About Urban Environment Science to Society (UES2S)
UES2S is an online fully coupled urban ‘meteorology, hydrology, and air quality’ modeling system developed under the NSM Urban Modelling Project (Figure 1). This system captures the urban representation of micro-scale city environmental conditions. UES2S has three major components: Data as a service (DataHub), modeling platform as a service (Science Gateway), and Decision Support System (DSS) for cross-sector end-user decisions. Through DataHub, we intend to provide cross-sector data access and a data-sharing facility. The Science Gateway (Figures 2 & 3) has automatic end-end modeling workflows enabling ready-to-use weather, hydrology, and air quality models on NSM clusters. The DSS component (Figures 4 & 5) facilitates the translation of scientific data into multi-stakeholder interactive actions. The DSS provides high-resolution weather, air quality, and hydrology forecasts along with the forecast of reservoir inflows, water levels, and discharge for flood management and mitigation. Thus, the DSS is integral to disaster management activities, daily operations, and science-based policy decisions.
Figure 1: Homepage of Urban Environment Science to Society (UES2S)
This multi-sectorial simulation lab and science-based decision framework is developed to address urban environment issues. This HPC-based automated model execution workflows with an interdisciplinary urban testbed has been developed to execute weather, air quality, and hydrology models for the prediction of extreme events. The system is designed to be exceptionally user-friendly, enabling researchers and students to execute the models easily. This would facilitate the seamless transition of research into operational practices. The framework offers an urban modeling system, operational processes, a data hub, and a DSS, enabling meteorology, air quality, and hydrology services for diversified user categories.
Science Gateway (Figure 2) is a digital platform customized for meteorologists, hydrologists, and air quality modelers, offering convenient access to data from specialized tools and collaboration features to enhance research and forecasting in these areas.
Figure 2: Components of Science Gateway
Workflow of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) (Figure 3) is developed in Science Gateway, a state-of-the-art mesoscale numerical weather prediction system designed for atmospheric research and operational forecasting applications.
Figure 3: WRF Workflow
A Decision Support System (DSS) (Figure 4) helps in decision-making during extreme events like heavy rainfall, floods, and heatwaves. It facilitates analyses of meteorological patterns like short-duration high-intensity rainfall, heat and cold waves, hydrological parameters such as reservoir levels and river flows, and air quality parameters like PM 2.5. For instance, during an extreme event, the DSS provided accurate forecasts and risk assessments through charts, shaded and non-shaded plots, and vector plots, assisting users in rainfall information, flood control, air quality monitoring, and climate resilient planning.
The reservoir operations module, which is a key component of the DSS, displays a time series forecast plots as shown in Figure 4. This plot includes various parameters such as upstream/downstream catchment rainfall, reservoir water level, dam discharge, and reservoir inflow for the user-selected reservoir. The user, typically a scientists or operational forecasters in weather, environmental science, or disaster management, can use this information to make informed decisions and plan accordingly.
Figure 4: Decision Support System
In one of the DSS module (Figure 5), users can select flood hotspots in the alerts section and then click on a hotspot pin for a particular location to visualize water depth relative to human height, making the representation more intuitive and engaging.
Figure 5: DSS for Flood – Water depth: 0.52 meter (pictorial view) at Pune catchment
End Users:
- India Meteorological Department (IMD)
- Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Disaster Management Department
- Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Environment Department
- Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)
- Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC)
- Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
- Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)
- Scientists / Researchers
- Research students at Post Graduate and Ph.D. level
Milestones:
- Calibrated and customized model for Indian cities
- Prepared high resolution LULC map for pilot cities
- Integrated Met-Hydro-AQ user friendly web-based Model Execution framework (WRF, WRF-Chem, AERMOD, HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, SWMM), Data hub and Decision Support System
- End-to-End automated model forecast validation tool
- Indigenously developed visualization platform
- Provided access of developed system to IMD
- Shared ward level Rainfall, Reservoir Water and urban flood, heatwave, air pollution forecast information with IMD, PMC, PCMC and WRD (Image 6 & 7)
Figure 6: Typical Daily Rainfall info upto Ward level
Figure 7: Air quality forecast information
Figure 8: Demonstration of UES2S to Project review committee lead by
Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES, Chairman, and domain experts
MoUs:
- MoU signed with Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations to share the access and use of urban Decision Support System
