Conference: Salt contamination of water supplies in tidal rivers

获得清洁和安全的饮用水对公共卫生和经济繁荣至关重要。美国大约70%的饮用水来自地表水，包括河口的潮汐淡水区。干旱、海平面上升、流域和港口工程以及土地利用的变化正日益威胁着沿海地区的水供应，因为盐碱化的风险越来越大。这种风险延伸到沿海地区用于热电发电、灌溉和工业生产的取水。该项目将汇集一个由研究人员和利益相关者组成的跨学科团队，以评估潮汐河流供水受到盐污染的风险，综合目前的认识并确定知识差距。更好地了解气候和其他人为因素对水供应的影响，将有助于加强水基础设施的复原力和保护公众健康。将组织一系列的虚拟网络小组和面对面的研讨会来评估这一新兴主题的科学。在美国和世界各地的潮汐河流的盐水入侵和淡水盐碱化的案例研究将被讨论和综合。研讨会将汇集国内和国际社会的不同研究人员，他们致力于潮汐河流供水盐污染的跨学科方面，包括资深和早期职业科学家、博士后研究员和研究生。讲习班将包括外联活动，与参与水管理、养护、饮用水处理业务的利益攸关方接触，并将包括依赖淡水资源的农业、工业、市政和发电部门的参与者。总体目标有两个：(1)发表一篇系统综述论文，综合当前对这一跨学科主题的理解，并找出主要的知识缺口；(2)编写一份前瞻性的研讨会报告，以建立研究愿景并指导未来沿海地区供水盐污染的研究活动。该奖项由水文科学和物理海洋学项目共同资助。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。

Access to clean and safe drinking water is critical to public health and economic prosperity. About 70% of U.S. drinking water comes from surface waters, including the tidal fresh regions of estuaries. Drought, sea level rise, watershed and port & harbor engineering, and changes in land-use are increasingly threatening such water supplies in coastal regions due to increasing risk of salinization. The risk extends to water extraction from the coastal zones for thermoelectric power, irrigation, and industrial production. This project will bring together an interdisciplinary team of researchers and stakeholders to assess the risks of salt contamination of water supplies in tidal rivers, synthesize the current understanding and identify knowledge gaps. A better understanding of climatic and other anthropogenic effects on the water supplies will be valuable for bolstering the resilience of water infrastructure and protecting public health.A series of virtual web panels and an in-person workshop will be organized to assess the science on this emerging topic. Case studies of saltwater intrusion and freshwater salinization in tidal rivers in the US and around the world will be discussed and synthesized. The workshop will bring together national and international communities of diverse researchers working on the interdisciplinary aspects of salt contamination of water supplies in tidal rivers, involving senior and early-career scientists, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. The workshop will include outreach activities through engagement with stakeholders involved in water management, conservation, drinking water treatment operations, and will include participants from the agricultural, industrial, municipal and power generation sectors that rely on access to freshwater sources. The overall goals are twofold: (1) publish a systematic review paper to synthesize current understanding of this interdisciplinary topic and identify major knowledge gaps; (2) produce a forward-looking workshop report to create a research vision and guide future research activities on salt contamination of water supplies in coastal zones.This award is co-funded by the Hydrologic Sciences and Physical Oceanography programs.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.