Interactive multi-objective visualizations

Natural Resouces Management

Integrated Water Resources Management

Spring semester 2015

Andrea Cominola

Learning objectives

• Understanding multi-objective problems in WRM

• Exploring a variety of tools and techniques to interactively

visualize multiple objectives

• Learning how to identify the Pareto front in multi-objective

problems and how to describe the tradeoffs among different

objectives.

Multiple objectives in NRM

When designing planning and management policies of water

many stakes and stakeholders are involved:

… any example?

When designing planning and management policies of water

many stakes and stakeholders are involved:

You are defining performance indicators for different stakeholders in your project. Examples?

Multiple objectives in NRM

Lake

Maggiore

irrigation

hydropower production

flood protection recreation

Multiple actions

When designing planning and management policies of water

many stakes and stakeholders are involved.

Alternative actions can be implemented, in order to manage water

resources and meet one or more stakes:

• Structural actions

o Building a dam

o Building irrigation channels

o Building drainage systems

o Locating and building hydropower plants

o Sediments removal

o River banks maintenance

Multiple actions

When designing planning and management policies of water

many stakes and stakeholders are involved.

Alternative actions can be implemented, in order to manage water

resources and meet one or more stakes:

• Structural actions

• Non-structural actions

o Designing water releases policies

o Designing water distribution rules

o Assigning water rights and priorities

o Designing financial tools for flood protection (e.g., insurance)

o Designing water prices

o Education campaigns

Multi-objective evaluation

When designing planning and management policies of water

many stakes and stakeholders are involved.

Alternative actions can be implemented, in order to manage water

resources and meet one or more stakes:

DIFFERENT ACTIONS

DIFFERENT CONSEQUENCES ON DIFFERENT STAKES

Multi-objective evaluation

OBJECTIVES SPACE

Unmet irrigation

demand

Unmet hydropower

demand

Multi-objective evaluation

OBJECTIVES SPACE

Unmet irrigation

demand

Unmet hydropower

demand

PREFERENCE

DIRECTIONS

Multi-objective evaluation

OBJECTIVES SPACE

Unmet irrigation

demand

Unmet hydropower

demand

IDEAL POINT

Multi-objective evaluation

OBJECTIVES SPACE

Unmet irrigation

demand

Unmet hydropower

demand PARETO FRONT

Multi-objective evaluation

DECISIONS SPACE

New irrigation

channels alternatives

Release policies

Multi-objective evaluation

DECISIONS SPACE OBJECTIVES SPACE

Multi-objective evaluation

DECISIONS SPACE OBJECTIVES SPACE

?

Multi-objective evaluation

DECISIONS SPACE OBJECTIVES SPACE

SIMULATION

MODELS

INTERACTIVE

VISUALIZATION

TOOLS

How to select among alternative actions?

Visualizing tradeoffs among evolving multi-

sector objectives is key for supporting

decision making processes

Let’s get started with a simple example

Lake

Maggiore

irrigation

hydropower production

flood protection recreation

PHYSICAL SYESTEM

DOWNSTREAM HYDROPOWER PRODUCERS

DOWNSTREAM FARMERS

INHABITANTS OF THE LAKE SHORES

RECREATION SECTOR

Let’s get started with a simple example

STAKEHOLDERS

Maximize hydropower production in order to meet the

demand

Maximize crop production

Minimize flooding events intensity

Maximize the volume of water available in the lake for

recreation activities in conditions of low lake storage

Let’s get started with a simple example

OBJECTIVES

Average unmet hydropower demand [m3/d]

Average unmet irrigation demand [m3/d]

Average flood events intensity during the whole time horizon

[m]

Average storage deficit with respect to a minimum threshold

[m3]

Let’s get started with a simple example

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Let’s get started with a simple example

CONTROLS

Let’s get started with a simple example

SUMMARY

• 4 OBJECTIVES

• 3 CONTROLS

Average flood level [m]

Unmet Irr demand [m3/d]

Unmet Hydro demand [m3/d]

Unmet Recreation storage [m3]

1 5.76E-01 1.12E+01 1.12E+01 1.14E+01

2 2.69E+00 1.20E+01 1.20E+01 4.96E+00

3 1.98E+01 1.22E+01 1.22E+01 1.74E-02

4 8.55E-01 1.14E+01 1.14E+01 9.82E+00

5 1.17E+00 1.11E+01 1.11E+01 8.57E+00

6 9.89E-01 1.15E+01 1.15E+01 9.17E+00

… … … … …

Interactive multi-objective visualization

Average flood level [m]

Unmet Irr demand [m3/d]

Unmet Hydro demand [m3/d]

Unmet Recreation storage [m3]

1 5.76E-01 1.12E+01 1.12E+01 1.14E+01

2 2.69E+00 1.20E+01 1.20E+01 4.96E+00

3 1.98E+01 1.22E+01 1.22E+01 1.74E-02

4 8.55E-01 1.14E+01 1.14E+01 9.82E+00

5 1.17E+00 1.11E+01 1.11E+01 8.57E+00

6 9.89E-01 1.15E+01 1.15E+01 9.17E+00

… … … … …

Interactive multi-objective visualization

Is this a good visualization?

Let’s analyze some EFFECTIVE

interactive multi-objective visualization

options

Interactive decision maps

Practical example using Lotov

Interactive Multi-objective visualization

Practical example using DiscoveryDV

Interactive Multi-objective visualization

Parallel plots

Interactive Multi-objective visualization

3D virtual reality

How to decide among different actions? Traditional water operations suffer policy myopia as they are based on a priori multicriteria

decision analysis and fail to explore the full set of tradeoffs between evolving multi-sector

objectives.

How to decide among different actions? Traditional water operations suffer policy myopia as they are based on a priori multicriteria

decision analysis and fail to explore the full set of tradeoffs between evolving multi-sector

objectives.

Interactive Multi-objective visualization

Adding objectives changes the interpretation of results.