Aquatic Informatics

Good data lead to good outcomes! Buenos datos conducen a buenos resultados!

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

Good data lead to good outcomes! Most of us have the luxury of taking our data for granted. Without the experience of what would happen if we didn’t have data to inform our decisions we lack appreciation for the difference it makes in our lives. I recently had the great pleasure of meeting with the hydrologists at MARN in El Salvador and, as best as I can, this is their story. Dynamic geography and a rich, often tragic, history combine to create a culture of resilience in El Salvador. People shape the landscape and the landscape shapes the people. Entire … Read More

Is heli-gauging a game changer?

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

I recently had the very great pleasure of meeting Jeff and Marianne Watson of New Zealand – the power couple of stream hydrography. I learned a lot from our discussions – the differences in stream gauging techniques and methods between New Zealand and North America can sometimes be traced to differences in geo-physical realities but sometimes the differences are just plain puzzling. A project that will no doubt keep me in touch with the Watsons for many years will be trying to trace the source of methodological divergence. Why has the mid-section method been adopted in some jurisdictions of the … Read More

World Water Day 2013 – Part 2: What is your water footprint?

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

My last post on water footprint has generated quite a bit of feedback. The concept definitely resonates with a lot of people. I was thinking about water smart choices on the menu of a restaurant at the SeaTac airport yesterday and came to one of my favorites: Wild Salmon. The waiter was no doubt puzzled by how long I was taking to make my selection. I was trying to figure out how to even calculate the water demand for a serving of salmon. What I came to was that it is the product of contact surface area times contact water … Read More

World Water Day 2013: What is your water footprint?

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

To mark World Water Day at Aquatic Informatics we watched the movie ‘Last Call at the Oasis’. In discussion about the issues raised by this movie one of our senior developers expressed surprise at the magnitude of the water footprint for everyday products. For example, the water footprint for a t-shirt was given as 700 gallons! I don’t know whether the notion of accounting for your water footprint will catch on or not. A few years ago the idea of calculating your carbon footprint got quite a bit of press and even though carbon calculators have never caught on the … Read More

AQUARIUS 3.1 Released – Maps & Much More!

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

AQUARIUS 3.1 was released last week on Valentine’s Day, and we are keen to tell you all about it and help you take advantage of what it offers. Everyone here at Aquatic Informatics cares about the success of our customers, so the Valentine’s theme is perfect timing. Indeed, we think you’ll love the new system. AQUARIUS 3.1 delivers the most intuitive user experience yet, with a new map view, enhanced data importing features, extended support for externally stored time series data, and much more. The new version includes all of the accumulated improvements and features from version 3.0 as well … Read More

There is never too much data!

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

There is more data to deal with than there used to be. However, dealing with it may require a different approach than simply working harder with the same tools. The new “Global Hydrological Monitoring Industry Trends” report confirms the rapid international adoption of continuous monitoring technologies. One of the questions asked of over 700 respondents representing monitoring agencies from around the world was: “Are the primary technologies used in your network (or client networks) changing? Please select all the technologies significantly used (i.e. making up 10% or more of your network) in 2002, 2012, and 2022 (forecast).” We aggregated the … Read More

Automation for Real-Time Hydrometric Data Production

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

Results from the 2012 Report – Global Hydrological Monitoring Industry Trends published by Aquatic Informatics Inc. The first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) was launched in October 1975. The GOES launch initiated a sequence of events leading to a major re-design of hydrometric programs throughout North America. The relatively cheap and reliable data communication provided by GOES provided an immediate benefit for hydrometric operators: to monitor station health and optimize timing for field trips. The introduction of the first graphical web browser the mid 1990’s sparked a revolution in information sharing. Advances in communications and data management technologies have allowed … Read More

Hydrography as a Profession – Invisible No Longer

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

The Australian Hydrographers association (AHA) has successfully convinced the Australian New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) to officially adopt hydrography as a profession. In Canada, 30,000 job titles are managed by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Under the general category ‘2113 geoscientists and oceanographers’, one could be one of 60 occupations studying earth science. Under ‘2114 – meteorologists and climatologists’ one could be one of 14 classifications specifically for studying or forecasting the weather. Under ‘2255 – technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology’ there are no fewer than thirteen different classifications for observing some aspect of the weather. … Read More

The Water Monitoring Industry – Rapid Modernization and Growth

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

Aquatic Informatics’ global survey of over 700 water professionals in 90 countries puts a spotlight on an industry undergoing rapid change. Key trends include significant growth in network size, modernization of monitoring technology, and an increasing demand for comprehensive data management systems. After months of refining survey questions, collecting responses, and analyzing the results, the new report Global Hydrological Monitoring Industry Trends has been released. I am excited to share this international study with customers and members of the community, so we can all benefit. It is no surprise that the water monitoring industry is undergoing rapid evolution worldwide. The … Read More

AQUARIUS Insider 2012 – The Perpetual Motion Machine

aquarius@aquaticinformatics.com (Aquatic Informatics)

We held the 2012 AQUARIUS Insider user group meeting in October. It was by all accounts a great success, with over 200 participants from almost 50 organizations and 10 countries. The meeting was live in Vancouver as well as webcast on the internet. Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy day to join us! Meetings like this are a good example of what economists refer to as a virtuous circle: a set of self-reinforcing behaviours that produce progressively better outcomes. In the case of the AQUARIUS user group, this is happening at several levels. Firstly, and perhaps … Read More