NOAA's operational path forward: Developing the Coyote UASonde

Science.gov (United States)

Cione, J.; Twining, K.; Silah, M.; Brescia, T.; Kalina, E.; Farber, A.; Troudt, C.; Ghanooni, A.; Baker, B.; Dumas, E. J.; Hock, T. F.; Smith, J.; French, J.; Fairall, C. W.; deBoer, G.; Bland, G.

2016-12-01

Since 2009, NOAA has shown an interest in using the air-deployed Coyote Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for low-altitude hurricane reconnaissance. In September of 2014, NOAA conducted two successful missions into Hurricane Edouard using this innovative observing tool. Since then, NOAA has continued to invest time and resources into the Coyote platform. These efforts include plans to release up to 7 additional Coyote UAS into tropical cyclones using NOAA's P-3 Hurricane Hunter manned aircraft in 2016. A longer-term goal for this multi-institutional partnership will be to modify the existing UAS design such that the next generation platform will be capable of conducting routine observations in direct support of a wide array of NOAA operations that extend beyond hurricane surveillance. The vision for this potentially transformative platform, dubbed the Coyote UASonde, will be to heavily leverage NOAA's existing capabilities, incorporate significant upgrades to the existing payload and employ an expert navigation and data communication system that utilizes artificial intelligence. A brief summary of Coyote successes to date as well as a future roadmap that leads NOAA towards an operationally-viable Coyote UASonde will be presented.

Simulation of the Impact of New Ocean Surface Wind Measurements on H*Wind Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Timothy; Atlas, Robert; Black, Peter; Chen, Shuyi; Hood, Robbie; Johnson, James; Jones, Linwood; Ruf, Chris; Uhlhorn, Eric

2008-01-01

The H*Wind analysis, a product of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, brings together wind measurements from a variety of observation platforms into an objective analysis of the distribution of surface wind speeds in a tropical cyclone. This product is designed to improve understanding of the extent and strength of the wind field, and to improve the assessment of hurricane intensity. See http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/data sub/wind.html. The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is a new passive microwave remote sensor for hurricane observations that is currently under development by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NOAA Hurricane Research Division, the University of Central Florida and the University of Michigan. HIRAD is being designed to enhance the current real-time airborne ocean surface winds observation capabilities of NOAA and USAF Weather Squadron hurricane hunter aircraft using the operational airbome Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR). Unlike SFMR, which measures wind speed and rain rate along the ground track directly beneath the aircraft, HIRAD will provide images of the surface wind and rain field over a wide swath (approximately 3 x the aircraft altitude, or approximately 2 km from space). The instrument is described in a separate paper presented at this conference. The present paper describes a set of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) in which measurements from the new instrument as well as those from existing instruments (air, surface, and space-based) are simulated from the output of a numerical model from the University of Miami, and those results are used to construct H*Wind analyses. Evaluations will be presented on the relative impact of HIRAD and other instruments on H*Wind analyses, including the use of HIRAD from 2 aircraft altitudes and from a space-based platform.

Hunters in the New Millennium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Hans Peter

that hunting is a common source of conflict between different interests, only very few studies has been made to produce knowledge about people hunting for leisure. The survey “Hunters in the new millennium” is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of hunters and hunting in an increasing urbanized...

Hunter-gatherers have less famine than agriculturalists.

Science.gov (United States)

Berbesque, J Colette; Marlowe, Frank W; Shaw, Peter; Thompson, Peter

2014-01-01

The idea that hunter-gatherer societies experience more frequent famine than societies with other modes of subsistence is pervasive in the literature on human evolution. This idea underpins, for example, the 'thrifty genotype hypothesis'. This hypothesis proposes that our hunter-gatherer ancestors were adapted to frequent famines, and that these once adaptive 'thrifty genotypes' are now responsible for the current obesity epidemic. The suggestion that hunter-gatherers are more prone to famine also underlies the widespread assumption that these societies live in marginal habitats. Despite the ubiquity of references to 'feast and famine' in the literature describing our hunter-gatherer ancestors, it has rarely been tested whether hunter-gatherers suffer from more famine than other societies. Here, we analyse famine frequency and severity in a large cross-cultural database, in order to explore relationships between subsistence and famine risk. This is the first study to report that, if we control for habitat quality, hunter-gatherers actually had significantly less--not more--famine than other subsistence modes. This finding challenges some of the assumptions underlying for models of the evolution of the human diet, as well as our understanding of the recent epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Danes - The keen bargain hunters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Birger Boutrup

2008-01-01

New research proves that Danes are keen bargain hunters, and that they do specific price checks before selecting a product.......New research proves that Danes are keen bargain hunters, and that they do specific price checks before selecting a product....

