W3 Seminar: Water, wetlands, and watersheds… but simpler

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Speaker: James Jawitz, Ph.D., Professor, Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences Department, University of Florida

This presentation will explain how important questions related to water, wetlands, and watersheds can be addressed using simpler methods than conventional wisdom suggests. I will explain the concept of ‘reduced complexity’ models and their potential advantages. The main take home messages will be to reconcile the intersection of model complexity with a hierarchy of scientific disciplines. These ideas will be illustrated with a series of example applications related to water, wetlands, and watersheds, including 1) a global model of water availability, 2) water quality archetypes, 3) fractal wetlands, 4) fractal watersheds, and 5) continental-scale stream ecological status.