The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has become a popular, and potentially powerful, frame through which to analyse interactions and interdependencies between these three systems. Though the case for transdisciplinary research in this space has been made, the extent of stakeholder engagement in research remains limited with stakeholders most commonly incorporated in research as end-users. Yet, stakeholders interact with nexus issues in a variety of ways, consequently there is much that collaboration might offer to develop nexus research and enhance its application. This paper outlines four aspects of nexus research and considers the value and potential challenges for transdisciplinary research in each. We focus on assessing and visualising nexus systems; understanding governance and capacity building; the importance of scale; and the implications of future change. The paper then proceeds to describe a novel mixed-method study that deeply integrates stakeholder knowledge with insights from multiple disciplines. We argue that mixed-method research designs—in this case orientated around a number of cases studies—are best suited to understanding and addressing real-world nexus challenges, with their inevitable complex, non-linear system characteristics. Moreover, integrating multiple forms of knowledge in the manner described in this paper enables research to assess the potential for, and processes of, scaling-up innovations in the nexus space, to contribute insights to policy and decision making.

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This study investigated flood inundation in an urban area due to a possible failure of Ü rkmez Dam in İzmir, Turkey. The estimation of flood hydrograph upon partial failure of the dam and routing of the flood hydrograph along the narrow valley downstream were first performed by the one-dimensional hydraulic routing model HEC-RAS. The twodimensional hydraulic routing model FLO-2D is then used to simulate the spreading of the dam-break flood after the flood wave exits the valley. Land use and land cover digital maps were utilized to find the spatially varying roughness coefficient for the floodplain. The influence of the buildings on the flood propagation was represented in the numerical model by the area reduction factor as well as the width reduction factor. The peak flow depth, peak flow velocity and time moment of the peak flow depth maps were shown in the GIS environment. The results reveal that flow depths can reach about 3 m in the residential area. In about 40 min after the dam-break, houses in the large section of the town would be under the maximum flow depths. The two-dimensional hydrodynamic model results were tested against experimental dam-break flow data of the distorted physical model of Ü rkmez Dam, which is consisted of the reservoir, dam body and downstream area including Ü rkmez Town. The model successfully simulated experimental flow depth data measured at different measurement locations.

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Dams are important structures having many functions such as water supply, flood control, hydroelectric power and recreation. Although dam break failures are very rare events, dams can fail with little warning and the damage at the downstream of the dam due to the flood wave can be catastrophic. During a dam failure, immense volume of water is mobilized at very high speed in a very short time. The momentum of the flood wave can turn to a very destructive impact force in residential areas. Therefore, from risk point of view, understanding the consequences of a possible dam failure is critically important. This study deals with the methodology utilized for predicting the flood wave occurring after the dam break and analyses the propagation of the flood wave downstream of the dam. The methodology used in this study includes creation of bathymetric, DEM and land use maps; routing of the flood wave along the valley using a 1D model; and two dimensional numerical modeling of the propagation and spreading of flood wave for various dam breaching scenarios in two different urban areas. Such a methodology is a vital tool for decision-making process since it takes into account the spatial heterogeneity of the basin parameters to predict flood wave propagation downstream of the dam. Proposed methodology is applied to two dams; Porsuk Dam located in Eskişehir and Alibey Dam located in Istanbul, Turkey. Both dams are selected based on the fact that they have dense residential areas downstream and such a failure would be disastrous in both cases. Model simulations based on three different dam breaching scenarios showed that maximum flow depth can reach to 5 m at the border of the residential areas both in Eskişehir and in Istanbul with a maximum flow velocity of 5 m/s and flood waves having 0.3 m height reach to the boundary of the residential area within 1 to 2 h. Flooded area in Eskişehir was estimated as 127 km 2 , whereas in Istanbul this area was 8.4 km 2 in total.