Climate Collaboratorium: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Modelling Groundwater Resources for Climate Adaptation in the Sorbian Community of Rietschen (Görlitz, Germany)

The Climate Collaboratorium adopts a novel, transdisciplinary approach to address the interplay of climate change, groundwater dynamics, and socioeconomic factors. By combining advanced groundwater modelling with participatory methods, this project intends to develop actionable strategies for sustainable water management for the Sorbian community in Rietschen, Görlitz. This innovative methodology emphasizes collaboration between researchers and the community, ensuring that scientific insights align with local needs and values.

Central to the project is the development of a state-of-the-art groundwater model, incorporating high-resolution spatial and temporal data, along with boundary conditions informed by literature, fieldwork, stakeholder inputs, and sensitivity analyses. This foundational model provides a baseline for understanding groundwater dynamics and serves as a platform for subsequent scenario simulations.

In the second phase, the model will be adapted to evaluate climate change impacts on groundwater resources, integrating regional climate projections and recharge scenarios. Through workshops, community members will co-create socioeconomic scenarios and identify adaptation priorities. These priorities will guide the integration of local economic development plans and social behaviors into the model. To enhance community engagement, innovative methods such as theatrical performances will translate complex scientific findings into accessible and relatable formats.

The final phase will simulate the complex interactions between climate impacts, land use changes, and socioeconomic behaviors under a range of scenarios. This approach enables the identification of key vulnerabilities and supports the development of robust, community-oriented adaptation strategies.

The results will not only benefit the community of Rietschen but also provide transferable insights for similar communities facing groundwater management challenges. Also, comparable studies are going to be applied in Canada, the UK, and the USA to demonstrate the applicability of this approach, highlighting its relevance in diverse sociocultural and environmental contexts.