Global Institute for Water Security

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10388/13700

The Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) at the University of Saskatchewan is the top water resources research institute in Canada and one of the most advanced hydrology research centres in the world. GIWS is dedicated to helping protect our precious freshwater resources needed for the world’s growing demand for sustainable food production, mitigating the risk of water-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and fires, predicting and forecasting extremes of global change through the use of advanced remote sensing and modelling techniques, and co-creating traditional knowledge with western science to empower Indigenous communities in protecting water health.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 72

Hydrological and economic assessment of the Upper Qu’Appelle Water Supply Project : report for Western Economic Diversification
(University of Saskatchewan Global Institute for Water Security, 1/31/2020) Lindenschmidt, Karl-Erich; Lloyd-Smith, Patrick; Razavi, Saman; Carlson, Hayley; Terry, Julie; Mustakim Ali Shah, Syed
This report describes some water resource management modeling, water quality modeling, and economic implications of the Upper Qu’Appelle Water Supply Project.
Humanity’s evolving story : sharing scientific research outcomes in a changing world
(United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and Global Water Futures, 10/6/2022) Sandford, Robert William
Never before has how science tells its stories been more important. The story humanity has been telling itself about itself over the past two hundred years has proven to be dangerous to our future. Science has the power to change the path of that narrative and alter the next chapter of humanity’s story so that it is not our final chapter.
Influencing water futures: summary of a roadmap for maximizing knowledge uptake in the final years of the Global Water Futures program
(Global Water Futures, 11/16/2022) Morrison, Monica; Goucher, Nancy
As we continue to encourage and document research relationships, moving into the GWF’s final stages, KM seeks to supply answers to the following questions: What have we done –what relationships have we built, and what new knowledge has resulted? What did we learn? And, how does this strengthen Canada’s water future? KM work will focus on inventory activities to answer the first, and synthesis activities to respond to the second and third of these questions. Knowledge mobilization should be the driving force for GWF’s Operations and Annual Science meetings over the next year, shifting the focus from research findings to meeting user needs through knowledge exchange and research application.
Building on a Legacy : Working with users to revitalize the CRHM hydrological model
(Global Water Futures Core Computer Science, 2/1/2023) Roy, Banani
A computer scientist's personal account of the challenges involved in collaboratively migrating the CRHM hydrological modelling tool.
Giftwrapped Data : Working together on a model-agnostic platform for speeding up predictions for water management
(Global Water Futures Core Modelling Team, 2/1/2023) Keshavarz, Kasra
A young engineer's personal account of collaborating with hydrological modelers to develop a new model-agnostic workflow to expedite data preparation.
Both Eyes on the Ice : Investigating a hazard on the Slave River
(Global Water Futures Integrated Modeling Program for Canada, 2/1/2023) Lindenschmidt, Karl-Erich
Personal account from a scientist about learning from his local guide while conducting river ice research in the Canadian Northwest Territories.
More than Cold Dirt : Discovering the human face of climate change research in northern Canada
(Global Water Futures Geogenic Contamination of Groundwater Resources in Subarctic Regions, 2/1/2023) Skierszkan, Elliott K.
Personal account of a researcher's experience learning from local people while investigating groundwater contamination related to thawing permafrost in Canada's Yukon Territory.
Come Hail or High Water : Exchanging insurance and drought knowledge to advance research and its application
(Global Water Futures, 2/1/2023) Wheaton, Elaine
Personal account of a climate scientist's interactions with knowledge users looking at extreme weather in the Canadian West.
The Search for the Perfect Flood : Working together to build a deeper relationship with the river
(Global Water Futures We Need More than Just Water, 2/1/2023) Jardine, Timothy D
Personal account of a scientist's working relationship with a local guide in northern Saskatchewan.
Long period return level estimates of extreme precipitation
(University of Victoria Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, 2/27/2020) Zwiers, Francis; Ben Alaya, Mohamed Ali; Zhang, Xuebin
To better use climate information available in the historical record, a recommended approach is composing precipitation as the product of precipitable water and precipitation efficiency.
Long period return level estimates of extreme precipitation: abstract
(National Research Council Canada, 2020) Zwiers, Francis
