Whither field hydrology? The need for discovery science and outrageous hydrological hypotheses

摘要: Field hydrology is on the decline. Meanwhile, need for new field-derived insight into age, origin and pathway of water in headwaters, where most runoff generated, more needed than ever. Water Resources Research (WRR) has included some influential papers field-based process understanding, particularly formative years when knowledge base was developing rapidly. Here we take advantage this 50th anniversary journal to highlight a few these important show how field scientists have posed strong sometimes outrageous hypotheses—approaches so an era largely model-only research. We chronicle decline work note that it not only quantity diminishing but its character changing too: from discovery science data collection model parameterization. While latter necessary activity, loss former major concern if are advance watershed hydrology. outline vision research seek fundamental mechanistic explanations systems work, outside regions traditional focus.