MATHEMATICS & THE ENVIRONMENT by KAINAT MUNIBA KHAN

We see a diversity of waves in our everyday experience. Electromagnetic waves carry television and radio to our homes, ultrasound waves are used to monitor the growth of a baby in the mother's womb, and a variety of waves on the surfaces of rivers, lakes and oceans affect the coastal environment. Mathematical models help us understand these disparate phenomena. Many wave phenomena are characterized by a simple oscillation like a hand-waving greeting. Seen from across a football stadium, such a wave executed by human bodies appears to propagate around the stadium, and this is how sound waves carry your voice across a room. Other wave phenomena are more complex, often involving nonlinear interactions. A special type of wave which can propagate over long distances without significant dispersal, the solitary wave, was first observed by Scott Russell in 1844 on the surface of a canal. Often initiated by mid-ocean earthquakes, but also susceptible to creation by human error, similar waves propagate across oceans at the speed of a commercial jet and cause devastation when they collide with solid shores. Dubbed the tsunami by the Japanese who must contend with their destructive effects, these waves can propagate undetected due to their large wavelength and small amplitude. However, decreasing depth near a shoreline causes them to transform into huge waves that can inundate a coastal region. Their special form allows them to move over great distances without being dispersed as quickly as other waves. Mathematics plays a key role in environmental studies, modeling, etc. Basic mathematics - calculus, percents, ratios, graphs and charts, sequences, sampling, averages, a population growth model, variability and probability - all relate to current, critical issues such as pollution, the availability of resources, environmental clean-up, recycling, CFC's, and population growth. A Pakistani Mathematician Muhammad Naveed Jafar recently write an article on 'APPLICATION OF SACNHEZ APPROACH TO DISEASE IDENTIFICATION USING TRAPEZOIDAL FUZZY NUMBERS' and now a days he is working on mathematical envoirnmental science , here the picture of that pakistani Mathematician is

Fred Roberts - Department of Mathematics, Rutgers University Moving Traffic So As To Use Less Fuel and Reduce Pollution Two of the ways in which mathematics is used in traffic management are in the phasing of traffic lights and in the design of patterns of one-way streets. Mathematical methods first developed in the early stages of sequencing the DNA molecule have turned out to be useful in deciding when to give different streams of traffic a green light. Related mathematical methods are useful in deciding how to make streets one-way so as to move traffic more efficiently. The health and welfare of Earth relies in large part on the ability to accurately understand and interpret mathematical environmental data in critical areas, such as pollution, global warming, recycling, population growth, and weather predicting. At a national mathematics conference held earlier this year, mathematicians reported on their research in these and other environmental areas. They also reported on new undergraduate courses being offered at mathematics departments which focus on how to study environmental issues. Celebrations of Mathematics Awareness Week will feature proclamations from many of the nation's governors, legislators, and mayors. Colleges and universities across the country have planned competitions, exhibits, demonstrations, lectures and other events to mark the week. The power and beauty of mathematics and the environment are symbolized in the ocean wave, featured on this year's poster and accompanying card. Included is the solitary wave equation, based on Scott Russell's observations of the surface of a canal in 1844. Mathematics Awareness Week is coordinated by the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics which represents three national mathematics organizations, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.