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Environmental Data Inference Through Fuzzy Clustering, Stefano Marsili-Libelli, E. Giusti Jul 2008

Environmental Data Inference Through Fuzzy Clustering, Stefano Marsili-Libelli, E. Giusti

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Retrieving the relevant information from noisy environmental data is a difficult task, which requires advanced filtering techniques. This paper presents a method for extracting representative prototypes from a set of data containing daily and seasonal fluctuations. It is based on a combination of wavelet filtering and fuzzy clustering. Discriminating features are extracted with a Fuzzy Maximum Likelihood Estimates (FMLE) clustering algorithm, which was selected for its variable metric enabling the adaptation of the cluster shape and volume to the data. The results show that the discriminating power of this algorithm is considerable, as demonstrated by the application to two differing …


Clues Spatial Dss: From Farm-Scale Leaching Models To Regional Decision Support, Sandy Elliott, Graham Mcbride, Ude Shankar, Annette Semandi-Davies, John Quinn, David Wheeler, Liz Wedderburn, Bruce Small, Allan Hewitt, Robert Gibb, Roger Parfitt, Brent Clothier, Steve Green, Simon Harris, Gerald Rys Jul 2008

Clues Spatial Dss: From Farm-Scale Leaching Models To Regional Decision Support, Sandy Elliott, Graham Mcbride, Ude Shankar, Annette Semandi-Davies, John Quinn, David Wheeler, Liz Wedderburn, Bruce Small, Allan Hewitt, Robert Gibb, Roger Parfitt, Brent Clothier, Steve Green, Simon Harris, Gerald Rys

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Land-use in New Zealand poses risks to water quality in streams and lakes, yet there have previously been few tools used in New Zealand to predict the effects of land-use change at catchment to national scale. The CLUES spatial decision support system has been developed recently to assist with the assessment of land-use change on water quality, farm economics, and employment. The system incorporates a number of existing models from several research providers, ranging from models of leaching at the farm scale to national regression-based models. An early application of the model is the identification of catchments where the receiving …


Model Based Sediment Quality Management On River Basin Scale, Bernhard Westrich Jul 2008

Model Based Sediment Quality Management On River Basin Scale, Bernhard Westrich

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Contaminated sediment mobility plays an important role in river engineering and water resources management. Numerical models are powerful tools to be used for analysis, prediction and remediation issues in sediment management. Erosion stability plays a key role for contaminated sediment mobility assessment. Experimental investigations on erosion stability of undisturbed sediments reveal a large spatial variability of sediment properties. A 1-d and a 2-d numerical transport model is applied to analyse erosion and sedimentation processes of contaminated sediments in the Upper River Rhine reservoirs and in the river Elbe focussing on the effect of the near bank low flowing water zones.


Evaluating Consistency Of Biosphere Models: Software Tools For A Web-Based Service, G. A. Alexandrov, T. Matsunaga Jul 2008

Evaluating Consistency Of Biosphere Models: Software Tools For A Web-Based Service, G. A. Alexandrov, T. Matsunaga

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A biosphere model is a geographical extension of an ecosystem model, and so modelling ecosystems at global scale we are facing the same problem as at the local scale -- structural uncertainty. The structural uncertainty includes competing conceptual frameworks, lack of agreement on model structure, ambiguous definitions of system boundaries, inadequate description of significant processes. The typical approach to this problem is assessing the maturity of the underlying science through retrospection of modelling efforts. This displays either consensus building or paradigm shift. In this paper we present a general scheme and software tools for performing such analysis, discuss how this …


Multilinear Diffusion Analogy Model For Real-Time Streamflow Routing, Muthiah Perumal, Tommaso Moramarco, Bhabagrahi Sahoo, Silvia Barbetta Jul 2008

Multilinear Diffusion Analogy Model For Real-Time Streamflow Routing, Muthiah Perumal, Tommaso Moramarco, Bhabagrahi Sahoo, Silvia Barbetta

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A multilinear routing method using diffusion analogy model as a sub-model is proposed in this study. The diffusion analogy model can be considered as the next level of approximation to the full Saint-Venant equations. The applicability of the method is first tested by simulating the outflow hydrographs generated by routing the hypothetical inflow hydrographs in hypothetical channel reaches using the Saint-Venant equations and, subsequently, by studying the flood wave propagation in a 23 km reach of Tiber River in Central Italy. The results demonstrate the suitability of the diffusion analogy model as a sub-model for its use in the multilinear …


