Digital Commons Network^™

How Local Industries Respond To The Emission Permit Regulation: An Agent-Based Modelling Approach, Gong Manli

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Emission permitting (EP) has been widely implemented to regulate point-source wastewater emissions. However, how local industries respond to an EP intervention and to what extent an EP policy could reduce emissions is subject to great uncertainty and should be investigated. This study develops an agent-based model to examine each individual firm’s changing behaviours and the aggregated environmental and economic performance of the local economy. The Baoding Municipality, located upstream of the Baiyangdian Wetland, a core conservation area in the Xiong’ An New District, was investigated as a case study. The simulation results showed that the regional industrial economy first fell …

A Web-Based Grid Generation And Conversion Method For Open Geographic Model Integration Applications, Yuanqing He, Min Chen, Yongning Wen, Songshan Yue

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Integrated application of geo-analysis models is critical for geo-process research. Due to the continuity of the real world, the geo-analysis model cannot be applied immediately over the entire space. To date, the method of regrading space as a sequence of computing units (i.e., a grid) has been widely used in geographic study. However, the model's variances in division algorithms result in distinct grid data structures. First, researchers must install and setup the various software to generate the structure-specific grid data required by the models. This method of localized processing is inconvenient and inefficient. Second, in order to integrate the models …

A Computational Method For Combining Esm Projections, Georgii A. Alexandrov

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The outputs of Earth System Models (ESM) enable us to evaluate the scale of changes in climatic and environmental conditions all over the world under various scenarios of fossil-fuel emissions. For some regions, the model-to-model discrepancy in projected changes of the variables characterizing climatic and environmental conditions could be too large. The uncertainty associated with model-to-model discrepancy is reduced by combining model projections. The computational method developed for this purpose is based on the idea that simulated values of a climatic or environmental variable could be considered as the predictors for the observed values of this variable. A linear regression …

The Rise Scorecard—A New Tool To Incentivize Provision Of Bluegreen Infrastructure On Private Developments, Dawn Cassandra Parker, Michael Drescher

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Canada is an urban nation where both intensification and greenfield residential development often reduce green infrastructure (GI). While cities are setting ambitious climate mitigation goals, they are concurrently losing GI’s contributions towards these goals. Novel green development standards create some developer incentives to provide GI, but on the whole, as GI on private lands creates public benefits but is financed by private costs, developer GI provision is too low. Further, cities lack complete and costfeasible information on how greenhouse gas (GHG) profiles of developments evolve temporally. In this paper, we present the concept of RISE (Residential Intensification Scorecard for the …

Strategies To Improve The Groundwater Representation Of Hydrological Models, The Case Of Hype Model, Befekadu Taddesse Woldegiorgis, Helen Baulch, Martyn Clark

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Although the importance of errors introduced by inappropriate numerical schemes is well recognized in the literature, several commonly used hydrological models continue to calculate concurrent fluxes sequentially. Here, two versions of the HYPE model (HYPE and H-HYPE) with different model structures were used in two case study basins to investigate the impacts of sequential calculations on groundwater representation. Implicit Euler (IE) solutions of the continuous state-space formulation for two HYPE versions (IE-HYPE and IE-H-HYPE) were developed to help provide more robust solutions. In contrast to IE-HYPE, results show that HYPE typically simulated no interflow when soil moisture levels exceeded the …

Making Sense Of Scenario Techniques And Robustness Metrics For Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty, Cameron Mcphail, Holger Maier, Seth Westra, Leon Van Der Linden

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Decision-making under deep uncertainty often requires consideration of which scenarios and which robustness metric(s) to use. However, there are many different approaches for generating scenarios and many different robustness metrics in literature, often creating confusion and decision paralysis for the decision-makers. How can decision-makers determine which sets of scenarios to use and does it matter? Which robustness metric(s) are the best for the environmental system under consideration and does it matter which one is selected? To answer these questions and address other points of potential confusion, we introduce a guidance framework to assist with the identification of the most robust …

Using A Multimedia Modeling Approach To Simulate Eutrophication In The Pawcatuck River Estuary, Finnian S. Cashel, Christopher D. Knightes

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Pawcatuck River Estuary (PRE), composed of the Pawcatuck River and Little Narragansett Bay (CT/RI, USA), is a coastal plain estuary subject to environmental stress. Anthropogenic nutrient loading, watershed land use changes, and urbanization have contributed to eutrophication, which results in hypoxia and seagrass loss. To understand these processes, a one-dimensional, numerical, process-based model was developed to interpret and predict spatial variations in water quality, using WASP8 (Water Analysis Simulation Program, v 8.32). Our PRE WASP Model included five different sub-modules: Dynamic Wave, or DYNHYD5, was used for hydrodynamics, the heat module for water temperature, the advanced eutrophication module for …

