| Sciences receive large grant |
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| Written by Chava Thomas - Argonaut | ||||
| Thursday, 18 September 2008 | ||||
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All three state universities in Idaho — the University of Idaho, Idaho State University and Boise State University — will benefit from a $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation over the next five years. The money will granted through the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research in Idaho, an underfunded program compared to many around the nation, and in association with EPSCR and the Institutional Development Award will raise total funding to $157 million for the state of Idaho. The grant is the largest amount of money ever given to the state of Idaho by the NSF, and will allow 10 new faculty members to be hired throughout the state, with five going to UI. The money is being provided to research water resources in the Snake and Salmon River basins in the fields of hydro-climatology, ecological change and economic/policy modeling. UI will be involved in all three areas of research, but faculty members will be heavily concentrated in hydro-climatology, with research being headed at the Kimberly Research and Extension Center by Richard Allen. Allen will be studying the impact of climate change on winter snowpack, which can dramatically alter water levels in the Snake and Salmon Rivers and lead to drought. Allen’s research team will simulate stream flows in the natural laboratory of the Snake River basin, helping to better understand the effect that climate change may have. “In the Snake River system where we have a number of large dams and large diversion structures to supply irrigated agriculture, we will ‘route’ the simulated stream flow through these dams and through the various water diversion structures, subject to existing water laws that govern how diversions can be made and in what order,” Allen said. The Snake River researchers will also study the relationship between surface water and groundwater in regards to irrigation. The Salmon River basin is different from the Snake because it is largely wilderness area, and has not been harnessed for irrigation like the Snake. Research in the area will be largely focused on the ecological changes can occur with different water levels and temperatures. Von Walden, co-principal investigator of the research project, will be supervising research done by junior faculty. “The Salmon is mainly pristine,” he said. The ecological branch of the project will be concentrating on the water’s effects on forests, fisheries, fires and insects. “Without adequate water in the Salmon River, there is increased fire danger,” Walden said. Rising temperatures also contribute to beetle infestations because winter frosts are occurring less frequently and are not killing as many insects, leaving colonies to thrive and destroy trees. Economic or policy modeling will investigate how these changes in water resources will affect the economy, as droughts would cause problems with agricultural output. Research conducted in these fields will attempt to bridge the gap between K-12 students, undergraduates and graduate students, as well as help represent minorities in science. “This is an important study for future generations so that we can make a plan,” Walden said.  Add as favorites (12) | Views: 235
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