Integrated Environmental Modelling Framework for Cumulative Effects Assessment

• Main Author: Gupta, Anil (auth)
• Other Authors: Farjad, Babak (auth), Wang, George (auth), Eum, Hyung (auth), Dubé, Monique (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Calgary University of Calgary Press 2021
• Subjects: Environmental science, engineering & technology; Hydrology & the hydrosphere; Climate change; Environmental problems; anthropogenetic stressors; natural stressors; land use/land cover; watershed; surface water; groundwater; air quality; atmospheric deposition; acidification; hydrology; surface water interaction; ground water interaction; hydrodynamics; water quality; water allocation; load allocation; cumulative effects assessment; environmental impact assessment; environmental analysis; environmental planning; environmental model; environmental modelling; integrated model; integrated modelling; environmental modelling framework; applied modelling; applied modeling system; climate change; Athabasca Region; Athabasca River
• Online Access: OAPEN Library: download the publication; OAPEN Library: description of the publication

Global warming and population growth have resulted in an increase in the intensity of natural and anthropogenic stressors. Investigating the complex nature of environmental problems requires the integration of different environmental processes across major components of the environment, including water, climate, ecology, air, and land. Cumulative effects assessment (CEA) not only includes analyzing and modeling environmental changes, but also supports planning alternatives that promote environmental monitoring and management. Disjointed and narrowly focused environmental management approaches have proved dissatisfactory. The adoption of integrated modelling approaches has sparked interests in the development of frameworks which may be used to investigate the processes of individual environmental component and the ways they interact with each other. Integrated modelling systems and frameworks are often the only way to take into account the important environmental processes and interactions, relevant spatial and temporal scales, and feedback mechanisms of complex systems for CEA. This book examines the ways in which interactions and relationships between environmental components are understood, paying special attention to climate, land, water quantity and quality, and both anthropogenic and natural stressors. It reviews modelling approaches for each component and reviews existing integrated modelling systems for CEA. Finally, it proposes an integrated modelling framework and provides perspectives on future research avenues for cumulative effects assessment.