Among the activities of Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013 is a daily English-language blog devoted to the themes of the worldwide project. Along with climate change and sustainability, themes include geophysics, ecology, epidemiology, biodiversity, and the global organization of the planet by humans. Since the beginning of the year, more than 100 entries have been posted. Recent posts discuss the mathematical modeling of flow through porous media (Todd Arbogast, University of Texas, Austin), water management in California’s Central Valley (participants in a workshop held at the American Institute of Mathematics), and atmospheric waves and the organization of tropical weather (Joseph Biello, UC Davis).
A recent post, “Nonlinear Waves and the Growth of a Tsunami,” mentioned work of Mark Ablowitz and Douglas Baldwin, illustrated with a picture of a long-stem X-type interaction. The item caught the attention of SIAM News; Mark Ablowitz accepted our invitation to tailor an article on the subject for our readers, and the result is the accompanying article.
Contributions to the MPE2013 daily blog are welcome. It’s easy to participate: Think of an interesting MPE-related topic, consider how it relates to mathematics, and describe it in 200–500 words. Adding a picture or link to a video will attract even more readers. Blog entries can be submitted via e-mail to [email protected].