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2002

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Framework Of A Regional Impacts Assessment Model And Its Application On Arid/Semi-Arid Region, Yinpeng Li, Jinjun Ji Jul 2002

Framework Of A Regional Impacts Assessment Model And Its Application On Arid/Semi-Arid Region, Yinpeng Li, Jinjun Ji

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Regional impacts assessment model is an indispensable tool for the study on environmental and economical change and the impacts on ecosystems. In this paper a regional impact assessment model AVIMia, which is an extended version of AVIM is designed. AVIMia is consists of two components: original AVIM (Atmosphere- Vegetation Interaction Model) and an impact assessment model. Over past 50 year the arid/semi-arid grassland of North China degraded severely due to the change in Climate and social economy. AVIMia is applied to assess the impacts of climatic changes and human activities on grassland in North China, based on historical data, and …


Drips – A Dss Estimating The Input Quantity Of Pesticides For German River Basins, B. Röpke, Martin Bach, Hans Georg Frede Jul 2002

Drips – A Dss Estimating The Input Quantity Of Pesticides For German River Basins, B. Röpke, Martin Bach, Hans Georg Frede

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The development of the GIS Decision Support System (DSS) – Drainage Runoff Input of Pesticides in Surface Water - based on model algorithms describing the major pathways of pesticide entry into surface waters has been initiated by the German Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA) in 2000. The tool estimates the quantity of pesticide input from non-point sources via surface runoff, tile drainage and spraydrift. Furthermore, the resulting predicted environmental concentration of pesticides in surface waters (PECsw) can be retrieved considering the mean daily inputs of substances into various types of river-basins characterized by their daily discharge. A Graphical User Interface …


Sensitivity Of The Inca Model To N Process Parameters And Hydrological Input, Katri Rankinen, A. Lepistö, Kirsti Granlund Jul 2002

Sensitivity Of The Inca Model To N Process Parameters And Hydrological Input, Katri Rankinen, A. Lepistö, Kirsti Granlund

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Integrated Nitrogen in CAtchments (INCA) model simulates nitrogen transport and processes within catchments. It was applied to the Simojoki river basin in northern Finland where major human impacts are forest management and atmospheric nitrogen deposition. In this work the main emphasis is to evaluate the sensitivity of the INCA model to hydrological input. Parameters defining vegetation nitrogen uptake and denitrification rate were also studied. A simple univariate parametric (one-at-a-time) sensitivity analysis was conducted for NO3-N leaching, NH4-N leaching and denitrification in forest cut areas. Mineral nitrogen leaching was mainly influenced by hydrologically effective rainfall (HER). The parameter that controls …


An Application Of Queuing Theory To Waterfowl Migration, Richard S. Sojda, John E. Cornely, Leigh H. Fredrickson Jul 2002

An Application Of Queuing Theory To Waterfowl Migration, Richard S. Sojda, John E. Cornely, Leigh H. Fredrickson

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

There has always been great interest in the migration of waterfowl and other birds. We have applied queuing theory to modelling waterfowl migration, beginning with a prototype system for the Rocky Mountain Population of trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) in Western North America. The queuing model can be classified as a D/BB/28 system, and we describe the input sources, service mechanism, and network configuration of queues and servers. The intrinsic nature of queuing theory is to represent the spatial and temporal characteristics of entities and how they move, are placed in queues, and are serviced. The service mechanism in our system …


Comparing Basal Area Growth Models, Consistency Of Parameters, And Accuracy Of Prediction, J. J. Colbert, Michael Schuckers, Desta Fekedulegn Jul 2002

Comparing Basal Area Growth Models, Consistency Of Parameters, And Accuracy Of Prediction, J. J. Colbert, Michael Schuckers, Desta Fekedulegn