Web-System For Air Quality Assessment Of The City Area Based On The Mathematical Modeling Data, A. Titov, D. Belikov, E. Gordov, A. Starchenko Jul 2008

Web-System For Air Quality Assessment Of The City Area Based On The Mathematical Modeling Data, A. Titov, D. Belikov, E. Gordov, A. Starchenko

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The limitations of the widespread methods of air pollution level estimation allow producing quite rough air quality estimations for the areas not covered by observation stations. Application of the computational models to this purpose requires usage of the meteorological observations, atmospheric emissions of industrial enterprises, measurements of the concentration of the atmospheric pollutants as well as the numerical modelling of the gaseous substance transformation and transport processes. High accuracy of estimation and forecast of air quality for such models are achieved with the use of information on pollutant emission from sources within the city and distribution of the meteorological parameters …


Additional Torrent Control Strategies On Debris Flow Alluvial Fans With Extremely High Vulnerable Settlements, B. Mazzorana, C. Scherer, N. Marangoni Jul 2008

Additional Torrent Control Strategies On Debris Flow Alluvial Fans With Extremely High Vulnerable Settlements, B. Mazzorana, C. Scherer, N. Marangoni

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Recent extreme debris flow and hyper-concentrated flow events in the Alpine Regions have shown on the one hand the enormous destructive impact power on buildings, bridges and roads, and on the other hand, the limits of "classical" torrent control measures. Due to reliability constrained efficiency of consolidation protection measures with unsatisfactory performance in case of extreme events the sediment load volume is higher than expected due to remobilization phenomena. In many cases check dams with sediment retention or sorting function don't function properly and the openings are immediately obstructed. The results of an extended backward and forward oriented investigation clearly …


Locating A Source Of Air Pollution Using Inverse Modelling And Pre-Computed Scenarios, M. Vujadinovic, B. Rajkovic, Z. Grsic Jul 2008

Locating A Source Of Air Pollution Using Inverse Modelling And Pre-Computed Scenarios, M. Vujadinovic, B. Rajkovic, Z. Grsic

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

An extension of the transition of a possible source of air pollution, as a combination of measurements and inverse modelling, based on Bayesian statistics, has been proposed. The method consists of two steps. The first one is creating a library of possible scenarios, where each scenario includes meteorological parameters, parameters related to the emission and calculated concentrations at measurement points. Once the library is formed, we calculate marginal probability function for the parameter that we would like to estimate. In the most cases parameters under consideration would be those related to the emission its position, intensity or duration. The parameter …


Land Subsidence Induced By Groundwater Extraction: The Case Of Bologna, G. Darini, G. Modoni, M. Saroli, P. Croce Jul 2008

Land Subsidence Induced By Groundwater Extraction: The Case Of Bologna, G. Darini, G. Modoni, M. Saroli, P. Croce

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A comprehensive investigation of the subsidence induced in the area of Bologna (Italy) by groundwater extraction is presented. Initially, the geological pattern of the region is reviewed in order to identify the large scale subsoil features governing the water flow regime and the ground displacements. Several types of data, covering the different aspects of the problem are then combined into a Geographical Information System and interpolated data by means of geostatistical analyses. A detailed reconstruction of subsidence over the considered area is accomplished by processing available topographical measurements. The subsoil stratigraphy, the physical, hydraulic and the mechanical characteristics of the …


Simulating Earthquakes Effects: The Shakyground Simulation Tool, M. Cristaldi, U. Delprato, C. Lupo, S. Gresta Jul 2008

Simulating Earthquakes Effects: The Shakyground Simulation Tool, M. Cristaldi, U. Delprato, C. Lupo, S. Gresta

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper we describe SHAKYGROUND, a software tool that has been designed with the aim of providing the user a friendly environment allowing the simulation of strong ground motion by means of synthetic simulation of acceleration seismograms and the estimation of seismic load in a given area.


