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Making Waves: Episode 2 (Nov. 7, 2008)

(INTRO)

… THE NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE PARTNERS WITH BUSINESS TO MAKE SCHOOLS GREENER
… A RECORD SEASON FOR OIL SPILLS
… AND USING GRAVITY TO GET MORE ACCURATE ELEVATIONS

THOSE STORIES ARE COMING UP ON THIS WEEK’S MAKING WAVES FROM NOAA'S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE...

(ECOZONE®)

THIS THURSDAY, NOAA WAS ON HAND IN CHICAGO AT THE KICK OFF OF A NEW PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO MAKE SCHOOLS GREENER. CHICAGO JOINS MIAMI AND SAN FRANCISCO AS THE THIRD CITY TO LAUNCH THE PILOT PROGRAM OF THE ECOZONE® GREEN SCHOOLS INITIATIVE.
ECOZONE IS AN OUTREACH AND EDUCATION EFFORT SPONSORED BY MEDIA COMPANY ECOMEDIA AND CBS.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH NOAA? WE’RE THE FIRST FEDERAL PARTNER TO JOIN THIS INNOVATIVE PROGRAM, AND WE’RE GOING TO PLAY A ROLE IN THE PILOT PROJECT – NOAA MEMBERS WILL SERVE ON A PANEL TO JUDGE ENTRIES TO A CONTEST THAT CHALLENGES KIDS AND EDUCATORS TO COME UP WITH IDEAS TO MAKE THEIR SCHOOLS GREENER. ONE LUCKY SCHOOL FROM EACH CITY WILL WIN A GREEN MAKEOVER WORTH OVER $100,000.

NOAA IS ALSO SERVING AS ONE OF MANY AGENCY AND NONPROFITS ADVISING ECOMEDIA ON HOW TO BEST REINVEST UP TO 50 PERCENT OF THE COMPANIES PROFITS IN NONPROFIT ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS AND EFFORTS.

ECOZONE® IS A NATIONAL PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THAT AIMS TO HELP CITIES, COUNTIES, AND STATES SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL NITIATIVES RELATED TO AIR AND WATER QUALITY, ENERGY CONSERVATION, AND THE PRESERVATION OF PARKS AND GREEN SPACE. ALL OF THIS … AT NO ADDITIONAL TAXPAYER COST.

YOU’LL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT NOAA’S ROLE IN THIS CREATIVE EFFORT IN THE COMING YEAR – SO STAY TUNED.

(BUSY YEAR FOR OIL SPILL RESPONSE)

TWO DESTRUCTIVE HURRICANES AND TWO MAJOR SHIP ACCIDENTS MARKED THE BUSIEST SEASON EVER FOR THE NOS OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RESTORATION. OVER THE PAST FISCAL YEAR, THE OFFICE -- CALLED OR&R FOR SHORT -- RESPONDED TO 179 INCIDENTS. THREE-QUARTERS OF THOSE WERE OIL SPILLS.

THE BUSY SEASON BEGAN LAST NOVEMBER WHEN THE CONTAINER SHIP COSCO BUSAN STRUCK THE BAY BRIDGE IN SAN FRANCISCO. THAT LEFT A ONE HUNDRED FOOT GASH IN THE VESSEL’S HULL AND LEFT 58,000 GALLONS OF FUEL OIL IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY.

THEN, IN JULY, NOAA TEAMS JOINED OVER 2,000 RESPONDERS IN A MASSIVE EFFORT TO CLEAN UP AFTER A COLLISION BETWEEN A BARGE AND A CHEMICAL TANKER. THIS ACCIDENT DUMPED 378,000 GALLONS OF OIL INTO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER RIGHT NEXT TO DOWNTOWN NEW ORLEANS.

THEN THERE WERE HURRICANES GUSTAV AND IKE. THE TIMING OF GUSTAV WAS EXTRA CHALLENGING SINCE IT COINCIDED WITH CLEAN UP EFFORTS ALONG THE EARLIER MISSISSIPPI BARGE ACCIDENT.
THEN IKE HIT, AND WHILE OR&R STAFF WERE HELPING THE COAST GUARD TO GET WATERWAYS AND FACILITIES REOPENED AFTER THIS STORM ... THEY HAD TO RESPOND TO THREE MORE SPILLS IN LOUISIANA THAT WERE UNRELATED TO THE HURRICANE! ALL OF THIS HAPPENED IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER!

OR&R STAFF ARE ON CALL 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK TO PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE TO FEDERAL AND STATE PARTNERS WHEN SPILLS HAPPEN – EVERYTHING FROM SMALL CHEMICAL LEAKS TO MASSIVE OIL SPILLS. FOLLOWING THE INITIAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE, THE OFFICE LENDS A HAND TO HELP RESTORE DAMAGED NATURAL RESOURCES.

(MEASURING GRAVITY TO MEASURE HEIGHTS)

FINALLY THIS WEEK, THE NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY IS MOVING FORWARD WITH AN EFFORT TO MEASURE AND MONITOR VARIATIONS IN THE GRAVITY FIELD OF THE EARTH. IT’S PART OF A PROGRAM TO PROVIDE A BETTER, FASTER, AND LESS EXPENSIVE WAY TO ACQUIRE MORE ACCURATE ELEVATION READINGS AROUND THE NATION.

