Ekkehard Holzbecher: Environmental Modeling Using MATLAB

Abstract

Environmental systems are complex assemblies of interacting abiotic and biotic components. Physical transport, chemical reaction, and biological life processes determine their evolution and dynamics. The understanding of these processes is indispensable for a proper management of environmental systems. Mathematical models have been elaborated for all kinds of environmental systems since the middle of the last century. They describe the essential structure and dynamics of interacting environmental processes and ecosystems. In the first three decades, individual computer programs have been developed and used for simulations, see, e.g., Trapp and Matthies: Chemodynamics and Environmental Modeling, Springer 1998. Since then, technical and mathematical computing software have been more and more used for the development and implementation of environmental models. The book Environmental Modeling Using MATLAB of Ekkehard Holzbecher is a good example of this progress. The author published his first book in 1996 on modeling of dynamic processes in hydrology (in German) without using MATLAB. Then, in 2007, he published the first edition of this book on environmental modeling using MATLAB. The second edition was improved and extended with an additional chapter on finite difference methods. The book has two parts of almost equal length and a supplement with several technical paragraphs. Part I has 10 chapters and is a primer to modeling with MATLAB; Part II has 11 chapters and describes advanced modeling using MATLAB. Each chapter closes with a list of references. The book starts with a short introduction into the concepts of environmental modeling as it is presented in this book. Themodeling approach throughout the whole book is process oriented and deterministic. Other concepts, e.g., statistical or stochastic methods as well as artificial neural networks are not treated. In particular, the broad spectrum of rule-based methods such as fuzzy modeling, cellular automata, or agent-based modeling is out of the focus. Processes considered are primarily physical transport (advection, diffusion, dispersion) and (bio-)chemical reactions (sorption, degradation, kinetics). The description of processes is translated into mathematical terms of differential equations. MATLAB is a powerful tool to solve any kind of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations of 1 to 3D problems with analytical or numerical solutions. Thus, the strength of the book is its mathematical background taken from fluid dynamics and mechanical engineering and applied to environmental systems. Some elements of MATLAB are also presented since most readers are not familiar with the software. However, the aim of the book is to introduce basic concepts of environmental modeling and to enable the reader to simulate environmental systems on a computer. MATLAB is chosen because it is widely distributed among environmental engineers. Any other software, e.g., Mathematica, might just as well Bibliography Environmental Modeling Using MATLAB, Second Edition Ekkehard Holzbecher Springer ISBN: 978-3-642-22041-8 Hardcover, 410 pages 2012, 137.10 €