UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), Gareth Old.
Abstract
This presentation discusses the national-scale hydrological and freshwater ecological monitoring efforts by UKCEH, highlighting their role in enabling science, understanding environmental changes, and informing water management and policy. It details key monitoring initiatives, including the National River Flow Archive (NRFA) for river flows, COSMOS-UK for soil moisture, and specialized programs like the UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network, Thames catchment, and Cumbrian Lakes. These programs provide critical data for flood risk assessment, drought modeling, and water quality evaluation under climate change pressures. The presentation emphasizes the need for enhanced data integration and collaborative research, spotlighting the Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure (FDRI) as a transformative platform to advance digitally enabled monitoring and multidisciplinary innovation.