This proposal is to support graduate students from the regional universities. Students will actively participate in the symposium, via presentations, posters, and open discussion with a goal of expanding communication and modeling skills for these neophyte modelers and the science and non-science community that will eventually use their models.
The Chesapeake Community Modeling Program (CCMP) seeks to improve modeling tools and related resources specific to the Chesapeake Bay, its watershed, and connected environmental systems by fostering collaborative open source research. Toward this end, the CCMP is convening a modeling symposium as a venue to identify and showcase existing modeling efforts as well as promote information exchange and open modeling. An important objective of the Chesapeake Modeling Symposium series is to engage student modelers and encourage their participation. At the 2010 Symposium, 14 students participated with more than half of them submitting abstracts for oral presentations and posters. For the 2012 symposium, 21 students attended and 2 of them presented. This project will continue to include integrate students participation.
Environmental models are increasingly taking on higher profile roles in the management process. Numerical models have been used extensively to guide management efforts in Chesapeake Bay. These models include simulations of the airshed, watershed, and estuary and have included living resource components such as submerged aquatic vegetation and fish. Although these models are some of the most advanced in the world, many challenges remain. These include the need for higher spatial resolution and better mechanistic representations of physical, biological, and chemical processes in the airshed, watershed, and estuary. More flexible approaches are also needed for representing management impacts on living resources and particularly higher trophic levels. Linking these models to human impacts and socio-economic systems is another challenge that has not yet been addressed. More flexible (modular) approaches could also facilitate the use of multiple models. However, the development of increasingly complex end-to-end models that are difficult to validate, understand, and diagnose also points to the need to develop alternative simplified empirical and mechanistic models for specific management applications.
By bringing together modelers, managers, scientists, and stakeholders for a series of plenary talks, panel discussions, and special sessions, the 2014 Chesapeake Modeling Symposium will highlight recent progress, challenges, and prospects for the next generation of Chesapeake Bay research and management models.