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

We fit alternative sigmoid growth models to sample tree basal area historical data derived fromincrement cores and disks taken at breast height. We examine and compare the estimated parameters forthese models across a range of sample sites. Models are rated on consistency of parameters and on theirability to fit growth data from four sites that are located across a longitudinal gradient across the states ofDelaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio in the USA. We then examine the differences among thesemodels in their abilities to predict short-term (decade) and longer-term growth of trees. Accuracy andpotential effects of bias are discussed relative …


Plant Disease Models. Critical Issues In Development And Use, A. Susi, A. Perini, E. Olivetti Jul 2002

Plant Disease Models. Critical Issues In Development And Use, A. Susi, A. Perini, E. Olivetti

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Models which simulate the evolution of a plant disease during the season give important informationto assess the seriousness of the situation. This activity precedes the choice of an appropriate action to be implementedfor reducing the economical damage. Having effective models is a critical issue in modern agriculture,especially in Integrated Protection and Organic Farming, which rest on a set of plant disease managementpractices with low environmental impact.Considerable effort has gone in the study of models for the simulation of plant diseases evolution. Phenologymodels, population and epidemiological models have been developed for several, diffused diseases. Problemsare still open, especially when the aim …


Integrated Modelling And Decision Support Tools: A Mediterranean Example, T. Oxley, N. Winder, Brian Mcintosh, M. Mulligan, Guy Engelen Jul 2002

Integrated Modelling And Decision Support Tools: A Mediterranean Example, T. Oxley, N. Winder, Brian Mcintosh, M. Mulligan, Guy Engelen

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A great deal of new knowledge and research material has been generated from research carried out under the auspices of the EU. However, only a small amount has been made available as practical policysupport tools. In this paper we describe how EU funded research models and understanding has been integrated into an interactive Decision Support System addressing physical, economic and social aspects of land degradation in the Mediterranean. We summarise the 10 constituent models that simulate hydrology, human influences, crops, natural vegetation and climatic conditions. The models operate on very different spatial and temporal scales and utilise different modelling techniques …


Sensitivity Analysis Of Velfeem –Venice Lagoon Finite Element Ecological Model- To The Macro-Nutrient Input Regime, D. M. Canu, Cosimo Solidoro, Georg Umgiesser Jul 2002

Sensitivity Analysis Of Velfeem –Venice Lagoon Finite Element Ecological Model- To The Macro-Nutrient Input Regime, D. M. Canu, Cosimo Solidoro, Georg Umgiesser

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A sensitivity analysis of VELFEEM, the Finite Element Ecological Model for the lagoon of Venice, has been performed in order to test the responses of the model to changes in external input regimes. The model is obtained by internally coupling a hydrodynamic model, an energetic model, and an ecological model. The hydrodynamics are simulated using SHYFEM, a barotropic bi-dimensional model based on a finite element discretization of the spatial domain, which allows for a very good spatial resolution of the lagoon morphology while keeping at a low level the computational demand. Using a standard heat fluxes formulation, the energetic module …


The Control Of Algal Bloom Damages To Clam Yield In A North Adriatic Coastal Lagoon (Sacca Di Goro, Italy), F. Cellina, G. A. De Leo, M. Bartoli, P. Viaroli Jul 2002

The Control Of Algal Bloom Damages To Clam Yield In A North Adriatic Coastal Lagoon (Sacca Di Goro, Italy), F. Cellina, G. A. De Leo, M. Bartoli, P. Viaroli

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

During the last twenty years the economic activity of clams exploitation has been intensively developed in the southernmost coastal lagoon of the Italian Po river delta, Sacca di Goro. Still, clam breeding is in danger because of frequent summer algal blooms, due to Ulva rigida macroalgae. These blooms cause anoxic crises leading clams to collapse, with a consequent deep impact on the whole economic sector of clams exploitation. Several strategies have been developed to avoid the loss of commercial production, yet none of them has been assessed on a mathematical basis. In this work we develop a simple stochastic mathematical …


