Mathematical Modeling And Control In Life And Environmental Sciences

This volume discusses the rich and interesting properties of dynamical systems that appear in ecology and environmental sciences. It provides a fascinating survey of the theory of dynamical systems in ecology and environmental science. Each chapter introduces students and scholars to the state-of-the-art in an exciting area, presents new results, and inspires future contributions to mathematical modeling in ecology and environmental sciences.

This book has a dual objective: first to introduce the reader to some of the most important and widespread environmental issues of the day; and second to illustrate the vital role played by mathematical models in investigating these issues. The subjects covered are ground water contamination, air pollution, and hazardous materials emergencies. These issues are presented in their full real-world context and are used to develop important classical mathematical themes. The emphasis throughout is on fundamental principles and concepts, not on achieving technical mastery of state-of-the-art models.

This book teaches mathematical structures and how they can be applied in environmental science. Each chapter presents story problems with an emphasis on derivation. For each of these, the discussion follows the pattern of first presenting an example of a type of structure as applied to environmental science. The definition of the structure is presented, followed by additional examples using MATLAB, and analytic methods of solving and learning from the structure.

Systems and their mathematical description play an important role in all branches of science. This book offers an introduction to mathematical modeling techniques. It is intended for undergrad students in applied natural science, in particular earth and environmental science, environmental engineering, as well as ecology, environmental chemistry, chemical engineering, agronomy, and forestry. The focus is on developing the basic methods of modeling. Students will learn how to build mathematical models of their own, but also how to analyze the properties of existing models. The book neither derives mathematical formulae, nor does it describe modeling software, instead focusing on the fundamental concepts behind mathematical models. A formulary in the appendix summarizes the necessary mathematical knowledge. To support independent learners, numerous examples and problems from various scientific disciplines are provided throughout the book. Thanks in no small part to the cartoons by Nikolas Stürchler, this introduction to the colorful world of modeling is both entertaining and rich in content

Can we coexist with the other life forms that have evolved on this planet? Are there realistic alternatives to fossil fuels that would sustainably provide for human society's energy needs and have fewer harmful effects? How do we deal with threats such as emergent diseases? Mathematical models—equations of various sorts capturing relationships between variables involved in a complex situation—are fundamental for understanding the potential consequences of choices we make. Extracting insights from the vast amounts of data we are able to collect requires analysis methods and statistical reasoning. This book on elementary topics in mathematical modeling and data analysis is intended for an undergraduate “liberal arts mathematics”-type course but with a specific focus on environmental applications. It is suitable for introductory courses with no prerequisites beyond high school mathematics. A great variety of exercises extends the discussions of the main text to new situations and/or introduces new real-world examples. Every chapter ends with a section of problems, as well as with an extended chapter project which often involves substantial computing work either in spreadsheet software or in the R statistical package.

Mathematical Models of Life Support Systems is a component of Encyclopedia of Mathematical Sciences in which is part of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme is organized into several topics which represent the main scientific areas of the theme: The first topic, Introduction to Mathematical Modeling discusses the foundations of mathematical modeling and computational experiments, which are formed to support new methodologies of scientific research. The succeeding topics are Mathematical Models in - Water Sciences; Climate; Environmental Pollution and Degradation; Energy Sciences; Food and Agricultural Sciences; Population; Immunology; Medical Sciences; and Control of Catastrophic Processes. These two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

This volume contains a cross-section of the papers presented at the International Symposium on Mathematical Modelling of Ecological, Environmental and Biological Systems held in Kanpur, India, in August 1985. The choice of topics emphasizes many aspects of ecological and environmental matters including air and water pollution, ecotoxicology, resource management, epidemiology, and population and community ecology.It is intended that this volume will focus international attention upon some problems in the ecological and environmental sciences that can be impacted by mathematical modelling and analysis.