AI-Powered Project Aims to Protect Coastal Freshwaters
A research group led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is implementing artificial intelligence projects to protect freshwater resources against rising seas and storms.
Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative project that uses artificial intelligence to protect coastal freshwater resources and ecosystems against rising sea levels and storms.
Purpose and Details of the Project
A new initiative spearheaded by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa aims to use artificial intelligence to predict the risks posed by rising sea levels and severe storms on coastal freshwater resources and ecosystems.
National Science Foundation Support
Associate Professor Jonghyun Harry Lee from the Water Resources Research Center has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Artificial Intelligence and Geosciences Collaborations program.
Interuniversity Collaboration
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa serves as the lead institution managing this three-year, approximately $1 million collaborative project alongside the University of Texas at Austin to advance artificial intelligence applications in the geosciences.
Coastal Threats and Environmental Pressures
Rising seas, severe storms, the risk of saltwater contamination of freshwater resources, and the degradation of coastal ecosystems directly threaten drinking water supplies, agriculture, infrastructure, and the daily lives of millions of people.
Artificial Intelligence and Environmental Modeling
The collaborative project will combine traditional environmental modeling with recent advancements in artificial intelligence to develop fast and accessible AI models in order to better understand the water exchange between coastal aquifers and the ocean.
Scientific Models and Expected Goals
Researchers will design a novel system integrating artificial intelligence with proven physical models to create high-speed surrogate models capable of running complex simulations of groundwater and ocean interactions.