WHILE THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM REVOLUTIONIZED THE MEASUREMENT OF LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE BY PROVIDING PINPOINT COORDINATES ANYWHERE ON EARTH … THERE HASN’T BEEN A COMPARATIVE LEAP IN TECHNOLOGY FOR HEIGHT MEASUREMENT. THE NGS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO CHANGE THAT FOR THE U.S.

THE SURVEY BEGAN COLLECTING GRAVITY OBSERVATIONS ALONG THE GULF COAST OF LOUISIANA AT THE END OF OCTOBER.

THE EVENTUAL GOAL IS TO COMPILE OBSERVATIONS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE U.S. TO FORM A MORE ACCURATE MODEL FOR DEFINING HEIGHTS.
ACCURATE HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS ARE CRITICAL FOR DETERMINING WATER FLOW. AND THIS WATER FLOW INFORMATION IS CRITICAL FOR MONITORING AND MAPPING STORM SURGE, TSUNAMIS, FLOOD PLAINS, IRRIGATION, AND NAVIGATION.

GPS HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS TODAY AREN’T VERY ACCURATE BECAUSE THE SYSTEM USES AN OVERSIMPLIFIED MODEL OF SEA LEVEL TO CALCULATE HEIGHT.

BUT ONCE COMPLETED, THE NEW NGS MODEL WILL PERMIT FAST AND ACCURATE HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS WITHIN AN ACCURACY RANGE OF TWO CENTIMETERS – THAT’S LESS THAN INCH -- ANYWHERE IN THE U.S.
SURVEY PROJECT MANAGERS SAY THIS ILL BE COSTLY UPFRONT, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE MUCH CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN SINCE IT WILL VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR PEOPLE TO GAUGE HEIGHTS BY HAND USING LAND-BASED SURVEY TECHNOLOGY.

(TAKING A CLOSER LOOK)

NOW LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK …. EACH WEEK WE PICK ONE TOPIC TO EXPLORE IN MORE DEPTH, AND THIS WEEK IT’S (YOU GUESSED IT) GRAVITY AND HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS. IF YOU’RE ASKING WHAT ON EARTH GRAVITY HAS TO DO WITH HEIGHT, THEN THIS IS FOR YOU.

IT TURNS OUT THAT GRAVITY AND HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS ARE CLOSELY LINKED. WHILE IT’S RELATIVELY COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT HEIGHTS ARE MEASURED FROM SEA LEVEL, WHAT’S LESS KNOWN IS THAT THE SEA IS NOT LEVEL AT ALL.

THAT’S BECAUSE THE EARTH ISN’T ROUND AT ALL. THE OCEAN IS FULL OF PEAKS AND VALLEYS THAT REFLECT THE IRREGULAR SHAPE AND SHIFTING DENSITIES OF THE EARTH. AND THIS, IN TURN, SHAPES THE EARTH’S GRAVITY FIELD.

NGS SURVEYORS USE GRAVITY MEASUREMENTS COLLECTED DURING FLIGHTS TO CALCULATE AVERAGE SEA LEVEL.

TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE MEASUREMENTS FORM AN IMAGINARY LINE THAT PROVIDES A VERY ACCURATE APPROXIMATION OF WHAT THE SURFACE OF THE OCEAN WOULD LIKE IT IF THERE WERE NO CURRENTS OR WINDS. USING COMPLEX MATH AND GRAVITY READINGS ON LAND, SURVEYORS CAN EXTEND THIS IMAGINARY LINE THROUGH THE CONTINENTS.

THE END RESULT IS WHAT SURVEYORS CALL THE ‘GEOID,’ AND IT FORMS THE SURFACE FROM WHICH HEIGHTS ARE MEASURED. WHILE THERE ARE MANY APPROXIMATE MODELS OF THE GEOID, THE NGS SURVEY IS EXPECTED TO FORM THE CORE OF THE MOST ACCURATE GEOID MODEL EVER ASSEMBLED.

THE RECENT GRAVITY MEASUREMENT FLIGHTS FORM ONE COMPONENT OF A BROADER NGS HEIGHT MODERNIZATION PROGRAM THAT COMBINES GPS DATA, EARTH-BOUND LAND SURVEYING TECHNIQUES, AND AIRBORNE GRAVITY READINGS.

(OUTRO)

WELL, THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR OCEAN, VISIT OCEANSERVICE.NOAA.GOV – FROM THERE YOU CAN SURF ON OVER TO THE SITES OF THE OFFICES WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY – THE OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RESTORATION AND THE NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY.

THAT NGS GRAVITY PROJECT, BY THE WAY, IS OFFICIALLY CALLED GRAV-D (G-R-A-V DASH D) IF YOU WANT TO LOOK IT UP. THAT STANDS FOR GRAVITY FOR THE RE-DEFINITION OF THE AMERICAN VERTICAL DATUM. SOMETIMES AN ACRONYM IS BEST … AND IF YOU WANT TO KEEP TABS ON THE BIG SPILLS NOAA RESPONDS TO, CHECK OUT INCIDENTNEWS.GOV.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS PODCAST, ABOUT NOAA’S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE, OR ABOUT OUR OCEAN, SEND US AN EMAIL AT NOS.WEB@NOAA.GOV.

THAT'S ALL FOR THIS EPISODE. LET'S BRING IN THE OCEAN. THIS IS MAKING WAVES FROM NOAA'S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE. SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

-END-

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