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

北极经历了长得多的无冰、可航行的海洋季节，从而改变了北极水域发生的活动类型。游轮正在通过西北航道，阿拉斯加北坡的石油勘探正在进行，北海航线上通过的货船数量正在增加。在北极阿拉斯加，这些旅游和工业活动将发生在远离城市和工业中心的基础设施和资源的地方，从而限制了北极水域发生紧急情况时的应对能力。由于所有这些原因，迫切需要改进北极应急反应(ERA)，以满足对这些能力日益增长的需求。这项研究的科学贡献是创建规范的决策模型，帮助确定在哪里、何时以及如何进行基础设施投资，以提高全球环境资源评估能力，同时也为北极社区提供好处。由于改善ERA所需的基础设施将在当地北极社区建设和维护，因此该项目将涉及北极利益攸关方，包括土著社区的代表，以指导研究并帮助传播其成果。该项目通过：(1)通过提高环境保护能力来保护人类和环境福利，以及(2)与当地和土著居民密切合作，共同产生关于如果环境保护基础设施位于社区内，可能为社区提供的利益类型的知识，从而为国家科学基金会关于导航新北极的大想法做出贡献。这项研究将创建新的运筹学(OR)模型，不仅考虑何时何地进行基础设施投资以提高ERA能力，而且还考虑如何将这些投资适当地整合到他们所在的社区中。为了实现这一点，该项目正在创建一种创新的方法，其中与当地北极社区一起进行的社会科学研究以一种方式为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，这项研究整合了运筹学和社会科学的方法，通过将专业的当地知识纳入规划过程，将经济、社会、文化和技术的可行性和可取性联系起来。这项研究的结果将改变我们对如何设计在建设和维护支持基础设施的当地社区产生积极影响的ERA系统的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，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 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.