UNL Drought Research Gets $7.4 Million from USDA

More than $7 million in new federal funding will finance further refinement of University of Nebraska-Lincoln-based Web tools to help agricultural producers and others nationwide to monitor drought impacts and manage its risks.

One partnership agreement, $6.4 million, will fund an effort by climatologists and computer scientists to bring cutting-edge computer science technologies to producers' age-old decision-making processes. The other cooperative agreement, for $1 million, will support continued work on a tool that uses satellite technology and climate information to detect vegetation stress on the ground for a much more detailed view of drought's scope and potential impact.

The three-year partnership agreements are between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency, UNL's Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the UNL-based National Drought Mitigation Center.

"We're excited and proud to have this opportunity to significantly expand our research on drought mitigation tools, an area in which we have long been the leaders," said Prem Paul, UNL's vice chancellor for research. "This is work that serves both Nebraskans and the global community.

"In bringing together the expertise of climatologists and computer scientists, it's also an excellent illustration of how interdisciplinary research enables UNL to do its best work," Paul added.

James Callan, acting administrator of USDA's Risk Management Agency, said, "RMA is pleased to fund the development of this important information system, which will provide much needed impact analysis of major drought events. We look forward to continuing USDA's long and valued relationship with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to bring benefits to America's agricultural community."

In addition to enhancing the strong existing partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center and the computer science and engineering department, the two agreements give the drought center a prominent role in developing a set of decision-support tools for agricultural producers to improve drought impact assessments and in developing a Web-based electronic drought atlas.

In its first 10 years, the National Drought Mitigation Center focused on helping state, national and tribal governments in the U.S. and around the world better understand drought as the world's costliest natural disaster and the importance of improved monitoring and preparedness to help reduce the damage it causes. That challenge continues, but the projects toward which the new agreements are targeted represent a new emphasis: developing better decision-support tools to help agricultural producers better cope with drought on their individual farms.

"This has been an evolution for us," said Don Wilhite, the center's director and professor in UNL's School of Natural Resources. "We have made tremendous strides in building awareness of the need for improved drought monitoring, mitigation and preparedness, but there is much additional work that needs to be done."

"We're working together to identify the needs and then tailor the tools for producers," said Steve Goddard, an associate professor of computer science and director of the Laboratory for Advanced Research Computing.

The new agreements will enable the drought center to hire additional research scientists and technical specialists, nearly doubling the size of its staff, which now numbers 10 faculty and staff.

Similarly, the Laboratory for Advanced Research Computing expects to hire at least three more programmers, four graduate research assistants and a post-doctoral researcher.

Goddard said UNL computer scientists and climatologists started working together on drought monitoring and mitigation in 1998 with an initial investment of $1 million from the state of Nebraska for geospatial analysis and decision support systems. Additional grants followed from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including a $1.2 million grant announced earlier this fall from the Risk Management Agency.

The research led to development of a weather data collection infrastructure with a particular focus on drought. The project, titled the National Agricultural Decision Support System , provides a hands-on tool for farmers. There, producers can tap into a variety of weather data to help them make decisions about their operations.

The additional funding will enable researchers to expand and improve the system, which could include incorporating hydrological or groundwater modeling, Goddard said.

Goddard and Wilhite said their team will continue to work closely with ag producers as they refine the tools. Throughout the research, workshops have sought input from farmers. Additional workshops will be conducted throughout the projects to solicit input from producers on their decision support needs and allow producers to experiment with tools and offer suggestions for refinement. "We'll develop tools, then get feedback and do training," Wilhite said.

Mark Svoboda, a NDMC climatologist, said the team also plans to develop an online drought atlas that would provide producers with a "snapshot of drought risk on a local level."

Researchers will continue to enhance other tools such as the Drought Impact Reporter , a new system developed by the NDMC that tracks drought's impact across the United States.

A separate, $1 million agreement with USDA's Risk Management Agency grant will fund further development of the Vegetation Drought Response Index, a tool that uses satellite and climate data for a square-mile-by-square-mile analysis of drought conditions. It's a more precise measurement of drought conditions than the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly national map that the drought center produces through its partnership with USDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"The U.S. Drought Monitor was the first generation tool and we continue to work on improving that product for a very diverse clientele across the country. It is a very popular product. The tools being developed through the new grants will build on the success of the U.S. Drought Monitor by providing improved tools to ag producers and others," Wilhite said.

The Drought Monitor, Vegetation Drought Response Index and other tools are available through NDMC's Web site (www.drought.unl.edu).

Michael Hayes, a climate impacts specialist for the NDMC and associate professor in SNR, emphasized the importance of the other partners in the drought research, including the UNL-based High Plains Regional Climate Center, NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

"We look forward to strengthening our ties with these partners through these partnership agreements," he said.

The National Drought Mitigation Center is associated with the university's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Laboratory for Advanced Research Computing is associated with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

CONTACTS: Don Wilhite, Director, National Drought Mitigation Center, (402) 472-4270
Mark Svoboda, Climatologist, National Drought Mitigation Center, (402) 472-8238
Michael J. Hayes, Climate Impacts Specialist, National Drought Mitigation Center, (402) 472-4271
Stephen M. Goddard, Associate Professor, Computer Science & Engineering, (402) 472-9968
Dan Moser, IANR News & Publishing Coordinator, (402) 472-3007