MATHEMATICS & THE ENVIRONMENT

We see a diversity of waves in our everyday experience.

Electromagnetic waves carry television and radio to our homes,
ultrasound waves are used to monitor the growth of a baby in the
mother's womb, and a variety of waves on the surfaces of rivers,
lakes and oceans affect the coastal environment. Mathematical
models help us understand these disparate phenomena.

Many wave phenomena are characterized by a simple oscillation

like a hand-waving greeting. Seen from across a football stadium,
such a wave executed by human bodies appears to propagate around
the stadium, and this is how sound waves carry your voice across a
room. Other wave phenomena are more complex, often involving
nonlinear interactions.

A special type of wave which can propagate over long distances

without significant dispersal, the solitary wave, was first
observed by Scott Russell in 1844 on the surface of a canal. Often
initiated by mid-ocean earthquakes, but also susceptible to
creation by human error, similar waves propagate across oceans at
the speed of a commercial jet and cause devastation when they
collide with solid shores. Dubbed the tsunami by the Japanese who
must contend with their destructive effects, these waves can
propagate undetected due to their large wavelength and small
amplitude. However, decreasing depth near a shoreline causes them
to transform into huge waves that can inundate a coastal region.
Their special form allows them to move over great distances without
being dispersed as quickly as other waves.

Solitary waves were found by Korteweg and de Vries in 1895 to

be governed by the equation
Not surprisingly, the model has been found to be appropriate for
waves in other media, including fiber optic cables and plasma in aa
fusion reactor, reflecting the universality of mathematical models.
Remarkable properties of the equation itself have led to deep
connections with fields of pure mathematics.

Until recently, critical questions about the mathematical

theory for the existence of solutions for the equation were
unresolved, and solution of this equation strained the resources of
the most powerful completers. However, mathematical advances have
now made its solution routine, allowing accurate predictions of
wave evolution. Early numerical techniques to solve the equation
were slow and cumbersome. But now, several efficient techniques
exist which can yield reliable results.

Not only has the mathematical theory of water waves helped us

to understand and protect our environment, but its insights have
also had a significant impact on technological development.
Although the solitary wave is now well understood, other water
waves still have mysterious effects on our environment and remain
objects of active mathematical research.

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 MATHEMATICS, MATHEMATICIANS, & THE ENVIRONMENT

Mathematics plays a key role in environmental studies, modeling,

etc. Basic mathematics - calculus, percents, ratios, graphs and
charts, sequences, sampling, averages, a population growth model,
variability and probability - all relate to current, critical
issues such as pollution, the availability of resources,
environmental clean-up, recycling, CFC's, and population growth.

In January of this year the annual winter meeting of the national

mathematics societies held theme sessions on Mathematics and the
Environment. Several presentations were made. Papers are
available on request as described below.

Fred Roberts - Department of Mathematics, Rutgers University

Moving Traffic So As To Use Less Fuel and Reduce Pollution
Two of the ways in which mathematics is used in traffic
management are in the phasing of traffic lights and in
the design of patterns of one-way streets. Mathematical
methods first developed in the early stages of
sequencing the DNA molecule have turned out to be useful
in deciding when to give different streams of traffic a
green light. Related mathematical methods are useful in
deciding how to make streets one-way so as to move
traffic more efficiently.

Robert McKelvey - Department of Mathematics, Univ. of Montana

Global Climate Change: How We Set Policy
How we deal with uncertainty in making environmental
decisions, focusing on some of the interlocking
environmental problems of today:
1) global warming; 2) biodiversity and genetic diversity
(loss of species); and 3)impending losses of resources
(land, energy, clean air, water).

Mary Wheeler - Department of Mathematics, Rice University, and

Kyle Roberson, Pacific Northwest Laboratories
Bio-remediation Modeling: Using Indigenous Organisms
to Eliminate Soil Contaminants
An explanation of laboratory, field, and simulation work
to validate remediation strategies at U.S. Department of
Energy sites, such as Hanford, WA. A project goal is to
formulate and implement accurate and efficient algorithms
for modeling biodegradation processes. Numerical
simulation results that utilize realistic data and
parallel computational complexity issues are discussed.

Simon Levin - Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornel

The Problem of Scale in Ecology: Why this is
Important in Resolving Global Problems
Global environmental problems have local and regional
causes and consequences, such as, linkages between
photosynthetic dynamics at the leaf level, regional
 shifts in forest composition, and global changes in
climate and the distribution of greenhouse gases. The
fundamental problem is relating processes that are
operating on very different scales of space and time.
Mathematical methods provide the only way such problems
can be approached, and techniques of scaling,
aggregation, and simplification are critical

