CONFLOW 2015: Complex network perspectives on flow systems

Topics and Goals

During the last years, complex network approaches have been demonstrated to be versatile tools for exploring the structural as well as dynamical properties of many dynamical systems. Recent successful examples include functional (correlation) network approaches to infer hidden statistical interrelationships between macroscopic regions of the human brain or the Earth’s climate system, time series networks unveiling fundamental organization principles of dynamical systems, and flow networks allowing to trace dynamically relevant structures in atmosphere, ocean or, more general, the phase space of complex systems. In this spirit, complex network approaches have proven useful for data-driven learning of dynamical processes within and between subcomponents of the Earth's climate system that are hidden to other analysis techniques.

This two-days workshop is intended to bring together experts interested in the description of flows and associated transport processes from the network point of view, and its relationship to other approaches which deal with transport and mixing and/or use network techniques. We particularly invite contributions that help understanding the dynamics of atmospheric and ocean flows by means of complex network theory, as well as novel methodological approaches from related fields that could be transferred to this domain of applications. In addition to methodological developments, we also welcome the participation of scientists concerned with the analysis of flow patterns from a more applied perspective (e.g., for studying advective transport of particles in atmosphere and ocean) in order to identify specific problems where complex network methods could provide promising tools.

Topics to be addressed during the workshop include, but are not limited to:

* Lagrangian vs. Eulerian network approaches
* Correlation networks for geophysical flows, climate and subsystems thereof
* Transfer operator approaches and network interpretation
* Interpretation of flow network properties
* Spatial and temporal discretization effects
* Advective transport of moisture, pollutants, etc.
* Network patterns, coherent structures and mixing properties of flows
* Atmospheric, oceanographic and marine biology applications
* Network properties and local vulnerability of the system
* Network approaches to studying flows in the phase space of dynamical systems
* Speading phenomena and temporal network approaches
* Knowledge transfer to other kinds of transportation problems

It is planned to collect selected contributions of this workshop in a focus issue of some leading international scientific journal.

Organizers

Reik V. Donner (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)
Jürgen Kurths (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)
Emilio Hernandez-Garcia (Institute of Cross-disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, Palma de Mallorca, Spain)
Enrico Ser-Giacomi (Institute of Cross-disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, Palma de Mallorca, Spain)

Supporting staff

Gabriele Pilz (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)
Lyubov Tupikina (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)
Catrin Ciemer (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)
Michael Lindner (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany)

Related projects

The CONFLOW 2015 workshop is kindly supported by the project LINC - Learning about Interacting Networks in Climate.