peer review report 3 on comparative evaluation of the effects of climate and land cover changes on hydrologic responses of the muskeg river alberta canada

Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (2017) 191–192 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ejrh Peer Review Report Peer review report on “Comparative evaluation of the effects of climate and land-cover changes on hydrologic responses of the Muskeg River, Alberta, Canada” Original Submission 1.1 Recommendation Minor Revision Comments to Author: General comments: The article investigates the potential impacts of both climate and future land use changes on the hydrologic response of a river basin in Alberta, Canada The case study is especially interesting since the expansion of the Oil-Sands industry is so rapid, and here occurs mostly on land previously untouched by large-scale anthropogenic activities I commend the authors in their efforts given the necessary assumptions and uncertainties related to the various modelling steps, and believe that the article presents a valid and important contribution to the field of this journal Specific comments: Writing style - There are some minor spelling mistakes and grammatical issues which should be checked in the final proofreading (eg ‘herb’ vs ‘hurb’ in the tables & figures; ‘Muskeg’ vs ‘muskeg’ .) - Some sections are difficult to follow due to run-on sentences − please try to be more concise - The article should follow a fixed style in terms of descriptive tense used − eg most of the method is described in the present tense so this should be used consistently throughout the section Introduction: - Please elaborate slightly on the importance of the Oil-Sands industry and why its expansion may be of concern (both related to and other than the conversion of land use) I miss a bit of background/context for the study Results & Discussion: - I miss some mention of the general uncertainties involved, especially when using so much modelled data from various sources - Section 4.3: last sentence “increased infiltration into the exposed land” − seems strange to me − I would assume a decrease in infiltration on exposed land over time as compared to forest due to compaction? DOI of the original article:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2016.10.003 2214-5818/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2016.12.064 192 Peer Review Report / Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (2017) 191–192 Summary & Conclusions: - The limitations of the work & assumptions taken should be elaborated on further - In the last sentence you mention “cumulative environment(al) impacts” − it would be good to mention that the development of the Oil-Sands industry may also impact on several other factors besides water quantity (water quality, air quality, noise & visual pollution .) Ine Vandecasteele Joint Research Centre, Sustainability Assessment, Enrico Fermi, Ispra, VA 21027, Italy ...192 Peer Review Report / Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (2017) 191–192 Summary & Conclusions: - The limitations of the work & assumptions taken should be elaborated on further - In the. .. last sentence you mention “cumulative environment(al) impacts” − it would be good to mention that the development of the Oil-Sands industry may also impact on several other factors besides water... several other factors besides water quantity (water quality, air quality, noise & visual pollution .) Ine Vandecasteele Joint Research Centre, Sustainability Assessment, Enrico Fermi, Ispra, VA 21027,