Environment

The HTML5 incarnation of DaisyBall opted for a general audience presentation. Choice of DaisyWorld or DaisyBall logic (2D or 3D world). Easy access controls for high level concepts, but you can still set advanced parameters. Easy to set albedos and number of daisy colors.

DaisyWorld discussion.

ArchaeoSim 4 is an HTML5 re-implementation of the original ArchaeoSim I implemented as a CourseWare Java applet a decade earlier for Harvey Weiss at Yale University.

ArchaeoSim explores social and environmental tradeoffs in the ancient farming civilization of ancient Subir (northern Mesopotamia). This is an individual-based simulator, with the settlements acting as the individuals. Students explore assumptions by setting parameters. The actual civilization was devastated by climate change in pre-history. This new version of ArchaeoSim uses a satellite image for the landscape map, and the latest archaeological evidence of settlement sizes and rainfall patterns.

ArchaeoSim 4 debuted for course use at Yale University in November 2014.

SimWatershed is loosely based on the real-life Esopus Creek watershed, part of the naturally-cleaned water supply of New York City. SimWatershed implements two online labs, for the Yale School of Forestry graduate course Science to Solutions: How Should We Manage Water.

In the "Biophysics" lab, students explore how water quality is affected by adjusting land use - suburban, agricultural, livestock, and forest. Then in the "Solutions" lab, buying land costs money and faces limits. Other social treatments are available at a price: best management practices, upgrading the local sewage treatment plant, raising prices, or building a city water treatment plant. Scenarios explore present and future, nitrogen and sediment.

Download the "Solutions" lab instructions.

One of my scientific projects, LoadRunner automates the calculation of dissolved river loads, based on public US Geographical Society river flow and water quality sample data. This is a user interface level to automate running LOADEST over whole watersheds. LoadRunner is used to research ocean carbon sequestration, among other things. Runs on Windows and Mac OSX.

Built the software for a barcode-driven Long Island Sound kiosk at the Peabody Museum of Natural History. This kiosk has a collection of barcoded items from Long Island Sound, and a barcode scannner, to make the kiosk display information on that item. Visitors can also get their own barcode, and scan themselves in, and leave a webcam video message. None of this is online, unfortunately, due to concerns from Yale Legal.

ArchaeoSim explored social and environmental tradeoffs in ancient farming civilizations in ancient Subir (northern Mesopotamia). Includes detailed paleoclimate data and completed archaeological survey data. Used in teaching the Yale course Human Creation and Destruction of Environments.

Replaced by ArchaeoSim 4, an HTML5 incarnation.

The Carbon Cycle shows how fossil carbon is released into the air, then migrates into various carbon sinks - atmosphere, terrestrial plants, soil, ocean surface, and deep ocean. Explores changes in fossil fuel usage, net deforestation, and melting tundra.

The scientific model is simple equilibration. I didn't develop the math on this one, only the interactive and graphics portrayal.