Dr. Danielle Marceau and her team of researchers at University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering hosted a workshop on 25 April 2014. At the workshop, they presented the research work that has been done on the Elbow River Integrated Modelling Project.
The latter is a project in which we helped Canada’s Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) and the University of Calgary develop an integrated dynamic modelling system for the Elbow River watershed. This system will help Alberta ESRD and the University of Calgary understand the potential impact of future land-use and climate change scenarios on the hydrology of the watershed.
The research links a cellular automata land-use change model developed by the University of Calgary’s Geocomputing Laboratory, with a MIKE SHE model of the Elbow River Watershed, and an agent-based model (ABM). The models were linked in order to represent the potential hydrologic impacts of urban growth and land-use change under different climate and policy scenarios.
The purpose of the workshop was to use the results of the research project to facilitate a better understanding of the linkage between land use, climate and hydrology, and the critical role of stakeholders.
The workshop attracted 65 participants from a wide spectrum of industry, government, research and educational backgrounds and experience.
“Judging by the feedback we received during and following the workshop, it was a huge success,” Dr. Marceau said. “The participants were actively engaging with the research team in the morning, and we had many very enthusiastic attendees participating in the panel discussion in the afternoon.”