Abstract

Although the availability of freshwater is a major factor influencing humans and ecosystems, the ways in which water availability will change in many parts of our warming world in the future is unknown. Exploration of past and present-day environments and uses and understandings of water can provide critical information, transforming our ability to understand the processes impacting water and our relationship to water and each other. I will describe a research project that braids together different strands of research from multiple disciplines on the water cycle and climate in the water-stressed Southwestern US. One strand of this work involves applying a cutting-edge isotopic tracer to sediments from ancient lake basins in order to resolve the history of the water cycle. In another strand of research, we are working on comparing geological observations with results from climate models. A third strand of this work involves gathering data on water issues, past, present, and future, facing different Indigenous communities whose waters are in the region, and working with community experts to co-develop projects centered on tribal priorities, build community capacity, and engage in reparative work. 

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