Neurogenic bladder in Hunter's syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyama, K; Moda, Y; Sone, A; Tanaka, H; Hino, Y

1994-01-01

We encountered a rare patient with Hunter's syndrome who exhibited urinary retention as a result of a neurogenic bladder, uninhibited detrusor contractions, and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia. Neurological findings were consistent with cervical myelopathy and cervical MR imaging showed very narrow segments at the cord level C2-4. We speculate that this Hunter's syndrome patient has cervical myelopathy and that this neurological dysfunction causes the neurogenic bladder. PMID:8014981

Year-ahead prediction of US landfalling hurricane numbers: intense hurricanes

OpenAIRE

Khare, Shree; Jewson, Stephen

2005-01-01

We continue with our program to derive simple practical methods that can be used to predict the number of US landfalling hurricanes a year in advance. We repeat an earlier study, but for a slightly different definition landfalling hurricanes, and for intense hurricanes only. We find that the averaging lengths needed for optimal predictions of numbers of intense hurricanes are longer than those needed for optimal predictions of numbers of hurricanes of all strengths.

Potential of Future Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) Ocean Surface Wind Observations for Determining Tropical Storm Vortex Intensity and Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Atlas, Robert; Bailey, M. C.; Black, Peter; James, Mark; Johnson, James; Jones, Linwood; Miller, Timothy; Ruf, Christopher; Uhlhorn, Eric

2008-01-01

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an innovative technology development, which offers the potential of new and unique remotely sensed observations of both extreme oceanic wind events and strong precipitation from either UAS or satellite platforms. It is based on the airborne Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR), which is a proven aircraft remote sensing technique for observing tropical cyclone ocean surface wind speeds and rain rates, including those of major hurricane intensity. The proposed HIRAD instrument advances beyond the current nadir viewing SFMR to an equivalent wide-swath SFMR imager using passive microwave synthetic thinned aperture radiometer technology. This sensor will operate over 4-7 GHz (C-band frequencies) where the required tropical cyclone remote sensing physics has been validated by both SFMR and WindSat radiometers. HIRAD incorporates a unique, technologically advanced array antenna and several other technologies successfully demonstrated by the NASA's Instrument Incubator Program. A brassboard version of the instrument is complete and has been successfully tested in an anechoic chamber, and development of the aircraft instrument is well underway. HIRAD will be a compact, lightweight, low-power instrument with no moving parts that will produce wide-swath imagery of ocean vector winds and rain during hurricane conditions when existing microwave sensors (radiometers or scatterometers) are hindered. Preliminary studies show that HIRAD will have a significant positive impact on analyses as either a new aircraft or satellite sensor.

Effects of Asymmetric Secondary Eyewall on Tropical Cyclone Evolution in Hurricane Ike (2008)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guosheng; Perrie, William

2018-02-01

The secondary eyewall plays an important role in tropical cyclone evolution and intensification and is routinely assumed to be axisymmetric. A unique opportunity to investigate the characteristics of the secondary eyewall in two dimensions is provided by the high spatial resolution (about 1 km) sea surface winds that were observed by spaceborne synthetic aperture radar over Hurricane Ike (2008). Here we extract the asymmetric characteristics using our Symmetric Hurricane Estimates for Winds model and analyze the related hurricane evolution by comparisons with aircraft measurements. Compared to the classic eyewall replacement cycle theory, our investigation finds that the primary eyewall did not weaken and the secondary eyewall did not shrink over a period of more than 30 hr. We suggest that the reason for this persistence is that a boundary layer inflow pathway is provided by the relatively low winds in the asymmetric secondary eyewall area, as observed by synthetic aperture radar.

