2023 has been a busy year for Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems affiliates! While this list can’t possibly capture the full array of amazing research this community is working on, we’ve selected 23 publications to celebrate 2023. We are so proud of our faculty, staff, and students’ hard work.
The Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems was chartered by the University of Georgia in late 2016, so we’re also celebrating our seventh birthday! These papers describe some of our latest research, but you can always explore what else we’ve been up to at iris.uga.edu/research-at-iris. If you’d like to support this work, we have a brand new “Donate” link that can be found at the top of the page or right here.
Now to catch up on the awesome work from this year, check out these papers (in order of publication date) from throughout 2023 that capture our unique interdisciplinary focus.
1. Denser and greener cities: Green interventions to achieve both urban density and nature – People and Nature
Andressa Mansur*
We understand that green spaces in urban environments hold numerous benefits, but we also know sometimes it can be a struggle to make them accessible to large numbers of people. This paper from a nationwide team including IRIS affiliate Andressa Mansur identified tensions between urban density and green spaces, as well as the land sharing principles that could help make these spaces possible. Read more in our article from February 2023.
2. Disasters collide at the intersection of extreme weather and infectious diseases – Ecology Letters
John Drake, Eric Marty, Kamal Gandhi, Meredith Welch-Divine, Brian Bledsoe, Marshall Shepherd, Lynne Seymour, Christine Fortuin and Cristian Montes
This paper was a collaboration between geographers, anthropologists, engineers, statisticians and disease ecologists from across UGA’s campus (what a smart bunch, right?). The group analyzed how severe weather damage to health infrastructure can reduce a community’s ability to respond to disease events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more in our article from February 2023.
3. Integrating channel design and assessment methods based on sediment transport capacity in gravel bed streams – Journal of the American Water Resources Association
Holly Yaryan Hall & Brian Bledsoe
Research Scientist Holly Yaryan Hall and IRIS Director Brian Bledsoe presented a detailed comparison of natural channel design (NCD) and analytical channel design (ACD) based on each method’s capacity to transport sediment along streams. They aimed to resolve some of the controversy around these two methods, ultimately finding that the two methods have key differences in their effect on fluvial morphology and may have their own unique use cases.
4. Mowers versus growers: Riparian buffer management in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains, USA – Journal of the American Water Resources Association
Jennifer Sanders, Rhett Jackson, and Meredith Welch-Divine
In a study of riparian buffer composition in the Southeast, this group of researchers analyzed the management techniques and knowledge of landowners for promoting beneficial growth. The bottom line: Understanding and appealing to landowner values is not just necessary, but crucial for promoting restoration projects in these important ecosystems.
5. Water supply, waste assimilation, and low-flow issues facing the Southeast Piedmont Interstate-85 urban archipelago – Journal of the American Water Resources Association
Rhett Jackson, Seth Wenger, Brian Bledsoe, Marshall Shepherd, Krista Capps, Amy Rosemond, Michael Paul, Meredith Welch-Divine, Ke Li, Timothy Stephens, and Todd Rasmussen
A team of ecologists, geographers and anthropologists took a deeper look at flows around the I-85 corridor— not the traffic, but the rivers. The group came out of their analysis with six unique actions to improve water infrastructure resilience, focusing in particular on water-use efficiency and how best to conserve and share this critical natural resource. Read more in our article from August 2023.
6. The potential for nature-based solutions to combat the freshwater biodiversity crisis – PLOS Water
Charles van Rees, Suman Jumani, Liya Abera, Laura Rack, Kyle McKay and Seth Wenger
We love to see papers focused on nature-based solutions. This exciting collaboration of environmental scientists explored how NbS can promote biodiversity in lakes, rivers and streams. It’s not that easy, though: The authors called into question whether NbS projects can deliver on their biodiversity promises, or if the strong claims are still a bit fishy. Read more in our article from October 2023.
