Information Technology in Environmental Engineering

This book presents new concepts as well as practical applications and experiences in the field of information technology for environmental engineering. The book has three main focus areas: firstly, it shows how information technologies can be employed to support natural resource management and conservation, environmental engineering, scientific simulation and integrated assessment studies. Secondly, it demonstrates the application of computing in the everyday practices of environmental engineers, natural scientists, economists and social scientists. And thirdly, it demonstrates how the complexity of natural phenomena can be approached using interdisciplinary methods, where computer science offers the infrastructure needed for environmental data collection and management, scientific simulations, decision support documentation and reporting. The book collects selected papers presented at the 7th International Symposium on Environmental Engineering, held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in July 2015. It discusses recent success stories in eco-informatics, promising ideas and new challenges from the interdisciplinary viewpoints of computer scientists, environmental engineers, economists and social scientists, demonstrating new paradigms for problem-solving and decision-making.