NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Linking the Green Economy to the Blue Economy at the Coast

NSF 融合加速器轨道 E：将绿色经济与沿海蓝色经济联系起来

• 批准号: 2137891
• 负责人: Maya Trotz
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2137891&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Convergence; Accelerator; Track; Linking

The US Exclusive Economic Zone is a formal jurisdiction that extends the US territory 200 nautical miles from the coast into the ocean. It includes coastal and offshore areas covering nearly 4.4 million square miles in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This is about 15% larger than the US land mass and is the second largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. This zone supports major industries, like shipping, tourism, seafood, pharmaceuticals, oil, wind and other renewable energy, and national priority areas such as academic research and defense. Coastal areas are at the core of local recreation and many cultural activities. These activities translate into local jobs, with nearly 50% of the US population living in coastal watershed counties, but also farther away from any specific coastal region. Many coastal communities, both in the US and internationally, are at the forefront of impacts of climate change and upstream activities associated with land-based agriculture practices, other industries, and urbanization. Those upstream Green Economy activities have impacted water quantity and quality downstream, diminishing the ability of many coastal communities to develop the full and sustainable potential of their ocean-based Blue Economy. This research team will work with a diverse cross-section of coastal communities to co-develop solutions to these challenges and to improve their health and economy. Particular focus will be on the linkages between Blue-Green ‘frontline’ communities, which often are disadvantaged for a number of historical reasons, and face substantial challenges from climate change and human activities within each watershed. The “NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Linking the Green Economy to the Blue Economy at the Coast” project will examine links and opportunities to strengthen both the Blue economy of coastal frontline communities and Green economy activities of upstream communities, and develop a framework and platform for exchanging information to ultimately improve lives. This project will improve success in understanding and protecting coastal ecosystems, part of the US decadal vision to promote American security and prosperity. It will also create an ocean-literate workforce through public engagement.The “NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Linking the Green Economy to the Blue Economy at the Coast” project will combine expertise from social scientists, natural sciences including ecologists, and engineers and technologists to work with coastal frontline communities that are affected by Green economy activities in three watersheds of different geographic scales. The objectives are to: 1) Co-create inclusive mechanisms for dialogue and planning between coastal and upstream communities to better facilitate Blue and Green Economy opportunities, and identify new partners for developing our Blue-Green Accelerator platform; 2) Characterize linkages and dynamics between coastal and upstream communities and identify Blue and Green Economy tradeoffs, including other related tradeoffs such as water quality, health, or transportation connectivity; 3) Select a small number of information sets for prototype platform development, and identify linkages between, and scales of, natural and social processes relevant for frontline communities, 4) Deliver relevant scientific information co-developed with and for communities in an understandable, inclusive, and actionable form and assess its usage with frontline communities. The project objectives will be achieved through three case studies: a) Tampa Bay watershed water quality improvement which is a recognized success story; b) Salt River estuary in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a smaller estuary that is under intense pressure due to land development upstream; and c) a national-scale study with coastal communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico that requires action in the Mississippi River watershed. The project addresses National Academy of Engineering’s grand challenges of managing the nitrogen cycle, sequestering carbon, and restoring and improving urban infrastructure, as well as the five grand challenges for environmental engineering, especially that of fostering informed decisions and actions. The 13 member research team (6 women and 3 underrepresented minorities) represents two large academic institutions from the south and midwest with interdisciplinary food-energy-water systems National Research Traineeship programs (University of South Florida and the University of Iowa), one National Estuary Program (Tampa Bay Estuary Program), one local government entity (US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources), and one non-governmental organization committed to broadening participation in Marine Sciences (Black in Marine Science). The disciplinary expertise of the project includes researchers and practitioners from Anthropology, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Marine Science, with personnel who cover policy, community engaged research, ethnographic research, fisheries, systems dynamics, interdisciplinary education, big data, remote sensing, in situ monitoring, and public education and outreach. The principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion will guide all project activities. Three main workshops with diverse stakeholders and site visits for the targeted watersheds will result in valuable outputs (reports, multimedia, systems dynamics models, papers) that will be disseminated via conference and community presentations, and through dissemination pathways of the various partners. Recruitment of workshop participants will be done to ensure diverse perspectives from across the US, including those of early career scientists, and frontline community members.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.

