Systems Analysis, Surface Waters
The group „Systems Analysis and Surface Water Modelling“ contributes in the following areas to the development and improvement of methods and models and to the analysis of environmental systems:
- Development of methods for the improvement of
models of environmental systems, to the estimation of the uncertainty of
model predictions, and to the reduction of the predictive uncertainty of
such models. The latter is achieved
by improvement of the model structure and by the analysis of experiment
layouts with respect to the expected gain of information from additional
measurements. A major research
focus is on Bayesian techniques.
- Construction of mechanistic and
phenomenological models of biogeochemical and ecological processes in
river and lake ecosystems. Use of
these models for improving our understanding of processes in these systems
and for the prediction of expected effects resulting from measures or
changing exterior influence factors.
- Development of software to support model-based data analysis with an application focus to aquatic ecosystems (AQUASIM, UNCSIM).
The group is also active in the support of people from other Eawag departments in the application of systems analytical techniques and modelling and in teaching at ETH Zurich.
Contact persons: Peter Reichert, Carlo Albert, Anne Dietzel, Renata Hari, Lukas Indermaur, Simone Langhans, Simon Rinderknecht, Jacqueline Schlosser, Nele Schuwirth.
Projects:
- Biogeochemical and ecological modelling of
lakes (Anne Dietzel).
- Mechanistic modelling of the benthic community
in rivers (Nele Schuwirth).
- Integrative modelling of the effects of river
rehabilitation measures (Peter Reichert).
- Climatic change in river water temperatures. Health of brown trout populations in relation to their habitats. (Renata Hari).
- Consideration of imprecise knowledge in decision support (Simon Rinderknecht).
- Development and implementation of methods for
the analysis of input uncertainty, model structure deficits and prediction
uncertainty of enviromental models (Peter Reichert).
- Ecological river assessment (Simone Langhans).
- Stochastic models and model-based experimental design (Carlo Albert).
- Mechanistic modelling of the fish densities in rivers (Lukas Indermaur).
- Surface water assessment (Jacqueline Schlosser).