The talk introduced Machine Learning (ML) as a tool to solve critical global water challenges. A visual demonstration using the interactive resource “
A Visual Introduction to Machine Learning” from R2D3 made key concepts like model training and inference understandable to all attendees.. It covered how ML algorithms like LSTMs and Random Forests are applied to forecast groundwater levels, Saltwater Intrusion (Model & predict saltwater movement), Management Optimization (Find optimal pumping strategy), and Data Gap Filling (Reconstruct missing data). The session highlighted that integrating data-driven ML techniques with hydrology is essential for achieving sustainable water resource management and meeting UN sustainability goals.