Summary
Contents
Subject index
This unique addition to reference literature provides an introduction to the major concepts and contemporary issues that are essential for students of environmental science and environmental studies to know. With over 200 entries authored by world-class names like Anthony Brazel, John Day and Edward Keller, this text is divided into six sections: Environmental Science, Environments, Paradigms & Concepts, Processes & Dynamics, Scales & Techniques, and Environmental Issues.
Modelling
Modelling
A model is any abstraction or simplification of a system. A model of an ecosystem is simpler than a real ecosystem just as a model of a car is simpler than a real car. Models are widely used in many aspects of society from regulating industrial production processes to predicting future global climate change. Modelling is done to aid the conceptualization and measurement of complex systems and to predict the consequences of an action that would be expensive, difficult, or impossible to do in the real world. This entry specifically deals with ecological and environmental models. Two general types of models exist; analytic and simulation models. The analytic approach refers to a mathematical set of procedures for finding exact solutions to differential and other ...
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