Session 15: Modeling Water and Aquatic Systems II

2:30 PM – 3:45 PM | Room 62 (Lower level)

Integrated Modeling of Michigan Small Harbor Sustainability

Matt Bingham
Veritas Economics
Amy Samples
Michigan Sea Grant
Don Carpenter
Lawrence Technical University

Michigan is home to more than 80 small harbors. Many of them face uncertain futures because of the recent decline in federal dredging support combined with population loss and changing economic and environmental conditions. Michigan Sea Grant co-sponsored a study to help small harbor communities understand how to better manage their economic and natural resource futures. This two-year process consisted of a comprehensive visioning (charrette) and modeling process. The resulting models incorporate the many factors that influence both the baseline demand for and value of Michigan small harbors and those envisioned in the design charrette process.

Developing Interdisciplinary Thinking Using Storyboard Art in Conjunction with Participatory Modeling

Kayla Wakulich
Washington State University

The collaborative modeling world has already made a huge impact on the academic and professional realm, however there is still a missing link to solidifying complex environmental ideas and communicating them to the public. By creating a storyboard of a current water issue before using the collaborative model, we hypothesize that the storyboard will connect the complex interactions learned to the issues happening in our everyday lives. Academics and a general audience will be able to better understand water issues on a local and global scale and enable them to further communicate such interactions to others.