CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECT:
CLIMBS
Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction and Building Response Systems
climbs seeks to develop excellence in climate science,
natural hazard data, geoinformatics, and sustainable solutions
engineering for community-scale climate resilience in kentucky.
Kentucky has certainly learned over the past four years that our weather is challenging to predict and can have devastating consequences for our citizens. From the violent tornadoes that ravaged Western Kentucky in 2021 to the historic floods that devastated Eastern Kentucky in 2022, weather-related catastrophes have all too often severely impacted communities and hampered economic growth in the Commonwealth. These events, together with population growth dynamics, human health trends, and the unique socio-cultural heritage of Appalachia, underscore the profound need for action to reduce the vulnerabilities that have been laid bare by recent extreme weather events, floods, droughts, and landslides.
A new five-year Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII Track-1) award from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR), “Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction & Building Response Systems (CLIMBS),” is investing $20 million into advancing Kentucky’s climate resiliency, using a collaborative, statewide approach to bring the best and brightest minds together to tackle this important Kentucky problem.
“We are proud to invest in Kentucky’s future through the CLIMBS project, which aims to enhance climate resilience and sustainability across industries,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “By focusing on science-driven solutions, Kentucky can address climate challenges, protect communities and bolster economic growth for communities across the commonwealth and throughout the region.”
Floods and tornadoes have devastated Kentucky the last several years. CLIMBS hopes to leverage partnerships to help communities across the Commonwealth.
CLIMBS is an eight-institution collaboration including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Northern Kentucky University, Morehead State University, Eastern Kentucky University, Murray State University and Thomas More University, that will address three fundamental knowledge gaps in climate-related understanding:
DEVELOP BIG DATA
Utilize “big data” approaches and monitoring networks to increase knowledge of Kentucky’s atmosphere and hydrosphere, including paleoclimate data from Kentucky’s past, to determine Kentucky-specific climate activity.
PREDICT
DISASTERS
Enhance predictions of future climate, water resources and biodiversity through application of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques on extensive environmental datasets to forecast climate events, floods and landslides, enhancing response and preparedness efforts.
BUILD
RESPONSE
SYSTEMS
Establish an enhanced framework for climate mitigation and community-level disaster response. It aims to explore the interconnectedness between infrastructure (such as water, power, traffic and communications), human populations and climate hazards. Additionally, it will develop risk assessment tools and restoration models that prioritize human health, socio-economic vibrancy and the long-term sustainability of communities.
“This new EPSCoR project speaks to everything we believe in at the University of Kentucky,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “Building a collaborative team from across higher education institutions in Kentucky to conduct transformative, meaningful work that will have a real benefit in Kentucky communities. While doing so, CLIMBS seeks to educate and train the workforce of tomorrow who will help us build more climate resilient and healthy Kentucky communities.”
CLIMBS will become self-sustainable after the conclusion of the five-year grant, which is critical to helping the state realize its vision of becoming a leader in climate resiliency and hazard engineering based on predictions specific to the area. Rodney Andrews, program director of Kentucky NSF EPSCoR, understands this quite well, serving as the primary investigator on this Track-1 project, his fourth since becoming Kentucky NSF EPSCoR Program Director in 2011.
NSF EPSCoR will provide $20 million over the five-year project period. Through the Research Infrastructure Improvement program, NSF EPSCoR has fueled innovation across the nation by funding large-scale projects of local and national importance to the states and jurisdictions eligible to apply. Since 1986, Kentucky NSF EPSCoR has stewarded these federal funds with great care and become a catalyst for stimulating the development of a strong and sustainable Commonwealth research community.
The CLIMBS leadership team consists of Andrews, research co-principal investigators (co-PIs) Michael McGlue, Sebastian Bryson and Edward Woolery, alongside workforce development co-PI Czarena Crofcheck. They are also supported by program administrator Jeffrey Mossey, program manager Courtney McCarthy, extension specialist Rosemary Fama and communications specialist Kevin Puckett.
“We have incredible research strengths here at the University of Kentucky as the flagship land-grant institution. Funding from the National Science Foundation through EPSCoR enables us to build an ecosystem and infrastructure for STEM not just at UK, but across our region, impacting every corner of our state. EPSCoR allows us to engage in recruiting, training and retaining talent in the science that’s taking place here in Kentucky,” said Lisa Cassis, UK vice president for research.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
To see an expanded view of CLIMBS participants, visit our team page.
