This is basically how NUKEMAP already works :-) It uses the LandScan ambient population density dataset and some clever SQL code to figure out how many people are likely to be within any given distance of ground zero.pic.twitter.com/jqzNmTsHl3
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Right. I'm interested in coming up with rough, on-the-fly numbers for how much smoke would be created from any given nuke going off, based on terrain parameters (e.g. grassland vs. desert), density and flammability of buildings, etc.
If I could get reasonable back of the envelope numbers on the fly (e.g., less than a second of calculation per detonation, like the casualty numbers NUKEMAP can already generate very quickly), I could do interesting things with that.
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I've been working on this project for awhile, mostly in the summer (and have a very talented student working on it), and many angles of it are basically working but there are still a few things left to make work before the whole thing can work together.
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I could probably get a single-detonation model working in a very short amount of time but the complexities of a multi-det model are too intoxicating and useful to avoid. Should be more time for the student to work on it this spring.
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“the student” Did I ever ask you where you stand on severity, duration, & likelihood of nuclear war induced weather/climate impacts?
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The student (who gets paid for this and likes the work, so he claims!) is doing a lot of the under-the-hood stuff, the writing of the algorithms. I'm getting better at delegating that sort of thing. :-)
End of conversation
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