Integrating Geoscience into Water Resources EngineeringManoj Jha, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina A & T State University
I think that my teaching and research interest connections with the geosciences are the following:
- Role of climate variability (mainly precipitation) in determining design discharge for designing water resources infrastructures including reservoirs and storm water sewer systems; Concepts of ENSO and non-stationarity
- Sustainable water resources management for limited fresh water resources and under current variable climate and predicted changing climate
- Effect of land use, topography and soil characteristics in runoff generation processes (Curve number approach, hydrograph approach, others)
- Effect of watershed characteristics in streamflow routing in connection with flood frequency analysis for hydraulic structures
- Origination, movement and discharge of groundwater for baseflow contribution as well as for pumping fresh water resources; role of geology such as karst area, sink holes, etc.
Aside from the topics listed above, I am sure there are more which could potentially be integrated into my teaching. But this is where I need learning and expanding my horizon on what could be included and more importantly how (which methods) could be best implemented for better explanation and retention of the subject material. I hope this workshop will help me find connections in learning and expanding my thoughts on integrating geosciences into water resources engineering.
I would like to expand on erosion and sedimentation and its impact on water resources structures; for example, how design methods could be extended to include impact of sedimentation in irrigation canals, reservoirs, detention ponds, etc.
I would like to see and learn from others' experiences on integrating geoscience into engineering. I may not find exact links to water resources related topics in this workshop, but I hope to find some clues through case studies and on implementation methods. I am looking forward to gain some experience and ideas that I could use in my undergraduate teaching. Finally I would like to thank the workshop organizers for providing us with this opportunity to learn which will eventually help future professionals and workforce equipped with a better knowledge.