NOAA’s
COASTAL STORMS INITIATIVE
November
15, 2002 — Currently, more than half of the population of the United
States lives in a coastal zone. Unfortunately for these people, storms
in coastal areas are more severe and less predictable than in the
interior of the country. In particular, forecasts of storms and associated
weather patterns in coastal areas lag behind those of the rest of the
nation, mostly due to the difficulty of accurately observing and predicting
conditions over oceans. Coastal storms also have a serious economic impact,
with damages estimated between $10 billion and $50 billion each year.
To help protect the people, economy and environment of coastal areas,
local, regional and federal organizations need to focus on the prediction
of and preparedness for coastal storms.
The Coastal
Storms Initiative is a nationwide effort led by NOAA
to lessen the impacts that storms have on coastal
communities. To accomplish this goal, local, state and federal organizations
(including NOAA’s major organizations) are working together on site-specific
projects.
Coastal storms
— which include hurricanes,
cyclones,
nor’easters,
and tropical
storms — often have far-reaching effects that go beyond immediate
weather hazards. For instance, streams and tributaries swollen with storm
water runoff carry contaminants (such as fertilizers and bacteria) into
estuaries, rivers and eventually the ocean. These contaminants may adversely
affect water quality, leading to closures of shellfish beds and tourist
beaches. Addressing the diverse impacts of coastal storms requires not
only storm prediction, but also
information on flooding and water
circulation, identification and mapping of vulnerable areas, and coordination
of all agencies involved to ensure information is available when it is
needed.
The Coastal
Storm Initiative’s first pilot program began earlier this year in
a watershed in St. Johns Watershed, Fla. This effort is a compilation
of nine projects that address specific hazards-related issues. Taken together,
the projects will result in a large suite of new and improved tools, data,
information, forecast models and training for the coastal communities
in the pilot study area.
CSI
Projects
- Shallow
Water Bathymetry for the St. Johns River: One component
of CSI involves conducting a bathymetric survey of shallow water in
the St. Johns River Basin. Bathymetry, or measuring water depths with
sonar to determine bottom topography, is generally used to promote navigational
safety in the nation’s waters by identifying obstructions and
changing bottom terrain. When coupled with other CSI projects, the bathymetry
will also be helpful for predicting flood ranges, erosion impacts and
the possible movement of hazardous
spills and harmful
algal blooms. Late this spring, the NOAA Office
of Coast Survey began work mapping the first portion of the river
— from Jacksonville to the mouth at Mayport. When the survey is
complete, the data will be used to update critical nautical
charts, which will provide information for emergency response organizations
to use in the wake of a marine casualty or coastal storm.
- St.
Johns River Circulation Model: CSI partners
are also working in the St. Johns River to develop a circulation model
for the river, which will help coastal and emergency managers effectively
plan for, evacuate from and respond to coastal flooding.
During a coastal storm, water levels within the river begin to rise
due to rain, runoff from tributaries and storm
surge. This model will incorporate bathymetry and information on
water levels, currents, temperature and salinity to provide real-time
river conditions and forecasts. The NOAA Office of Coast Survey expects
a real-time version of this model to be running in early 2003. It will
provide current conditions hourly and 24-hour forecasts four times a
day. By having real-time information, the pilot area will be better
able to cope with coastal flooding.
- Improved
Oceanographic and Meteorological Observations: While many
oceanographic and meteorological networks measure the conditions of
the water and atmosphere, these networks often do not use the same systems
to measure, compile and store these data. As part of the CSI pilot program
in Florida, area networks are working together to integrate their marine
forecasting efforts by using standardized sensors and systems. The first
step in this direction was taken by the NOAA
National Data Buoy Center when it deployed a new weather buoy in
June of this year. Data on wind speed, wave heights, air-and sea-surface
temperatures and salinity is collected and used in forecasting storms.
As reported by Jacksonville
Weather Service staff, the buoy has already provided essential information
for hurricane forecasting, and has even assisted area shipping captains
in navigation
and routing decisions. Overall, this enhanced network will be the foundation
for an improved environmental monitoring system for northeast Florida.
- Ecological
Forecasting of Coastal Storm Impacts: To help coastal communities
protect their waters from pollution, NOAA
Fisheries and National Ocean
Service will provide ecological
forecasting tools to assess and mitigate impacts from contaminants
dispersed during coastal storm events. These tools investigate how coastal
storms move contaminants from point and non-point pollution sources
and change the concentrations of bacterial and chemical contaminants
in estuarine ecosystems. After evaluating how contaminants affect natural
resources, potential mitigation strategies will be identified. As a
first step in this direction, the ecological forecasting team has identified
three key pesticides of concern in the watershed (out of the almost
200 present) for accelerated research into their fate and transport
during storm events. This research will evaluate their potential impacts
on estuarine systems. This portion of the team's research will culminate
this year in three pesticide fact sheets as a guide for decision makers
or as an education tool for local stakeholders.