A Step-By Step Approach To Build-Up Land Management Scenarios Based On Multiple Viewpoints On Multi-Agent System Simulations, Michel Etienne, M. Cohen, Christophe Le Page Jul 2002

A Step-By Step Approach To Build-Up Land Management Scenarios Based On Multiple Viewpoints On Multi-Agent System Simulations, Michel Etienne, M. Cohen, Christophe Le Page

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A multi-agent system was developed to simulate strategies of natural resources management in the remarkable site of the Causse Méjan, a limestone plateau dominated by a rare pseudo-steppe endangered by pine encroachment. To stimulate the emergence of alternative long-term management strategies of the sheep farms and of the woodlands, contrasting dynamic viewpoints on land resources were designed at different space scales. In a first step, they were individually used to validate the model with each main stakeholder (foresters, farmers and the National Park of Cévennes rangers), to improve it and to propose individual scenarios of natural resources management. Once the …


Ontowedss: An Ontology-Underpinned Decision-Support System For Wastewater Management, Luigi Ceccaroni, Ulises Cortés, Miquel Sànchez-Marrè Jul 2002

Ontowedss: An Ontology-Underpinned Decision-Support System For Wastewater Management, Luigi Ceccaroni, Ulises Cortés, Miquel Sànchez-Marrè

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper characterizes part of an interdisciplinary research on arti cial intelligence techniques applied to environmental decision-support systems. The architecture's design of OntoWEDSS, a decision support system for wastewater management, is presented. This system augments classic rule-based reasoning and casebased reasoning with a domain ontology. The integration of the newly createdWaWO ontology provides a more exible management capability to OntoWEDSS. The construction of the decision support system is based on a speci c case study but the system is also of general interest, given that its ontology-underpinned architecture can be applied to any wastewater treatment plant and, at an appropriate …


Avenues Of Spatially Explicit Population Dynamics Modeling — A Par Excellence Example For Mathematical Heterogeneity In Ecological Models?, Ralf Seppelt Jul 2002

Avenues Of Spatially Explicit Population Dynamics Modeling — A Par Excellence Example For Mathematical Heterogeneity In Ecological Models?, Ralf Seppelt

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This contribution discusses different approaches to spatially explicit modeling of population dynamics of the intrusion of non-endemic species into patched habitats. Different modeling approaches such as cellular automata, partial differential equations and hybrid Petri nets are summarized. An application of a meta–population model for the Galapagos archipelago is described using a partial differential equation and a Petri net model. A detailed comparison of both models in terms of simulation results and methodology shows how different building blocks of ecological models can be. And the question is raised, how far the integration of models is at all possible and should be …


Integrating Mechanistic Modelling And Statistical Learning Theoretic-Methods: Initial Steps Toward A Strategy For Model Evaluation And Structure Selection, A. Guergachi Jul 2002

Integrating Mechanistic Modelling And Statistical Learning Theoretic-Methods: Initial Steps Toward A Strategy For Model Evaluation And Structure Selection, A. Guergachi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The traditional model validation procedure has been criticized in many areas of environmentalengineering. In this paper, it is suggested to replace it by a more reasonable procedure: “model evaluation”.A framework for model evaluation and structure selection (FMESS) is presented. Based on statisticallearning theory, this framework considers the model identification step as a learning problem. The modelevaluation process is based on one single criterion: model performance. The latter is measured by amathematical deviation between the model prediction and reality. Although it is an exact measure of modelperformance, this deviation cannot be computed, but can be related to the empirical measure that …


Integrating Structural Changes In Future Research And Modelling On The Seine River Basin, H. Kieken Jul 2002

Integrating Structural Changes In Future Research And Modelling On The Seine River Basin, H. Kieken

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

For years policy makers and researchers involved in the management of the Seine river basin haveshared a common representation of the system's structure and behaviour: Paris, in the centre, divides thewatershed into two very unequal parts, a "clean" upstream and the downstream where environmentalproblems occur due to Paris sewage. This representation resulted in both (1) a focus of the attention and theefforts of policy makers on the downstream area and (2) the structuring of scientific research on the SeineRiver in a very dissymmetric way, including the features of the models developed within the 12-year old andstill ongoing research programme dedicated …


