USGS News: June Science Picks - Science that Weathers the Storm

[Jennifer LaVista <jlavista@xxxxxxxx>]

USGS Office of Communications
Science Picks – Leads,
Feeds, and Story Seeds
June 2007 Edition

It’s June, which means that this
year’s hurricane season has begun — and the USGS has science that weathers
the storm. In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated the devastation
that storms can inflict and the importance of hurricane hazard research
and preparedness. More than half of the U.S. population lives within 50
miles of a coast, and that number continues to increase. A major goal of
the USGS is to reduce the vulnerability of the people and areas most at
risk from natural hazards. This month’s edition of Science Picks shares
the science and technology used to do just that. 

Check out more USGS hurricane-related
programs and get the latest on storm happenings throughout the season by
visiting the USGS Hurricane Web site at http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/hurricanes/2007/default.asp.


If you would like to receive Science
Picks via e-mail, would like to change the recipient, or no longer
want to receive it, please e-mail dmakle@xxxxxxxx.

June Highlights:

Ready-to-Go Gages!
Storm Surge Sensors Swiftly
Sent to Measure the Swelling Tides
A Hurricane in May?

Storm Response Vehicle to the
Rescue!
Imagery for Rapid Response
Manatees and Hurricane Season
Streamgages are Stronger than
the Storm
Decades of Data on Coastal Change
Our Research Knows No Season
Storm Proof Satellite
Societal Impacts of the Storm


Leads:

Ready-to-Go Gages! The USGS’s
nationwide network of more than 7,400 streamgages does not cover every
stream in the country. Since this data is critical for emergency managers
during storms, the USGS has developed rapidly deployable, mobile streamgages
to provide short-term, water-level data in unmonitored areas where flooding
is anticipated. These mobile gages also serve as emergency replacements
for damaged or destroyed gages. To learn more, visit http://water.usgs.gov/osw/hurricanes/index.html,
or contact Robert Mason at 703-648-5305 or rrmason@xxxxxxxx,
or Jennifer LaVista at 703-648-4432 or jlavista@xxxxxxxxx 

Storm Surge Sensors Swiftly
Sent to Measure the Swelling Tides: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita vividly
demonstrated that storm surge can be as dangerous as riverine floods. To
determine the timing, extent, and magnitude of hurricane-driven surge waters
and waves, the USGS has designed and developed a network of rugged, inexpensive
water-level and barometric-pressure sensors, called storm-surge sensors.
They can be quickly installed in anticipation of a storm. This information
will be used to calibrate the storm-surge models used by forecasters along
the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts and will help them provide improved forecasts
of what lands will be inundated and to what depth in future hurricanes.
To learn more, visit http://water.usgs.gov/osw/hurricanes/index.html,
or contact Robert Mason at 703-648-5305 or rrmason@xxxxxxxx,
or Jennifer LaVista at 703-648-4432 or jlavista@xxxxxxxxx . 

A Hurricane in May?
The USGS National Wetlands Research
Center, located in Lafayette, La., with field stations along the Gulf of
Mexico, began hurricane preparedness with a mock hurricane drill in May
that included not only possible staff evacuation, but also scientific response.
Joining in the hurricane drill was USGS Water Science Center staff as well
as observers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Louisiana and Texas.
To learn more about the drill, contact Gregory Smith at gregory_ smith@xxxxxxxx
or 337-266-8501, or Gaye Farris at gaye_farris@xxxxxxxx
or 337-266-8550.

Storm Response Vehicle to the
Rescue! The USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, La.,
can scientifically respond to hurricanes using its Science Response Vehicle.
This vehicle can be deployed to hurricane sites along the Gulf of Mexico
and Atlantic coasts to map 911 calls and critical infrastructure, such
as levee breaks, bridges, and pumping stations, as well as test water-quality
samples. The vehicle serves as an outside laboratory, facilitating collection
and processing of field samples on site; providing critical communication
via the Internet when other sources fail; receiving weather and emergency
information; and providing living quarters for response personnel.  For
more information, contact Scott Wilson at Scott_Wilson@xxxxxxxx or 337-266-8644.

Imagery for Rapid Response:
In the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster such as a hurricane
or earthquake, imagery taken from satellites or airplanes provides an urgently
needed view of the disaster — a literal overview that supplies detail,
context, and objective reference for first responders. The Emergency Operations
Project, located at the USGS Center for Earth Resources Observations and
Science, provides vital support to first responders of natural disasters
by making high-quality image data promptly available. The Emergency Operations
Project will address the 2007 hurricane season by providing broad, electronic
access to high-resolution imagery of hurricane-threatened areas in the
Eastern United States. Check out how the USGS used this data during Hurricane
Katrina at http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/hurricanes/kat_rit_wil/images/katrina_poster_compare_10.jpg.
For more information, please
contact Brenda Jones at 605-594-6503 or bkjones@xxxxxxxx,
or Jan Nelson at 605-594-6173 or jsnelson@xxxxxxxx.

