巻頭言
Introducing New Waves in Hydrometry
2021 年 1 巻 p. 2
詳細
2021 年 1 巻 p. 2
Introducing New Waves in Hydrometry
New Waves in Hydrometry (NWH) is the successor to the Japanese journal New Era of River Discharge Measurement)1), edited by the Research Group of the Japan Society of Hydrology and Water Resources (JSHWR) since 2010 and published annually in one volume. Unfortunately, after providing five treasured volumes, the journal has ceased publication.
NWH is a journal for river engineers and researchers from communities of industry, government, and academia. The goal of NWH is to share original knowledge and experiences from innovative observations on the riverine environment. Contributions to NWH will be reviewed by the editorial team of NWH. Accepted contributions will be published with J-Stage, an online journal platform for science and technology that will ensure easy and wide accessibility in the distant future for effectively sharing knowledge and experiences.
There is a plethora of high reputation journals and prestigious proceedings are currently available nowadays. Of course, these existing media are as important as ever for presenting new research and technological findings2),3). Why is a new venue needed? Compared to existing media, NWH is unique because NWH will be accepting cross-disciplinary discussions regarding surface water, while limiting its scope to the physical aspects of rivers and to methods for measurement and observation. NWH also welcomes cutting-edge research output and practical aspects related to river measurements, such as low-cost and labor-saving innovations4).
As long as sufficient discussions are provided, NWH also publishes reports of failures in conducting measurements or testing new measurement technologies. This type of published evidence is rare within the scientific literature. I believe all engineers agree with the value of widely sharing failure experiences in publications, not only in internal documents, so we are better able to reduce repeated failures and guide the technological development of measurements that are less likely to fail.
At present, research and development regarding river measurements are experiencing new waves of innovation and ambitious endeavors. Moreover, organizational frameworks for more sustainable measurement and the management of hydrological and riverine data are emerging. A typical organizational problem regarding river management relates to budget constraints and shortages of human resources that degrade the quality and quantity of river data. As such, promoting technological innovation in labor-and cost-efficient practices, advanced river observations, explaining the significance of river observations, and discussing the emergence of a new role for observations using technological innovation are necessary.
Placing NWH on a successful path entails the close cooperation of all parties involved in hydrometry. I hope that NWH will be a functional forum for researchers, engineers, and river managers involved in river measurements and observations; and helps us exchange visions, ideas, concrete instrumentation, and discoveries in rivers. Welcome aboard!
