An Introduction to Model-Based Systems Engineering and Hetero-functional Graph Theory for Hydrological Systems

Abstract

This introductory overview introduces a unified modeling framework for representing interconnected environmental systems using Model-Based Systems Engineering and Hetero-functional Graph Theory. Existing environmental models encode rich structural and process-level information, yet much of this knowledge remains implicit within domain-specific formulations. This paper demonstrates how such information can be formalized into a consistent ontology that explicitly represents system structure, function, and interconnections. Using illustrative hydrological examples, the tutorial illustrates how conventional process models can be translated into a scalable system-of-systems representation. These examples highlight how embedded relationships in existing models can be made explicit and computationally tractable. While using simplified examples, the overview provides a foundation for integrating heterogeneous models across environmental and engineered domains. More broadly, this work offers a step-by-step introduction to a generalizable modeling framework for complex systems.