• Improve understanding of the hydrologic behavior of green roofs
• Understand the impact of green roofs on hydrological processes at the watershed scale
• Examine the watershed-scale impact of different spatial distributions of green roofs
• Explore the economies of scale and benefits of scaling green roofs in a watershed

High lake levels have reduced beach sizes across Chicago, but we have little understanding of how much was passive inundation versus sediment remobilization. Ongoing collaborative efforts with the Chicago Park District and the Illinois Coastal Management Program are focused on observations of process-landform dynamics using camera arrays at select beaches and integrating UAS-based imagery, topographic information, wave data, and camera footage. However, while efforts are underway to understand the subaerial dynamics here (e.g., shoreline behaviors), little is known about littoral dynamics and sand transport across the highly fragmented urban nearshore environment, where prior studies have inferred a complex lakefloor geology that includes outcropping Silurian bedrock reefs, heavily scoured and dissected glacial clay tills, and thin, discontinuous sand veneers. We wish to capture the geologic configuration of the nearshore at the surface and map the shallow subsurface architecture as a means of quantifying sand volumes and relating them to the broader geologic template and the urban infrastructure with its influence on nearshore hydrodynamics.

Aquaponics food production systems produce more food on less land, using less water than conventional food production systems. Further, they can be located near population centers, diminishing the carbon footprint of long-distance transportation of foods. Fresh food supplies in urban cities in the US takes advantage of the developing trends among consumers seeking sustainable, fresh, locally grown food supplies. Marine aquaponic systems are capable of producing fresh seafood and plant crops with high market value and strong consumer demand, but few species combinations have been developed well enough for practical applications. In this project, we propose continuing our ongoing efforts to explore marine aquaponics and provide operational guidelines for successful production.

Objective 1 – Complete our developing list of salt-tolerant plant species with a focus on seed availability, recommendations for germination, growth rates, and chemical composition data;
Objective 2 – Evaluate the long-term sustainability of a shrimp/plant marine aquaponic system, and evaluate salinity tolerance of 3-6 halophytic plant crop in marine aquaponics systems; and,
Objective 3 – Determine characteristics of the Asian markets in Chicago for products from marine aquaponic FPS and estimate total poundage of market demand.

The objective of this project is to establish the current marketing status and potential for yellow perch products with wholesale and retail businesses in the seafood marketing channels in the North Central Region of the United States.

While there is an emerging consensus on the climate risks faced by different areas of the country, there is a profound lack of information on how local governments are responding to these risks. This proposal begins to fill the information gap by funding a faculty-student team to assist local officials in Indiana counties bordering Lake Michigan to complete the Hoosier Resilience Index Readiness Assessment (HRA). This instrument, developed by research staff at Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI), offers unique insight into the local response to climate risks, facilitating analysis of the political, social, and economic factors that shape policy decisions.