Evaluating The Potential Of Qualitative Reasoning (Qr) Models To Contribute To A Sustainable Catchment Management, A. Zitek, S. Muhar, S. Preis, B. Bredeweg, P. Salles, S. Schmutz Jul 2008

Evaluating The Potential Of Qualitative Reasoning (Qr) Models To Contribute To A Sustainable Catchment Management, A. Zitek, S. Muhar, S. Preis, B. Bredeweg, P. Salles, S. Schmutz

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Within the NaturNet-Redime project (NNR) Qualitative Reasoning (QR) models related to a sustainable catchment management were developed, following a general modelling framework (Bredeweg et al., 2007) and using newly developed Garp3 QR (Garp3, Bredeweg et al., 2008). Two models were developed in the River Kamp (Austria) case study (Zitek, 2006; Zitek et al., 2006): (A) Implementation of sustainable actions in a river catchment (stakeholder integration, quality of sustainability plans, development of ecological integrity and human well being, probability of catastrophic events), and (B) Hydropower production (water storage and release, water abstraction) and its effect on fish.


Automatic Generation Of Conceptual Descriptions Of Classifications In Environmental Domains, Alejandra Perez-Bonilla, Karina Gibert, Darko Vrecko Jul 2008

Automatic Generation Of Conceptual Descriptions Of Classifications In Environmental Domains, Alejandra Perez-Bonilla, Karina Gibert, Darko Vrecko

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper the Methodology of conceptual characterization by embedded conditioning CCEC, oriented to the automatic generation of conceptual descriptions of classifications that can support later decision-making in Environmental Domains is applied to the interpretation of previously identified classes characterizing situations on a Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). The particularity of the method is that it provides an interpretation of a partition previously obtained on an ill-structured domain, on the basis of a previous hierarchical clustering. The methodology uses some statistical tools (such as the multiple boxplot) together with artificial intelligent tools (as some machine learning methods), to learn the …


Participatory Approaches In Developing A Model To Assist Water Resource Management In A Catchment In The Solomon Islands, Terence Chan, B. Powell, S. Hoverman, H. Ross Jul 2008

Participatory Approaches In Developing A Model To Assist Water Resource Management In A Catchment In The Solomon Islands, Terence Chan, B. Powell, S. Hoverman, H. Ross

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper describes the practical application of a participatory approach used in developing a model for assisting water resource management in the Kongulai catchment in the Solomon Islands. In collaboration with local water resource managers, the Kongulai was selected as the study site as it provides up to 60% of the water for Honiara, the capital. Management of this resource is complex, with potentially competing uses for the water and the catchment, including drinking, domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, as well as multiple threats from contamination, changing land-use and variable hydrology. Additional system considerations come from the multifaceted socio-economic and …


Optimumwater Allocation At Basin Scale Using Meta-Modeling, M. Shourian, S. Jamshid Mousavi Jul 2008

Optimumwater Allocation At Basin Scale Using Meta-Modeling, M. Shourian, S. Jamshid Mousavi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Evolutionary optimization algorithms, in many cases, suffer from a high computational cost due to the high-fidelity simulation models performed for objective function evaluations. Meta-modeling is one of the useful approaches to overcome this problem in which a surrogate model, running of which is much faster than the exact model, is used in lieu of the simulation model. To build a meta-model it is required to use a function-approximation procedure by which the expensive simulation model is approximated. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), as meta-models, have shown different applicability in various engineering design problems. However, training ANNs needs enough input-output data (design …


Prediction Of Significant Wave Height Based On Regression Trees, A. Etemad-Shahidi, J. Mahjoobi Jul 2008

Prediction Of Significant Wave Height Based On Regression Trees, A. Etemad-Shahidi, J. Mahjoobi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

One of the most important factors in design of coastal and offshore structures is significant wave height. Thus, an accurate prediction of wave height is of great importance. In this paper, an alternative approach based on regression trees was applied for prediction of significant wave height. The data set used in this study comprises of wave and wind data gathered from deep water location in Lake Michigan, from 15 September to 10 December, 2002. In this study the data set was divided into two groups. The first one that comprises of 58 days (1392 data point) wind and wave measurement …


Qualitative Modelling Of Limiting Factors For A Salmon Life Cycle In The Context Of Sustainable River Rehabilitation, R. A. A. Noble, B. Bredeweg, P. Salles, I. G. Cowx Jul 2008

