338
The Daily timescale captures the main periodic rhythm of life on planet Earth:
the rising and setting of the sun. Most processes of weather, life, society, and production, both human and natural, change from day to night; production and consumption of FEW goods change dramatically from day to night, for instance when
energy use spikes at night in the winter due to lighting and heating usage, or when
water use in cities drops nearly to zero at night. Human activities of all kinds change
on weekends and holidays, or even during breaks in big events like sports
tournaments.
The Monthly and Seasonal timescales are closely related, and Monthly timescale
tends to be a human unit of reference for seasonal patterns. Seasons are the other
main periodic rhythm of life on planet Earth. The climate varies with seasons, bringing warm, cold, wet, dry, productive, and dormant cycles to our ecosystems. We use
a lot more water when it is seasonally warm, and a lot more energy when it is cold
(or extremely hot). The water cycle produces a lot of extra water during rainy and
wet seasons, and this water is stored in reservoirs to be used by people during warm
and dry seasons. The foundation of our food supply chain is grain and vegetable
production, and this has traditionally occurred only when the weather is sufficiently
warm and wet (e.g., the growing season); these crops must be stored for use the rest
of the year following the harvest season. Seasons differ dramatically from place to
place, and this is a major reason that humanity’s FEW systems and FEW cultures
differ from region to region.
The annual timescale is the most natural human accounting timescale for FEW
systems because it averages and totals across all of the seasonal and finer-scale
events that occur during a year. We normally think in terms of calendar years, but
some professionals use custom years; hydrologists use “water years, ” which start at
the end of the dry and warm season when water storage is lowest. For example, the
State of California measures its water year starting on October 1st of each year.
Government and private accountants and census-takers are often mandated to perform annual data collection. There are few natural or human processes besides
accounting that specifically operate at the annual timescale.
The decadal timescale is important for consideration of long-term trends such as
growth or decline of populations and economies, technological change, and climate
change. FEW system sustainability and planning problems often exist at decadal
timescales.
12.4 Metrics, Data, Models, Computing, and Decisions
There is a clear relationship between metrics, data, mathematical modeling, and
computational demands. Any measurable datum and variable within a model may
be used as a metric for decision making and to drive action. As depicted in Fig. 12.2,
there is a pathway through data collection, model development, understanding, and
action with a subsequent feedback loop in the opposite direction. This feedback
loop is used to update and confirm that micro-scale physical measurements are consistent with meso and macro-scale emergent system descriptions.
M. Carbajales-Dale et al.
The Daily timescale captures the main periodic rhythm of life on planet Earth:
the rising and setting of the sun. Most processes of weather, life, society, and production, both human and natural, change from day to night; production and consumption of FEW goods change dramatically from day to night, for instance when
energy use spikes at night in the winter due to lighting and heating usage, or when
water use in cities drops nearly to zero at night. Human activities of all kinds change
on weekends and holidays, or even during breaks in big events like sports
tournaments.
The Monthly and Seasonal timescales are closely related, and Monthly timescale
tends to be a human unit of reference for seasonal patterns. Seasons are the other
main periodic rhythm of life on planet Earth. The climate varies with seasons, bringing warm, cold, wet, dry, productive, and dormant cycles to our ecosystems. We use
a lot more water when it is seasonally warm, and a lot more energy when it is cold
(or extremely hot). The water cycle produces a lot of extra water during rainy and
wet seasons, and this water is stored in reservoirs to be used by people during warm
and dry seasons. The foundation of our food supply chain is grain and vegetable
production, and this has traditionally occurred only when the weather is sufficiently
warm and wet (e.g., the growing season); these crops must be stored for use the rest
of the year following the harvest season. Seasons differ dramatically from place to
place, and this is a major reason that humanity’s FEW systems and FEW cultures
differ from region to region.
The annual timescale is the most natural human accounting timescale for FEW
systems because it averages and totals across all of the seasonal and finer-scale
events that occur during a year. We normally think in terms of calendar years, but
some professionals use custom years; hydrologists use “water years, ” which start at
the end of the dry and warm season when water storage is lowest. For example, the
State of California measures its water year starting on October 1st of each year.
Government and private accountants and census-takers are often mandated to perform annual data collection. There are few natural or human processes besides
accounting that specifically operate at the annual timescale.
The decadal timescale is important for consideration of long-term trends such as
growth or decline of populations and economies, technological change, and climate
change. FEW system sustainability and planning problems often exist at decadal
timescales.
12.4 Metrics, Data, Models, Computing, and Decisions
There is a clear relationship between metrics, data, mathematical modeling, and
computational demands. Any measurable datum and variable within a model may
be used as a metric for decision making and to drive action. As depicted in Fig. 12.2,
there is a pathway through data collection, model development, understanding, and
action with a subsequent feedback loop in the opposite direction. This feedback
loop is used to update and confirm that micro-scale physical measurements are consistent with meso and macro-scale emergent system descriptions.
M. Carbajales-Dale et al.