tween two different models, but each model might have its own semantics for naming the variable. Computers do not handle this well without very specific runs, such as unified, controlled vocabulary, or clear rules for how to translate terminology between the two models."
These semantic differences can be complex, since variables in models may have slight differences in units or dimensions that, if not properly handled, can cause major problems when linking the models together, he says.
While this work applies generally across water resource modeling challenges, Goodall and his team are applying the work specifically to the challenge of modeling water and nutrient transport within watersheds. They are using the Neuse River Basin in North Carolina as a case study, running widely used models alongside their new modeling framework system in order to test and verify whether the new system reaches the same answers as well-tested models.
"The modeling framework system will then be used to go beyond the capabilities of current models by including new disciplines into the watershed modeling process, and then eventually allowing specialized groups to advance components of the overall modeling system," he says.
Goodall is conducting his research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2009 as part of NSF's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization. NSF is funding his work with $408,042 over five years.
Goodall is using the educational component of the grant to plan courses, as well as a workshop for graduate students across different water-related disciplines who "will come up with a water problem that is cross-disciplinary, and then construct a model using the new modeling system that can really test our approach," he says. "We will be talking about the integration we have to do so we can have an integrated system where each person contributes his or her own component."
In 2013, Goodall volunteered as a mentor at a local middle school, where he guided students through designing a city of the future and "specifically think about how that city would handle its storm water," he says. "We discussed the general problems caused by storm water," which is runoff caused by heavy rain storms, "falling on impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs and parking lots.
"Because this rain does not infiltrate into the soil, it can cause problems such as flooding or erosion of river beds," he adds. "We talked about the ways engineers handle storm water so that it does not cause these problems, as well as how the philosophy for handling storm water runoff has changed over the years."
While many urban storm water systems were designed in the past simply to remove rain water from a city as quickly as possible--for example, by using large concrete channels--the focus has changed in recent years. Many cities now employ new practices, such as using pervious surfaces for roads or lots, or capturing rainfall in ponds or rain gardens distributed across the city, allowing water to slowly infiltrate into the soil.
"Storm water is something that most people spend very little time thinking about and these students were no different," he says. "But as they began to think about the problem and the challenge of not only solving the problem, but doing it in a sustainable way, they were hooked. You could see their minds go as they tried to come up with solutions to the problem, and that was fun."-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Researchers studied North Carolina's Neuse River basin using an integrated modeling approach.
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University South Carolina Research Foundation