7. Modeling the effects of large-scale interior headland restoration on tidal hydrodynamics and salinity transport in an open coast, marine-dominant estuary – Frontiers in Marine Science
Matthew Bilskie*
This collaboration between coastal geology experts from across the U.S., including our own Matt Bilskie, explored the effects of large-scale interior headland restoration projects on tidal hydrodynamics and salinity transport. The group utilized a 2D fluid model to see what effects restoration projects would have on tidal range and velocity.
Nathan Tomczyk, Laura Naslund, Emily V. Bell, Carolyn Cummins, Phillip Bumpers and Amy Rosemond
Originally a project created to enter (and win) EPA’s NARS Data Innovation Challenge last year, this team including IRIS student affiliate Laura Naslund and Associate Director of Education, Equity and Inclusion Amy Rosemond evaluated the efficacy of nonpoint source pollution control measures on nutrient pollution over decades of freshwater data. Read more in UGA Today’s article from November 2023.
9. Recognizing flood exposure inequities across flood frequencies – Anthropocene
Haley Selsor, Brian Bledsoe and Rod Lammers
How do you evaluate social equity in a natural disaster scenario? This IRIS research group looked ahead by using flood risk analyses, prioritization models and dasymetric mapping to develop a “scoring” system of flood risk inequity. The analysis simulated a range of flooding events, demonstrating that inequity is a dynamic force, highly dependent on flood magnitude and frequency.
10. Natural Gas and Net Zero: Mutually Exclusive Pathways for the Southeast – Georgia State University Law Review
Adam Orford
In this review of climate policy in the Southeast, UGA Assistant Professor of Law Adam Orford delivered a focused critique of whether our current electrical sector can deliver adequate emissions reduction and whether our regulatory networks are equipped to grapple with this issue. A great read for those interested in climate policy—who isn’t these days?
11. Long-term ecological research in freshwaters enabled by regional biodiversity collections, stable isotope analysis, and environmental informatics – BioScience
Krista Capps*
In what this paper described as a “renaissance” of biodiversity collections, this inter-university research team (including UGA freshwater ecologist and IRIS affiliate Krista Capps) explored the potential for the use of stable isotope analysis in biodiversity collections. The authors suggest the use of SIA to track long-term ecological change utilizing university and research collections.
12. Patterns, drivers, and a predictive model of dam removal cost in the United States – Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Suman Jumani, Kyle McKay, Seth Wenger*
A team that included IRIS affiliates plus representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other scientists from UGA and around the United States, worked together to create a tool that can help predict the costs of dam removal. Read more about it and check out the tool in our article from September 2023.
13. Otolith microchemistry highlights the importance of extensive connectivity for conservation of an iconic migratory fish in a large tropical river basin – Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
Seth Wenger and Krista Capps*
We believe the tiniest details can make a big impact. This paper from sustainability scientists across the Southeast and Mexico discussed how the inner ear bones of fish can point to individual life and migration histories, and therefore show the spatial and temporal spread of an entire species. If that’s not some cool biodiversity science, we just don’t know what is.
14. Interdependence of social-ecological-technological systems in Phoenix, Arizona: consequences of an extreme precipitation event – Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience
Alysha Helmrich*
In a simulated storm, researchers including environmental engineer and IRIS affiliate Alysha Helmrich evaluated pathways of disruption and highlighted potential weak spots in the infrastructure system. This led to the creation of an impressive causal loop diagram showing the array of critical issues that can occur in infrastructure systems under duress, with important implications for community safety.
15. Advancing stream classification and hydrological modeling of ungaged basins for environmental flow management in coastal southern California – Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Stephen Adams, Brian Bledsoe and Eric Stein
This study involved the development of a novel freshwater classification technique based on hydrologic models. The authors applied this classification to streams across southern California, demonstrating that their system could provide more accurate matching for hydrologically-similar basins than traditional classifications, potentially helping to provide more information on the hydrology of basins that have not yet been modeled.
