On August 8, 2025. the Caribbean Center for Rising Seas joined the project advanced through the NSF type known as Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE) and titled Co-developing modeling frameworks to mitigate the effects of compounding flood hazards in coastal communities (Desarrollo Conjunto de Métodos para Mitigar los Efectos de Inundaciones en Comunidades Costeras del Estuario de la Bahía de San Juan). This project led by Professional Engineer Félix Santiago Ph.D. of the Compound Inundation Team for Resilient Applications at the University of Georgia, will engage flood prone communities in the San Juan bay estuary to advance knowledge around flood hazards by deploying inundation sensors in key locations. We are thankful for the generous support from River Network in helping make our contribution possible.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

May 27, 2025

The Caribbean Center for Rising Seas co-hosted with the Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program and in collaboration with Conservación Costera (COCO PR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Office of Coastal Zone Management, a workshop on nature-based solutions. This event was a way to advance capacity building on handling data critical for decision making in the face of global warming. Following are the project abstracts.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

August 2024 – May 2025

The Caribbean Center for Rising Seas engaged as a ‘client’ the students and professors at George Mason University’s Data Analytics Engineering program to answer various research questions. Student teams gathered, analyzed, depicted, and presented data on various topics related to flooding in Puerto Rico. These projects are a way to advance capacity building on handling data critical for decision making in the face of global warming. Following are the project abstracts.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

Attorney Aquino presented a talk titled: Guiando la protección costera mediante las decisiones: Estrategias de adaptación climática basadas en la conducta para las políticas costeras de Puerto Rico at the Simposio de Costas 2025: Puerto Rico at the Intersection of Climate change and recovery sponsored by the Sea Grant Law Center and held at the Interamerican University Law School on February 21, 2025.

Rewatch the symposium at: https://simposiodecostas.org/en/

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

The Puerto Rico Science Trust GIS and IT team joined with the Caribbean Center for Rising Seas to answer various research questions. The first was how much land area would be impacted. In the process, a set of dashboards were produced. These depict municipal infrastructure and land regulation/use statistics for all 44 coastal communities as they overlap with 4 stages of sea level rise at 1’, 3’, 7’, and 10’ and 10 stages in the second case from 1’ through 10’ of sea level rise.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

Held on March 7, 2025, this meetup sought to explore the challenges and opportunities that emerge from understanding changes in sea level as they overlap cultural heritage in Puerto Rico. This created a dialogue to reorganize efforts and effectively mitigate the observed risks. Participants included the Caribbean Center for Rising Seas, the World Monuments Fund, Centro de Conservación y Restauración de Puerto Rico, Para la Naturaleza, GISEMC, Terra Firma, Alianza Cultural para Emergencias de Puerto Rico, and specialists like Pedro Cardona Roig, Loderay Bracero, Lara Sánchez, and Jesús Vega.

The discussion was led by the Puerto Rico Research and Innovation Meetup. A program of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

On February 28, 2025 the Caribbean Center for Rising Seas explored the challenges and opportunities that sea level rise and other impacts have on Puerto Rico’s biodiversity. The Caribbean Center for Rising Seas participated of an extended discussion with the Center for Tropical Biodiversity, ISER Caribe, Dr. Neftalí Ríos, Ciudadanos del Karso, Sociedad Ambiente Marino, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, CARICOOS, ‘Para la Naturaleza, Tetra Tech, El Puente, Ambienta Inc., and specialists like Pedro Cardona Roig, Marconi Campos, Elvira Cuevas, Angel Acosta, Christopher Nytch, and Omar Saadé.

The discussion was led by the Puerto Rico Research and Innovation Meetup. A program of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

On November 8, 2024 the Caribbean Center for Rising Seas discussed the impacts of Sea Level Rise on Research Facilities throughout Puerto Rico with specialists and leaders of the Scientific Research Institute, the White House’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the Research Grants Program, the Caribbean Climate Hub, CARICOOS, the UPR, the Molecular Science Research Center, and Colmena 66. A key result of this event was the creation by the Puerto Rico Science Trust of a Scientific Research Centers Ecosystem Dashboard that depicts their location and other circumstances to better understand their value for Puerto Rico’s Research and Development outlook.

The discussion was led by the Puerto Rico Research and Innovation Meetup. A program of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

The Caribbean Center for Rising Seas led an event to discuss flood maps with the engineers’ and surveyors’ guild titled Una mirada hacia el calentamiento global desde los mapas de inundaciones. (A glance at global warming from the point of view of flood maps.) Guest panelists included Hydraulic Engineer José Rodríguez, Surveyor Ruth Trujillo, Planner Félix Aponte, and Environmental Engineer Hanna Rodríguez. Engineer Kettsy García Santiago served as moderator.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.

The program has worked with professionals in the built environment, government officers, policy makers, and experts throughout Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. It refined the depiction and understanding of scenarios where flooding produces changes in our vulnerable coastal and flood-prone communities. The way Puerto Rico’s land use development adapts to take advantage of its predominant topographic elevation and geologic attributes will become a reference point for other small island nations. By identifying and addressing extremely significant unmet needs and producing methodologies to tackle them, the Caribbean Center for Rising Seas strategically positioned the Puerto Rico Science Trust to lead the region’s transformation as it builds smart for long lasting benefit and resilience.

About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust:

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, as described in Public Law 214, is a private nonprofit organization established in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investments and financing for research and development in science and technology. It invests, facilitates, and develops capacities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens through research and development-based enterprises, science and technology, public health, and innovation, aiming for Puerto Rico to be a globally recognized center of innovation. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.