Students can explain approaches to model environmental systems in different water-related disciplines. Based on this, they are able to explain common approaches and methods of environmental system modeling, and to name and evaluate the respective advantages, disadvantages, ranges of applicability and inherent limitations.
Students can explain universal challenges of modeling and are able to select adequate model concepts for given water-related tasks.

This lecture series comprises individual lectures on environmental systems modeling from a broad range of water-related disciplines (e. g. flood forecasting, contaminant transport, fluid-particle interaction, water quality, or hydraulic design).
The commonalities and differences of the modeling approaches are discussed with respect to their conceptual approach, mathematical formulation and numerical scheme. Spatial and temporal scales as well as discretization of the various models are compared and discussed.
Based on this broad range of examples, universal challenges of modeling are illustrated: Intrinsic uncertainties, adequate selection of numerical schemes, calibration and validation, adequate model choice.