Editorial: Water data networks: foundations, technologies and systems, implementations, and uses

At the time of this special issue, we are faced with an unprecedented increase in the volume of hydrological data. More hydrological data are being collected today than ever before, at faster rates, creating a veritable data deluge. Fueling this deluge are new approaches to data collection, including improved devices such as cheaper and more efficient sensors, as well as innovative strategies such as citizen participation in which data are gathered by the broader public. Apart from these enhanced data supply mechanisms, the data deluge is also being fueled by a reciprocal increase in the demand for data, from both customary and non-traditional users. The increased demand is stimulated to no small degree by raised expectations for data availability, themselves a result of new methods and policies for accessing and analyzing enormous volumes of data. For example, open data policies are influencing the liberation of data from closed repositories, new technological standards are driving improved interoperability via standards for online data access and content, while scalable mechanisms for massive data storage and computing, primarily cloud-based, are allowing more data to be processed faster by more users in a greater variety of situations than ever before. As a result, users are expecting data and related applications to be available immediately, easily, openly, and in greater quantities. Positioned within this overall hydrological data milieu, this special issue concentrates on a key enabler for water data availability: the water data network. Water data networks address access issues in the data supply chain: water data have traditionally been difficult to find, get, and use, because they are fragmented across numerous …