ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on a few case studies. Again, it is not my intention to produce here one example each of the full diversity of geographical information systems (GIS) and environmental modeling, but a selection that I have been involved in and for which identifying engineering solutions are very much the focus of the project. Other smaller case studies are used in the other chapters where specific issues need illustration, but the case studies presented here are intended to give some overall context to the previous chapters and to flag issues that are going to be dealt with in the chapters that follow. We will begin by looking at a taxonomy of modeling approaches to using GIS in environmental modeling and engineering. That model will provide a framework for looking at four case studies:
1. Landslides that could be potentially damaging to a reservoir dam. 2. Basin management planning using GIS and hydraulic modeling. 3. Coastal oil-spill modeling. 4. Forensic analysis of pipe failures.