Qualitative Modelling Of Limiting Factors For A Salmon Life Cycle In The Context Of Sustainable River Rehabilitation, R. A. A. Noble, B. Bredeweg, P. Salles, I. G. Cowx

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper describes aspects of a Qualitative Reasoning (QR) model which was developed as part of the EU funded NaturNet-Redime (NNR) project (Sixth Framework Program, Project no. 004074 http://www.naturnet.org ). This project contributed to the European Union’s Strategy for Sustainable Development [European Commission 2001] in the context that the NNR project revolved around developing new technologies (of which QR is one example) for use within a general educational setting, for exploration of sustainable development issues. One of the goals of the NNR project was to improve the Garp3 QR software tool and to construct guidelines for a standardised approach to …


Spatially Distributed Identification Of Debris Flow Source Areas By Credal Networks, A. Salvetti, A. Antonucci, M. Zaffalon Jul 2008

Spatially Distributed Identification Of Debris Flow Source Areas By Credal Networks, A. Salvetti, A. Antonucci, M. Zaffalon

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Debris flows represent a very destructive natural hazard, affecting buildings, transport infrastructures, and, very often, causing human losses in mountain regions. That makes the identification of potential source areas of debris flows inside a watershed particularly important. In this paper we present a general identification procedure based on the credal network (that is an imprecise probabilistic graphical model generalizing Bayesian networks) originally introduced by Antonucci et al. [2004]. That model is significantly improved by a more refined description of the meteorological and hydrological processes contributing to the debris flow initiation. As a counterpart of such improvement, the model pays a …


Neural Networks And Co-Kriging Techniques To Forecast Ozone Concentrations In Urban Areas, C. Carnevale, G. Finzi, E. Pisoni, V. Singh, M. Volta Jul 2008

Neural Networks And Co-Kriging Techniques To Forecast Ozone Concentrations In Urban Areas, C. Carnevale, G. Finzi, E. Pisoni, V. Singh, M. Volta

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

An integrated forecasting system, consisting of Neural Network (NNs) models and co-kriging techniques, has been developed to forecast maximum eight hours ozone (max8h) concentration, two days in advance, over an urban domain including Milan area of northern Italy. Total numbers of available measurement stations falling within the domain are 23. NNs perform the forecasting at each measurement location and the co-kriging algorithm interpolates the forecasting data all over the domain. NNs have been identified for the period of 2000-2006. Leave-One-Out Cross Validation (LOOCV) has been performed to validate the results of NNs. To perform spatial interpolation of the forecasted maximum …


Multiple-Criteria Decision Making For Integrated Watershed Management In The Ramian Watershed, Golestan, Iran, Amir Sadoddin, Vahedberdi Sheikh, Raoof Mostafazade, Mohammad Ghassem Halili Jul 2008

Multiple-Criteria Decision Making For Integrated Watershed Management In The Ramian Watershed, Golestan, Iran, Amir Sadoddin, Vahedberdi Sheikh, Raoof Mostafazade, Mohammad Ghassem Halili

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This research has concentrated on the physical and socio-economic impacts of vegetation-based management scenarios targeting on flooding and soil erosion issues in the Ramian sub-watersheds. The Ramian watershed with an approximate area of 24000 ha is located in Golestan, Iran. For each sub-watershed, four biological actions (activities) and 16 management scenarios have been considered. Physical impacts have been studied using the SCS (Soil Conservation Service) hydrologic model and the EPM (Erosion Potential Method) model. Economic and social impacts have been evaluated using the cost/benefit analysis as well as the examination of the results of a social survey. Some physical, social, …


Predicting Winners And Losers: Translating Air Pollution Policy Initiatives Into Indicators Of Habitat Quality Change, E. C. Rowe, C. D. Evans, S. Smart, B. A. Emmett Jul 2008

Predicting Winners And Losers: Translating Air Pollution Policy Initiatives Into Indicators Of Habitat Quality Change, E. C. Rowe, C. D. Evans, S. Smart, B. A. Emmett

