This book presents recent research advances on achieving seamless interoperability across all layers of communication channels in the context of emergency management and crisis response. It includes the outcomes of intensive discussions during the Workshop “Command, Control and Sensor Systems in Emergency Management” (EU C2-SENSE), which was held in Milan (Italy) from 4 to 6 July 2017. Major topics covered include analyses and practical guidelines for the development of physical and sensor layers; data analysis, visualization and management; and system integration. Moreover, certification guidelines and organizational interoperability issues are addressed. The book offers a valuable resource, both in the form of hands-on guidelines for the effective implementation of novel solutions in information technologies (IT) for civil protection applications, and as a basis for further research.

Large-scale natural or technological disasters often require some level of government response to mitigate their effects. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers response actions may occur under Public Law 84-99 authorizing the Chief of Engineers to activate the Corps for emergency flood control and coastal shore protection or under P.L. 93-288 as work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Regardless of the type of disaster, rapid image acquisition and analysis is an important initial source of information that can detail conditions over a wide area. The time interval (a few hours to a few days) during which imagery provides added value is exceptionally limited, because once ground observations are reliably available, the imagery only provides duplicate information. Therefore, a test was developed to evaluate how quickly proxy hurricane damage imagery could be acquired with an airborne sensor and orthorectified into digital products that could be posted on an FTP site for the Corps of Engineers.

Social Sensing and Big Data Computing for Disaster Management captures recent advancements in leveraging social sensing and big data computing for supporting disaster management. Specifically, analysed within this book are some of the promises and pitfalls of social sensing data for disaster relevant information extraction, impact area assessment, population mapping, occurrence patterns, geographical disparities in social media use, and inclusion in larger decision support systems. Traditional data collection methods such as remote sensing and field surveying often fail to offer timely information during or immediately following disaster events. Social sensing enables all citizens to become part of a large sensor network which is low cost, more comprehensive, and always broadcasting situational awareness information. However, data collected with social sensing is often massive, heterogeneous, noisy, and unreliable in some aspects. It comes in continuous streams, and often lacks geospatial reference information. Together, these issues represent a grand challenge toward fully leveraging social sensing for emergency management decision making under extreme duress. Meanwhile, big data computing methods and technologies such as high-performance computing, deep learning, and multi-source data fusion become critical components of using social sensing to understand the impact of and response to the disaster events in a timely fashion. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Digital Earth.

Provides unique coverage of wireless sensor system applications in space, underwater, underground, and extreme industrial environments in one volume This book covers the challenging aspects of wireless sensor systems and the problems and conditions encountered when applying them in outer space, under the water, below the ground, and in extreme industrial environments. It explores the unique aspects of designs and solutions that address those problems and challenges, and illuminates the connections, similarities, and differences between the challenges and solutions in those various environments. The creation of Wireless Sensor Systems for Extreme Environments is a response to the spread of wireless sensor technology into fields of health, safety, manufacturing, space, environmental, smart cities, advanced robotics, surveillance, and agriculture. It is the first of its kind to present, in a single reference, the unique aspects of wireless sensor system design, development, and deployment in such extreme environments—and to explore the similarities and possible synergies between them. The application of wireless sensor systems in these varied environments has been lagging dramatically behind their application in more conventional environments, making this an especially relevant book for investigators and practitioners in all of these areas. Wireless Sensor Systems for Extreme Environments is presented in five parts that cover: Wireless Sensor Systems for Extreme Environments—Generic Solutions Space WSS Solutions and Applications Underwater and Submerged WSS Solutions Underground and Confined Environments WSS Solutions Industrial and Other WSS Solutions This book is a welcome guide for researchers, post-graduate students, engineers and scientists who design and build operational and environmental control systems, emergency response systems, and situational awareness systems for unconventional environments.

11 . 2 Study objectives 147 11 . 3 Approach to analysis 147 11. 4 Presentation and discussion of results 151 11 . 5 Conclusions 165 12 Accident management and failure analysis G. C. Meggitt 170 12. 1 Introduction 170 12. 2 Nuclear safety 170 12. 3 The accident 171 12. 4 The accident response 171 12. 5 The automatic response 171 12. 6 The tailored response 173 12. 7 The emergency plan 181 13 Decision support systems and emergency management M. Grauer 182 13. 1 Introduction 182 13. 2 The problem 183 13. 3 The multiple-criteria approach 184 3 13. 4 OveNiew of the 1-decision support software 186 13. 5 A case study from chemical industry 189 13. 6 Conclusions 195 References 196 14 Safety integrity management using expert systems Dr P. Andow 198 14. 1 Introduction 198 14. 2 Safety and risk analysis 198 14. 3 The effects of applying safety and risk analysis 199 14. 4 Safety integrity management 201 14. 5 Knowledge-base contents 204 14. 6 Summary of system functions 204 14. 7 Discussion 205 References 205 15 Power system alarm analysis and fault diagnosis using expert systems P. H. Ashmole 207 15. 1 Introduction 207 15. 2 Expert systems for power system alarm analysis already developed 208 15. 3 Existing substation control arrangements 209 15. 4 Discussion of alarm data flow 210 15. 5 Expert system requirements 210 15. 6 User interface 211 15. 7 Requirements under different fault conditions 211 15.