NNA Planning: Community-based Mitigation and Adaptive Strategies for River Flooding and Erosion in Alaska Native Communities

航行新北极(NNA)是NSF的十大想法之一。NNA项目解决了快速变化的北极地区汇聚的科学挑战。这项北极研究需要为国家、更大区域和全球的经济、安全和韧性提供信息。NNA增强了从地方到国际的新的研究伙伴关系，使下一代北极研究人员多样化，加强正式和非正式教育的努力，并在适当的情况下整合共同创造知识。该奖项通过支持具有明显潜力的规划活动来实现这一目标的一部分，以开发新的、前沿的研究想法和方法来解决NNA的目标。它整合了 自然环境、建成环境和社会系统的各个方面， 解决了重要的社会挑战， 创造了重要的教育机会， 与当地和土著社区接触。位于阿拉斯加育空-库斯科维姆(Y-K)三角洲的许多阿拉斯加原住民(AN)村庄受到了暴雨、融化的积雪和河冰堵塞导致河岸侵蚀的大量洪水事件的影响。社区已经开始制定灾害和适应计划，但许多社区缺乏预测洪水和侵蚀风险所需的准确模型。目前，预测Y-K三角洲洪水和侵蚀所需的模型有限，部分原因是该地区的数据很少，河流数量很多，农村地区缺乏监测设备。此外，气候缓解战略往往没有纳入当地文化或社区优先事项；事实上，它们往往只反映技术决定。迫切需要在当地知识、工程和科学方法的汇合点上确定解决办法。将实地测量和数据与土著知识结合起来，可以指导对迫在眉睫的威胁做出更好的反应，例如将迫在眉睫的受威胁的房屋搬迁到远离侵蚀的海岸线或将建筑物提升到洪水线以上。这项规划赠款是朝着解决Y-K三角洲地区村庄的洪水和侵蚀风险这一长期目标迈出的第一步。该项目创建了集水文建模、土壤特性和土著知识于一身的方法和工具；这些工具对于保护居民免受环境威胁是必要的。该项目利用不同领域的专业知识来组建一支研究团队，在不同领域之间架起桥梁，这些领域包括物理和工程系统(土木工程)、自然和生态系统(大气科学、洪水、地貌学)和社会系统(人类学)。该项目团队培训学生，包括阿拉斯加原住民学生，学习以社区为基础的方法，共同产生和共同产生数据和科学方法。这些融合的方法承诺提高我们对北极条件变化导致的灾害缓解和适应规划的理解，并开始组建一个新的研究社区，该社区在地理和学科上都是多样化和综合性的。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。

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. This Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, enhances efforts in formal and informal education, and integrates the co-production of knowledge where appropriate. This award fulfills part of that aim by supporting planning activities with clear potential to develop novel, leading edge research ideas and approaches to address NNA goals. It integrates aspects of the natural environment, built environment, and social systems, and addresses important societal challenges, builds significant educational opportunities, and engages with local and Indigenous communities.Many Alaska Native (AN) villages located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta in Alaska have been affected by a large number of flooding events due to torrential rains, melting snow packs, and river ice jams causing erosion along riverbanks. Communities have begun developing hazard and adaptation plans, however many communities lack accurate models that are needed to predict flooding and erosion risk. Currently, models required to forecast flooding and erosion in the Y-K Delta are limited, due in part to the minimal data in the region, the large number of rivers, and the lack of monitoring equipment in rural areas. Furthermore, too often climate mitigation strategies do not incorporate local cultures or community priorities; in fact, they often reflect technical decisions only. The need is urgent to identify solutions at the convergence of local knowledge and engineering and scientific approaches. Convergence of field measurements and data with Indigenous knowledge can guide better responses to immediate threats, such as relocating imminently threatened homes away from an eroding shoreline or elevating buildings above flood lines.This planning grant is the first step toward a long-term goal of addressing flooding and erosion risks in AN villages in the Y-K Delta region. The project creates methodologies and tools at the intersection of hydrologic modeling, soil characterization and Indigenous knowledge; these tools are necessary to protect AN residents from the environmental threats. This project draws from diverse areas of expertise to assemble a team of researchers that bridge distinct areas, including physical and engineering systems (civil engineering), natural and ecological systems (atmospheric sciences, flooding, geomorphology) and social systems (anthropology). The project team trains students, including Alaska Native students, in community-based methods for co-generation and co-production of data and scientific methods. These convergent approaches promise to improve our understanding of hazard mitigation and adaptation planning due to changing Arctic conditions, and commence the assembly of a new research community which is geographically and disciplinarily diverse and integrative.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.