Discrete choice modeling of season choice for Minnesota turkey hunters

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Cornicelli, Louis; Merchant, Steven S.

2018-01-01

Recreational turkey hunting exemplifies the interdisciplinary nature of modern wildlife management. Turkey populations in Minnesota have reached social or biological carrying capacities in many areas, and changes to turkey hunting regulations have been proposed by stakeholders and wildlife managers. This study employed discrete stated choice modeling to enhance understanding of turkey hunter preferences about regulatory alternatives. We distributed mail surveys to 2,500 resident turkey hunters. Results suggest that, compared to season structure and lotteries, additional permits and level of potential interference from other hunters most influenced hunter preferences for regulatory alternatives. Low hunter interference was preferred to moderate or high interference. A second permit issued only to unsuccessful hunters was preferred to no second permit or permits for all hunters. Results suggest that utility is not strictly defined by harvest or an individual's material gain but can involve preference for other outcomes that on the surface do not materially benefit an individual. Discrete stated choice modeling offers wildlife managers an effective way to assess constituent preferences related to new regulations before implementing them. 

Wind Retrieval Algorithms for the IWRAP and HIWRAP Airborne Doppler Radars with Applications to Hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Guimond, Stephen Richard; Tian, Lin; Heymsfield, Gerald M.; Frasier, Stephen J.

2013-01-01

Algorithms for the retrieval of atmospheric winds in precipitating systems from downward-pointing, conically-scanning airborne Doppler radars are presented. The focus in the paper is on two radars: the Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler(IWRAP) and the High-altitude IWRAP (HIWRAP). The IWRAP is a dual-frequency (Cand Ku band), multi-beam (incidence angles of 30 50) system that flies on the NOAAWP-3D aircraft at altitudes of 2-4 km. The HIWRAP is a dual-frequency (Ku and Kaband), dual-beam (incidence angles of 30 and 40) system that flies on the NASA Global Hawk aircraft at altitudes of 18-20 km. Retrievals of the three Cartesian wind components over the entire radar sampling volume are described, which can be determined using either a traditional least squares or variational solution procedure. The random errors in the retrievals are evaluated using both an error propagation analysis and a numerical simulation of a hurricane. These analyses show that the vertical and along-track wind errors have strong across-track dependence with values of 0.25 m s-1 at nadir to 2.0 m s-1 and 1.0 m s-1 at the swath edges, respectively. The across-track wind errors also have across-track structure and are on average, 3.0 3.5 m s-1 or 10 of the hurricane wind speed. For typical rotated figure four flight patterns through hurricanes, the zonal and meridional wind speed errors are 2 3 m s-1.Examples of measured data retrievals from IWRAP during an eyewall replacement cycle in Hurricane Isabel (2003) and from HIWRAP during the development of Tropical Storm Matthew (2010) are shown.

Hurricane Evacuation Routes

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — Hurricane Evacuation Routes in the United States A hurricane evacuation route is a designated route used to direct traffic inland in case of a hurricane threat. This...

Hurricane Resource Reel

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This Reel Includes the Following Sections TRT 50:10 Hurricane Overviews 1:02; Hurricane Arthur 15:07; Cyclone Pam 19:48; Typhoon Hagupit 21:27; Hurricane Bertha...

Wildlife value orientations among hunters, landowners and the general public

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gamborg, Christian; Jensen, Frank Søndergaard

2016-01-01

This article examined wildlife value orientations among hunters (n = 1,130) and landowners (n = 1,207) in comparison to the general public (n = 1,001 adults) in Denmark, a highly urbanized European country. Respondents were categorized into four value types based on their responses to 19 statements....... Significant differences in wildlife value orientations were found. Mutualists and distanced dominated in the public; most landowners and hunters were utilitarian followed by pluralist. Male hunters were more utilitarian than female. More active hunters were more utilitarian; hunters belonging to a hunting...... association were more utilitarian than those who did not belong to associations. Full-time farmers were more utilitarian than part-time farmers, and conventional farmers were more utilitarian than organic farmers. No significant difference with regard to residence for all three groups was found. Future...

