Development of a Strategic Plan for the William C. Webb Coastal Research Station

该项目的目标是为威廉·C·韦伯海岸研究站的使用制定一个5年的战略计划，这是一个由北佛罗里达大学(UNF)在佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔运营的新建立的生物野外站。韦伯站是一块1050英亩的未开发盐沼栖息地，位于佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔和圣奥古斯丁之间的大西洋海岸内水道的东侧。正如世界大部分地区在观看2017年9月飓风伊尔玛的有线电视新闻片段时所观察到的那样，杰克逊维尔像许多美国沿海城市一样，由于极端天气事件、海平面上升和其他沿海压力的综合影响，面临着沿海洪水的重大威胁。韦伯中心的目的是利用这个“活的实验室”作为测试减少沿海洪水的新方法的场所，并使海岸线社区对其影响更具“弹性”。这将通过联合国基金会海岸和海洋生物学家与该大学泰勒工程研究所的海岸工程师合作，在新兴的海岸复原力领域建立一个世界级的研究项目来实现。除了引领减少沿海洪灾的新努力，韦伯中心还将大力参与教育所有年级的学生和普通公众关于其风险的教育，根据美国地质调查局2017年4月的一份报告，这些风险被认为威胁到世界上近四分之一的S人口的生存。该中心规划拨款的目标是支持空间站研究和教育用途的五年战略计划的制定。为实现该项目的目标，该大学提议：对目前正在运作的4个沿海研究站进行教员现场访问，以确定Webb站的潜在可取特征，并了解成功运作生物野外站的“最佳做法”；由4名在生物野外站管理方面有经验的外部科学家进行调查访问，以获得他们在查明基础设施需要和业务/管理要求、潜在的研究和教育方案以及Webb站可能使其有别于其他沿海研究站的独特功能方面的专家协助；并建立一个咨询委员会，由联合国基金会教职员工和管理人员以及来自其他地区学院和大学、当地非正式科学教育设施、社区团体、K-12学校、市/州/联邦政策制定者和其他参与海岸研究、工程和保护的机构的代表组成，以利用从教职员工实地访问和访问专家建议中获得的信息，指导制定五年战略计划。拟议为韦伯站开展的活动将促进对沿海生物和工程领域的了解和发现，同时促进未来沿海科学专业人员的教育和职业发展，并发展一个更懂海洋的社区。有关监督韦伯中心发展的联合国基金会海岸和海洋生物学旗舰项目的更多信息，请访问：https://www.unf.edu/coas/biology/coastal_biology/about.aspxThis奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

The goal of this project is to develop a 5-year strategic plan for the use of the William C. Webb Coastal Research Station, a newly-established biological field station operated by the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, FL. The Webb Station is a 1,050-acre parcel of undeveloped salt marsh habitat located on the eastern side of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, FL. As much of the world observed while watching cable news footage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, Jacksonville, like many U.S. coastal cities, faces significant threats from coastal flooding due to the combined effects of extreme weather events, sea level rise, and other coastal stressors. The intended purpose of the Webb Center is to use this "living laboratory" as a location for testing new approaches for reducing coastal flooding and making shoreline communities more "resilient" to its effects. This will be accomplished by teaming UNF Coastal and Marine Biologists with Coastal Engineers from the University's Taylor Engineering Research Institute to establish a world-class research program in newly-growing field of Coastal Resilience. In addition to spearheading new efforts to reduce coastal flooding, the Webb Center will also be heavily involved in educating students at all grade levels and members of the general public about its risks which, based on an April 2017 report by the U.S. Geological Survey, are believed to threaten the survival of nearly a quarter of the world?s population.The goal of this FSML planning grant is to support the development of a 5-year strategic plan for the research and educational use of the station. To accomplish the goal of this project, the University proposes to: conduct faculty site visits to 4 currently operating coastal research stations to identify potential desirable features for the Webb station and learn about "best practices" for the operation of a successful biological field station; host survey visits by 4 external scientists experienced in the management of biological field stations to obtain their expert assistance in identifying infrastructure needs and operational/management requirements, potential research and educational programs, and unique features of the Webb Station that could potentially set it apart from other coastal research stations; and establish an Advisory Board consisting of UNF faculty and administrators and representatives from other regional colleges and universities, local informal science education facilities, community groups, K-12 schools, city/state/federal policymakers, and other agencies involved in coastal research, engineering, and conservation to guide the development of a 5-year strategic plan, making use of information obtained from faculty site visits and visiting expert recommendations. Proposed activities for the Webb Station will advance understanding and discovery in the field of coastal biology and engineering while promoting the education and career development of future coastal science professionals and the development of a more Ocean-literate community. More about UNF Coastal and Marine Biology Flagship Program, which oversees the development of the Webb Center, can be viewed at: https://www.unf.edu/coas/biology/coastal_biology/about.aspxThis 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.