The noisy environment - How determinism and stochasticity beget resilience and shape sustainability
Environmental processes, such as for instance the distribution of
water resources across the planet, the response of living organisms to
environmental stimuli, and carbon sequestration and storage in the
lithosphere, are key to the functioning of the Earth system and its
components (Ecosphere). Such processes are characterized by
deterministic (i.e. certain) and random (i.e. uncertain) rules, which
help govern habitat characteristics and species biodiversity.
Compared to the pre-human era, the Ecosphere is now exposed to human
actions that affect both biotic and abiotic processes at a global scale.
As a result, many environmental processes are transgressing planetary
boundaries previously considered safe for the Earth system to function
properly.
In this lecture, we will examine pattern formation, plant growth and
uprooting, and the effect of memory in water-driven systems as examples
of the above processes, under both human-driven and climate change
scenarios. By this means, we will understand how deterministic and
random fluctuations appear in environmental processes and how their
combination can lead to resistance to perturbations (known as
resilience). From the words of Pliny the Elder “The only certain thing
is that nothing is certain”, we will learn that sustainable measures
placed in defense of planetary boundaries must guarantee part of the
original deterministic and noisy components of the process. The lecture
will conclude with an overview of new perspectives for interdisciplinary
environmental engineering.
Further Information
The
Inaugural Lecture of Professor Paolo Perona, Chair of Environmental
Engineering was held at 5.30pm on Thursday, 12th April 2018, in Lecture
Theatre 2, Hudson Beare Building, The King’s Buildings.