NISTIR 7071 

Modeling and Simulation for 

Emergency Response: 

Workshop Report, Standards and Tools 

Sanjay Jain

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Northern Virginia Center

7054 Haycock Road

Falls Church, VA 22043

Charles R. McLean

Manufacturing Systems Integration Division

Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

December 2003

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Donald L. Evans, Secretary

TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION

Phillip J. Bond, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Workshop sponsors: 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

NIST Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory

NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory 

NIST Advanced Technology Program

NIST Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications program

Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) 

Association for Enterprise Integration (AFEI)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Workshop Organizing Committee: 

Charles R. McLean, NIST 

Sharon Kemmerer, NIST 

Swee Leong, NIST 

Mark Carlisle, NIST 

Cynthia Giaquinto, NIST 

Sanjay Jain, Virginia Tech/ NIST 

Jack Corley, ATI 

David Cheeseborough, AFEI 

Disclaimer 

No approval or endorsement of any commercial software by the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology is intended or implied. Certain commercial software and related materials are identified in

this report to facilitate understanding. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement

by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment 

identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose. 

The work described was funded by the United States Government and is not subject to copyright.

Cover sheet graphics include screen displays of the following modeling and simulation tools included in the 

appendices of this report (from top of the cover to the bottom): HAZUS developed by Federal Emergency 

Management Agency and National Institute of Building Sciences, the screen display is from a model 

developed by Applied Research Associates, Inc.; CAPARS developed by Regional Atmospheric Response

Center, AlphaTRAC Atmospheric Consultants and Innovative GIS Solutions, Inc.; JCATS developed by US 

Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) Joint War Fighting Center (included in Appendix B as ACATS); and 

HOTMAC/RAPTAD developed by YSA Corporation. The background graphic is a screen display from CTAnalyst developed by Naval Research Laboratory. The cover has been designed by Bessmarie A. Young of 

NIST Manufacturing Engineering Lab. 

 ii 
PREFACE

This document provides a summary of the talks and working sessions during the “Modeling and Simulation 

for Emergency Response” workshop. We elected to provide a summary including the key points of the 

talks instead of including the presentation materials. We believe the readers will find this more useful. 

Based on their interest, readers can access the specific presentation through the workshop website: 

www.nist.gov/simresponse. 

For the four working sessions, we have included the summaries as provided by moderators and scribes for

the sessions. Care has been taken to present the material as collected from workshop breakout session 

attendees by the moderators and scribes and we have refrained from adding any material. A number of

acronyms have been expanded in this material for better readability. The acronyms and abbreviations are 

also listed in Appendix C for reference. 

While we have made every effort to summarize the talks and working sessions without losing the key 

message, readers and presenters are invited to send their comments, and/or suggestions for improvement of

this document to mser_report_feedback@cme.nist.gov by January 31, 2004. An updated version of this

report may be prepared by March 2004, if the feedback received warrants such a revision. 

Appendix A and B of this document respectively include relevant standards and modeling and simulation 

tools for emergency response. The information on standards and tools has been collected using Internet

searches and information provided by attendees of the workshop. The information presented for each tool

and standard has been adapted from referenced websites. Readers are invited to send information on

additional tools, standards, and suggested revisions on the information currently included to

mser_report_feedback@cme.nist.gov by February 29, 2004. We would like to release an updated version 

of these appendices next year. 

We would like to thank all the speakers who shared their valuable knowledge and time, all the participants 

in the workshop for providing their contribution through the working sessions, and the facilitators and

scribes of the working sessions for capturing the discussions and presenting them to all attendees. We 

thank the vendors who provided displays of relevant tools and techniques during the workshop. We would 

also like to thank all the sponsors of this workshop including: NIST, NIST Manufacturing Engineering

Laboratory, NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory, NIST Advanced Technology Program, NIST

Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications program, Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), 

Association for Enterprise Integration (AFEI), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Many people

contributed to the success of the workshop and it will be hard to list everyone. We would specifically like 

to acknowledge the efforts of the workshop organization committee who worked with the authors 

including: Jack Corley of ATI, David Cheeseborough of AFEI, and the following people from NIST – 

Sharon Kemmerer, Swee Leong, Mark Carlisle, and Cynthia Giaquinto. 

Sanjay Jain 

Charles R. McLean 

 iii 
This page left blank intentionally. 

 iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 1

II. OPENING REMARKS ................................................................................................................ 3 

III. Requirements for M&S for Emergency Response........................................................................ 3 

III.1. The Assumptions of Disaster Planning......................................................................................... 3 

III.2. The First Responder Perspective................................................................................................... 4 

IV. Framework for Modeling &Simulation for Emergency Response ............................................... 5 

IV.1. Vision for an Integrated Emergency Response Framework.......................................................... 5 

IV.2. Developing a National Emergency Response Modeling and Simulation Framework .................. 6 

V. Preparing the information platform for M&S............................................................................... 7 

V.1. Geospatial Information for Emergency Responders...................................................................... 7 

V.2. Preparing for an Emergency: Preparing the Plan and Information Needs...................................... 8 

VI. Modeling and Simulation Tools for Emergency Response .......................................................... 9 

VI.1. Simulation-based Training to Prepare for Acts of Terrorism within the U.S. .............................. 9 

VI.2. Vision for the Future - How can simulation and modeling help emergency responders?........... 10 

VI.3. U.S. Joint Forces Command Joint Warfighting Center Simulation Support to Homeland Security 

and Defense ................................................................................................................................ 10 

VI.4. Process Oriented Framework for Emergency Response Planning, Simulation and Execution... 11 

VI.5. Computer-Aided Design of Mass Prophylaxis Strategies for Bioterrorism Response................ 12 

VI.6. TOPOFF – The National Training Exercise ............................................................................... 13 

VI.7. Training for Emergency Response.............................................................................................. 14 

VI.8. Beyond the Shooting House: Tying Training to Education in Homeland Security .................... 14 

VI.9. Simulation Technology for Community Readiness, Training & Exercise Support .................... 15 

VI.10. Nationwide NARAC Support for the Civil Sector.................................................................... 15 

VI.11. Data Resources for Hazard Modeling in Building Interiors ..................................................... 16 

VII. Workshop Parallel Breakout Sessions........................................................................................ 17 

VII.1. User Requirements I & II .......................................................................................................... 17 

VII.2. Data Requirements I & II .......................................................................................................... 19 

VII.3. Integration I & II ....................................................................................................................... 23 

VII.4. Roadmap I & II.......................................................................................................................... 25 

VIII. Funding Programs....................................................................................................................... 27 

VIII.1. Modeling and Simulation for Emergency Response: NSF’s Role ........................................... 27 

VIII.2. Department of Homeland Security Office of Domestic Preparedness & Interoperability Efforts

.................................................................................................................................................... 28 

VIII.3. NIST Advanced Technology Program..................................................................................... 29

IX. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 30 

APPENDICES

Appendix A. RELEVANT STANDARDS AND EFFORTS................................................................ A-i 

Appendix B. EMERGENCY RESPONSE MODELING, SIMULATION AND SUPPORTING TOOLS 

AND PROJECTS............................................................................................................. B-i 

Appendix C. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................ C-i 

 v 
This page left blank intentionally. 

 vi
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A workshop on “Modeling and Simulation for Emergency Response” was held from March 4 to March 6,

2003 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Emergency response is defined as all 

the activities for identifying, detecting, planning, training, analyzing vulnerability and responding to

unanticipated events that may result in injury and/or loss of human lives and damage and/or destruction of

critical infrastructure elements. NIST has responded to recent events by including “Homeland Security” as 

one of the four strategic focus areas in its 2010 strategic plan. This strategic focus led to NIST hosting this

workshop. 

The two and a half day workshop program included talks and four breakout sessions that invited attendees 

to formulate recommendations in selected areas. The talks focused on topics ranging from requirements for 

modeling and simulation (M&S) tools for emergency response, proposals for integration of such tools into

a framework for rapid deployment of this vital capability, available M&S applications for the purpose and 

prospective funding programs to support such developments. The summaries captured below include the 

key points from the talks and workshop breakout sessions. 

The development of M&S tools for emergency response should be guided by the requirements of the first

responders. The environment at an emergency response site can get quite chaotic. Assumptions such as 

someone is always in command and response is coordinated do not hold. The responders need to be trained 

to handle such situations and simulations can help meet this need. Responders do believe simulation can be 

a useful training tool though they do not want to see it totally replace the hands-on exercises (note: this 

belief may be based on the commonly available technology; exposure to advanced virtual reality 

technology may change this belief in the future). The perception is that simulations take too large an effort 

to build and are generally too complex. The user requirements workshop breakout recommended that

requirements should be considered across all perspective levels including strategic, management, 

operational and tactical. The communication needs across organization boundaries need to be defined at

each perspective level. Standard terminology should be used across jurisdictions, across disciplines and 

across levels of government. 

A framework for integrating modeling, simulation and visualization tools can help address some of the 

requirements of the first responders, in particular, for the command and control personnel at the state, 

regional and national level Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). Integration of such tools will allow 

looking at the overall picture and help guide better decision-making. It will allow bringing together tools 

from various modeling domains such as plume dispersion, traffic movement, communication processes, 

hospital operations for rapidly building a virtual representation of an emergency response scenario. NIST 

with its experience of building standards for integration of manufacturing simulations has developed a 

concept on an integrated Emergency Response Framework. The requirements for such a framework 

include the capabilities for integrating non-homogenous software and a user base that includes noncomputing professionals. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has technologies for integration, data 

retrieval and standardization that can help build the framework. The integration workshop breakout

recommended that types of tools that need to be integrated need to be identified and features for 

interoperability identified. The High Level Architecture, developed under the leadership of the Defense 

Modeling and Simulation Office (DMSO) to support reuse and interoperability across the large numbers of 

different types of simulations used by the Department of Defense, can be used as an integration mechanism

for emergency response simulations also. It must address protocol, syntax and semantics time

synchronization. Standards to support integration should be identified and developed where lacking. 

A number of modeling and simulation tools for emergency response related applications are available and 

more are under development. These include tools for planning such as virtual representations of city

landscapes, human body representations for enhanced medical response, war theatre simulation tools that

can be used for homeland security applications, and discrete event simulation tools for planning for medical

resources to attend to affected population. A number of tools address training needs ranging from national

level training exercises to agency level simulated exercises. Simulation tools for modeling a hazardous 

 1 
plume dispersion under forecasted weather conditions are already available for use for real time support of 

response activity. Efforts have also focused on validation of simulation tools.

Simulations are data intensive and an information platform needs to be prepared to enable their use. 

Strategies are being put into place to ensure availability of required data, specifically, the geospatial data. 

A number of efforts are in progress for building nationwide real-time detection systems. These include 

placement of sensors and detectors on existing infrastructure elements. The data requirements’ breakout 

session concluded that there is an obvious need for data exchange standards. Metadata should be

developed and maintained and should connect to accessible data archives. 

A roadmap for developing and implementing the proposed framework needs to be defined. The roadmap 

workshop breakout identified the elements of the roadmap and the issues that it should address. The goal 

for this effort should include moving the existing body of knowledge from expert sources such as

Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DoE) to emergency response community. A 

standardized body of knowledge and methodologies should be established. 

This document provides brief summaries of the presentations and workshop sessions at the event. The 

summaries are arranged in the sequence of the workshop agenda. The appendices provide related

information on modeling and simulation and supporting tools, standards associated with this area and 

reference information collected by the authors. 

 2 
II. OPENING REMARKS 

Opening Remarks by Dr. Dale Hall, Director, Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory, National

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): 

Dr. Hall’s talk highlighted the wake-up call received for emergency response through many recent natural 

disasters and man-made events including the terrorist attacks of 9-11. Several calls for action through

reports and broad agency announcements by the policymakers of the nation were listed. NIST has 

responded by including “Homeland Security” as one of its four strategic focus areas in its 2010 strategic 

plan. 

A case was made for using simulation for emergency response. Simulation is a valuable tool for 

emergency response and can be used for vulnerability assessment, planning, training and decision support. 

It was identified as the only feasible approach when it is difficult to do real-life experiments, as is the case 

for homeland security applications. 

NIST was introduced as the agency responsible for the development of standards, measurements, testing

capabilities, and representing US interests in the international standards communities. A brief overview 

was provided of the multiple ongoing and past efforts at NIST in the area of emergency response. These 

include efforts for strengthening structural and safety standards, improved materials for structures, cybersecurity standards and technologies, enhanced threat detection and protection, and tools for law 

enforcement and emergency response. Activities in emergency response include facilitating better national 

standards for chemical and biological protective gear, standardization of communication for first

responders, standard test arena for search and rescue robot performance and developing simulation tools 

and standards for emergency response. 

NIST has considerable experience in the area of manufacturing simulation and visualization that is being 

leveraged for application of simulation to the emergency response area. The strategy is based on

identifying the needs of the first responders and surveying the available tools and relevant standards against 

the needs. An initial framework has been defined for integrating tools. The workshop had been organized

to bring together leading experts in the area to provide input towards establishing a roadmap for moving

forward. 

Dr. Hall challenged the attendees were to achieve the goals of the workshop and those of the focused 

sessions on data, integration, user requirements and roadmap development.

III. REQUIREMENTS FOR M&S FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

III.1. The Assumptions of Disaster Planning 

– Dr. Paul D. Kim, Area Emergency Manager, VA Healthcare System Upstate New 

York Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group, Department of Veterans 

Affairs

Dr. Kim based his talk on his broad experience in emergency response operations including working at the 

Emergency Operation Center for the City of New York following the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. approach to 

emergency scene management was compared to that of Israel and a summary of lessons learned was 

provided. The assumptions made by emergency response personnel were listed and discussed. 

The big three of terrorist organizations were identified as Hamas, Hizbollah and Islamic Jihad. A video of

a terrorist attack on Israel was shown. It was pointed out that no fire trucks and police cars were

noticeable on the scene. The emergency response personnel in Israel stage further away from the scene to 

minimize exposure of their first responders to a secondary attack. 

 3 
Preparedness is only as good as the assumptions on which it is based. The general assumptions made for 

emergency response were listed as below.

• When it happens I will know what to do. 

• Someone is in command. 

• Response is coordinated. 

• Patients arrive in an orderly fashion. 

• Resources and supplies are available as needed. 

• All medical problems are traumatic. 

Dr. Kim discussed each one of them and provided anecdotes indicating that all of the assumptions usually

prove to be wrong. Training exercises, if done well, can help emergency personnel plan better. It was 

pointed out that the required twice a year exercises at hospitals have been found to be not taken seriously

and hence have not proven as worthwhile as intended. Some of the incident site conundrums were also

pointed out such as responders tearing the scene apart for rescue and recovery operations while law

enforcement wants the scene undisturbed for evidence collection. These efforts need to be coordinated. 

Dr. Kim shared experiences from the incident command post. The responders have to workaround the 

unplanned interruptions in basic services. The NY city incident command post used a ham radio operator

network to communicate until the phone network became operational. Hospitals now-a-days use

computerized just-in-time procurement systems. The procurement systems cannot operate if power supply

is interrupted. This results in no orders being sent out to vendors in turn leading to a shortage of medical

supplies. The plans should also ensure availability of equipment such as generators, phones, fax machines 

and copiers. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) should be established with suppliers for 

maintenance of the equipment during emergency response operations. Subsistence of emergency

responders and assistance needs of their families should be planned for. The interoperability of equipment 

for use at emergency response operations centers should be ensured. The tactical and medical decision 

making should be combined for efficient operations of hospital emergency incident command centers.

It was pointed out that setup and running of emergency operations centers and incident command centers

need personnel with special skills. These special skills include capability to predict the needs, act as 

scribes, and of acquiring and running the logistics equipment. 

III.2. The First Responder Perspective 

– Mr. Jock Bond, Deputy, Emergency Management Division, Titan Group 

Mr. Bond’s briefing provided a perspective based on several years of conducting Weapons of Mass 

Destruction (WMD) exercises for first responders in communities across the nation. It described the 

diversity of audience and capabilities in different communities and the challenges associated with 

developing live exercises and table-top seminars to train all of them. It also included information from a 

survey of the response community on their interest in and need for including models and simulation in their 

training programs. 

The lessons learned from exercises indicate that the following are critical for emergency response: 

• Intra- Inter- agency communication/ notification

• Intra- Inter- agency coordination 

• Incident command/ unified command 

• Victim decontamination (on scene and at hospitals) 

• Cross-contamination 

• HazMat/ bomb squad interoperability 

• Syndromic surveillance (determination of patterns based on emergency room visits) 

• Criminal/epidemiological investigation 

• Incident scene/ hospital coordination 

• Public information

 4 
The diversity of first responders in different communities poses a challenge to develop emergency response 

training. A number of organizations are involved, each with different demographics. Of the total of

approximately one million firefighters in the nation, 75% are volunteers. Most of the volunteer firefighters 

are based in rural areas. In metropolitan areas, firefighters are mostly professionals. The responsibilities of 

the different organizations overlap and sometimes are not clearly defined. For example, local police, local 

fire department and emergency medical service (EMS) are responsible for initial response while the role of

the FBI for this function is not clearly defined for this function. Some of the organizations are easier to

model such as 911 dispatch, FBI, and National Guard Bureau Civil Support Teams (NGB-CST). Similarly

some functions are easier to model including protective actions, hazard identification, victim

decontamination and responder decontamination. However, it is challenging to model other functions

including notification, initial response, protective actions, mutual aid, victim care and public information. 

The feedback from responders surveyed indicated that they feel “inundated” daily with individuals and

companies identifying modeling and simulation capabilities. They are concerned about the experts who do

the modeling and believe most products are too boilerplate and hard to tailor to their requirements. They 

believe that the city scale modeling tools that they have seen are too personnel intensive and are too

focused on one approach. A hybrid approach is needed. Some believe their community is too low a threat

to get into extensive modeling and simulation. Some believe that inter-personal communication “is their 

job,” and they don’t want a model to diminish the importance of that dynamic. 

On the positive side, responders do believe that simulation can be a useful training tool though there is a 

concern that it may be perceived as replacement of hands-on exercises and worse yet, reduction of budgets. 

They need help separating “the wheat from the chaff.” All would like an all-inclusive tool, but believe that

it is currently too hard to do. In the absence of that, they recommend “focused” modeling such as bomb

squad simulation, mass vaccination/ alternate care facility concepts and video games for concepts such as 

the Visual Purple FBI product. 

It was recommended that the efforts should focus on the high threat and high vulnerability areas first. 

These include the 17% of the counties where 75% of the nation’s population resides, and even more so the 

3% of the counties among them where 44% of the nation population resides. 

IV. FRAMEWORK FOR MODELING & SIMULATION FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

IV.1. Vision for an Integrated Emergency Response Framework 

- Mr. Charles McLean, Program Manager, Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization,

NIST, and Dr. Sanjay Jain, Visiting Professor, NIST and Research Associate Professor, 

Virginia Tech 

Mr. McLean provided an overview of the NIST effort for modeling and simulation for emergency response. 

A brief introduction to NIST’s effort in developing standards for simulation applications was provided

followed by a description of the vision for a framework for emergency response. 

Simulation standards help make more effective use of modeling and simulation. The standards must

establish interfaces, enable development of neutral simulation component libraries, lead to commercial 

implementations in off-the-shelf products and permit customization to meet individual user needs. The

Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization program at NIST has been working on multiple facets of 

simulation standards including architecture, interfaces and model specification. NIST is currently engaged 

in a major effort to develop a manufacturing shop data model and interface specification for simulation

working with Software Engineering Institute’s Technology Insertion, Demonstration, and Evaluation

(TIDE) program. It involves developing a hierarchical structure, resource handling, plan development and

implementation, material lists, etc., all of which are applicable to emergency response simulation

applications. The over 150 page specification contains Unified Modeling Language (UML), eXtensible 

Markup Language (XML) and text definitions of data for manufacturing simulation.

A Simulation Standards Consortium has been established including participants from government, industry, 

software vendors, research institutes and academia. The consortium’s goal is to develop new draft 

 5 
standards’ specifications and prototype implementations that demonstrate their feasibility. Work groups

are being formed in special interest areas including facilities layout, planning and scheduling.

The objective in the area of emergency response is also to develop standards working with partners. 

Addressing an emergency incident requires addressing multiple interdependent aspects of the situation. The 

simulation tools addressing different aspects of an emergency situation need to be integrated to provide the 

whole picture to planners, trainers and responders. 

Dr. Jain presented a proposed framework for integrated emergency response developed at NIST. The

integrated Emergency Response Framework (iERF) addresses the domain on three axes – disaster event, 

entities of interest and applications. The disaster event axis represents different kinds of events including

man-made and natural disasters. The “entities of interest” axis represents the impact on the general public, 

first responders, infrastructure, etc. The applications axis captures the various uses of such tools including 

planning, vulnerability analysis, identification and detection, training and real time response support. The 

framework can help identify the gaps in availability of modeling and simulation tools and help define the 

integration needs. 

The integration of modeling and simulation tools can be effectively carried out if they follow 

interoperability standards. Data standards requirements for emergency response can be developed and

specified using Unified Modeling Language (UML) (OMG 2001). An architecture for integrated use of

modeling and simulation tools has been proposed. The interoperability standards can be developed using a 

defined plan going through the stages of gathering consensus from interested agencies, developing

specification sets, selecting models and test data sets and developing a prototype simulation environment. 

A successful prototype can lead to implementation by transitioning results to software developers and 

relevant standards organizations. 

The availability of interoperability standards for modeling and simulation tools for emergency response 

will improve significantly the nation’s capability in this area. The integrated set of tools can be used for 

developing well-coordinated response plans. They can be used for providing a complete scenario for 

training where the results of response actions can be evaluated immediately allowing rapid learning for the 

trainees. The tools can be used for rapid evaluation of alternate response plans on the occurrence of a 

major incident and prudent selection of the plan leading to minimization of impact of the incident. 

IV.2. Developing a National Emergency Response Modeling and Simulation Framework 

– Ms. Rebecca Moses, Michael J. Taylor and Gary R. Steiner, Nuclear Science and 

Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Ms. Moses presented an approach for the development of a framework to allow distributed and integrated

execution of a broad range of simulation systems. 

The ability to accurately simulate scenario- and locale-specific emergency response (ER) incidents is 

crucial for administrative planning as well as for first-responder training and operational support. Given 

the current geo-political climate and the harsh reality that terrorist acts are globally motivated but locally 

implemented, it is imperative that all levels of government have access to state-of-the-art ER modeling 

capabilities. Unfortunately, many local agencies lack the technical expertise and computing resources to

conduct such modeling studies. While simulation tools and supporting data certainly exist to model an

extremely wide range of individual ER incident scenarios, these computing resources do not exist as an

integrated analysis tool for use by non-computing professionals. Currently, there is neither an integrated

ER simulation capability nor a dedicated infrastructure to develop and maintain such non-trivial modeling 

capabilities. 

The vision of the framework includes a highly integrated on-demand analysis capability that covers the 

complete occurrence-evolution-operational-resolution problem space. It should support administrative 

planning, first responder training and real-time operational support. It should be available via a network to

any federal, state and local agency. 

 6 
Some of the numerical complexities associated with developing an integrated general-purpose ER 

modeling capability and providing the analysis capability to a geographically disbursed and nonhomogenous user base were summarized. A methodology is required for integrating non-homogenous

software and a user base that includes non-computing professionals. The analysis framework should be 

implemented with a “Problem Solving Environment” to manage computing complexity at run time. The 

software integration issues are complex and necessitate an advanced methodology such as the Cognitive 

Agent Architecture Open Source (COUGAAR) software originally developed by DARPA and ALPINE, a 

consortium currently composed entirely of BBN Technologies. 

