ABSTRACTNational-level governments are directing and funding climate adaptation research, which is essential to informing effective and equitable adaptation practices. We sought to understand how United States (US) federal agencies prioritize, direct, and fund research related to climate adaptation and climate resilience through analyzing climate action plans created in 2021 by 13 agencies who are members of the US Global Change Research Program. We examine: (1) agencies' stated climate adaptation research priorities; (2) how agencies address collaboration, outreach, accessibility, and usability of research outcomes; and (3) agencies' adaptation research funding opportunities. We argue that certain research needs, justice and equity considerations, and interdisciplinary research should be emphasized to a greater degree. While adaptation research capacity and funding opportunities are expanding, they remain inadequate for the scale of research needed. Key policy insightsUS federal agencies vary in their integration of research as a core component of their climate adaptation plans, but most prioritize research that is relevant and accessible to stakeholders and decision-makers.While all agencies addressed environmental justice, some could more substantially incorporate justice considerations into their climate adaptation research.Adaptation research and strategies should ensure that collaborations are inclusive and sustainable and would benefit from meaningful and respectful collaboration with tribes and Indigenous Peoples, as well as marginalized and under-represented groups.Multidisciplinary research is key to climate adaptation and should be enhanced through increasing funding support for crosscutting programmes.KEYWORDS: Climate adaptationadaptation planningresilienceUS federal agenciesresearch funding AcknowledgementsThank you to the reviewers for their helpful comments. The corresponding author can be emailed for a copy of this publication.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Colorado State University's Office of Vice President for Research, which funded the Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP), and by the US National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Program [1702996].
An Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) survey was conducted over the glacial deposits of eastern Nebraska for mapping groundwater resources. The area of the AEM survey is covered with 100-150 meter thick Kansan and Illinoisan Age glacial deposits deposited unconformably upon the Cretaceous Carlile, Greenhorn-Graneros, and Dakota formations. The hydrogeology of the area is dominated by a thick sequence of the clay-rich Clarkson Till. Thin layers of sands and sand and gravel within the glacial deposits provide the only substantial aquifer in the area. Within the Dakota formation, sandstone deposits may serve as a possible aquifer, however, to this date they have not be utilized for production wells within the survey area. Petrophysical data indicate that the clay-rich till of the glacial deposits are from 5- 15 ohm-m, the fine sands and silts are 15-25 ohm-m and the sands and gravels are 25-50 ohm-m. Resistivity within the Cretaceous Carlile formation, composed of marine shales, is from 3-10 ohm. Resistivity for shale within the Dakota formation is 3-20 ohm-m and Dakota sandstones are 25-40 ohm-m. The sands and gravels within the 150 meter thick glacial deposits are detected by the AEM as are the Dakota sandstones up to 300 meters in depth. Thin layers of sand and gravels (<10 meters) at a depth of 100 meters sitting on top of the Dakota sandstones are not differentiated by the AEM and provide a single resistive target. The AEM survey provided the detail to connect the limited boreholes data to indicate that the glacial aquifer is limited to the thin layers of sand and gravel within the Clarkson Till. The AEM also mapped a potential deeper aquifer within the sandstones of the Cretaceous Dakota, which may serve as an alternate groundwater resource in the area.
Abstract Reallocation is often promoted as a response to water security dilemmas in the western United States. Water banking is a form of reallocation utilized in several states to facilitate temporary water rights transfers. This article frames and examines water banking’s potential influences on water security from a hydro‐social perspective through a case analysis of water banking policy in Utah. It analyzes the challenges of integrating the market‐based economic incentives of water banks with the legal precedents of the prior appropriation doctrine to reallocate water in overappropriated basins with hydrologically interdependent uses. Key‐informant interviews and focus groups were used to examine water security’s meaning to stakeholders and analyze how water banking could affect the water security of disparate users and uses at multiple scales. Stakeholders predominately saw water security as assurance in water quantity, but water security was further equated by participants with the legal protections afforded by water rights. Multiple complexities in water bank implementation are to be expected when multiscalar contexts are considered, including societal and hydrologic tradeoffs in settings with diverse and interconnected interests. Our research shows that examining the potential ramifications of water banking policy through stakeholder perspectives can reveal nuanced insights on individual and collective water security issues not only within Utah but other arid regions in general.
Introduction Integrated water management (IWM) involves a range of policies, actions, and organizational processes that go beyond traditional hydrology to consider multifaceted aspects of complex water resource systems. Due to its transdisciplinary nature, IWM comprises input from diverse stakeholders, each with unique perceptions, values, and experiences. However, stakeholders from differing backgrounds may disagree on best practices and collective paths forward. As such, successful IWM must address key governance principles (e.g., information flow, collective decision-making, and power relations) across social and institutional scales. Here, we sought to demonstrate how network structure impacts shared decision-making within IWM. Methods We explored a case study in Houston, Texas, USA, where decision-making stakeholders from various sectors and levels of governance engaged in a participatory modeling workshop to improve adoption of nature-based solutions (NBS) through IWM. The stakeholders used fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) to define an IWM model comprising multifaceted elements and their interrelationships, which influenced the adoption of NBS in Houston. We applied grounded theory and inductive reasoning to categorize tacit belief schemas regarding how stakeholders viewed themselves within the management system. We then used FCM-based modeling to explore how unique NBS policies would translate into more (or less) NBS adoption. Finally, we calculated specific network metrics (e.g., density, hierarchy, and centrality indices) to better understand the structure of human-water relations embedded within the IWM model. We compared the tacit assumptions about stakeholder roles in IWM against the quantitative degrees of influence and collectivism embedded within the stakeholder-defined model. Results and discussion Our findings revealed a mismatch between stakeholders' external belief statements about IWM and their internal assumptions through cognitive mapping and participatory modeling. The case study network was characterized by a limited degree of internal coordination (low density index), high democratic potential (low hierarchy index), and high-efficiency management opportunities (high centrality index), which transcended across socio-institutional scales. These findings contrasted with several of the belief schemas described by stakeholders during the group workshop. We describe how ongoing partnership with the stakeholders resulted in an opportunity for adaptive learning, where the NBS planning paradigm began to shift toward trans-scale collaboration aimed at high-leverage management opportunities. We emphasize how network analytics allowed us to better understand the extent to which key governance principles drove the behavior of the IWM model, which we leveraged to form deeper stakeholder partnerships by identifying hidden opportunities for governance transformation.
Summary An airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey was conducted to support a feasibility study for the placement of a riverbank filtration system. The goal of the survey was to map sediment thickness along a narrow corridor centered on the Missouri River in North Dakota. This case history presents the results of that survey. A total of 1,184 line km of data were acquired along a 116 km stretch of the Missouri River using the SkyTEM 301 time domain electromagnetic system. This system, using a combination of early time (approximately 5 microseconds for the first time gate) and spatially dense data, successfully mapped the alluvial sediment - bedrock contact. Using a spatially constrained inversion in conjunction with borehole data, the AEM data reveal a paleochannel where sediment thicknesses exceed 75 meters. Six locations were identified for future investigation based on interpreted alluvial sediment thickness, sediment resistivities, and location.