Statistical extreme value theory (EVT) is a fundamental tool for characterizing climate extremes and understanding whether they are changing over time. Most operational frequency and intensity estimates are obtained by using EVT to analyze time series of annual maxima; for example, of short duration precipitation accumulations or some aspect of wind speed. A key implicit assumption in the application of EVT is “max-stability”; i.e., that the statistical behaviour of annual maxima is predictive of maxima calculated over multi-decadal or longer intervals. This assumption cannot be tested using available observational records, and it is rarely discussed in studies of extremes. Here we use a recent large ensemble simulation to assess whether max-stability holds for annual maxima of extreme precipitation. We find that annual maxima tend not to be max-stable in the model-simulated climate. We explore the implications of the lack of max-stability on the estimation of very long period return levels, and discuss reasons why the annual maxima of precipitation extremes may not be max-stable. We also demonstrate a possible solution that is based on an alternative statistical approach and that incorporates additional process-based information into the analysis. While our study focuses on precipitation simulated by a regional climate model, our findings have serious implications for the estimation of high return levels of many climate and weather elements from models and observations that may potentially impact engineering practice.
Indigenizing research : a resource guide for indigenous peoples, academics and policy makers Version 3 (August 2020)
(McMaster University Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools Project, 2020-08)
The purpose of this research guide is to foster dialogue between Indigenous peoples, academics and policy-makers concerning methods utilized by our research team. The resource guide is expected to be accessible both to Indigenous community and activists; along with researchers, policymakers and academics, respecting the agency of Indigenous peoples. This resource guide was prepared by the following members of the Research Team on Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools under the Global Water Futures program: • Dawn Martin-Hill (Mohawk, Wolf Clan), Associate Professor, McMaster University • Jorge Fabra-Zamora, Project Officer (Former), Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools • Piers Kreps, Research Assistant (Former), Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools • Danielle Gendron, Project Support (Former), Co-Creation of Indigenous Water Quality Tools. The contents of this resource guide would not be possible without the insightful contributions of the following members of the Research Group and Community Members of the Six Nations of the Grand River (alphabetical order): Nancy Doubleday, Sarah Duignan, Beverly Jacobs, Karissa John, Nidhi Nagabhatla and Afroza Sultana
Water You Waiting For
(2021) Martins, Ricardo; Read, Leanne; Birke, Lisa; Bradford, Lori; McNeill, Dean; Merrell, Stephanie
Scientists associated with the Global Water Futures initiative were interviewed by me [Leanne Read] and Master of Fine Arts in music student Ricardo Martins. We then translated what we heard into a digital animation and musical score under the guidance of professors Lori Bradford (College of Engineering and School of Environment and Sustainability), Dean McNeill (Department of Music), and Lisa Birke (Department of Art & Art History). The animation follows a water drop as it takes us on a journey across Canada to highlight the 16 most pressing water security issues that are bringing the delicate balance of water sustainability to the tipping point but with a resounding chorus of hope.
Hydrologic parameter sensitivity across a large-domain
(University of Victoria Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, 2021-05) Larabi, Samah; Schnorbus, Markus A.; Mai, Juliane; Tolson, Bryan A.
Due to the computational demands of modelling large domains, model calibration of Land Surface Models (LSMs) typically involves adjustment of only a small subset of parameters. • Majority of parameters that can potentially contribute to the model output variance remain fixed/ hard coded. • Spatial variability of the parameter sensitivity over large domains with heterogenous climatic and physiographic conditions is largely ignored during the calibration process. This work, carried out for parts of the Fraser and Columbia river basins, explored how parameter sensitivity varies spatially with the dominant physical and climatic conditions, and how dominant model parameters change depending on the simulated hydrologic process. The study found that parameter sensitivity varies both geographically and with the process being simulated.
Water well told : storytelling in source water protection
(2021-05-16) Duffy, Ashleigh
Drinking water is about our humanity as much as it is technology. The thesis findings are critical in the decolonization of drinking water solutions for rural and Indigenous communities.
Peering into Agricultural Rebound Phenomenon Using a Global Sensitivity Analysis Approach
(Elsevier, 2021-11) Ghoreishi, Mohammad; Sheikholeslami, Razi; Elshorbagy, Amin; Razavi, Saman; Belcher, Kenneth; Belcher, Ken
Modernizing traditional irrigation systems has long been recognized as a means to reduce water losses. However, empirical evidence shows that this practice may not necessarily reduce water use in the long run; in fact, in many cases, the converse is true—a concept known as the rebound phenomenon. This phenomenon is at the heart of a fundamental research gap in the explicit evaluation of co-evolutionary dynamics and interactions among socio-economic and hydrologic factors in agricultural systems. This gap calls for the application of systems-based methods to evaluate such dynamics. To address this gap, we use a previously developed Agent-Based Agricultural Water Demand (ABAD) model, applied to the Bow River Basin (BRB) in Canada. We perform a time-varying variance-based global sensitivity analysis (GSA) on the ABAD model to examine the individual effect of factors, as well as their joint effect, that may give rise to the rebound phenomenon in the BRB. Our results show that economic factors dominantly control possible rebounds. Although social interaction among farmers is found to be less influential than the irrigation expansion factor, its interaction effect with other factors becomes more important, indicating the highly interactive nature of the underlying socio-hydrological system. Based on the insights gained via GSA, we discuss several strategies, including community participation and water restrictions, that can be adopted to avoid the rebound phenomenon in irrigation systems. This study demonstrates that a time-varying variance-based GSA can provide a better understanding of the co-evolutionary dynamics of the socio-hydrological systems and can pave the way for better management of water resources.
