91原创

How will our coastal communities handle the looming challenges of climate change and sea level rise? It鈥檚 a question on the minds of many Delawareans and Americans across the country.

Major issues like flooding and saltwater encroachment on the land are likely to worsen over time. Many elected officials, community leaders, farmers, and landowners must respond. But what are their options, and how much will it cost? For now, those options are not clear.

Enter a 91原创 interdisciplinary research team. 91原创 was selected as part of a to build climate resilience capacity across the United States. The funding comes via NSF鈥檚 Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

In the lowest-lying state in the country, the 91原创 researchers are focused on the project 鈥�.鈥� The project received $6 million in funding; 91原创 will receive more than $3 million for the research.

Led by principal investigator Leah Palm-Forster, the team will focus primarily on the risks of flooding and salinization on coastal land. These issues are significant not only in Delaware but also in states like Rhode Island and South Carolina, where 91原创 partners will collaborate on the work. is leading the , and is leading the .

Floods can cause frequent road closures, reduced stormwater drainage capacity, and deterioration of infrastructure. Salinization, when salts accumulate in soil and freshwater, poses problems like hindering crop growth, reducing biodiversity, deteriorating forests, and damaging infrastructure.

鈥淲e brought together a very interdisciplinary group of researchers to understand the physical risks on coastal communities and how they impact people,鈥� said Palm-Forster, an associate professor of applied economics and the director of the 91原创 Center for Experimental and Applied Economics.

The First State is on the front lines in facing climate change and sea-level rise. Individual decisions, like how water is used, can change the level of risk, but a community鈥檚 response to the risk is also key.

鈥淲e have to respond, so we can reduce the risk or adapt,鈥� added Palm-Forster, a faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Why should I care?

So why would the average Delawarean, especially if they don鈥檛 live in a coastal town, worry about salinization? Pinki Mondal, associate professor and environmental science director in 91原创鈥檚 College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, warns that it is a 鈥渄ouble danger.鈥�

鈥淪alt water is encroaching into our groundwater and changing our surface water,鈥� explained Mondal.

Many Delawareans work and live near the coastline. Additionally, much of Delaware鈥檚 agriculture, the state鈥檚 number one economic industry, sits near the coastline or is connected via canals to ocean water.

鈥淐anals were initially designed to take the extra water off the farm,鈥� emphasized Mondal. 鈥淭hese days鈥攂ecause of sea-level rise, land subsidence [sinking], and more powerful coastal storms鈥攖he canals have sort of become a conduit to bring saltwater in.鈥�

Salinization costs Delaware businesses. For example, for farmers who grow corn or soybeans, Mondal鈥檚 previous research illustrated the $40 million to $100 million in profits that farmers are losing annually. 

If you鈥檙e thinking, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have a farm, so this won鈥檛 cost me anything,鈥� you would be wrong.

First, saline water gets into drinking water, a worry for taxpayers and water drinkers nationwide. Second, water grows the grain that Delaware farmers produce to sell or feed key industries like poultry. The increased cost rears its head throughout the food chain; even the savviest shoppers will see an increase in the grocery store checkout line.

For coastal states, essential salt marshes and other natural barriers are being lost at an accelerated rate due to sea-level rise.

鈥淲e are at a point where we cannot be reactive; we must be proactive,鈥� stressed Mondal. 鈥淲e have waited long enough for this problem to become severe.鈥�

She points out that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

鈥淭hat is not how it works on the ground. There are historically disadvantaged communities. There are coastal communities where conditions will degrade faster than others,鈥� said Mondal. 鈥淲e need to have strategies and be able to customize for communities like these.鈥�

What鈥檚 this going to cost?

Problems brought on by sea level rise can mean the cost of repairs and safety concerns are untenable. The best solution might be to offer homeowners money via a coastal buyout program, which taps funding from agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Delaware residents have very different perspectives on such buyout programs. 

That鈥檚 where Christina McGranaghan, an assistant professor in 91原创鈥檚 Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, will place her focus. She鈥檚 interested in the human side. She鈥檒l work to identify effective, affordable home adaptation strategies. After all, a strategy can look good on paper, but if community members don鈥檛 perceive it as fair, the effort will fail. 

鈥淭hese three states are at very different stages in terms of buyout adoption,鈥� said McGranaghan. 

