USING HYDRODESKTOP TO SHARE HYDROLOGIC DATA AND ANALYSES

To enhance accountability and collaboration, it is important to be able to share not only the results of a study, but also the analysis procedure and input data used to derive the results. This paper describes how HydroDesktop can be used to share data and analyses associated with water observations data. HydroDesktop is a free and open source desktop GIS program for discovering, accessing, and analyzing hydrologic observations data published via the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System. While the core of HydroDesktop is focused on searching for and downloading data, several extensions have been written to add capabilities for analyzing data that have been retrieved. For example, the HydroR extension enables users to send downloaded data directly to the R software environment for processing. This paper highlights how geospatial and temporal data are shared using the HydroDesktop project file and database, while the sharing of analyses is discussed in the context of a use case involving the HydroR and HydroModeler extensions. KEY TERMS: HydroDesktop; sharing; water data; hydrologic modeling; simulation evaluation