Expert Systems in Water Resources

Abstract Expert systems are computer programs designed to replicate some of the capabilities of a human expert in a specific application domain. Their architecture and possible roles in the analysis and management of water resources systems are examined in this paper. Thanks to their ability to handle non numerical information and to the ease in improving and expanding the rules, which constitute their knowledge base, expert systems may be successfully applied for different purposes. Examples of their use as intelligent frontends to conventional software, as help in the choice of suitable mathematical models and as support in the management of very complex water resources systems are described in some detail.