System Engineering Applied to Fuenmayor Karst Aquifer (San Julian de Banzo, Huesca) and Collins Glacier (King George Island, Antarctica)

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

This thesis tackles fundamental questions concerning the discharge of a pre-Pyrenean karst aquifer system and an Antarctic glacier system, utilizing a system engineering methodology and data-driven approach. It presents for the first time a simplified and effective linear transfer function for karst aquifers. The author provides detailed wavelet spectrum results, which reveal certain non-linearities in drought periods. In addition, structures based on Hammerstein-Wiener blocks have yielded a nonlinear model that is substantially more efficient than its linear counterparts.

Another pioneering finding is the use of wavelet coherence between glacier discharge and air temperature to estimate SEC (Seasonal Effective Core) boundaries. The yearly SEC is essential to obtaining a model based on Hammerstein-Wiener structures, which offers considerably higher efficiency. Moreover, two different types of glacier dynamics have been discovered (over damped and overshoot), depending on the annual cycle and the SEC average temperature.