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SITES 2019
June 3, 2019 - June 8, 2019
Summer School on Information Theory in the Earth Sciences (SITES)
Information theory provides a powerful conceptual framework for learning, model building, and prediction in the Earth sciences. It extends probability theory in certain important ways that make it particularly applicable to questions related to value and uncertainty associated with models, data, and forecasts:
- How much information does a model or hypothesis contain about the environmental systems we are interested in?
- How much information does a data set contain, and how much is redundant with respect to a specific science or forecasting question?
- What is the best way to combine information contained in local data with information encoded in general hypotheses, laws, or theories?
- How do information theory approaches complement and go beyond existing methods (e.g., Bayesian) for uncertainty analysis?
IHCantabria (Santander, Spain) jointly with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA , University of Illinois, Urbana Campaign (US), University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa (US), The Meteoceanics Interdisciplinary Centre for Complex System Science, Lisbon, (Portugal), Aachen University (Germany), University of Colorado, Denver (US), University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada), and Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA are presenting a short course on information theory in the earth sciences with a focus on hydrology. The following topics will be included:
- Fundamentals of probability theory and information theory
- Practical aspects of working with distributions and information measures
- Hydrological modeling and uncertainty
- (Eco-)hydrological modeling using process networks
- Information-based hydrological learning and prediction
- Learning interpreted as data compression
- Information physics
- Information theory applied to spatial problems
- Information-based design of observational networks
The course will include lectures, exercises, discussion and a 1-afternoon field trip showcasing the hydrological characteristics of the Cantabrian region. The course is suitable for researchers (MSc, Ph.D. students, and postdocs) and newcomers to information theory to learn about and apply concepts and methods of information theory to hydrological and earth system problems.
Organizing committee: Cristina Prieto, Uwe Ehret, Hoshin Gupta, Praveen Kumar, Grey Nearing, Allison Goodwell, Ben Ruddell, Florian Wellman, Rui Perdigao and Steven Weijs