Environmental modeling : a practical introduction /

Barnsley offers a clear, relevant, and practical book about modeling. He begins by modeling simple yet relevant physical processes, such as wind power, solar radiation, and plant-light interactions, and progresses to increasingly more complex systems, such as population dynamics, biospheric interactions, and hydrologic networks of natural terrain. In turn, the modeling approach becomes increasingly more complicated, progressing from data visualization and processing to use of numerical and analytical solutions. Yet the author takes great pains to ensure that each step, from conceptual model to implementation, is described in great detail. Barnsley has chosen to use successively more complex natural phenomena to illustrate sequentially more complicated approaches, rather than focusing strictly on modeling itself. Each chapter is outlined at the beginning with a list of environmental topics and a list of relevant modeling techniques and methods to approach the topics. Publicly available software is used for all modeling exercises. Two appendixes explain how to use the software provided on the accompanying CD-ROM. Additional appendixes on standards, solutions to exercises, acronyms and abbreviations, and symbols provide additional information. Extensive references; excellent index. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students; faculty and researchers; professionals. N. W. Hinman University of Montana