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Author: Richard J. Huggett
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
This book explores the transformation that the human species is causing in the basic appearance and nature of the biosphere. Richard Huggett investigates the interaction between the biosphere and people using mathematical models. He outlines the basic steps in building and applying such models in the context of the human impact on climate, water cycles, biogeochemical cycles and life cycles.
Author: Richard J. Huggett
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
This book explores the transformation that the human species is causing in the basic appearance and nature of the biosphere. Richard Huggett investigates the interaction between the biosphere and people using mathematical models. He outlines the basic steps in building and applying such models in the context of the human impact on climate, water cycles, biogeochemical cycles and life cycles.
Author: Klaus Rohde
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107019613
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 431
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Book Description
Explores equilibrium and non-equilibrium in undisturbed and disturbed ecological systems, examining how human activities affect the balance/imbalance of nature.
Author: Philippe J Giabbanelli
Publisher: Mdpi AG
ISBN: 9783036528083
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 164
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Book Description
Computational models provide intelligent environmental decision support systems to understand how human decisions are shaped by, and contribute to changes in, the environment. These models provide essential tools to tackle the important issues raised by climate change, including migrations and conflicts due to resource scarcity (e.g., water resources), while accounting for the necessity of co-managing ecosystems across a population of stakeholders with diverse goals. Such socio-environmental systems are characterized by their complexity, which is reflected by an abundance of open questions. This book explores several of these open questions, based on the contributions from over 50 authors. The book starts with a review of quantitative methods to model human responses to changes in water resources availability. Water resources are then examined comprehensively from a data science lens, focusing on the creation of an ambitious interdisciplinary platform to facilitate data collection and analysis across hundreds of variables. The feasibility of using novel data sources to create detailed models of socio-environmental systems is further exemplified via a study integrating real-time sensor data into an agent-based model, thus illustrating the two growing research themes of Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities. As the development of a smart city represents only one of several possible futures, we complement this study with a scenario focused on urban shrinkage, thus illustrating the flexibility of agent-based models at representing different dynamic phenomena in the context of socio-environmental systems. To stress the importance of engaging local stakeholders in managing these systems, we also show how human factors can be included in modeling studies via mixed methods, by transforming the mental models of individuals into rules for agent-based models. While several books account for methodological developments in modeling socio-environmental systems, our book is unique in combining case studies, methodological innovations, and a holistic approach to training the next generation of modelers. One chapter covers the ontological, epistemological, and ethical issues raised at the intersection of sustainability research and social simulation. In another chapter, we show that the benefits of simulations are not limited to managing complex eco-systems, as they can also serve an educational mission in teaching essential rules and thus improve systems thinking competencies in the broader population.
Author: Peter Groffman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468464477
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164
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Book Description
Integrated regional models are conceptual and mathematical models that describe the physical environment, biological interactions, human decision-making, and human impact on the environment. Efforts are now being made to integrate regional models from the physical, biological and social sciences in order to respond to diverse environmental problems. This volume explores the latest research developments on processes operating at a variety of scales, including regions, and how scientists can combine their efforts to develop models linking biological, physical, and human systems. Data requirements for successful integrated regional models are identified and discussed. Chapters also consider methodological questions, such as whether to integrate disciplinary approaches at the beginning or the end of the modelling process, and whether integrated regional models should focus on specific regions or specific problems. The information in this volume will enable the reader to view problems such as coastal zone management, atmospheric pollution, non-point source pollution, commodity production in forested areas, and urban expansion in a broad, conceptual context. Researchers and graduate students in ecology, biology, geography and geology will benefit from this innovative approach to contemporary environmental problems.
Author: Arthur P Cracknell
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429511906
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 454
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Book Description
Climate change, a familiar term today, is far more than just global warming due to atmospheric greenhouse gases including CO2. In order to understand the nature of climate change, it is necessary to consider the whole climatic system, its complexity, and the ways in which natural and anthropogenic activities act and influence that system and the environment. Over the past 20 years since the first edition of Understanding Global Climate Change was published, not only has the availability of climate-related data and computer modelling changed, but our perceptions of it and its impact have changed as well. Using a combination of ground data, satellite data, and human impacts, this second edition discusses the state of climate research today, on a global scale, and establishes a background for future discussions on climate change. This book is an essential reference text, relevant to any and all who study climate and climate change. Features Provides a thought-provoking and original approach to the science of climate. Emphasises that there are many factors contributing to the causation of climate change. Clarifies that while anthropogenic generation of carbon dioxide is important, it is only one of several human activities contributing to climate change. Considers climate change responses needed to be undertaken by politicians and society at national and global levels. Totally revised and updated with state-of-the-art satellite data and climate models currently in operation around the globe.