Project 1: Enhance Weather Understanding
Project 1 will enhance our weather understanding–expanding infrastructure and detecting high-impact events while also facilitating novel research advancing our understanding of their variability, trends and the larger-scale atmospheric and climatic conditions that influence them.
It will also systematize the state’s climatic records, predict climate sensitivity and future trends, contribute to 21st-century warning networks for at-risk communities, and educate the next generation of atmospheric science students.
Western Kentucky University, University of Louisville
WKU: Suriano (Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences – EEAS), Fan (EEAS), Durkee (EEAS), Goodrich (EEAS), Brotzge (EEAS)
UofL: Naylor (Geographic and Environmental Sciences – GES), Gunter (GES).
Project 2: PALEO-PERSPECTIVES
Project 2 will look at climate resilience using paleo-perspectives. It addresses the knowledge gap associated with spatial and temporal changes in Kentucky’s climate using paleo records, hydroclimate proxies, and numerical modeling.
The project will further investigate the natural archives of environmental change, as well as enhance flood prediction models using geological and biological proxy data of major floods throughout Kentucky history.
This group seeks to develop new forward simulations for predicting the timing and spatial impact of previously unpredictable floods in Kentucky.
University of Kentucky, Kentucky Geological Survey, Morehead State University, University of Louisville
UK: Yeager (Earth and Environmental Sciences – EES), Thigpen (EES), Woolery (EES), Erhardt (EES), McGlue (EES), UK New Hire #1 (EES), UK New Hire #2 (EES), UK New Hire #3 (EES);
KY Geological Survey (KGS): Dortch (Geologic Mapping, Digital Earth Analysis), Tobin (Water), Swallom (Geologic Mapping);
Morehead State University (MSU): O’Keefe (Physics, Earth and Space Systems Engineering – PESSE), Kibria (PESSE), Collick (Agricultural Sciences);
UofL: Rochner (GES).
Project 3: Safeguard Kentucky’s Water Supply
Project 3 will study how a changing climate is and will affect water availability across Kentucky. Researchers will also investigate novel tracers to improve water quality assessments, including identifying tipping points for biodiversity.
Through creating stronger hydrological models of Kentucky’s 12 major watersheds, adding 50 broadband nodes in western KY to measure groundwater storage, assessing surface water quality using nitrate stable isotope geochemistry, and investigating the microbiome health of freshwater ecosystems, Project 3 will be collecting diverse data about the quantity and quality of Kentucky’s waterways, particularly in the context of violent storms and flooding.
University of Kentucky, Kentucky Geological Survey
UK: Erhardt (EES), Fryar (EES), Woolery (EES), UK New Hires #1, 2, 3, and 4;
KGS: Carpenter (Hazards), Wang (Hazards), Zhu (Water), Tobin (Water)
Project 4: MITIGATE FLOOD IMPACTS
The consequences of flash flooding, particularly in Eastern Kentucky, are devastating, as seen in 2022. The researchers in Project 4 will focus on mitigating these flood impacts through three main objectives:
1) Enhance high-resolution predictions of flash floods to monitor, detect, and simulate flash floods in real-time.
2) Study infrastructure (e.g., bridges, floodwalls, levees, roadways, sewer systems, etc.) in targeted communities in Eastern KY to create baseline conditions and target modeling efforts. Then, run simulations of the new infrastructure’s performance to adapt community strategies for floodwater management.
3) Using machine learning, and real-time improved modeling and prediction, enhance community preparedness for extreme events, and provide actionable information to mitigate loss of life and property. Campaign with local community leaders in Eastern KY to educate residents about these tools and how they can help.
University of Louisville, Northern Kentucky University
UofL: Rockaway (CEE), Sun (CEE), Mahoney (CEE), French (CEE),
Ghasemi-Fare (CEE), UofL New Hire #1 (CEE), UofL New Hire #2 (CEE).
NKU: Kristy Hopfensperger
Project 5: MITIGATE LANDSLIDE IMPACTS
This project will work to mitigate landslide impacts through stronger monitoring and modeling of the Kentucky River Area including the counties of Breathitt, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Owsley, Perry, and Wolfe.
This project will assimilate data from a sparse sensor network using satellites to develop comprehensive physical models of hillslope response behavior relative to climate forcings. Notably, no physical models of hillslope response to climate forcings exists for Eastern Kentucky.
Assimilated meteorological, hydrologic, and hillslope displacement data from these areas will allow CLIMBS researchers to better forecast landslides and allow researchers to assess risks in Appalachia and, eventually, in other parts of the world.
