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Show PART VIII TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS Development of the electronic digital computer together with automated methods of assembling and recalling data have made possible extensive manipulation of data and examination of postulated inter- relations. These advances have in turn aided in the development of synthetic hydrology, or the modeling of hydrologic systems, wherein simulated records of hydrologic variables can be produced that include known and assumed statistical characteristics of the parent population, thus providing a hypothetical scheme of future behavior that can aid in planning. It is likely that the relative magnitude of unexplained variability remaining in the simulated regimens will decrease, as length of record, refinement and verification (or rejection) of postu- lated relations, and improved techniques of analysis provide a wider base of knowledge for the processes of synthetic hydrology. The geometry and chemistry of the ground-water system, both as reservoir and as conduit, are extremely complex. The next several decades will undoubtedly see great efforts to define aquifer properties, and both measurements and models of these characteristics will be employed. Almost certainly, improvements in instrumentation and communication, together with the increasing pressure for optimum water use and for protection from floods and from pollution, will bring about an increase in the demand for "real-time" data. Water manage- ment that makes efficient use of such data must rely upon programmed analyses of the hydrologic system to rapidly assess the time, place, and nature of input. It must compare the merits of competitive current needs and evaluate the effect upon the resource itself (including changes in chemical and physical quality as water passes through the various surface and underground components of the system, and changes in location determined by the varied needs of the system). Within the context of these variables, it must evaluate the probabili- ties of variations that may occur within the input-use-output system. Such management decisions will require an extensive net of sensing devices, registering at some remote central point almost instantaneously; knowledge of the probabilities associated with short-term variations in regional climate and in subregional water needs; knowledge of the effects of each potential use upon the water resource itself, and the capability for rapid comparison of these variables with a pre-selected set of operating rules. These requirements can be met within our pre- sent technological competence, but at great expense. The cost of managing a hydrologic system in such a manner may be much less in the future (at least, in proportion to the benefits that can be realized) as the use of the components becomes more general. Automation will continue to reduce the time required for processing all data. Recently, such devices as digital recorders (in the field) and translators (to introduce the field data into computer storage) have come into wide use. The equipment itself and the methods of data processing are still in their infancy; as maturity approaches, probably in the near future, their promise of great speed and accuracy will be fulfilled. 34 |