Manatees and Hurricane Season: Past USGS manatee
research after strong hurricanes and winter storms indicates that such
storms affect the adult survival rates of the endangered Florida manatee.
With the aid of new satellite
technology to track manatees during storms and new statistical techniques
to determine survival and emigration rates, researchers are working to
understand how hurricanes impact manatees by studying ones caught in the
path of the destructive hurricanes of 2004 and 2005. For
additional information, visit the USGS Manatee Sirenia Project Web site
at http://cars.er.usgs.gov/Manatees/manatees.html.
For more information, contact
Catherine Langtimm at clangtimm@xxxxxxxx
or 352-264-3489.


Feeds:

Streamgages are Stronger than
the Storm: In 2005, many USGS streamgages along and inland of the Gulf
of Mexico were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The
damage resulted in interruptions of streamflow and water-level data needed
during the storm by forecasters, emergency managers, and dam and levee
operators. The USGS is currently strengthening, or “hardening,”120 gages
along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. Find a map of these locations
at
http://water.usgs.gov/osw/hurricanes/index.html.
Additionally, 8 to 10 open-water tidal/water-quality gages are being hardened
in Mississippi and Louisiana. To learn more, visit http://water.usgs.gov/osw/hurricanes/index.html,
or contact Robert Mason at 703-648-5305 or rrmason@xxxxxxxx,
or Jennifer LaVista at 703-648-4432 or jlavista@xxxxxxxxx . 

Decades of Data on Coastal Change:
The USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, La., is developing
a special Web site and databases to collect data along the Gulf and Atlantic
coasts from Federal and State sources that can be accessed immediately
for scientific response. Among these databases are NWRC’s own large spatial
databases, including more than 70 years of wetland change data. After the
hurricanes of 2005, NWRC analysis showed an immediate loss of 217 square
miles of coastal land (http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/hurricane/hurricane_land_change.htm).
These findings are being updated each fall (after the spring and summer
growing season of wetland plants) to determine the recovery of vegetation
that was either completely or partially removed by the hurricanes’ surges
and to determine how the entire vegetation community may be changing in
response to those surges. For more information, contact John Barras at
john_barras@xxxxxxxx
or 225-578-7486. 

Our Research Knows No Season:
When it comes to hurricane research, the USGS is busy all year long.
Some of the ongoing research includes (1) radar-tracking of migratory birds
during the fall migration period to assess possible effects of hurricanes
on migration patterns; (2) studying global climate change and effects of
sea-level rise on coastal wetlands and forests; (3) predicting the persistence
of coastal wetlands to global climate change effects, including effects
of altered temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide; (4) The natural
increase of surface elevation or height through the accumulation of wetland
plant roots that build up the ground surface in coastal wetlands and the
implications for this elevation change relative to sea-level rise; (5)
tracking and visualization of coastal restoration projects; and (6) hurricane
modeling, including models of the spread of invasive species via hurricane-force
winds. Hurricane information can be found at www.nwrc.usgs.gov,
www.lacoast.gov
and http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1020&mode=2&in_hi_userid=2&cached=true.
For more about any of these studies, contact Gaye Farris at gaye_farris@xxxxxxxx
or 337-266-8550.


Story Seeds: 

Storm-Proof Satellite: Currently,
USGS water data are relayed almost hourly from streamgages to a single
command and data acquisition station at Wallops Island, Va. Since this
station is located near the coast, it is vulnerable to hurricanes and other
storms. Therefore, to ensure the continuity of critical, real-time data,
the USGS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other
partners are establishing an emergency satellite data acquisition and dissemination
capability at the USGS Earth Resources Observations and Science Data Center,
located in Sioux Falls, S.D. This unit is expected to be operational by
the end of 2007. To learn more, visit http://water.usgs.gov/osw/hurricanes/index.html,
or contact Robert Mason at 703-648-5305 or rrmason@xxxxxxxx,
or Jennifer LaVista at 703-648-4432 or jlavista@xxxxxxxxx

Societal Impacts of the Storm:
USGS scientists are combining hazard and community vulnerability data to
study how Gulf Coast societies as a whole could be impacted during a storm.
Researchers, in collaboration with city and county officials, will conduct
the first case study in Sarasota County, Fla., to assess the exposure,
sensitivity and resilience of the community during a potential storm surge.
The project is designed to demonstrate the usefulness of societal vulnerability
information for risk managers to identify and visualize at-risk community
elements before hurricane landfall. For more information, contact Nathan
Wood at 360-993-8951 or nwood@xxxxxxxx.


Jennifer LaVista
Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Communications
703-648-4432
Email: jlavista@xxxxxxxx