Ocean and coastal observing technology efforts awarded $27.2 million

September 30, 2013

IOOS is a federal, regional, and private-sector partnership working to enhance our ability to collect, deliver, and use ocean information.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

NOAA is awarding $27.2 million to sustain current critical ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing efforts and to support innovative marine sensor technologies, with a goal of helping us better understand our coastal and marine environment. The funding is provided through the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®), other federal agencies, and NOAA programs.

“IOOS brings federal and regional ocean observations together to give decision-makers the critical data they need to save lives and build their communities,” said Zdenka Willis, U.S. IOOS program director. “These awards will sustain those observations, and speed the transition of new promising technologies into the ocean, where they can serve our coastal communities day in and day out.”

Highlights of the awards

This year’s awards include $2.9 million for marine sensor innovation projects to enhance our understanding of the coastal and marine environment.  

$1 million to the Southeastern Universities Research Association to make operational the U.S. IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed, an infrastructure for the testing and improvement of non-federal and federal models and prediction tools;

$1 million to the Alliance for Coastal Technologies for technology transfer and accelerating development of promising new marine observing technologies;

$340,000 provided through the Northeast IOOS Regional Association in support of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and McLane Industries efforts to transition cutting-edge observing platforms monitoring the emergence of harmful algal blooms and improve harmful algal bloom forecasts in the Gulf of Maine;

$574,000 to fund projects in five IOOS Western regional associations. These projects will develop ocean acidification sensor technology to support West Coast and Alaska shellfish industry monitoring needs, improve measurements of the state of ocean acidification in the Pacific Islands, and develop workforce capacity to work with ocean acidification sensors.

In addition to the marine sensor innovation projects introduced this year, the U.S. IOOS awarded $24.3 million to sustain critical coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes efforts.  As part of this effort, the U.S. IOOS Program and NASA will continue to jointly fund, at $250,000 each per year, projects to improve satellite sea surface temperature data from existing and new sensors, produce a blended output of sea surface temperature data from U.S. and international datasets, and target these products for coastal applications and regional IOOS usage. The total breakdown of the $27.2 million is:

Alaska Ocean Observing System ($2.2 million)

Alliance for Coastal Technologies ($1 million)

Caribbean Regional Association ($1.6 million)

Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System ($2.3 million)

Gulf of Mexico Coastal Observing System ($1.5 million)

Great Lakes Observing System ($1.6 million)

Mid-Atlantic Regional Association for Coastal Ocean Observing Systems ($3 million)

Multi-sensor Improved Sea Surface Temperature ($500,000)

Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems ($3.1 million)

Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems ($2.4 million)

Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System ($2.2 million)

Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System ($2.3 million)

Southeastern Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association ($2.5 million)

Southeastern Universities Research Association ($1 million)

Funding supports NOAA's efforts to develop a national IOOS for tracking, predicting, managing and adapting to changes in the marine environment. IOOS delivers data and information needed to increase understanding of the Nation’s waters to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect our environment.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

Grant aids purchase of critical coastal habitat in Puerto Rico

June 13, 2013

NOAA's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program helped acquire more than 87 acres of critical coastal habitat in Puerto Rico, that will serve to protect a wetlands, mangroves and beaches that are are also nesting grounds for endangered sea turtles.

Download here (Credit: USFWS)

A NOAA grant of $1 million has helped the territory of Puerto Rico complete the acquisition of Dos Mares, an 87-acre parcel that includes wetlands, forested wetlands, and a coastal mangrove forest.

Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) provided $2 million in matching funds for the acquisition. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contributed $500,000 to the purchase. and the Trust for Public Land also contributed other costs related to the purchase.  

The grant comes from a fiscal year 2010 grant competition held by NOAA’s Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP).

The acquisition of the Dos Mares parcel completes the overall San Miguel Phase III CELCP project, which included the previous purchase of a 117-acre parcel. Both properties are located within Puerto Rico’s Reserva Natural Corredor Ecológico del Noreste (Northeast Ecological Corridor Reserve), an ecologically diverse mosaic of coastal habitats including coral reefs, inter-tidal areas, wetlands, forests, mangroves, and beaches. The reserve is home to more than 800 species of flora and fauna and its pristine beaches are a popular nesting area for endangered leatherback and hawksbill turtles. Currently about 65 percent of the reserve’s 3,000 acres are in public ownership.

Map of NOAA's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program project area along the coast of Puerto Rico.

Download here (Credit: Google Earth)

“The Northeast Ecological Corridor is an area of high priority and importance for us. The acquisition of these lands guarantees the long-term protection of this ecologically magnificent area,” said Irma Pagán, sub-secretary of Puerto Rico DNER. “This reserve is unique because the driving force for protecting it and maintaining its natural integrity has been the community and their grass roots commitment and efforts. Partnerships with agencies like NOAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been vital in moving forward with these efforts.”