Author: A.T. Riddick
Publisher: Geological Society of London
ISBN: 1862396876
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
The discipline of Integrated Environmental Modelling (IEM) has developed in order to solve complex environmental problems, for example understanding the impacts of climate change on the physical environment. IEM provides methods to fuse or link models together, this in turn requires facilities to make models discoverable and also to make the outputs of modelling easily visualized. The vision and challenges for IEM going forward are summarized by leading proponents. Several case studies describe the application of model fusion to a range of real-world problems including integrating groundwater and recharge models within the UK Environment Agency, and the development of ‘catastrophe’ models to predict better the impact of natural hazards. Communicating modelling results to end users who are often not specialist modellers is also an emerging area of research addressed within the volume. Also included are papers that highlight current developments of the technology platforms underpinning model fusion.
Author: Charles Draper William Canham
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691092898
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 500
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Book Description
Quantitative models are crucial to almost every area of ecosystem science. They provide a logical structure that guides and informs empirical observations of ecosystem processes. They play a particularly crucial role in synthesizing and integrating our understanding of the immense diversity of ecosystem structure and function. Increasingly, models are being called on to predict the effects of human actions on natural ecosystems. Despite the widespread use of models, there exists intense debate within the field over a wide range of practical and philosophical issues pertaining to quantitative modeling. This book--which grew out of a gathering of leading experts at the ninth Cary Conference--explores those issues. The book opens with an overview of the status and role of modeling in ecosystem science, including perspectives on the long-running debate over the appropriate level of complexity in models. This is followed by eight chapters that address the critical issue of evaluating ecosystem models, including methods of addressing uncertainty. Next come several case studies of the role of models in environmental policy and management. A section on the future of modeling in ecosystem science focuses on increasing the use of modeling in undergraduate education and the modeling skills of professionals within the field. The benefits and limitations of predictive (versus observational) models are also considered in detail. Written by stellar contributors, this book grants access to the state of the art and science of ecosystem modeling.
Author: Philippe Ciffroy
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783319866383
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 262
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Book Description
This volume focuses on modelling the fate of chemicals in the environment and the human body to arrive at an integrated exposure assessment. It covers five broad topics, namely: future challenges in exposure assessment; the evolution of human health and environmental risk assessment; standard documentation for exposure models; modelling different environmental components (i.e. surface waters, atmosphere, soil, groundwater, plants, aquatic organisms and mammals); and the fate of contaminants in humans. This work draws on the authors’ and editors’ extensive experience and a range of different research activities, including case studies, that have led to the development of MERLIN-Expo, a standardised software package for simulating the fate of chemicals in the main environmental systems and in the human body in an integrated manner. It will be of considerable interest to researchers and students, risk managers, and policy- and decision-makers whose work involves environmental protection and human health.
Author: Boris Worm
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069115483X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 229
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Book Description
The number of species found at a given point on the planet varies by orders of magnitude, yet large-scale gradients in biodiversity appear to follow some very general patterns. Little mechanistic theory has been formulated to explain the emergence of observed gradients of biodiversity both on land and in the oceans. Based on a comprehensive empirical synthesis of global patterns of species diversity and their drivers, A Theory of Global Biodiversity develops and applies a new theory that can predict such patterns from few underlying processes. The authors show that global patterns of biodiversity fall into four consistent categories, according to where species live: on land or in coastal, pelagic, and deep ocean habitats. The fact that most species groups, from bacteria to whales, appear to follow similar biogeographic patterns of richness within these habitats points toward some underlying structuring principles. Based on empirical analyses of environmental correlates across these habitats, the authors combine aspects of neutral, metabolic, and niche theory into one unifying framework. Applying it to model terrestrial and marine realms, the authors demonstrate that a relatively simple theory that incorporates temperature and community size as driving variables is able to explain divergent patterns of species richness at a global scale. Integrating ecological and evolutionary perspectives, A Theory of Global Biodiversity yields surprising insights into the fundamental mechanisms that shape the distribution of life on our planet.
Author: William R. Cotton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 113946180X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243
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Book Description
This 2007 edition of Human Impacts on Weather and Climate examines the scientific and political debates surrounding anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's climate and presents the most recent theories, data and modeling studies. The book discusses the concepts behind deliberate human attempts to modify the weather through cloud seeding, as well as inadvertent modification of weather and climate on the regional scale. The natural variability of weather and climate greatly complicates our ability to determine a clear cause-and-effect relationship to human activity. The authors describe the basic theories and critique them in simple and accessible terms. This fully revised edition will be a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in atmospheric and environmental science, and will also appeal to policy makers and general readers interested in how humans are affecting the global climate.