Planet Hunters: Kepler by Eye

Science.gov (United States)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Lintott, C.; Fischer, D.; Smith, A. M.; Boyajian, T. S.; Brewer, J. M.; Giguere, M. J.; Lynn, S.; Parrish, M.; Schawinski, K.; Schmitt, J.; Simpson, R.; Wang, J.

2014-01-01

Planet Hunters (http://www.planethunters.org), part of the Zooniverse's (http://www.zooniverse.org) collection of online citizen science projects, uses the World Wide Web to enlist the general public to identify transits in the pubic Kepler light curves. Planet Hunters utilizes human pattern recognition to identify planet transits that may be missed by automated detection algorithms looking for periodic events. Referred to as ‘crowdsourcing’ or ‘citizen science’, the combined assessment of many non-expert human classifiers with minimal training can often equal or best that of a trained expert and in many cases outperform the best machine-learning algorithm. Visitors to the Planet Hunters' website are presented with a randomly selected ~30-day light curve segment from one of Kepler’s ~160,000 target stars and are asked to draw boxes to mark the locations of visible transits in the web interface. 5-10 classifiers review each 30-day light curve segment. Since December 2010, more than 260,000 volunteers world wide have participated, contributing over 20 million classifications. We have demonstrated the success of a citizen science approach with the project’s more than 20 planet candidates, the discovery of PH1b, a transiting circumbinary planet in a quadruple star system, and the discovery of PH2-b, a confirmed Jupiter-sized planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. I will provide an overview of Planet Hunters, highlighting several of project's most recent exoplanet and astrophysical discoveries. Acknowledgements: MES was supported in part by a NSF AAPF under award AST-1003258 and a American Philosophical Society Franklin Grant. We acknowledge support from NASA ADAP12-0172 grant to PI Fischer.

Planet Hunters 2 in the K2 Era

Science.gov (United States)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Fischer, Debra; Boyajian, Tabetha S.; Giguere, Matthew J.; Ishikawa, Sascha; Lintott, Chris; Lynn, Stuart; Schmitt, Joseph; Snyder, Chris; Wang, Ji; Barclay, Thomas

2015-01-01

Planet Hunters (http://www.planethunters.org) is an online citizen science project enlisting hundreds of thousands of people to search for planet transits in the publicly released Kepler data. Volunteers mark the locations of visible transits in a web interface, with multiple independent classifiers reviewing a randomly selected ~30-day light curve segment. In September 2014, Planet Hunters entered a new phase. The project was relaunched with a brand new online classification interface and discussion tool built using the Zooniverse's (http://www.zooniverse.org) latest technology and web platform. The website has been optimized for the rapid discovery and identification of planet candidates in the light curves from K2, the two-wheeled ecliptic plane Kepler mission. We will give an overview of the new Planet Hunters classification interface and Round 2 review system in context of the K2 data. We will present the first results from the Planet Hunters 2 search of K2 Campaigns 0 and 1 including a summary of new planet candidates.

NOAA HRD's HEDAS Data Assimilation System's performance for the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Science.gov (United States)

Sellwood, K.; Aksoy, A.; Vukicevic, T.; Lorsolo, S.

2010-12-01

The Hurricane Ensemble Data Assimilation System (HEDAS) was developed at the Hurricane Research Division (HRD) of NOAA, in conjunction with an experimental version of the Hurricane Weather and Research Forecast model (HWRFx), in an effort to improve the initial representation of the hurricane vortex by utilizing high resolution in-situ data collected during NOAA’s Hurricane Field Program. HEDAS implements the “ensemble square root “ filter of Whitaker and Hamill (2002) using a 30 member ensemble obtained from NOAA/ESRL’s ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) system and the assimilation is performed on a 3-km nest centered on the hurricane vortex. As part of NOAA’s Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program (HFIP), HEDAS will be run in a semi-operational mode for the first time during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season and will assimilate airborne Doppler radar winds, dropwindsonde and flight level wind, temperature, pressure and relative humidity, and Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer surface wind observations as they become available. HEDAS has been implemented in an experimental mode for the cases of Hurricane Bill, 2009 and Paloma, 2008 to confirm functionality and determine the optimal configuration of the system. This test case demonstrates the importance of assimilating thermodynamic data in addition to wind observations and the benefit of increasing the quantity and distribution of observations. Applying HEDAS to a larger sample of storm forecasts would provide further insight into the behavior of the model when inner core aircraft observations are assimilated. The main focus of this talk will be to present a summary of HEDAS performance in the HWRFx model for the inaugural season. The HEDAS analyses and the resulting HWRFx forecasts will be compared with HWRFx analyses and forecasts produced concurrently using the HRD modeling group’s vortex initialization which does not employ data assimilation. The initial vortex and subsequent forecasts will be

