Infrastructure Modeling: Status and Applications

Protecting the Nation’s infrastructure from intentional attacks and natural disasters, including extreme weather events and climate change, is a major national security concern that has only become more critical since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (This chapter focuses on the work performed at LANL concerning the protection of the critical infrastructures of the United States (the ‘Nation’); however the modeling concepts discussed here are generally applicable). Understanding potential weaknesses of infrastructure assets and how interdependencies across critical infrastructure affect their behavior is essential to predicting and mitigating single and cascading failures, as well as to planning for response and recovery and future infrastructure development. Modeling and simulation (M&S) is an indispensable part of characterizing this complex system of systems and anticipating its response to disruptions. With the advent of more sophisticated infrastructure M&S capabilities, the possible applications have expanded to include the security challenges faced by the U.S. military, which relies on sustainable energy resources and needs to address environmental challenges and husband its water resources. Another key area where infrastructure modeling can play a critical role is in addressing global warming concerns given changes in available technology, evolution of the energy mix toward renewable resources, and many other infrastructure-related factors.