The effects of climate change and the human exploitation of our environment pose a serious threat to
the sustainability of our water resources, both for ‘ecosystem services’ and human consumption. To make
robust projections of the future impact of these pressures they must be considered in combination. This
necessitates the simulation of the feedbacks and complex interactions between different parts of the
water cycle, and the development of integrated environmental models. Examples of the construction of
such integrated models are presented in this poster, which focuses on the simulation of combined fluvial
and groundwater flood events in both rural and urban settings: the Berkshire Downs and the city of Oxford.
The NERC-funded ‘Changing Water Cycle’ project, which started in January 2011, is also described. This
project will investigate environmental change within the Thames Basin. Finally, an approach to modelling
the multi-aquifer groundwater system within the whole Thames Basin is outlined.