Since the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis began its study of water quality modeling and management in 1977, it has been interested in the relations between uncertainty and the problems of model calibration and prediction. The work has focused on the theme of modeling poorly defined environmental systems, a principal topic of the effort devoted to environmental quality control and management. Accounting for the effects of uncertainty was also of central concern to our two case studies of lake eutrophication management, one dealing with Lake Balaton in Hungary and the other with several Austrian lake systems. Thus, in November 1979 we held a meeting at Laxenburg to discuss recent method ological developments in addressing problems associated with uncertainty and forecasting of water quality. This book is based on the proceedings of that meeting. The last few years have seen an increase in awareness of the issue of uncertainty in water quality and ecological modeling. This book is relevant not only to contemporary issues but also to those of the future. A lack of field data will not always be the dominant problem for water quality modeling and management; more sophisticated measuring techniques and more comprehensive monitoring networks will come to be more widely applied. Rather, the important problems of the future are much more likely to emerge from the enhanced facility of data processing and to concern the meaningful interpretation, assimilation., and use of the information thus obtained.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This revised, updated textbook presents a systems approach to the planning, management, and operation of water resources infrastructure in the environment. Previously published in 2005 by UNESCO and Deltares (Delft Hydraulics at the time), this new edition, written again with contributions from Jery R. Stedinger, Jozef P. M. Dijkman, and Monique T. Villars, is aimed equally at students and professionals. It introduces readers to the concept of viewing issues involving water resources as a system of multiple interacting components and scales. It offers guidelines for initiating and carrying out water resource system planning and management projects. It introduces alternative optimization, simulation, and statistical methods useful for project identification, design, siting, operation and evaluation and for studying post-planning issues. The authors cover both basin-wide and urban water issues and present ways of identifying and evaluating alternatives for addressing multiple-purpose and multi-objective water quantity and quality management challenges. Reinforced with cases studies, exercises, and media supplements throughout, the text is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in water resource planning and management as well as for practicing planners and engineers in the field.

During 1978-1982 the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) was responsible for a research project on Environmental Quality Control and Management. The project was begun under the direction of Professor O. F. Vasiliev (from the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences) and was subsequently led by myself. This review is very much a re'fiection of that IIASA project. The major themes of the IIASA project were: (i) research into the methodological aspects of modeling river and lake sys tems [some of the principal results of this research appear in M. B. Beck and G. van Straten (eds. ) (1983), Uncertainty and Forecasting of Water Quality (Springer, Berlin (West)), and in K. Fedra (1983), Environmental Modeling Under Uncertainty: Monte Carlo Simulation (IIASA Research Report RR-83-28)]; (ii) case studies in the application of mathematical models to lake eutrophi cation control [results of which are summarized in L. Somlyody, S. Hero dek, and J. Fischer (eds. ) (1983), Eutrophication of Shallow Lakes: Model ing and Management (The Lake Balaton Case Study) (IIASA Collaborative Proceedings CP-83-S3), and in K. Fedra (1983), A Modular Approach to Comprehensive System Simulation: A Case Study of Lakes and Watersheds (in W. K. Lauenroth, G. V. Skogerboe, and M. Flug (eds. ), Analysis of Ecological Systems: State-of-the-Art in Ecological Modelling, pp. 195-204. Elsevier, Amsterdam)]; iv (iii) a policy study of operational water qua,lity management [M. B. Beck (1981), Operational Water Quality Management: Beyond Planning and Design (IIASA Executive Report ER-7)].

The evolution of soft computing applications has offered a multitude of methodologies and techniques that are useful in facilitating new ways to address practical and real scenarios in a variety of fields. In particular, these concepts have created significant developments in the engineering field. Soft Computing Techniques and Applications in Mechanical Engineering is a pivotal reference source for the latest research findings on a comprehensive range of soft computing techniques applied in various fields of mechanical engineering. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as thermodynamics, fuzzy computing, and computational intelligence, this publication is an ideal resource for students, engineers, research scientists, and academicians involved in soft computing techniques and applications in mechanical engineering areas.

35 leading multi-disciplinary scientists with international reputations provide reviews of topical areas of research on uncertainty and reliability related aspects of water resource systems. The volume will be valuable for graduate students, scientists, consultants, administrators, and practising hydrologists and water managers.