Access is needed to provide statistically consistent, locale-specific data; and software is needed for 

integrated analysis. The data requirements’ categories are complex due to being context driven and 

typically being defined fully only at run-time. Even within a category, data values can vary significantly 

and hence on-demand on-line data identification, retrieval, and validation are needed. Potential 

methodologies for data retrieval and standardization include “Mercury” and “VIPAR.” Both these 

methodologies were developed at ORNL. Mercury is a web-based metadata search and data retrieval

system and can be used for building a centralized index. The Virtual Information Processing Agent

Research (VIPAR) project developed VIPAR software for text analysis and clustering using software 

agents. 

The large-scale geographically dispersed distributed computing network will pose operational management

challenges. Also, many agencies do not have the computing expertise and resources to access the analysis 

capabilities. 

 

The talk concluded by calling for the creation of a national user facility which would be responsible for 

developing and maintaining integrated ER simulation tools and high-quality supporting data. Patterned 

after the highly successful scientific user centers within the Department of Energy, the proposed facility 

would provide these computing resources free of charge to local governments via a nationwide distributed 

computing network.

V. PREPARING THE INFORMATION PLATFORM FOR M&S 

V.1. Geospatial Information for Emergency Responders 

– Strategy for Nationwide Availability and Interoperability – Ms. Susan Kalweit, Chief, 

Interagency Geospatial Preparedness Team, Office of National Preparedness, FEMA, 

Department of Homeland Security. 

State and local governments are engaged daily in activities that protect property and guarantee the safety of

more than 284 million Americans. But they do so without the benefit of key data, tools, and standards that 

can ensure improved safety for first responders and citizens alike. Spatial data (information linked to an 

electronic map) and associated technologies significantly increase emergency response effectiveness and 

efficiency. They also enhance hazard mitigation and provide for non-emergency applications that will pay

for themselves many times over. 

Today, there is a lack of coordination that results in duplication of effort and cost among federal agencies

involved in geospatial activities. States and local authorities receive mixed, conflicting, or competing 

guidance and direction from geospatial providers. For our nation to use geospatial capabilities as a critical 

underpinning to national emergency preparedness and homeland security, federal and other levels of

government need to coordinate their efforts and share information. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the Interagency Geospatial

Preparedness Team (IGPT) to help address these needs. The IGPT interacts with a wide array of emergency 

response and homeland security stakeholders at all levels of government and in the private sector. Its 

objective is to use geospatial information to enable state and local governments to better respond to 

disasters. 

 7 
The merger of Global Positioning System (GPS), GIS and other technologies to provide rich geospatial 

data can bring about a new economy. The creation of geospatial models needs to be supported at several

fronts. Standards need to be developed for integration of 3D models. For example, the models created

using Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) and pictometry cannot be integrated currently. Creation of

geospatial models will also require sharing of data and resources. National and state policies that are 

roadblocks to such data sharing need to be reviewed and relaxed where possible. Innovative ways for 

funding the efforts need to be developed. The state of Maine has issued public bonds to fund a geospatial

library and has also modified policies to allow sharing of data. The availability of information has to be 

balanced with security concerns of making the data available. 

V.2. Preparing for an Emergency: Preparing the Plan and Information Needs 

– Dr Frank Akers, Jr., Associate Laboratory Director, National Security Directorate, Oak 

Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) 

Dr. Akers identified the incident management system requirements and briefly described the efforts at

ORNL in the areas of detection, assessment, command and control, response and training. 

Comprehensive incident management requires an information technology infrastructure from local to

national levels. It should provide a common operating picture to emergency responders through distributed 

access with multi-level security. It needs to be reliable, survivable and secure. It should be scalable across 

state, local and federal governments. The capability should be based on a common data highway that 

enables integration of information from all sources including local, state and federal governments agencies, 

law enforcement networks, transportation networks, intelligence networks, etc. 

ORNL and University of Tennessee established The Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC) in 2000

with Congressional funding. It provides training, technologies and innovations to law enforcement agencies 

and facilitates community partnerships. A public safety technology alliance involving LEIC, ORNL, state 

forensic laboratories and law enforcement agencies has developed a number of technologies including

cyanoacrylate fingerprint, chemical characterization of fingerprints, audio and video tape reconstruction, 

and theft prevention encapsulated taggants. 

ORNL efforts in the detection area include projects to build a Nationwide Real-Time Detection System. It 

utilizes an existing infrastructure for rapid deployment of sensing capabilities. Sensors are being placed on 

mobile-phone towers. The towers already have the telemetry to signal need for replacement for the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA)-mandated red lights on the top. Nuclear detectors are being integrated with

weigh stations on highways. AquaSentinel, a photosynthetic biosensor system for drinking water 

developed at ORNL can detect chemical antagonists and is being tested for deployment to primary sources 

of drinking water. The information from these detectors and sensors can be used to identify potential risk 

areas and use customized phone messages based on receiver location for response. 

A number of tools have been developed at ORNL for assessment. LandScan, the federal standard for

population data helps estimate the population at risk based on the geographical location of a hazard. 

Hazard Prediction and Assessments Capability (HPAC) estimates the hazards from atmospheric release of 

nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) materials. The Hydrologic Transport Assessment System

(HYTRAS) predicts the transport and concentration of NBC agents in water. 

ORNL has similarly developed tools to support command and control. Command center interface provide 

needed graphics and textual information for an incident including sensor details, time history plots and 3D

fly-throughs. Hazard prediction capabilities allow estimation of exposure of population over time and help 

to plan the response. 

Rapid response requires real time information to be sent directly to the decision-maker. It requires 

immediate identification of threat and predictive assessment of an event over time. It should facilitate 

getting the right information to first responders and fast. RAMSAFE, a tool developed originally at ORNL 

and being further developed by Public Safety Systems, LLC, can be used for coordinating first responders 

 8 
during an incident. It is designed for use during normal operations of first response agencies allowing

embedded training. The users can develop the tool expertise during day-to-day operations and use it

effectively during emergency incidents.

Training for readiness can be enhanced through the use of realistic scenarios and models. Embedded 

training will ensure effectiveness of the tool. The tools should include projected effects on population,

conquer jurisdictional issues and improve operating procedures. 

Note: Brief descriptions of the tools mentioned by Dr. Akers are included in Appendix B: Emergency

Response Modeling and Simulation Tools and Projects. 

VI. MODELING AND SIMULATION TOOLS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

This section includes a number of talks describing various modeling and simulation tools. The first five

tools are focused on planning applications, the next four are focused on training applications, the tenth talk

is focused on a real-time response support application and the eleventh and the last talk summarized in this 

section describes a study that validated emergency response simulation tools. 

VI.1. Simulation-based Training to Prepare for Acts of Terrorism within the U.S. 

– Mr. Bob Clover, Technical Director, Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) 

Mr. Clover provided a brief discussion of Virtual Reality (VR) modeling and simulation for security 

planning and WMD response training and identified future needs. 

The Virtual Cities program of IDA is creating virtual reality representations of several cities in the U.S. 

The concept originated in the Virtual Emergency Response Training Simulation (VERTS) program for

training of the first response community and the military responders to Weapons of Mass Destruction 

(WMD) incidents. The VERTS program allowed responders to go in full protective gear inside virtual

reality representations of a scene. Other responders could participate using monitors with virtual reality 

displays. The application highlighted the value of such representations in training. This motivated the 

development of virtual representations of large areas of a city that may include sensitive buildings for 

training and planning applications. Graphics of the area around the White House were shown as examples. 

The value of developing realistic representations was shown through their use in transport and dispersion

modeling of biological or chemical agents. A sample virtual scenario was used to model a dispersion

plume transport using different techniques. It was shown that in an urban scenario the models could be in

error if computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques are not used to model the impact of building 

geometries and locations on the plume dispersion. 

A number of high resolution graphics representations have been developed at IDA. Examples shown 

included lower Manhattan, World Financial Center, World Trade Center, downtown Philadelphia (modeled 

for security planning of the Republican national convention), and Social Hall in Salt Lake City 

(headquarters of Olympic Committee and FBI during the 2002 Winter Olympics). 

Virtual Reality technology has improved rapidly over the past few years. A number of examples showing 

the same scene with 5 year old technology and current technology were used to underline the 

advancements. The advanced technology has led to wide use of virtual cities as evident by a list of over 

fifteen users and uses. 

The process of developing virtual cities was briefly described. Various sources of data including

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, drawings, building plans, and city maps are processed using 

terrain generation software. The outputs can be used to create the virtual cities. An alternative process 

includes transmittal using Synthetic Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification

(SEDRIS) and visualization using Synthetic Environment Evaluation - Inspection Tool (SEE-IT). Mr. 

 9 
Clover’s talk closed with a short discussion of capabilities that still need to be developed to provide 

intelligent virtual environments. 

VI.2. Vision for the Future - How can simulation and modeling help emergency responders? 

- Dr. Rick Satava, Program Manager, Defense Sciences Office, Defense Advanced 

Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 

Dr. Satava’s talk provided a vision of how technological developments will affect the field of medicine. It 

focused on the developments in the field of computing and information technology. Current information 

technology has allowed development of Holomer, an application that allows building a virtual human by

scanning a real human. The virtual human information can be encapsulated in small tags that can be used if 

the human gets injured in an incident. 

Advanced technologies have allowed total integration of operative care including remote surgery,

minimally invasive surgeries, training using simulations, pre-operative planning using simulations, and 

intra-operative navigation. Indeed the future health care provider may be a robot. The medical care can be 

brought to remote corners of the world by deploying knowledgebases on portable equipment such as 

laptops and personal digital assistants. The LSTAT “stretcher” provides a mobile hospital through

provision of a defibrillator, ventilator, suction, monitoring, blood chemistry analysis, 3-channel drug and

fluid infusion, data storage and transmission, on-board battery, and on-board oxygen. The LSTATs were

effectively used in Kosovo in 2000. 

The future of science is moving towards interdisciplinary fields. It must encompass all dimensions and 

domains and must include time and information. It may be the “biointelligence” age. The interaction of 

biology and information technology is developing genomics, bioinformatics and biocomputations. The

interaction of information and physical sciences is developing robotics, micro-electronic mechanical 

systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology. The interaction of biologic and physical is developing biosensors

and biomaterials. The interaction of all three together, biology, physical science and information 

technology will develop a cellular cyborg. 

A number of initiatives are targeted towards the biointelligence age. These include DARPA’s BioFocus

2000, NASA’s bioastronautics and astrobiology, National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s (NSBRI) 

human system integration, National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) unconventional projects, NSF’s national 

nanotechnology initiative, DoE’s virtual human project and Stanford University’s Bio-X. Federal 

investment in nano technology has rapidly grown from $270M in FY00 to $738M in FY03. The exciting 

developments include bugs with sensors implanted, micro-robots, capsule cameras for gastrointestial 

endoscopy, direct brain implant for robot arm control, use of spider silk protein as biomaterial, tissue 

engineering, and controlled cellular metabolism.

Technology itself is neutral, it is neither good nor evil. It is up to us to breathe the moral and ethical life 

into these technologies and then apply them with empathy and compassion for each and every patient. 

There will be controversies and different viewpoints as exemplified by the human cloning issue. The moral 

and ethical issues raised by technological success will be challenging. 

VI.3. U.S. Joint Forces Command Joint Warfighting Center Simulation Support to Homeland 

Security and Defense 

– LTC Charles W. Robinson, Executive Program Manager for Modeling & Simulation, 

Joint Warfighting Center (JWFC)

LTC Robinson’s talk provided an overview of the United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) 

mission and its role in joint training and simulation, and its involvement in the Homeland Security and 

Defense area. USJFCOM’s JWFC improves joint readiness by providing world-wide training and training

support, assisting in the preparation of integrated and interoperable forces for future joint and multinational 

operations. It provides management and integration of joint capable models and simulations and provides 

leadership in the development of joint doctrine and joint training initiatives. 

 10 
The mission and experience of JWFC places it in a good position to extend simulation support for 

homeland defense. The JWFC simulation toolbox is being enhanced to provide multi-echelon simulation

across federal, state and local government agencies. It will provide better representation of critical 

functional aspects of security, defense, response and consequence management. It will also provide better 

representation of threats and effects anticipated in homeland defense. 

The Joint Theatre Simulation System (JTLS) integrates air, land and sea environments into a single

simulation with logistics and intelligence capabilities. It simulates these large scenarios with a small 

exercise footprint and also provides web-enabled distribution. In addition to simulating combat operations

it can also be used for non-combat operations, including homeland security scenarios such as the spread of 

disease or mass casualty evacuation. 

Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation (JCATS) provides simulation capabilities at the tactical level of war. 

It is a multi-service, multi-sided, interactive, entity level simulation used by military and security 

organizations as a tool for joint training, analyses, experimentation, planning and mission rehearsal. It

allows analysis and viewing at different level of details, including region, city, and entity level. Again, the 

tool has non-combat applications and can be used for homeland security applications. It was used for 

planning of 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

The Joint Integrated Database Preparation System (JIDPS) accesses and retrieves data from various data 

sources and creates simulation-ready files. It supports JTLS, JCATS and other similar systems. It uses

Extensible Markup Language (XML) data files for integration. 

The JTLS-JCATS HLA federation will offer the training audience the capability to conduct multi-echelon

training from the operational to tactical level. It allows resolution from theatre (continent level) to site 

(building) level. Terrain cultural features can be easily added. Building complexes can be replicated based 

on aerial pictures. A number of homeland security scenarios can be simulated including terrorist attacks, 

civil disturbances, domestic disaster and search and rescue. A rapid database development concept is being

implemented to support the rapid creation of simulations. 

VI.4. Process Oriented Framework for Emergency Response Planning, Simulation and

Execution 

 - Mr. Robert G. Brown, Delmia Corp., Mr. George H. Collier, Telcordia Technologies, Inc., 

Mr. Neculai C. Tutos, Dassault Systems of America

Mr. Brown introduced the audience to the CATIA and DELMIA capabilities to support the design of

improved security, emergency response planning, and to interact with advanced Digital Communication 

systems in security monitoring and emergency response coordination. 

Sophisticated 3D simulation and modeling tools have been critically important to the aerospace and 

automotive industries where they are used to design products, product components and production 

processes. Subsequent to manufacturing these models are used to manage product life cycles, e.g.,

supporting the visualization of monitoring data and planning for maintenance. Dassault Systems, DS&S, 

SAIC and SafirRosetti -- are working to bring the power of Digital Modeling, Simulation and 

Communication to bear on the thorny problem of designing security and emergency response systems. 

Security and emergency response planning requires an understanding of the behavior of a compromised 

system subsequent to an incident – and planning the human response. Statistical approaches have been

successfully used in the past to model the coarse-grained structure of an incident and the response; 

however, 3D simulation tools can be used to create much finer grained process models. For example, 3D

tools have been used to successfully model the evacuation of a facility by modeling the behavior and

movement of people through a building’s hallways, doors and stairwells. The same technology is used to

model the behavior of the compromised system, predicting, for example, the sequence of failures of

components, such as valves and pipes, as the effect ripples through the system. These predictions are based 

on physical simulation of the actual structure of the system, e.g., the pressure within the pipe. The 

feasibility of rescue, repair, decontamination and dismantling operations can be planned and simulated,

 11 
taking into account hazardous conditions. These simulations can be used to properly prepare personnel to 

handle the anticipated difficulties. 

The development of such solutions for the emergency response community alone would not be 

economically justifiable. The only viable alternative is to utilize a framework based on the state of the art 

Digital Process Modeling solutions already proven for the aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding 

industries. This alternative offers large money and time savings. 

Emergency response is a series of processes similar to manufacturing. The tools already provide the 

structure for modeling processes including interdependencies, precedence requirements, constraints and 

time. Emergency response workers can use the rich environment to prepare themselves without physical 

mock-ups. Indeed the tool has been used in the past to model fire-fighting operations. The fire itself was 

modeled using external processes while the human model was based on SafeWorks.

An emergency response database is needed for organizing the required data for modeling. Elements of the 

emergency response plans must be stored as individual elements for quick development of plans and replanning. It should also include facility models of high risk sites, libraries of the “best practice” processes 

with constraints, and catalogs of resources with attributes. 

Such tools can be applied for complex engineered facilities that have existing engineered models and 

require complex responses. The simulation models will need to be extended to support fire, explosion and 

hazmat release. The process models need to be extended to emergency response units such as hazmat, 

decon, pumpers, ladder truck, etc. The models also need to be interfaced to real time reporting systems, 

such as GPS reporting of location of resources, for use during actual emergencies.

A proof of concept project is recommended to prove that these tools can quickly provide value to the 

emergency response community. It will also help determine what adaptations and interfaces are required,

and the need for interfacing with real time reporting systems. 

VI.5. Computer-Aided Design of Mass Prophylaxis Strategies for Bioterrorism Response 

- Nathaniel Hupert, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Medicine, Jason

Cuomo, MPH, Mark A. Callahan, M.D., Alvin I. Mushlin, MD, Sc.M., Weill Medical College

of Cornell University 

Dr. Hupert’s talk presented a simulation-based application for planning mass prophylaxis campaigns 

following a biological attack. 

As demonstrated in the October 2001 anthrax attacks, successful bioterrorism response requires the ability

to rapidly dispense antibiotics and other necessary medical supplies to large populations. There are few 

tools available to assist public health and emergency management officials in preparing scalable and 

modular response strategies to address a wide range of bioterrorism attack scenarios. Working under 

contract from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality (AHRQ) since 2000, researchers at Weill/Cornell have developed a series of interactive computer 

models that estimate the staff and other resources needed to establish and operate mass prophylaxis 

campaigns involving antibiotic and vaccine delivery in response to biological attacks with both 

communicable and non-communicable agents. 

A biological attack will typically lead to a mass prophylaxis campaign to minimize the spread of the effect 

of the agent. The components of mass prophylaxis campaign need to be evaluated. It is anticipated that 

large hall-like public facilities such as indoor basketball courts will be used for such campaigns. The flow

of patients through dispensing facilities can be modeled to determine the resources needed to meet the 

expected patient volumes. While a model developed using the ARENA simulation software was used for 

initial applications, the developers elected to use queuing theory models coded in Excel to allow use by a 

wider population of health systems professionals. 

 12 
The Weill/Cornell Smallpox Vaccination Model is based on a defined flow process with paths defined for 

people who are being vaccinated for preventive measures and for people who may have been infected. The 

model can be used both for pre-event and post-event planning. It provides the spreadsheet interface for

easy entry of parameters of the model such as time estimates for various tasks in the process, target 

population, the maximum staff available, etc. The model outputs the estimated length of the campaign 

under slow, baseline and fast scenarios. Graphical outputs include the plot of campaign length based on

the number of available core staff. Such results can be used for planning of the campaigns. 

The model has been extended to determine the impact on health care resources based on the potential of

adverse reactions to the vaccination among the population. Characteristics of the adverse event can be 

defined including the percentage of cases with different levels of severity of reactions, time for onset, etc. 

The model shows that a rapid prophylaxis campaign will lead to a spike in emergency room (ER) visits and 

may overwhelm the ER resources in the system. 

The tool provided a good methodology for estimating the number of resources compared to guesswork such 

as the “estimate” of 50-100,000 people required to vaccinate New York City that appeared on the World 

Health Organization (WHO) website. The model showed that 25,000 people could vaccinate a city of 8 

million people (roughly the size of NYC population) in the desired 4-day campaign period. These numbers

include only the critical dispensing staff and do not include support staff for the centers or

distribution/logistics staff.

The spreadsheet modeling allows planners to “think with numbers” when designing mass prophylaxis

response strategies. It forces critical examination of assumptions about the vaccination center layout and 

processes and the availability of resources. The model estimates are useful data to guide planning but they 

should not be taken as replacements for live realistic exercises. 

VI.6. TOPOFF – The National Training Exercise 

– Major General John S. Parker, M.D. (U.S. Ret.) 

General Parker described the goals, objectives and accomplishments of TOPOFF - a national-level "realtime" Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) response exercise. The name TOPOFF indicates involvement 

by Top Officials. It is designed to better prepare senior government officials to effectively respond to a 

terrorist attack involving WMD. In addition, law enforcement, emergency management first responders, 

and other non-governmental officials are involved. The Department of Justice, the Department of State, and 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lead TOPOFF. Participants include federal, state, 

and local officials who would direct crisis management and consequence management response to a real

WMD attack. TOPOFF was first conducted in May 2000 and involved thousands of federal, state, and local

personnel, along with top U.S. officials including the Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human 

Services, FBI Director, FEMA Director, and two state governors. 

Originally designed to improve the response skills of senior American officials, TOPOFF now involves 

foreign governments since terrorism has become an increasingly global threat. Participants are confronted 

with a WMD attack scenario and asked to produce an integrated, coordinated response to deal with several

issues across response disciplines and jurisdictions. The goal is “to support national strategy to combat

terrorism by improving the capability of government officials and agencies, both within the U.S. and 

abroad, to provide an effective, coordinated, strategic response to all aspects of a WMD attack”. TOPOFF 

places stress on existing response systems to demonstrate capabilities and identify areas for improvement. 

Following the exercise, an after-action report is conducted to identify successes, "lessons learned," and 

shortcomings to be addressed.

TOPOFF exercise duration varies and is conducted in "real time." In order to make the exercise as real as

possible, participants are given little forewarning of what scenarios they will face, such as type of WMD 

involved or specific location, date, and time of the attacks. 

The first TOPOFF was held in May 2000 in Denver, Colorado and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Denver

participants faced a simulated chemical attack, while New Hampshire participants were confronted with a 

biological attack. General Parker gave some brief insight into a second national exercise, TOPOFF2, to be 

 13 
held in May 2003. It is being constructed around a systematic series of complex "building block" exercises, 

designed to produce a more integrated and effective WMD preparedness strategy. Numerous Federal

Agencies, State and Local Emergency Responders from several states and Canada are expected to 

participate in the exercise. 

VI.7. Training for Emergency Response 

– Dr. Cortez Lawrence, Director, National Fire Programs, US Fire Administration, FEMA 

Dr. Lawrence talked about the value of simulation in training in the context of fire incidents. It was pointed

out that 98% of what is needed for emergency response is covered in emergency plans and training

programs. However, it is hard for human beings to analyze all the options and decide on the right course of

action under stress of an emergency situation. A study by Klein on decision-making concluded that most

of the time a decision is made based on past experience (see note below for reference to Klein Study). The 

experiences create relevant knowledge and decision patterns in the mind similar to loading a relevant

carousel in a slide projector. Human beings can identify a familiar situation based on the past experience

and make the right decisions. 

To develop the skill of decision-making in emergency response situations, people need to go through 

similar experiences. However, it is hard for anyone to develop a good experience base from a few 

emergency incidents. The answer is to use simulation. Simulations can be used to provide experiences that

can then be used to prepare for future situations. There is a need for training simulations and for post fire

incident investigative solutions. 

The need for using simulations in emergency response training has been identified by the US Congress 

resulting in a directive to use technology to improve training. The fire program receives funding in three 

areas: equipment, training and exercises. Simulation can be used to improve at least two of the three areas. 

Wild forest fires are the major challenge for fire fighters at this time. The fire fighting operations for forest 

fires are typically large and make huge demands on command and control. It should be noted that 80% of

the fire fighters are volunteers and most of the volunteers are in rural areas. Training and educational

services should be enhanced to prepare fire fighters to meet these challenges. 

The simulation lab at the National Fire Academy uses 2D simulations for command and control exercises 

involving multiple fire companies. 

Note: G. A. Klein, "Recognition-Primed Decisions" in William B. Rouse (ed.), Advances in Man-Machine

System Research (Greenwich, CT: Jai Press, 1989). 