Key Laboratory Of The Virtual Geographic Environment, Ministry Of Education Of Pr China, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, Marina Erechtchoukova, Maryum Saeed

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Classification machine learning algorithms are successfully used in hydrological predictions. Specifically, they have the potential to predict accurately and efficiently extreme hydrological events. To develop models generating reliable predictions supervised classification algorithms are “trained” based on the samples of pre-processed data which are supplied by hydrological monitoring networks. In many cases, however, data sets contain elements predominantly from some classes leaving other classes underrepresented. There are the majority of elements in hydrological data sets describing low-flow events, and relatively fewer elements correspond to high‐flow events that occasionally happen in natural waterbodies. The imbalance in class representations in training data sets …

Simulation Of Land Use Change Along The Silk Road Under The Constraint Of Sustainable Development Goals, Kai Wu, Min Cao, Min Chen, Songshan Yue

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the own needs of future generations, which requires building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and the planet. To achieve sustainable development, three interconnected key factors must be coordinated: economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. The United Nations has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calling on the entire world to work together to end poverty, safeguard the environment, and improve the lives and futures of all people. Land resources are an important aspect of natural resources since they provide the foundation for …

Inter-Model Comparison Of Simulated Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxia In Response To Reduced Nutrient Loads: Effects Of Phytoplankton And Organic Matter Parameterization, Brandon M. Jarvis, James J. Pauer, Wilson Melendez, Yongshan Wan

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Complex simulation models are a valuable tool to inform nutrient management decisions aimed at reducing hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico, yet simulated hypoxia response to reduced nutrients varies greatly between models. We compared two biogeochemical models driven by the same hydrodynamics, the Coastal Generalized Ecosystem Model (CGEM) and Gulf of Mexico Dissolved Oxygen Model (GoMDOM), to investigate how they differ in simulating hypoxia and their response to reduced nutrients. Different phytoplankton nutrient kinetics produced 2-3 times more hypoxic area and volume on the western shelf in CGEM compared to GoMDOM. Reductions in hypoxic area were greatest in the …

Resources Recovery From Wastewater Treatment Plants: Full-Scale Optimization By Using A Mathematical Model Including Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazal Gulhan, Alida Cosenza, Giorgio Mannina

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have the advantage of reducing pollutants discharged into the environment. However, WWTPs impose a burden on the environment with direct, indirect, and external indirect greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing this burden caused by WWTPs is an important step for sustainable development especially when technologies aimed to recover resources are applied. Indeed, considering the resources such as water, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, and biopolymers in the wastewater content, WWTP can be viewed as resource recovery, not a burden. Within the scope of the European Union Horizon 2020 “Achieving wider uptake of water-smart solutions — WIDER UPTAKE” project, which …

Applying Hybrid Source Apportionment Models On Fine Particulate Matters In Tehran, Iran, Maryam Zare Shahne

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is one of the most important air pollutants in the world. The chemical composition and sources contribution of this pollutant is relatively unknown in Tehran, Iran. For this purpose, daily PM2.5 samples were collected at a main residential station (Sharif University of Technology as a main Air Quality Control Company site (AQCC)) every six days for a full year, and the samples were analyzed for ions, organic carbon (including water-soluble and insoluble portions) and elemental carbon (EC) by means of TOT, GCMS, IC, SF-ICPMS. The results show organic matter (OM) and dust oxide is the most …

Interactive Visualisations Of Climate Change Using Augmented Reality, Vladimir Metelitsa, María Máñez Costa

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

There is an increasing demand for tailored visualizations to assist in informed decision-making. The scientific basis is there, with high-quality relevant models available for nearly any facet and topic within climate science. However, usage of these models requires a high degree of subject matter knowledge. Conversely, many simplified tools and reports either lose the interactivity that models offer or still require at least a working knowledge of the field. We explore the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) to provide interactive and easy-to-use interactive visualisations to non-scientists. AR could allow for a whole new class of users to participate in the …

Expanding The Boundaries Of Climate Resilient Futures: Participatory Cross-Impact Balances In The Red River Basin, Anita Lazurko

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The long-term resilience of river basins around the world – conceptualized as coupled social-ecological systems – is influenced by uncertain drivers of change, including climate change. As actors attempt to make river basins more “resilient”, questions remain about what aspects of these systems are being made more resilient, which conditions they are becoming resilient to, and who the resilience is for. Addressing such questions require more exploratory and reflexive means for anticipating and imagining the future than are currently mainstream in the water sector. In this scenario modelling study, I partnered with the Red River Basin Commission and the International …

