https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104885

Iwanaga, T., Wang, H. H., Hamilton, S. H., Grimm, V., Koralewski, T. E., Salado, A., ... & Little, J. C. (2021). Socio-technical scales in socio-environmental modeling: managing a system-of-systems modeling approach. Environmental Modelling & Software, 135, 104885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104885

System-of-systems approaches for integrated assessments have become prevalent in recent years. Such approaches integrate a variety of models from different disciplines and modeling paradigms to represent a socio-environmental (or social-ecological) system aiming to holistically inform policy and decision-making processes. Central to the system-of-systems approaches is the representation of systems in a multi-tier framework with nested scales. Current modeling paradigms, however, have disciplinary-specific lineage, leading to inconsistencies in the conceptualization and integration of socio-environmental systems. In this paper, a multidisciplinary team of researchers, from engineering, natural and social sciences, have come together to detail socio-technical practices and challenges that arise in the consideration of scale throughout the socio-environmental modeling process. We identify key paths forward, focused on explicit consideration of scale and uncertainty, strengthening interdisciplinary communication, and improvement of the documentation process. We call for a grand vision (and commensurate funding) for holistic system-of-systems research that engages researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers in a multi-tiered process for the co-creation of knowledge and solutions to major socio-environmental problems.

IMPC

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104885