VI.8. Beyond the Shooting House: Tying Training to Education in Homeland Security 

– Dr. David McIntyre, Deputy Director, ANSER Institute for Homeland Security 

Three factors have changed our world recently – (a) the flow of information, (b) the resulting shift of power 

in the world, and (c) vulnerability due to just-in-time systems based on rapid flow of information. The 

world is experiencing a different type of terrorism than in the past. Splinter groups of followers of Islam

are out to change the system and they do not accept middle ground. 

The concerns for terrorist strikes include, conventional attacks on strategic infrastructure elements such as 

bridges, attacks on strategic chemical facilities, radiological attacks that can cause severe damage to

economy of an area, cyber and biological attacks with similar severe repercussions. 

Simulations, gaming and exercises provide us with the means to prepare for response. Simulation was 

defined as replication of physical phenomenon. Simulations should be used for evaluation of capabilities. 

Gaming also includes replication of physical phenomenon but includes an opponent. Educational games do

not provide any answer but focus on learning from experience. Training teaches the answers.

In improving emergency response training, the following factors need to be addressed:

 14 
• Inertia of trainees 

• Structure of silos of expertise 

• Local vs. federal budgeting 

• Education for homeland security personnel

The culture needs to be changed to get trainees out of their inertia of staying involved in day to day 

responsibilities. People from different fields should be put together as training partners to improve 

understanding among functions. The local communities should be involved. 

Simulation tools need to be further improved. The best simulation tools should be identified through

competitions. 

VI.9. Simulation Technology for Community Readiness, Training & Exercise Support 

– Mr. Robert Coullahan, Senior Vice President, SAIC and Certified Emergency Manager 

This session improved awareness of an emerging capability, the Automated Exercise & Assessment System

(AEAS), sponsored by the National Guard Bureau (NGB). The AEAS program has the objective of

developing a simulation-based exercise and training tool specific to WMD terrorist attacks on the United

States. A spectrum of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and conventional explosive (CBRNE) 

threats are presented in comprehensive scenarios within the AEAS application. 

The tool is designed for multiple exercise audience groups including debris management, environmental 

health, elected officials, emergency management, fire, EMS, HAZMAT, law enforcement and medical 

facilities. A number of scenarios are available including an anti-abortion domestic anthrax hoax,

radiological retribution by a foreign group, rogue state-sponsored military diversion smallpox at a resort

hotel, and white supremacist caused derailment of a train carrying multiple chemicals. 

The components of AEAS include an agency survey, community profiler, map viewer, controller station,

players station and after-action review. The tool provides features for constructing a survey of the 

community including functional areas, resources, personnel, facilities and mutual aid pacts. Trainees can

also use existing surveys of typical metropolis, urban and rural towns. 

The exercise proceeds through the following steps: player training, backstory brief, exercise setup, exercise 

run and after action review. Player’s actions are captured during the exercise and analyzed against vetted 

expected actions. An assessment is made for each expected action. The actions can be sorted by function 

though an overall assessment is not assigned. The after actions review enables emergency responders to

discover how to sustain their strengths and how to improve upon their weaknesses. 

AEAS is designed for use by emergency response and emergency management practitioners from the 

infrastructure owner/operator and local and State jurisdictional levels, and is adaptable for wide-scale 

federal interagency simulation events. It provides for community readiness testing using simulation-based

applications, scientifically and operationally validated WMD scenarios, and the resources and response 

standards for the community under assessment. The AEAS supports training, exercise, and readiness 

assessment requirements. It will be deployed in local jurisdictions across the nation in CY2003. 

VI.10. Nationwide NARAC Support for the Civil Sector 

- Mr. Hoyt Walker, Computer Scientist, National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center, 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) provides tools and services that map the

probable spread of hazardous material accidentally or intentionally released into the atmosphere. NARAC 

provides atmospheric plume predictions in time for an emergency manager to decide if taking protective

action is necessary to protect the health and safety of people in affected areas. Located at the University of 

California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), NARAC is a national support and resource

center for planning, real-time assessment, emergency response and detailed studies of incidents involving a 

 15 
wide variety of hazards, including nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological or natural emissions. It

provides 3-D plume model predictions within minutes using Internet/web tools. It develops contours of

health effects or protective action guidelines. 

NARAC's primary function has been to support the Department of Energy (DOE) and other select federal

agencies. The center is in the process of greatly expanding its support for the civil sector within the U.S. 

It has several DOE-sponsored projects to provide interfaces into the nation’s atmospheric release 

emergency response system to cities, countie and states. 

NARAC is a distributed system, providing modeling and geographical information tools for deployment to

an end user's computer system, as well as real-time access to global meteorological and geographical 

databases and advanced three-dimensional model predictions from the national center. The NARAC Web 

provides a simple browser-based interface and the NARAC IClient provides a more sophisticated system

that is installed on an end-user's computers. Both allow users to enter information about an atmospheric 

release, send it to NARAC for processing and receive results within 5-15 minutes in the form of hazardzone contours displayed over a variety of maps. These tools are described in some detail on the center’s

web site (http://narac.llnl.gov). NARAC also provides technical and scientific support, including quality 

assurance of model input data and predictions, until all airborne releases are terminated, the hazardous 

areas are refined by combining field measurements with model predictions and the long-term impacts are 

assessed. The ability of NARAC to meet the wide-ranging requirements implied by this expansion is 

predicated on effective use of current technologies and standards such as Common Object Request Broker

Architecture (CORBA), Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE), XML and Simple Object Access 

Protocol (SOAP). 

The NARAC model has been tested and evaluated through several applications. The models have been 

tested using field experiments at Project Prairie Grass, Savannah River mesoscale atmospheric tracer 

studies, etc. Its operational applications include Chernobyl, Kuwait oil fires and Cerro Grande (Los 

Alamos) fires.

The Local Integration of NARAC to the Cities (LINC) program is demonstrating NARAC support for pilot 

cities. Initial installation, configuration of network and firewalls and testing of the iClient laptop software 

was successfully completed in Seattle and New York City. Access to additional, special meteorological 

sensors is being developed. Initial users have been successfully trained. Testing and integration with city 

as well as state and federal emergency response plans and procedures are ongoing. 

VI.11. Data Resources for Hazard Modeling in Building Interiors 

 – Dr. Donald R. Ponikvar, Senior Vice President, Defense Group Inc.

One of the more difficult problems facing responders dealing with WMD in an urban environment is how 

to accurately model the propagation of a threat cloud inside a structure in order to predict the threat to 

persons inside and in the immediate vicinity. 

Dr. Ponikvar’s presentation summarized the data requirements for both multi-zonal models and

computational fluid dynamics approaches for interior building modeling, and the usefulness of hazard 

prediction modeling inside buildings. Correctly predicting indoor hazards depends critically on facility 

characterization data, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) characterization data, source 

characterization and meteorological data. 

A study of modeling and simulation tools was carried out under the Consequence Management (911-Bio)

Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) with the purpose of enhancing the military

capability to respond effectively to the use of chemical or biological weapons. An ensemble of models was 

brought together and evaluated for operational applicability. 

A unique data set resulted from a set of experiments done by the Department of Defense at Dugway

Proving Ground in 1997, where simulants and tracer gases were released inside two different instrumented

buildings. A hangar at an army airfield was used to mock up a convention center hall and a release of 

 16 
anthrax simulant used for experimentation. The impact of wind, temperature and HVAC system operation

was evaluated. For the second scenario, an accidental release from a clandestine lab in an apartment/ 

townhouse complex was simulated. Again, the impact of wind, temperature, doors close/open and HVAC

system operation were evaluated in different floors of the townhouse. The experiment included side-byside comparisons of the predictive results from seven different models tailored for use inside buildings. 

Selected modeling results were discussed and compared to the ground truth data. 

The study concluded that while the tools were useful, there was no one superior model for all applications. 

It is necessary to identify the questions that the modeling and simulation study has to answer and then 

choose the model type based on the question. The tools were not assessed to be useful to first responders 

for consequence management operations while in the “hot zone.” There is an issue of confidence in

simulation tools. People will not trust the computer and will send a person to go and measure the 

concentration levels in different rooms to determine safety status. At this time, for consequence 

management operations, modeling and simulation is better suited at on-site headquarters rather than in the 

hands of first responders. 

The 911-Bio ACTD final report was distributed through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Chemical

Biological Defense Directorate. The interior building ground truth data has been prepared as a separate

package for release by the same office. The modeling and simulation data archive is maintained by DGI. 

VII. WORKSHOP PARALLEL BREAKOUT SESSIONS 

VII.1. User Requirements I & II 

Facilitators: Jack Corley, Advanced Technology Institute; Sanjay Jain, Virginia Tech /NIST 

The objective of this track was to collectively define modeling and simulation emergency response 

applications and to define the role of modeling and simulation for each phase. The first step is to define

the needs for major emergency response organizations. These needs can then be reviewed by the modeling

and simulation community to identify applications. 

The needs will depend on the decision perspective. The perspectives can be defined using a matrix

arrangement with perspectives in rows and the major organizations in columns as shown below. The 

entries in the table 1 below show the organization level to define the perspective. 

Table 1: Emergency response organizations and perspectives 

Organization 

Perspective Health Law Fire Rescue HazMat EOC

Strategic 

Public 

Health

system

Mayor Mayor/

elected head

Management

Medical 

Director 

Sheriff or 

police chief 

Director of

Emergency

Management

Operational 

Emergency

Room

director/ 

EMS 

Incident

commander

Watch 

commander/

substation

Battalion

commander

Incident

commander

Tactical EMS Patrol car/

Cops 

Engine/

Firemen 

Resource

providers 

Using the perspective definition as above, the needs for many of the organizations were defined

collectively. For example, needs in the healthcare area captured during the session are listed below. 

 17 
• Strategic 

- Communications 

• Management

- In a covert bio attack when will my medical system realize the threat?

- ED/EMS strategic resource sizing 

- EMS strategic response plan design 

- EMS strategic plan validation 

• Operational 

- What are the symptoms of this toxin?

- Overview of casualties/ fatalities 

- Media public communication 

- EMS Operations – practice multi-disciplinary operations

- Overview of available resources (beds, intensive care units (ICU), supplies, vaccines)

• Tactical 

- Training

- Bed availability 

- Practice cross-discipline coordination 

The group focused on communication - the major problem for emergency response capability identified by

one of the speakers at the workshop. The group recommendations are as below. 

• The communication needs across the organization boundaries need to be defined at each perspective 

level. 

• Standard terminology should be used across jurisdictions, across disciplines and across levels of 

government. 

• The language itself should be standardized and not just the transport mechanisms (radio frequencies). 

• Resource planning 

- Tools are needed to generate and evaluate plans.

- U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) and others have models

for determining network capacity. Need simpler tools than network simulation, similar to

those described in Dr. Hupert’s talk (summarized earlier in this document). 

- Simulation tools should be used to support communications system design to ensure that

channels do not get overloaded. 

• Information flow

- Situational awareness and reporting

- Simulate how to transform the data to information.

- Recognize the natural rhythm of communications flow. 

- Latency of information needs to be addressed explicitly in simulation. Does it have to be 

instantaneous?

- Filtering/abstraction capabilities should be adjustable in M&S - for planning, training, 

and response 

- Use optimization approaches to impact information processes. Use simulation

technology to analyze the information at the command centers. 

• Information flow has a rhythm that reflects the battle rhythm

- Graphical representation to show rhythm for training. 

- Operational pause – halt information flow to make decisions

- Use simulation to identify times when information is needed. 

- In training, stop and replay the simulation from that point to identify the operational 

pause points. 

- Inject another set of data into simulation to reset and play from there on. 

- Need to define metrics – response windows for different scenarios. Analyze the markers

to identify decision and event milestones. 

- Simulation to practice the tempo and rhythm, setting up the net, data entry, and decisionmaking. 

• Accurate, up to date data should be put together for emergency response personnel. This should 

include phone numbers, contact information, and resources. 

 18 
- Current data has problems such as no recognition of authority, and numbers are out of

date. Simulation models should capture such uncertainty in the model until these 

problems are fixed. 

- Have federal government provide resources to check numbers regularly

• Analyze what is needed to support required communications when infrastructure resources are lost 

(e.g., a cell tower goes out). 

The group recommended the following next steps:

• Establish an e-mail listserv to proceed further on user requirements. 

- For further evaluation, choose top issues from the list based on first responders survey in

the presentation by Mr. Bond of Titan Corporation (see earlier summary in this 

document) to focus on - start with Communications, Coordination, command & control.

- Identify groups working on common terminology

- Identify available simulation capabilities and appropriate organizations

• NIST should take the requirements strawman to real users as they are ready to discuss this. The real 

users are represented by: 

- DHS – Directorate of Emergency Preparedness & Response – Mike Brown, and Rose 

Parks 

- National Emergency Management Association (www.nemaweb.gov)- Glen Woodberry,

Current president, from State of Washington; Ed Jacobi, incoming president. 

- International Association of Emergency Managers – represents local government

personnel. 

- Council of State Governors and National Governors Association. 

VII.2. Data Requirements I & II 

Facilitators: Mike Stiteler, Advanced Technology Institute; Tina Lee, NIST 

The objective of this track was to broadly define the categories of data requirements for modeling and

simulation of emergency response, and to identify potential data sources. 

 The major disasters to be considered for emergency response include:

• Man-made disasters 

- Chemical agent release 

- Biological agent release 

- Subsurface hydrology events (poison, leaks, etc.) 

- Human biological threat

- Dirty Bomb explosion 

• Natural disasters 

- Hurricane 

- Earthquake 

- Flooding

- Fires 

- Volcanic Eruptions

The data for the above scenarios should include both geo-specific and geo-typical items. It should include: 

• Metadata 

• Data Quality Information

- Data assurance

- Pedigree 

- Certification

- Verification 

- Knowledge of source 

• Environmental data

• Census data

• General physical data

 19 
• Population Evacuation data

The specific data categories and sources are summarized in table 2. The table indicates a wide range of data 

that resides in different systems at different agencies and organizations, and some that is not available. The 

idea is not to create a centralized data warehouse but to develop standards and interfaces that will allow 

access of the data for response to emergency incidents. All involved will need to adhere to standards, 

meeting both semantic and syntactic specifications. Procedures need to be developed for capturing data

that is not currently available. 

The following conclusions were drawn from the discussion of data requirements and sources:

• There is an obvious need for data exchange standards. 

• Detailed literature searches should be carried out to document development of specifications and de

facto standards.

• Metadata should be developed and maintained by authoritative sources for describing data sets. 

• Accessible data archives, such as indexes and repositories, should be developed. 

• “Reference Part” paradigm should be used for common data requirements. The data for common 

model components should not be duplicated over and over, instead references should be used to a 

location that maintains the data. 

Table 2: Potential sources for data relevant to emergency response. 

TYPE OF DATA POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES 

Terrain data US Geological Survey

Streets/highway data City Offices, Map software companies, Atlas publishers 

Response agency locations and response plans City office, police, fire and health departments 

Utility and infrastructure locations Utility companies, telecom companies 

Weather National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA)

Population density US Census Bureau 

Business area population density, 

Transportation patterns 

Local transportation departments 

City evacuation plans City office 

Building design records City office, building management

Building evacuation plans Building security 

Space information (near and far) NOAA 

Source characterization Civil support teams/ first responders, Source reference 

materials (some sources will be classified) 

Analysis results (simulation results) Simulations! 

Sampling measurements On scene personnel/apparatus

Specialized attributes vice bulk data - existing sources to be identified

- Centralized database (in future) 

Health-related data (patient, diseases, 

prophylactics, diagnoses) 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 

Secure patient database 

Exposure history Interview patients, then document and share

Critical Infrastructure National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center 

(NISAC), State and local governments 

Agricultural product characteristics US Geological Survey (USGS), State Soil Geographic 

(STATSGO) soils data compiled by the Natural 

Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the US 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Human behavior/performance, organizational

behavior

- No known central organization, perhaps intelligence 

services?

- Can be modeled after Human Factors Lab, possibly in

Israel?

Equipment characteristics and performance Manufacturers

 20 
Location/inventory of equipment Owners of equipment

Location of data (index) Database, but which? National Spatial Data 

Clearinghouse (NSDI) 

Ocean information (ports, depths, currents, 

waves, etc.) 

Navy, NOAA 

Emergency response language Model after International Civil Aviation Organization 

(ICAO)/ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

Hazard labels Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), 

Occupational Safety and Hazards Act (OSHA) –

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) 

Human physical characteristics Air Force work with NIST (Contact: Sandy Ressler), 3D

anthropometric landmark standard (Society of 

Automotive Engineers & NIST), Choreography standard

notation 

The second session of the track focused on identifying existing and needed standards for data, 

representation and storage/access. Data standards are required broadly for defining the disaster event,

different entities of interest, resources, response agents, the local area of the event, etc. 

The relevant data standards include:

• Intelligence Community Metadata Standards 

• Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Biological, Chemical, Facility standards 

• FAA standards on National Airspace System

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards for intelligent transportation systems 

• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards for 

building automation and control networks 

• US Health Information Knowledgebase

• Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) Emergency

Management Technical Committee (announced Feb. 2003) 

• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for physical data exchange (CADComputer Aided Design, PDM- Product Data Management, Electro-mechanical, Engineering 

Analysis,...) 

Some of the relevant data representation models include:

• ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 11179-X Information technology - Specification 

and standardization of data elements

• W3C Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 

• ISO/IEC 14772-1:1998, Information technology - Computer graphics and image processing - The 

Virtual Reality Modeling Language 

• ISO/Technical Committee(TC) 211 Geographic Information/ Geomatics 

• ISO/10303 Application Protocol (AP) 203 (CAD), AP210 (Electro-mechanical), AP209 (Analysis)

Standards and representation for some of the specific data categories were discussed as examples of the

overall task. These categories include weather, terrain, ocean and space, man-made systems and human 

behavior. 

Weather data standards and representation

• Standards 

- Exist: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard for observations: Binary

Universal Format for the Representation of meteorological data (BUFR), Weather 

models) 

- Need: Simpler standards for Emergency Response 

◊ Distribution format (XML) 

• Representation 

 21 
- Models: Have point model & Gridded Binary (GRIB) models (grid data including 

spectral models). 

- Organization: Uses File format

Terrain, Ocean and Space data standards and representation 

• Standards 

- Exist: ISO-IEC

- Need: Space, 3rd and 4th dimensions 

• Representation 

- Models: 18023 (Synthetic Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification,

SEDRIS) UML, ISO-IEC 18025 (Environmental Data Coding Specification, EDCS), ISO 

19115 (metadata, principally focused on terrain), ISO/10303 Standard for the Exchange 

of Product model data (STEP), Hierarchical Data Format (HDF), Network Common Data

Form (NetCDF, used in DoD for ocean data, not much in weather data), ISO-IEC Spatial

Reference Model ISO-IEC 18026, STEP for Thermal Analysis for Space STEP-TAS (Jet

Propulsion Lab’s Thermal Modeling in Space), GML (Geography Markup Language),

SDTS (Spatial Data Transfer Standard) 

- Organization: Specified transmittal format (file), Specified access format 

It should be noted that terrain models might include man-made structures. 

Man-made Systems data standards and representation 

• Standards 

- Exist: International Maritime Organization (IMO)/Lloyds/National Bureau of Shipping, 

Department of Transportation (DOT), FAA, Product Life Cycle Support (PLCS),

Architectural Organizations (International Alliance for Interoperability IAI/ Industry 

Foundation Classes, IFC), Simulation Data eXchange, SDX (NIST and Electronic Data

Systems Corporation), Federal Communications Commission (FCC for networks and 

communications and EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM) 

- Need: Resource information

• Representation 

- Models: ISO/10303: (PLCS AP239, CAD, Engineering Analysis (EA)/ Finite Element 

Analysis (FEA)), 

- Organization: everything from files to database to XML 

Human behavior data standards and representation

• Standards 

- Exist: ISO-IEC, Psychology/Sociology Communities, Intelligence Services, Political 

Scientists, JCATS/JTLS models capture and surrender 

- Need: Detailed models that will enable behavior predictions, mob response, crowd/city 

panic (evacuation, flight from event or perceived event) 

• Representation 

- Models: ISO-IEC Humanoid Animation Specification (H-ANIM)

- Organization: Web3D Consortium is supporting H-ANIM.

Following conclusions were drawn from the discussion of standards and representation:

• Detailed human behavior models are needed. The attendees for the session knew of very few such

models. 

• Modeling techniques for representing/defining standards should be defined. 

• Meta-modeling capabilities should be identified.

• Recommended practices for VV&A (Verification, Validation & Accreditation) should be used. 

• For integrated models, the same requirement of standard formats for both data input and output should

be used. 

 22 
The group recommended the following next steps:

• Use email distribution list to: 

- Refine requirements 

- Enhance list of available data, models and standards 

• Contact standards agencies and enhance knowledge of available data, models and standards 

VII.3. Integration I & II 

Facilitators: Steve Willet, NIST; Frank Riddick, NIST 

The objective of this track was to identify the integration requirements through discussions of the types of

tools that need to be integrated, the kind of interfaces they have and the features required for 

interoperability. 

The modeling and simulation tools for emergency response operate at different “levels.” One way to 

classify the tools could be as below. 

• Battlefield

• Emergency response 

• Fire 

• Plume 

• Natural disaster 

Another way to classify the tools could be by levels as below. 

• Strategic 

• Management (EOC) level

• Operational Level 

• Tactical 

Yet another way to classify the tools could be by application categories such as planning versus training.

The types of tools that need to be integrated include: 

• Plume simulation tools such as Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) and

CONTAMW

• DBST – Static Database access tool 

• Data collection tools 

• Analytic tools 

• Scenario generation tools 

• Data migration tools 

• Security tools 

• Reliability – anti-spoofing tools 

• Testing/validation 

• Tools with multiple features 

• User interface 

• Data mining 

• Transport and dispersion

• Casualty/population 

• Logistics 

• Environmental (fixed and dynamic) 

• Weapons effect

• Infrastructure 

• Terrain representations 

The features required for interoperability include: 

• Standard messaging 

 23 
• Data gathering 

• Analytical 

• Security/surety 

• Scenario generation 

• Database synchronization 

• Anti-spoofing 

• Real-time data input (interfaces) 

• Data mining 

• Database modeling and conversion

• Web services 

• Scalability 

• Common “operational picture”

• Must be predictive 

The issues in making the tools interoperable include: 

• Licensing of data 

• Large number of municipalities that are potential users 

The High Level Architecture (HLA) can be used as an integration mechanism. It must address: 

• Protocol

• Syntax 

• Semantics time synchronization 

The second session of the track focused on identifying the interoperability standards and need, security and 

architecture requirements. 

