House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse announced Wednesday that $9,198,000 in Federal funding will be allocated to higher education institutions in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District to advance the research on water-driven climate impacts.
The funding is part of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which allocated $22.78 million to NOAA Labs. The $22.78 million will be distributed to programs, cooperative institutes and other partners of NOAA. The $9 million will come from this funding and will advance research on coastal and inland flooding, inundation mapping and forecasting and next generation water modeling activities, including modernized precipitation frequency studies.
“Right now, all across Colorado, we see the real and visceral impacts climate change is having on our communities. We must continue to do all we can to predict the challenges ahead, equipping ourselves with the innovation and foresight needed to adapt and prepare for water-related climate impacts like drought, flooding, and more,” Neguse said. “Preparedness is our strongest tool in the face of climate change—and I am proud to see and support the work underway at CU and CSU to strengthen the same.”
Increased frequency in flooding and extreme weather events brought about the urgent need for better prediction and resilience strategies to reduce the risk of coastal and inland communities.
“By integrating cutting-edge science and technology into prediction tools, we are working to equip communities to prepare for and respond to water-driven climate impacts on our path to becoming a climate-ready nation,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “These efforts enhance our nation’s resilience and underscore NOAA’s commitment to supporting sustainable and informed decision-making in the face of climate variability and change.”
A breakdown of the funding for CIRES and CIRA is as follows:
$2 million awarded to NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado (CIRES) to advance subseasonal to annual coastal flooding risks;
$2 million awarded to CIRES to modernize probable maximum precipitation (PMP) estimates. These estimates are necessary to help decision-makers better manage the risk of precipitation that may cause severe damage or catastrophic destruction of major bridges, dams, power plants and other infrastructure. This research will help bring estimates more in line with the projected impacts from a changing climate;
$1.25 million awarded to CIRES for research to advance NOAA next-generation water prediction using a system that integrates artificial intelligence and machine learning; and
$1.975 million awarded to CIRES and $1.973 million to NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University (CIRA) to advance research to modernize PMP estimates.
