Wetland facility for the University of Houston Coastal Center

休斯顿大学海岸中心湿地设施

基本信息

批准号：
1820778
负责人：
Steven Pennings
金额：
$ 34.49万
依托单位：
University of Houston
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2018
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2018-08-15 至 2023-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1820778&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Wetland facility University Houston Coastal

项目摘要

The project will construct a wetlands research facility, the University of Houston (UH) Wetland Observatory for Wildlife/Water research (UH WOW), at the University of Houston's existing field station, the University of Houston Coastal Center (UHCC). No wetlands research facility currently exists in this geographic area. Investigators are forced to work in tanks, which are too small for many questions, or in natural ponds, which are limited in number, vary in size and allow only a limited range of experimental manipulations. The proposed facility will address this research need by allowing replicated experiments at a large scale, and will expand the research capabilities of the UHCC in a wide range of disciplines, including ecology, water quality and flood control. The proposed facility will allow easy customization and control of the water level in each wetland, enabling researchers to test hypotheses under controlled conditions in open wetland environments, and spurring fundamental advances in understanding ecology, hydrology, and water quality. The proposed experimental wetlands will provide a unique facility that will benefit researchers from a variety of institutions in the Houston area (including UH, UH Downtown, UH Clear Lake, Rice University, Texas A&M Galveston), within a 3 hour drive (Texas A&M, Baylor, UT Austin), and over a broader geographic area. The facility will also improve undergraduate and graduate education at universities in the Houston metropolitan area, including those that lack major research infrastructure, such as UH Sugar Land and the University of St. Thomas. Graduate and undergraduate students will have increased opportunities to participate in research at the facility. Classes taking field trips to the UHCC will be able to view the wetlands and discuss experimental science and the ecological importance of wetlands. On occasions when some wetlands are not in use for research, they will be available for sampling by student groups conducting field activities. The benefits of improved undergraduate and graduate education at the UHCC will be particularly important for under-represented minorities. UH is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the second most ethnically diverse major research university in the United States, and UH Downtown also has a very diverse student body. The facility will also improve public education by providing new opportunities to discuss experimental research, flood control, and the value of wetlands with K-12 and other public groups visiting the UH Coastal Center.The project will consist of an array of wetlands at the University of Houston Coastal Center (http://www.uhcc.uh.edu/). The wetlands will be excavated ~1.6 m below the soil surface at a site dominated by non-native grass and trees. A membrane will line the bottom of the ponds, which will be back filled with some of the excavated soil. The remaining excavated dirt will be used to form berms around the wetland edges. The wetlands will be individually plumbed and controlled with remotely-operated valves, allowing easy filling, draining, and control of water level. Because the water level will be adjustable, each wetland can be filled or drained to function as a pond, wetland or wet grassland as needed for different research projects.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.

该项目将在休斯顿大学现有的野外现场站，休斯敦大学沿海大学（UHCC）现有现有的野外现场站，建造休斯敦大学（UH）野生动植物/水研究湿地天文台（UH WOW）湿地研究机构。该地理区域目前没有湿地研究机构。调查人员被迫在储罐中工作，这些储罐对于许多问题或天然池塘的数量有限，大小有所不同，并且仅允许有限的实验操作。拟议的设施将通过允许大规模复制的实验来满足这项研究需求，并将在包括生态，水质和洪水控制在内的广泛学科中扩大UHCC的研究能力。拟议的设施将允许在每个湿地中轻松自定义和控制水位，使研究人员能够在开放式湿地环境中在受控条件下测试假设，并促进理解生态学，水文学和水质的基本进步。拟议的实验性湿地将提供一个独特的设施，将使休斯顿地区各种机构的研究人员受益（包括UH，UH市区，UH Clear Lake，Clear Lake，Dexas A＆M Galveston），在3小时的车程内（德克萨斯州A＆M， Baylor，UT Austin），以及更广泛的地理区域。该设施还将改善休斯顿大都会地区大学的大学和研究生教育，包括缺乏主要研究基础设施的人，例如UH Sugar Land和St. Thomas大学。研究生和本科生将有更多机会参加该设施的研究。参加UHCC的实地考察将能够观看湿地，并讨论实验科学和湿地的生态重要性。有时，当某些湿地不用于研究时，将由进行现场活动的学生团体进行抽样。在UHCC上，改善本科和研究生教育的好处对于代表性不足的少数群体尤为重要。 UH是一家西班牙裔服务机构，是美国第二多元化的主要研究大学，UH市区也有一个非常多样化的学生团体。该设施还将通过提供新的机会来讨论实验研究，洪水控制以及与K-12和其他参观UH沿海中心的湿地的价值来改善公共教育。该项目将包括大学的一系列湿地。休斯顿沿海中心（http://www.uhcc.uh.edu/）。湿地将在以非本地草和树木为主的地点以下挖掘〜1.6 m。膜将在池塘的底部排成一列，后者将填充一些挖掘的土壤。其余的挖掘物将用于在湿地边缘周围形成堤坝。湿地将通过远程操作的阀门单独控制和控制，从而易于填充，排水和控制水位。由于水位将是可调节的，因此每个湿地都可以根据需要填充或排水，以作为池塘，湿地或湿地草地起作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为值得通过基金会的评估来获得支持。智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。