Modelling Change in Environmental Systems (Principles & Techniques in the Environmental Sciences S.) - Softcover

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Modelling Change in Environmental Systems addresses the concepts and principles of model construction for environmental systems, as well as the scientific achievements of environmental modelling in key areas of the natural sciences. The book evaluates the use of models in different environmental systems, assessing the limitations of environmental modelling and identifying the restrictions these limitations might place on making predictions on the effects of environmental change. New techniques and approaches which might be successfully applied to understanding environmental processes and to making predictions in the face of uncertainty are appraised. The book is divided thematically, beginning with an introduction on modelling and numerical issues. Individual environmental systems are then explored in detail, examining models for various problems in hydrological and ecological systems, followed by modelling of large–scale systems including circulation of the atmosphere and oceans. The final chapters consider data and decision support systems including climate scenario development, GIS, expert systems and natural resource accounting. The authors are internationally based, providing a comprehensive assessment, and an interdisciplinary perspective of state–of–the–art and future prospects for modelling and simulation in an illustrative, but extensive, range of environmental systems.