A new collaborative research initiative, led by the University of Alabama, will bring together experts from across the U.S. and Canada to better forecast water-related hazards and help sustain the continent’s water resources. The project, known as Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH), is composed of 28 academic institutions, non-profit organizations and government and industry partners. CIROH will be administered by the Alabama Water Institute, and NOAA is providing $360 million to fund the project over the next five years.

The CIROH consortium will research national hydrological analyses, forecast information, among other areas, to develop solutions to inform emergency management and water resources decisions. The institute’s research will support four broad themes: water resources prediction capabilities; community water resources modeling; hydroinformatics; and the application of social, economic, and behavioral science to water resources prediction. According to Dr. Martyn Clark, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, “The goal [of the project] is to improve advance warning of floods, droughts and harmful water quality conditions that help communities protect lives and livelihoods.” Read more at WaterWorld or at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.