| HYDROINFORMATICS: BACKGROUND | |||||||||
The late 1960's saw a major breakthrough in the field of hydraulics when it became possible to solve complex, non-linear conservation equations for fluid flow through the use of more efficient numerical techniques and faster computer processors. The ability to predict changes in water levels and discharges caused by natural or man-made changes to the environment provided great improvements in the reliability of engineering studies. The International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (IHE) has, for many years, provided advanced training in this field of computational hydraulics. Today, however, the results of the information revolution within our global society have revolutionised the traditional planning, design and decision-making methodologies applied to hydraulic, hydrological and environmental systems. The general availability of sophisticated computers with ever-improving capabilities has given rise to increasing complexity in terms of computational ability and the storage, retrieval, manipulation and communication of vast amounts of information. Hydroinformatics is the study of the flow of information related to the flow of water (and all that it transports) and the interactions with its natural and artificial environments. Traditional models of computational hydraulics give valuable information about water quantity and quality. The results from standard, computer-based modelling systems form a 'carrier' or platform for to study other aspects of immediate interest. The information necessary to describe and assess the state of any given body of water, however, must also include a number of social, legal and environmental factors. The physical, social and environmental consequences resulting from any action upon a water body should be determined before the execution of the project. An important feature of a hydroinformatics system is that it allows the use of numerical simulations that are subject to constraints expressed in natural language (including legislation, contracts, agreements, etc.). This assessment process is enhanced by encapsulating expert knowledge and experience, merging these with measured data, and making the resulting information available to hydro-scientists and engineers in the form of computer-based, environmental impact assessment and decision-support systems. Several recent mega-projects in particular, such as the Eastern Scheldt storm-surge barrier in the Netherlands, the Great Belt and Sound traffic connections in Scandinavia, the Venice protection works in Italy, and the Flood-Action Plans of Bangladesh, have led to a rapid development of hydroinformatics facilities and practice. Developments in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for data storage and presentation, and in global optimisation, inverse modelling and the use of artificial intelligence techniques such as evolutionary algorithms and artificial neural networks for data mining and modelling extend the fields of application even further. |
