A. Applied and computational mathematics
Stream Leaders: Barry Croke and Georgy Sofronov
The Applied and computational mathematics stream focuses on mathematical contributions to modelling and simulation. This includes development, application and testing of algorithms used in data analysis, model formulation (including component integration), sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification. Examples of areas of interest include inverse problems, machine learning, and industrial applications
B. Biological systems
Stream Leaders: Val Snow and Hazel Parry
Biological Systems welcomes session proposals from a wide range of modelling styles: mathematical, mechanistic process-based, agent-based, systems dynamics, and/or data science approaches as applied to biological and agricultural systems. Topics can be inclusive of models and simulation: from descriptions, to development, to applications. Past sessions have included: uncertainty and sensitivity analysis; image analysis; machine learning and artificial intelligence; advances in agent-based modelling of wildlife and pests; livestock, rangelands, pasture and cropping systems; drought resilience, terrestrial and aquatic food webs, and value chain modelling.
C. Computer science and engineering
Stream Leaders: Min Chen and Dan Ames
Methods for sharing data and computational resources, integrating models, and building simulation systems integrating various disciplines in the open web environment are rapidly changing with the continual development of new information and communications technologies (ICT) including cloud computing, edge computing, blockchain computing, high-performance computing and high-speed Internet. We encourage the submission of session proposals that provide further insights in novel and emerging computational methods and support decision making to solve comprehensive complex issues – particularly in the environmental domain – in the era of ‘big science’, with advanced ICT.
D. Economics and finance
Stream Leaders: Chia-Lin Chang, Felix Chan and Linh Ho
The Economics and finance stream welcomes proposals from a wide range of issues pertaining to Innovation and Trade, Risk Management, and Climate Modelling. The topics covered by this session include any original research and comprehensive review papers in innovation and international trade, financial risk modelling, and computational finance, and financial markets and climate modelling.
E. Energy, integrated infrastructure and urban planning
Stream Leaders: John Boland
Australia is in the midst of an energy transition. The move to Electrify Everything is underway. This revolution requires a myriad of activities in various areas. This stream focuses on multiple ways infrastructure networks, systems and services contribute to urban renewal, regional development, better liveability and enhanced productivity. Smart data analytics, resource assessment and forecasting, digital twins, real-time modelling and complex network optimisation are becoming essential instruments for planning, managing, protecting and upgrading these systems. The stream can include submissions covering forecasting of renewables, energy efficient building design, microgrid design, precinct infrastructure, and related topics.
F. Environment and ecology
Stream Leaders: Stefan Reis and Shawn Laffan
Modelling, simulation and software systems play a pivotal role in our understanding of environmental and ecological systems. Complex interactions and relationships require environmental modelling and software tools to underpin and improve decision making in policy and regulatory contexts. Advances in data science, machine learning and approaches to harness big data are key to tackle vast challenges of environmental degradation and global climate change. We encourage the submission of sessions which focus on the development of generic frameworks and integration of models across issues, scales, disciplines and stakeholders. The stream will accommodate sessions spanning a scope from advances in modelling, software and simulation, the development and use of advanced software tools, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary environmental modelling, the integration of models and software tools across issues, scales, disciplines and stakeholders, to the application of novel data science concepts in decision support.
This stream is supported and co-led by the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society (iEMSs, https://iemss.org/).
G. Global change and natural hazards
Stream Leaders: Jason Evans and Jason Sharples
In this stream we are interested in all aspects of global change and natural hazards and their interactions within the earth system. Topical streams may include modelling of natural hazards such as drought, heatwaves, hail, fires, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunamis. It also covers modelling of global change issues such as climate change, land degradation (including desertification and plant migration), and the relevance for United Nations sustainable development goals. New model developments and modelling of the phenomena, their impacts on human and natural systems, potential techniques for adaptation, and the use of remote sensing data to address these, are all of interest.
