
8. Run simulations with three widely used weather reanalysis products and quantify the variability among the weather forcing products.
9. Create easily accessible data files (netcdf format) to increase the use of these data products by other researchers.
10. Give a videoconference presentation on a draft version of the hydrologic model and results and seek feedback from park staff.
11. Collaborate with park staff to create visually appealing outreach products (images and animations) related to the hydrology of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
12. Give oral presentation of project final results to park staff and other interested members of the public.
13. Provide training to park staff on how to use the model results.
14. Develop at a minimum a final project report in a NPS Natural Resource Technical Series format (peer-reviewed) and, depending on the results, a manuscript suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
15. Communicate with NPS staff as needed to update them on research progress or need for assistance.
16. Ensure that all products (presentations, reports, papers) acknowledge NPS support and that the project was conducted through the PNW CESU and reference this Task Agreement number.
17. Cooperate with the NPS Agreement Technical Representative (ATR) to ensure that the conduct of the project complies with “Quality Control of Scientific and Other Scholarly Products in the Pacific West Region.”
18. Ensure that reports and other formal materials (including publications and presentations) resulting from this collaborative project acknowledge the NPS and that the project was conducted through the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, and reference this Task Agreement number.
19. Upon request of the NPS, obtain digital photographs with captions of project activities and make these available to the NPS Pacific Northwest CESU Senior Science Advisor and others for use in presentations and reports.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INVOLVEMENT

Within this paragraph use the following language to address NPS Substantial involvement:

Substantial involvement on the part of the National Park Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. In particular, the National Park Service will be responsible for the following:

1. Provide financial assistance to the OSU as provided in Article VI. The budget, included as Attachment B, is incorporated in this Task Agreement.
2. Assign Scott Gende, Ecologist/Senior Science Advisor, as the ATR. Assign Lisa Etherington as Project Manager.
3. Provide digital elevation model (DEM) data to OSU to be used as a base layer in model development.
4. Participate in a model-development conference call to develop input data, formatting, and other considerations.
5. Work collaboratively with OSU to review, evaluate, and adapt project progress and goals.
6. Identify the number and types of interpretive products that will be most useful for park outreach and education efforts.
7. Provide feedback on draft reports and other products within one month of receipt.
8. Cooperate with the OSU to ensure that the conduct of the project complies with “Quality Control of Scientific and Other Scholarly Products in the Pacific West Region.” The ATR (or designee) is the administrative reviewer for this project.
9. Ensure that reports and other formal materials (including publications and presentations) resulting from this collaborative project acknowledge the OSU and that the project was conducted through the Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, and reference this Task Agreement number.

The activities / responsibilities that constitute substantial involvement on the part of the NPS must be stated here. This statement should reproduce the language to be incorporated within the Cooperative Agreement.