Daniel R. Lynch - Böcker

This book concerns the practical solution of Partial Differential Equations. We assume the reader knows what a PDE is - that he or she has derived some, and solved them with the limited but powerful arsenal of analytic techniques. We also assume that (s)he has gained some intuitive knowledge of their solution properties, either in the context of specific applications, or in the more abstract context of applied mathematics. We assume the reader now wants to solve PDE's for real, in the context of practical problems with all of their warts - awkward geometry, driven by real data, variable coefficients, nonlinearities - as they arise in real situations. The applications we envision span classical mathematical physics and the "engineering sciences" : fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, electricity and magnetism, heat and mass transfer, wave propagation. Of course, these all share a joyous interdisciplinary unity in PDE's. The material arises from lectures at Dartmouth College for first-year graduate students in science and engineering. That audience has shared the above motivations, and a mathematical background including: ordinary and partial differential equations; a first course in numerical an- ysis; linear algebra; complex numbers at least at the level of Fourier analysis; and an ability to program modern computers. Some working exposure to applications of PDE's in their research or practice has also been a common denominator. This classical undergraduate preparation sets the stage for our "First Practical Course". Naturally, the "practical" aspect of the course involves computation.

Natural resources support all human productivity. The sustainable management of natural resources is among the preeminent problems of the current century. Sustainability and the implied professional responsibility start here. This book uses applied mathematics familiar to undergraduate engineers and scientists to examine natural resource management and its role in framing sustainability. Renewable and nonrenewable resources are covered, along with living and sterile resources. Examples and applications are drawn from petroleum, fisheries, and water resources. Each chapter contains problems illustrating the material. Simple programs in commonly available packages (Excel, MATLAB) support the text. The material is a natural prelude to more advanced study in ecology, conservation, and population dynamics, as well as engineering and science. The mathematical description is kept within what an undergraduate student in the sciences or engineering would normally be expected to master for natural systems. The purpose is to allow students to confront natural resource problems early in their preparation.

The coastal ocean comprises the semi-enclosed seas on the continental shelf, including estuaries and extending to the shelf break. This region is the focus of many serious concerns, including coastal inundation by tides, storm surges or sea level change; fisheries and aquaculture management; water quality; harmful algal blooms; planning of facilities (such as power stations); port development and maintenance; and oil spills. This book addresses modeling and simulation of the transport, evolution and fate of particles (physical and biological) in the coastal ocean. It is the first to summarize the state of the art in this field and direct it toward diverse applications, for example in measuring and monitoring sediment motion, oil spills and larval ecology. This is an invaluable textbook and reference work for advanced students and researchers in oceanography, geophysical fluid dynamics, marine and civil engineering, computational science and environmental science.