INFEWS US-China: Creating Ocean Wave Powered Resilient FEW Systems in Saline Coastal Regions

本项目获国家科学基金/国家自然科学基金中国(国家自然科学基金委员会)环境可持续性挑战联合研究项目资助。由于人口增长和经济增长，相互关联的食物-能源-水(少数)需求正在增加。在美国和中国，有一种人口向海岸线集中的趋势。然而，由于海岸带是陆地、水和空气的交界处，受人类活动的影响很大，海岸生态系统的弹性很弱。沿海土地经常含有受盐分影响的土壤，因此这些土地不适合农业。开垦这些土地可以极大地提高全球粮食产量。然而，受盐分影响的土壤的开垦目前需要投入大量的淡水和能源。一个有希望的解决方案是在沿海地区进行海水淡化，但海水淡化需要大量的能源。该项目提出将波浪能作为可再生能源，用于海水淡化，用于海岸围垦。此外，为了优化围垦管理计划，将通过更深入地了解潮汐周期、社会和环境的变化如何影响沿海土壤-水-盐动态平衡，来建立NORE系统之间的供需关系。在这个美国和中国的合作项目中，来自弗吉尼亚理工大学、武汉理工大学中国和南京农业大学中国的五名来自多学科领域的研究人员将联手在盐碱地沿海地区创建一个自我可持续的NORE系统。该系统将通过三个创新领域的整合来实现：1)基于海浪能量的海水淡化系统，2)盐碱土壤的可持续复垦，3)海洋能源、淡水和沿海农业的结合。具体的研究任务包括：1)模拟和设计一种新型的海浪涌浪能量转换器和一个由海浪能驱动的海水淡化系统；(2)建立沿海盐-土-水平衡动态模型，优化沿海地区的土壤围垦管理和农业灌溉；(3)开发一个供需模型，以估计每个系统的最佳运行条件，并进行现场测试和验证。如果成功，拟议的研究将把传统的沿海农业从消耗淡水和能源的做法转变为一种自我可持续的、环境友好的做法，以平衡生态系统。拟议中的研究的成功可能会将美国数百万英亩受盐分影响的沿海土地转变为可耕地，而对这些土地目前在净化水、固碳、提供栖息地和支持娱乐方面的作用影响最小。此外，该项目将涉及美国和中国的合作，并为学生提供独特的国际教育体验。因此，拟议的自我可持续的少数系统可以作为一个示范，以激励世界各地的行业，并为国际合作提供一种新的途径，创造性地解决少数系统问题。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。

This project was awarded through the "National Science Foundation (NSF) / National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Joint Research on Environmental Sustainability Challenges" opportunity. Interconnected food-energy-water (FEW) demands are increasing due to increasing population and economic growth. In the US and China, there is a trend of population concentrated on the coastlines. However, the resilience of coastal ecosystems is weak since the coastal zone, an interface of land, water, and air, is greatly affected by human activities. Coastal lands frequently contain salt-affected soils rendering these lands unsuitable for agriculture. Reclamation of these lands could vastly improve worldwide food production. However, reclamation of salt-affected soils currently requires huge inputs of fresh water and energy. One promising solution is to desalinate seawater in coastal areas, but desalination requires a large amount of energy. This project proposes wave energy as the renewable energy source to desalinate seawater for coastal reclamation. Furthermore, to optimize a reclamation management plan, the demand-supply relationship between FEW Systems will be established through a stronger understanding of how the dynamic coastal soil-water-salt balance is impacted by changes in tidal cycles, society, and the environment.In this US-China collaborative project, five researchers in multidisciplinary areas from Virginia Tech, Wuhan University of Technology in China, and Nanjing Agricultural University in China will team up to create a self-sustainable FEW System in saline coastal regions. This system will be realized through the integration of three areas of innovation: 1) Wave energy-based seawater desalination systems, 2) sustainable reclamation of saline-sodic-alkaline soils, and 3) a nexus of ocean energy, freshwater, and coastal agriculture. Specific research tasks include: 1) Modeling and design of a novel ocean wave surge energy converter and an ocean wave energy powered desalination system; (2) Modeling of coastal salt-soil-water balance dynamics and optimizing soil reclamation management and agriculture irrigation specific to coastal regions; and (3) Development of a supply-demand model for the FEW System to estimate the optimal operation conditions for each system, followed by conducting field tests and verification. If successful, the proposed research will convert traditional coastal agriculture from a freshwater- and energy-consuming practice into a self-sustainable, environmentally friendly practice that balances ecosystems. Success of the proposed research can potentially convert millions of acres of salt-affected coastal lands in the US into arable lands, with minimal interference on the current roles of these lands to purify water, sequester carbon, provide habitat, and support recreation. Furthermore, this project will involve a collaboration between the US and China and provide unique international education experiences for students. Hence, the proposed self-sustainable FEW System can serve as a demonstration to inspire industry worldwide and provide a new avenue for international collaborations to creatively solve FEW System problems.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.