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

Academy Of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

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.