Emergency Response Imagery Related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria

Science.gov (United States)

Worthem, A. V.; Madore, B.; Imahori, G.; Woolard, J.; Sellars, J.; Halbach, A.; Helmricks, D.; Quarrick, J.

2017-12-01

NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and Remote Sensing Division acquired and rapidly disseminated emergency response imagery related to the three recent hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Aerial imagery was collected using a Trimble Digital Sensor System, a high-resolution digital camera, by means of NOAA's King Air 350ER and DeHavilland Twin Otter (DHC-6) Aircraft. The emergency response images are used to assess the before and after effects of the hurricanes' damage. The imagery aids emergency responders, such as FEMA, Coast Guard, and other state and local governments, in developing recovery strategies and efforts by prioritizing areas most affected and distributing appropriate resources. Collected imagery is also used to provide damage assessment for use in long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts. Additionally, the imagery allows for those evacuated persons to see images of their homes and neighborhoods remotely. Each of the individual images are processed through ortho-rectification and merged into a uniform mosaic image. These remotely sensed datasets are publically available, and often used by web-based map servers as well as, federal, state, and local government agencies. This poster will show the imagery collected for these three hurricanes and the processes involved in getting data quickly into the hands of those that need it most.

77 FR 64564 - Implementation of Regulatory Guide 1.221 on Design-Basis Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-22

...-Basis Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Proposed interim...-ISG-024, ``Implementation of Regulatory Guide 1.221 on Design-Basis Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles....221, ``Design-Basis Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants.'' DATES: Submit...

Vulnerable Hunter

OpenAIRE

Md.Asha Begum; Y.VishnuPriya; V.ManoranjanBabu; ,O.Srinivasu

2016-01-01

This project "VULNERABLE HUNTER" application main aim is to detect risk in our mobile applications. This application contains modules like Fetch Application, Generate Score, Uninstall and Display Graph. Through this application it detects risk so that this application is very useful to smart phone users Now-a-days so many people are using smart phones and people are crazy about new apps. But by installing all the applications into our mobile may reduce its performance. Some apps c...

Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) Wind Speed Retrievals and Assessment Using Dropsondes

Science.gov (United States)

Cecil, Daniel J.; Biswas, Sayak K.

2018-01-01

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an experimental C-band passive microwave radiometer designed to map the horizontal structure of surface wind speed fields in hurricanes. New data processing and customized retrieval approaches were developed after the 2015 Tropical Cyclone Intensity (TCI) experiment, which featured flights over Hurricanes Patricia, Joaquin, Marty, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Erika. These new approaches produced maps of surface wind speed that looked more realistic than those from previous campaigns. Dropsondes from the High Definition Sounding System (HDSS) that was flown with HIRAD on a WB-57 high altitude aircraft in TCI were used to assess the quality of the HIRAD wind speed retrievals. The root mean square difference between HIRAD-retrieved surface wind speeds and dropsonde-estimated surface wind speeds was 6.0 meters per second. The largest differences between HIRAD and dropsonde winds were from data points where storm motion during dropsonde descent compromised the validity of the comparisons. Accounting for this and for uncertainty in the dropsonde measurements themselves, we estimate the root mean square error for the HIRAD retrievals as around 4.7 meters per second. Prior to the 2015 TCI experiment, HIRAD had previously flown on the WB-57 for missions across Hurricanes Gonzalo (2014), Earl (2010), and Karl (2010). Configuration of the instrument was not identical to the 2015 flights, but the methods devised after the 2015 flights may be applied to that previous data in an attempt to improve retrievals from those cases.

Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontzer, Herman; Raichlen, David A; Wood, Brian M; Mabulla, Audax Z P; Racette, Susan B; Marlowe, Frank W

2012-01-01

Western lifestyles differ markedly from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and these differences in diet and activity level are often implicated in the global obesity pandemic. However, few physiological data for hunter-gatherer populations are available to test these models of obesity. In this study, we used the doubly-labeled water method to measure total daily energy expenditure (kCal/day) in Hadza hunter-gatherers to test whether foragers expend more energy each day than their Western counterparts. As expected, physical activity level, PAL, was greater among Hadza foragers than among Westerners. Nonetheless, average daily energy expenditure of traditional Hadza foragers was no different than that of Westerners after controlling for body size. The metabolic cost of walking (kcal kg(-1) m(-1)) and resting (kcal kg(-1) s(-1)) were also similar among Hadza and Western groups. The similarity in metabolic rates across a broad range of cultures challenges current models of obesity suggesting that Western lifestyles lead to decreased energy expenditure. We hypothesize that human daily energy expenditure may be an evolved physiological trait largely independent of cultural differences.

The Higgs hunter's guide

CERN Document Server

Gunion, John F; Haber, Howard E; Kane, Gordon L

1989-01-01

The Higgs Hunter's Guide is a definitive and comprehensive guide to the physics of Higgs bosons. In particular, it discusses the extended Higgs sectors required by those recent theoretical approaches that go beyond the Standard Model, including supersymmetry and superstring-inspired models.

Wealth Transmission and Inequality Among Hunter-Gatherers

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Kim; Marlowe, Frank; Nolin, David; Wiessner, Polly; Gurven, Michael; Bowles, Samuel; Mulder, Monique Borgerhoff; Hertz, Tom; Bell, Adrian

2010-01-01

We report quantitative estimates of intergenerational transmission and population-wide inequality for wealth measures in a set of hunter-gatherer populations. Wealth is defined broadly as factors that contribute to individual or household well-being, ranging from embodied forms such as weight and hunting success to material forms such household goods, as well as relational wealth in exchange partners. Intergenerational wealth transmission is low to moderate in these populations, but is still expected to have measurable influence on an individual’s life chances. Wealth inequality (measured with Gini coefficients) is moderate for most wealth types, matching what qualitative ethnographic research has generally indicated (if not the stereotype of hunter-gatherers as extreme egalitarians). We discuss some plausible mechanisms for these patterns, and suggest ways in which future research could resolve questions about the role of wealth in hunter-gatherer social and economic life. PMID:21151711

Motivations of female Black Hills deer hunters

Science.gov (United States)

Gigliotti, Larry M.; Covelli Metcalf, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

State fish and wildlife agencies are particularly interested in attracting female participation because of the potential to offset declining participation in hunting. Understanding female hunters’ motivations will be critical for designing effective recruitment and retention programs for women hunters. Although female participation in hunting is increasing, males still outnumber females by about tenfold. Gender differences in deer hunters were explored by comparing ratings of eight motivations (social, nature, excitement, meat, challenge, trophy, extra hunting opportunity, and solitude). Hunter types were defined by hunters’ selection of the most important motivation for why they like Black Hills deer hunting. Overall, females and males were relatively similar in their ratings of the eight motivations, and we found 85% gender similarity in the selection of the most important motivation. Women were slightly more motivated by the food aspect of the hunt while men placed slightly more value on the hunt as a sporting activity.

HURRICANE AND SEVERE STORM SENTINEL (HS3) HURRICANE IMAGING RADIOMETER (HIRAD) V1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) was collected by the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD), which was a multi-band...

Turbulence and Coherent Structure in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer near the Eyewall of Hurricane Hugo (1989)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J. A.; Marks, F. D.; Montgomery, M. T.; Black, P. G.

