SPATIAL MODELING

Vocabulary

• Analog Models - executed physically; scaled to practical size

  • Ex. Built tsunami simulators to gauge the impact of potential tsunami waves on coastal structures and communities

  • model dam experiments

• Digital Models & Scale - operates at limited spatial resolution

  • resolution- smallest object that can be read by a sensor

  • Spatial resolution is a critical factor

    • determines

      • what is left out of the model

      • the cost of collecting data and running the model

    • it contributes the model’s accuracy

      • the degree of uncertainity about the real world created by the model

  • Temporal resolution is also important

• Modeling is better than experiementing on the real thing

  • Ex. medical students using the digital cadaver

• Digital simulations can provide a safe and controlled environment for learning complex concepts

• LandScan USA utilizes simulations

• Simulations

  • Contraflow lane reversal for evacuations + other behavior influence

• Policy Implications

  • Addition of new outlets

    • ex. urban planning

  • better deployment of traffic control resources

  • understanding the risk of a hazard

    • policy where new home owners of potential risks when buying or renting a house/ apartment/ condo

    • zoned for disaster potential

    • created by California Geological Survey

  • reduce cars used per household

• The Modeling Process - Qs in presentation slides

• Static Models and Indicators

  • represents a single point in time and typically combines multiple inputs into a single output.

    • Ex. USLE Static Model

      • Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)

        • prediction of soil erosion based on rainfall pattern, soil type, topography, crop system and management practices

      • Five inputs, one output

      • It is a spatial model

      • many inputs very spatially

• Dynamic Model Examples

  • Models of natural physical processes

    • tectonic uplift

    • migration of animals (also social…?)

• How do modes manage space?

  • Raster »cellular models

  • Vector » possibly moving & object-oriented models

• How do models manage time?

  • As discrete intervals

    • fixed in time

  • As a continuum

    • rates of change and movement

    • Ex. Flight tracks / Hurricane Tracks

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