The relevant interoperability standards organizations include: 

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 

• Object Management Group (OMG) 

• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) 

• Open GIS Consortium (OGC)

• Symbology (ISO standards) 

• Web Services 

• Text Messaging

• Health Level 7 (HL7) – Health Care Standards 

• Operational terms 

• Standard for the Exchange of Product model data (STEP) 

A scenario-based analysis needs to be carried out to determine the applicable available and needed

standards. The more apparent needs for emergency response relevant standards are:

• Federation Object Models (FOMs) & XML Schemas 

• Geographical/GIS 

• Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/Wireless 

• Validation Verification and Accreditation (VV&A) 

• Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) standards 

• Mature metadata for modeling, simulation and visualization

The security requirements and issues include:

• MLSI (Marks Left by a Suspected Intruder) intelligence community 

• Time and need to know constraints 

• Physical security issues 

• Exportability and concurrence 

• US/international distribution

 24 
• General communication/authentication 

• Access control by view 

• Audit trail 

• Constraints put on by technology owners 

- Autonomous challenge/response system

- Non-repudiation 

• Forensic evidence 

• Chain of custody

• Data integrity 

• Access control by view (CRUD- Create Read Update Delete) 

• Audit train

• Event specific security requirements 

• Availability/reliability 

The architecture requirements include: 

• Security and access control 

• Device portability 

• HLA (rules/library/object modeling) 

• Scalable architecture 

• Streaming data feed

• Multiple views capability 

• Data warehouse/shared data stores 

• Multi-user role playing gaming scenarios (e.g. red and blue forces) 

• Repository for neutral format standards supporting the framework 

• Hierarchy of fidelity 

• Standard API’s, common services, data syntax

• Tactical/strategic 

• Independence for telecommunications 

• Predictive, historical, indicators 

• Levels of integration

• Minimum requirements to play 

The work in the integration area should build on the work by the Department of Defense. The focus should

be on data organization since that takes the longest time in creating a federated simulation. 

VII.4. Roadmap I & II 

Facilitators: Skip Crane, Advanced Technology Institute; Sharon Kemmerer, NIST 

The goal of the roadmap track was to define an approach for development of a framework for modeling and 

simulation for emergency response. 

The starting point for the roadmap is the current state of a number of varied ongoing and new efforts 

addressing different aspects of the emergency response area. An approach should be defined for a

comprehensive identification of what currently exists. The end point for the roadmap is a mature analysis 

capability in a distributed environment that can be used anytime, anywhere, and for any reason. One 

candidate definition of the endpoint is provided by the integrated Emergency Response Framework (iERF) 

proposed by NIST. The roadmap needs to identify the barriers between going from starting point to end 

point and define approaches to overcome the barriers.

A roadmap needs to provide a body of knowledge and methods to get to the end. Its elements include the 

following: 

• Doctrine, policies and procedures 

• Organization, training and material 

 25 
• Hardware, Software and “Liveware” 

• Leadership and management

• Infrastructure, architectures and facilities 

A roadmap for emergency response modeling and simulation framework needs to:

• Define configuration management policies (firewall, interfaces, standard clients) 

• Consider reliability necessities (contingencies) 

• Understand the stakeholders 

• Understand the stakeholders’ user requirements

• Include software, hardware and liveware considerations

• Scope the whole of what one wants to do to capture the end goal and vision 

• Have an ER version of HLA 

• Define start and end states, and how to get from start to end state. 

• Be based on the foundation of knowing and understanding what’s already out there 

• Develop the conduit for continued communication 

• Develop complete inventory of activities 

• Develop complete inventory of standards 

• Develop methods to certify and/or validate to ensure application of standards/interoperability 

• Develop venting process/accreditation/authority as a part of the solution 

• Identify potential users 

• Provide a process to identify all the existing models, simulation tools, and solutions

• Be defined by the mission. 

The effort of developing the roadmap needs to decide between two major approaches: top down, deciding it

in a high level central group and implementing it down; or bottom up, getting input on definition of the 

road map from people involved in related efforts. The ability to visualize the end point better will help the 

effort of developing the roadmap. 

The end point can be visualized as a tool box that:

• Is versatile enough to accommodate the imagination

• Allows the user to play “what if” games in the extreme 

• Ensures that there are rules that allow/enforce reliability to maintain the validity and flexibility of the 

serving toolbox

An integrated holistic approach is needed to help planning and administration of the solution. To achieve 

this end point, the roadmap needs to build on outputs of other workshop sessions including definition of: 

• What data you need, where to get it?

• What models should be used? 

• What security access and control are needed?

• What should be the format of standards?

• What is the extensibility?

• How do we ensure intelligent users and uses?

The roadmap should also address the following issues: 

• Funding for development and maintenance of tools and interfaces 

• Funding for validation of outputs 

• Standards to define the data and exchange formats 

• Selection method to download/acquire the product 

• Knowing what goes into the toolbox 

• Support users at all levels (first responders, operators, planners) 

• Development of a common vocabulary

• Validation, accreditation, and certification

The group recommended the following next steps:

 26 
• Follow-on meeting is absolutely necessary. 

- An interim meeting should be conducted to define the proposal, a strategy, and charter. 

- The group should proceed with ready contributors (Joint War Fighting Center, Oak Ridge

National Labs, NIST, and others) 

• The goals for this effort should focus on: 

- Moving the existing body of knowledge from expert sources such as DoD, and DoE to

emergency response community. 

- Establishing a standardized body of knowledge and methodologies. 

• Work on issues-- 

- Review projects/existing work captured in Appendix B of NIST’s report on “Modeling, 

Simulation, and Visualization for Emergency Response” to determine: 

◊ What can be integrated?

◊ What should be integrated?

◊ Data owned by someone, is it accessible, reusable, continued value for future

use?

- Determine the reuse and salvage value of the one-time development effort for modeling 

and simulation tools 

- Determine design of a “funding scheme” for efforts to integrate legacy and new tools 

developed independently. 

VIII. FUNDING PROGRAMS 

VIII.1. Modeling and Simulation for Emergency Response: NSF’s Role

– Dr. Miriam Heller, Program Director, Infrastructure & Information Systems, National 

Science Foundation.

Dr. Heller’s talk defined the key role played by NSF in disaster research and emergency response. The 

emergency response modeling and simulation area can benefit from research in the full range of disaster 

life-cycle area, including social sciences. It invited practitioners, developers and other government agencies 

to partner with fundamental researchers for problem definition, solution conception and development and

technology transfer. 

Research relevant to emergency response is funded through the Civil and Mechanical Systems (CMS) 

Division in the Directorate for Engineering at NSF. The division’s mission is to: 

• Provide a fundamental underpinning for the engineering profession in application to mechanical 

systems and the constructed environment including infrastructure systems, and 

• Support the rapid development of new technology in service to society and to reduce risks induced by

natural, technological, and intentional hazards. 

A major program of the CMS division focuses on reduction of risks to critical infrastructure of the nation. 

The critical infrastructures include transportation, telecommunications, electricity, oil and gas, emergency 

response, government, banking & insurance and potable & wastewater. These critical infrastructures 

operate under stress due to deterioration, regulations, globalization, devolution, deliberate and accidental 

threats, natural threats, deregulation and innovation. The infrastructures have many interdependencies and

stress and failure in one area can lead to stress and possible failure in others. For example, the 

infrastructure for emergency response relies on transportation infrastructure for transport of emergency 

personnel and for evacuation of the injured. It relies on water infrastructure for fire suppression, on

telecom for contacting emergency personnel, on electricity for operation of medical equipment and so on. 

The concept of risk-based life-cycle infrastructure engineering and management includes:

• Predictive maintenance, sensing, monitoring, data storage, transmission and retrieval

• Modeling, simulation and prediction 

• Planning, training and preparedness 

• Detection, life time extension, early warning 

• Emergency response and diagnosis

 27 
• Recovery and corrective maintenance 

• Post event analysis to determine internal & direct impacts and external & indirect impacts.

Each of the above areas has challenges that need to be addressed. 

A number of overarching issues need to be considered. The focus should not be narrowly set on terrorism. 

There are multiple hazards and stressors that make the whole system of interdependent infrastructures 

vulnerable. A portfolio of risk intervention options is needed that can address different stages of 

technological developments over the system life cycle. A long-term view should be taken to address 

security without compromising other objectives. Synergistic objectives and collateral benefits should be

exploited. Non-consequential issues such as workforce education and training must be addressed. 

The George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) is a research effort that

will develop an integrated distributed capability for earthquake modeling, simulation and visualization. It 

is an $81.8 million national and international resource for research and education distributed across several 

universities in the US. It provides full scale testing of complex structural and lifeline systems and a 

network for real-time experiment sharing, access to curated databases and to advanced computational

resources and visualization tools through NEES “collaboratory.” Its resources include a geotechnical 

centrifuge at University of California (UC) Davis, a tsunami wave basin at Oregon State University, and a 

reconfigurable reaction wall at UC Berkeley. It will also include a simulation tools repository, a curated 

database repository, and leading edge computation facilities available through high performance networks. 

The NEES infrastructure will allow geographically distributed hybrid simulation, teleobservation, teleoperation and a number of other advanced capabilities. 

A number of research efforts funded by NSF focus on learning from urban disasters. An effort at George

Washington University is extending the emergency response knowledgebase. It is studying the interorganizational coordination of emergency management, medical efforts, law enforcement and military

resources. It will document the information flow and compare man-made and natural disasters. An effort 

at the Natural Hazards Center at University of Colorado-Boulder is investigating use of GIS in emergency 

response. Other relevant research efforts include: 

• Emergency preparedness planning and on-line evacuation of large buildings

• Evacuation management decision support system

• Modeling and simulation of wind loads for wind hazard mitigation 

• Forecasting change in hurricane risk over time 

• Robust on-line location and routing for urban service systems 

NSF has a few programs for funding research in emergency response area. These include the NEES Grand 

Challenge program, Workshop on HAZUS: the next generation, and the multi-disciplinary research into

critical infrastructure and related systems – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery regarding 

disasters and other extreme events. 

VIII.2. Department of Homeland Security Office of Domestic Preparedness & Interoperability 

Efforts 

– Mr. Frank Lepage, Supervisory Program Manager 

Mr. Lepage’s talk provided an overview of interoperability efforts funded by Office of Domestic 

Preparedness (ODP). Congress through the FY1999 Appropriations Act created the office. The services

include equipment acquisition, training and exercises and technical assistance. ODP’s budget for FY’03 is 

$1 billion. 

The interoperability efforts include: 

• State and local equipment grant program

• Prepositioned equipment program

• Dissemination of terrorist threat information

• Research and development 

 28 
The state and local equipment grant program provides funding for first responder equipment including 

interoperable communications equipment. All new or upgraded radio systems and new radio equipment 

should be compatible with a suite of standards developed jointly by the American National Standards 

Institute (ANSI), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and Electronics Industry Association 

(EIA) called ANSI/TIA/EIA -102 Phase 1 (Project 25). These standards have been developed to allow for 

backward compatibility with existing digital and analog systems and provide for interoperability in future 

systems. 

The prepositioned equipment program sustains a community’s response to WMD terrorist incidents, 

whether chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive, by promptly bringing equipment to the

emergency responder and replenishing assets consumed in the response. This program aims to place eleven 

pods of equipment across the nation over a two-year period. These placements will allow a nationwide 

response within 12 hours. 

The program for dissemination of terrorist threat information is aimed at increasing information sharing

between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The intent is to link capabilities on to the 

existing Department of Justice and intelligence community infrastructure. The system must be secure and

provide information only to those authorized to receive sensitive data. 

The research and development program has a funding of $23 Million in FY03 and will be coordinated

through the science and technology directorate. Its focus is on identification of emerging technologies,

technology integration efforts, and conducting testing & validating standards. 

VIII.3. NIST Advanced Technology Program 

– Dr. Jack Boudreaux, NIST 

The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is aimed at bridging the gap between the research lab and the 

marketplace stimulating prosperity through innovation. It is intended to help researchers develop the

technologies that are needed to bring new, innovative products and services to market more quickly, and 

the scientific and engineering advances that are needed for dramatic improvements in process or

manufacturing technologies. It thus provides the technical edge for tomorrow’s markets. 

The ATP provides cost-share funding in the critical early stages of R&D, when research risks are too high 

for other sources of funding. It can fund up to $2 million in direct costs over a period not to exceed three 

years for a single company and up to half of the total project costs for a maximum of five years for a joint 

venture involving more than one company. It encourages R&D partnerships and consortia, and can 

provide guidance in putting together a joint research venture. It allows independence of the companies in

controlling and retaining the intellectual property rights to the results of their research. 

The ATP’s bottom line is broad benefits for the nation – jobs, economic growth, and better quality of life 

through innovative technologies. It looks for R&D projects that create: 

• Technologies with benefits that extend well beyond the companies involved in the project. 

• Technologies with broad potential applications, particularly across different industrial sectors, and, 

• Path-breaking technologies that open up new potential markets or make possible wholly new products

or industrial processes.

Since its creation, ATP has awarded 642 projects with 1,329 participants and 967 subcontractors. It

contributed $11.7 billion in funding $22 billion of advanced technology development. Out of the projects 

funded, 65% were led by small businesses. The participants include more than 160 universities and 25

national laboratories. 

ATP projects have identified 4,696 potential applications and produced over 100 new technologies that are 

commercialized, as products, processes, or services. A large fraction (86%) of the projects report that they 

are ahead in their R&D cycle as a result of ATP funding. 

 29 
Companies developing advanced technologies for modeling and simulation for emergency response are 

invited to apply for ATP funding. 

IX. CONCLUSION 

Mr. Charles R. Mclean concluded the workshop with thanks to the participants for their contributions and 

recommendations. NIST will endeavor to follow-up on the next steps recommended by workshop breakout

groups (listed earlier in the description of the breakout sessions). 

This conference provided a strong foundation for collaborative follow-on efforts among government

agencies, the response community, industry and academia to: 

• identify information sources, simulation systems, and data requirements 

• develop the emergency response simulation framework 

• develop standards for interoperability and integration 

• develop and demonstrate distributed simulations using commercial simulation software and the 

simulation framework 

The workshop brought together a number of people from government agencies, academia and industry. 

Based on the discussions and feedback received from the attendees, the workshop succeeded in promoting 

the concept of the simulation framework. 

It is too early to determine the strength of collaborative relationships established at the workshop, but the 

workshop did succeed in creating a network of people working in the area of modeling and simulation for 

emergency response applications. Some follow-up meetings have already taken place and more are being 

arranged. It is hoped that tangible collaborations will be established in the near future to address the critical 

steps towards building a simulation framework for emergency response and developing necessary

simulation standards for interoperability and integration of emergency response requirements. 

With the strong interest expressed by the participants, NIST plans to hold the next workshop on this topic 

in early 2004. 

 30 
APPENDIX A. RELEVANT STANDARDS AND EFFORTS 

The following is a partial list of established standards and efforts that may be relevant to modeling, 

simulation and visualization for emergency response. The list is organized by the area of applicability. 

A.I. Distributed Simulation 

1. 610.3-1989 IEEE standard glossary of modeling and simulation terminology.

This glossary defines terms in the field of modeling and simulation. Topics covered include 

general modeling and simulation concepts, types of models and simulations, modeling and

simulation variables, game theory, and queuing theory. Terms were excluded if they were 

considered to be parochial to one group or organization; company proprietary or trademarked;

multi-word terms whose meaning could be inferred from the definitions of the component words; 

or terms whose meaning in the computer field could be directly inferred from their standard

English meaning. Some technical terms that appear in the definitions are defined in other P610

glossaries and are not included as entries in this document.

2. 1278.1-1995 IEEE Standard for Distributed Interactive Simulation--Application Protocols 

(Revision and redesignation of IEEE Std 1278-1993)

Data messages, known as protocol data units (PDUs), that are exchanged on a network between 

simulation applications are defined. These PDUs are for interactions that take place within 

specified domains called protocol families, which include entity information interaction, warfare, 

logistics, simulation management, distributed emission regeneration and radio communications. 

3. 1278.1a-1998 IEEE Standard for Distributed Interactive Simulation--Application Protocols 

Data messages, known as protocol data units (PDUs), that are exchanged on a network between 

simulation applications are defined. These PDUs are for interactions that take place within 

specified domains called protocol families, which include entity information/interaction, warfare, 

logistics, simulation management, distributed emission regeneration, radio communications, entity 

management, minefield, synthetic environment, simulation management with reliability, live 

entity information/interaction and non-real time. 

4. 1278.2-1995 IEEE Standard for Distributed Interactive Simulation--Communication Services and 

Profiles. 

Communication services to support information exchange between simulation applications 

participating in the distributed interactive simulation (DIS) environment are defined. These 

communication services describe a connectionless information transfer that supports real-time, as 

well as non-real-time, exchange. Several communication profiles specifying communication 

services are provided. 

5. 1278.3-1996 IEEE Recommended Practice for Distributed Interactive Simulation--Exercise 

Management and Feedback. 

Guidelines are established for exercise management and feedback in distributed interactive 

simulation (DIS) exercises. Guidance is provided to sponsors, providers and supporters of DIScompliant systems and exercises as well as to developers of DIS exercise management and

feedback stations. The activities of the organizations involved in a DIS exercise and the top-level 

processes used to accomplish those activities are addressed. The functional requirements of the 

exercise management and feedback process are also addressed. This standard is one of a series of

standards developed for DIS to assure interoperability between dissimilar simulations for currently 

installed and future simulations developed by different organizations. 

6. 1278.4-1997 IEEE Trial-Use Recommended Practice for Distributed Interactive Simulation--

Verification, Validation, and Accreditation.

Guidelines are established for the verification, validation, and accreditation (VV&A) of distributed

interactive simulation (DIS) exercises. “How-to” procedures for planning and conducting DIS 

exercise VV&A are provided. Intended for use in conjunction with IEEE Std 1278.3-1996, this

 A-i 
recommended practice presents data flow and connectivity for all proposed verification and

validation activities and provides rationale and justification for each step. VV&A guidance is 

provided to exercise users/sponsors and developers. 

7. 1516-2000 IEEE Standard for Modeling and Simulation (M&S) High Level Architecture (HLA)---

Framework and Rules. 

The High Level Architecture (HLA)-Framework and Rules is the capstone document for a family

of related HLA standards. It defines the HLA, its components, and the rules that outline the 

responsibilities of HLA federates and federations to ensure a consistent implementation. 

Simulations are abstractions of the real world, and no one simulation can solve all of the 

functional needs for the modeling and simulation community. It is anticipated that technology

advances will allow for new and different modeling and simulation (M&S) implementations

within the framework of HLA. The standards contained in this architecture are interrelated and 

need to be considered as a product set, as a change in one is likely to have an impact on the others. 

As such, the HLA is an integrated approach that has been developed to provide a common 

architecture for simulation. 

8. 1516.1-2000 IEEE Standard for Modeling and Simulation (M&S) High Level Architecture 

(HLA)---Federate Interface Specification. 

The high level architecture (HLA) has been developed to provide a common architecture for 

distributed modeling and simulation. The HLA defines an integrated approach that provides a

common framework for the interconnection of interacting simulations. This document, the second

in a family of three related HLA documents, defines the standard services of and interfaces to the 

HLA Runtime Infrastructure (RTI). These services are used by the interacting simulations to

achieve a coordinated exchange of information when they participate in a distributed federation. 

The standards contained in this architecture are interrelated and need to be considered as a product 

set, when changes are made. They each have value independently. 

9. 1516.2-2000 IEEE Standard for Modeling and Simulation (M&S) High Level Architecture 

(HLA)---Object Model Template (OMT) Specification 

The High Level Architecture (HLA)-Object Model Template (OMT) specification defines the 

format and syntax (but not content) of HLA object models. Simulation are abstractions of the real 

world, and no one simulation can solve all of the functional needs for the modeling and simulation 

community. It is anticipated that advances in technology will allow for new and different 

modeling and simulation (M&S) implementations within the framework of the HLA. The 

standards contained in this architecture are interrelated and need to be considered as a product set,

as a change in one is likely to have an impact on the others. As such, the HLA is an integrated

approach that has been developed to provide a common architecture for simulation. 

10. Object Management Group (OMG), Distributed Simulation Systems Version 2.0, available 

through http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/domain_spec_catalog.htm. A common

technical framework facilitating the interoperability of all types of models and simulations among

themselves and with command and control systems, as well as facilitating the reuse of modeling

and simulation components. 

11. Object Management Group (OMG), Common Object Request Broker Architecture Version 3.0.2,

available through 

http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/corba_spec_catalog.htm#CORBA_IIOP. 

Specification of an architecture for middleware technology called an Object Request Broker that 

provides interoperability among clients and servers distributed over a heterogeneous environment. 

A.II. Visualization 

12. ISO/IEC 14772-1:1998, Information technology - Computer graphics and image processing - The 

Virtual Reality Modeling Language - Part 1: Functional specification and UTF-8 encoding. 

Available through http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage. Defines a file format that 

 A-ii 
integrates 3D graphics and multimedia. Conceptually, each VRML file is a 3D time-based space 

that contains graphic and aural objects that can be dynamically modified through a variety of 

mechanisms. This part of ISO/IEC 14772 defines a primary set of objects and mechanisms that 

encourage composition, encapsulation, and extension (Also see, ISO/IEC 14772-1/FDAmd1

Information technology - Computer graphics and image processing - The Virtual Reality 

Modeling Language - Part 1: Functional specification and UTF-8 encoding - Amendment 1:

Enhanced interoperability). 

13. ISO/TC 211 Geographic Information/ Geomatics (www.isotc211.org) is focused on

standardization in the field of digital geographic information. These standards may specify, for 

geographic information, methods, tools and services for data management (including definition 

and description), acquiring, processing, analyzing, accessing, presenting and transferring such data 

in digital/electronic form between different users, systems and locations. The work shall link to

appropriate standards for information technology and data where possible, and provide a 

framework for the development of sector-specific applications using geographic data. The 

following standards are available or under development:

International Standards and Technical Reports 

ISO 6709:1983 Standard representation of latitude, longitude and altitude for geographic point

locations 

ISO 19101:2002 Geographic information — Reference model 

ISO 19105:2000 Geographic information — Conformance and testing 

ISO 19108:2002 Geographic information — Temporal schema 

ISO 19113:2002 Geographic information — Quality principles 

ISO/TR 19120:2001 Geographic information — Functional standards 

ISO/TR 19121:2000 Geographic information — Imagery and gridded data 

Final Draft International Standards 

ISO/FDIS 19111 Geographic information — Spatial referencing by coordinates (approved)

ISO/FDIS 19115 Geographic information — Metadata 

Draft International Standards 

ISO/DIS 19104 Geographic information — Terminology

ISO/DIS 19106 Geographic information — Profiles 

ISO/DIS 19107 Geographic information — Spatial schema 

ISO/DIS 19109 Geographic information — Rules for application schema 

ISO/DIS 19110 Geographic information — Feature cataloguing methodology 

ISO/DIS 19112 Geographic information —Spatial referencing by geographic identifiers 

ISO/DIS 19114 Geographic information — Quality evaluation procedures 

ISO/DIS 19116 Geographic information — Positioning services 

ISO/DIS 19117 Geographic information — Portrayal 

ISO/DIS 19118 Geographic information — Encoding

ISO/DIS 19119 Geographic information — Services 

ISO/DIS 19125-1 Geographic information — Simple feature access — Part 1: Common 

architecture 

ISO/DIS 19125-2 Geographic information — Simple feature access — Part 2: SQL option 

14. ISO/IEC 8613-7:1994, Information technology -- Open Document Architecture (ODA) and

Interchange Format: Raster graphics content architectures, available through

http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage. Applies to the interchange of documents by means 

of data communication or the exchange of storage media. Provides for the interchange of

documents for either or both of the following purposes: to allow presentation as intended by the 

originator and to allow processing such as editing and reformatting. Also provides for the 

interchange of ODA information structures used for the processing of interchanged documents. 

Defines a raster graphics content architecture. 

 A-iii 
15. ISO/IEC 9636-6:1991, Information technology -- Computer graphics -- Interfacing techniques for

dialogues with graphical devices (CGI) -- Functional specification -- Part 6: Raster, available 

through http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage. Describes those functions of the interface 

concerned with creating, modifying, retrieving, and displaying portions of an image stored as pixel

data. 

16. ISO/IEC 7942-1:1994, Information technology -- Computer graphics and image processing --

Graphical Kernel System (GKS) -- Part 1: Functional description. Specifies a set of functions for 

computer graphics programming, the graphical kernel system. Provides functions for two 

dimensional graphical output, the storage and dynamic modification of pictures, and operator

input. Applicable to a wide range of applications that produce two dimensional pictures on vector

or raster graphical devices in monochrome or color.