Mathematics and the environment

Providence, RI---It was a mathematician, Joseph Fourier (1768-
1830), who coined the term "greenhouse effect". That this
term, so commonly used today to describe human effects on
the global climate, originated with a mathematician points to
the insights that mathematics can offer into environmental
problems. Three articles in the November 2010 issue of
the Notices of the American Mathematical Society examine
ways in which mathematics can contribute to understanding
environmental and ecological issues.
IMAGE: Some animal behaviors
are highly determined by abiotic
environmental variables; others are
influenced relatively little. Model
predictions are in color; observations
"Earthquakes and Weatherquakes: Mathematics and are black circles. The R2 value can be
Climate Change", by Martin E. Walter (University of interpreted...
Colorado)
Click here for more information.
Data about earthquakes indicates that there are thousands of
small earthquakes that do no damage, and there are just a few
very strong earthquakes that do a great deal of damage. A striking fact emerges from the data: Over
a sufficiently long period of time, the sum of the "intensity" of all earthquakes of a given Richter scale
magnitude is the same for any point on the Richter scale. So for example the total intensity of the
100,000 magnitude-3 quakes that occur over the course of a year is the same as the intensity of a
single magnitude-8 trembler. Put another way, there is no preferred size or scale of earthquakes. This
is an empirical fact that can be easily translated into mathematical terms, by noting that the data for
earthquakes follows what is known as a power law. The author uses the example of earthquakes to
formulate a hypothesis about "weatherquakes"---extreme weather events like hurricanes and
tornadoes. As in the case of earthquakes, he suggests, there is no preferred size or scale for the
intensity of weatherquakes. That is, weatherquake phenomena also follow a power law. Taking the
mathematics a few steps further, the author examines what would happen to the distribution of
extreme weather events if the global climate heated up. The finding is worrisome: As temperatures
rise, the most intense weatherquakes would increase in number.

"Environmental Problems, Uncertainty, and Mathematical Modeling", by John W. Boland,

Jerzy A. Filar, and Phil G. Howlett (all three authors affiliated with the Institute for
Sustainable Systems and Technologies at the University of South Australia)

This article examines some special characteristics shared by many models of environmental
phenomena: 1) the relevant variables (e.g., levels of persistent contamination in a lake) are not
known precisely but evolve over time with some degree of randomness; 2) both the short-term
behavior (day-by-day interaction of toxins in the lake) and longer-term behavior (cumulative effects of
repeated winter freezes) are important; and 3) the system is subject to outside influences from
human behavior, such as industrial pollution and environmental regulations. Concerning the latter
characteristic, the article discusses ideas from a branch of mathematics called control theory, which
studies how systems are affected when they are strategically influenced from the outside.
Interventions for environmental problems can influence ecological systems dramatically but are often
neglected in development planning. Control theory offers methods for determining an appropriate
level of intervention and for evaluating its effects. One example from the article looks at the use of
solar panels to run a desalination plant. A model using ideas from control theory can guide optimal use
of the plant in the sense of maximizing the expected volume of fresh water produced.

"The Mathematics of Animal Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue", by Shandelle M.

Henson and James L. Hayward (both authors at Andrews University, Michigan)

The two authors, one an applied mathematician and the other a biologist, teamed up to model aspects
of gull behavior in a wildlife preserve in Washington state. The article is structured in an unusual way,
as a sort of conversation between the two researchers describing their work together. Before the two
began collaborating, the biologist collected reams of data on gull behavior; his biology colleagues
teased him, "Don't you know how to sample?" But the applied mathematician was delighted to have
such complete data. She and the biologist constructed a model representing a group of gulls as they
"loaf". For gulls the term "loafing" refers to a collection of behaviors---such as sleeping, sitting,
standing, resting, preening, and defecating---during which the birds are immobile. Loafing is of
practical importance because it often conflicts with human interests. The model constructed by Henson
and Hayward fit beautifully with the data and also produced predictions about how the number of birds
loafing in a given location changed over time. For example, the loafing model correctly predicted that
the lowest numbers of gulls would occur at high tide on days corresponding to tidal nodes. This is
contrary to previously published assertions, based on data averaging, that the lowest numbers occur
near low tide. Their work also showed that it is not always necessary to base models of animal group
dynamics on behavior of the individual animals. As Henson puts it, "You wouldn't use quantum models
to study the classical dynamics of a falling apple." Similarly, you don't always need to use a collection
of individual-based simulations to study the dynamics of a group behavior.

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Math Is Everywhere
2012 APRIL 12
By Lina Younes

Ever since my children were young, I tried to instill in them a love for math and science. So,
when I saw the news of a new exhibit in the Washington area entitled “MathAlive,” it
definitely became part of my “must see” list. Of course, I didn’t mention the title right off
the bat. In fact, I told my youngest: “Let’s go see this new exhibit that has interactive
snowboarding and you can also invite a friend.” She eagerly said yes to my suggestion.
Although, the description pointed out that the exhibit had been designed mostly for middle-
schoolers, I decided to take my chances. There were many activities for children of all ages.
The exhibit with interactive displays in English and Spanish included various hands-on-
activities that clearly showed how math is an integral part of our daily life. From cooking, to
music, sports, construction, transportation, built environments and nature, math is literally
everywhere. As part of the exhibit, children were able to conduct some virtual “water
testing” using math to determine if water bodies where safe to swim in. Using math,
children saw the direct correlation between contaminants and water conditions. There
were similar experiments regarding air quality and other environmental issues. There were
other areas focusing on robotics and space exploration.
While children may not have grasped all the math concepts in one visit, I think the exhibit
definitely showed how learning about math can be a positive and entertaining experience.
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the exhibit again. MathAlive will also be traveling
to other cities in the United States throughout the year. Hope you have the opportunity to
see it, too. Hope you’ll share your experiences with us.
About the author: Lina Younes is the Multilingual Outreach and Communications Liaison for
EPA. Among her duties, she’s responsible for outreach to Hispanic organizations and media.
She spearheaded the team that recently launched EPA’s new Spanish
website,www.epa.gov/espanol . She manages EPA’s social media efforts in Spanish. She’s
currently the editor of EPA’s new Spanish blog, Conversando acerca de nuestro medio
ambiente. Prior to joining the agency, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto
Rican newspapers and an international radio broadcaster. She has held other positions in
and out of the Federal Government.