The U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on October 2, 2024, $22.78 million in funding to NOAA labs, programs, cooperative institutes, and other research partners to advance research on a wide range of water-driven climate impacts.
Research topics include coastal and inland flood and inundation mapping and forecasting, and next-generation water modeling activities, including modernized precipitation frequency studies.
The increasing frequency and severity of coastal and inland flooding, extreme precipitation and other weather events have highlighted the urgent need for better prediction and resilience strategies.
Rising sea levels, driven by climate change, are exacerbating these challenges and putting coastal communities at greater risk.
The funding, which comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), will help communities prepare for a range of climate change impacts and will directly benefit policymakers, emergency responders, researchers and the general public.
The announcement is part of more than $6 billion being invested by NOAA in habitat restoration, weather forecasting, and community resilience to weather and climate events through the BIL and Inflation Reduction Act.
Investigating the complex interactions between the ocean, atmosphere and land systems is key to creating more accurate forecasts.
Funded projects range from refining long-term water level predictions to better understanding climate patterns like the El Nino-Southern Oscillation to developing real-time flood risk prediction systems.
Others focus on updating climate risk information to inform resilience strategies for communities as well as the nation’s infrastructure, including major bridges, power plants and ports.
A breakdown of funding and where it will go can be found on NOAA’s website here.
