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Systems Framework
Our research will be performed within a Systems Framework, where complex subsurface systems hypotheses will be tested through consideration of the nature and interaction of key components. This approach is analogous to the systems biology concept, which focuses on the systematic study of components within a biological system and their complex interactions that govern overall system behavior. The main objective of the Systems Framework is to mechanistically connect fundamental hydrobiogeochemical processes and their macroscopic manifestations as needed to discover overall system behavoir and new emergent properties. The Systems Framework formalizes the hypothesis testing concepts that are the cornerstone of the scientific endeavor. Within the Systems Framework, the SFA takes an integrative rather than reductionist perspective to study complex subsurface process interactions.
The Framework requires that an initial conceptual or numerical model be developed that identifies, through a suite of hypotheses, the key components, their interactions, and their contribution to the overall behavior of the system under consideration. Development of the intial model is critical, because it lays the foundation for subsequent inductive inference. Characterization is performed to gain enough insight about the system components so that experiments can be designed to test the hypotheses. After analysis and synthesis of the experimental results, the hypotheses are reassessed. The processes is repeated until the model is verified, at which time the insights can be used to guide sustainable environmental stewardship.