Randomness is ubiquitous in nature. Random drivers are generally considered a source of disorder in environmental systems. However, the interaction between noise and nonlinear dynamics may lead to the emergence of a number of ordered behaviors (in time and space) that would not exist in the absence of noise. This counterintuitive effect of randomness may play a crucial role in environmental processes. For example, seemingly 'random' background events in the atmosphere can grow into larger instabilities that have great effects on weather patterns. This book presents the basics of the theory of stochastic calculus and its application to the study of noise-induced phenomena in environmental systems. It will be an invaluable reference text for ecologists, geoscientists and environmental engineers interested in the study of stochastic environmental dynamics.
The dynamics of population systems cannot be understood within the framework of ordinary differential equations, which assume that the number of interacting agents is infinite. With recent advances in ecology, biochemistry and genetics it is becoming increasingly clear that real systems are in fact subject to a great deal of noise. Relevant examples include social insects competing for resources, molecules undergoing chemical reactions in a cell and a pool of genomes subject to evolution. When the population size is small, novel macroscopic phenomena can arise, which can be analyzed using the theory of stochastic processes. This thesis is centered on two unsolved problems in population dynamics: the symmetry breaking observed in foraging populations and the robustness of spatial patterns. We argue that these problems can be resolved with the help of two novel concepts: noise-induced bistable states and stochastic patterns.
Advances in Nonlinear Geosciences is a set of contributions from the participants of “30 Years of Nonlinear Dynamics” held July 3-8, 2016 in Rhodes, Greece as part of the Aegean Conferences, as well as from several other experts in the field who could not attend the meeting. The volume brings together up-to-date research from the atmospheric sciences, hydrology, geology, and other areas of geosciences and presents the new advances made in the last 10 years. Topics include chaos synchronization, topological data analysis, new insights on fractals, multifractals and stochasticity, climate dynamics, extreme events, complexity, and causality, among other topics.
This book explores the theory of ecogeomorphic pattern-process linkages, using case studies from Europe, Africa, Australia and North America. Sets forth a research agenda for the emerging field of ecogeomorphology in drylands land-degradation studies.
Since the parameters in dynamical systems of biological interest are inherently positive and bounded, bounded noises are a natural way to model the realistic stochastic fluctuations of a biological system that are caused by its interaction with the external world. Bounded Noises in Physics, Biology, and Engineering is the first contributed volume devoted to the modeling of bounded noises in theoretical and applied statistical mechanics, quantitative biology, and mathematical physics. It gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art and is intended to stimulate further research. The volume is organized in four parts. The first part presents the main kinds of bounded noises and their applications in theoretical physics. The theory of bounded stochastic processes is intimately linked to its applications to mathematical and statistical physics, and it would be difficult and unnatural to separate the theory from its physical applications. The second is devoted to framing bounded noises in the theory of random dynamical systems and random bifurcations, while the third is devoted to applications of bounded stochastic processes in biology, one of the major areas of potential applications of this subject. The final part concerns the application of bounded stochastic processes in mechanical and structural engineering, the area where the renewed interest for non-Gaussian bounded noises started. Pure mathematicians working on stochastic calculus will find here a rich source of problems that are challenging from the point of view of contemporary nonlinear analysis. Bounded Noises in Physics, Biology, and Engineering is intended for scientists working on stochastic processes with an interest in both fundamental issues and applications. It will appeal to a broad range of applied mathematicians, mathematical biologists, physicists, engineers, and researchers in other fields interested in complexity theory. It is accessible to anyone with a working knowledge of stochastic modeling, from advanced undergraduates to senior researchers.
By combining the analysis of biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, this book synthesizes material on arid and semiarid landscapes, which was previously scattered among various books and journal articles. It focuses on water-limited ecosystems, which are highly sensitive to fluctuations in hydrologic conditions and, in turn, play an important role in affecting the regional water cycle. Intended as a tool for scientists working in the area of the earth and environmental sciences, this book presents the basic principles of eco-hydrology as well as a broad spectrum of topics and advances in this research field. Written by authors with diverse areas of expertise who work in arid areas around the world, the contributions describe the various interactions between the biological and physical dynamics in dryland ecosystems, ranging from basic processes in the soil-vegetation-climate system, to landscape-scale hydrologic and geomorphic processes, ecohydrologic controls on soil nutrient dynamics, and multiscale analyses of disturbances and patterns
Nonlinear Physics of Ecosystems introduces the concepts and tools of pattern formation theory and demonstrates their utility in ecological research using problems from spatial ecology. Written in language understandable to both physicists and ecologists in most parts, the book reveals the mechanisms of pattern formation and pattern dynamics. It als
Modeling and Inverse Problems in the Presence of Uncertainty collects recent research-including the authors' own substantial projects-on uncertainty propagation and quantification. It covers two sources of uncertainty: where uncertainty is present primarily due to measurement errors and where uncertainty is present due to the modeling formulation i
