Three Unique Research Clusters

Hydro-climate Modeling (HC)

The Hydro-Climate Modeling research cluster works to develop a range of future climate scenarios most relevant to the needs of communities in transboundary watersheds using state-of-the-art climate and water level modeling techniques. The HC cluster analyzes the resulting projections to create water quantity and quality possibilities that inform adaptive decision-making across scales and jurisdictions in transboundary watersheds. The HC research team employs a physics-informed statistical simulation approach to develop future projections of transboundary basin precipitation, lake evaporation, basin-wide runoff, and water supplies.

Ecosystem and Water Quality (EWQ)

Many transboundary communities rely on key ecosystem functions and processes that have long been threatened by climate and anthropogenic stressors. Transboundary ecosystems that support diverse terrestrial and aquatic species are also impacted by these effects. The Ecosystem and Water Quality research cluster combines TEK and coordinated monitoring efforts with climate scenarios developed by the HC cluster to create understandings of stressor impacts on water quality and ecosystems. The EWQ cluster also analyzes impacts of water quality degradation across international boundaries and within different communities (e.g., rural, Indigenous, urban) while assessing how these changes will impact people, infrastructure, and ecosystem function. 

Climate Ready Communities and Transboundary Governance (CRTG)

The Climate Ready Communities and Transboundary Governance research cluster employs social science theories, approaches, and mixed methods to assess and develop governance models that help communities prepare for climate change impacts. The CRTG cluster develops knowledge by focusing on several transboundary Indigenous, U.S., and Canadian communities, resulting in the development of water governance assessment frameworks that incorporate critical data from the HC and EWQ research teams. Findings are integrated, tested, and applied across communities in the Great Lakes basin, the Rio Grande Basin, and other global transboundary regions. The CRTG cluster then applies the framework at watershed and community scales to assist local government and communities in incorporating multiple climate science perspectives (including Indigenous Knowledge and TEK) into water resources management and decision-making.  

Haudenosaunee Hub of Indigenous Knowledge (HHIK)

The Haudenosaunee Hub of Indigenous Knowledge is an Indigenous-led community of researchers and activists based at Six Nations of the Grand River, with which the GCTW is a collaborative partner. The Hub’s research and community engagement is guided by Indigenous Knowledge and bolstered by a strong partnership with Six Nations Polytechnic that helps advance research goals, develop capacity, and engage community members. The Hub works to support events like the 2024 Traditional Ecological Knowledge Summit, develop strategies to make STEM and TEK trainings more accessible to Indigenous youth, and partner with researchers to conduct hydrologic research on waterway and aquifer health.

It is recognized by the GCTW that positive and long-lasting engagement with Indigenous communities requires a foundation of trust between collaborating parties. Honoring the intellectual rights of the community and the security of Indigenous Knowledge is paramount to the Center’s mission. It is the privilege of the Center and its researchers to develop water and climate change solutions through this partnership, and it continues to seek productive and secure methods of collaboration.

Cluster Collaboration

Collaboration among the GCTW’s three research clusters ensure that information is credible and useful in mechanisms for formulating community plans, policies, and regulations, and for motivating community action. Outcomes of our work include foundational science describing origins and impacts of climate change threats facing the water resources of transboundary communities (including elements of risk, spatiotemporal frequency, and human health and well-being), and increased capacity for informed and effective governance. Our overarching objective is to co-create science leading to resilient community models first in the Great Lakes region, then in other Indigenous-U.S.-Canada  transboundary communities, and ultimately extending these models to transboundary waters around the globe.