17. ISO/IEC ISP 15124-1:1998, Information technology -- International Standardized Profile FOD126

-- Open Document Format: Image Applications -- Enhanced document structure -- Character, 

raster graphics, and geometric graphics content architecture -- Part 1: Document Application

Profile (DAP) 

18. ISO/IEC 16485:2000, Information technology -- Mixed Raster Content

19. ISO/IEC 15444-6:2003, Information technology -- JPEG 2000 image coding system -- Part 6:

Compound image file format. This standard defines a normative but optional file format for 

storing compound images using the JPEG 2000 file format family architecture. 

A.III. Data and Interfaces 

 

20. ISO/IEC 11179-6:1997 Information technology -- Specification and standardization of data 

elements -- Part 6: Registration of data elements. 

21. ISO/IEC 11179-1:1999 Information technology -- Specification and standardization of data 

elements -- Part 1: Framework for the specification and standardization of data elements. 

22. ISO/IEC 11179-2:2000 Information technology -- Specification and standardization of data 

elements -- Part 2: Classification for data elements. 

23. ISO/IEC 11179-3:1994 Information technology -- Specification and standardization of data 

elements -- Part 3: Basic attributes of data elements. 

24. ISO/IEC 11179-4:1995 Information technology -- Specification and standardization of data 

elements -- Part 4: Rules and guidelines for the formulation of data definitions 

25. ISO/IEC 11179-5:1995 Information technology -- Specification and standardization of data 

elements -- Part 5: Naming and identification principles for data elements (available in English

only)

26. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second Edition), 

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml, accessed on January 31, 2003. This standard can be applied to 

define data exchanges between modeling and simulation applications for emergency response. 

XML provides a mechanism to impose constraints on the storage, layout and logical structure of a 

document.

A.IV. Architecture Specification 

27. Object Management Group (OMG), Unified Modeling Language (UML) Version 1.4, available 

through http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/modeling_spec_catalog.htm. A specification

 A-iv
defining a graphical language for visualizing, specifying, constructing, and documenting the 

artifacts of distributed object systems. 

A.V. Secure Communications

28. ISO/IEC ISP 10608-8:1998 Information technology -- International Standardized Profile TAnnnn

-- Connection-mode Transport Service over Connectionless-mode Network Service -- Part 8:

Security employing the Network Layer Security Protocol -- Connection-mode with SDT-PDU 

based protection over X.25 packet switched data networks using virtual calls, for TA1111/TA1121 

profiles. 

29. ISO/IEC ISP 10613-20:1998 Information technology -- International Standardized Profile RA -- 

Relaying the Connectionless-mode Network Service -- Part 20: Security employing the Network 

Layer Security Protocol -- Connection-mode with SDT-PDU based Protection over X.25 packet

switched data networks using virtual calls, for RA1111/RA1121 profiles. 

30. ISO 15892:2000 Space data and information transfer systems -- Protocol specification for space

communications -- Security protocol. 

31. ISO/PAS 16917:2002 Ships and marine technology -- Data transfer standard for maritime, 

intermodal transportation and security. 

A.VI. Domain-Specific Data 

32. OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee - OASIS (Organization for the

Advancement of Structured Information Standards, http://www.oasis-open.org) is a not-for-profit, 

global consortium that drives the development, convergence, and adoption of e-business

standards. Members of the OASIS standards consortium have announced plans on Feb. 10, 2003

to collaborate on the development of XML-based standards for emergency management and

incident preparedness and response. The new OASIS Emergency Management Technical

Committee will define standards to enable vital information exchange between local, state and 

federal agencies including law enforcement, medical professionals, companies and other 

responders to natural and man-made disasters and emergency situations. 

33. ISE/IEC 18023 Information technology – Computer graphics and image processing – Synthetic

Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification (SEDRIS) - This part of ISO/IEC 

18023 addresses the concepts, structure, syntax and semantics for the representation and 

interchange of environmental data. It specifies: a) a data representation model that allows the 

consistent and cohesive expression of the semantic and syntactic relationships of environmental

data; b) conceptual models of the represented data objects and their relationships; c) the dictionary 

of data elements used by the data representation model; and d) the application program interface

that supports the storage and retrieval of environmental data. The technologies specified in this 

part of ISO/IEC 18023 apply to the four domains of environmental data representation: terrain, 

ocean, atmosphere, and space. 

34. ISO/IEC 18025 Information technology – Computer graphics and image processing –

Environmental Data Coding Specification - This International Standard provides mechanisms to

unambiguously specify objects used to model environmental concepts. This is accomplished by 

specifying a collection of nine EDCS dictionaries of environmental concepts and a functional

interface. The dictionaries are defined for the following categories of information:

a. classifications: specify the type of environmental objects, 

b. attributes: specify the state of environmental objects, 

c. attribute value characteristics: specify information concerning the values of attributes, 

d. attribute enumerants: specify the allowable values for the state of an enumerated 

attribute, 

e. units: specify quantitative measures of the state of some environmental objects, 

 A-v 
f. unit scales: allow a wide range of numerical values to be stated, 

g. unit equivalence classes: specify sets of units that are mutually comparable, 

h. organizational schemas: useful for locating classifications and attributes sharing a 

common context, and 

i. groups: into which concepts sharing a common context are collected. 

35. Intelligence Community Core Metadata Standard - An HTML Implementation for Intelink, April 

20, 2001. The IC Core Metadata Working Group focused on defining the minimum set of

metadata tags needed to identify and manage an information object. The development of these

core tags is based upon a previous set of HTML metadata tags published by the Intelink 

Management Office in 1997. These original guidelines have been expanded by the IC Core MWG 

using inputs from the major production centers and now include the minimum set of HTML tags

necessary to identify the product, provide indexing content for search engines, and some records 

management tags. They also meet the required implementation of security markings as directed by

the Controlled Access Program Coordination Office. 

36. IC Metadata Standard for Publications v1.0 DTD and DED released July 15, 2002. Contains XML 

Document Type Definitions, Data Element Dictionary, supporting modules and entities for data 

relevant to intelligence community. 

37. IC Core Metadata v1.0 Released July 15, 2002. The IC Metadata Core Standard is currently under

development. The "Core" metadata is that metadata common across all domains. The purpose of 

the "Core" metadata is for information discovery across the shared space. 

38. Version 1.0 of the Information Security Marking July 15, 2002. The Intelligence Community 

Metadata Standards for Information Assurance are being developed to ensure the security of

XML-based transactions throughout the community. The IC Security effort is being continued by

the Information Security Marking (ISM) effort. Additional efforts to facilitate secure transactions

within the Intelligence Community are included in the IC MSIA effort. 

39. IC Metadata Standard for Publications DED v1.0a released Sept 16, 2002. Version 1.0a corrects 

omissions and errors in the Data Element Dictionary, and does not affect the DTDs. 

40. IC Metadata Standards Configuration Management Plan, Version 1.0 31 December 2002.

41. EPA Biological Taxonomy, 1-19937:1. Specifies the data elements that are required for 

identification of biological taxonomy. 

42. EPA Chemical Identification, 1-19938:1. The Chemical Data Standard was developed by a 

Chemical Data Standard Work Group comprised of representatives from across agency programs. 

The consensus standard defines what information is required to identify a chemical substance and 

how that information should be recorded. It provides for the use of common identifiers throughout

the Agency for all chemical substances regulated or monitored by EPA environmental programs. 

43. EPA Facility Identification, 1-19936:1. The Facility Identification Data Standard was developed 

by a state/EPA Action Team chartered by the ECOS-State-EPA Information Management

Workgroup as part of the Agency's plan to improve environmental information. With the approval

of this standard, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking a step forward in standardizing the 

collection of identification information related to regulated facilities and facilitating public access 

to that data. 

44. FAA-STD-060 July 18, 2001, Data standard for the National Airspace System (NAS). This 

standard describes the detailed NAS data specifications for use in defining all data in interfaces

controlled by the NAS Configuration Control Board. Each individual data standard is a

description of a data element shared among NAS information systems and is portrayed through a 

common set of metadata. 

 A-vi 
45. IEEE Std 1489-1999 IEEE standard for data dictionaries for intelligent transportation systems. 

The expanding use of digital communications among subsystems of the transportation 

infrastructure has spawned the development of data dictionaries for the communications between 

these subsystems. A format for intelligent transportation system (ITS) data dictionaries, including

common terms (e.g. time, date, location), as well as the meta-attributes necessary to document ITS 

data concepts, is addressed in this standard. 

46. IEEE Std 1488-2000 IEEE Trial-Use Standard for Message Set Template for Intelligent 

Transportation Systems. A format for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) message sets, 

including common terms (e.g., object identifier), as well as attributes necessary to document ITS 

data messages, is addressed in this standard. 

47. ASHRAE Standard 135-1995 -- BACnet® - A Data Communication Protocol for Building 

Automation and Control Networks. This communication protocol prescribes a detailed set of rules 

and procedures that govern all aspects of communicating information from one cooperating 

machine to another. 

 A-vii 
This page left blank intentionally. 

 A-viii 
APPENDIX B. EMERGENCY RESPONSE MODELING, SIMULATION AND SUPPORTING 

TOOLS AND PROJECTS

B.I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... B-iii

(1) ACATS - Analytical Conflict and Tactical Simulation ............................................................ B-1

(2) AEAS – Automated Exercise & Assessment System............................................................... B-2

(3) ALOHA.................................................................................................................................... B-3

(4) ArcGIS...................................................................................................................................... B-4

(5) A-TEAM, Advanced Training System for Emergency Management....................................... B-5

(6) BioSimMER ............................................................................................................................. B-6

(7) CAMEO ®................................................................................................................................ B-7

(8) CAPARS - Computer Assisted Protective Action Recommendation System .......................... B-8

(9) CAPS - Counterproliferation Analysis & Planning System ..................................................... B-9

(10) CATS - Consequences Assessment Tool Set.........................................................................B-10

(11) CERRTS – Civil Emergency Reaction and Responder Training System..............................B-11

(12) CFD - Computation Fluid Dynamics modeling tools............................................................B-12

(13) C-Insight................................................................................................................................B-13

(14) CoBRA ® - Chemical Biological Response Aide .................................................................B-14

(15) CONTAMW..........................................................................................................................B-15

(16) CRISIS...................................................................................................................................B-16

(17) CT-Analyst ............................................................................................................................B-17

(18) Emergency Preparedness Incident Command Simulation (EPiCS).......................................B-18

(19) Fire Modeling Programs........................................................................................................B-19

(20) FLDWAV..............................................................................................................................B-20

(21) GAMMA-EC: Gaming And MultiMedia Applications for Environmental Crisis management

training...............................................................................................................................................B-21

(22) GeoWorlds.............................................................................................................................B-22

(23) HAZUS, Hazards U.S............................................................................................................B-23

(24) Hazard Prediction & Assessment Capability (HPAC)...........................................................B-24

(25) HOTMAC/RAPTAD.............................................................................................................B-25

(26) HotSpot..................................................................................................................................B-26

(27) Hybrid Particle And Concentration Transport Model - HYPACT ........................................B-27

(28) HYTRAS – Hydrologic Transport Assessment System (HYTRAS).....................................B-28

(29) Interior Building Hazard Modeling .......................................................................................B-29

(30) LandView® ............................................................................................................................B-30

(31) LODI - Lagrangian Operational Dispersion Integrator..........................................................B-31

(32) M2M Dam Failure Model......................................................................................................B-32

(33) MapCalc Map Analysis software...........................................................................................B-33

(34) MARPLOT............................................................................................................................B-34

(35) MIDAS-AT, Meteorological Information and Dispersion Assessment System Anti-Terrorism..

 ...............................................................................................................................................B-35

(36) MIDGARD............................................................................................................................B-36

(37) MOST (Method of Splitting Tsunami)..................................................................................B-37

(38) NBC CREST – Casualty and Resource Estimation Support Tool.........................................B-38

(39) NCBR - Nuclear, Chemical, Biological, And Radiological Environment Server .................B-39

(40) NDAC - Network Design and Analysis Capability ...............................................................B-40

(41) NDGPS - Nationwide Differential Global Position System ..................................................B-41

(42) NEES - Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation ....................................................B-42

(43) NEHRP - National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program Maps........................................B-43

(44) NISAC - National Infrastructure Simulation And Analysis Center.......................................B-44

(45) PEGEM..................................................................................................................................B-45

(46) Port Security Simulations......................................................................................................B-46

(47) Radiological Accident Modeling for Emergency Response (RASCAL)...............................B-47

(48) Range 3000 XP4....................................................................................................................B-48

(49) Regional Atmospheric Modeling System - RAMS................................................................B-49

(50) RAMSAFE ............................................................................................................................B-50

 B-i 
(51) Simulation Object Framework for Infrastructure Analysis (SOFIA).....................................B-51

(52) SimViz/System......................................................................................................................B-52

(53) TAOS - The Arbiter of Storms..............................................................................................B-53

(54) TRIMS - Total Readiness Information Management System................................................B-54

(55) TUTOR..................................................................................................................................B-55

(56) Urban Security Project...........................................................................................................B-56

(57) VERTS - Virtual Emergency Response Training Simulation................................................B-57

(58) Virtual Cities .........................................................................................................................B-58

(59) VirtualEMS............................................................................................................................B-59

(60) Virtual LA. ............................................................................................................................B-60

(61) VISAC - Visual Interactive Site Analysis Code ....................................................................B-61

(62) Warning Decision Support System (WDSS).........................................................................B-62

(63) Weapons of Mass Destruction Decision Analysis Center .....................................................B-63

 B-ii 
B.I. INTRODUCTION 

This appendix provides brief descriptions of known modeling and simulation tools for emergency response 

that are currently available or are under development. The tools for general-purpose simulation have not

been included though many of them can be used to build emergency response applications. 

This appendix has been compiled based on Internet searches and information gathered from the attendees

of the workshop. While that does not ensure that this list is comprehensive, this appendix provides a good

compilation of modeling and simulation tools for emergency response. It is recognized that since 

September 2001 public access to homeland security related information may have been restricted. Such 

restrictions may have resulted in exclusion of some of the relevant tools. 

The brief descriptions of the tools and projects are adapted from the websites referred to in the

“Information Sources” section. The qualitative statements in the descriptions are those provided on the 

sponsor/owner websites and are not based on any assessment by the authors. 

The tools are listed in alphabetical sequence. There is no explicit or implicit endorsement by NIST of the 

tools included here. 

Each tool/project has been classified using axes defined for the integrated Emergency Response Framework 

(iERF) defined by NIST. The framework is depicted in figure B-1 below followed by a description of the 

axes. 

ENTITIES OF INTERES

T

POPULATION

- Residential

- Commuters

-..........

RESOURCES

-Telecom

-Power Plants

-Power Distribution

-Govt. Buildings

-......

RESPONSE AGENTS

-Police Units

-Fire Engines

-Hospitals

-.........

Planning

Vulnerability Analysis

Identification & Detection

Training

Real Time Response Support

APPLICATION

Defines impact

Defines response 

MAN-MADE

- NBC bomb

-Conventional bomb -Fire

-Hijacking -...

...

NATURAL

-Tornado

-Hurricane

-Wild fire

-Floods

-...

...

DISASTER EVENT

Systems Testing

Figure B-1. Integrated Emergency Response Framework (iERF) proposed by NIST

 B-iii 
IERF Axis- Disaster Event 

The emergency response agencies have to respond to a number of man-made and natural disaster events. 

The disaster event will have a large influence on the kind of modeling and simulation capabilities that need

to be brought together. For example, a building explosion and fire event requires capabilities for modeling

the impact of explosion and fire on the building structure and its occupants, while a hazardous release in the 

atmosphere requires capabilities to model the dispersion of the release in the atmosphere. Admittedly there 

are some capabilities that are required for a number of scenarios. These include capabilities such as traffic 

simulation and information flow simulation. Also, a few of the man-made and natural disaster may have 

similar impact. For example, forest fires can be initiated by intentional or unintentional actions of people 

or by natural causes. 

 

IERF Axis- Entities of Interest

The interest of all the agencies is to minimize the impact of disaster events on entities of interest. These 

include first and foremost, the human population. The impact of the disaster also needs to be understood

and contained on the resources, in particular, on the infrastructure resources. 

The response agents are the second major class of entities of interest. The actions of response agents need

to be modeled to understand how they can contain and mitigate the impact of the disaster event. It is quite 

possible that the response agents will become the affected entities of interest themselves, for example, fire 

personnel suffer injuries while fire fighting. The models should allow understanding of the risk exposure

for the response agents. The planners can test out different strategies that minimize the risk exposure for 

the response agents while allowing them to contain and mitigate the impact of the event. 

IERF Axis- Applications 

The capability of the needed modeling and simulation tools will differ based on the application they are 

designed for. An application for understanding the impact of the disaster event will have capabilities 

somewhat different from one for training emergency response personnel. The training applications will 

have more interactive features and the ability to unfold alternate simulated event sequences based on the 

response of the trainees. Similarly, applications for identification and detection of threat will have

capabilities for pattern matching against a number of historical scenarios to determine the likelihood of

threat development. Various applications for the emergency response domain are briefly described below.

Planning

The planning application will include tools for determination of impact of a disaster event and the tools for 

aiding development of the response action plans and strategies. The planning applications can range from

those for long term issues such as location of emergency response facilities and manpower or for focused

issues such as aiding development of specific response procedures. Examples of planning applications 

include: 

- Location of police and fire stations and hospitals

- Development of evacuation procedures 

- Setting up a communication infrastructure 

Vulnerability Analysis 

The vulnerability analysis application is focused on evaluation and assessment of emergency response 

preparedness plans and strategies. Modeling and simulation tools can be used to create a number of

disaster event scenarios and evaluate the performance of action plans and strategies. Examples of 

vulnerability analysis applications include: 

- Evaluation of security plans and procedures at a nuclear plant 

- Evaluation of city emergency response plans

Identification & Detection

The identification and detection application will include use of tools that study given scenarios and 

determine the possibility of the occurrence of a disaster event. It is anticipated that such tools will use 

pattern matching logic and past history databases to identify and detect potential threats. Examples of

identification and detection applications include: 

- Selecting security sweep targets in areas with majority of inhabitants from a target background

 B-iv
- Identifying the potential of tornado occurrence given the weather conditions

Training

The training application will include tools that allow training response agent personnel for handling

emergency events. These may include interactive simulations where the tools create an imaginary scenario 

and the trainees input their response actions. The tools will help evaluate the response actions and thus

help the trainee learn what works best under a given situation. These tools may range from interactive 

simulations using a monitor to totally immersive environments. Examples of training applications include: 

- Antidote deployment sequence 

- Evacuation management

Systems Testing 

The systems testing application will include tools that allow testing of systems and equipment used for 

emergency response. These may include applications that allow hardware emulation and software

simulation to create a scenario where part is simulated in software while remaining is simulated in real live 

exercise. It will allow testing of systems such as those for tracking emergency response vehicles and those 

.that provide information to emergency operations centers. It will also allow testing of hardware such as 

communication devices in emergency response situation with severe overloading of bandwidth. Examples 

of systems testing applications include: 

- Testing of emergency operations command and control systems 

- Testing of remotely operated search and rescue devices 

Real-time Response Support

The response application will include tools that evaluate the impact of a disaster through real-time updates 

on the situation, and use the available information to project current and future impact of the disaster. It

also includes tools for evaluating alternative response actions and strategies based on the current and 

projected impact. The evaluations are then used to direct the response actions on the ground. Examples of 

response applications include: 

- Antidote deployment sequence 

- Evacuation management

The available descriptions of tools/projects are used to assess their alignment with the iERF axes. Project 

sponsors and tool developers are invited to send their comments on the classification through the e-mail

address: mser_report_feedback@cme.nist.gov. 

 B-v
This page left blank intentionally. 

 B-vi
(1) ACATS - Analytical Conflict and Tactical Simulation 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The Analytical Conflict and Tactical Simulation (ACATS) is an offshoot of the Joint Conflict and Tactical 

Simulation (JCATS) that the military uses for training, analysis, mission planning and mission rehearsal. 

ACATS applies JCATS' cutting-edge simulation capabilities to the scenarios that may take place in an

urban setting, from the spread of a chemical or biological agent within a building to the search for survivors 

in the rubble of a bombed building. 

The goal is to make ACATS available to local and state agencies to help them be better prepared for 

terrorist attacks, natural disasters and large-scale accidents. 

Emergency managers in Lee County, Alabama, tried out the system earlier this year during a scenario that

involved a hypothetical terrorist attack on a water treatment plant. Seattle first responders tested the system

during an earthquake simulation. 

 Livermore has already established a new lab next to the existing JCATS laboratory where scientists are

fine-tuning the ACATS system to better model city- and state-level events such as public health response 

and the effects of panicked citizens. 

ACATS eventually would be able to take in real-time data from sensors and tracking devices attached to 

first responders, which would allow it to be used as incident control software in addition to emergency 

response planning and training. 

Inputs: 

Data describing the location, environment and the incident

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) incidents 

Applications: Planning, training, vulnerability analyses, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/06news/NewsReleases/2002/NR-02-12-07.html

http://www.llnl.gov/hso/emergencyprog.html

 B-1
(2) AEAS – Automated Exercise & Assessment System 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Science Applications International Corporation 

(SAIC) 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

AEAS was designed and developed by a team of SAIC scientists and homeland security experts. This

homeland security training and readiness assessment system leverages the simulation technology SAIC has 

developed for training members of the armed forces. The system has successfully been evaluated during

field exercises in Utah and West Virginia, establishing baselines for training local emergency responders

across the U.S. 

AEAS allows participants to respond as a team in real-time to simulated emergency scenarios that may 

include explosions and the release of radioactive contaminants or biological agents. The software that

drives the simulation creates a realistic training environment without the cost, safety and logistics concerns

of live, on-location training involving hundreds of role players, dozens of emergency vehicles and other

equipment.

Each participant plays one of 41 different roles on PC workstations, including communications, law 

enforcement, fire department, emergency management, medical facilities, public health, military support, 

public information, elected officials, donations and volunteer management. The training software provides 

an accurate record of how the participants act and react in the simulated emergency, allowing each 

jurisdiction to determine strengths and areas of concern in advance of a real emergency.

Inputs: 

Selection of scenario and definition of local area 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical, biological, nuclear agent release 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

 http://www.saic.com/news/dec02/news12-02-02.html

 B-2
(3) ALOHA 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

US Environmental Protection Agency

 

Screen Display: 

ALOHA model generated footprint plotted using 

PlotALOHA 

Brief Description: 

ALOHA is an emergency response model, intended for rapid deployment by responders and for emergency

planning. It incorporates source strength as well as Gaussian and heavy gas dispersion models and an

extensive chemical property library. Model output is in both text and graphic form, and includes a

'footprint' plot of the area downwind of a release where concentrations may exceed a user-set threshold 

level. ALOHA can accept weather data transmitted from portable monitoring stations, and can plot

footprints on electronic maps displayed in a companion mapping application, MARPLOT. 

It is part of CAMEO, a system of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical

emergencies. It is one of the tools developed by EPA’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention

Office (CEPPO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and 

Restoration (NOAA), to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. 

Inputs: 

Information defining the chemical release and weather information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical agent release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/cameo/what.htm##haz

 B-3
(4) ArcGIS 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

ESRI 

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

GIS software tools enable users to collect, organize, analyze, display, and model information. The ArcGIS 

software suite offers industry-strength GIS tools that provide the vital scalability and performance for 

deployment throughout the homeland security enterprise. 

