A Collaborative Approach to Enviromental Modeling

Integrated Environmental Modeling Systems, (IEMS) are multidisciplinary systems which focus on complex environmental problems, decisions and policies. They are characterized by formulating dynamic and interdependent environmental, hydrological, climatological and sometimes socio-economical models under a unified framework that seeks to bridge the modeling, the monitoring and the decision making processes. The main concern of such systems is how to resolve various data and computational outcome inconsistencies emanated from the high computational burden, the lack of model interoperability and the model conceptualization characteristics. In this paper, we introduce an integrated modeling system that evaluates the hydrological, environmental ecosystem and socio-economic dynamics in lakes or wetland watersheds. Apart from the architectural design paradigm and the case study for the Lake Karla in Thessaly, Greece provided here, we also illustrate a roadmap for methodological planning, implementing, monitoring and managing such systems. Finally we provide the necessary steps of an environmentally related assessment process for such systems, however future research is needed to evaluate computational performance of this loosely coupled approach.