Typically, people who haven鈥檛 heard about buyout programs have a perfectly understandable, push-back reaction to the idea of moving out. But, as McGranaghan explained, buyouts are meant to build coastal resilience--meaning that a community is better prepared for and able to respond to a hazardous event. For example, homeowners might be better protected by floods in the future by converting an oft-flooded area into a wetland.

鈥淚f you have people who live in areas at risk of repeated flooding, it may not be financially viable to build, for example, a sea wall,鈥� said McGranaghan. 鈥淏ut it can be challenging to convince an entire group of homeowners to relocate together.鈥�

Community from the get-go

The 91原创 researchers built relationships with community partners before the project鈥檚 genesis. These officials, leaders, farmers, and landowners want to know their options to tackle flooding and salinization鈥攁nd how much each option costs. 91原创 will analyze and offer strategies for communities to make informed decisions.

The researchers used the to identify communities at high risk. In the First State, the 91原创 researchers will work with the Kent County town of Little Creek, the Sussex Soil and Conservation District and Bay Beach Association. The team wants to see how these communities are experiencing climate change risks and making decisions鈥攍ike planning, zoning or supporting natural buffers like marshes鈥攖o adapt.

will lead the research grant鈥檚 planning and policy work. She highlights that, during the grant application process, 91原创 faculty asked questions to stakeholders in all three of the states. David dubs it 鈥渢wo-way learning.鈥�

鈥淲e are engaging stakeholders鈥攂oth community and policy鈥攆rom the beginning to the end of the research grant,鈥� explained David, an associate professor in the. 鈥淲e wanted to not only know how they assess these threats to coastal communities, but how they plan to confront them.鈥�

So, while the 91原创 team will conduct research over the next four years, these community leaders need not wait to act. Throughout the study, researchers will present data to these groups. Leaders can use the information to shift their approach.

Through 2028, the 91原创 team has systematic plans to engage stakeholders in these three states. 91原创 created a community advisory group that they can interview and survey.

鈥淥ur partners hold key positions,鈥� highlighted David. 鈥淭hey can funnel information to their jurisdictions and stakeholders, who can use the data to make informed choices.鈥� 

The grant will also mobilize 鈥渃ommunity engagement studios鈥� to solicit feedback from groups like residents and farmers.

鈥淲e hope that the strategies that we develop through this community-engaged research process will serve as blueprints for coastal communities around the U.S.,鈥� noted Palm-Forster.

Education and workforce development

The 91原创 researchers will work with Delaware Technical Community College through educational outreach and workforce development components.

They will design lesson plans that combine environmental science and economics based on evidence-based scientific findings. The researchers will work with Del Tech instructors to pilot these lessons.

鈥淚nstructors will provide us with valuable information about how well the materials worked and if any changes need to be made,鈥� said Sam Clem, assistant director of diversity, education, and outreach for the.

Through this partnership, the researchers aim to reach a diverse group of future environmental researchers and train them for the future needs of the First State. Del Tech will also help to recruit three to four students annually to be summer research interns.

Documenting the work

When this research project is completed, in addition to publishing their work, the investigators plan to share their findings via a documentary film. A crew will follow the science from beginning to end. The researchers hope to distribute the finished documentary via PBS on how to take on sea-level rise.  

鈥淭he documentary crew is already reaching out to community members, trying to get their cameras in place so that when those first big storms of the season hit, they are ready to catch it all,鈥� said Clem.

When the research is complete, the team hopes the strategies can serve as blueprints.

鈥淥ur goal is to make scientific advancements that support our community partners and that are broadly applicable,鈥� said Palm-Forster. 鈥淭hen, we can apply these strategies to other coastal communities around the country.鈥�

About the 91原创 research team

This research project combines 91原创 knowledge from across the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment,, and. Participating faculty and staff members include Leah Palm-Forster (principal investigator), , Jeanette Miller, Pinki Mondal Jennifer Volk (co-principal investigators), and Sam Clem,Cherie Conrad, , Christina McGranaghan, Kent Messer, Holly Michael, AR Siders and Amy Slocum. The team will collaborate with faculty members at the University of Rhode Island, College of Charleston, University of South Carolina, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, Delaware Technical Community College and The Citadel.