“This NOAA conservation grant program is one of America’s best investments because it leverages funds from federal, state and private partners to acquire and protect acres of critical coastal habitat that help coastal communities and ecosystems become more resilient to climate change and human impacts,” said Margaret Davidson, acting director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. “We are pleased to have contributed to the protection of this critical habitat in Puerto Rico.”

The long-term protection of the Dos Mares and San Miguel properties also complements the efforts of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program to manage and protect coral reefs within the reserve. The program is currently supporting the development of a watershed plan for Rio Fajardo and an integrated marine management plan with other partners, including DNER.

NOAA’s CELCP, established by Congress in 2002 to advance the objectives of the Coastal Zone Management Act, has protected nearly 100,000 acres of critical coastal and estuarine lands in partnership with federal, state, territorial and local government agencies and private organizations.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

Federal agencies remapping coastal areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy

August 20, 2013

In a Sandy-response project earlier this spring, a NOAA navigation response team — equipped with high-tech surveying equipment — searched for underwater storm debris and mapped the depths surrounding Liberty Island and Ellis Island.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

A day after the administration released the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force progress report, three federal agencies have announced plans for remapping parts of the East Coast, where Hurricane Sandy altered seafloors and shorelines, destroyed buildings, and disrupted millions of lives last year.

NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are using emergency supplemental funds provided by Congress to survey coastal waters and shorelines, acquiring data that will update East Coast land maps and nautical charts.

Using ships, aircraft, and satellites, the agencies will measure water depths, look for submerged debris, and record altered shorelines in high priority areas from South Carolina to Maine, as stipulated by Congress in the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013. The areas to be remapped will be based on their relative dangers to navigation, effects from the storm, and discussions with state and local officials as well as the maritime industry.

In Sandy's immediate aftermath, NOAA survey vessels responded to calls for assistance from storm-ravaged areas in New York, New Jersey, Delaware Bay, and Virginia. This navigation response team cleared a path to launch at Marcus Hook.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

“Our approach is to map once, then use the data for many purposes,” said NOAA Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “Under the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act, NOAA and its federal partners are taking a 'whole ocean' approach to get as much useful information as possible from every dollar invested to help states build more resilient coastlines.”

The data, much of which will be stored at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center, and through NOAA’s Digital Coast, will be open to local, state, and federal agencies as well as academia and the general public. The information can be applied to updating nautical charts, removing marine debris, replenishing beaches, making repairs, and planning for future storms and coastal resilience.

As the sun rose over New York on Nov. 1, NOAA Corps Ensign Lindsey Norman retrieved the side scan sonar that NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson used to survey the Hudson River, allowing fuel barge traffic to resume.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

The three federal agencies are collaborating for greater topographic and hydrographic coverage and to promote efficiency. Earlier this year, a NOAA navigation response team surveyed the waters around Liberty Island and Ellis Island in New York harbor, measuring water depths and searching for debris that could cause a danger to navigation. Also, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson began surveying the approaches to the Delaware Bay in June.

NOAA plans to contract with commercial firms for additional hydrographic survey projects and high resolution topographic and bathymetric elevation data and imagery in the region.

The U.S. Geological Survey will collect very high-resolution elevation data to support scientific studies related to the hurricane recovery and rebuilding activities, watershed planning and resource management. USGS will collect data in coastal and inland areas depending on their hurricane damages and the age and quality of existing data. The elevation data will become part of a new initiative, called the 3D Elevation Program, to systematically acquire improved, high-resolution elevation data across the United States.

Within hours of Sandy's departure, NOAA deployed research vessel Bay Hydro II to survey ship channels in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, speeding the resumption of shipping and naval operations.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

“The human deaths and the powerful landscape-altering destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy are a stark reminder that our nation must become more resilient to coastal hazards,” said Kevin Gallagher, associate director for Core Science Systems at USGS. "Sandy's most fundamental lesson is that storm vulnerability is a direct consequence of the elevation of coastal communities in relation to storm waves. Communities will benefit greatly from the higher resolution and accuracy of new elevation information to better prepare for storm impacts, develop response strategies, and design resilient and cost-efficient post-storm redevelopment."

The Army Corps of Engineers and its Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise are covering particular project areas in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey. They will coordinate operations, research, and development in airborne lidar bathymetry and complementary technologies for USACE, NOAA, and the U.S. Navy.

Preliminary U.S. damage estimates are near $50 billion, making Sandy the second-costliest cyclone to hit the United States since 1900. There were at least 147 direct deaths recorded across the Atlantic basin due to Sandy, with 72 of these fatalities occurring in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. This is the greatest number of U.S. direct fatalities related to a tropical cyclone outside of the southern states since Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

Louisiana coastal towns struggle with storm flooding (Reuters)

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Louisiana Gulf Coast towns and inland waterways struggled with flooding on Monday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee continued to test flood barriers but the city of New Orleans remained in fairly good shape.

