Natural Resources Information and Decision Support System

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Digital Watershed
A Nationwide Web Application Tool for Effective
Watershed Management
Institute of Water Research Michigan State
University
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Introduction
The digital watershed website is designed to
provide both a centralized information repository
and an online computing center for watersheds in
the United States. This site is based on the
comprehensive database of 8-digit watersheds for
the whole continent of the United States, which
is included in the EPA BASINS system.
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Overview

• Nationwide Watershed Coverage
• Multiple Forms of Access
• Comprehensive Datasets
• Scaling Function
• Online Environmental Modeling
• Erosion and Deposition Modeling Online

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Nationwide Watershed Coverage
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Multiple Forms of Access

• Address entry
• Map entry

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Comprehensive Datasets (EPA BASINS Database)

• 8 Digit HUC
• Regulated facilities
• River network
• DEM
• State soil

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Scaling Function
Our environment has different patterns at
different scales. These patterns are shaped by a
variety of processes at different scales.
Therefore, the scale is a very important factor
in understanding our environment. In Digital
Watershed, we provide scaling function to allow
users scale up and down between national level 8
digit and 12 digit local level watersheds. It
also provides the seamless linkage between
national watershed portal and distributed local
level watershed systems. In other words, the
local level systems can be anywhere on the web
and their locations are transparent to end users.
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Scaling Function
The scaling function is provided by the blue
arrow button. It allows users to scale down to
local 12 digit watershed system.
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Scaling Function
Users of local 12 digit watershed system can also
scale up to nationwide 8-digit watershed system
by clicking the blue arrow button.
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Online Environmental Modeling
With the advances in distributed computing
technologies, online real time or quasi-real time
environmental modeling has become a possibility.
We believe that the online environmental modeling
will become an essential part of our national
watershed computing infrastructure. In Digital
Watershed, we developed an online erosion and
deposition modeling function as a demo for online
environmental modeling to show the concept.
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Erosion and Deposition Modeling Online (A Demo
for Online Environmental Modeling)
Users can conduct soil erosion and deposition
modeling online by clicking the M button.
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Protecting our resources, protecting our
future, one watershed at a time.
http//www.iwr.msu.edu/dw Or Contact Jon
Bartholic 517-353-3742