What Are You Lookin’ At

As hydrologists, we spend a lot of time and effort conducting experiments and field measurement campaigns and then subjecting = the data to increasingly complicated analyses.= I think that this is a good time for us to stop and reconsider what = we are doing. What are we measuring? How are we analyzi= ng the data? How can we tell if we a= re making the most useful measurements and conducting the most appropriate analyses?<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Using subsurface hydrology as an example, I hope to identify some things that we are doing right (although we may not know it) and some things that we are probably doing wrong (although= we may not believe it). I also h= ope to suggest some guidelines for more efficient data collection and analysis. This will be achieved through refe= rence to impossibly simple examples. You almost certainly won’t leave this talk with increased hydrologic knowledge; but, you may come away with some new perspectives on hydrologic measurement and modeling. If nothing else, you may gain a way that you can talk about the practice of (subsurface) hydrologic science in a way that will be immediately understandable to almost anyone (person next to you on the plane, neighbors, parents, etc.).

This talk will be followed immediately by an informal = social hour at Gentle Ben’s to discuss and/or debunk all ideas presented.