Building an Understanding of Ecohydrologic Process through Model-Data Fusion
Presenter
Dr.
James
Knighton
Biological
and
Environmental
Engineering
Cornell
University
Abstract
Recent advances in ecohydrology have been facilitated by the parallel emergence of ecohydrological models, high resolution hydrologic datasets, and data analytic techniques. In this talk I will first examine the hypothesis of ecohydrological separation (i.e. the Two Water Worlds Hypothesis) from the perspective of physically-based models and high frequency soil water isotopic measurements along a hillslope. Our results suggest a temporal and spatial heterogeneity to ecohydrologic separation and variations in the composition of groundwater recharge. How catchments store and release water from the vadose zone has important implications for the fate and transport of surface applied agricultural nutrients. Next, I will discuss the importance of simulating species-level tree rooting structures for flood risk analysis in the Northeast US. As a relatively deep-rooting species, a loss of Eastern Hemlock could have a substantial impact on flooding frequency. I will demonstrate how plant xylem isotopic measurements are carried forward into a modeling framework to develop ecologically-informed climate projections. I will discuss how we can better integrate hydrologic models to explain climate-driven uncertainties in a manner that is clear to non-subject matter experts.