16. Nature-Based Solutions for Biodiversity Handbook (Coastal Edition)
Burton Suedel, Amanda Tritinger, Kyle McKay, Jon Calabria, Matthew Bilskie, James Byers, Brock Woodson, Kelsey Broich, Emily Dolatowski and Eleanor Hair
Okay, so it’s not a technical paper, but we think it’s just as cool. This handbook for nature-based biodiversity conservation in coastal ecosystems was developed by partners from UGA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and used landscape architecture renderings to demonstrate what NbS projects look like in real communities. Read more in our post from August 2023.
17. Lock-in: origination and significance within infrastructure systems – Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability
Alysha Helmrich*
Infrastructure systems are often defined by their histories, which may or may not align with future needs. These authors described this as infrastructure “lock-in,” and discussed the ways that systems may be constrained by their original goals, how different forms of lock-in occur and what current practitioners and managers can do about it.
18. Jointly advancing infrastructure and biodiversity conservation – Nature Reviews Earth and Environmental Science
Kyle McKay, Seth Wenger, Charles van Rees, Brian Bledsoe and Todd Bridges
These authors outlined the steps required of all natural infrastructure project partners to ensure that the numerous co-benefits of NI initiatives are fully realized. The team stated that a “marked rethinking” of our infrastructure systems will be necessary to enhance ecosystems, societies and infrastructure in harmony with each other. Read more in our article from October 2023.
19. Neither larval duration nor dispersal distance predict spatial genetic diversity in planktonic dispersing species – Marine Ecology Progress Series
Elizabeth Esser, James Pringle and Jeb Byers
Using realistic ocean currents, this team of marine biologists simulated the dispersal distances of broadcast spawning species of plankton. Using a global ocean model, they ultimately found that ocean-wide biodiversity is potentially even more complicated than previously thought.
20. Integrated Urban Riverscape Planning: Spatial Prioritization for Environmental Equity – ASCE Open: Multidisciplinary Journal of Civil Engineering
Holly Yaryan Hall & Brian Bledsoe
This paper reviewed the details of complex challenges faced by surface water management in urban riverscapes, focusing specifically on flooding, water quality, fragmented management techniques and concerns of environmental justice and equity. Read more about it in our article from November 2023.
21. Reimagining infrastructure for a biodiverse future – PNAS
Charles van Rees, Darixa Hernandez-Abrams, Matthew Shudtz, Rod Lammers, Jeb Byers, Brian Bledsoe, Jon Calabria, Matthew Chambers, Emily Dolatowski, Susana Ferreira, Laura Naslund, Donald Nelson, Nathan Nibbelink, Burton Suedel, Amanda Tritinger, Brock Woodson, Kyle McKay and Seth Wenger
This paper included a whopping eighteen IRIS and N-EWN affiliate researchers, including engineers, ecologists, landscape designers and more. The expansive review of the challenges climate change and the biodiversity crisis present to civil infrastructure was published in November of 2023.
22. Integrating climate adaptation and transboundary management: Guidelines for designing climate-smart marine protected areas – One Earth
C. Brock Woodson*
A truly amazing team of 50 researchers and practitioners from all over the world, including our own Associate Director of Engineering and Natural Sciences Brock Woodson, outlined guidelines for governments to protect marine ecosystems under climate change. This extensive paper, published in One Earth, can be reviewed in more detail in our article from October 2023.
23. Nature-based solutions for leveed river corridors – Anthropocene
Matthew Chambers, Charles van Rees, Brian Bledsoe, Susana Ferreira, Rod Lammers, Craig Landry, Don Nelson, Matthew Shudtz, and Burton Suedel
This interdisciplinary group of UGA researchers evaluated levee setbacks on flood risk management, social and environmental consequences, and ultimately linked our current knowledge to historical management practices (plus a case study of a recent setback on the Missouri River) for a full-scope view of this unique nature-based solution. Read more about IRIS research on levee setbacks here, including another new publication from a few of these authors: Modeling the effects of levee setbacks on flood hydraulics.
* = not all authors listed