HSD SGER: The Role of Coastal Ecosystem Degradation in Tsunami Damage

这项研究包括一个跨学科的调查小组，将审查沿海生态系统的潜在海啸缓解效益。最近的海啸灾难造成的大规模破坏和生命损失为探讨生态系统退化与损害之间的联系提供了一个重要机会。虽然灾害领域对这些联系的关注令人惊讶地有限，但对沿海生态系统在减轻海啸影响方面的作用的关注更少。这项研究将在几个相互关联的任务进行：1）确定3至6对匹配的网站（2）检查每对匹配的遥感图像，以确定损失与生态系统完整性之间的联系; 3）对一个配对进行实地调查，对遥感数据进行验证和提炼，评估灾害背景和环境规划机构对生态系统保护的影响; 4）分析和综合多种数据来源，以确定环境退化对灾害损失的影响。这项研究将深入了解生态系统退化的作用、作为研究工具的遥感以及作为缓解战略的环境保护。这些见解应该对面临海啸风险的美国和加拿大社区特别感兴趣。调查这些联系是非常适当的，因为许多实地数据是短暂的，必须在灾后立即收集。这项研究由人类和社会动力学（HSD）优先领域，国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）和地震工程模拟网络（NEES）计划共同支持。

This study includes an interdisciplinary team of investigators that will examine the potential tsunami mitigation benefits of coastal ecosystems. The massive destruction and loss of life caused by the recent tsunami disaster offers a significant opportunity to explore the links between ecosystem degradation and damage. While the disaster field has given surprisingly limited attention to these links, even less attention has been given to the role of coastal ecosystems in mitigating tsunami impacts. The study will be carried out over several interrelated tasks: 1) identify 3 to 6 matched pairs of sites (high versus low environmental degradation) within the tsunami impact zone; 2) examine remote sensing images of each matched pair to determine links between losses ecosystem integrity; 3) conduct field investigation of one matched pair to verify and refine remote sensing data, and assess influence of the context of the disaster and environmental planning institutions in ecosystem protection; and 4) analyze and synthesize multiple sources of data to determine the influence of environmental degradation on disaster losses. The study will provide insights into role of ecosystem degradation, remote sensing as a research tool, and environmental conservation as a mitigation strategy. These insights should be of particular interest to U.S. and Canadian communities at risk to tsunamis. Investigation of these links is highly appropriate since much of the field data are ephemeral and must be gathered during the immediate disaster aftermath. This research is supported jointly by the Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) priority area, the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE), and the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Program.