RIPS Type 2 Collaborative Research: Water and Electricity Infrastructure in the Southeast (WEIS) - Approaches to Resilient Interdependent Systems under Climate Change

本研究将开发一种通用的方法来研究气候变化对供水和发电的相互依赖的关键基础设施（ICI）系统的影响。对供水服务的竞争需求影响到电力部门的供水（从而影响到其可靠性），而供水系统的运作需要可靠的电力供应。该项目将展示一种方法来评估到2050年美国东南部ICI系统的相互依赖性和弹性。为了评估风险并提高ICI系统的恢复能力，该项目将包括五个相互关联的研究重点，每个重点都是一般的，然后应用于目标领域：社会背景：组织、社会、心理、法律、政治和经济方面的需求、愿望、资源和障碍是什么，与在电力和供水ICI系统中创造有弹性的、社会可接受的改进有关？2. 危害：气候变化和相关的极端天气事件将如何影响美国东南部的当地水文和由此引发的水风险？3. 脆弱性：2010年至2050年间，这些变化将如何影响东南部现有和未来电力和水供应ICI系统的短期运营和长期规划？4. 适应：2010年至2050年期间，在电力和供水ICI系统中进行的气候适应投资在技术和经济上是可行的？5. 沟通和可接受性：如何将这些分析结果传达给需要对其进行评估和采取行动的涉众？这项研究将促进个别科学（例如，数值模拟、自然灾害研究、影响评估、能源和水管理、决策科学）及其综合。这个项目将刺激学科之间的互动，这些学科之间通常有持续的合作机会，需要了解他们研究的相互影响，并开发解决这些接口的方法。对集成电路的共同关注将使这些社区能够开发所需的共同语言，以开发综合方法，丰富各自的领域，同时创造独特的联合产品。例如，提高对气候变化和极端天气事件的水文影响的了解将为从事气候评估工作的科学家提供信息，同时刺激必要的行为科学研究，以吸引负责在电力和供水ici中使用这些信息的利益相关者。同样，这个项目将促进研究整合控制和工程科学，因为他们适用于这些问题。它还将把科学传播研究扩展到解决ici提出的独特问题（例如，长期视野、复杂的相互作用），这些问题将由参与该项目的其他科学家的专业知识提供信息。该项目将支持三个不同机构的工程师、地球科学家和社会科学家之间的跨学科合作。该项目的一个主要目标是与利益相关者沟通，使其工作尽可能切合实际，并使他们参与整个过程，以便他们准备好看到其问题和结果对政策制定的影响。为此目的，该项目将包括针对气候/环境实体、公用事业公司、决策者和社区领袖、学术界和一般公众的外联活动。

This research will develop a general methodology to study climate change implications for the interdependent critical infrastructures (ICI) systems of water supply and electric power generation. Competing demands for water services affect the availability of water for the power sector (and hence its reliability), while reliable power supply is needed to operate the water supply system. This project will demonstrate a method for evaluating the interdependence and resiliency of ICI systems on the Southeast U.S. through 2050. In order to evaluate the risks and improve the resilience of the ICI systems, the project will include five interconnected research thrusts, each developed in general terms, then applied in the target area: 1. Social Context: What are the organizational, social, psychological, legal, political, and economic needs, wants, resources, and obstacles relevant to creating resilient, socially acceptable improvements in the electric power and water supply ICI systems? 2. Hazards: How will climate change and related extreme weather events affect local hydrology and thus water-induced risks in the southeastern U.S.? 3. Vulnerability: How will these changes affect short-term operations and long-term planning for existing and future electric power and water supply ICI systems in the Southeast between 2010 and 2050? 4. Adaptation: What are technically and economically feasible climate adaptation investments in the electric power and water supply ICI systems between 2010 and 2050? 5. Communication and acceptability: How can these analytical results be communicated to the stakeholders who will need to evaluate and act on them? This research will advance both the individual sciences (e.g., numerical modeling, natural hazards research, impact assessment, energy and water management, decision science) and their integration. This project will stimulate interactions between disciplines that infrequently have the sustained opportunities for the collaboration needed to understand the mutual implications of their research and to develop methods that address those interfaces. The shared focus on ICIs will allow these communities to develop the common language needed to develop the integrative methods that enrich the respective fields while creating unique joint products. For example, improved understanding of the hydrological impacts of climate change and extreme weather events will inform scientists working on climate assessment, while stimulating the behavioral science research needed to engage stakeholders responsible for using that information in electric power and water supply ICIs. Similarly, this project will prompt research integrating control and engineering science as they apply to these problems. It will also extend science communication research to grappling with the unique issues raised by ICIs (e.g., long-time horizons, complex interactions), informed by the expertise of the other scientists on the project. The project will support interdisciplinary collaboration among engineers, earth scientists, and social scientists at three different institutions. A primary goal of this project is to communicate with stakeholders so as to make its work as relevant as possible and to engage them throughout the process so that they are ready to see the implications of its questions and results for policy making. To that end, the project will include outreach activities targeting climate/environmental entities, utility companies, policy makers and community leaders, the academic community, and the general public.