Nevada Infrastructure for Climate Change Science, Education, and Outreach

提案：eps -08114372提案标题：内华达州气候变化科学、教育和推广基础设施机构：内华达州高等教育系统该内华达州EPSCoR Rll项目旨在创建一个全州范围的跨学科项目，以促进区域气候变化对生态系统资源的影响为中心的研究、教育和推广。该项目的六个重点领域是：气候模拟；生态变化;水资源;计算机基础;教育;以及政策，包括相关决策和公众宣传。目标是建立区域气候变化模型的能力，评估缩小模型输出的方法，理解和量化关键的生态和水文过程，将气候变化科学转化为决策者可用的格式，整合模型和数据，并改善学生对气候变化的了解。知识价值：内华达州持续的气候变化导致了气候、生物物理和人类系统之间复杂的相互作用。迄今为止，解决这些问题的大多数努力都是针对全球范围的。对区域过程及其影响的了解有限。该项目将采用综合方法来了解气候变化将如何影响水资源、相关生态系统服务和人类系统。需要解决的主要问题是：(1)气候变化将如何影响水资源以及相关的生态系统服务和人类系统？(2)气候变化将如何影响干扰机制和相关系统？相关问题包括确定导致最近气候变化的强迫因素；气候与植被间的反馈机制；本地产生的气溶胶对气候的影响；降水类型变化对水文的影响。这个在大盆地独特的自然实验室开展的项目有可能改变区域和次区域尺度上的气候变化研究。更广泛的影响：增加多样性的策略贯穿于将推动研究的六个组成部分。一项关键战略是通过一个可访问的在线数据门户使研究结果易于获得。将通过确定气候变化研究中的重要需求以及向公众通报气候变化科学并使公众参与气候变化科学来实现与不同利益攸关方的外联。内华达州在参与K-12外展以及本科生和研究生研究方面有着悠久的历史。这种拓展将继续开展夏季研究项目、学年奖学金、研究生指导项目以及气候变化科学教师培训。招聘新的教师和研究生将针对代表性不足的群体。将建立一个全州范围的气候变化虚拟信息中心，重点关注外展活动，并采用可视化策略向公众和政策制定者传达调查结果。

Abstract Proposal: EPS-08114372Proposal Title: Nevada Infrastructure for Climate Change Science, Education, and OutreachInstitution: Nevada System of Higher EducationThis Nevada EPSCoR Rll project seeks to create a statewide interdisciplinary program that stimulates research, education, and outreach centered on the effects of regional climate change on ecosystem resources. The six focus areas in this project are: climate modeling; ecological change; water resources; cyberinfrastructure; education; and policy, including related decision-making and public outreach. The goal is to build capacity to model regional climate change, evaluate methods to downscale model output, understand and quantify key ecological and hydrological processes, translate climate change science into formats usable by decision-makers, integrate models and data, and improve how students learn about climate change.Intellectual Merit: Ongoing climate changes in Nevada are resulting in complex interactions among climate, biophysical, and human systems. To date, most efforts to address these issues have been directed at the global scale. There is limited understanding of regional processes and their impacts. This project will take an integrated approach to learning how climate change will affect water resources, linked ecosystem services, and human systems. The primary questions to be addressed are (1) How will climate change affect water resources and linked ecosystem services and human systems? and (2) How will climate change affect disturbance regimes and linked systems? Related questions include identification of forcing factors underlying recent climate changes; feedback mechanisms between climate and vegetation; impact of locally generated aerosols on climate; and effects of change in precipitation type on hydrology. This project in the unique natural laboratory of the Great Basin has the potential to transform climate change studies at regional and sub-regional scales.Broader Impacts: Strategies to increase diversity are woven throughout the six components that will drive the research. A key strategy is to make results from the research easily available via an accessible, on-line data portal. Outreach to diverse stakeholders will be accomplished by identifying important needs in climate change research as well as informing and involving the public in climate change science. Nevada has a strong history of involvement in K-12 outreach as well as undergraduate and graduate research. This outreach will continue with summer research programs, academic year scholarships, mentorship programs for graduate students, and training for teachers in climate change science. Recruitment of new faculty and graduate students will target underrepresented groups. A statewide virtual information center for climate change will be created to focus on outreach, and visualization strategies will be employed to communicate findings to the public and policy makers.