Global Water Futures
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Global Water Futures is a pan-Canadian research program that is funded in part by a $77.8-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. The overarching goal of the program is to deliver risk management solutions - informed by leading-edge water science and supported by innovative decision-making tools - to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where global warming is changing landscapes, ecosystems, and the water environment. Global Water Futures (GWF) aims to position Canada as a global leader in water science for cold regions and will address the strategic needs of the Canadian economy in adapting to change and managing risks of uncertain water futures and extreme events. End-user needs will be our beacon and will drive strategy and shape our science.
https://gwf.usask.ca/
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Item 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, SyedThis report describes some water resource management modeling, water quality modeling, and economic implications of the Upper Qu’Appelle Water Supply Project.Item 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 WilliamNever 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.Item 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, NancyAs 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.Item 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, KasraA young engineer's personal account of collaborating with hydrological modelers to develop a new model-agnostic workflow to expedite data preparation.Item 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-ErichPersonal account from a scientist about learning from his local guide while conducting river ice research in the Canadian Northwest Territories.Item 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.Item Come Hail or High Water : Exchanging insurance and drought knowledge to advance research and its application(Global Water Futures, 2/1/2023) Wheaton, ElainePersonal account of a climate scientist's interactions with knowledge users looking at extreme weather in the Canadian West.Item 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 DPersonal account of a scientist's working relationship with a local guide in northern Saskatchewan.Item Building on a Legacy : Working with users to revitalize the CRHM hydrological model(Global Water Futures Core Computer Science, 2/1/2023) Roy, BananiA computer scientist's personal account of the challenges involved in collaboratively migrating the CRHM hydrological modelling tool.Item 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, XuebinTo better use climate information available in the historical record, a recommended approach is composing precipitation as the product of precipitable water and precipitation efficiency.Item Long period return level estimates of extreme precipitation: abstract(National Research Council Canada, 2020) Zwiers, FrancisStatistical 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.Item 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 SultanaItem Water You Waiting For(2021) Martins, Ricardo; Read, Leanne; Birke, Lisa; Bradford, Lori; McNeill, Dean; Merrell, StephanieScientists 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.Item 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.Item Water well told : storytelling in source water protection(2021-05-16) Duffy, AshleighDrinking 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.Item The Canadian Hydrological Model: A New Way to Estimate Snowpacks in the Canadian Rockies(The Avalanche Journal, 2022) Marsh, Christopher; Vionnet, Vincent; Pomeroy, JohnItem A process-based sensitivity guided calibration of the VIC model(University of Victoria Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, 2022-05) Schnorbus, Markus A.; Larabi, SamahApplication of Land surface models over large domains relies on calibration of parameters assumed to be consistently sensitive, although parameter sensitivity can vary spatially and by hydrologic process. In this study, the sensitivity of 44 parameters of the VIC model were evaluated over 5 basins with distinct hydroclimatic characteristics. The model is calibrated using a multi-objective framework with 5 objective functions evaluating streamflow, ET and snow cover area (SCA).Item Useful Numbers : Reaching out with pandemic data(Global Water Futures Next Generation Solutions to Ensure Healthy Water Resources for Future Generations, 2022-08) Giesy, John PWorking with government partners, a research project adapts to societal need to provide epidemiological data.Item Prairie Water Annual Partners' Meeting 2022 : summary report of the 17th February meeting(2022-08-02) Morrison, AlasdairThe theme of the 2022 APM was “Collaborations and partnerships for successful water outcomes”. For the research team, our focus was to engage in discussions to better understand how we can accelerate the movement of research findings, data, and other products into the hands of you, our partners. More specifically, we wanted to find out more about how Prairie Water research outputs have been used to date, what the most effective ways to communicate these outputs with the widest audience have been, and what some of the challenges and opportunities to getting new knowledge into water management decision-making are. This report provides a summary and analysis of some of what we heard during the APM panel session and discussions, and what we have learned from engagement with many of you over the years of the project. We have been able to conceptualize the network through which Prairie Water outputs are and could be disseminated (Section 2). Key themes influencing the uptake of knowledge have also identified from our discussions (Section 3). Awareness of these themes and this network will help us be strategic in how we approach knowledge mobilization for the remainder of the Prairie Water project and beyond.Item Working through Wicked Problems - Together : Transdisciplinary research to tackle land management challenges in Saskatchewan(Global Water Futures Prairie Drainage Governance: Diagnosing Policy and Governance Effectiveness for Agricultural Water Management during Times of Change, 2022-11) Baulch, HelenA transdisciplinary research team addresses contentious land management issues on the Canadian Prairies through relationship building.