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Damage to semi-natural habitats due to air pollution has hitherto been quantified using biogeochemical indicators, but predictions of species change are necessary to relate impacts on ecosystems to the habitat quality metrics used in conservation and policy communities. Ongoing pollution by reactive nitrogen (N) is delaying the recovery of acidsensitive ecosystems from sulphur (S) pollution, and causing additional damage through eutrophication. Dynamic soil chemistry models are currently used to set national emissions thresholds for acid pollutants in a UNECE process, using simple targets based on soil pH or acid-base balance. These indicators are however poorly related to conservation targets based …


National Accounting Frameworks For Measuring Information And Knowledge Economies, David Thorns, Les Oxley Jul 2008

National Accounting Frameworks For Measuring Information And Knowledge Economies, David Thorns, Les Oxley

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The paper explores the problems and challenges posed by the growth of the information and knowledge economies for national accounting frameworks and measurements. The conventional approach has been to add to rather than reconstruct such indices. One of the consequences is the focus this leads to on “information technologies” and their prevalence and fails to fully appreciate the transformation that is required to enable “information” to be transformed into “new knowledge” and therefore create the “new economy. The paper argues for a recasting of the analysis of the new economy around an appreciation of the changing nature of physical capital …


Shared Data Model To Support Environment Sensor Network Data In Hydrologic Models, M. Kumar, C. J. Duffy Jul 2008

Shared Data Model To Support Environment Sensor Network Data In Hydrologic Models, M. Kumar, C. J. Duffy

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

With the advancement of wireless communication and miniaturization of digital electronics, long term observation of remote hydrologic systems using adaptive sensor networks at high spatio-temporal resolutions and across multiple scales, has become a reality. However, for large spatial scales embedded multi-sensor networks with fine temporal sampling rates, the amount and distribution of data generated by these networks becomes unmanageably large. While the sensor network installation itself is generally supported by basic data management software, in the hydrologic sciences there is little support available to directly incorporate the data generated into the hydrologic model. We contend that a seamless transfer of …


Bridging The Gap Between Geohydrologic Data And Distributed Hydrologic Modeling, G. Bhatt, M. Kumar, C. J. Duffy Jul 2008

Bridging The Gap Between Geohydrologic Data And Distributed Hydrologic Modeling, G. Bhatt, M. Kumar, C. J. Duffy

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper outlines and demonstrates a strategy for coupling of integrated hydrologic model and Geographic Information System (GIS) to meet pre/post processing of data and visualization. Physically based fully distributed integrated hydrologic models seek to simulate hydrologic state variables and their interactions in space and time. The process requires interaction with a range of heterogeneous data layers such as topography, soils, hydrogeology, climate, and land use. Clearly, this requires a strategy for defining topology definitions, data gathering and development. Traditionally GIS has been used for data management, analysis and visualization. Integrated use and streamlineed development of sophisticated numerical models and …


Mud-Flow And Lava-Flow Susceptibility And Hazard Mapping Through Numerical Modelling, Gis Techniques, Historical And Geoenvironmental Analyses, Giulio Iovine Jul 2008

Mud-Flow And Lava-Flow Susceptibility And Hazard Mapping Through Numerical Modelling, Gis Techniques, Historical And Geoenvironmental Analyses, Giulio Iovine

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A method for mapping mud flows and lava flows, and for evaluating related susceptibility and hazard has recently been tested at different study areas of Southern Italy (located in Campania, Calabria, and Sicily), which have repeatedly been affected by damaging events in historical time. The approach is based on numerical models, GIStechniques, geo-environmental and historical evaluations. Results have been obtained through a statistical approach by simulating a large number of events on a cluster. Employed cellular automata models have first been calibrated, either manually (by trial and error) or by means of Genetic Algorithms, and then validated against past flow …


On The Role Of Reflection And Representation In Environmental Decision Support Systems, Timothy Maciag, Daryl H. Hepting Jul 2008

On The Role Of Reflection And Representation In Environmental Decision Support Systems, Timothy Maciag, Daryl H. Hepting

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Donald Norman describes how reflection enables us to critically analyse and review details, compare and contrast situational outcomes, and aid in our general decisionmaking abilities. Furthermore, he explains how through reflection, we increase our awareness - become smarter - which inevitably enables us to conduct more satisfying decision-making analyses. In a day and age where information is abundant, the activity of reflection may prove more difficult. This is particularly the case for evaluating alternatives for health and environmentally preferable product selection. Key in supporting consumers in such regard is the design of the user interface, one where the interactions provide …


