USGS Office of Communications
Science Picks―Leads, Feeds, and Story Seeds
June 2006 Edition
For Release: UPON RECEIPT
Last year, hurricane season took its toll on coastal and wetland communities. Right now, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is preparing for the 2006 Hurricane Season. The June Science Picks is dedicated to hurricane studies and planning. It’s full of the most current USGS science news and information. Science Picks helps you cover ongoing earth and natural science research, investigations and technology. Photos and Web links are provided to enhance your story. If you would like to receive Science Picks via email, would like to change the recipient or no longer want to receive it, please email dmakle@xxxxxxxx.
June Highlights:
・ Hurricanes ? Before and Aftermath
・ Gearing Up ? Science Response Vehicle for 2006 Hurricane Season
・ Catching the Wave ? Storm-Surge Sensors
・ Be Aware ? 2006 Hurricane Season Ushers Landslide Hazards
・ Now You See It, Now You Don’t ? Bye-Bye Beach
・ Midst of the Storm ? Hurricane, Birds and Coastal Habitats
・ Gaging the Storm ? Checks Flood
and more …
LEADS:
Hurricanes ? Before and Aftermath: June 1 marked the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season. Last year, there were 23 named storms, including Hurricane Katrina. USGS researchers were busy investigating the extent, causes and coastal impacts of hurricanes and extreme storms as they hit one after another. Find out what was learned from Hurricane Katrina impact studies at http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/katrina/photo-comparisons/chandeleur.html. For additional USGS information regarding Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, see http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/hurricane/katrina.htm. Also, USGS and other Federal and State partners post hurricane information related to Louisiana on http://www.lacoast.gov.For more information, contact Gaye Farris at 337-266-8550 or gaye_farris@xxxxxxxx.
Gearing Up ? Science Response Vehicle Prepared for 2006 Hurricane Season: The Science Response Vehicle (SRV) was first used during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to map 911 rescue calls and critical infrastructure, such as levee breaks, bridges and pumping stations; and for performing water-quality sampling at sites along Lake Pontchartrain. USGS is preparing for rapid response and gearing up the vehicle for the 2006 hurricane season. The vehicle serves as an outside laboratory, facilitating the collection and processing field samples on site; provides critical communication via the Internet; receives weather and emergency information; and provides living quarters for response personnel. Can the vehicle be helpful during other natural disasters? Yes. Learn more about the SRV and its rapid deployment capabilities. For more information, contact USGS scientist James Johnston at (337) 266-8503 or jimmy_johnston@xxxxxxxx, or Gaye Farris at (337) 266-8550 or gaye_farris@xxxxxxxx.
Catching the Wave ? Storm-Surge Sensors: As Hurricane Rita approached the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, USGS deployed experimental water-level and barometric pressure gages to record the magnitude, extent and timing of inland hurricane storm surge and coastal flooding. There were 47 sensors (34 water-level sensors and 13 barometric pressure sensors) deployed September 22-23, 2005. Learn more about the sensors and how creating a time-lapse 3-D view of storm surge may be useful during future hurricanes, as well as what was learned from Rita as she came on shore. For more information on this project, contact USGS scientist Benton Mcgee at (318) 251-9630 or bdmcgee@xxxxxxxx, or Robert Mason at (703) 648-5305 or rrmason@xxxxxxxx.
Be Aware ? 2006 Hurricane Season Ushers Landslide Hazards: As the 2006 hurricane season whips up, it reminds us of past hurricanes and the catastrophic events that followed. For example, Category 5 Hurricane Camille in August 1969 was the strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland United States. It caused extreme flooding and fast-moving landslides (or debris flows), damage to roads, bridges, communications systems, homes, businesses, farms and livestock. The potential for debris flows in mountainous areas that have existing wet soil conditions is heightened during intense rain storms and hurricanes. During the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, USGS issued six advisories. Get the facts and information on what citizens living near steep hills prone to landslides can do prior to and after storms, from USGS Fact Sheet FS-071-00 entitled, “Landslide Hazards” at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0071-00/ and in Spanish at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0072-00/. For more information, contact Lynn Highland at the National Landslide Information Center at (800) 654-4966 or at highland@xxxxxxxx.
Now You See It, Now You Don’t ? Bye-Bye Beach: Waves, water and wind, like those caused by hurricanes, accentuate already dramatic erosion along America’s coasts, threatening America’s beaches. In 1994, scientists estimated a 60 percent loss of beach in the Gulf region. More recently, a new report, “Coastal Land Loss along the U.S. Southeast, Atlantic Coast (east Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina),” indicates erosion is greatest along the shores and barrier islands of North and South Carolina. To learn more, take a look at the USGS publications, “National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico,” USGS Open File Report 2004-1043, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1043/, and “National Assessment Of Shoreline Change: Part 2, Historical Shoreline Changes And Associated Coastal Land Loss Along The U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast,” USGS Open File Report 2005-1401 at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1401/ofr-2005-1401_print.pdf. Have questions? Contact USGS scientist Robert Morton at 727-803-8747, ext. 3080, or at rmorton@xxxxxxxx.
FEEDS:
Midst of the Storm ? Hurricane, Birds and Coastal Habitats: On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita wrecked havoc on Louisiana’s coast by toppling vast areas of forest and stripping away canopy foliage, vine tangles and thickets of perennial plant species that harbor the insects or produce the fruits that migrant birds depend on enroute to winter destinations. Since the fall migration season for land-birds coincides with the peak of hurricane season, August through October, do hurricanes affect bird migration? That’s a question USGS scientists are asking themselves, and a newly established radar laboratory is being used to track bird movements during the fall migration and hurricane season. To find how radar is being used to study bird movements ? before and after hurricane passage ? or to learn more about the new radar laboratory, contact Wylie Barrow at (337) 266-8668 or Wylie_Barrow@xxxxxxxx, or Lori Randall at (337) 266-8665 or lori_randall@xxxxxxxxx
Gaging the Storm ? Checks Flood: USGS continues to play a critical role in reducing flood losses through scientific research and by operating the national streamgaging network, including more than 7,000 gaging stations that provide real-time information to emergency responders and flood-plain managers. Check out real-time streamflow information at http://water.usgs.gov/. WaterWatch, another USGS flood tool, can be accessed at http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch. For more information, call Denver Makle at (703) 648-4732 or dmakle@xxxxxxxx.
STORY SEEDS:
Unexpected Imagery Aids Emergency Response: No one knows where satellites will take their next picture, but within hours of Hurricane Katrina’s strike on New Orleans, images from Landsat 7 revealed the 17th Street canal levee breech and extensive flooding. USGS technicians at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, processed these data. USGS is responsible for flight operations, maintenance and management of all data reception, processing, archiving, product generation and distribution of Landsat’s imagery. For more information on Landsat 5 or 7, contact Ron Beck at (703) 648-6168 or beck@xxxxxxxx, or Karen Wood at (703) 648-4447 or kwood@xxxxxxxx. Updates and further information are available at http://landsat.usgs.gov/.
Real-time Maps Solve Hurricane
Dilemmas: In New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, maps created with
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) helped locate and rescue stranded
survivors; mapped roads, levees, oil, gas and electric power infrastructure,
and provided a means for flood forecasting and control. To learn more about
how geospatial information is being used to help first responders, call
Denver Makle at (703) 648-4732 or dmakle@xxxxxxxx.
See interactive maps and hurricane communities at http://gos2.geodata.gov/wps/portal/gos
and http://nationalmap.gov/.
