{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.dam","code":"thing-q12323","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q12323/","name":"dam","alternateNames":["hydroelectric dam","tidal barrage","log boom","dam from granular material","flood control dam","ruined dam","check dam","concrete dam","combined dam","dam complex","underground dam","submerged dam"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A barrier built across a river, stream or estuary to hold back water for storage, flood control, irrigation, water supply, navigation or hydroelectric power, in forms from earth and rock-fill embankments and concrete gravity and arch dams to tidal barrages and small weirs, and including historic and ruined dams; dams are major infrastructure with benefits and impacts on rivers, ecosystems and communities, and are designed, operated and regulated for safety.","purpose":"Let an agent explain dams and their types and purposes, describe design, safety and operation, present environmental and social debates with attribution, and identify specific dams with sources.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Impoundment","Structural types","Multiple purposes","Safety regulation"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What dams are.","layers":[{"id":"types","name":"Types","description":"Types and purposes.","findings":[{"id":"types-finding","name":"Types","description":"Types.","questions":[{"text":"How do embankment, gravity, arch and buttress dams and tidal barrages differ, and what purposes do dams serve?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific type?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"specific","name":"Specific","description":"A specific dam.","findings":[{"id":"specific-finding","name":"Specific","description":"Specific dam.","questions":[{"text":"What is this dam, its purpose, size, operator and history, according to sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits it?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"operate","name":"Operate","description":"Design, safety and operation.","layers":[{"id":"design","name":"Design","description":"Design and construction.","findings":[{"id":"design-finding","name":"Design","description":"Design.","questions":[{"text":"How are dams designed for loads, seepage, spillways and earthquakes, and how are they built?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits dam engineering?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Safety and failure.","findings":[{"id":"safety-finding","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","questions":[{"text":"How are dams inspected and regulated for safety, and what have notable failures taught?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is a dam emergency happening now, requiring emergency services?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"impact","name":"Impact","description":"Impacts and debates.","layers":[{"id":"environment","name":"Environment","description":"Environmental impacts.","findings":[{"id":"environment-finding","name":"Environment","description":"Environment.","questions":[{"text":"What effects do dams have on rivers, fish, sediment and ecosystems, and how are they mitigated or removed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which findings are contested?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"social","name":"Social","description":"Social and political dimensions.","findings":[{"id":"social-finding","name":"Social","description":"Social.","questions":[{"text":"What are the attributed positions in debates on large dams, displacement, transboundary rivers and hydropower?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of dams.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did dams develop from ancient irrigation works to modern mega-dams, and what remains of ruined dams?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can dam engineering and its trade-offs be taught?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Monitor dam water levels, seepage and structure.","Report anomalies to the dam operator and safety authority.","Explain dam types and functions."],"mustNot":["Operate spillways or gates without authorization.","Ignore seepage, cracking or rising levels that may signal failure.","Release water without warning downstream communities.","Assist in attacking or sabotaging a dam."],"requiresHuman":["Any decision on releases or emergency drawdown."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Dam failures can kill thousands downstream.","Dams displace communities and change rivers and ecosystems."],"affectedParties":["Downstream communities","Displaced people","River ecosystems"]},"owners":{"steward":"The dam owner or operator; dam safety authorities regulate them.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National dam registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q121359","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q2466889","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q264661","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q332907","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q811979","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"hydraulic structure","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"infrastructure","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"head","type":"related","note":"hydraulic head at dams"},{"target":"coastal management","type":"related","note":"tidal barrages"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.dam","Wikidata: Q12323 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12323)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Structural height:  m - Measure vertically from the lowest foundation level to the crest, stating the reference convention used.","Crest length:  m - Measure along the dam crest between its ends, stating whether associated structures are included.","Base width:  m - Measure the upstream-to-downstream width at the foundation in a specified cross-section."]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Barrier impounding water","Embankment, gravity, arch or barrage","A levee runs alongside a river; a weir is low and overflowed","A wall or embankment across a river with a reservoir behind."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain types and purposes","describe design and safety","present debates","identify specific dams"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Dam failure and flooding","Ecological disruption and displacement","Sedimentation and ageing"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Dam safety regulations and inspection regimes","Environmental assessment and water law","International guidelines on dams and development"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Barriers holding back water.","embankment dams","concrete gravity, arch and buttress dams","hydroelectric dams","flood control and irrigation dams","tidal barrages, weirs and log booms"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q12323: dam","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12323","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Dam","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dam","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each dam type be a separate entry?","How should dam safety registers be linked?","How should debates be attributed?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q12323/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q12323/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T01:35:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:28+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}