Integrated Model Platform For Sustainable Energy Planning. Colombian Case., R. Quijano, J. Domínguez Jul 2008

Integrated Model Platform For Sustainable Energy Planning. Colombian Case., R. Quijano, J. Domínguez

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Colombia has relied for long on a generous endowment of fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas) and hydropower to meet domestic energy needs and also to contribute substantially to the balance of trade in international markets. But this situation is about to change due to the announced loss of self-sufficiency in oil (forecasted by 2010-2011) unless a dramatic last minute change in proven reserves occurs. Likewise, Colombia’s hydro potential (the largest energy source for power generation in the country) is facing difficulties to add further representation within the generation mix. These difficulties include increasing environmental and social costs associated with …


Multivariate Spatio-Temporal Clustering (Mstc) As A Data Mining Tool For Environmental Applications, Forrest M. Hoffman, William W. Hargrove, Richard T. Mills, Salil Mahajan, David J. Erickson, Robert J. Oglesby Jul 2008

Multivariate Spatio-Temporal Clustering (Mstc) As A Data Mining Tool For Environmental Applications, Forrest M. Hoffman, William W. Hargrove, Richard T. Mills, Salil Mahajan, David J. Erickson, Robert J. Oglesby

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The authors have applied multivariate cluster analysis to a variety of environmental science domains, including ecological regionalization; environmental monitoring network design; analysis of satellite-, airborne-, and ground-based remote sensing, and climate model-model and model-measurement intercomparison. The clustering methodology employs a k-means statistical clustering algorithm that has been implemented in a highly scalable, parallel high performance computing (HPC) application. Because of its efficiency and use of HPC platforms, the clustering code may be applied as a data mining tool to analyze and compare very large data sets of high dimensionality, such as very long or high frequency/resolution time series measurements or …


Coupled Modelling Of Forest Fires And Floods In Multi-Risk Scenarios Under Scier System, T. Metelka, D. Caballero Jul 2008

Coupled Modelling Of Forest Fires And Floods In Multi-Risk Scenarios Under Scier System, T. Metelka, D. Caballero

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Floods and fires represent one of most devastating natural phenomena in the territory of Europe. Moreover, the combination of natural hazards is recorded in many European countries such as flood followed by land slide, fire followed by flood causing large devastation in complex environment of human lives, health, property and nature. The protection against such combination of natural events requires involvement of sophisticated approaches and advanced technology.


A New Definition Of Minimum Sustainable Flow Based On Water Quality Modelling And Fuzzy Processing, Stefano Marsili-Libelli, A. Nocita, E. Giusti, M. Saccà Jul 2008

A New Definition Of Minimum Sustainable Flow Based On Water Quality Modelling And Fuzzy Processing, Stefano Marsili-Libelli, A. Nocita, E. Giusti, M. Saccà

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Water resources in temperate and Mediterranean regions are increasingly scarce and water authorities need efficient criteria for the management of this precious commodity, guaranteeing an amount of water which ensures the preservation of aquatic life. This minimal discharge is referred to as the Minimum Sustainable Flow (MSF) and has been subject to many differing definitions in differing contexts. Gradually the purely hydraulic definition, very popular in the past, has given way to more comprehensive indicators taking into account the river ecosystem, and fish in particular, leading to very popular methods such as the IFIM (Instream Flow Incremental Methodology). The drawback …


The Growing Importance Of Open Service Platforms For The Design Of Environmental Information Systems, Thomas Usländer Jul 2008

The Growing Importance Of Open Service Platforms For The Design Of Environmental Information Systems, Thomas Usländer

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Environmental Information Systems (EIS) play a key role in our understanding of the past, current and future status of the environment. In the last 10-15 years, the design of EIS has undergone fundamental changes following both the requirements of the users and the capabilities of the underlying information technologies (IT). This paper first identifies three major trends that have determined these changes: 1) integration of several thematic domains to support interdisciplinary environmental tasks, 2) distribution of EIS to a wider spectrum of users, and 3) permanent functional enrichment with sophisticated functions such as environmental simulations or geo-processing capabilities. It then …