-
Improved Prediction of Coastal Winds, Waves, and Flooding:
For this component of CSI, the NOAA
National Weather Service will produce accurate and detailed weather
and marine forecasts
of coastal winds, waves, precipitation
and potential flooding. This project will also produce high-resolution
forecasts of near shore wave heights and water levels, both of which
are not currently available to forecasters. These data can be used by
emergency managers, as well as recreational and professional mariners,
to help prepare for and safely navigate through coastal storms.
- Risk
and Vulnerability Assessment Tool: To help communities
identify their risks and vulnerabilities to coastal storms, the NOAA
Coastal Services Center is working with Brevard and Volusia counties
to develop an online spatial analysis tool for conducting risk and vulnerability
assessments. By engaging the community in the development of the tool,
and by integrating real-time data and information from the other Coastal
Storms Initiative projects, NOAA is striving to ensure that communities
are equipped with the right information in the right format to improve
their ability to plan for, respond to and recover from coastal storms.
In addition to serving as a planning and decision-support tool for emergency
and coastal zone managers, the tool will also educate residents, businesses
and tourists about potential coastal storm impacts within their area.
Through the tool’s interactive map, a homeowner — for instance
— is able to find out how vulnerable his or her property is to
coastal storm-related hazards, such as hurricane storm surge, inland
flooding, coastal erosion and hurricane winds. The tool will also provide
the public with more detailed information about the potential impacts
associated with each hazard, including a 3-D model simulation of hurricane
storm surge for one community within each county. The project team is
also working to incorporate real-time hazard forecast data, such as
flood forecast information from the Southeast
River Forecast Center, into the prototype assessment tool.
- Outreach
and Extension:
While technology and information are becoming increasingly vital to
most coastal resource management efforts, the human component of community
issues and solutions cannot be overlooked. As part of CSI, the NOAA
Coastal Services Center will coordinate an outreach program to provide
the training and assistance that is necessary to help the different
local project partners take full advantage of the tools and information
being developed through the initiative. Working in conjunction with
the local pilot coordinator, this project is conducting constituent
meetings, developing an outreach and extension network, and supplying
feedback for any needed training and technical assistance. For instance,
if a storage tank is damaged during or after a strong coastal storm,
a hazardous chemical spill could result. To be prepared for the possibility
of hazardous chemical spills, the NOAA
Office of Response and Restoration is conducting a workshop to prepare
first responders in the Florida pilot area. The first part of the workshop
identifies risks, inventories resources available and develops applicable
training scenarios. The second part of the workshop uses NOAA spill
response software (CAMEO,
ALOHA,
and Reactivity database) to work through these scenarios and their implications.
The final step of this training is to develop a coastal area contingency
plan for hazardous materials response.
- Integration
of Coastal Data & Data Access and Standards: Coastal
ocean and weather observations (often called data) are useful to coastal
managers, emergency responders, land use planners and many others. These
data are used in various tools to identify risks and vulnerabilities
to coastal storms. However, data used for this purpose can be hard to
find and use. The final two projects of CSI were designed to work in
concert to help organizations find user-friendly data. The NOAA
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory is working
with the local community to identify, collect, reformat, document and
record coastal ocean and weather observations. Once the data is reformatted,
these more compatible data will then be made widely available to the
user community in a timely, user-friendly and understandable way through
the NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center. This project will
provide "one-stop shopping" for new and existing coastal data
and information through development of an online metadata catalog, which
will help users find relevant data.
The
Future of CSI
The
Coastal Storms Initiative was envisioned by Margaret
Davidson, director of the NOAA Coastal Services Center, as a way to
integrate NOAA’s capabilities under one umbrella to better address
the diverse impacts of coastal storms. This more integrated approach requires
coordination across NOAA's line offices, including the NOAA Fisheries,
National Ocean Service, National Weather Service, NOAA
Research, and National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and Information Service. By combining these offices’
knowledge, skills and research, NOAA is better able to further its mission
of describing and predicting changes in the nation’s coastal environment,
while conserving and wisely managing its coastal and marine resources.
Once the
projects of the pilot program have been successfully completed, the Coastal
Storms Initiative plans to expand to the Pacific Northwest next, and then
to other coastal areas across the nation. In the short term, the Florida
pilot program may be useful to other southeastern states as a demonstration
project.
“The
Coastal Storms Initiative is bringing pertinent and up-to-date coast-related
information to those who need it most,” says Davidson. “Cross
program efforts like this one help NOAA maximize its efforts to protect
coastal communities.”
Relevant
Web Sites
NOAA's
Coastal Storms Initiative
NOAA's
hurricane theme page
NOAA's
Office of Coast Survey
NOAA's
flooding theme page
NOAA
storm surge information
NOAA’s
National Data Buoy Center
NOAA's
Jacksonville Weather Service
NOAA's
ecological forecasting activities
NOAA's
marine forecasts
NOAA's
Coastal Services Center
NOAA's
Southeast River Forecast Center
NOAA's
Office of Response and Restoration
NOAA's
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
Margaret
Davidson, director of NOAA's Coastal Service Center
NOAA's
Fisheries
NOAA's National Ocean Service
NOAA's
National Weather Service NOAA's
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
NOAA's
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
Media
Contact:
Glenda
Tyson, NOAA's Ocean Service,
(301) 713-3066
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