A Formal Framework for Integrated Environment Modeling Systems

Integrated Environment Modeling (IEM) has become more and more important for environmental studies and applications. IEM systems have also been extended from scientific studies to much wider practical application situations. The quality and improved efficiency of IEM systems have therefore become increasingly critical. Although many advanced and creative technologies have been adopted to improve the quality of IEM systems, there is scarcely any formal method for evaluating and improving them. This paper is devoted to proposing a formal method to improve the quality and the developing efficiency of IEM systems. Two primary contributions are made. Firstly, a formal framework for IEM is proposed. The framework not only reflects the static and dynamic features of IEM but also covers different views from variant roles throughout the IEM lifecycle. Secondly, the formal operational semantics corresponding to the former model of the IEM is derived in detail; it can be used as the basis for aiding automated integrated modeling and verifying the integrated model.