The San Diego Foundation announced grants for three San Diego climate change research projects from San Diego State University, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, and UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The 2015 Environment Blasker awards total just over $117,000 and are designed to advance The Foundation’s climate initiative by supporting research that enhances our understanding of how to address San Diego climate change.

What exactly is this money going towards, and why do these projects matter for the environment in San Diego? Read on to find out.

About the Grant Recipients

Recipient:
San Diego State University
Arthropod Ecosystem Services as Indicators of Ecosystem Health and Resiliency for Conservation Management and Climate Change Planning
Principle Investigator:
Dr. Douglas Deutschman
Why It Matters:
Arthropods (more commonly known as insects) are an integral, but relatively poorly understood, part of the region’s natural ecosystems. This project will help researchers understand how nature’s functioning depends on the number and types of arthropods. Equipped with this knowledge, local agencies and land managers will be able to implement more effective management of San Diego’s precious natural resources.



Recipient:
UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Estuarine Response to Extreme Events: Storms and Droughts as Indicators of Future Climate Conditions in Southern California Estuaries and Bays
Principle Investigator:
Dr. Sarah Giddings
Why It Matters:
Understanding how San Diego’s lagoon-type estuaries respond to extreme events (including large waves, wind, high precipitation, drought, etc.) will allow researchers to better understand valuable ecosystems, better predict their response to future change, and start to investigate whether they can provide a buffer region in a changing climate. The models developed will not only be scientifically valuable, but useful to help coastal managers plan for the future and for community education.



Recipient:
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association
Climate Change Impacts in San Diego’s Coastal Wetlands
Principle Investigator:
Dr. Jeff Crooks
Why It Matters:
The potential effects of factors such as increased water temperature and ocean acidification on wetland species and habitats is not commonly understood. The first step in understand how sea level rise might influence sensitive ecosystems is to mine available data to characterize the conditions that species within local wetlands already experience. This project will look for answers and use that information to learn how to better interpret predicted changes in these drivers over time.

Learn More

The Blasker awards are made possible through the Blasker-Rose-Miah Fund at The San Diego Foundation. This $8.9 million endowment supports and encourages individuals with high potential in the scientific, engineering and medical fields to reach their full potential in their chosen areas of study, work and analysis.

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