The Future of Nearshore Processes Research: U.S. Integrated Coastal Research Program
Nicole Elko, American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, Wadmalaw Island, SC, United States, Falk Feddersen, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States, Diane L Foster, University of New Hampshire Main Campus, Durham, NH, United States, Cheryl J Hapke, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL, United States, Robert A Holman, Oregon State Univ, Corvallis, OR, United States, Jesse McNinch, US Army Corps of Engineers, Field Research Facility, Kitty Hawk, NC, United States, Ryan P Mulligan, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, H Tuba Ozkan-Haller, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States, Nathaniel G Plant, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Science Center, St Petersburg, FL, United States and Britt Raubenheimer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
Abstract:
The authors, representing the acting Nearshore Advisory Council, have developed an implementation plan for a U.S. Nearshore Research Program based on the 2015 Future of Nearshore Processes report that was authored by the nearshore community. The objectives of the plan are to link research programs across federal agencies, NGOs, industry, and academia into an integrated national program and to increase academic and NGO participation in federal agency nearshore processes research. A primary recommendation is interagency collaboration to build a research program that will coordinate and fund U.S. nearshore processes research across three broad research themes: 1) long-term coastal evolution due to natural and anthropogenic processes; 2) extreme events; and 3) physical, biological and chemical processes impacting human and ecosystem health.
The plan calls for a new program to be developed by an executive committee of federal agency leaders, NGOs, and an academic representative, created similarly to the existing NOPP program. This leadership will be established prior to the 2016 Ocean Sciences meeting and will have agreed on responsibilities and a schedule for development of the research program.
To begin to understand the scope of today’s U.S. coastal research investment, a survey was distributed to ten federal agency R&D program heads. Six of the ten agencies indicated that they fund coastal research, with a combined annual coastal research budget of nearly $100 million (NSF has not responded). The priority of the three research themes were ranked nearly equally and potential research support ranged from $15-$19 million for each theme, with approximately $12 million as direct contribution to academic research.
Beyond addressing our fundamental science questions, it is critical that the nearshore community stay organized to represent academic interests on the new executive committee. The program goal is the integration of academic, NGO, and federal agencies.
