NSF Org:	EAR Division Of Earth Sciences
Recipient:	THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date:	September 15, 2008
Latest Amendment Date:	September 15, 2008
Award Number:	0847347
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Thomas Torgersen EAR  Division Of Earth Sciences GEO  Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date:	September 1, 2008
End Date:	February 28, 2010 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$74,243.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$74,243.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2008 = $74,243.00
History of Investigator:	James Smith (Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Princeton University 1 NASSAU HALL PRINCETON NJ  US  08544-2001 (609)258-3090
Sponsor Congressional District:	12
Primary Place of Performance:	Princeton University 1 NASSAU HALL PRINCETON NJ  US  08544-2001
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	12
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	NJ1YPQXQG7U5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Hydrologic Sciences
Primary Program Source:	app-0107  app-01S8
Program Reference Code(s):	0000, 9237, OTHR
Program Element Code(s):	157900
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.050

ABSTRACT

Intellectual Merits of this Proposal: In this study, analyses will be carried out to examine hydrometeorological mechanisms associated with the 2008 flood event in Iowa. Hydrometeorological studies of the Iowa flooding will utilize both modeling and empirical analyses and follow procedures developed at Princeton and the University of Iowa for extreme flood studies. Model analyses will utilize the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Observational studies will center on rainfall analyses using HydroNEXRAD rainfall fields. Empirical studies will also utilize cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) to examine the role of organized thunderstorm systems for heavy rainfall production and stream gaging data from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) for characterization of anomalies in the regional water balance for the 2008 flooding in Iowa. Analyses of the 2008 Iowa flooding will include intercomparisons with major recent flood episodes in the central US, notably the ?Great Flood? of 1993, the July 1996 flooding in the upper midwest and the 1997 flooding in the Red River of the North. For each of these flood episodes, ?antecedent? conditions have been identified as important ingredients in the hydrologic and hydrometeorological evolution of the flood episode. Analyses of the 2008 Iowa flooding will examine the hydrometeorological ?history? of the flood episode extending back to Fall of 2007. Analyses will center on processes associated with extreme flooding in the Iowa River above Iowa City and the Cedar River above Cedar Rapids. Extreme flooding in these watersheds was directly associated with a series of storm events that passed over the region during the period from May 21 through June 14, 2008. Simulation studies using WRF will be carried out to examine: 1) mechanisms associated with the repeated development of organized thunderstorm systems during the May ? June 2008 flood period, 2) the role of land surface processes for heavy rainfall production over the flood region and 3) the role of atmospheric moisture transport for heavy rainfall production over the flood region.
Broader Impacts of this Proposal: Hydrometeorological analyses of the 2008 fl

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