Physical and cultural flows of Lake Como, Italy: Cross-current studies in Limnology and Anthropology Sarah Laborde D.I. (M.Eng.) Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Géologie, France This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The University of Western Australia, with joint enrolment in: Water Research Engineering Social and Cultural Studies Centre for Water Research Discipline of Anthropology June 2012 ii A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature Henry David Thoreau iii iv Abstract What do anthropology and limnology have in common, and in what ways might the social, natural and engineering sciences contribute to knowledge about the environment of which humans are an intrinsic part? With Italy’s Lake Como at its centre, this thesis explores the multiple ways a single environment can be known within and across disciplinary fields, and social groups. The emergence and application of environmental knowledge across scientific and social domains is thus examined, building on recent developments in physical limnology and contemporary theories in anthropology. Four original journal articles constitute the bulk of the thesis. Two of these are grounded in the fields of physical limnology and anthropology respectively, while two canvass both fields of inquiry. The articles are linked by a dialectical process across the disciplines, which emerged as a result of a mixed methods approach. Integrated foci include numerical analyses and modelling of the Lake’s hydrodynamics, ethnographic work among the Lake’s drift-net fishers, comparative analysis of scientific and local practices of lake knowledge, and the governance implications of disconnected technical and local understandings of the Lake. Each article makes a contribution to knowledge within its own discipline, and also constitutes data for a trans-disciplinary emphasis via a range of epistemological concerns related to environmental knowledge. Conclusions include that there is ample room to expand the intellectual and practical application of a trans-disciplinary approach to support sustainable environments and communities. In particular, I argue that the integration of scientific and local knowledge can be pivotal in research focused on geophysical environments, yet it is a under-used heuristic tool. This thesis shows how examining the emergence of diverse bodies of knowledge and their relationship to places, both in the case of scientific and local practices, supports the engagement of integrated, trans-disciplinary emphases, practice and knowledge about the environment. v vi Contents ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... V CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. XI LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. XV LIST OF EQUATIONS .......................................................................................................................... XV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... XVII PREFACE AND CANDIDATE STATEMENT ................................................................................. XXI CHAPTER 1 THESIS PROBLEM AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT ........................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTORY EMPHASIS ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 THE THESIS PROBLEM ..................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 DEFINITIONS AND THEORIES: UNTANGLING WORDS AND PRACTICES .............................................. 6 1.3.1 On the environment and knowledge ....................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 Scientific, local, traditional, indigenous knowledges ............................................................. 8 1.4 OVERVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL PAPERS (CHAPTERS 3 TO 6) ............................................................ 10 1.4.1 Paper 1: CHAPTER 3 .......................................................................................................... 10 1.4.2 Paper 2: CHAPTER 4 .......................................................................................................... 12 1.4.3 Paper 3: CHAPTER 5 .......................................................................................................... 15 1.4.4 Paper 4: CHAPTER 6 .......................................................................................................... 17 1.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS ............................................................................................................... 19 1.6 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGIES, LITERATURE CONTEXT, AND INTRODUCTION TO THE LAKE ........................................................................................................................................ 23 2.1 GENERAL APPROACH .................................................................................................................... 23 2.2 TERMINOLOGY: MANGLE OF PREFIXES.......................................................................................... 24 2.3 LAKE COMO AS A WATER BODY ................................................................................................... 28 2.3.1 The Lake ............................................................................................................................... 29 2.3.2 Data collection and analysis (relevant to Chapters 3, 4 and 5) ........................................... 31 2.3.3 Hydrodynamic modelling ..................................................................................................... 32 2.4 LAKE COMO AS A WATERSCAPE ................................................................................................... 34 2.4.1 The Lake ............................................................................................................................... 34 vii 2.4.2 Questionnaire, textual analysis (Chapter 4) ......................................................................... 37 2.4.3 Being there (Chapters 5 and 6): the Lake as a fishing – and ethnographic – taskscape ...... 38 2.5 REFLEXIVITY ................................................................................................................................ 40 2.5.1 Reflexive limnology .............................................................................................................. 40 2.5.2 Elements of reflexive ethnography ....................................................................................... 41 2.5.3 Translation: several voices in one ........................................................................................ 43 2.6 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 45 CHAPTER 3 INFLOW INTRUSIONS AT MULTIPLE SCALES IN A LARGE TEMPERATE LAKE ........................................................................................................................................ 49 3.1 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 49 3.2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 49 3.3 METHODS...................................................................................................................................... 52 3.3.1 Field data ............................................................................................................................. 52 3.3.2 Scaling analysis .................................................................................................................... 53 3.3.3 Numerical model .................................................................................................................. 55 3.4 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 56 3.4.1 Field data ............................................................................................................................. 56 3.4.1.1 Inflow regimes and fate of small inflows ...................................................................................... 56 3.4.1.2 Fate of large alpine inflows: interplay with upwelling and unsteadiness ...................................... 58 3.4.1.3 Effect of the Earth rotation: deflection and instabilities ............................................................... 63 3.5 NUMERICAL MODELLING .............................................................................................................. 64 3.5.1 Validation ............................................................................................................................