Hydroinformatics and the web

Abstract

Climate change and global sustainability are among the most urgent concerns facing humanity. One important aspect of this is hydrology, i.e., the scientific study of the movement, distribution and management of water. In light of the pervasiveness of Web technology and more broadly of information and communication technology (ICT), this article presents an overview of recent advances in Web data analytics for hydrology and hydroinformatics, via scientific perspectives, experiments, and tools pertaining to hydrology data and its relevance to areas such as climate change. Researchers have conducted studies on hydrological problems that are spreading globally, and the role of the Web is crucial here for providing ubiquitous access to information, enabling its efficient analysis and adequately disseminating the results via websites and apps. This aids in predictive analytics and decision support. We address the management, mining, and dissemination of hydrology data with the long-term goal of global sustainability. We survey classical and state-of-the-art works in hydroinformatics and the Web, also including recent COVID-19 related issues, and discuss notable open avenues for future research both with regard to climate change as well as the future of the Web.