美国专属经济区是一个正式管辖区，将美国领土从海岸延伸到海洋 200 海里。它包括大西洋和太平洋近 440 万平方英里的沿海和近海地区。这比美国国土面积大约15%，是世界第二大专属经济区。该园区支持航运、旅游、海鲜、制药、石油、风能和其他可再生能源等主要产业，以及学术研究和国防等国家优先领域。沿海地区是当地休闲和许多文化活动的核心。这些活动转化为当地就业机会，近 50% 的美国人口居住在沿海流域县，但也远离任何特定沿海地区。美国和国际上的许多沿海社区都处于气候变化以及与陆地农业实践、其他工业和城市化相关的上游活动影响的最前沿。这些上游绿色经济活动影响了下游的水量和质量，削弱了许多沿海社区充分开发其海洋蓝色经济的可持续潜力的能力。该研究团队将与沿海社区的不同领域合作，共同开发应对这些挑战的解决方案，并改善他们的健康和经济。 特别关注的是蓝绿“前线”社区之间的联系，这些社区往往由于许多历史原因而处于不利地位，并面临每个流域内气候变化和人类活动的巨大挑战。 “NSF融合加速器轨道E：将绿色经济与沿海蓝色经济联系起来”项目将研究加强沿海一线社区的蓝色经济和上游社区的绿色经济活动的联系和机会，并开发一个用于交换信息的框架和平台，以最终改善生活。 该项目将提高对沿海生态系统的理解和保护的成功率，这是美国促进美国安全与繁荣的十年愿景的一部分。它还将通过公众参与培养一支具有海洋素养的劳动力队伍。“NSF融合加速器轨道E：将绿色经济与沿海蓝色经济联系起来”项目将结合社会科学家、包括生态学家在内的自然科学以及工程师和技术人员的专业知识，与受不同地理规模的三个流域绿色经济活动影响的沿海前线社区合作。目标是： 1）共同创建沿海和上游社区之间对话和规划的包容性机制，以更好地促进蓝色和绿色经济机会，并寻找新的合作伙伴来开发我们的蓝绿加速器平台； 2) 描述沿海和上游社区之间的联系和动态，并确定蓝色和绿色经济的权衡，包括其他相关的权衡，例如水质、健康或交通连通性； 3) 选择少量信息集用于原型平台开发，并确定与一线社区相关的自然和社会过程之间的联系和规模，4) 以可理解、包容和可操作的形式提供与社区共同开发的相关科学信息，并评估其与一线社区的使用情况。该项目目标将通过三个案例研究来实现： a) 坦帕湾流域水质改善，这是公认的成功案例； b) 美属维尔京群岛的盐河河口，这是一个较小的河口，由于上游土地开发而承受着巨大的压力； c) 与墨西哥湾北部沿海社区进行一项全国范围的研究，需要在密西西比河流域采取行动。该项目解决了美国国家工程院在管理氮循环、固碳、恢复和改善城市基础设施方面面临的重大挑战，以及环境工程的五个重大挑战，特别是促进明智的决策和行动。研究团队由 13 名成员组成（6 名女性和 3 名少数族裔），代表来自南部和中西部的两个大型学术机构，拥有跨学科食品能源水系统国家研究实习计划（南佛罗里达大学和爱荷华大学）、一个国家河口计划（坦帕湾河口计划）、一个地方政府实体（美属维尔京群岛规划和自然资源部）以及一个致力于扩大参与的非政府组织 海洋科学（海洋科学中的黑人）。该项目的学科专业知识包括来自人类学、土木与环境工程、电气工程和海洋科学的研究人员和实践者，人员涵盖政策、社区参与研究、民族志研究、渔业、系统动力学、跨学科教育、大数据、遥感、现场监测以及公共教育和外展。多样性、公平和包容的原则将指导所有项目活动。由不同利益相关者参加的三个主要研讨会以及对目标流域的实地考察将产生有价值的成果（报告、多媒体、系统动力学模型、论文），这些成果将通过会议和社区演示以及各个合作伙伴的传播途径进行传播。研讨会参与者的招募将确保美国各地的不同观点，包括早期职业科学家和一线社区成员的观点。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。