Last fall, the Global Change Center released its first call for proposals to support interdisciplinary research. A team of VT researchers led by Dr. Cayelan Carey received ~$18,000 for their project titled, “Managing human needs and ecosystem services in drinking water reservoirs confronted with global change.” Dr. Carey’s team includes Dr. John Little, Dr. Madeline Schreiber, and Dr. Quinn Thomas.

This interdisciplinary group is currently examining the effects of altered climate on nutrient cycling and food web dynamics in four drinking-water reservoirs that supply Roanoke. Southeastern U.S. reservoirs are experiencing both increased toxic cyanobacterial blooms and higher metal concentrations, threatening the long-term sustainability of water quality.

GCC Seed Grant funds were used to purchase a weather station that is now deployed at Falling Creek Reservoir. Graduate students Jon Doubek, a PhD student in the Carey Lab (Biological Sciences), Zack Munger, a PhD student in the Schreiber Lab (Geosciences), and Chris Chen, a PhD student in the Little Lab (Civil Engineering) will be using the minute-resolution weather data measured by the station to model the effects of climate change on water quality in the drinking water reservoir.