ABSTRACT:

Allocation of existing water supplies has become critically important in recent years, as overuse, in conjunction with severe levels of drought, have placed underground aquifers in jeopardy. The imbalances in aquifer levels are especially dire in regions whose economies are heavily dependent on agriculture, as irrigation of crops accounts for more than 80% of groundwater resources.

The needs of the agricultural sector must be balanced with environmental and municipal needs for water. Public policy decisions related to resource management in general require resolution of competing objectives as best as possible, and these decisions have to be made in the context of deep uncertainty. There is not a clear idea of the availability of water, there are varying interests associated with stakeholders, and the problem itself is not well defined. These are all components of what are known as wicked problems, which are known to be resistant to solution.

Our multidisciplinary research team has been working to develop modeling and software tools to help water management agencies and their stakeholders improve the decision-making process for their regions. We have developed and used several strategies to model farming behavior, to evaluate strategies for aquifer replenishment, to incorporate stakeholder interests, and to provide a suite of options for farmers to continue with their livelihoods with limited water.

The talk will include results from our work on these fronts and information on our efforts to consolidate strategies for a more comprehensive computational framework.

BIO: Dr. Lea Jenkins is a Professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University. She graduated from North Carolina State University with a Ph.D. in mathematics. Her interests center on mathematical applications; she is particularly motivated by problems which allow her to work in an interdisciplinary environment. She is a member of a research team whose work on mathematics used to help drought-stricken farmers in California was featured in a PBS NewsHour Science Friday segment, "How Math Is Growing More Strawberries in California", and an NSF Discovery article, "Strawberries With a Thirst". Her projects include modeling and simulation for membranes used in the biopharmaceutical industry, using simulation-based modeling to help with decision-making processes, and analyzing higher-order temporal methods for nonlinear transport equations.

Dr Jenkins is currently serving as SIAM Vice-President for Education.