HydroCloud: A Cloud-Based System for Hydrologic Data Integration and Analysis

The analysis of rainfall and runoff to characterize watershed response to storm events is a critical area of hydrologic research. A wealth of data exists to perform this analysis, but it is not easily accessible in a central location. The United States Geological Survey currently collects stream flow data for approximately 12,000 watersheds in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration produces the spatially-distributed NEXRAD precipitation data, which can be used to estimate rainfall over an entire watershed. While the data is plentiful, it has yet to be integrated in a single system where hydrologists can easily explore the pattern of rainfall and runoff to assess watershed response. In this paper, we present the HydroCloud system, a novel system which uses cloud-based technology for integrating, storing, and exploring hydrologic data and demonstrate its utility in the analysis of watersheds.