EAGER: Development of a learning community focused on sea-level rise and coastal habitat change

海平面上升正在影响沿海海岸线，淹没了沼泽，海水渗入沿海的森林、农场和城市。本世纪内，海平面上升将影响全球5%的海岸线人口和10%的全球国内生产总值。再加上沿海湿地的预计损失，海平面上升将使社区更容易受到洪水和经济中断的影响。在过去的十年里，随着沿海科学家观察到美国东北部沿海湿地和海洋森林日益减少的迹象，海岸恢复项目的目标几乎完全转向适应海平面上升。沿海沼泽在减轻海平面上升的这些影响方面发挥了关键作用，但它们本身也很容易受到水位上升的影响。需要进行基础研究，以了解海平面上升对沼泽和邻近沿海地区的影响，以及可以做些什么来增强它们的复原力。这一热切的奖项将为沿海沼泽死亡的过程提供新的和重要的见解，并通过扩大到邻近的森林和田野来增强沼泽复原力的潜在机制。通过实地采样和遥感，该奖项将衡量海水上升对沼泽和邻近森林和田野的影响。这项研究的一个重要和创造性的组成部分是，通过创建一个专注于拟议研究的指导网络，让代表不足的群体参与进来。这一奖项具有很高的潜力，可以对海平面上升对美国东北部沿海沼泽系统弹性的影响产生变革性的理解。通过对水文应激源的现场评估和遥感地理空间分析的新组合，该奖项将评估最近的水文和生态原因以及海平面上升的后果。通过结合新技术(例如，无人机飞行、低成本压力传感器、GEOBIA、机器学习算法)，这项研究将提供对水文因素如何驱动沿海生境转变的新理解，这可以为如何成功地应用干预措施来保护沿海生境以保护野生动物和减轻洪水的价值提供重要信息。除了了解导致沼泽消亡的因素外，这一奖项的一个特别独特的方面是了解沼泽入侵邻近陆地系统的水文和生物地球化学机制。这项研究采用了一种稳健的方法来理解这些过程发生的时间和空间尺度。该奖项将开发一个创新的指导网络框架，以吸引服务不足的学生参与河口研究。通过采用接近同行的队列方法进行培训，学生将从身临其境的资助研究体验和支持性研究社区中受益。广泛的培训计划包括专业研讨会、教育研讨会和其他专业提升活动(年度专业会议、参加专业网络)。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。

Rising sea levels are affecting coastal shorelines by drowning marshes and sea water seeping into forests, farms, and cities along the coasts. Within this century rising sea water will affect 5% of the global population living along the coastline and 10% of the global gross domestic product. When combined with projected coastal wetland loss, rising sea levels will make communities more susceptible to flooding and economic disruptions. Over the past decade, as coastal scientists have observed signs of increasing decline in coastal wetlands and maritime forests of the U.S. Northeast, the goal of coastal restoration projects has shifted almost completely towards adaptation to sea level rise. Coastal marshes play a key role in mitigating these effects of sea level rise but are themselves vulnerable to rising water. Fundamental research is needed to understand how sea level rise affects marshes and adjacent coastal areas and what can be done to make them more resilient. This EAGER award will provide novel and important insights into the processes responsible for coastal marsh die-off and potential mechanisms to enhance marsh resilience through expansion into adjacent forests and fields. Through field sampling and remote sensing this award will measure the means by which sea water rise affects both the marsh and adjacent forests and fields. An important and creative component of the research is the engagement of under-represented groups through the creation of a mentoring network focused on the proposed research.This award has high potential for producing a transformative understanding of the effects of sea level rise on the resilience of coastal marsh systems in the northeastern US. Through a novel combination of insitu assessment of hydrologic stressors and remote sensing geospatial analyses, the award will assess the proximate hydrologic and ecological causes and consequences of sea level rise. By combining new technology (e.g., UAV flights, low cost pressure transducers, GEOBIA, machine learning algorithms), the research will provide a new understanding of how hydrologic factors drive coastal habitat transitions, which can provide important information on how interventions can be applied successfully to conserve coastal habitats for wildlife and flood mitigation values. In addition to understanding the factors responsible for marsh die off, a particularly unique aspect of this EAGER award is understanding the hydrologic and biogeochemical mechanisms by which transgression of the marsh into adjacent terrestrial systems occurs. The research takes a robust approach to understanding the temporal and spatial scales over which these processes occur. This award will develop an innovative mentoring network framework to engage under-served students in estuarine research. By taking a near-peer cohort approach to training the students will benefit from immersive funded research experiences and a supportive research community. The expansive training plan includes professional workshops, education workshops, and other professional enhancement activities (annual professional meetings, participation in professional networks).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.