Wetland facility for the University of Houston Coastal Center

该项目将在休斯顿大学现有的休斯敦大学海岸中心（UHCC）现场站建设一个湿地研究设施，即休斯顿大学（UH）野生动物/水研究湿地观测站（UH WOW）。该地理区域目前没有湿地研究设施。研究人员被迫在水箱中工作，因为水箱太小，无法解决许多问题；或者在天然池塘中工作，因为天然池塘数量有限，大小不一，只能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UHCC在广泛学科领域的研究能力，包括生态学、水质和洪水控制。该设施将使每个湿地的水位易于定制和控制，使研究人员能够在开放湿地环境的受控条件下测试假设，并促进对生态学、水文学和水质的理解取得根本性进展。拟议的实验湿地将提供一个独特的设施，使休斯顿地区（包括休斯敦大学、休斯敦大学市区、休斯敦大学清湖分校、莱斯大学、德克萨斯农工大学加尔维斯顿分校）的各种机构的研究人员受益，在3小时车程内（德克萨斯农工大学、贝勒大学、德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校），并在更广泛的地理区域内。该设施还将改善休斯顿大都会地区大学的本科和研究生教育，包括那些缺乏主要研究基础设施的大学，如休格兰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UHCC进行实地考察的课程将能够看到湿地，并讨论实验科学和湿地的生态重要性。在某些湿地不作研究用途的情况下，学生团体可在湿地进行实地考察活动。UHCC改善本科和研究生教育的好处对代表性不足的少数民族尤为重要。UH是一个为西班牙裔服务的机构，是美国第二多种族的研究型大学，UH Downtown也有一个非常多样化的学生群体。该设施还将通过提供与K-12和其他访问UH海岸中心的公共团体讨论实验研究，洪水控制和湿地价值的新机会来改善公众教育。该项目将包括休斯顿大学海岸中心的一系列湿地（http://www.uhcc.uh.edu/）。湿地将在土壤表面以下1.6 m处挖掘，地点以非本地草和树木为主。池塘的底部将铺上一层膜，然后将挖出的一些土壤填满。剩余的挖掘泥土将被用来在湿地边缘形成护堤。这些湿地将单独铺设管道，并通过远程操作阀门进行控制，这样可以方便地填充、排水和控制水位。由于水位是可调节的，每个湿地都可以根据不同的研究项目的需要填满或排干，作为池塘、湿地或湿草地。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。

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.