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If you love science and math, the National Park Service (NPS) has a use for it: protecting some of the most remarkable places on Earth. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sit at the center of how the parks are being preserved for future generations.
The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) has given the NPS unprecedented funding to take on big problems such as aging infrastructure and climate change.
Heavy machinery at work on a waterfront project. NPS
Defending the coast
Beaches and rocky cliffs face rising seas and powerful storms. STEM drives the planning and design of rehabilitated shorelines and seawalls that resist erosion and flooding.
| Tool | What it tells engineers |
|---|---|
| Sonar and satellite mapping of the underwater terrain, plus traditional topographic surveys | water depth, sediment, and the shape of land and seafloor — the data needed for shoreline treatments that stand up to nature |
| Coastal flooding surveys, drawing on historical data, tide gauges and meteorological models | how exposed an area is to rising seas and storm surge, where future flooding is likely, and which places are at highest risk |
That analysis shapes defenses that are both structurally sound and resilient to a changing climate.
Case study: the York River
At Colonial National Historical Park, the NPS recently finished a GAOA project to stabilize the York River shoreline. It combined:
- restored marsh and riverine habitat, and
- a hardened shoreline — a higher revetment, rock sills and breakwaters.
The team used "living shorelines": rebuilding natural barriers and anchoring them with wetland plants to protect the bank. With advanced modeling, a multidisciplinary design team that includes engineers can tune a living shoreline to work as well as possible while disturbing the ecosystem as little as possible.
Construction workers operate machinery along a seawall. NPS
Beyond the shoreline
Across the parks, engineers design energy-efficient buildings, build renewable energy systems, and plan sustainable transportation — using science and technology to make the parks better for people and the planet.
A career for you?
Climate change, rising visitation and climbing construction costs will keep challenging the parks, and the NPS will depend on tomorrow's engineers, scientists and mathematicians to guide its decisions. Keep learning and applying your STEM skills, and you could be the NPS employee who keeps the parks protected, vibrant and accessible for generations to come.
Sources
Based on "Beyond the Classroom: Your STEM Skills Can Build a Greener Future," National Park Service, part of its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics series; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The article calls the law the "Great America Outdoors Act"; it is the Great American Outdoors Act.
I dessa publikationerScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Licens: CC0 1.0 (allmän egendom) · Bearbetat efter www.nps.gov
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