The HOBE research center is a Danish initiative bringing together 7 multidisciplinary research groups in order to enhance the scientific understanding of large-scale hydrological processes. A hydrological observatory is being established in the Skjern river catchment in Denmark and is bringing into play integrated monitoring, time-lapse measurements, experiments and modeling at a hierarchy of nested temporal and spatial scales within the 1500 km2 catchment region.

In addition to investigating the land surface and the atmosphere exchange processes, the HOBE-scientists are paying particular attention to expanding the knowledge of recharge and groundwater dynamics and how groundwater interacts with surface- and sea water.

The center will educate 12 PhD students and 8 Postdocs. Two of the 12 PhD students have already finished and 3 additional PhD students are in the pipeline. This amounts to a total of 15 PhD students.

There has been a close collaboration with the International Research School of Water Resources (FIVA) in the PhD education programme. However, the flow of funding to FIVA has ceased but HOBE (Phase 2, 2012-2017) will take over FIVA's PhD course activities. A number of MSc thesis projects have already been connected with HOBE and more are expected in the future. Information will be exchanged and collaborated with similar initiatives in the US and in the EU.

The scientific results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. Results will be communicated to a wider audience through publications in popular scientific journals and magazines and by presentations at meetings for professionals in water authorities, consulting firms, industry, and other organizations.