Homeland security programs will be developed and implemented through analysis of information. The vast 

majority of this information is spatial and can be brought into a GIS and mapped. Once this occurs, 

homeland security analysis and planning can begin. When information on life, property, and critical

infrastructures is combined with risk and probability, managers can formulate mitigation, preparedness, 

response, and recovery program needs. 

The ArcGIS software components include: 

• ArcGIS provides sophisticated functionality, such as editing, analysis, and modeling, along with

cutting-edge data models and management. 

• ArcInfo is the professional GIS system with capabilities for automation, modification, management, 

analysis, and display of geodata. 

• ArcView is a powerful tool for management, display, and analysis of spatial information.

• ArcEditor software includes all the functionality of ArcView and adds the power to edit features in a 

multiuser geodatabase. Additional functionality includes support for multiuser editing, versioning, 

custom feature classes, feature-linked annotation, dimensioning, and rasters in a multiuser 

geodatabase. 

Inputs: 

Geographic information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various events

Applications: Can support various applications 

Entities of interest: Can support modeling of various entitities 

Information source: 

http://www.esri.com/industries/homelandsecurity/arcgis_solutions.html

 B-4
(5) A-TEAM, Advanced Training System for Emergency Management 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): Screen Display: Not available

Environmental Software and Services GmbH 

Brief Description: 

The main objective of the A-TEAM project is to develop and test a new approach to advanced technical 

training using an integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and dynamic simulation modeling to

create fully interactive multi-media content within a real-time knowledge-based system framework for the 

domain of emergency management applications. The underlying client-server architecture supports easy

access in Intranet/Internet distributed systems. 

Inputs: 

Data describing the training scenario 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Aims to model a wide range of events, test cases focused on chemical plants 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Aims to model a wide range, specifically mentioned - traffic control systems, 

emergency medical teams (EMTs), infrastructure – utility and water supply

Information source: 

http://www.ess.co.at/A-TEAM/section7.html

 B-5
(6) BioSimMER 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Sandia National Laboratories 

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

BioSimMER is a VR application that immerses first responders in a computer-simulated setting - a small 

airport in which a biological warfare agent has been dispersed following a terrorist bombing. Simulated 

casualties with a variety of symptoms are found throughout the airport. The computer simulation engages 

the rescuer's eyes, ears, and decision-making abilities through goggles that display the scene's images. The 

rescuer wears sensors on the arms, legs, and waist, allowing the player's motions to be fed back into the 

simulation. During a simulation, the trainee must do triage, diagnose, and attend to the medical needs of 

each casualty. After making a diagnosis, a trainee can administer medical treatment by reaching for and 

using tools in a virtual medical kit. Trainees may need to attend to initial decontamination procedures, 

place masks over a patient's nose and mouth, or place sensors or other monitoring equipment near the 

patient. Most important, they need to learn to protect themselves. 

The tool can help emergency personnel make better decisions if ever they are called upon to respond in a 

real chem-bio attack. 

Inputs: 

Based on a defined airport scenario. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Chemical and biological agent release 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.sandia.gov/LabNews/LN07-30-99/vr_story.html

 B-6
(7) CAMEO® 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

USEPA 

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and

Prevention Office 

Screen Display: Not Available

Brief Description: 

CAMEO contains a chemical database of over 6,000 hazardous chemicals, 80,000 synonyms, and product 

trade names. CAMEO provides a powerful search engine that allows users to find chemicals instantly. Each 

one is linked to chemical-specific information on fire and explosive hazards, health hazards, firefighting 

techniques, cleanup procedures, and protective clothing. CAMEO also contains basic information on

facilities that store chemicals, on the inventory of chemicals at the facility (Tier II) and on emergency 

planning resources. Additionally, there are templates where users can store EPCRA information. CAMEO 

connects the planner or emergency responder with critical information to identify unknown substances 

during an incident. 

It is part of CAMEO, a system of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical

emergencies. It is one of the tools developed by EPA’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention

Office (CEPPO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and 

Restoration (NOAA), to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. 

Inputs: 

Search terms for suspected chemical 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical release events 

Applications: Real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/cameo/index.htm

 B-7
(8) CAPARS - Computer Assisted Protective Action Recommendation 

System 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Regional Atmospheric Response Center 

AlphaTRAC Atmospheric Consultants 

 

Innovative GIS Solutions, Inc. 

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

CAPARS is a state-of-the-art plume prediction system, the DoE TRAC (Terrain Responsive Atmospheric 

Code) model, that addresses the needs of emergency responders. The CAPARS system is the technical 

backbone of the recently established Regional Atmospheric Response Center (RARC) in Westminster, 

Colorado. RARC is a prototype response center recently established by the Dept. of Energy’s Rocky Flats 

Environmental Technology Site for addressing emergency response scenarios for tracking hazardous

chemical plumes and spills. RARC is a 24 hour a day, 365 day center that is available to municipalities,

cities, government, and private industry on a subscription basis to address real-time hazardous material

emergency response. 

Key components of the system include: 

• A comprehensive Graphical User Interface (GUI) for real time operation and interaction with 

CAPARS and the TRAC model, resultant output (maps, reports, and charts), and spatial database 

including data update and quality assurance procedures 

• A Source Inventory Database Subsystem to manage and maintain key facility data and source 

inventories including support for commercial chemical databases (CHEMTOX), custom

chemical/substance databases (RARC, EPA (numerous), SARA Title III, custom facility databases 

(e.g., Rocky Flats), etc.). 

• An Output, Display and Communication subsystem for visualizing TRAC model output and

distributing output to predefined team members and/or sites. 

Inputs: 

Definition of the release event and location 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical agent release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.innovativegis.com/services/projects/capars_trac.html

 B-8
(9) CAPS - Counterproliferation Analysis & Planning System 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and 

International Security (NAI) Directorate, 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The Counterproliferation Analysis and Planning System (CAPS) is a versatile and powerful tool for 

analyzing the proliferation activities of foreign countries. These analyses provide valuable technical input 

to the decision-making agencies and individuals with responsibility for determining the U.S. response to

proliferation activities. 

Drawing on information from many sources, CAPS can model the various processes (chemical, biological, 

metallurgical, etc.) that proliferants use to build weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. 

By modeling proliferation activities at a high level of detail, we can analyze the country's specific approach

to weapons production. Our goal is to identify critical processing steps or production facilities which, if 

denied, would prevent that country from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. 

CAPS contains demographic data and atmospheric plume models, developed for the National Atmospheric 

Release Advisory Center. CAPS also includes a suite of chemical databases that are used to evaluate the

effects of chemicals that could be released into the environment. 

Inputs: 

Information on proliferation activites 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Nuclear attack

Applications: Identification and detection

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.llnl.gov/nai/technologies/techinfo2.html

 B-9
(10) CATS - Consequences Assessment Tool Set 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Science Applications International Corporation 

(SAIC) 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The Consequence Assessment Tool Set (CATS) assesses the consequences of technological and natural 

disasters to population, resources and infrastructure. Hazards accounted for in CATS range from natural

disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, to technological disasters such as industrial accidents,

terrorism and acts of war. It has been developed under the guidance of the US Defense Threat Reduction

Agency (DTRA) and the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). CATS provides 

significant assistance in emergency managers' training, exercises, contingency planning, logistical planning 

and calculating requirements for humanitarian aid.

CATS predicts the damage and assesses the consequences associated with that damage as a result of a

technological or natural hazard. The technological portion of CATS provides for the calculation of damage 

and consequence using real-time weather and a variety of sources, particularly those associated with 

weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as employed by military forces or terrorists. 

The natural hazard portion of CATS provides for the calculation of damage and consequence from

earthquakes and hurricanes. The earthquake model is a collection of programs that models the severity and

the geographical extent of the damage due to the primary earthquake hazard of ground shaking as well as to

the collateral hazards of ground failure, tsunami, and fire following the earthquake. The consequence of a 

damaging earthquake is assessed in terms of the facilities, infrastructure, and population at risk. The 

hurricane model predicts the tracking of the storm and the damage to the areas surrounding the track of the 

hurricane caused by the wind. 

Inputs: 

Hazard description parameters and local GIS data 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Natural or man-made disasters 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.saic.com/products/simulation/cats/cats.html

 B-10
(11) CERRTS – Civil Emergency Reaction and Responder Training System 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Raytheon 

Screen Display: Not available

Brief Description: 

The Raytheon Civil Emergency Reaction and Responder Training System (CERRTS) is a computer driven, 

emergency response and crisis rehearsal training system that provides realistic Homeland Security (HLS) 

environments to train key members of Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) and First Responders. It uses 

detailed modeling to provide a stress-filled, simulated, emergency environment at the municipal, county,

state, regional and national levels of government. It also integrates Global Information Systems 

Technology (GIST) Collaborative Training and Operational Planning System (CTOPS) that permits

collaborative planning among team members over the Internet including full duplex voice over IP, and 

offers a dynamic interface for scenario generation with CERRTS execution simulation. 

CERRTS also provides Object Raku Technology’s Sextant software, a lap-top based mapping and rapid 3D

visualization tool kit. It directly supports interactive training and education for Emergency Operations 

Center staffs, First Responders (fire, police, medical), National Guard’s Civil Support Team (CST), and

associated emergency communications, operations, and planning staffs at any level of civil government.

Inputs: 

Selection of scenario and definition of local area 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Natural and man-made disasters 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

Http://homelandsecurity.raytheon.com/pdfs/CERRTS_Slick_Sht.pdf 

 B-11
(12) CFD - Computation Fluid Dynamics modeling tools 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Innovative Technologies Solutions 

Corporation

Screen Display: Aerosol transport modeling 

Brief Description: 

A number of tools have been developed using CFD, including:

• Isis-3D - multi-dimensional, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code with reactive flow, turbulence, 

variable evaporation, and compressible flow models for the predicted response of systems to fires. 

• FLOW-3D - Generalized commercial CFD code for the analysis of thermal effects from fire, aerosol 

transport, and complex terrain fuel spill analysis. 

• RADTRAD – uses numerical models of source term reduction phenomena to determine the time 

dependent radiological dose at user-specified locations for a given accident scenario. 

The tools can be used for a variety of applications including:

• Prediction of thermal loads to surfaces/structures in building fires to facilitate optimum placement of 

sensors, assess vital equipment vulnerability, etc. 

• Prediction of soot generation and transport within buildings for assessing optimum emergency 

response scenarios 

• Response of hazardous cargo (weapon systems, waste containers, etc.) to fires resulting from various

accident scenarios 

• Prediction of the dispersal and transport of hazardous and radioactive contaminants due to fire 

mechanisms in manufacturing or waste management facilities 

• Prediction of the thermal load encountered by response teams as a result of oil platform fires 

Inputs:

Data describing the building geometry, material dispersion rate, wind speed, etc. 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Fire 

Applications: Planning, training 

Entities of interest: Infrastructure elements including buildings, cargo vehicles, facilities. 

Information source:

http://www.itsc.com/mod.html

 B-12
(13) C-Insight

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

MetaEdge Corporation

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

C-Insight is a Public Safety/Homeland Defense solution for Secure Intelligence Sharing, Predictive 

Modeling, real-Time Analysis and Closed-Loop Feedback. C-Insight unifies disparate data sources and 

illustrates analysis through reporting tools such as geographic maps. Unlike “map-driven” GIS tools that 

offer static data models, C-Insight is “data-driven” and its dynamic modeling process adapts to any new 

data. 

C-Insight's key value for Public Safety and Homeland Defense is the flexibility in data modeling, allowing

for the integration of disparate data sources and the inclusion of any new data source on the fly. The 

platform also provides for predictive functionality, which recently allowed Westminster Police Department 

(CA) to join two disparate data sources and engage in proactive crime fighting. Unlike other GIS tools that

offer a static data model confined to an arduously built data warehouse, C-Insight offers an innovative

dynamic modeling process that adapts to ever changing influx of new data from any data source. 

Inputs: 

GIS information, information on disaster events

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various disaster events

Applications: Planning, identification and detection 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.metaedge.com/products/architecture.htm

 B-13
(14) CoBRA® - Chemical Biological Response Aide 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Defense Group Inc.

Screen Display: Not Available

Brief Description: 

The Chemical Biological Response Aide (CoBRA®) software coordinates the full spectrum of HAZMAT 

and fire response, on-scene forensic investigation, medical procedures and law enforcement. Pre-loaded

accredited SOPs and on-scene checklists are designed to address chemical identification, evidence 

collection, decontamination and general response to terrorist use of a weapon of mass destruction. 

Information from the Emergency Response Guide 2000 is also included. 

The tool can be used to provide real time inputs that can be used for modeling and simulation tools for real

time response support applications. Other features include:

• Accredited standard operating procedures and on-scene checklists are designed to address 

evidence collection, investigative procedures and general response to terrorist use of a WMD. 

• These documents, developed in consultation with a number of recognized international authorities 

in the field, are fully modifiable by the user, and can be customized to fit any agency. 

• Data can be sent via email, Internet, LAN or WAN, all wireless (RF), infrared or through a hardwired serial connection. 

• Allows consolidation of all procedures and preplans in one easy-to-navigate interface without the 

need to re-enter that data. 

• Organizes all the needed information for an emergency in one spot. 

• Actions are recorded with a time and date stamped log of the activities. 

• Digital image viewing, manipulation, and attachment to CoBRA® incident reports 

• Electronic Form Tool—complete standard format reports quickly with electronic submission to

headquarters 

• National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pocket Guide chemical hazard 

database 

• Expanded information for Improvised Explosive Devices (distribution restricted to authorized

government agencies) 

Inputs: 

Incident scene data 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical and biological release events 

Applications: Real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/cameo/index.htm

 B-14
(15) CONTAMW 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Building and Fire Research Laboratory 

NIST

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

CONTAMW is a multizone indoor air quality and ventilation analysis computer program designed to help

predict airflows, contaminant concentrations and personal exposure. It can be useful in a variety of 

applications. Its ability to calculate building airflows is useful to assess the adequacy of ventilation rates in

a building, to determine the variation in ventilation rates over time and the distribution of ventilation air 

within a building, and to estimate the impact of envelope air tightening efforts on infiltration rates. The 

prediction of contaminant concentrations can be used to determine the indoor air quality performance of a 

building before it is constructed and occupied, to investigate the impacts of various design decisions related 

to ventilation system design and building material selection, and to assess the indoor air quality 

performance of an existing building. Predicted contaminant concentrations can also be used to estimate 

personal exposure based on occupancy patterns in the building being studied. Exposure estimates can be

compared for different assumptions of ventilation rates and source strengths. 

CONTAMW was used to understand how anthrax spores may have spread throughout the Hart Senate 

Office Building in Washington, D.C. The results of the modeling aided the development of

decontamination strategies for the structure.

Inputs: 

Building design, ventilation system design.

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Biological attack 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Population

Information source: 

http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/IAQanalysis/CONTAMWdesc.htm

 B-15
(16) CRISIS 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Ship Analytics International 

Screen Display(s): 

Brief Description: 

CRISIS is a comprehensive crisis management system capable of supporting decision makers and diverse 

organizations involved in the management of all types of environmental and man-made disasters. It

provides capabilities in four areas: management, incident command system stations, geographic 

information systems and predictive models. The predictive modeling capability allows estimation of

geographic spread of impact on environment, effect of applied countermeasures, weathering and aging for

oil spill, flood, forest fire, earthquake, nuclear and disease disasters. It also includes models for assessing

environmental impact and economic damage (tourism impact, commercial, loss of life and property. 

Inputs: 

Description of the disaster

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Man made and natural disasters 

Applications: Training, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, environment

Information source: 

http://www.shipanalytics.com/fs_CRISIS.htm

 B-16
(17) CT-Analyst 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Naval Research Laboratory, Laboratory for 

Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics 

 Missile Defense Agency, Modeling and

Simulation

Screen Display: 

CT-AnalystTM full screen display showing plume 

envelope, contaminant footprint and evacuation routes 

Brief Description: 

CT-AnalystTM provides accurate, instantaneous, 3D predictions of chemical, biological and radiological

agent transport in urban settings. A model of dynamic urban airflow supplies a 3D database of agent 

airflow to power CT-Analyst. The accuracy of full 3D fluid dynamics simulations with meter-scale 

resolution is available to the user with zero time delay. 

CT-Analyst is being incorporated into another tool, PEGEM (see elsewhere in this document), under

Missile Defense Agency sponsorship that will allow a user to model a variety of scenarios that encompass 

both large and small-scale events. The integrated tools will provide: 

1. Enhanced modeling capabilities 

2. More complex scenario simulation 

3. Broader range of modeling resolution, from meters to hundred of kilometers 

Inputs: 

Information defining the event, urban surroundings and weather information 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosive events 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.nrl.navy.mil/pressRelease.php?Y=2003&R=45-03r

 B-17
(18) Emergency Preparedness Incident Command Simulation (EPiCS) 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command 

Analysis Center (TRAC) 

Contractor: AST, Inc. 

 

Screen Display: 

Screen shot from the visualization tool used by EpiCS. 

Brief Description: 

The Emergency Preparedness Incident Command Simulation (EPiCS) is a system of tools that are used to 

simulate, record and display activities during the response to an emergency event. It utilizes computerbased, scenario-driven, high-resolution simulation. It is used by emergency response agencies to train for 

emergency situations that require multi-echelon and/or interagency communication and coordination. This 

cost-effective training and analysis tool allows local, state, and federal agencies to interact under simulated, 

realistic conditions that exercise decision making processes and allows evaluation of emergency response

by each agency. 

EPiCS can be used to train operations command and control personnel, rehearse operations, evaluate

operations plans, analyze systems effectiveness, and assist in developing techniques and procedures. It

provides crisis managers with training that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Using the 

highly refined, accurate modeling capabilities of EPiCS, incident commanders and operations center 

personnel at all levels of the organizations can realistically evaluate response plans to various types of

emergency situations. Managers and supervisors can dynamically experience the operation of plans and 

procedures in their native command and control environment. 

Inputs: 

Data describing the exercise scenario – event, location, personnel and equipment participating in exercise

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Natural and Man-made disasters 

Applications: Planning, training 

Entities of interest: Can be built for specific scenarios. Focus on command and control functions. 

Information source: 

http://epics.astcorp.com/index.html

 B-18
(19) Fire Modeling Programs 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Building and Fire Research Laboratory 

NIST

Screen Display: PLOT3D data visualization using

Smokeview. Simulation of a kitchen fire in a townhouse.

Brief Description: 

NIST’s Building and Fire Research Lab has developed a number of fire modeling tools. These include:

• ALOFT-FTTM - A Large Outdoor Fire plume Trajectory model - Flat Terrain 

• ASCOS - Analysis of Smoke Control Systems 

• ASET-B - Available Safe Egree Time - BASIC 

• ASMET - Atria Smoke Management Engineering Tools 

• BREAK1 - Berkeley Algorithm for Breaking Window Glass in a Compartment Fire 

• CCFM - Consolidated Compartment Fire Model version VENTS 

• CFAST - Consolidated Fire and Smoke Transport Model 

• DETACT-QS - Detector Actuation - Quasi Steady 

• DETACT-T2 - Detector Actuation - Time squared 

• ELVAC - Elevator Evacuation 

• FASTLite - A collection of procedures which builds on the core routines of FIREFORM and the

computer model CFAST to provide engineering calculations of various fire phenomena, 

• FIRDEMND - Handheld Hosestream Suppression Model 

• FIRST - FIRe Simulation Technique 

• FPETool - Fire Protection Engineering Tools (equations and fire simulation scenarios) 

• Jet - A Model for the Prediction of Detector Activation and Gas Temperature in the Presence of a 

Smoke Layer 

• LAVENT - Response of sprinkler links in compartment fires with curtains and ceiling vents 

• NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator and Smokeview - The NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator predicts 

smoke and/or air flow movement caused by fire, wind, ventilation systems etc. Smokeview

visualizes the predictions generated by NIST FDS. 

Inputs: 

Parameters defining the building, the place where the fire started, the material composition, etc. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Man made and natural disasters leading to fire 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/866/fmabbs.html

 B-19
(20) FLDWAV 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

National Weather Service 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Screen Display: 

Not available 

Brief Description: 

FLDWAV is a generalized flood routing model that can be used by hydrologists/ engineers for real-time 

flood forecasting of dam-break floods and/or natural floods, dam-breach flood analysis for sunny-day 

piping or overtopping associated with the PMF flood, floodplain inundation mapping for contingency dambreak flood planning, and design of waterway improvements. The model can compute the outflow flood

wave hydrograph from a dam due to spillway, overtopping and/or dam breach outflows or the floodwave 

hydrograph can be user specified. The flood wave is then routed through the downstream channel/valley 

using a four-point implicit finite-difference numerical solution of the complete Saint-Venant equations of 

one-dimensional unsteady flow along with appropriate internal boundary equations representing 

downstream dams, bridges, weirs, waterfalls, and other man-made/natural flow controls. 

The output of FLDWAV can be visualized using M2M Dam Failure Model, listed in this document. 

Inputs: 

Information on river system, water surface elevation, dam and surrounding geography. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Floods, dam failure 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, real time response suppport 

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/rvrmech/fldwav1.htm

 B-20
(21) GAMMA-EC: Gaming And MultiMedia Applications for Environmental 

Crisis management training 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

A number of development partners across Europe 

are involved, including: 

• TNO- Netherlands Organisation for Applied 

Scientific Research

• Universitat de Barcelona 

• Italsoft 

• Nederlands Instituut voor Brandweer en

Rampenbestrijding

• CEREN - the Experimentations and Research 

Centre of the Entente Interdépartementale, 

public establishment for the protection of the 

forest against fire. 

• Regione Toscana 

• Generalitat, Government of Catalonia

Screen Display: 

Not available 

Brief Description: 

The project will result in a set of tools, consisting of: 

1. a multimedia program for individual education of disasters managers 

2. an interactive simulation program (crisis game) for training disaster managers simultaneously as a team. 

In addition to these tools generic pedagogical directives will be developed for designing scenarios and for 

assessing team member performance in decision making and exchanging information. All tools will be

developed and validated in co-operation with future end-users (fire-academies, disaster control managers). 

During the project, two applications will be worked out to show the GAMMA-EC concept works: largescale forest fires and chemical accidents. To keep down the expenses for future users the GAMMA-EC 

tools will make use of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software. 

Inputs: 

Data describing the training scenario 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Can be used to model various events. 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Aimed at modeling various entities appropriate to scenario modeled. 

Information source:

http://www.tno.nl/instit/fel/gamma_ec/index.html 

 B-21
(22) GeoWorlds 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Information Sciences Institute 

University of Southern California

Screen Display: A group of relevant screen displays.

Brief Description: 

GeoWorlds integrates Geographical Information Systems and Digital Library technologies into a single 

system. It extends existing services, and implements new services, for finding and organizing information

about sources of goods, services and information. This will support a strategic alliance of technology

developers and transfer the resulting technology to multiple military partners designated by DARPA; the 

partners are concerned with applying the technology in disaster relief operations. 

GeoWorlds can assist in disaster relief missions to help users assess the impact of a disaster, identify assets 

and partners that can help respond to the problem, and help organize the application of those assets. 

GeoWorlds will be an extension to digital library technology that provides functionality and demonstrates 

feasibility of a system that relates geographical information to a corpus of "other" information in 

documents. The function of the system is to help a user understand facts and events in relation to space and 

time. It allows users to take a set of documents, relate them to places and times relevant to their contents, 

and provide a visual environment for presenting and exploring those relationships. 

GeoWorlds has been put to experimental use in both academic and government settings for gathering 

information and analyzing a wide range of situations. These include preparing for hyothetical disasters, 

performing intelligence analysis, researching economic and business questions, and a number of other 

applications. 