Jerry Sneed, deputy mayor of public safety for New Orleans, reported no significant problems on Monday morning, with standing water remaining in only a few areas outside the levee protection system. No deaths were reported from the storm.

"Overall, things worked well, I think we did OK," he said.

As of 5:30 a.m., utility company Entergy reported no remaining power outages in New Orleans. At one point, some 38,000 homes in the area had lost power.

New Orleans was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, which flooded 80 percent of the city, killed 1,500 people and caused more than $80 billion in damage. Half of the city is below sea level, protected by levees and flood gates.

This time, the city fared better than its neighbors and out-lying areas.

The continuing tidal surge brought by strong southerly winds flooded about 20 homes in Slidell's Palm Lake subdivision, east of New Orleans, overnight as drainage arteries into Lake Pontchartrain backed up, leaving up to four feet of standing water.

The nearby Oak Harbor subdivision stayed on flood watch on Monday morning as Lake Pontchartrain's waters remained about three feet above normal.

By morning, as the tropical depression moved to the east, winds in the local area shifted to the north, beginning to help move the water back out of some flooded areas. But the shift didn't come soon enough for some areas.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser complained bitterly of delays in improving levee protection as he joined crews continuing a losing battle against the water.

"Look at the people who suffered through four hurricanes and the oil spill," Nungesser said. "How much more can they take?"

Surging water overtopped an old levee on Sunday night, making the main highway through the parish impassable. Water flowed freely across Highway 23, flooding nearby pastureland.

HERDING CATTLE IN BOATS

Men used boats to herd about 30 head of struggling cattle to higher ground, forcing the animals to swim to the safety of a Mississippi River levee.

After Hurricane Katrina and the resulting flood devastated the New Orleans region in 2005, money was allocated to boost levee protection in the parish, Nungesser said. But the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet begun the construction work.

"It's frustrating to know the money is in the bank to rebuild this levee and we're out here fighting this," he said.

Grand Isle Mayor David Carmadelle said crews were working to reopen Louisiana Highway 1 south of Golden Meadow as the water recedes on Monday. He said serious erosion has occurred on the beach of Grand Isle, a barrier island, and he also complained that the Corps of Engineers has delayed construction of levees the agency has promised.

In coastal Terrebonne Parish, parish President Michel Claudet said the shifting wind was a relief. He said just three houses had been reported flooded. Some roads remain closed in low-lying areas of the parish, but "the rain's stopping and we're looking forward to the north winds," he said.

Claudet said an "aggressive elevation program" that helped finance the raising of about a thousand homes in the lower part of the parish in recent years helped prevent the widespread home flooding that could have occurred.

Meanwhile, a marsh fire that has burned some 1,500 acres in eastern New Orleans over the past week continued to smolder on Monday morning. Local officials had hoped rainfall that totaled up to 15 inches in recent days would extinguish the persistent fire, which they believe started with a lightning strike on combustible peat moss and other marsh brush.

Across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, water overtopped a levee outside a floodwall on the Harvey Canal, But officials said the wall, built after Hurricane Katrina, remains solid and should protect nearby homes.

To the north, across Lake Pontchartrain, some communities waited anxiously for shifting winds to carry floodwaters back into the lake. The Mandeville lakefront, where most homes and businesses are raised, remained closed Monday, with water still splashing over barriers.

Some areas of nearby Madisonville remained flooded from the water pushed over the banks of the Tchefuncte River.

(Writing and reporting by Kathy Finn; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Peter Bohan)

View the original article here

Coastal towns rethink tsunami evacs from ground up (AP)

LONG BEACH, Wash. – When the next devastating earthquake strikes off the Northwest coast, it is expected to send a tsunami so fast that it could leave coastal communities with perhaps 20 minutes to escape the surge of water.

For small towns like Long Beach, which sits on a long spit just above sea level, the wave's speed will leave minimal options for getting away: People can literally run for the hills, but the first elevated areas are more than a mile to the east, difficult to reach and likely unknown to tourists. Or people can try to drive, cramming roads that could be ravaged by the quake and follow the ubiquitous blue evacuation signs — assuming they still exist.

"If you have a major earthquake, God only knows which way those signs are going to point," said Long Beach city administrator Gene Miles.

Recognizing the ominous options they currently face and the Japan tsunami that displayed the potential destruction, some areas along the Northwest coast are working on plans to build massive hills or structures that could be used to escape the tsunami's reach. The so-called vertical evacuation sites have been adopted in parts of Japan but have never been pursued in the United States.

Communities in Washington, working with state officials and university researchers, have identified a series of about 40 potential evacuation sites and are now working on more for areas on the Olympic Peninsula. Officials in Bay City, Ore., have discussed the possibility of a site in a low-lying area. Crescent City, Calif., plans to use an existing assisted living facility — the tallest building in town — to shelter people who can't get to higher ground in the event of a sudden tsunami.

