We are a research team based out of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, funded as part of The National Science Foundation's Coastlines and People (CoPe) research initiative. Our newly formed hub has assembled to study the issue of extreme heat in the coastal region of Southern California amidst climate change, and sustainable and equitable long-term solutions to heat in Southern California’s coastal zone.

We will answer critical convergent questions concerning: 

1. The atmosphere-land-ocean dynamics that drive and modulate patterns of extreme heat;
   
   
2. Localized health impacts of extreme heat, with an emphasis on how the built environment and socioeconomic factors determine who faces the brunt of heat-health impacts; and
   
   
3. Regionally-specific vegetation-temperature relationships, and the climate suitability and water needs of urban greening efforts. Critically, our research will be informed by local and regional government agencies, NGOs, and community groups that are already invested and engaged in climate change adaptation.

Our project began in September of 2022 and will continue for 5 years – with products and connections that will continue well beyond the lifespan of the hub. The Hub will generate science-based, data-driven, and co-produced research and data products that will directly benefit heat adaptation planning efforts in Southern California, and will be transferable to other coastal regions worldwide.

Coproduction and exchange of information during the research process will strengthen local capacity to adapt to extreme heat. Additionally, the Hub’s focus on teacher training and student learning is designed to broaden participation in STEM, and will empower students from the communities most hard-hit by climate change and extreme heat to participate in building solutions.