Inputs: 

Documents describing the event, impact and response plans.

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Can be used to model various events. 

Applications: Planning, training, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Aimed at modeling various entities appropriate to scenario modeled. 

Information source: 

http://www.isi.edu/geoworlds/

 B-22
(23) HAZUS, Hazards U.S. 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Federal Emergency Management Agency

National Institute of Building Sciences 

Screen Display: 

The above screenshot is from a HAZUS model

developed by Applied Research Associates, Inc.

Brief Description: 

HAZUS is a standardized, national methodology for assessing losses from natural hazards. It has been

developed in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's commitment to encourage

mitigation as a means to reduce damage and loss from natural disasters, and to lessen the effects on people 

and the economy. HAZUS was first developed to assess the effects of earthquakes but is now being 

expanded to include models to address flooding (riverine and coastal) and wind (hurricanes, thunderstorms, 

tornadoes, extra tropical cyclones and hail) hazards. 

Inputs: 

Building stock, local geology and the location and size of potential disasters, economic data, and other 

information.

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Natural disasters 

Applications: Planning 

Entities of interest: Buildings, infrastructure and Population 

Information source:

http://www.nibs.org/hazusweb/ 

 B-23
(24) Hazard Prediction & Assessment Capability (HPAC) 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Screen Display: Not Available

Brief Description: 

HPAC is a forward deployable, NBC hazard prediction capability available for government, government 

related or academic use. This software tool assists warfighters in weaponeering targets containing weapons

of mass destruction (WMD) and in emergency response to hazardous agent release. Its fast running, physics 

based algorithms enable users to model and predict hazard areas and human collateral effects in minutes. 

HPAC models all nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) collateral effects of concern to military 

operations. These may derive from the use of NBCR weapons or from conventional weapon strikes against 

production and storage facilities for such weapons. Similar effects may result from military or industrial 

accidents. HPAC provides source information on potential radioactive releases from a nuclear weapon or 

reactor accident and has the capability to generate source terms for nuclear, chemical and biological 

weapon strikes or accidental releases. 

Obtaining weather data is as easy as a click on a mouse with HPACs weather request generator, which

provides access to forecast model and observational data in just minutes. HPAC also has embedded 

climatology or historical weather for use when real-world weather is not available. 

Inputs: 

Information on NBC attack, locale and weather 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Nuclear, biological, and chemical attack 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population

Information source: 

http://navmsmo.hq.navy.mil/ (search on HPAC) 

 B-24
(25) HOTMAC/RAPTAD 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

YSA Corporation

Screen Display: Dispersion through multiple buildings

Brief Description: 

The HOTMAC/RAPTAD system is a user-friendly, cost effective way to simulate various what-if 

scenarios in the computer, which is impossible to do with field measurements, but necessary for planning 

or mitigating potential environmental catastrophes. It includes a preprocessor, mesoscale meteorological

code, a transport and diffusion code, a postprocessor with realistic graphical 2D and 3D displays, and 

extensive graphical user interfaces (GUI). HOTMAC® (Higher Order Turbulence Model for Atmospheric 

Circulation) is a three-dimensional mesoscale prediction model that forecasts wind, turbulence, humidity, 

and atmospheric turbulence distribution over complex surface conditions. RAPTAD® (Random Puff

Transport and Diffusion) is a three-dimensional Lagrangian random puff model that is used to forecast 

transport and diffusion of air pollution materials over complex terrain. The modeling system is applicable 

from building scale to mesoscale (~2000 km). 

Inputs: 

Building profiles, agent release information

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical, biological, Radiological agent release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.ysasoft.com/solution/system.htm

 B-25
(26) HotSpot 

Developer Organization(s):

National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center 

(NARAC) 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

Hotspot, a fast-running local-scale steady-state Gaussian plume model for radiological releases was 

developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This model is fast and simple, requiring a 

minimum amount of input data. It can provide initial predictions of the time-integrated effect (such as 

dosage from the entire plume passage). It can be used to make initial protective action recommendations, 

using conservative assumptions, before advanced model results are available. 

Inputs: 

Information on hazardous release, terrain, and weather forecasts. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Chemical, biological or radiological agent dispersion

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, first responders, other affected entities based on the agent

Information source: 

http://narac.llnl.gov/modeling.html

 B-26
(27) Hybrid Particle And Concentration Transport Model – HYPACT 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

ATMET, LLC

Screen Display: Simulated release at Cape Canaveral

Brief Description: 

HYPACT represents a state-of-the-art methodology for predicting the dispersion of air pollutants in 3-D,

mesoscale, time dependent wind and turbulence fields. HYPACT allows assessment of the impact of one or 

multiple sources emitted into highly complex local weather regimes, including mountain/valley and

complex terrain flows, land/sea breezes, urban areas, and other situations in which the traditional Gaussianplume based models are known to fail. 

HYPACT, developed by the personnel at Mission Research Corporation and current ATMET personnel,

represents the next generation of dispersion modeling systems. It combines the best features of grid-based 

Eulerian dispersion methodologies with Lagrangian particle dispersion modeling. 

The product is supported by RAMS/HYPACT Evaluation and Visualization Utilities (REVU) that is a 

standard package for generating graphical representations and reformatting HYPACT model output.

Inputs: 

Packed meteorological fields and global land and water surface data sets 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical, biological and Radiological agent release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, Environment, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.atmet.com/html/hypact_soft.shtml

 B-27
(28) HYTRAS – Hydrologic Transport Assessment System (HYTRAS) 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Oak Ridge National Labs 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

HYTRAS predicts the transport of nuclear, biological, and chemical agents in surface waters. HYTRAS 

uses geospatial information, hydrological data, and soil and sediment characteristics to estimate nuclear, 

biological, and chemical agent concentrations in water and sediment. The results are produced for areas 

and time-periods of interest. River/Lake model is available, and estuaries and oceans could be added. At

present, approximately 200 rivers worldwide are included in the river/map database. The new river

database under development will have thousands of rivers including water intakes for the U.S. 

HYTRAS is planned for inclusion in future versions of the Hazard Prediction Assessment Capability 

(HPAC; see elsewhere in this document). 

Inputs: 

 Information on NBC release 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Nuclear, biological and chemical agent release in surface waters 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training, real-time response 

Entities of interest: Water supply infrastructure, population

Information source: 

http://computing.ornl.gov/cse_home/hytras/hytraspres.html 

 B-28
(29) Interior Building Hazard Modeling 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Defense Group Inc. 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

As part of the management support function for the DoD 911-Bio ACTD, DGI assembled a suite of

computer models to assess the hazard associated with the terrorist release of a biological agent inside a 

building. The DGI team developed the requirements for benchmarking the codes. In addition, they analyzed 

the model predictions to synthesize tentative rules of thumb for First Responders. 

Inputs: 

Data defining the building and the biological agent.

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Biological agent release 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training

Entities of interest: Population and Response agents 

Information source: 

 http://www.defensegp.com/sci_tech10.cfm

 B-29
(30) LandView®

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Geological Survey

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

USEPA 

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and

Prevention Office 

Screen Display: Not Available

Brief Description: 

The LandView product contains two software programs - the LandView database manager and the 

MARPLOT® map viewer. These two programs work in tandem to create a simple computer mapping 

system that can display individual layers of information that have spatial information associated with them. 

For example, the LandView EPA database shows information reported to the EPA for a selection of EPAregulated sites while MARPLOT provides the capability of identifying the sites on a map. 

The LandView database program allows users to browse and query records extracted from the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s Envirofacts Warehouse, demographic statistics from the U.S. Census

Bureau’s Decennial Census, and the USGS Geographic Names Information System

LandView 5 contains selected Census 2000 demographic data from Summary File 1 (SF1) and maps based 

on the Census 2000 TIGER/Line® files for all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These maps 

show both streets and Census 2000 legal and statistical areas (including Census 2000 Urban/Rural 

delineations). LandView 5 also contains recent EPA and USGS Geographic Names Information System

(GNIS) data and maps. 

LandView 5 includes statistical data on the following population items: sex, age, race, Hispanic or Latino

origin, household relationship, and household and family characteristics. Housing items include occupancy

status and tenure (whether the unit is owner- or renter-occupied). Census 2000 socio-economic data like 

education, occupation, income and poverty were not available for inclusion in LandView 5. LandView 6, 

planned for release during the Fall of 2003, will contain selected Summary File 3 data. 

Inputs: 

Geographical information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various events

Applications: Planning, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, environment

Information source: 

http://www.census.gov/geo/landview/lv5/lv5.html 

 B-30
(31) LODI - Lagrangian Operational Dispersion Integrator 

Developer Organization(s):

National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center 

(NARAC) 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

LODI models the dispersion for a wide range of hazards on regional and long range scales. LODI includes 

methods for simulating the processes of mean wind advection, turbulent diffusion, radioactive decay and 

production, bio-agent degradation, first-order chemical reactions, wet deposition, gravitational settling, dry 

deposition, and buoyant/momentum plume rise. The models are coupled to NARAC databases providing

topography, geographical data, chemical-biological-nuclear agent properties and health risk levels, realtime meteorological observational data, and global and mesoscale forecast model predictions. 

Inputs: 

Information on hazardous release, terrain, and weather forecasts. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Chemical, biological or radiological agent dispersion

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, First responders, other affected entities based on the agent 

Information source: 

http://narac.llnl.gov/modeling.html

 B-31
(32) M2M Dam Failure Model 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Science & Technology International Industries 

 

Pacific Disaster Center

Screen Display: M2M flood inundation path on an

aerial photograph

Brief Description: 

M2M Dam Failure model simulates dam break inundation. The results can be used to perform GIS-based 

consequence and risk analysis. The M2M model is a predictive tool that provides a bridge between the 

National Weather Service's FLDWAV model and ArcView GIS. By translating the FLDWAV output into

an ArcView grid, or map, the M2M (Model to Map) application transports the user from a textual to a 

spatial context, providing a visual representation of the floodwaters, and thereby facilitating further analysis 

of the flood's impact. 

Three types of analysis can be made from the model output: quick assessment, vulnerability assessment, 

and economic damage assessment. Quick assessment provides an overall view of the floodwater

inundation, including water depth and total flood time. Vulnerability assessment analyzes the vulnerability 

of a community's infrastructure, such as schools and roads. Economic damage assessment estimates the 

potential economic damage to private buildings and businesses. The image above depicts the M2M flood 

inundation path on an aerial photograph. This allows for a visual analysis of the potential damage. 

Inputs: 

Information on dam and the local geographic area 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Floods, Dam Failure 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, real time response suppport 

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.sti-government.com/Applications/Natural_Disaster_Response.html

http://www.pdc.org/iweb/

 B-32
(33) MapCalc Map Analysis software 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Innovative GIS Solutions, Inc. 

Screen Display: Wild fire response mapping

Brief Description: 

MapCalc is a comprehensive set of grid-based tools for advanced analysis and display of spatial 

information. The software can be used for planning emergency response operations. The website provides

an example application for planning wildfire response. 

Inputs: 

Data describing the map slope, cover type, water, roads 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Can be used for events requiring spatial analysis and planning 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Can be used to study aggregate movements and dispersions across grids. 

Information source: 

http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/Senarios/Fire_response_senario.htm

 B-33
(34) MARPLOT 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

USEPA 

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and

Prevention Office 

Screen Display: Not Available

Brief Description: 

MARPLOT is a mapping application. It allows users to "see" their data (e.g., roads, facilities, schools, 

response assets), display this information on computer maps, and print the information on area maps. The 

areas contaminated by potential or actual chemical release scenarios also can be overlaid on the maps to 

determine potential impacts. The maps are created from the U.S. Bureau of Census TIGER/Line files and 

can be manipulated quickly to show possible hazard areas. 

It is part of CAMEO, a system of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical

emergencies. It is one of the tools developed by EPA’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention

Office (CEPPO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and 

Restoration (NOAA), to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. 

Inputs: 

Geographical information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical release events 

Applications: Planning, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population

Information source: 

http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/cameo/what.htm##marplot

 B-34
(35) MIDAS-AT, Meteorological Information and Dispersion Assessment 

System Anti-Terrorism 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

ABS Consulting 

Screen Display: Dispersion in urban area

Brief Description: 

Models dispersion of releases of industrial chemicals, chemical and biological agents, and radiological 

isotopes caused by accidents or intentional acts. It is for use during emergencies and for planning and 

emergency response drills. Its graphical user interface is designed for straightforward user entry of 

information required to define a terrorist scenario with enough detail to provide critical hazard information 

during the incident. Results are based on atmospheric dispersion models tailored for the release conditions, 

whether they are in open flat terrain, in an urban area with tall buildings, or inside a building.

Inputs: 

Local area map, building profiles, weather information, chemical and biological sensor inputs

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Chemical, biological or radiological release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support. 

Entities of interest: City air 

Information source: 

http://www.absconsulting.com/midas/index.html#

 B-35
(36) MIDGARD 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Watson Technical Consulting

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

MIDGARD is a modular geophysical damage model. Hazards such as earthquakes and, when coupled with

TAOS tsunamis, can be modeled. When combined with the statistical analysis system, MIDGARD can

provide emergency planners with the earthquake hazard data they need for mitigation planning, economic

analysis, or insurance portfolio analysis. 

Inputs: 

Seismic event characteristics and local geography 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Earthquake 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.methaz.com/midgard.html

 B-36
(37) MOST (Method of Splitting Tsunami) 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Screen Display: Linear propagation

Brief Description: 

A suite of numerical simulation codes, known collectively as the MOST (Method of Splitting Tsunami)

model, have been implemented and tested on the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC)

IBM PS2 nodes. Together, they are capable of simulating the three primary processes of tsunami evolution,

i.e., generation by an earthquake, transoceanic propagation, and inundation of dry land. 

Supercomputer implementation of the MOST model allows the efficient computation of many scenarios. 

This capability is used to perform multiple-run sensitivity studies of two closely related, but separable, 

processes -- offshore wave dependence on distant earthquake magnitude and position, and site-specific 

inundation dependence on offshore wave characteristics. The results will be organized into an electronic 

database, and associated software will be developed for analysis and visualization of this database, 

including the assimilation of real-time data streams. 

Generation and propagation capabilities were tested against deep ocean bottom pressure recorder collected 

by PMEL during the 1996 Andreanov tsunami; inundation computations were compared with field 

measurements of maximum runup on Okushiri Island collected shortly after the 1993 Hokkaido-NanseiOki tsunami.

Inputs: 

Parameters describing the earthquake and the surrounding geography

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Tsunami 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami/pdctm.html

 B-37
(38) NBC CREST – Casualty and Resource Estimation Support Tool 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Army Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) 

ScenPro Inc. 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Casualty and Resource Estimation Support Tool (CREST) 

supports deliberate medical planning in an iterative, integrated process for the US Army at the Corps, 

Division, and Corps Medical Brigade levels. Using scenarios as a driver for the tool, it allows medical 

personnel to estimate casualty streams and resource usage, and develop appropriate medical courses of 

action. 

The user-defined deployment and defensive posture of combat and rear area personnel is coupled with one

or more NBC attack scenarios on the map in accordance with the current threat assessment and planning 

guidance. The capability of individual deployed medical resources to meet demand is analyzed and the 

results are displayed. Key functions of the tool include:

• Map-based representation of operational units, support units, medical treatment facilities, medical 

evacuation flow, and coverage of NBC threats 

• Estimation of required medical treatment resources 

• Analysis of required medical resources and available resources at each level of care 

• Comparison of alternative medical Courses of Action (COAs) 

The figure demonstrates NBC CREST in operation. The background display features a map of the

operational theater with deployed combat and support units. The colored lines represent the density 

gradient for a plume cloud of Tularemia bacteria originating from a point sprayer. Shown as an overlay are 

the resulting bed requirements for a single Level 2 medical treatment facility listed per day by bed type. 

Inputs: 

Scenario description, deployed combat, support and medical units. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Nuclear, biological, and chemical release events 

Applications: Planning, training 

Entities of interest: Hospital resources 

Information source: 

http://www.scenpro.com/sec_prod_nbccrest.html

 B-38
(39) NCBR - Nuclear, Chemical, Biological, And Radiological Environment 

Server 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

ITT Industries

US Army Soldier and Chemical Biological 

Command

Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

ITT Industries designed and developed a nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological (NCBR) modeling 

and simulation toolset in support of a consortium of US Government organizations led by the US Army

Soldier and Biological Chemical Command. At the heart of the toolset are a distributed simulationcompliant (IEEE DIS and HLA) weapons of mass destruction (WMD) environment server, the NCBR, and 

an array of sensor and messaging system simulations representing both fielded and prototype systems that

the Services have developed to operate in the WMD environment. The toolset is complemented by a

chemical and biological extension to the Army’s OneSAF code. The DoD uses this toolset to support the 

research, development, and acquisition and training of nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological 

defense systems. The tools serve as the basis for hardware mock-up training systems and virtual testing

with live systems. 

Inputs: 

Information on terrain, meteorological conditions, and nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological release 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.msiac.dmso.mil/journal/wi9912/simcb12.html

 B-39
(40) NDAC - Network Design and Analysis Capability

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

National Communications System

Technology and Programs Division

Screen Display: Not available

Brief Description: 

NDAC software comprises tools, models and telecommunications databases that analysts use to assess 

network performance, conduct modeling and simulation tasks, and visualize network topologies. One of the 

objectives of NDAC is to evaluate the vulnerability, survivability, and reliability of networks during

local/regional outages or emergencies. It is a combination of technology, databases and published material. 

Microsoft's Internet Information Server, Macromedia's ColdFusion and Oracle's LECMap are the technical 

components. Databases that are used include the Enhanced Microwave Environmental Link File and the

Federal Communications Commission's Outage Database. Publications such as the Roaming 

Implementation Service Guide and the Local Exchange Routing Guide also furnish data. In addition to

assessing the current status of the networks, NDAC examines how emerging technologies would affect the 

PSN and specifically how they would change future NS/EP requirements. 

Inputs: 

Information on all the networks nationwide 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Various communication infrastructure events 

Applications: Planning, systems testing, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Communication infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.ncs.gov/n5_hp/Customer_Service/Brochures/35Anniversary/progact2.htm

http://www.us.net/signal/Archive/April02/keeping-april.html

 B-40
(41) NDGPS - Nationwide Differential Global Position System 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

U.S. Coast Guard

Screen Display: Not available

Brief Description: 

An extensive nationwide system of precise positioning will be built throughout the United States and

Puerto Rico that will transform the public safety sector’s ability to protect U.S. communities. The Coast 

Guard developed, built, and operates the fully operational Maritime DGPS service. The applications of the 

NDGPS include: 

• Police, fire, ambulance, and rescue coordinators will be able to cut response times and save lives and 

property using computer-aided dispatching and on-scene management of resources through passive 

tracking of assets. 

• It can help locate fire hydrants, signs, and critical public safety infrastructure even in low or zero

visibility, such as at night or in severe weather. 

• Interagency coordination and on-scene management of disasters would be improved by using this

technology to get precise positioning information to the Incident Commander.

• The precise positioning information can be used by modeling and simulation applications for 

emergency response. 

Inputs: 

Incident location information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various events

Applications: Real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

• http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/ndgps/default.htm

• 2000 Annual Report, The InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and InterOperability. 

 B-41
(42) NEES - Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

National Science Foundation and nearly 20

U.S. universities 

Screen Display: Not available

Brief Description: 

When fully operational in October 2004, the NEES program will provide an unprecedented infrastructure 

for research and education, consisting of networked and geographically distributed resources for 

experimentation, computation, model-based simulation, data management, and communication. 

The system integration component of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering 

Simulation (NEES) will design, construct, implement, test, and make operational NEESgrid, a highperformance Internet network that enables a truly synergistic national simulation resource for research and 

education, supporting collaborative experimentation, modeling, and simulation for the earthquake 

engineering community. NEESgrid will be a distributed virtual laboratory for earthquake experimentation

and simulation. Its integrated tools will enable earthquake engineering simulation -- both physically and

numerically -- providing an environment for researchers to develop increasingly complex, comprehensive, 

and accurate models of how structures of all kinds respond to earthquake loadings. 

The collaboration enabled through NEES and the explicit integration within its programs of 

experimentation, theory formulation and validation, data curation, model-based simulation, high

performance computing and education will accelerate substantially the development of technically sound 

and cost effective approaches to earthquake loss reduction. 

Inputs: 

Description of location of earthquake and surrounding geography

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Earthquake 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.nees.org/

 B-42
(43) NEHRP - National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program Maps 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

U.S. Geological Survey, MS 977 

Screen Display: Seismic Hazard Map of U.S. 

Brief Description:

National maps of earthquake shaking hazards provide information essential to creating and updating the 

seismic design provisions of building codes used in the United States. Scientists frequently revise these 

maps to reflect new knowledge. Buildings, bridges, highways, and utilities built to meet modern seismic 

design provisions are better able to withstand earthquakes, not only saving lives but also enabling critical 

activities to continue with less disruption. 

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) maps were prepared by the USGS and are 

based on the recommendations of the Building Seismic Safety Council's (BSSC) Seismic Design

Procedures Group (SDPG). The SDPG-recommended maps, the Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) 

Ground Motion Maps, are based on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) probabilistic hazard maps with 

additional modifications incorporating deterministic ground motions in selected areas and the application of 

engineering judgement. 

Inputs: 

Geographic information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Earthquake 

Applications: Planning 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/eq/index.html

 B-43
(44) NISAC - National Infrastructure Simulation And Analysis Center 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Sandia National Laboratories 

Screen Display: Not available

Brief Description: 

The National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) is being established as the first 

comprehensive capability to assess the system of infrastructures and their interdependencies. It will

provide the most reliable decision support analysis for use by policy makers, government leaders, and 

infrastructure owners. NISAC will provide modeling, simulation, and analysis of the nation’s

infrastructures, with emphasis on interdependencies. This analysis will lead to optimized mitigation

strategies and reconstruction planning and real time crisis support. NISAC’s core partners are Sandia 

National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. As the program expands, additional partners

including other national labs, private industry, and universities will be added. NISAC will use distributed

information systems architectures to provide virtual analysis capabilities that will accommodate a large

number of providers and a large number of users. 

NISAC will be fully functional by FY2005 with advanced modeling and simulation capabilities to provide 

policy analysis, mitigation planning, education and training support, and real-time crisis assistance for a

wide variety of users. 

Inputs: 

Information on infrastructure and disaster event 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Significant disaster events that damage infrastructure 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Infrastructure 

Information source: 

www.sandia.gov/CIS/nisac-factsheet.doc

 B-44
(45) PEGEM 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Missile Defense Agency, Modeling and 

Simulation

 

BAE Systems (previously MEVATEC 

Corporation)

Naval Research Laboratory, Laboratory for 

Computational Physics 

Screen Display: 

Hazard and casualty areas as shown in PEGEM 

Brief Description: 

The Post-Engagement Ground Effects Model (PEGEM) is a powerful software tool that can meet the 

challenge for accurate and timely modeling and assessment of chemical, biological and high explosive

effects. Current development is under way for the addition of radiological and nuclear effects. PEGEM 

incorporates digital terrain information and current and forecasted weather data to provide ground hazard

assessment. PEGEM is being used by over 100 organizations. PEGEM provides:

1. An operational/tactical simulation environment for assessment, planning and training

2. A tool for parametric studies of chemical, biological and high explosive agent effects 

3. The decision maker a visual indication of hazard areas and potential casualty producing regions 

Another tool, CT-Analyst (see elsewhere in this document) is being incorporated into the PEGEM tool

under Missile Defense Agency sponsorship that will allow a user to model a variety of scenarios that 

encompass both large and small-scale events. The integrated tools will provide: 

1. Enhanced modeling capabilities 

2. More complex scenario simulation 

3. Broader range of modeling resolution, from meters to hundred of kilometers 

Inputs: 

Information defining the event and weather information 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosive events 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

 http://www.mevatec.com/pegem/index.htm

 B-45
(46) Port Security Simulations 

Developer Organization(s):

SAIC's Applied Software Systems 

Engineering Technology Group (ASSET)

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The Port Simulation Training Software combines satellite imagery, still photography and video images 

with precise measurements of sea channel depth and other vital navigation information. It creates an exact

duplication, above ground and under the sea, of any harbor or port in the world. The portable training

system allows security teams to simulate operations from the sea, ground and air and practice the best 

responses. This training is suitable for U.S. Military Special Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard

Troops, Port Authorities, local law enforcement, and emergency response teams. 