H. Health and biosecurity
Stream Leaders: Irene Hudson and Jens Froese
The Health and Biosecurity stream focuses on the latest developments, applications and challenges for health and biosecurity modelling. The Australian bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus the importance of data and systems science methods to support evidence-based decision making for population health. We encourage submission of Health session proposals that deal with (but not limited to): communicable disease, chronic disease, health services and systems, human behaviour and health, climate change and environmental exposures and health risks. Understanding and appropriately managing growing biosecurity threats to the environment, economy, culture and health requires evidence-based, risk-informed and outcomes-focused approaches. There are many opportunities for innovative use of data and models to generate evidence and knowledge for improved biosecurity decisions. We invite Biosecurity session proposals relating to all kinds of biosecurity threats (alien plants, animals and pathogens) and application domains (including, but not limited to: environmental, plant or animal health, agricultural trade, etc.).
I. Participatory decision making and modelling social systems
Stream Leaders: Oz Sahin and Kate O’Brien
This stream focuses on all aspects of the human and cultural dimensions of modelling socio-ecological systems (human-environment interactions) using participatory modelling approaches. In particular, this stream welcomes models that integrate key drivers, processes and responses that interact within, and have feedback on, the system that is being investigated. Often, these models incorporate a combination of knowledge and data from a variety of sources, including participation and collaboration of researchers from diverse domains, decision-makers and other stakeholders. Suitable content for this stream includes model development, data and knowledge management, pedagogical culture, application, case-studies, theory, practice, challenges, opportunities and insights into integration for modelling socio-ecological systems through incorporating participatory approaches.
G. Water resources
Stream Leaders: Jai Vaze and Murray Peel
The Water Resources stream focuses on research into hydrological processes and hydrological modelling tools (landscape and river system) that advance our understanding and management of surface water and groundwater at catchment, regional and continental scales over time scales from hours to decades.
We encourage submission of session proposals that deal with (but not limited to):
- water balance tools that integrate models and multiple data sources to deliver aggregated national and regional water accounts
- hydrological modelling frameworks for national and regional water assessments, including those informing environmental flows, flooding and climate change
- data-driven studies that inform our understanding of hydrological change and dynamics, both historically and under climate change
- fully coupled surface water, groundwater and river system models (with uncertainty quantification) for development of catchment and basin water management and sharing plans
- improved understanding of hydrological processes and hydrological modelling methods through model-data fusion (parameterisation, reanalyses and calibration against multiple data sources), system-wide calibration of water balance components (catchment rainfall-runoff, river routing and losses).
K. Hydroclimate
Stream Leaders: Yongqiang Zhang and Conrad Wasko
This stream focuses on the research fields between climate and hydrology. With continuous climate change in the past several decades and the foreseeable future, our understanding of the hydroclimate continues to evolve, and the complexity in forecasting, predicting, simulating, or attributing change, means many processes, and their interactions, remain not completely understood. However, new data sets, statistical tools, modelling techniques, and advances in computing are all providing us opportunities to improve the understanding of the hydroclimate. We invite session proposals from a wide variety of disciplines that analyse and model all aspects of the hydroclimate, from rainfall, to streamflow, evapotranspiration, groundwater, temperature, and their related hazards. We encourage session proposals aiming to improve our process understanding, untangle uncertainties, and attribute changes across all time and spatial scales in the hydroclimate.
L. Water quality
Stream Leaders: Andrew Western, Danlu Guo and Anna Lintern
Poor water quality has social, economic and environmental consequences, and maintaining good water quality is key to sustaining human life. While we still need to understand fundamental water quality processes, we increasingly have a need to model new and emerging water treatment systems, emerging chemicals, the impacts of climate change and land and water management on water quality, and interactions between socio-economic systems and water quality. We invite session proposals that focus on monitoring, modelling and analyses of all aspects of water quality across all environments including natural, agricultural, urban, peri-urban catchments, as well as rivers, groundwater, lakes, estuaries and other receiving waters.
M. ASOR
Stream Leaders: Simon Dunstall and Hasan Turan
The Operations Research (OR) stream seeks high-quality contributions from across the broad spectrum of OR methods, techniques and applications in academia, defence and industry. Techniques may include (but are not limited to) mixed integer-linear programming, constraint programming, metaheuristics, and modelling and simulation through to more recent approaches in matheuristics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data sciences (DS). Applications areas may include (but are not limited to) emergency management and natural hazards, defence, transport, logistics, mining, agriculture and healthcare. We encourage collaboration between academia and industry in both session proposals and paper submissions.