NNA/Collaborative Research: Emergency Response in the Arctic (ERA): Investments for Global Capabilities and Local Benefits

北极正经历着明显更长时间的无冰、可通航的海洋季节，从而改变了在北极水域进行的活动类型。游船在西北航道上航行，阿拉斯加北坡附近正在进行石油勘探，北海航线上航行的货船数量也在增加。在阿拉斯加北极地区，这些旅游和工业活动将远离城市和工业中心的基础设施和资源，限制了北极水域发生紧急情况时的反应能力。由于所有这些原因，迫切需要改进北极应急响应（ERA），以满足对这些能力日益增长的需求。本研究的科学贡献是创建规范性决策模型，帮助确定在何时何地以及如何进行基础设施投资，以提高全球ERA能力，同时也为北极社区带来利益。由于改善ERA所需的基础设施将在当地北极社区建造和维护，因此该项目将涉及北极利益相关者，包括土著社区的代表，以指导研究并帮助传播其结果。该项目通过以下方式为NSF的新北极航行大构想做出了贡献：(1)通过提高ERA能力来保护人类和环境福利；(2)与当地和土著居民密切合作，共同了解如果ERA基础设施位于其中，可能为社区提供的利益类型。潜在的好处包括在本地管理铁路基建和调配资源、提供培训和劳动力发展机会，以及改善交通基建。这项研究将创建新的运筹学（OR）模型，该模型不仅说明了在何处以及何时进行基础设施投资以提高ERA能力，还说明了如何将这些投资适当地集成到它们所在的社区中。为了实现这一目标，该项目正在创建一种创新的方法，在这种方法中，与当地北极社区一起进行的社会科学研究可以为OR模型的创建提供信息，并在工作的后期阶段验证其结果。因此，本研究整合了OR和社会科学的方法，通过将当地专家知识纳入规划过程，将经济、社会、文化和技术可行性与可取性联系起来。本研究的结果将改变我们对如何设计对当地社区产生积极影响的环境影响评估系统的理解，在当地社区建立和维护配套基础设施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Arctic has been experiencing significantly longer ice-free, navigable maritime seasons, thereby changing the types of activities taking place in Arctic waters. Cruise ships are travelling through the Northwest Passage, oil exploration is occurring off the North Slope of Alaska, and the Northern Sea Route is seeing an increasing volume of cargo ships travelling through it. In Arctic Alaska, these tourism and industrial activities will occur far away from the infrastructure and resources of urban and industrial centers, limiting response capabilities when an emergency occurs in Arctic waters. For all of these reasons, there is a critical need to improve Emergency Response in the Arctic (ERA) to meet the increase in the demand for these capabilities. The scientific contribution of this research is to create prescriptive decision-making models that help to determine where, when, and how to make infrastructure investments to improve global ERA capabilities while also providing benefits to Arctic communities. Because the infrastructure required to improve ERA will be built and maintained in local Arctic communities, this project will involve Arctic stakeholders, including representatives from indigenous communities, to guide the research and help disseminate its results. This project contributes to the NSF's Big Idea on Navigating the New Arctic by: (1) safeguarding human and environmental welfare in increasing ERA capabilities and (2) working closely with local and indigenous populations to co-produce knowledge about the types of benefits potentially provided to communities should ERA infrastructure be located in them. Potential benefits include local management of ERA infrastructure and deployment of resources, training and workforce development opportunities, and improved transportation infrastructure.This research will create new Operations Research (OR) models that not only account for where and when to make infrastructure investments to improve ERA capabilities but how to properly integrate these investments into the communities where they are located. To accomplish this, this project is creating an innovative methodology where social science research done in conjunction with local Arctic communities is conducted in a way that informs the creation of the OR models and, in later stages of the work, validates their results. Therefore, this research integrates methods across OR and social science that link economic, social, cultural, and technical feasibility and desirability by incorporating expert local knowledge into the planning process. The results of this research will transform our understanding of how to design ERA systems that have positive impacts in the local communities where the supporting infrastructure is built and maintained.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.