Inputs: 

Satellite imagery, still photography and video images. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Terrorist attack

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training

Entities of interest: Port infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.asset.com/solutions/simsystm/port_sec_sim.html

 B-46
(47) Radiological Accident Modeling for Emergency Response (RASCAL) 

Developer Organization(s):

Computational Sciences and Engineering

Division

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Screen Display: 

Brief Description:

The Radiological Assessment System for Consequence Analysis, Version 2.2 (RASCAL 2.2) has been

developed for use by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff who respond to power reactor 

accidents and other radiological emergencies. The model is designed to provide a comparison to EPA 

Protective Action Guidance and thresholds for acute health effects. RASCAL will be used to conduct an 

independent evaluation of dose and consequence projections. The model was developed to allow 

consideration of the dominant aspects of source term, atmospheric transport, radiological dose, and 

consequences. The results can be displayed as text or maps. RASCAL runs on an DOS-based personal

computer. RASCAL has been widely distributed to the state governments and to foreign countries. 

Inputs: 

Reactor configurations, possible accident scenarios, and the effectiveness of release reduction mechanisms

(such as filters, sprays, etc.) 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Radiological release 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://computing.ornl.gov/cse_home/cms/als.html

 B-47
(48) Range 3000 XP4 

Developer Organization(s):

IES Interactive Training USA 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

Range 3000 XP4 is a portable digital simulator that will enable agencies to create real-world scenarios for 

indoor and outdoor firearms training. It generates sounds and images to create scenarios, and an instructor 

evaluates how agents analyze and react to different situations. The scenarios would be run on a laptop 

computer and projected onto a screen. A trainee would encounter a scene and make decisions based on the 

situation, such as talking to a suspect or drawing a weapon. An instructor operating the system could 

change the path of the events based on the trainee's reaction. The system comes with more than 100 

scenarios, but an organization can tape and edit them for the training program.

The system is in use at FBI, NASA, the Transportation Security Administration and the United States 

Border Patrol. 

Inputs: 

Scenarios and agent interaction. 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: Terrorist incidents 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.ies-usa.com/products/range3000/range3000.htm

 B-48
(49) Regional Atmospheric Modeling System - RAMS

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

ATMET, LLC

Screen Display: RAMS results for Susquehanna valley

study

Brief Description: 

RAMS is a multipurpose, numerical prediction model designed to simulate atmospheric circulations

spanning in scale from hemispheric scales down to large eddy simulations (LES) of the planetary boundary 

layer. RAMS was primarily developed at Colorado State University and Mission Research Corporation (by

current ATMET personnel), and now by ATMET. The most frequent applications of RAMS are to simulate

atmospheric phenomena on the mesoscale (horizontal scales from 2 km to 2000 km) for purposes ranging 

from operational weather forecasting to air quality and dispersion applications to support of basic research. 

There are now more than 160 RAMS installations in over 40 countries. 

The utility of using RAMS for real-time prediction of local-scale flows and for detailed post-event analysis 

was examined for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) exercise at the Susquehanna nuclear power 

plant in Pennsylvania. 

The product is supported by RAMS/HYPACT Evaluation and Visualization Utilities (REVU) that is a 

standard package for generating graphical representations and reformatting RAMS model output. 

Inputs: 

Packed meteorological fields and global land and water surface data sets 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical, biological and radiological agent release 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, environment, response agents

Information source: 

http://www.atmet.com/html/rams_soft.shtml

http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ss/transport/fdda.html (screen display) 

 B-49
(50) RAMSAFE 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

RAMSAFE Technologies, LLC 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

RAMSAFE is designed to improve emergency first response by enabling responders, health and human 

services, and emergency management to better prepare for and respond to terrorism, natural disasters, 

special events and other emergencies. The software integrates interagency collaboration tools, operational 

checklists and procedures, resource management, and visual intelligence - aerial photography, floor plans, 

maps, iPIX 360 x 360 photography, real-time video, etc. - enabling first responders and emergency

managers to conduct pre-incident preparations, operations and post-incident recovery more quickly, 

effectively and safely. 

Featuring the automated bioterrorism forecasting and response tool designed by the U.S. Army Soldier 

Biological and Chemical Command (SBCCOM) and other federal agencies, RAMSAFE assists in

predicting casualties, response and resource requirements for the duration of a bioterrorism incident. 

Dynamic forecasts are calculated based upon biological agent, such as Anthrax or Small Pox; number of

infected individuals; available medical resources and city population. Responders are provided with

possible response actions and resource requirements specific to each bioterrorism event, helping them to

expedite response and enhance safety. 

Development of the tool was initiated at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory by the 

Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. Researchers transformed the U.S. Army SBCCOM’s 

bioterrorism knowledge base into a dynamic, easy-to-use software solution Responder Assets Management

System (RAMS). 

RAMSAFE has been used for security planning for Superbowl XXXIV held in Atlanta in January 2000 and

2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Inputs: 

Site plans, floor plans, security plans, operational plans, and other related documents 

Classification using iERF axes: 

Disaster event: A wide range of events 

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents and Infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.ramsafe.com/

 B-50
(51) Simulation Object Framework for Infrastructure Analysis (SOFIA) 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Screen Display: 

 

Brief Description: 

Critical infrastructure protection is a recognized problem of national importance. Infrastructure 

interdependence research and applications require a seamless and unified view of infrastructure as a 

"system of systems," but existing infrastructure modeling efforts, however, have been hampered by an

inflexible software technology base. The Simulation Object Framework for Infrastructure Analysis 

(SOFIA), Energy Interdependence Simulator (EISIM), and Interdependence Energy Infrastructure 

Simulation System (IEISS) projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) aim to research and 

develop a high-quality, flexible, and extensible actor-based software framework for the modeling,

simulation, and analysis of interdependent infrastructures. 

Inputs: 

Electrical and natural gas infrastructure framework, control systems, interdependencies, disaster event. 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Explosion or natural disasters affecting infrastructure 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/d/d4/infra/sofia.html

 B-51
(52) SimViz/System 

Developer Organization(s):

STAR Technology Corporation 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

SimViz/System training products support individual self-paced study or instructor-controlled styles of 

training. The applications focus on specific learning objectives, provide personnel with the information

required to participate in group exercises, and may be customized to operate in specific customer 

environments to meet their specific requirements and training objectives. Group exercises that are

controlled by an instructor or training officer provide an environment to apply the knowledge gained from

individual learning. An incident simulation system provides one or more views of an incident that is

controlled by an instructor. It provides an interface for the instructor on a separate device that can control 

the events that are displayed to the personnel. SimViz/Systems for group training provide an ‘instructor 

seat’ and one or more ‘student seats’. 

The tool comes in various versions, with the highest version SimViz 5000 including a 3D Simulation 

Environment Model of customer selection and a PC Incident Configuration Manager and the incident of

customer selection 

Inputs: 

Parameters describing the scenario for training 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Can be designed for various scenarios 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.startechcorp.com/new_page_7.htm

 B-52
(53) TAOS - The Arbiter of Storms 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Watson Technical Consulting

 

Screen Display: Modeled inundation area under 50 year 

storm surge in Montego Bay, Jamaica

Brief Description: 

The Arbiter of Storms (TAOS) is a computer-based numerical model that estimates peak winds and storm

surge heights in coastal areas resulting from tropical cyclones within the Pacific. TAOS is used to generate 

GIS-based maps depicting peak winds, storm surge heights and inundations. The model is designed to

assist emergency managers, land use planners and meteorologists in assessing the risks associated with

meteorological hazards. Integrated tools for real-time tracking, track forecasting, and modeling of storm

effects are provided, as well as probabilistic tools for assessing the risk of both real time, seasonal, and

overall historical risks. The integration of GIS technology as both the input and output management basis 

for the model allows rapid update of input data bases, and fast interaction of hazard data with existing 

planning data such as structure type, value and location, population, and zoning. TAOS has been used

operationally for projects in Central America, the Carribbean and the United States. 

Inputs: 

Storm parameters and local geography

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Hurricanes, storms

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.methaz.com/taos.html

 B-53
(54) TRIMS - Total Readiness Information Management System 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Teledyne Brown Engineering

Screen Display: Not available

Brief Description: 

TRIMS integrates operational plans, equipment availability, and staff contact data in emergency 

management operations. Having this information immediately available reduces the timeline for proper 

application of emergency resources and provides a common system for multiple agency jurisdictional 

responses. TRIMS is applicable to military (active, reserve, and National Guard) and civil agencies 

(federal, state, and local) emergency management staffs. Typical applications and capabilities include 

• Medical stockpile management 

• Emergency equipment management 

• Logistics/personnel management 

• Common displays for situation assessment

Inputs: 

Information on operational plans, equipment availability, and staff contact data 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various events

Applications: Real time response support

Entities of interest: Response agents and resources 

Information source: 

http://www.tbe.com/products/readiness_infomgmt.asp

 B-54
(55) TUTOR 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

BCD Modelling 

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

TUTOR is designed to enable decision makers in police and emergency services visualize, analyze, 

simulate and prepare for large and small crisis management contingencies such as: 

• Public order and safety incidents 

• Terrorist and firearms incidents 

• Catastrophic accidents. Train/air crashes. 

• Environmental disasters 

• Industrial and nuclear hazard containment 

• Earthquake, flood and other natural disasters 

TUTOR allows highly detailed computer representation of realistic situations based on actual ground

environments and force structures. Up to 1200 entities can be modeled and may consist of individuals, 

crowds, the various police and emergency services, casualties, agitators, any type of vehicle, trains, 

airplanes or any desired object. A scenario can be replicated at 1 meter, 5 meter and 10 meter resolution, 

for up to 400 square kms. Other technical features include: 

• Behavioral representation of humans activated by rules, triggers and data 

• Realistic movement modeling

• Modeling of communications factors 

• User-friendly computer interface 

Inputs: 

Data describing the terrain, entities and activities related to emergency event and the response. 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various events

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents, Resources 

Information source: 

http://www.bcd-modelling.com/tutor.html

 B-55
(56) Urban Security Project 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Los Alamos National Laboratory

 

Screen Display: Simulation of toxic vapor spill in north

Dallas 

Brief Description:

The urban security project is a multi-disciplinary research effort dealing with the relationship among urban 

infrastructures (e.g., power, transportation, and sewer systems) and the natural environment (e.g., floods,

earthquakes, meteorology). As part of the first-year pilot project, the dispersion of a toxic vapor spill was 

simulated in north Dallas. The simulation involved modeling flow and plume dispersion around two 

buildings and then tracking the plume over several kilometers. The microscale modeling was performed 

using a computational fluid dynamics model called GASFLOW and the mesoscale modeling was done with

the HOTMAC-RAPTAD system. The toxic plume concentration fields were then used along with

transportation simulations performed by the TRANSIMS team to compute exposures to the cars traveling 

through the plume. 

Inputs:

Urban terrain, building profiles, 3-D wind, temperature, street maps, traffic patterns. 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical, biological or radiological agent dispersion

Applications: Planning, training, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, first responders, other affected entities based on the agent

Information source:

http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/d/d4/aquality/urban.html

http://public.lanl.gov/bwb/#transims

 B-56
(57) VERTS - Virtual Emergency Response Training Simulation 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

U.S. Army STRICOM

Screen Display: 

Brief Description:

Virtual emergency response training simulation (VERTS) is designed for use by National Guard and

Reserve weapons of mass destruction-civil support teams (WMD-CSTs). These specially trained units have

been assigned responsibility to intervene in cases of domestic terrorist attacks involving nuclear, biological 

or chemical (NBC) weapons. 

Currently, there are five main components of VERTS. First, VERTS uses two human-in-the-loop

simulators for immersive training in a WMD or HAZMAT hot zone. Second, there is a programmable 

patient simulator for training medical teams on hazardous material (HAZMAT) medical surveillance and 

HAZMAT/WMD treatment. The third component is a set of several PC-based workstations for training the 

command group, operations team, and administration/logistics personnel. A fourth major component is a 

collection of digital urban databases of three major American cities (New York, Philadelphia, and Los 

Angeles). These databases provided realistic 3-D virtual environments in which to conduct training

exercises and mission rehearsals. These virtual cities include high fidelity renderings of building interiors, 

which are accurately portrayed and provide correct dimensions of building spaces. The fifth part of VERTS 

includes support technologies, including a stealth battlemaster station and automated after action reviews 

(AAR). 

Inputs: 

Scenario description 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Nuclear, biological or chemical attack 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.amso.army.mil/main.htm (search for VERTS)

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=431

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=345

 B-57
(58) Virtual Cities 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Institute for Defense Analyses 

 

Screen Display: 

 

Brief Description: 

The Institute for Defense Analyses is developing realistic, high resolution, virtual cities to be used for the 

virtual reality immersive training of both civilian first responders (fire, police, emergency medical and

HAZMAT) and the military responders (the National Guard Civil Support Teams) in rehearsing their 

reactions to weapons of mass destruction incidents or other homeland defense issues. 

The virtual cities are being constructed with geo-specific features (fire hydrants, street lights, buildings), 

and a mixture of geo-specific and geo-typical texturing. They are being constructed with a level of fidelity 

sufficient to support mission planning and immersive rehearsal, but still able to be run on standard PC's 

with a graphics accelerator. The terrain team at IDA is working with various software developers, and in 

the process of constructing these complex urban environments, is discovering special tools that need to be

incorporated into the terrain modeling software. 

Currently, following virtual cities are partially developed – New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Salt 

Lake City, Los Angeles.

Inputs: 

Urban data

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various events

Applications: Planning, training, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Various entities 

Information source: 

http://virtualcities.ida.org/virtualcities/virtualcities.html

 B-58
(59) VirtualEMS 

Developer Organization(s):

Research Triangle Institute

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

VirtualEMS is an interactive, patient simulator which offers realistic practice to pre-hospital providers. The 

virtual reality simulator presents a scenario comprising a 3D scene, an incident that produces trauma or

medical conditions, and one or more patients. The caregiver can navigate and survey the scene, interact and 

converse with the virtual patient, use medical devices, administer medications, monitor diagnostic data, and

perform interventions. Its features include:

• Case-based scenarios and patients 

• Physiology responds to trauma and treatment 

• Integrated pharmacokinetic drug models 

• Assignable probability of critical conditions

• Automatic record-keeping and reporting 

Inputs: 

Predefined scenarios

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical and biological attack 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population

Information source: 

http://www.patient-simulation.com/virtualems.htm

 B-59
(60) Virtual LA. 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Urban Simulation Team

Department of Architecture + Urban Design

UCLA School of Arts and Architecture 

 

Screen Display: 

 

Brief Description: 

The main focus of the Urban Simulation Team @ UCLA is a long-term effort to build a real-time virtual 

reality model of the entire Los Angeles basin for use by architects, urban planners, emergency response 

teams, and government entities. The team has already finished major sections of the city including

downtown, the Pico Union district, El Pueblo, Mid-Wilshire, Wilshire-"Miracle Mile", LAX, Westwood, 

UCLA, Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St., MacArthur Park, Playa Vista, and a portion of South Central.

Negotiations are currently underway for other areas of the city. 

When completed, the entire Virtual Los Angeles model will cover an area well in excess of 10,000 square 

miles and will elegantly scale from satellite images to street level views accurate enough to allow the signs 

in the windows of the shops and the graffiti on the walls to be legible. The finished model is estimated to

exceed 1 terabyte in size and will be maintained on a large multi-client server that will allow multiple 

simulation clients to fly, drive and/or walk through the Virtual L.A. Model simultaneously. 

Inputs: 

Incident location in Los Angeles 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Various potential events in Los Angeles 

Applications: Planning, training, vulnerability analysis 

Entities of interest: Various entities 

Information source: 

http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/projects.html

 B-60
(61) VISAC - Visual Interactive Site Analysis Code 

Developer/Sponsor Organization(s): 

Oak Ridge National Labs 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description:

VISAC is a Java-based expert system that provides mission planners with a coordinated capability to

predict and analyze the outcomes of various accidents or incidents at nuclear and industrial facilities. It can 

also predict the outcomes of accidents at industrial facilities that use chemicals, such as nuclear 

reprocessing plants. For these industrial facilities, VISAC can calculate the initial direction of the plume 

and its chemical concentrations. This information is then fed to HPAC, which predicts how far the plume 

will go and where and how much of the plume’s hazardous chemicals will be deposited on the ground. 

VISAC also has the capability to model any nuclear facility, such as power or research reactors, and

simulate the results of various incidents. Simulated incidents have ranged from simple equipment sabotage 

to complex sorties involving military weapons, truck or car bombs, or satchel charges. By using fault-tree 

methodology similar to that employed in probabilistic risk assessments, VISAC calculates the probability 

of facility destruction and undesirable side effects, such as a chemical or radiological release. It also

estimates how long the facility will be out of service for repairs. VISAC has access to a library of models

that can be customized by the user in both geometry and logic to approximate a number of facilities of 

interest. 

Inputs: 

Description of the facility and the chemical or nuclear agents used

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Release of chemical and nuclear agents at industrial facilities 

Applications: Planning, vulnerability analysis, training, real time response support 

Entities of interest: Population, response agents 

Information source: 

http://www.ornl.gov/ORNLReview/vol35_2_02/infrastructure.shtml

 B-61
(62) Warning Decision Support System (WDSS) 

Developer Organization(s):

National Severe Storms Laboratory 

Severe Storms Research Center 

Georgia Tech Research Institute 

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The NSSL severe-weather Warning Decision Support System (WDSS) consists of several enhanced or new 

severe weather detection and prediction algorithms as well as innovative display capabilities that provide 

information to warning meteorologists to support decision-making during times of severe/hazardous 

weather. Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Severe Storms Research Center, in collaboration with the 

National Weather Service and the National Severe Storms Laboratory, is further enhancing WDSS. It is

exploring ways to better detect the low-top, high-shear thunderstorms that are responsible for many of the 

short-lived events classified as weak tornadoes. While such storms cause much of the low-to-moderate 

damage attributed to tornadoes, they may in fact be rotating downdrafts rather than true tornadoes. 

Identifying the distinction could prove useful in improving warning of these hard-to-predict, damaging

events. 

Inputs: 

Information on storm parameters, sensor information 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Natural disaster – tornadoes, thunderstorm

Applications: Planning, real time response support

Entities of interest: Population, infrastructure 

Information source: 

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/wrd/msd/wdss.html

http://maven.gtri.gatech.edu/srrc/

 B-62
(63) Weapons of Mass Destruction Decision Analysis Center 

Developer Organization(s):

Sandia National Laboratories 

 

Screen Display: 

Brief Description: 

The program, Weapons of Mass Destruction Decision Analysis Center, is being developed by Sandia 

National Laboratories as a way to simulate a war-room environment in the event of a terrorist attack. It can

be tuned for training of officials of various public agencies including, police, fire departments or mayors'

offices. It could also be designed to represent different kinds of threats, including a nuclear blast or a 

bioweapon attack. 

Inputs: 

Exercise parameters such as reports of effects of a biological attack 

Classification using iERF axes:

Disaster event: Chemical, biological, Radiological attack 

Applications: Training 

Entities of interest: Population

Information source: 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/19/BU133752.DTL&type=business

 B-63
This page left blank intentionally. 

 B-64
APPENDIX C. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 

ANSI American National Standards Institute 

ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers 

B2B Business-to-Business

BACnet A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks 

BFRL Building and Fire Research Laboratory, one of the labs at NIST 

BUFR Binary Universal Format for the Representation of meteorological data

CAD Computer Aided Design

CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention 

CEO Chief Executive Officer 

CMIS Consequence Management Interoperability Services, a system for allowing an Incident

Commander to exchange tactical information with first and follow-on responders, to

manage his assets and to plan for future duty cycles. 

CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture, www.corba.org/ 

DED Data Element Dictionary

DHHS Department of Health and Human Services 

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid

DoD Department of Defense

DOT Department of Transportation

DTD Document Type Definitions 

DTRA Defense Threat Reduction Agency 

EDCS Environmental Data Coding Specification 

EIA Electronic Industries Association

EMA Emergency Management Agency

EMT Emergency Medical Technician 

EOC Emergency Operations Center

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

GIS Geographic Information Systems 

GML Geography Markup Language

GRIB Gridded Binary data files are output files generated by computerized weather forecasting 

models

HLA High Level Architecture, a standard architecture for integration of distributed simulation 

models

HDF Hierarchical Data Format 

HVAC Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning 

IAI International Alliance for Interoperability 

IC Intelligence Community

IC MSIA Intelligence Community Metadata Standards for Information Assurance 

IC MWG Intelligence Community Metadata Working Group

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization 

ICML Intelligence Community Markup Language

ICS Incident Command System

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. 

IFC Industry Foundation Classes 

IMO International Maritime Organization

IPA Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ISO/AP ISO/10303 Application Protocol

ISO/IEC ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission 

ISO/TC ISO/Technical Committee

 C-i 
ITL Information Technology Lab, one of the labs at NIST 

J2EE Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition, java.sun.com/j2ee/

JCATS Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation

JTLS Joint Theatre Simulation System

LANL Los Alamos National Labs 

MEL Manufacturing Engineering Lab, one of the labs at NIST 

MS&V Manufacturing, Simulation and Visualization, a research program at NIST 

MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets 

NARAC National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center 

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

NetCDF Network Common Data Form 

NISAC National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center 

NIST National Institute for Standards and Technology

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service 

NSDI National Spatial Data Clearinghouse 

OASIS Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards 

OGC Open GIS Consortium, Inc 

OMG Object Management Group 

ORNL Oak Ridge National Labs 

OSHA Occupational Safety and Hazards Act 

PDM Product Data Management

PLCS Product Life Cycle Support 

SAIC Science Applications International Corporation 

SDTS Spatial Data Transfer Standard

SDX Simulation Data eXchange 

SEDRIS Synthetic Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification

SEE-IT Synthetic Environment Evaluation - Inspection Tool

SGML Standard Generalized Markup Language 

SIMA Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications, a research program at NIST 

SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol, www.w3.org/TR/SOAP/ 

STATSGO State Soil Geographic soils data compiled by the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

(NRCS) of the USDA 

STEP Standard for the Exchange of Product model data

TAO Tropical Atmospheric Ocean project at NOAA 

TIA Telecommunications Industry Association

TOPOFF Top Officials, a name used for large disaster event exercises involving top government

officials 

UML Unified Modeling Language, www.omg.org/uml/ 

USDA US Department of Agriculture

U.S. DoJ U.S. Department of Justice 

USGS US Geological Survey 

VR Virtual Reality

VRML Virtual Reality Modeling Language

W3C World Wide Web Consortium

WMD Weapons of Mass Destruction 

WMO World Meteorological Organization 

XML Extensible Markup Language, www.w3.org/XML/ 

 C-ii