For those looking at building new sites, here's one glaring problem: The ideas are expensive. Miles estimates that his plan to build a 40-foot berm — about as high as the tallest buildings in town — would cost $250,000. The reinforced earthen mound would sit near a school and close to the city center, allowing people to scale the hill and wait out the destruction on top.

Only 1,392 people live in the town, although it fills with vacationers during the summer.

Costs were a factor in the decision by Cannon Beach, Ore., officials to back away from a proposal to rebuild its city hall to withstand a tsunami and refuge people in upper levels. Now officials there are in early discussions about the possibility of creating some sort of evacuation platform, said Mayor Mike Morgan.

Scientists believe it is only a matter of time before the next mega-quake strikes at the Cascadia Subduction Zone just off the Northwest coast. Those quakes, which can send tsunamis straight onto shore, strike every 400 to 500 years — with the last one happening about 300 years ago.

The earthquake would likely last about five minutes and trigger perhaps six feet of land subsidence along the coast. Rushing in from just 50 miles offshore, the tsunami could arrive within 20 minutes.

Oregon's Department of Geology is in the process of reassessing the potential devastation that a tsunami could inflict on the coast. New maps recently produced for the small city of Bandon illustrate potential damage from the surge.

Some people who would be on the waterfront in Bandon would have nearly a mile to travel to reach high enough terrain. And, since the tsunami's inundation would grow deeper as it crashes into higher ground, scientists project that evacuees in certain locations may need to get to an area 100 feet above sea level to be safe.

Officials in Bandon still believe the hillsides are the greatest refuge and are not looking at building any vertical structures. That's the case in many communities along the Oregon coast that have hilly, amphitheater-style backdrop that can be used for escape.

Ian Madin, the chief scientist at the Oregon Department of Geology, said the vertical evacuation sites could be useful in some communities but that steep terrain makes them unnecessary in many areas. He cautioned that the Japan earthquake and tsunami should not trigger a panic that leads to pointless spending on costly projects.

"You're not going to solve the problem in six months, and the odds are that you will have decades to prepare," Madin said. "I hate to see people stampeded into rash decisions."

Washington state also has a rugged coastline, but it includes more lowlands that are vulnerable. That's part of the reason behind Project Safe Haven, a coordinated analysis of evacuations between federal, state, local and tribal officials.

Leaders behind the effort believe several population areas along the Washington coast — including parts of South Beach, Westport and the Tokeland peninsula — are not close enough to natural evacuation spots.

John Schelling, who leads the earthquake program at the Washington Emergency Management Division, said the towers, berms and buildings under consideration each have pros and cons — from costs to accessibility to usability during regular living. But he said the plans that communities are adopting will help set the stage for making a funding pitch in the future.

Some of the early stages of the planning came after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Schelling said this year's disaster brought a renewed focus and helped to engage citizens.

"The Japan event really reinvigorated tsunami planning and preparedness efforts," Schelling said.

___

Associated Press Writer Mike Baker can be reached at -http://twitter.com/MikeBakerAP

View the original article here

No tsunami for coastal Alaska after strong quake (AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook a large swath of Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Thursday evening, sending residents of small coastal towns to higher ground as officials issued a tsunami warning in the temblor's wake.

The quake was centered about 122 miles east of Atka, about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage. It was recorded at a depth of 26 miles, the Alaska Earthquake Information Center said.

The quake was felt through the central Aleutians and as far east as Dutch Harbor and Unalaska, but no damage was reported, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman with the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

"It was shaking, it was just a little rumbly" and lasted about 20 seconds, said Atka resident Rodney Jones.

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center posted a tsunami warning for some coastal areas of Alaska, but canceled the warning about an hour after the quake. The warning covered an area from 80 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor to about 125 miles west of Adak.

Jones said it appeared all of the town's 61 residents took to higher ground when they heard the tsunami warning, which he heard issued over CB radio. The townspeople gathered on a high hill for about an hour, near the city's new water tank.

During their wait for the all-clear signal, he said a priest with the town's Russian Orthodox Church recited prayers.

In Dutch Harbor, longshoreman Jim Paulin said warning sirens caused also caused hundreds of people to begin climbing up a nearby hill.

"Right now there's hundreds of people up on the hilltop," he told The Associated Press before the all-clear was given. "I can look across the bay and see people on another hilltop."

After the tsunami warning was canceled, he said everybody was "calm. It seems like everybody's kind of enjoying it. It's good weather."

Paulin said no one seemed panicked because the city has been evacuated in the past. But, he said, "It's better to be safe than sorry."

___

Associated Press writers Kathy McCarthy in Seattle and Michelle Price in Phoenix contributed to this report.

View the original article here