HSU, OSU, and University of Washington to launch research hub for coastal resilience

EUREKA Calif. — Humboldt State University will join a coastal resiliency research hub led by Oregon State University and the University of Washington focused on the impact of earthquakes, coastal erosion, and climate change on coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest.

With a total of $18.9 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, or Cascadia CoPes Hub, will coordinate research in Pacific Northwest coastal communities between numerous academic and government organizations to inform and enable integrated hazard assessment, mitigation, and adaptation.

Jennifer Marlow and Laurie Richmond, faculty from the department of Environmental Science and Management, will be leading HSU’s connection to Cascadia CoPes Hub.

Nearly 40% of the U.S population lives within a coastal county. The Pacific Northwest coastline is at significant risk of earthquakes from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which stretches nearly 700 miles along the coast from Cape Mendocino in California to Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island, Canada.

In addition to this acute threat, the region also faces chronic risks such as coastal erosion, regional flooding, and sea level rise due to climate change, said Peter Ruggiero, the project’s principal investigator and a professor in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. According to Ruggiero, the potential for collaboration among Pacific Northwest universities and coastal communities is one pathway to coastal resilience.

“There are many dimensions to resilience, including quality of life, economics, health, engineering, and more,” he said. “This research hub is a way to bring together many groups with interest in coastal resilience who have not had the resources to work together on these issues before.”

HSU will receive $450,000 from the NSF to support student and faculty research into coastal resilience and hazards in California’s North Coast region. Participation will also allow the HSU team to collaborate with other hub researchers on topics focused on the integration of local and traditional ecological knowledge into hazard response planning, and equitable adaptation governance and policy. The grant includes support for local community partners including the Wiyot Tribe and Humboldt County.

“This NSF grant sees past the traditional boundaries of universities and disciplines, and aligns itself with a more equitable 21st century vision that sees innovation, creativity, and collaboration with communities and tribes as central to scientific advancement,” says Marlow. “The project also embodies HSU’s future as a polytech by tackling the most urgent issues facing our community in ways critically informed by local culture and diverse values.”