Optimisation Of Artificial Neural Network (Ann) Model Design For Prediction Of Macroinvertebrate Communities In The Zwalm River Basin (Flanders, Belgium), A. Dedecker, Peter L. M. Goethals, W. Gabriels, N. De Pauw Jul 2002

Optimisation Of Artificial Neural Network (Ann) Model Design For Prediction Of Macroinvertebrate Communities In The Zwalm River Basin (Flanders, Belgium), A. Dedecker, Peter L. M. Goethals, W. Gabriels, N. De Pauw

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

To meet the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive, models are useful to predict communities in watercourses based on the abiotic characteristics of their aquatic environment. For that purpose back-propagation artificial neural network algorithms were used to induce predictive models on a dataset of the Zwalm river basin (Flanders, Belgium). This dataset consisted of 120 samples, collected over a two year period. Fifteen environmental variables including temperature, percentage of dissolved oxygen, water depth, stream velocity, presence/absence of hollow beds, … were measured at each site, as well as the abundance of the aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa. Different neural networks were …


Use Of Genetic Algorithms To Select Input Variables In Artificial Neural Network Models For The Prediction Of Benthic Macroinvertebrates, T. D’Heygere, Peter L. M. Goethals, N. De Pauw Jul 2002

Use Of Genetic Algorithms To Select Input Variables In Artificial Neural Network Models For The Prediction Of Benthic Macroinvertebrates, T. D’Heygere, Peter L. M. Goethals, N. De Pauw

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The first consideration in predictive ecological modelling is the selection of appropriate input variables. Numerous variables can however be involved and most of them cannot be omitted without a significant loss of information. The collection of field data on the other hand is both time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, rigorous methods are needed to detect which variables are essential and those which are not. Appropriate selection of input variables is not only important for modelling objectives as such, but also to ensure reliable decision-support in river management and policy-making. In this paper, the use of genetic algorithms is explored to automatically …


A Model For Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisationq, T. H. F. Wong, D. Fletcher, H. P. Duncan, J. R. Coleman, G. A. Jenkins Jul 2002

A Model For Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisationq, T. H. F. Wong, D. Fletcher, H. P. Duncan, J. R. Coleman, G. A. Jenkins

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Catchment urbanisation leads to increased hydraulic and pollutant loadings into receiving waterbodies. Issues concerning pollution that endangers the sustainable utilisation of water resources have focused government authorities towards integrated catchment management, where both causes and effects of pollution are addressed. Recent research has provided a platform for improving urban stormwater management. The CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH) has recently developed a Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC), which serves as a decision support system (DSS) that packages the results of many research activities undertaken at the CRCCH and other organisations into an easily used tool. MUSIC enables urban catchment …


The Facilitator - An Open Source Effort To Support Multiobjective Decision Making, P. Heilman, Greg Davis, Paul Lawrence, Jerry L. Hatfield, John Huddleston Jul 2002

The Facilitator - An Open Source Effort To Support Multiobjective Decision Making, P. Heilman, Greg Davis, Paul Lawrence, Jerry L. Hatfield, John Huddleston

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Multiobjective Decision Support technology has matured to the point where new efforts should incorporate components of existing systems, rather than build everything from scratch. To help such efforts, the Java source code to a multiobjective decision support system called “The Facilitator” has been revised and released under the Mozilla Public License. This open source effort will be of interest to three groups. First, anyone needing a tool for multiobjective decision support can use the Facilitator. Users familiar with Java can now see how actions in the Facilitator are implemented or modify the user interface. Second, the open source approach might …


Focus, Larry Burke (Editor) Jul 2002

Focus, Larry Burke (Editor)

FOCUS on Boise State

Boise state graduates ply their trades in virtually every sector of the Greater Boise work force. From the rank and file to the corporate higher-ups, alums play a vital role in keeping schools, businesses, health care, the arts and the community running smoothly. In this issue of FOCUS, we look at how their efforts help drive the local economy. Cover illustration by William Carman.


