Case Study 7 



Improving Environmental Decision 

 Making 



Concentration of sediments in Lal<e Erie resulting from a large storm. Concentrations are color coded, with 

 thie higliest shown in red. Winds from storms produce waves, which in turn create bottom currents and tur- 

 bulence that can cause contaminated bottom sediments to be resuspended in the water column. The shal- 

 lower the water, the stronger the effects of the wave action. Consequently, sediment concentrations tend to 

 be largest in shallow sections. 



High performance computing is crucial to 

 improve decision mailing on environmental 

 issues. Improved numerical computer models 

 provide more accurate predictions of pollution 

 so that our leaders will he in a better position to 

 make policy decisions involving the environ- 

 ment and economic growth. The accuracy of 

 these models depends upon descriptions of phys- 

 ical, chemical and biological processes that ade- 



quately incorporate important causal interac- 

 tions, nonlinearities, synergies, and feedbacks, as 

 well as capture nonintuitive interactions. The 

 linkage of single media models and the develop- 

 ment of megamodels are essential for more reli- 

 able management of the environment. 



Three areas of environmental decision support 

 have been established as part of EPA's HPCC 



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