Workshop on the Air-Water-Energy Nexus for the United States Intermountain West

This conference brings together scientists from several U.S. Intermountain West states to foster knowledge exchange between states on the nexus of air-water-energy. A growing inventory of field data coupled to advances in remote sensing and data analysis techniques provides a good opportunity for developing a consortium to find ways to fill knowledge gaps and work together to examine the region as a whole. The framework developed at this workshop will serve as a launchpad into future issues at the air-water-energy nexus. This meeting will be developed by a university-led consortium called Uniting People for Livable Intermountain Futures Together (UPLIFT). The first theme in the workshop will be focused on ground level ozone. Ozone exposure presents a variety of respiratory health risks and negative effects. Major populated areas of the U.S. Intermountain West face the timely and critical challenge of steadily high ground-level ozone concentrations despite regulatory actions to reduce it. Ground-level ozone, water, and energy systems all impact one another, forming interconnected pathways that are relatively underexplored for the Intermountain West as a whole. Ongoing energy transitions, including electrification of transportation and buildings and clean hydrogen production, are expected to shift atmospheric emission profiles across the Intermountain West. By bringing together expertise in atmospheric science, public health, engineering, policy analysis, and community engagement, this consortium can host discussions of a strategy to promote the resilience of regional air quality-water-energy systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.