Assessing The Impact Of Forage Availability Variation On Spatial Patterns Of Beehive Migration Using A Hybrid Modeling Approach - B-Agent, Vidushi Patel, Bryan Boruff, Eloise Biggs, Natasha Pauli

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The contribution of beekeeping towards achieving sustainable development is increasingly being recognized. Beekeeping is a landscape-scale process requiring an integrated management approach to address multiple sustainability challenges. Accessing quality forage resources is a key social-ecological interaction within a beekeeping system. The state of the forage landscape affects the decision-making by beekeepers to optimize forage locations for beehives placement and, in turn, influences the sustainability of beekeeping systems. To date, beekeeping system models have not taken into account the complex interconnectivities of beehive migration management. As a result, this study presents B-Agent, a spatially explicit hybrid agent-based model that combines multiple …

Spatiotemporal And Machine Learning-Based Time Series Assessment Of Water Quality Complaints In New York City, Giovanni Francesco Santonastaso, Jarai Sanneh, Anna Di Mauro, Salvatore Venticinque

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

New York City (NYC) residents can report their drinking water quality complaints using NYC 311, a local government-sponsored call line and online portal that New Yorkers can use to report issues and request services. There were over 12,305 taste and odor (TO) drinking water quality complaints in NYC between 2010-2019. With the baseline data availability, along with annual increases, spatiotemporal analytics and machine learning can play a crucial part in understanding this water quality complaints trend. The objectives of this research are therefore to: (1) perform spatiotemporal analysis of observed water quality complaints and identify continuous hotspots; (2) develop deep …

A Vegetation Roughness Model For Wind Flow Simulations Over Coastal Dunes, Sarah Wakes, Michael Hilton, Davis Borrie, Teresa Konlechner

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Coastal dune systems are important structures that protect people, infrastructure, and land from storm surges and inundation events likely to become more frequent and severe in the future. However, increasing populations living near the coast, expensive and sometimes short-term geoengineering solutions, resource constraints and public expectations are just some of the potential conflicting pressures that can be put on these coastal dune systems. Adding to this complexity is the interaction of wind and sand with the dune system. Current understanding of coastal dunes comes from site specific field studies and some numerical simulations. It can therefore be very difficult for …

A New Academic Impact Metric For Evaluating Geographic Simulation Models, Kai Xu, Min Chen, Albert J. Kettner, Michael C. Barton

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Geographic simulation models can be used to explore and better understand terrestrial natural landscapes altered by humans. Recent advances in geographic and environmental research, as well as in computational technology, have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of geographic simulation models. Some geographic simulation model repositories provide opportunities for users to explore and apply these models, but do not provide a general evaluation method for assessing their applicability and usefulness. Providing an evaluation method would allow potential model users to determine which model is appropriate for their project, and could function as an incentive for model developers to …

Key Laboratory Of The Virtual Geographic Environment, Ministry Of Education Of Pr China, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Nanjing Normal University, Qian Wang, Joseph H.A. Guillaume, John D. Jakeman, Barry Croke

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Key Laboratory of the Virtual Geographic Environment, Ministry of Education of PR China, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Nanjing Normal University

Remote Sensing For Monitoring Of Water Hyacinth Infestation At The Source Lakes Of The Nile, Seleshi Yalew, Marloes L. Mul, Ann Van Griensven

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The two major tributaries of the Nile, Blue Nile originating in Lake Tana (Ethiopia) and the White Nile originating in Lake Victoria (Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya). Besides serving as sources for the Nile water, these lakes play fundamental roles in contributing to socio-economic as well as water and aquatic biota resources. Both of these lakes have been severely affected by water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), an invasive plant species that modifies ecosystem functioning in aquatic environments. In this study, we take a closer look at the rate of expansion and seasonal dynamics of water hyacinth in the Lake Tana, a UNESCO biosphere …

A Dynamic Ensemble Selection Algorithm Based On Three Machine Learning Models For Retrieving Surface Soil Freeze/Thaw From Satellite Across China, Ke Zhang, Xi Li

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

As surface soil freeze/thaw (FT) cycle serves as a "switch" of land surface processes, accurate retrieval of surface FT dynamics based on satellite passive microwave remote sensing is critical for studies on climate change and dynamics of cryosphere. In this study, we aim to improve the FT retrieval accuracy by developing a new FT retrieval algorithm based on the k-Nearest Oracle Union (KNORA-UNION) dynamic ensemble selection algorithm (DESA) that can optimally integrate three machine learning models, random forests, extra trees, and extreme gradient boosting, on a grid cell scale. We applied our developed DESA retrieval algorithm to retrieve daily surface …

