RII Track 1: Water Security in Delaware's Changing Coastal Environment

世界上许多沿海地区已经进入了一个关键时期，多重威胁危及水安全，水安全的定义是一个社会保障充足、可持续数量的高质量水的能力。在特拉华州，对水安全的威胁主要与水质有关，而不是与数量有关，主要是由人类行为引起的，无论是农业径流、家庭废物、海水涌入导致的盐度增加，还是人类足迹扩大导致的生态系统退化。该项目旨在了解特拉华州水质的主要威胁，并制定技术和政策解决方案，以应对这些威胁带来的挑战。该项目的合作机构——特拉华大学、特拉华州立大学、特拉华技术社区学院和韦斯利学院——提出了一个由人员、机构、数据和技术组成的管辖网络，旨在加强人类、经济和生态系统健康的水安全。该项目的教育和培训任务将培养一支多样化的劳动力队伍，能够解决特拉华州和世界各地的水安全挑战。技术描述该项目将工程科学、自然科学和社会科学相结合，用于预测水资源与人的耦合行为。变革战略包括先进数据分析的应用、新传感器技术的开发和部署，以及新技术和新模型的使用。威胁评估研究的重点将增加对盐渍化机制、盐度对养分流动的影响、养分在沿海流域的运输模式以及由此产生的生物地球化学影响和生态压力的科学认识。解决方案发展重点将获得制定有效和社会可接受的解决方案所需的行为和政策见解。社会层面推力的产出将包括预警系统、决策支持工具、利益攸关方和合作伙伴的参与，以及为制定循证政策和规划提供信息。该项目还将通过开发廉价的水质传感器、微生物组分析方法以及新颖的数据服务和分析，建立一个横切的岩心推力，使其与其他三个推力相互作用。教育、外展、劳动力发展和多元化计划，以及强大的全州合作伙伴关系，是所有其他项目活动的基础。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technical DescriptionMany coastal regions of the world have entered a critical period when multiple threats endanger water security, defined as the capacity of a society to safeguard adequate, sustainable quantities of high-quality water. In Delaware, threats to water security relate primarily to water quality rather than quantity, and arise largely due to human behavior, whether from agriculture run-off, household wastes, increased salinity due to the influx of seawater, or degradation of ecological systems from an expanding human footprint. This project aims to understand the major threats to Delaware's water quality and develop technical and policy solutions for meeting the challenges imposed by them. The project's partner institutions - the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College, and Wesley College - propose a jurisdictional network of people, institutions, data, and technologies directed at enhancing water security for human, economic, and ecosystem health. The project's educational and training mission will develop a diverse workforce capable of addressing water security challenges in Delaware and around the world.Technical DescriptionThis project integrates engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences to predict the often-coupled behavior of water resources and people. Transformative strategies to be used include the application of advanced data analytics, the development and deployment of new sensor technologies, and the use of new techniques and models. The threat assessment research thrust will increase scientific knowledge of salinization mechanisms, salinity effects on nutrient mobility, modes of transport of nutrients across coastal watersheds, and the resulting biogeochemical impacts and ecological stresses. The solution development thrust will obtain behavioral and policy insights needed for the development of effective and socially acceptable solutions. The social dimensions thrust's outputs will include early warning systems, decision-support tools, engagement of stakeholders and partners, and information for the development of evidence-based policies and programs. The project will also establish a crosscutting enabling cores thrust to interact with the other three thrusts by developing inexpensive water quality sensors, microbiome analysis methods, and novel data services and analytics. Education, outreach, workforce development, and diversity programs, along with strong statewide partnerships, are the foundation of all other project activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.