Publisher Description

The global environment is a complex mix of interlinked processes, about which observation can tell us a great deal. This book shows how modelling can be used to explain experimental observations, and how these observations - and data gathered - can be extrapolated to explain novel situations. It also illustrates how models are actively applied.

Floods and flash floods with hydro-meteorological and tropical cyclones are the some of the most devastating natural disasters causing massive damages to natural and man-made features. Flood hazards are a major threat to human life, properties (agricultural area, yield production, building and homes) and infrastructures (bridges, roads, railways, urban infrastructures, etc). Flood hazards susceptibility mapping (risk assessment) and modelling is an essential step for early warning systems, emergency services, prevention and mitigation of future environmental and social hazards and implementation of risk management strategies. Due to the lack of proper information, technology-based policies and strategies, mapping and modelling can often not be implemented to the best possible level. Geo-spatial techniques have enjoyed rising interest in recent decades among the earth environmental and social sciences research communities for their powerful ability to solve and understand various complex problems and develop novel approaches toward sustainable earth and human society. By linking geo-spatial computational intelligence techniques with societal and environmental-oriented problems, this book demonstrates geospatial technology approaches to data mining techniques, data analysis, modelling, risk assessment and visualization and management strategies in different aspects of flood hazards. We believe that a diverse group of academics, scientists, geographers, hydrologist, remote sensing and GIS expertise, environmentalists, meteorologists and computing experts with a common interest in geospatial sciences within the earth environmental sciences and humanistic and social sciences will find this book to be of great value.

Simulation models are increasingly used to investigate processes and solve practical problems in a wide variety of disciplines eg. climatology, ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, engineering. Environmental Modelling: A Practical Approach addresses the development, testing and application of such models, which apply across traditional boundaries, and demonstrate how interactions across these boundaries can be beneficial. Provides a general overview of methods and approaches as well as focusing on key subject areas written by leading practitioners in the field Assesses the advantages and disadvantages of different models used and provides case studies supported with data, output, tutorial exercises and links to the model and/or model applications via the book's website Covers major developments in the field, eg. the use of GIS and remote sensing techniques, and scaling issues As associated website contains colour images, as well as links to www resources

In this book the authors consider the natural environment as an integrated system. The physical, chemical and biological processes that govern the behaviour of the environmental system can thus be understood through mathematical modelling, and their evolution can be studied by means of numerical simulation. The book contains a summary of various efficient approaches in atmospheric prediction, such as numerical weather prediction and statistical forecast of climate change, as well as other successful methods in land surface modelling. The authors explore new theories and methods in environment prediction such as systems analysis and information theory. Attention is given to new achievements in remote sensing tele-metering and geographic information systems.

The book describes and discusses the numerical methods which are successfully being used for analysing ecological data, using a clear and comprehensive approach. These methods are derived from the fields of mathematical physics, parametric and nonparametric statistics, information theory, numerical taxonomy, archaeology, psychometry, sociometry, econometry and others. Compared to the first edition of Numerical Ecology, this second edition includes three new chapters, dealing with the analysis of semiquantitative data, canonical analysis and spatial analysis. New sections have been added to almost all other chapters. There are sections listing available computer programs and packages at the end of several chapters. As in the previous English and French editions, there are numerous examples from the ecological literature, and the choice of methods is facilitated by several synoptic tables.

Uncertainty in the predictions of science when applied to the environment is an issue of great current relevance in relation to the impacts of climate change, protecting against natural and man-made disasters, pollutant transport and sustainable resource management. However, it is often ignored both by scientists and decision makers, or interpreted as a conflict or disagreement between scientists. This is not necessarily the case, the scientists might well agree, but their predictions would still be uncertain and knowledge of that uncertainty might be important in decision making. Environmental Modelling: An Uncertain Future? introduces students, scientists and decision makers to: the different concepts and techniques of uncertainty estimation in environmental prediction the philosophical background to different concepts of uncertainty the constraint of uncertainties by the collection of observations and data assimilation in real-time forecasting techniques for decision making under uncertainty. This book will be relevant to environmental modellers, practitioners and decision makers in hydrology, hydraulics, ecology, meteorology and oceanography, geomorphology, geochemistry, soil science, pollutant transport and climate change. A companion website for the book can be found at www.uncertain-future.org.uk

This book provides a broad overview of essential features of subsurface environmental modelling at the science-policy interface, offering insights into the potential challenges in the field of subsurface flow and transport, as well as the corresponding computational modelling and its impact on the area of policy- and decision-making. The book is divided into two parts: Part I presents models, methods and software at the science-policy interface. Building on this, Part II illustrates the specifications using detailed case studies of subsurface environmental modelling. It also includes a systematic research overview and discusses the anthropogenic use of the subsurface, with a particular focus on energy-related technologies, such as carbon sequestration, geothermal technologies, fluid and energy storage, nuclear waste disposal, and unconventional oil and gas recovery.

This textbook presents the timeless basic physical and mathematical principles and philosophy of environmental modeling to students who need to be taught how to think in a different way than they would for more narrowly-defined engineering or physics problems. Examples come from a range of hydrologic, atmospheric, and geophysical problems.

The use of models to assess water quality is becoming increasingly important worldwide. In order to be able to develop a good model, it is necessary to have a good quantitative and ecological description of physical, chemical and biological processes in ecosystems. Such descriptions may be called ``submodels''. This book presents the most important, but not all, submodels applied in water quality modelling. Each chapter deals with a specific physical process and covers its importance, the most applicable submodels (and how to select one), parameter values and their determination, and future research needs.The book will be an excellent reference source for environmental engineers, ecological modellers and all those interested in the modelling of water quality systems.