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Introducing MAGNET 4 WATER
A global, cloud-powered, big data-enabled, realtime interactive platform for modeling, visualization, and analysis of water systems anywhere on Earth – from groundwater, to watersheds, rivers and channels, lakes and reservoirs, storm and sanitary urban water systems, and water distribution systems.
MAGNET 4 WATER INITIATIVE
Environmental sustainability is among the greatest challenges in the 21st century. Recent IT and data revolution offers unprecedented opportunities for potential breakthroughs in our ability to understand and manage complex systems, interactions, and sustainability. These possibilities, however, are largely unrealized, primarily because the technologies to produce big data are not matched by technologies to analyze them. We have reached a point in the evolution of science where many of the complex problems that exist can only be solved with a change in the fundamental scientific and technological infrastructure.
We present our global water modeling technology - MAGNET 4 WATER (Multiscale, Adaptive, Global Network 4 Water). The technology has the potential to shift the water research, education, and management paradigm, drastically reduce the costs of water system investigations, and transform how water is managed, how knowledge is created, and even how people learn and collaborate.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
MAGNET 4 WATER is built on the achievements at the interface environmental science and engineering, data science, IT and computer science and engineering, human cognitive science, and emerging concepts in economics. The platform integrates fundamental and technological advances in environmental and hydrologic modeling, remote sensing and geographical information systems, networking and communication, data intensive and distributed computing, advanced visualization and augmented reality, and an international network of data services, including high resolution data services provided by:
- United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
- Environment Canada
- British Geological Survey
- German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources
- French Geological Survey
- Geoscience Australia
Unique Capabilities
MAGNET 4 WATER allows, for the first time, realtime and participatory modeling, visualization, analysis, reporting, and publication, providing a new, unique problem-solving environment and collaborative workspace for global environmental and water community – for students, researchers, professors, consultants, citizens, planners, managers, regulators, and decision makers. Users can zoom in anywhere in the world to conduct a big data-powered “virtual site visit” or build almost instantly a model, analysis, and visualization that can be further refined with the user’s own data.
MAGNET 4 WATER further allows users to publish instantly data and model results to the world to showcase their capabilities and achievements - in high impact 3D visualization, animation, and intelligent report. The instant publication provides an effective mechanism of spontaneous, mass collaboration in developing cyber-enabled environmental observatory network from the bottom-up by the global community.
The ability to visualize surface and subsurface, groundwater flow and surface water flow and quality, and contaminant transport and geology in a real life setting sparks pivotal insights into the complex interrelationships among components of the environment and human activities and an intuitive grasp of implications of management actions and policy decisions that can't be readily obtained otherwise.
MAGNET Modeling Platforms
IGW-NET - A groundwater modeling platform, including 2D and 3D unsteady and steady flow, reactive transport, seawater intrusion, geological modeling, aquifer test analysis, groundwater recharge, and integrated / advanced visualization capabilities; Interactive Groundwater and MODFLOW family of solvers/packages.
SwaNET – A watershed modeling platform, for simulating quality and quantity of surface and subsurface water – from small watersheds to large river basins – and predicting the environmental impact of land use, land management practices, and climate change.
StormNET – A urban stormwater modeling platform, for planning, analysis, and design related to stormwater runoff, combined and sanitary sewers, and other drainage systems; evaluation of gray infrastructure stormwater control strategies, such as pipes and storm drains, and creating cost-effective green/gray hybrid stormwater control solutions.
RiverNET – A river network modeling platform, including 1D and 2D steady or unsteady flow, sediment transport/mobile bed computations, and water temperature and water quality modeling in river, stream, and channel networks.
ConduitNET – A pressurized pipe water distribution platform, for characterizing the movement and fate of drinking water constituents within distribution systems, designing and sizing new water infrastructure (or retrofitting existing, aging infrastructure), optimizing operations of tanks and pumps, and investigating water quality problems.
DataNET – A data network of networks platform, presented as a 2D mapping and 3D visualization environment linked directly to the MAGNET 4 WATER global water / environmental database and hundreds of web mapping services offering valuable high-resolution spatial framework data.. Data can be directly transferred to the MAGNET Modeling Platform for use in numerical model development and calibration.
MAGNET Global Networks
Model Network – A global cyber-observatory of models and work (images, plots, animations, intelligent reports, and/or input and output data) shared by users and collaborators. Visitors utilize map- and query-based searching capabilities to find models and work related to their own. They can even directly load existing models into a MAGNET Modeling Platform to visualize and further customize the model.
User Network – A global cyber-observatory of users and their profile / metadata and social media tools and communication capabilities. Map- and query-based searching capabilities allow users to collaborate directly (or indirectly) with others with similar work and interests.
Curriculum Network - A global cyber-observatory of educational materials, including digital library visualizations, conceptual and numerical modeling exercises, and integrated projects and case studies.