It's a shame that there isn't a series of articles on such models --- saw the Chesapeake Bay model (mentioned in a footnote) on a field trip when I was much younger (and it was still in active use for research I believe, yes, as my kids constantly tell me, I'm old).
Simulation used to be essentially impossible, something one dreamed of, or had to pay for time on a Cray or similar supercomputer/cluster.
Apparently, the Chesapeake Bay model was built just as that was becoming feasible:
These are the kinds of interesting engineering challenges that were solved with human ingenuity and grit; I wish we were talking more about them to our youth to inspire imagination about what's possible.
The distortion is interesting and something I didn’t realize the model included. I assume that it’s necessary because the effects of surface tension and the viscosity of water (and other effects?) change its behavior at this scale relative to the features of the model?
The fellow who lived next door to me told me of a similar model system used to model Sydney Harbour which he worked on in the 1970s. IIRC it was instrumented with electronics and linked to a VAX or similar early machine.
John McPhee talks about a similar model for the Mississippi River in “The Control of Nature” Well worth a read. Fun stories about Hawaii and Los Angeles too, iirc.
This is neat to see. US army crops of engineers is a negative “word” to me after growing up in FL and they destroyed so many ecosystems. And the entire Everglades. They’re still at it now. My family has basically spent the past 30 years fighting a ware they put in on our natural creek. It killed the creek, it shrunk the flow to the size of the culvert.
So, It’s neat to see something competent! Imagine if they modeled what cutting off the natural draining to the Everglades would do :p
I highly recommend a visit. It’s only a beautiful ferry ride and nice walk along the waterfront away from San Francisco. A refreshingly retro and analog experience.
In addition to sibling comments for intent, the book Cadillac Desert documents how this government agency can be used to further moneyed interests, ie subsidize developments that would otherwise not be economically viable from local funding but become viable when federal taxpayer foots the bill. (The big examples in the book is building cities and farmland in deserts.)
There's some good answers here but something important is missed. Militaries spend a lot of time having soldiers shoot rounds down the range to ensure everyone is up to snuff. The engineering corps is similar but better. You can fund target practice for your army engineers by having them go build public infrastructure. It's a win for the military (practical experience), win for locals (public infrastructure), and a win for the taxpayer (two for one deal).
Was it displayed at the Civic Center or did Autodesk have an office location in Sausalito? I had never heard of this Bay Model and believe to only have seen a model at the (new location) of the Exploratorium - this was over a decade ago so don't quite recall
Big fan of this thing. It's one of my favorite places to take friends who visit the Bay Area.
Something that's not mentioned in the article is that the building they occupy is a former warehouse of Marinship, a World War Ⅱ shipyard that made Liberty Ships and T2 oil tankers used to supply fuel in the Pacific Theater: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinship
The Bay Model building has a Marinship museum in a front room. For anyone who wants to see Marinship's full story in motion, here's my HEVC encode of ‘“Tanker” — 1942–1945 War Time History of Marinship Corporation’ https://mega dot nz/file/lgtmlKIA#asrzuwGOxi6l8I5BmgyAxfKkm1zFcxvY4SYS1SxqtZk
e: the Bay Model building is the big square one that is center-frame starting at 04:30 in the video, Marin City at 09:23, and some beginnings of modern-day international oil politics at 12:28.
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[ 2.3 ms ] story [ 61.6 ms ] threadSimulation used to be essentially impossible, something one dreamed of, or had to pay for time on a Cray or similar supercomputer/cluster.
Apparently, the Chesapeake Bay model was built just as that was becoming feasible:
https://easternshorebrent.com/2017/11/30/doomed-progress-the...
and has since been dismantled and a business park built on the site.
Captain Chesapeake WBFF TV45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3kjJt_7zw4
Ahoy! - The Captain Chesapeake Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QUGMVYIHvA
Did you know that Traffic Jam Jimmie was also Mondy the Sea Monster?!?
So, It’s neat to see something competent! Imagine if they modeled what cutting off the natural draining to the Everglades would do :p
That you were able to grow up in Florida at all is largely because of the Army Corps of Engineers.
In other countries the government would be involved but it would be a civilian rather than military role
On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrotfish: Can Large Liquid Models Understand the Bay?
The Brackish Lesson: Scale Beats Insight in Large Liquid Models
Large Liquid Models are Few-Drop Learners
Schooling Laws for Tidal Liquid Models
No Silver Mullet
Back in the 90's the Autodesk tech office was next door to the Bay Model and we'd occasionally pop over for lunch and tour the place.
Great to see it still around and open to the public.
Something that's not mentioned in the article is that the building they occupy is a former warehouse of Marinship, a World War Ⅱ shipyard that made Liberty Ships and T2 oil tankers used to supply fuel in the Pacific Theater: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinship
The Bay Model building has a Marinship museum in a front room. For anyone who wants to see Marinship's full story in motion, here's my HEVC encode of ‘“Tanker” — 1942–1945 War Time History of Marinship Corporation’ https://mega dot nz/file/lgtmlKIA#asrzuwGOxi6l8I5BmgyAxfKkm1zFcxvY4SYS1SxqtZk
See also Marin City, which is the remains of Marinship's on-site worker housing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_City,_California
e: the Bay Model building is the big square one that is center-frame starting at 04:30 in the video, Marin City at 09:23, and some beginnings of modern-day international oil politics at 12:28.