2008-12-01

In this talk we present an analysis of observational data collected from NOAA'S WP-3D research aircraft during the eyewall penetration of category five Hurricane Hugo (1989). The 1 Hz flight level data near 450m above the sea surface comprising wind velocity, temperature, pressure and relative humidity are used to estimate the turbulence intensity and fluxes. In the turbulent flux calculation, the universal shape spectra and co-spectra derived using the 40 Hz data collected during the Coupled Boundary Layer Air-sea Transfer (CBLAST) Hurricane experiment are applied to correct the high frequency part of the data collected in Hurricane Hugo. Since the stationarity assumption required for standard eddy correlations is not always satisfied, different methods are summarized for computing the turbulence parameters. In addition, a wavelet analysis is conducted to investigate the time and special scales of roll vortices or coherent structures that are believed important elements of the eye/eyewall mixing processes that support intense storms.

Hunter-gatherer energetics and human obesity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herman Pontzer

Full Text Available Western lifestyles differ markedly from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and these differences in diet and activity level are often implicated in the global obesity pandemic. However, few physiological data for hunter-gatherer populations are available to test these models of obesity. In this study, we used the doubly-labeled water method to measure total daily energy expenditure (kCal/day in Hadza hunter-gatherers to test whether foragers expend more energy each day than their Western counterparts. As expected, physical activity level, PAL, was greater among Hadza foragers than among Westerners. Nonetheless, average daily energy expenditure of traditional Hadza foragers was no different than that of Westerners after controlling for body size. The metabolic cost of walking (kcal kg(-1 m(-1 and resting (kcal kg(-1 s(-1 were also similar among Hadza and Western groups. The similarity in metabolic rates across a broad range of cultures challenges current models of obesity suggesting that Western lifestyles lead to decreased energy expenditure. We hypothesize that human daily energy expenditure may be an evolved physiological trait largely independent of cultural differences.

Hot subduction: Magmatism along the Hunter Ridge, SW Pacific

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, A.J.; Verbeeten, A.; Danyushevsky, L.V.; Sigurdsson, I.A.; Maillet, P.; Monzier, M.

1997-01-01

The Hunter 'fracture zone' is generally regarded as a transform plate boundary linking the oppositely dipping Tongan and Vanuatu subduction systems. Dredging along the Hunter Ridge and sampling of its northernmost extent, exposed as the island of Kadavu in Fiji, has yielded a diversity of magmatic suites, including arc tholeiites and high-Ca boninites, high-Mg lavas with some affinities to boninites and some affinities to adakites, and true adakitic lavas associated with remarkable low-Fe, high-Na basalts with 8-16 ppm Nb (herein high-Nb basalts). Lavas which show clear evidence of slab melt involvement in their petrogenesis occur at either end of the Hunter Ridge, whereas the arc tholeiites and high-Ca boninites appear to be restricted to the south central part of the ridge. Mineralogical and whole rock geochemical data for each of these suites are summarized, and a tectono-magmatic model for their genesis and distribution is suggested. Trace element features and radiogenic isotope data for the Hunter Ridge lavas indicate compositions analogue to Pacific MORB-like mantle

Numerical analyses of an aircraft crash on containment building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sim, Jae Min; Kim, Seung Hyun; Chang, Yoon Suk [Kyunghee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The containment building is responsible to isolate and protect internal devices against external conditions like earthquake, hurricane and impact loading. It has also to protect leakage of radioactivity, like LOCA (Loss Of Coolant Accident), when severe accidents occurred. Meanwhile, social awareness such as terrorism has been increased globally after international aircraft crashes at World Trade Center and Pentagon. In this paper, FE (Finite Element) analyses according to variation of crash locations and speeds were carried out to examine the aircraft crash impact on a domestic containment building. In this paper, numerical analyses of aircraft crash on NPP's containment building were performed taking into account different locations and aircraft speeds. (1) Amounts of concrete failure were dependent on the crash locations and the connector was the most delicate location comparing to the dome and wall part. (2) Maximum stress values generated at the liner plate and rebars did not exceed their UTS values.

