Wetland facility for the University of Houston Coastal Center

该项目将在休斯顿大学现有的野外观测站休斯顿大学海岸中心(UHCC)建造一个湿地研究设施，即休斯顿大学(UH)野生动物/水研究湿地观测站(UH WOW)。这一地理区域目前还没有湿地研究设施。研究人员被迫在水箱中工作，因为水箱太小，无法回答许多问题，或者在天然池塘中工作，水池的数量有限，大小不一，只允许进行有限范围的实验操作。拟议的设施将通过允许大规模重复实验来满足这一研究需求，并将扩大UCC在包括生态学、水质和防洪在内的广泛学科的研究能力。拟建的设施将允许轻松定制和控制每个湿地的水位，使研究人员能够在开放湿地环境中的受控条件下测试假设，并推动在理解生态学、水文学和水质方面取得根本性进展。拟议中的实验湿地将提供一个独特的设施，使休斯顿地区(包括休斯顿大学、UH市中心、UH Clear Lake、莱斯大学、德克萨斯A&A；M加尔维斯顿)、3小时车程内(德克萨斯A&A；M、贝勒、德克萨斯大学奥斯汀)以及更广泛地理区域的研究人员受益。该设施还将改善休斯顿大都市区大学的本科生和研究生教育，包括那些缺乏主要研究基础设施的大学，如休斯敦糖地大学和圣托马斯大学。研究生和本科生将有更多的机会参与该设施的研究。到UCC进行实地考察的班级将能够观看湿地，并讨论实验科学和湿地的生态重要性。在一些湿地不用于研究的情况下，它们将提供给进行实地活动的学生团体进行采样。UCC改善本科生和研究生教育的好处将对代表人数不足的少数群体特别重要。UH Downtown是一所为拉美裔服务的机构，也是美国第二大种族多元化的主要研究型大学，UH Downtown的学生群体也非常多样化。该设施还将通过提供新的机会，与参观休斯顿大学海岸中心的K-12和其他公众团体讨论实验研究、防洪和湿地的价值，从而改善公共教育。该项目将包括休斯顿大学海岸中心(http://www.uhcc.uh.edu/).)的一系列湿地湿地将在地表以下约1.6米处挖掘，地点以非本地草木为主。池塘的底部将铺上一层薄膜，池塘里将回填一些挖掘出来的土壤。其余挖掘出来的泥土将用来在湿地边缘周围形成护堤。湿地将单独铺设管道，并使用远程操作阀门进行控制，以便轻松地灌水、排水和控制水位。由于水位将是可调的，每个湿地可以根据不同研究项目的需要作为池塘、湿地或湿地发挥作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The project will construct a wetlands research facility, the University of Houston (UH) Wetland Observatory for Wildlife/Water research (UH WOW), at the University of Houston's existing field station, the University of Houston Coastal Center (UHCC). No wetlands research facility currently exists in this geographic area. Investigators are forced to work in tanks, which are too small for many questions, or in natural ponds, which are limited in number, vary in size and allow only a limited range of experimental manipulations. The proposed facility will address this research need by allowing replicated experiments at a large scale, and will expand the research capabilities of the UHCC in a wide range of disciplines, including ecology, water quality and flood control. The proposed facility will allow easy customization and control of the water level in each wetland, enabling researchers to test hypotheses under controlled conditions in open wetland environments, and spurring fundamental advances in understanding ecology, hydrology, and water quality. The proposed experimental wetlands will provide a unique facility that will benefit researchers from a variety of institutions in the Houston area (including UH, UH Downtown, UH Clear Lake, Rice University, Texas A&M Galveston), within a 3 hour drive (Texas A&M, Baylor, UT Austin), and over a broader geographic area. The facility will also improve undergraduate and graduate education at universities in the Houston metropolitan area, including those that lack major research infrastructure, such as UH Sugar Land and the University of St. Thomas. Graduate and undergraduate students will have increased opportunities to participate in research at the facility. Classes taking field trips to the UHCC will be able to view the wetlands and discuss experimental science and the ecological importance of wetlands. On occasions when some wetlands are not in use for research, they will be available for sampling by student groups conducting field activities. The benefits of improved undergraduate and graduate education at the UHCC will be particularly important for under-represented minorities. UH is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the second most ethnically diverse major research university in the United States, and UH Downtown also has a very diverse student body. The facility will also improve public education by providing new opportunities to discuss experimental research, flood control, and the value of wetlands with K-12 and other public groups visiting the UH Coastal Center.The project will consist of an array of wetlands at the University of Houston Coastal Center (http://www.uhcc.uh.edu/). The wetlands will be excavated ~1.6 m below the soil surface at a site dominated by non-native grass and trees. A membrane will line the bottom of the ponds, which will be back filled with some of the excavated soil. The remaining excavated dirt will be used to form berms around the wetland edges. The wetlands will be individually plumbed and controlled with remotely-operated valves, allowing easy filling, draining, and control of water level. Because the water level will be adjustable, each wetland can be filled or drained to function as a pond, wetland or wet grassland as needed for different research projects.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.