Manufacturing Defect, David G. Owen Jul 2002

Manufacturing Defect, David G. Owen

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.


Products At The Millennium: Traversing A Transverse Section, Marshall Shapo Jul 2002

Products At The Millennium: Traversing A Transverse Section, Marshall Shapo

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.


Critical Habitat Designations Under The Endangered Species Act: Giving Meaning To The Requirements For Habitat Protection, Amy Armstrong Jul 2002

Critical Habitat Designations Under The Endangered Species Act: Giving Meaning To The Requirements For Habitat Protection, Amy Armstrong

Southeastern Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.


An Introduction To The Essential Fish Habitat (Efh) Consultation Process For The South Atlantic Region, Kim Diana Connolly Jul 2002

An Introduction To The Essential Fish Habitat (Efh) Consultation Process For The South Atlantic Region, Kim Diana Connolly

Southeastern Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Should I Have Learned To Cook? Interviews With Women Lawyers Juggling Multiple Roles, Jacquelyn H. Slotkin Jul 2002

Should I Have Learned To Cook? Interviews With Women Lawyers Juggling Multiple Roles, Jacquelyn H. Slotkin

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

This 1996 empirical study explores the quality of the professional and personal lives of a selected sample of women lawyers practicing in San Diego, California. The sixteen women interviewed are successful and productive attorneys. Their stories show these women lawyer's ability to find solutions to work-family issues. They are super women, managing rewarding careers, marriage, family, and community responsibilities. Women have found workplaces that accommodate conflicting demands, and thus allow for a balanced life. They have realized contentment in their professional and personal lives, but this research suggests a persistence of role conflict, a clash between their ideals and their …


The Seduction Of Power: An Analogy Of Incest And Antebellum Slavery, Lisa Haberman Jul 2002

The Seduction Of Power: An Analogy Of Incest And Antebellum Slavery, Lisa Haberman

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

This commentary discusses incest as a civil action authorized by the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition of slavery. Slavery is the act of overcoming another person's personal power by fraud. It is a trespass on the living trust of another that usurps their inalienable right to self, or liberty. The illicit power exchange aggrandizes one at the expense of the other. The Thirteenth Amendment declared that slavery shall not exist in the United States. The Supreme Court then authorized Congress to legislate against private "discrimination that perpetuates the badges and incidents of slavery." In response, Congress enacted Title 42 Section 1983 of …


Orange & White - Summer 2002, University Of Texas At Brownsville, Texas Southmost College Jul 2002

Orange & White - Summer 2002, University Of Texas At Brownsville, Texas Southmost College

UTB/TSC Archives - Orange & White Magazine

No abstract provided.


Towards A National Putative Father Registry Database, Mary M. Beck Jul 2002

Towards A National Putative Father Registry Database, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

This Article analyzes putative father registries and proposes federal legislation to create a national database that will enhance and connect the state and local registries. Issues and events leading to the development of registries are reviewed in Part I. Putative father registry mechanics and applicable case law are analyzed in Parts II and III.


Asian Elephants As Agicultural Pests: Economics Of Control And Compensation In Sri Lanka, Ranjith Bandara, Clem Tisdell Jul 2002

Asian Elephants As Agicultural Pests: Economics Of Control And Compensation In Sri Lanka, Ranjith Bandara, Clem Tisdell

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.


Desert Ecology: An Introduction To Life In The Arid Southwest, By John Sowell, Richard C. Brusca Jul 2002

Desert Ecology: An Introduction To Life In The Arid Southwest, By John Sowell, Richard C. Brusca

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.


Books Received, Natural Resources Journal Jul 2002

Books Received, Natural Resources Journal

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.