Nevada Infrastructure for Climate Change Science, Education, and Outreach

建议摘要：EPS-08114372建议标题：内华达州气候变化科学、教育和外部基础设施机构：内华达州高等教育系统这个内华达州EPSCoR RLL项目旨在创建一个全州范围的跨学科计划，以区域气候变化对生态系统资源的影响为中心，刺激研究、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；网络基础设施；教育；以及政策，包括相关的决策和公众宣传。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，了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，并改善学生了解气候变化的方式。智力优势：内华达州持续的气候变化正在导致气候、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在全球范围内作出的。对区域进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、相关的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及其相关的生态系统服务和人类系统？以及(2)气候变化将如何影响干扰机制和相关系统？相关问题包括查明近期气候变化背后的强迫因素；气候和植被之间的反馈机制；当地产生的气溶胶对气候的影响；以及降水类型变化对水文学的影响。这个在大盆地独特的自然实验室的项目有可能改变区域和次区域规模的气候变化研究。广泛的影响：增加多样性的战略贯穿于推动这项研究的六个组成部分。一个关键战略是通过一个可访问的在线数据门户轻松获取研究结果。将通过确定气候变化研究中的重要需求以及向公众宣传气候变化科学并使其参与其中来实现与不同利益攸关方的接触。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很强的历史。这一扩展将通过暑期研究计划、学年奖学金、研究生导师计划以及对气候变化科学教师的培训来继续。招聘新的教师和研究生将针对代表性不足的群体。将创建一个全州范围的气候变化虚拟信息中心，专注于推广，并将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.