Simulo Tempestas : a simulation tool for hydrological modelling

Abstract

Man’s existence has clearly interfered with nature. Ever since man appeared on the face of our planet, the landscape was adapted to make it a more habitable environment. Although early humans transformed land to accommodate their dwellings and livestock, land was changed only to a certain extent. However, modern man has altered his surroundings beyond recognition through the building of road networks, sprawling cities, industrial zones, so on and so forth. This project studies the natural flow of water over the terrain through the use of a simulation tool, with particular focus on the Maltese Islands. Such a tool would help engineers plan better the assignment of construction zones as it allows proper analysis of the effects of land development on the flow of storm water before making any commitment that would change the landscape irreversibly. Different weather scenarios, based either on past statistics or completely fictitious ones, could be fed to the tool and its effects studied in the quest of finding the best solutions to avoid man-made catastrophes.