IMPRS-gBGC course 'Modeling & Numerical Techniques' 2018

Category: Skill course
Credit points: 0.2 per day

1. General information

Date: November 1-7, 2018
Place: B0.002, MPI for Biogeochemistry, Jena
The skill course will have a modular structure to satisfy both the need for an introduction into modeling in general and into specific areas of application.

2. Preliminary agenda

Legend
L = lecture, P = practical

Day	Slot	Type	Content	Who
Thu, Nov 1			Mathematical concepts	Carlos Sierra
	09:00 - 12:00	L	- Functions, limits, derivatives, integrals - Systems of equations and linear algebra - Differential equations
	13:00 - 16:00	P	- Functions in R, splines and numerical integration - Solving systems of equations in R - Symbolic mathematics in SymPy - Solving differential equations in R
Fri, Nov 2			Basics of ecological modeling	Carlos Sierra
	09:00 - 12:00	L	- Model formulation: concepts and model equations - Ecological interactions and coupled equations - Stability and steady-state
	13:00 - 16:00	P	- Numerical solution of models - Model-data integration
Mon, Nov 5			Foundations	Axel Kleidon
	09:00 - 12:15	L/P	Introduction to Earth system modeling - Motivation: why modelling? - Model definition, principles, implementation - Physical basics: state variables, conservation laws, boundary conditions, formulation of fluxes, approximations
	13:45 - 17:00	L/P	Basic differential equations - Reservoir equation: background, numerical implementation, application - Diffusion equation: background, numerical implementation, application
Tue, Nov 6			Energy balance and Land surface	Axel Kleidon
	09:00 - 12:15	L/P	Global energy balance modelling - General circulation models (GCM) - Energy balance models
	13:45 - 17:00	L/P	Land-atmosphere interactions - Surface energy balance models - Boundary layer dynamics
Wed, Nov 7			Water balance and Complex systems concepts	Axel Kleidon
	09:00 - 12:15	L+P	Water balance modelling - Catchment hydrology - Soil hydrology models
	13:45 - 17:00	L+P	Complex systems concepts - Theoretical concepts: sensitivity, feedbacks, multiple steady states, tipping points - Examples and applications

3. What you need to prepare

There are no pre-knowledge needed to participate in the module on basic modeling.

Bring a laptop and make sure that a recent version of R is running on your laptop.
You can download the most recent version here: http://www.r-project.org/
RStudio is a new open-source integrated development environment that runs on all platforms. It nicely combines console, script editor, working directory, plots etc. into a an uncluttered layout that you can easily navigate. You need to have R installed before you can use RStudio as a development environment.

4. Feedback

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