Current Research Projects

The Tap Runs Dry: Lessons Learned and Forgotten by Southern Ontario Communities During Past Severe Droughts and Implications for Climate Change

With Linda Mortsch ( AIRG ). This study is intended to focus on temporal changes in drought impacts and responses in southern Ontario communities. These time dependent changes are evaluated based primarily on a comparison of water resources-related impacts from several recent and historical droughts in southern Ontario. The analysis provides insight into the ability of drought-sensitive segments of communities and institutions to adapt to variations in the regional hydrological cycle.

Global Markets, regional landscapes, and household decisions: Modelling the history of the transformation of the Amazon estuary.

With Miguel Pinedo-Vasquez (Columbia University), Eduardo Brondizio (Indiana University), Christine Padoch (New York Botanical Garden), and Robin Sears (Columbia University). This project will use multiple methods to understand the complex history of the changes in economic, demographic, and resource management patterns in the Amazon River estuary. This work will include the development of an agent based simulation, based on LUCITA, to explore the interactions between forces influencing land use change in the region.

LUCITA - Agent-Based Simulations of Land Use Change in Amazonia, Brazil

In cooperation with the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change and the Anthropological Center for Training and Research in Global Environmental Change at Indiana University, I am working on the development of an agent based simulation, called LUCITA , of land use change in the region west of Altamira, Para, Brazil. This research is funded by the National Science Foundation, grant SES008351.

An Agent Based Simulation of a Watershed Management Institution in the Trent Severn Waterway, Ontario.

With Linda Mortsch of the Adaptations and Impacts Research Group of Environment Canada, we are using field surveys, interviews, and linked agent based and hydrological model to explore the potential impacts of climate change on a variety of stakeholders within the Trent Severn Waterway. This research was funded by SSHRC.

Ecoplan China

I am participating in the CIDA funded Ecoplan China project, focusing on the implementation of GIS programs in Dalian and Hainan and the application of integrated GIS and hydrological models to watershed management for the Biliu River and Tsung Tao Reservoir in China.

Recently Completed Research Projects

Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Communities: Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Response to Adaptation Strategies

With the Adaptations and Impacts Research Group , Environment Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The wetlands project examines the vulnerability of coastal wetland plant, bird and fish communities to climate variability and change, and explores adaptation strategies to maintain ecosystem function and values. This research is funded by the Climate Change Action Fund.

Assessment of Aggregate Requirements and Least Cost Path of an Arctic All Weather Road, Nunavut.

With Doug Dudycha, Department of Geography - UW, and two graduate students, David Atkinson and Jon Orazietti, we developed a set of Remote Sensing/GIS techniques for estimating surficial geology in the Slave Geological Province, Nunavut. We also linked multi criteria analysis techniques with least cost path analysis to determine a route for an all weather road from Bathurst Inlet to Lupin, Nunavut.

Development of a Resource Management Technology Lab: Exploring advanced data handling applications for environmental research across multiple scales and disciplines.

This lab is utilized by graduate students participating in funded research.

Department of Geography and Environmental Management

University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo , Ontario , CANADA
N2L 3G1
phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 33404
fax: (519) 746-0658
email: pjdeadma @ envmail.uwaterloo.ca