EAWAG news 47e (November 1999)
Modeling
Editorial (
en47e_bun.pdf, 60 KB)
Ueli Bundi (ulrich.bundi@eawag.ch)
Lead Article
How can Models Contribute
to Environmental Decisions? (en47e_pah.pdf,
160 KB)
Claudia Pahl-Wostl and Peter Reichert (claudia.pahl@eawag.ch, peter.reichert@eawag.ch)
Decisions relating to environmental protection and sustainable
resource use have to be made on an ever broader basis. Tools
to compare and evaluate the various options and scenarios are,
therefore, becoming ever more important. Models can play a critical
role in this process.
Research Reports
Green Hydropower (en47e_mei.pdf, 230 KB)
Werner Meier (werner.meier@eawag.ch)
Extraction of water from alpine streams for hydropower generation
reduces stream discharge and may impact stream ecology negatively.
The project "green hydropower" is quantifying these
impacts with the aid of computer models as well as field-based
investigations of the physical, chemical and biological systems
involved. The resulting knowledge will be used to minimize the
ecological impact of hydropower generation.
A Model of Lake Zürich
(en47e_oml.pdf, 80 KB)
Martin Omlin
With the goal of improving our understanding of mixing processes
and of time-scale trends in the concentrations of oxygen, nutrients
and plankton, both a physical and a biochemical model have been
developed for Lake Zürich. The models provide a good description
of phenomena observed in the lake.
Biological Sewage Treatment
- Marked by New Dynamics (en47e_guj.pdf,
140 KB)
Willi Gujer (willi.gujer@eawag.ch)
Demanding biotechnological processes are employed in the
treatment of today's sewage. The processes have to fulfill several
requirements simultaneously under difficult and sometimes marginal
conditions, such as daily and seasonal variations in pollutant
concentrations and temperature or input of storm water.
Do you know what "Reach"
is? (en47e_ber.pdf, 70 KB)
Daniel Bernasconi
Communication between different entities involved in urban
drainage systems (engineers, communities, associations, cantons)
does not typically fail because of technical problems, but because
of inconsistent use of terminology which leads to misunderstandings
between "sender" and "receiver".
Environmental policy: Good or bad for economic growth? (en47e_pet.pdf,
130 KB)
Irene Peters (irene.peters@eawag.ch)
About a year ago, EAWAG embarked on economic modeling. In
collaboration with the Tellus Institute in Boston, U.S.A., we
constructed a model of the U.S. economy for estimating the economic
impacts of a number of energy policies. The aim of this exercise
was to highlight the influence of structural model features on
model results. We plan to continue this effort, investigating
additional model assumptions and extending the focus of the analysis
on natural resources other than energy.
Forum
The Future Lies in a "Spacecraft
Economy" (en47e_bas.pdf, 75 KB)
An Interview with Dr. Ernst Basler, retiring President of the
EAWAG Advisory Committee.
Network Declining Fish Yields,
Switzerland (en47e_hol.pdf, 85 KB)
Patricia Holm
EAWAG and SAEFL (Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and
Landscape) have jointly launched the project "Fischnetz"
(Fishing Net) "Netzwerk Fischrückgang Schweiz"
(Network Declining Fish Yields, Switzerland). This project examines
the causes of the dramatic decline in fish catch in Switzerland's
water systems over the past 10 years. Research institutions are
jointly investigating with the public and private sector not
only the causes and consequences for this decline, but are also
developing measures for improvement. (http://www.fischnetz.ch)
Please feel free to submit questions or suggestions any time to the editor Martina Bauchrowitz.