The final of the 2015-16 Water Institute WaterTalks lecturers is Dr. Prabhakar Clement, Harold Vince Groome Professor of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University.
Dr.
Clement's
lecture
is
titled:
Worthiness
of
complex
groundwater
models
for
decision
making
-
When
should
we
say
enough
is
enough?
Abstract
Complex
mathematical
models
are
routinely
used
by
groundwater
hydrologists
to
predict
contaminant
concentration
levels
in
polluted
aquifers.
These
predictions
are
then
used
in
risk-assessment
and
epidemiological
studies,
which
are
often
completed
either
for
resolving
a
court
case
or
for
developing
a
public-policy
solution.
Typical
groundwater
modeling
studies
utilize
a
variety
of
mathematical
models
with
complexity
levels
ranging
from
simple
analytical
solutions
to
detailed
three-dimensional
numerical
solutions
that
simulate
multi-phase,
multi-species,
reactive
transport
systems.
The
goal
of
this
discussion
is
to
explore
the
value
of
using
complex
numerical
models
to
resolve
large,
field-scale,
practical
problems
that
have
limited
data.
I
will
review
a
chlorinated
solvent
contamination
problem
that
occurred
at
a
military
site
in
Camp
Lejeune,
North
Carolina,
and
will
use
it
as
an
example
to
explore
the
limits
of
complex
numerical
modeling
exercises.
The
lessons
learned
from
the
study
will
be
used
to
reflect
upon
the
following
two
questions
related
to
model
complexity:
How
should
we
decide
how
much
is
enough?
Who
should
decide
when
enough
is
enough?
About
Dr.
Clement
T.
Prabhakar
Clement
is
currently
the
Harold
Vince
Groome
Professor
of
Environmental
Engineering
in
the
Department
of
Civil
Engineering
at
Auburn
University.
He
previously
worked
at
the
Department
of
Environmental
Engineering,
University
of
Western
Australia
for
3
years
(2000-2002),
and
at
the
Battelle
Pacific
Northwest
National
Laboratory,
Washington
for
7
years
(1994-2000).
Dr.
Clement
is
the
lead
author
of
the
widely
used
MODFLOW-family
groundwater
model
RT3D.
He
has
authored
over
85
journal
articles
with
an
H-index
of
23;
he
is
an
elected
ASCE
Fellow.
He
has
served
as
associate
editor
for
several
leading
environmental
journals
including
Water
Resources
Research,
and
has
served
on
several
National
Academy
and
NSF
panels.
For
those
unable
to
attend
the
lecture
in
person,
it
will
also
be
available
via
livestream
during
and
after
the
lecture.