Hotspots for social and ecological impacts from freshwater stress and storage loss
(Nature Portfolio, 2022) Huggins, Xander; Gleeson, Tom; Kummu, Matti; Zipper, Sam; Wada, Yoshihide; Troy, Tara; Famiglietti, James S.
Humans and ecosystems are deeply connected to, and through, the hydrological cycle. However, impacts of hydrological change on social and ecological systems are infrequently evaluated together at the global scale. Here, we focus on the potential for social and ecological impacts from freshwater stress and storage loss. We find basins with existing freshwater stress are drying (losing storage) disproportionately, exacerbating the challenges facing the water stressed versus non-stressed basins of the world. We map the global gradient in social-ecological vulnerability to freshwater stress and storage loss and identify hotspot basins for prioritization (n = 168). These most-vulnerable basins encompass over 1.5 billion people, 17% of global food crop production, 13% of global gross domestic product, and hundreds of significant wetlands. There are thus substantial social and ecological benefits to reducing vulnerability in hotspot basins, which can be achieved through hydro-diplomacy, social adaptive capacity building, and integrated water resources management practices.
Poor correlation between large-scale environmental flow violations and freshwater biodiversity: implications for water resource management and the freshwater planetary boundary
(2022) Mohan, Chinchu; Gleeson, Tom; Famiglietti, James S.; Virkki, Vili; Kummu, Matti; Porkka, Miina; Wang-Erlandsson, Lan; Huggins, Xander; Gerten, Dieter; Jähnig, Sonja C.
The freshwater ecosystems around the world are degrading, such that maintaining environmental flow1 (EF) in river networks is critical to their preservation. The relationship between streamflow alterations (subsequent EF violations2) and the freshwater biodiversity response is well established at the scale of stream reaches or small basins (~<100 km2). However, it is unclear if this relationship is robust at larger scales, even though there are large-scale initiatives to legalize the EF requirement. Moreover, EFs have been used in assessing a planetary boundary3 for freshwater. Therefore, this study intends to conduct an exploratory evaluation of the relationship between EF violation and freshwater biodiversity at globally aggregated scales and for freshwater ecoregions. Four EF violation indices (severity, frequency, probability of shifting to a violated state, and probability of staying violated) and seven independent freshwater biodiversity indicators (calculated from observed biota data) were used for correlation analysis. No statistically significant negative relationship between EF violation and freshwater biodiversity was found at global or ecoregion scales. These findings imply the need for a holistic bio-geo-hydro-physical approach in determining the environmental flows. While our results thus suggest that streamflow and EF may not be the only determinant of freshwater biodiversity at large scales, they do not preclude the existence of relationships at smaller scales or with more holistic EF methods (e.g., including water temperature, water quality, intermittency, connectivity, etc.) or with other biodiversity data or metrics.
The Canadian Hydrological Model: A New Way to Estimate Snowpacks in the Canadian Rockies
(The Avalanche Journal, 2022) Marsh, Christopher; Vionnet, Vincent; Pomeroy, John
Diagnosing Hydrological Process Controls in Streamflow Generation and Variability in a 1 Glacierized Alpine Headwater Basin
(Wiley Online Library, 2022) Aubry-Wake, Caroline; Pradhananga, Dhiraj; Pomeroy, John
Mountain glacierized headwaters are currently witnessing a transient shift in their hydrological and glaciological systems in response to rapid climate change. To characterize these changes, a robust understanding of the hydrological processes operating in the basin and their interactions is needed. Such an investigation was undertaken in the Peyto Glacier Research Basin, Canadian Rockies over 32 years (1988–2020). A distributed, physically based, uncalibrated glacier hydrology model was developed using the modular, object-oriented Cold Region Hydrological Modelling Platform to simulate both on and off-glacier high mountain processes and streamflow generation. The hydrological processes that generate streamflow from this alpine basin are characterized by substantial inter-annual variability over the 32 years. Snowmelt runoff always provided the largest fraction of annual streamflow (44% to 89%), with smaller fractional contributions occurring in higher streamflow years. Ice melt runoff provided 10% to 45% of annual streamflow volume, with higher fractions associated with higher flow years. Both rainfall and firn melt runoff contributed less than 13% of annual streamflow. Years with high streamflow were on average 1.43°C warmer than low streamflow years, and higher streamflow years had lower seasonal snow accumulation, earlier snowmelt and higher summer rainfall than years with lower streamflow. Greater ice exposure in warmer, low snowfall (high rainfall) years led to greater streamflow generation. The understanding gained here provides insight into how future climate and increased meteorological variability may impact glacier meltwater contributions to streamflow and downstream water availability as alpine glaciers continue to retreat.

Browse

Browsing Global Institute for Water Security by Issue Date

Results Per Page

Sort Options