Login

Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013

  • Home
  • Programs
    • Long Term Programs
    • Summer Schools
    • Workshops
    • Meetings
    • Special Sessions
    • Colloquia and Seminars
    • Public Lectures
  • Education
    • Public Lectures
    • Speakers Bureau
    • Summer Schools
    • Resources
    • Posters
    • Curriculum Materials
    • Academic programs
  • Events
    • MPE Day at UNESCO
    • Public Lectures
    • Exhibitions
    • Competitions
    • Awareness events
  • Partners
    • Societies
    • International Bodies
    • Institutes
    • Research Centers
    • Scientific Journals
    • Teacher Associations
    • Academic
    • Magazines
    • Science Centers
    • Others
    • Becoming a Partner
  • Learn More
    • Books
    • Articles
    • Educational Resources
    • Videos and Podcasts
    • Speakers Bureau
  • Newsroom
  • MPE2013+
  • Daily Blog
  • Calendar
  • Français

Search

Categories

Sixth Simons Public Lecture

Prof. Dr. Rupert Klein (Free University of Berlin) will deliver the sixth in the international series of MPE2013 Simons Public Lectures on May 23, 2013, at the Free University of Berlin. The title is CliMathematics: Models, data, structures.

Read more (English) →
Read more (German) →

Recent Posts

Using Mathematics to Understand, Detect, and Predict Biological Events in Our Water Systems

May 20th, 2013

In coastal ocean, estuary, and lake systems, there is much interest in understanding, detecting, and predicting biological events. [...]

Neglected Tropical Diseases — and how mathematics can help

May 18th, 2013

You might have heard of a group of diseases called the "Neglected Tropical Diseases". This isn't just a generic title for all the forgotten diseases in the world; it's a specific designation on behalf of the World Health Organization for 13 particular diseases that qualify for neglected status. Collectively, these diseases infect about one sixth of the world's population. [...]

MPE2013 Newsletter

Raspberry Fields Forever (cont’d)

General, Mathematics, Resource Management, Sustainable Development

In a recent conversation with an acquaintance, she asked me “What do you do besides frustrate people with algebra?”. Sadly, she was serious. She had no idea of the use of mathematics outside of designing torture mechanisms for young people in school. Our team had begun our initial work on what we call the “berry problem”, and I was able to describe our efforts to help stakeholders in the Pajaro Valley region in California balance water needs among competing interests.

This problem is one realization of a scenario that is becoming common across the country. Estelle Basor eloquently wrote of the existence of a farming community in the region for generations. (See blog of 4/18/2013.) Agriculture needs, along with increased urbanization, have stressed the underlying aquifer, leading to significant saltwater contamination of water supply wells. The region has been studied for decades, and hydrologists understand the sustainable yield that will prevent further degradation of the resources. Primary crops in the region include strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and lettuce. In fact, as Estelle mentioned in her earlier post, at least 60% of the strawberries produced in the U.S. are grown in this region. (California produces almost 90% of the berries available in a given year!) Strawberries require significant irrigation, so it’s infeasible for an entire farm to be dedicated to strawberries and allow the farmer to operate under the water use limit.

Our team has designed a 100-acre “model” farm that we have used to forecast profitability and water use given certain planting rules for a variety of crops. We use the model in an optimization framework to give farmers strategies for maintaining their livelihood under restrictions imposed by the water management agency. Our future work will include use of more sophisticated modeling tools for the farm environment and analysis of infiltration networks.

We are honored to be able to contribute to solving a problem that has wide applicability and environmental impact.

Lea Jenkins, Clemson University
Kathleen Fowler, Clarkson University
John Chrispell, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Matthew Farthing, USACE, ERDC
Matt Parno, MIT

This entry was posted in General, Mathematics, Resource Management, Sustainable Development by Guest Blogger. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

  • Contact

IMU UNESCO ICIAM ICSU