Exploring A Spatial Dynamic Approach And Landmark Detection For Leakage/Burst Event Characterisation In Water Distribution Networks, Sotudeh Hoseini-Ghafari, Jorge Francés-Chust, Olivier Piller, David Ayala-Cabrera

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Extracting useful information from sensors, which record water distribution network (WDN) data, is essential to improve network performance, increasing the system preparedness and resilience, advancing towards network digitalisation. Due to the large volume of data generated, analysis of pressure head requires advanced techniques to reduce dimensionality. While previous works were typically based on comparing hydraulic simulations and observed data, there is a lack of study on pattern recognition, a helpful method for event detection, localisation, and prevention. Since the number of metering devices and their operativity has a crucial role in recognition of key patterns, a spatial evaluation of system …

River Water Quality Modeling At Catchment-Scale Using Deep Feed-Forward Neural Network, Maria Grazia Zanoni, Bruno Majone, Alberto Bellin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Machine Learning (ML) is receiving growing attention in hydrology and environmental sciences as well for the flexibility these techniques offer and the capability of learning the model structure directly from the data. However, in hydrology ML has not been fully exploited yet for the inherent complexity of the investigated natural processes and limited data availability that still characterizes some areas of the hydrological sciences, such as subsurface hydrology for example. In river water quality the capability of ML in identifying relevant drivers of change has been only partially explored. In particular, studies dealing with water quality variables not showing linear …

Developing Agile Approaches To Scientific Modelling In Policy-Relevant Contexts, Gary Polhill, Rebekka Artz, Nikki Baggaley, Marie Castellazzi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Over twenty years have passed since the advent of ‘agile’ project management thinking in the software engineering domain (Beck et al. 2001). With exceptions such as Moyo et al. (2015) and Zare et al. (2020), ‘agile’ is not commonly-used in transdisciplinary modelling literature, nor routinely expected in transdisciplinary research calls. Partly, this is because there are well-established methodologies such as Companion Modelling (Étienne 2014) that adopt similar principles with different nomenclature. It is also true that, unlike more routine software development processes, the particularities and complexities of specific research questions combined with the relatively small volume of practitioners means it …

A Mixed Method Approach To Understanding Team Members' Perspectives After Receiving Problem-Solving Training And Performance Feedback, Alexander Mark Julian

Theses and Dissertations

While countless studies have collected data on the effectiveness of various problem- solving models, few have attempted to identify which components of the training process are helpful to participants. Two teacher teams consisting of seven participants were trained in an adapted version of the Team-initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) model, observed each meeting, and provided performance feedback regarding how well they had adhered to the model. A mixed method approach was used to collect quantitative data in the form of the teams' adherence to the TIPS model and qualitative data once successful adherence to the model had been shown. Researchers interviewed …

Predicting The Topographic Zonation Of Vegetation In A Salt Playa In Utah, Usa, Roger T. Koide, Jakob Garlick, Spencer Klatt, Noah Boekweg, Augustine Tambe, Katherine Jensen, Emily Weatherhead

Western North American Naturalist

Vegetation in salt playas—iconic landforms in the Great Basin of the western United States—exhibits a striking topographical zonation that has remained unexplained. In particular, a distinctive pattern is exhibited by salt-succulent species in the Amaranthaceae wherein Allenrolfea occidentalis occurs in monospecific stands at the highest topographic position in the playa, Sarcocornia utahensis occurs in monospecific stands in the middle position, and Salicornia rubra occurs in monospecific stands at the lowest topographic position. Because salt playas feature a shallow, temporary winter lake that recedes as it evaporates throughout the summer and because vegetation zones closely follow the contours of the temporary …

Later (Later.Com) – Tool To Help With Social Media Posting, Griffin Davis

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

As advertised: Later is the all-in-one social marketing platform for the top social networks. Plan, analyze, and publish your content in a few clicks — so you can save time and grow your business.

100+ Resources For Nonprofits

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Here’s a list of over 100 nonprofit resources to help organizations in their marketing, fundraising, social media and more. The list is in alphabetical order by the name of organization. Each item has the name of the organization, the online link to help them learn more about the resource, and whether the resource is FREE to nonprofits, or whether a FREE option is available.

Majority of nonprofits are small, creating an increased need to find supportive resources and tools.

Social Media Giving Statistics

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Nonprofits claim: Facebook as the most important social media for their causes, Twitter in a close second place, YouTube in third place.

Nonprofit Spotlight: Sharetix Foundation

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Mission

Sharetix creates opportunities where they don’t exist by providing free tickets for charitable organizations working directly with at-risk communities to help create access, equity, and belonging.