MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative (MUSIC) Climate Change Adaptation Projects for 2008-2009

We have six projects underway for the coming academic year. Graduate student interns training to be Science Impact Coordinators (SICs) will be assigned to work with agency and stakeholder representatives as part of their graduate studies at MIT. Each student team will be advised by a member of the MIT faculty as well as by regional staff of the relevant federal agencies. MIT is matching the funds provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the other federal agencies involved.

Everglades Restoration—Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change Through Strategic Habitat Conservation: A Stakeholder-based Approach
In order to help the responsible parties plan and manage the Greater Florida Everglades Ecosystem in the face of the uncertainties posed by changing climate; we propose to develop a stakeholder-based alternative futures process. As part of this research we will ask, “Is it possible to manage landscape-scale ecosystems if the effects of climate change require rapid intervention?” We will be developing new GIS-based scenario-casting tools that should facilitate broader-gauged stakeholder involvement in the review of adaptive management strategies. Our client is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Assessing Ecosystem Sustainability and Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Lower Mississippi Valley
MUSIC is conducting research to assess the potential impacts of changing climate on the trust resources and endangered species -- as well as the sustainability and vulnerability of the ecosystems that support them -- in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV). One question we address is, “When most of the land is privately owned, how can conservation practices at the landscape-scale be implemented?” This is a continuation of our on-going efforts to examine more effective ways of integrating federal and state resource planning efforts that begin with different, but overlapping, geographically defined boundaries. Our client is the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chesapeake Bay—A Collaborative Simulation Process and Toolkit for Building “Coast-Smart” Communities in Maryland
We will be developing and testing (in a high profile public setting hosted by the governor) a multi-party negotiation game (simulation) and policy toolkit aimed at helping Maryland coastal communities understand the moves they can make (and their implied costs) in an effort to adapt to and blunt the adverse impacts of climate change. The goal is to publicize the toolkit so that all Maryland coastal communities can use it. Our client is the state Coastal Zone Commission that has the lead on climate change in Maryland. Their funding comes from NOAA.

Guidance Tools for Planning and Management of Urban Drainage Systems under a Changing Climate
Present and future management of urban runoff is made more complicated by the potential long-term impacts of climate change. Our objective is to formulate new options that urban water managers can use to respond to the challenges of drainage management in the face of climate change. Funding comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Our clients are the cities of Aurora, CO and Somerville, MA.

Building Adaptive Capacity in Nearshore Ecosystems in Maine
We posit that the usefulness and value of science to resource managers and communities trying to address the potential impacts of climate change will be significantly increased if non-governmental stakeholders are involved in collaborative adaptive management efforts. We want to determine how best to ensure that both expert scientific advice as well as “indigenous knowledge” are incorporated into politically plausible management strategies. Our client is the Quebec-Labrador Foundation and the non-profit called Environmental Policy Design. Their funding comes from the Cox Family Trust and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Offshore Wind Farms: Adaptive Strategies to Achieve Sustainable Energy in the Face of Changing Climate
For the United States to adapt to and prepare for the impacts of changing climate, we need to promote more sustainable energy production. We are working to document the new regulatory framework governing the siting of off-shore wind farms in the Eastern United States (as a result of the 2005 National Energy Policy Act). Our assumption is that state governments have a crucial role to play and that federal and state regulatory reviews will need to be coordinated, as will efforts to engage multiple stakeholders in implementing state-level sustainable energy policies. We hope to work with state officials in Rhode Island and Maine and to continue our work with officials in Massachusetts where there has been substantial opposition to the construction of off-shore wind farms. We have no specific agency client, but we do have industry support from a wind technology company.