University of Kentucky
UK – Bryson (Civil Engineering – CE), UK New Hire #5 and #4 (CE);
KGS – Crawford (Hazards); Northern KY University (NKU) Johnson (Physics, Geology, and Engineering Technology)
Project 6: QUANTIFY COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Climate hazards pose a significant challenge to communities–both in the built environment and the human psychological experience. This project explores how interdependent systems can be resilient to compounding hazard events. What are the gaps in our disaster responses? Through high-level architecture modeling, we seek to find the structural weaknesses within the infrastructure of the built environment (bridges, highways, communication systems, etc.) In addition, through sociological observations, we will examine the human psychological factors of climate hazards to develop a human factor model of vulnerability and resiliency.
University of Kentucky
UK: Bryson (CE), Chen (CE), UK New Hire #6 (CE), UK New Hire #7 (CE); Blandford (KY Transportation Center); Felima (Anthropology)
Project 7: INTEGRATE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Between 1990-2022, seven of the top twelve counties in the U.S. with the most federal disaster declarations were in Kentucky. To mitigate the damages caused by these hazards, it is crucial to develop better risk assessment tools that address current gaps and provide timely and accurate event detection and severity quantification. Using AI modeling, Project 7 will investigate the socioeconomic and human-health impacts of atmospheric and related natural hazards, in concert with evaluations of weather warning systems and forecast products, to develop the next generation of adaptive risk assessment models.
Western Kentucky University, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky
WKU: Oliver (Environmental Health and Safety – EHS), Durkee (EEAS), Brotzge (EEAS), Fan (EEAS), Suriano (EEAS);
UK: Imran (Computer Science – CS);
KGS: Zhu (Water);
UofL: Nasraoui (Computer Engineering and Computer Science – CECS)
A major part of the CLIMBS project is providing support for research infrastructure, through new faculty hires. Ten new hires — seven at UK, two at University of Louisville and one at Western Kentucky University — will enhance and broaden the scope of Kentucky research for years to come.
NEW FACULTY HIRES
BROADER IMPACTS
Broadening scientific and diverse participation through education and outreach programs are a vital mission of both CLIMBS and KY NSF EPSCoR. Seed funding and programming from K-12 to Ph.D. levels reflect the impact of NSF funding across Kentucky, strengthening workforce development and increasing the number of students who pursue and obtain STEM degrees.
“Workforce development is a key component of CLIMBS. Broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in geosciences and engineering STEM disciplines is a major thrust of CLIMBS,” said Crofcheck, professor of biosystems engineering in the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “New faculty hires will help us build stronger climate science curriculum and recruit and train graduate and undergraduate students right here in the Commonwealth who are uniquely prepared to meet Kentucky’s climate resiliency jobs of tomorrow.”
Aligned with its commitment to broader impacts, CLIMBS will fund an average of three post-doctoral scholars and 29 graduate student researchers per year across all universities and will engage up to 232 undergraduate researchers in total.
CLIMBS is specifically designed to support communities through workforce development, undergraduate student support, and community education and outreach programming. Specific projects include:
LEARNING HUB SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Learning Hub Scholars program will provide experiential learning from underrepresented backgrounds in earth and atmospheric science and engineering to pursue advanced degrees in Kentucky.
Enviropods summer day camps
Enviropod Summer Day Camps and Library-Based Content Delivery will be a collaborative effort among eight Kentucky higher education institutions and libraries statewide. Through active engagement of K-12 students, their communities and educational activities, the initiative aims to enhance comprehension of earth science, stimulate interest in climate-related STEM careers and foster community resilience.
The NSF EPSCoR Program is also supported and overseen by the Kentucky Statewide EPSCoR committee, a federal-state partnership with five federal agencies having EPSCoR or EPSCoR-like (i.e. NIH IDeA Program) research stimulation programs.
The committee consists of university administrators, senior faculty researchers, industry representatives, state government and public members that advise and lead EPSCoR programming in the Commonwealth.
“CLIMBS reflects an extensive two-year statewide collaborative effort involving eight institutions of higher education in Kentucky and over 50 faculty members. This NSF EPSCoR Track 1 grant provides $20 million over the next five years to strengthen sustainable research capabilities and competitiveness across the entire Commonwealth ensuring Kentucky will be at the forefront of innovation and discovery,” said Cathleen Webb, associate dean in the Western Kentucky University Ogden College of Science & Engineering and executive chair of the Kentucky Statewide EPSCoR Committee.
