Cold regions are experiencing dramatic changes to regional climate and environmental conditions, bringing about more severe floods, longer drought periods and deterioration of water quality that are putting economies, communities and ecosystems at risk. Six new University of Waterloo-led research projects that are part of the Global Water Futures program, will catalyze interdisciplinary research to help tackle these environmental challenges.
The newly funded projects, each led by a different Water Institute member, will address critical water security challenges in Canada. Bruce MacVicar from the Faculty of Engineering, Rob de Loë from the Faculty of Environment, Kevin Lamb from the Faculty of Mathematics, , and Walter Illman, Fereidoun Rezanezhad and Mark Servos from the Faculty of Science are the principal investigators on six of the 21 Pillar 1 and 2 projects that recently received funding from the Global Water Futures initiative.
Global Water Futures is a seven-year initiative that brings risk management, climate change, land use and water resource forecasting together to address water issues in an integrated way. Both researchers and end-users, such as northern indigenous communities, will receive new information and innovative decision making support tools to enable better, adaptive planning, and a knowledge platform to train the next generation of water leaders. New water security monitoring and predictive tools and techniques will enhance Canada’s international competitiveness.
Funded by a Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant, Global Water Futures now has 33 projects underway across Canada. Over the next three years, Global Water Futures expects to train and hire 450 researchers and scientists to work on these projects and provide core support for the research program. There are currently 13 positions available on University of Waterloo-led research projects.
List of University of Waterloo-led Global Water Futures projects
Engineering
Professor Bruce MacVicar, Civil and Environmental Engineering - Linking stream network process models to robust data management systems for the purpose of land-use decision support
Environment
Professor Rob de Loë, Environment, Resources and Sustainability - Linking water governance in Canada to global economic, social and political drivers
Mathematics
Professor Kevin Lamb, Applied Mathematics - Evaluation of ice models in large lakes using three dimensional coupled hydrodynamic-ice models
Science
Professor Walter Illman, Earth and Environmental Sciences - Significance of groundwater dynamics within hydrologic models
Assistant professor Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Earth and Environmental Sciences – Winter soil processes in transition.
Professor Mark Servos, Biology - Linking multiple stressors to adverse ecological responses across watersheds.