Research Focus Area 3: Integrated Ecosystem Assessment

Innovating Integrated Ecosystem Assessment in an Urbanand Urbanizing Coastal Environment
that Maximizes Community Engagement and CommunicationUrbanization is increasing globally, resulting in an increase in the types and levels of land-basedcontaminants and pollutants released into the environment, especially aquatic ecosystems. Many of these are unregulated and have largely unknown consequences on environmental health and human well-being. The intersection of anthropogenic activities, urbanization and climate change influence the sources, mobilization, transport and fate of contaminants across land-use boundaries.

In CREST-CAChE I, we determined the hydrologic transport (flux) and fate (biogeochemical processes) of various contaminants across land-use boundaries. We focused on computational methods for amalgamating disparate environmental data sets for maximal analysis and interpretation. Building on those results and the increased public awareness and demand for science-based management of ecosystem services and environmental health, in CREST-CAChE II we focus on innovating novel integrated ecosystem assessment approaches in our urban and urbanizing coastal region. Students examinehow urban coastal systems: (1) can adapt to changing climate and the stressor, (2) inform ecosystem-based management of urbanization pressures across the coastal ecosystems and seascapes to (3) reduce the impacts of climate and contaminant stressors that disrupt ecosystems and their services. Weuseempirical and modeling approaches to quantify how mitigating urban toxins and pollutants can influence populations, communities, and ecosystem processes to enhance ecosystem services.

• Research Mentors
• Goal
• Broader Impacts
• Student Projects