KAUST hosts Earth Surfaces Processes workshop
Monday June 20, 2011
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia – King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) this week welcomes international Earth science experts to a workshop entitled "Quantitative Descriptions of Earth Surfaces Processes," organized in conjunction with the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM).
Large-scale research efforts such as those at the US National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics (NCED) and the KAUST-funded OCCAM have contributed significantly to the advancement of quantitative tools to model Earth surface processes.
Running from Monday June 20 to Wednesday June 23, the workshop will focus on quantitative descriptions of Earth surface processes. Attendees will focus on problems that involve the interactions of physical, biological, and climate systems, such as the restoration and maintenance of coastal deltas, understanding dune formation to optimize building of roads, links between Earth surface processes and climate change, and the incorporation of uncertainty into geophysical models.
"Using good computational techniques and good computational platforms is crucial to solve these environmental problems," says Georgiy Stenchikov, a coorganizer of the workshop and a Professor of Environmental Science and Applied Mathematics and Computational Science at KAUST.
"Leading experts in the field will be meeting here at KAUST, and we'll discuss the best available models and mathematical approaches to consider these processes and better predict future climate change and environmental hazards, such as sand storms, extreme precipitation, and flash floods."
Collaborative, groundbreaking research across nations and borders is an integral element to the University's mission. It is with this idea in mind that KAUST faculty and researchers are working with international institutions such as OCCAM and NCED to address major environmental problems that affect the Earth.