The Scale Matcher: Determining Scale Compatibility of Environmental Data and Models

摘要

Scale issues are important in the environmental domain yet are rarely analysed. The scale of data can render it incompatible with the scale of a model or vice versa. A systematic methodology is necessary to examine these scale dependencies, and help users determine the validity of a specific combination of model and data to address a particular problem. A Scale Matcher procedure is proposed that incorporates Monte Carlo simulations of two key descriptors of scale: accuracy and precision. Two case studies on soil carbon and vulnerability of soil to structural degradation illustrate progress.