https://doi.org/10.22541/essoar.171829793.30234109/v1

Razavi Saman, Duffy Ashleigh, Eamen Leila, Jakeman Anthony, Jardine Timothy, Wheater Howard, Hunt Randall J., Maier Holger Robert, Abdelhamed Mohamed S., Ghoreishi Mohammad, Gupta Hoshin V., Doel Petra, Moallemi Enayat, Yassin Fuad, Strickert Graham, Nabavi Ehsan, Mai Juliane, Li Yanping, Th´eriault Julie M., Wu Wenyan, Pomeroy John W., Clark Martyn P., Ferguson Grant, Gober Patricia, Cai1 Ximing, Reed Maureen, Saltelli Andrea, Elshorbagy Amin, Sedighkia Mahdi, Terry Julie, Lindenschmidt Karl-Erich, Hannah David M., li Kailong, Asadzadeh Masoud, Harvey Natasha, Moradkhani Hamid (2024) Convergent and transdisciplinary integration: On the future of integrated modeling of human-water systems, ESS Open Archive

The notion of convergent and transdisciplinary integration, which is about braiding together different knowledge systems, is becoming the mantra of numerous initiatives aimed at tackling pressing water challenges. Yet, the transition from rhetoric to actual implementation is impeded by incongruence in semantics, methodologies, and discourse among disciplinary scientists and societal actors. This paper confronts these disciplinary barriers by advocating a synthesis of existing and missing links across the frontiers distinguishing hydrology from engineering, the social sciences and economics, Indigenous and place-based knowledge, and studies of other interconnected natural systems such as the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ecosphere. Specifically, we embrace ‘integrated modeling’, in both quantitative and qualitative senses, as a vital exploratory instrument to advance such integration, providing a means to navigate complexity and manage the uncertainty associated with understanding, diagnosing, predicting, and governing human-water systems. While there are, arguably, no bounds to the pursuit of inclusivity in representing the spectrum of natural and human processes around water resources, we advocate that integrated modeling can provide a focused approach to delineating the scope of integration, through the lens of three fundamental questions: a) What is the modeling ‘purpose’? b) What constitutes a sound ‘boundary judgment’? and c) What are the ‘critical uncertainties’ and how do they propagate through interconnected subsystems? More broadly, we call for investigating what constitutes warranted ‘systems complexity’, as opposed to unjustified ‘computational complexity’ when representing complex natural and human-natural systems, with particular attention to interdependencies and feedbacks, nonlinear dynamics and thresholds, hysteresis, time lags, and legacy effects.