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Since its inception in 2013, Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE) focuses on mathematical issues arising in the study of our planet. Interested in the impact of human activities on the Earth's system, this multidisciplinary field considers the planet not only as a physical system, but also as a system supporting life, a system organized by humans, and a system at risk.
The articles collected in this volume demonstrate the breadth of techniques and tools from mathematics, statistics, and operations research used in MPE. Topics include climate modeling, the spread of infectious diseases, stability of ecosystems, ecosystem services, biodiversity, infrastructure restoration after an extreme event, urban environments, food security, and food safety. Demonstrating the mathematical sciences in action, this book presents real-world challenges for the mathematical sciences, highlighting applications to issues of current concern to society. Arranged into three topical sections (Geo- and Physical Sciences; Life Sciences, Ecology and Evolution; Socio-economics and Infrastructure), thirteen chapters address questions such as how to measure biodiversity, what mathematics can say about the sixth mass extinction, how to optimize the long-term human use of natural capital, and the impact of data on infrastructure management. The book also treats the subject of infectious diseases with new examples and presents an introduction to the mathematics of food systems and food security.
Each chapter functions as an introduction that can be studied independently, offering source material for graduate student seminars and self-study. The range of featured research topics provides mathematical scientists with starting points for the study of our planet and the impact of human activities. At the same time, it offers application scientists a plethora of modern mathematical tools and techniques to address the various topics in practice. Including hundreds of references to the vast literature associated with each topic, this book serves as an inspiration for further research.
List of contents
Part I Geo- and Physical Sciences.- Modeling the Dynamics of Glacial Cycles.- Mathematics of the Not-So-Solid Solid Earth.- Mathematical Challenges in Measuring Variability Patterns for Precipitation Analysis.- Part II Life Sciences.- Mathematics of Malaria and Climate Change.- A Risk-Structured Mathematical Model of Buruli Ulcer Disease in Ghana.- Data-informed Modeling in the Health Sciences.- Part III Ecology and Evolution.- Multistability in Ecosystems: Concerns and Opportunities for Ecosystem Function in Variable Environments.- Measurement of Biodiversity: Richness and Evenness.- The Mathematics of Extinction Across Scales: From Populations to the Biosphere.- Part IV Socio-economics and Infrastructure.- Modeling Food Systems.- Dynamic Optimization, Natural Capital, and Ecosystem Services.- Quantitative Models for Infrastructure Restoration after Extreme Events: Network Optimization meets Scheduling.- The Internet of Things and Machine Learning, Solutions for Urban Infrastructure Management.
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"The books in this series are intended to be written and to be read by a broad range of pure or applied mathematicians, engineers, scientists, and other researchers." (Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society, November 25, 2019)
