RAPID: Characterizing the Sedimentary Archive of the Longest Mississippi River Flood on Record, while Implementing a New Model for Inclusive Undergraduate Geoscience Research

RAPID：描述有记录以来最长的密西西比河洪水的沉积档案，同时实施包容性本科地球科学研究的新模式

• 批准号: 2005439
• 负责人: Anjali Fernandes
• 金额: $ 19.99万
• 依托单位: Denison University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-12-15 至 2023-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2005439&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Characterizing; Sedimentary; Archive; Longest

Vast areas of the Mississippi River Delta are rapidly disappearing due to subsidence, dwindling sediment supply, and rising sea levels. Billions of federal dollars are currently invested in mitigation strategies to combat land loss in coastal Louisiana. These strategies include the construction of engineered diversions to direct sediment-laden flood waters to regions that have sunk beneath sea-level. In response to these urgent needs, the basic science that underpins these strategies must be advanced apace. The spring flood of 2019 lasted several months and prompted the opening of Bonnet Carre Spillway to protect New Orleans from flooding. The diverted floodwaters constructed a large deposit in the spillway. This grant supports 17 undergraduate researchers and 4 early-career investigators to collect, archive and analyze sediment data from this deposit, which serves as an analog for engineered land construction. Querying the 2019 Mississippi River flood deposits that fill Bonnet Carre Spillway will: 1) advance our understanding of the hydrodynamic controls on the sedimentary architecture of floodplain deposits, and 2) bolster models that predict the dynamics of basin filling at the outlets of sediment diversions using these hydrodynamic variables. Analyzing data from this deposit will allow the investigators to address fundamental questions in coastal restoration science. Creative scientific solutions for a diverse society require a diverse scientific workforce. The geoscience community must create accessible research opportunities that will include African American, Hispanic and Native American students, who currently comprise less than 9 percent of all students enrolled in geoscience graduate programs. This grant will improve diversity in the future geoscience workforce through targeted recruiting efforts and alliances with institutions in under-served communities. The funding facilitates an inclusive field research experience by providing financial assistance for students and opportunities to analyze collected data at home institutions amongst students’ communities. This undergraduate research framework is intended as a template for fostering diversity and inclusion in Earth science. This research will provide training for undergraduate researchers in traditional methods in sedimentology and advanced techniques in digital data collection and quantitative analysis, thereby delivering training in data-analysis to a diverse cohort of students preparing to join the STEM workforce.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.

由于下沉、沉积物供应减少和海平面上升，密西西比河三角洲的大片地区正在迅速消失。目前，数十亿美元的联邦资金被投资于缓解路易斯安那州沿海地区土地流失的战略。这些战略包括建造工程改道，将含沙洪水引向已沉入海平面以下的地区。为了应对这些紧迫的需求，支撑这些战略的基础科学必须迅速发展。2019年春季洪水持续了几个月，促使Bonnet Carre溢洪道开放，以保护新奥尔良免受洪水侵袭。分流的洪水在溢洪道上形成了一大块淤积。这笔赠款支持17名本科生研究人员和4名职业生涯早期的研究人员收集、存档和分析来自该沉积物的沉积物数据，该沉积物类似于工程土地建设。对2019年密西西比河洪水堆积充填Bonnet Carre溢洪道的质疑将：1)促进我们对洪水平原沉积结构的水动力控制的理解，2)支持使用这些水动力变量预测泥沙分流出口盆地充填动力学的模型。分析来自这个沉积物的数据将使研究人员能够解决海岸恢复科学中的基本问题。多样化社会的创造性科学解决方案需要一支多样化的科学队伍。地球科学界必须创造可获得的研究机会，其中将包括非洲裔美国人、西班牙裔美国人和美洲原住民学生，目前他们在地球科学研究生项目注册的所有学生中所占比例不到9%。这笔赠款将通过有针对性的招聘工作和与服务不足社区的机构结盟，改善未来地球科学工作人员的多样性。这笔资金通过为学生提供财政援助和在学生社区的家庭机构中分析收集的数据的机会，促进了包容性的实地研究体验。这一本科生研究框架旨在作为促进地球科学多样性和包容性的模板。这项研究将为本科生研究人员提供沉积学传统方法和数字数据收集和定量分析方面的先进技术的培训，从而为准备加入STEM工作的不同学生提供数据分析方面的培训。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。

项目成果

"Enriching Lives within Sedimentary Geology": Actionable Recommendations for Making SEPM a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Society for All Sedimentary Geologists

• DOI: 10.2110/sedred.2020.3.4
• 发表时间: 2020-09
• 期刊: The Sedimentary Record
• 作者: A. Fernandes;A. Abeyta;R. Mahon;R. Martindale;K. Bergmann;C. Jackson;T. Present;D. Reano;T. Swanson;K. Butler;Sarah K. Brisson;C. Johnson;D. Mohrig;M. Blum