Numerical analyses of an aircraft crash on containment building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sim, Jae Min; Kim, Seung Hyun; Chang, Yoon Suk

2016-01-01

The containment building is responsible to isolate and protect internal devices against external conditions like earthquake, hurricane and impact loading. It has also to protect leakage of radioactivity, like LOCA (Loss Of Coolant Accident), when severe accidents occurred. Meanwhile, social awareness such as terrorism has been increased globally after international aircraft crashes at World Trade Center and Pentagon. In this paper, FE (Finite Element) analyses according to variation of crash locations and speeds were carried out to examine the aircraft crash impact on a domestic containment building. In this paper, numerical analyses of aircraft crash on NPP's containment building were performed taking into account different locations and aircraft speeds. (1) Amounts of concrete failure were dependent on the crash locations and the connector was the most delicate location comparing to the dome and wall part. (2) Maximum stress values generated at the liner plate and rebars did not exceed their UTS values

Hurricane Gustav Poster

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Gustav poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-17 shows Hurricane Gustav having made landfall along the Louisiana coastline. Poster size is 36"x27"

Honey, Hadza, hunter-gatherers, and human evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Frank W; Berbesque, J Colette; Wood, Brian; Crittenden, Alyssa; Porter, Claire; Mabulla, Audax

2014-06-01

Honey is the most energy dense food in nature. It is therefore not surprising that, where it exists, honey is an important food for almost all hunter-gatherers. Here we describe and analyze widespread honey collecting among foragers and show that where it is absent, in arctic and subarctic habitats, honey bees are also rare to absent. Second, we focus on one hunter-gatherer society, the Hadza of Tanzania. Hadza men and women both rank honey as their favorite food. Hadza acquire seven types of honey. Hadza women usually acquire honey that is close to the ground while men often climb tall baobab trees to raid the largest bee hives with stinging bees. Honey accounts for a substantial proportion of the kilocalories in the Hadza diet, especially that of Hadza men. Cross-cultural forager data reveal that in most hunter-gatherers, men acquire more honey than women but often, as with the Hadza, women do acquire some. Virtually all warm-climate foragers consume honey. Our closest living relatives, the great apes, take honey when they can. We suggest that honey has been part of the diet of our ancestors dating back to at least the earliest hominins. The earliest hominins, however, would have surely been less capable of acquiring as much honey as more recent, fully modern human hunter-gatherers. We discuss reasons for thinking our early ancestors would have acquired less honey than foragers ethnographically described, yet still significantly more than our great ape relatives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of proximity to hurricanes Katrina and Rita on subsequent hurricane outlook and optimistic bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Trumbo, Craig; Lueck, Michelle; Marlatt, Holly; Peek, Lori

2011-12-01

This study evaluated how individuals living on the Gulf Coast perceived hurricane risk after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It was hypothesized that hurricane outlook and optimistic bias for hurricane risk would be associated positively with distance from the Katrina-Rita landfall (more optimism at greater distance), controlling for historically based hurricane risk and county population density, demographics, individual hurricane experience, and dispositional optimism. Data were collected in January 2006 through a mail survey sent to 1,375 households in 41 counties on the coast (n = 824, 60% response). The analysis used hierarchal regression to test hypotheses. Hurricane history and population density had no effect on outlook; individuals who were male, older, and with higher household incomes were associated with lower risk perception; individual hurricane experience and personal impacts from Katrina and Rita predicted greater risk perception; greater dispositional optimism predicted more optimistic outlook; distance had a small effect but predicted less optimistic outlook at greater distance (model R(2) = 0.21). The model for optimistic bias had fewer effects: age and community tenure were significant; dispositional optimism had a positive effect on optimistic bias; distance variables were not significant (model R(2) = 0.05). The study shows that an existing measure of hurricane outlook has utility, hurricane outlook appears to be a unique concept from hurricane optimistic bias, and proximity has at most small effects. Future extension of this research will include improved conceptualization and measurement of hurricane risk perception and will bring to focus several concepts involving risk communication. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Hurricane Ike Poster

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Ike poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-15 shows Hurricane Ike in the Gulf of Mexico heading toward Galveston Island, Texas. Poster size is 36"x27".

Legitimization of regulatory norms: Waterfowl hunter acceptance of changing duck bag limits

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Lawrence, Jeffrey S.; Cordts, Steven D.

2014-01-01

Few studies have examined response to regulatory change over time, or addressed hunter attitudes about changes in hunting bag limits. This article explores Minnesota waterfowl hunters’ attitudes about duck bag limits, examining attitudes about two state duck bag limits that were initially more restrictive than the maximum set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), but then increased to match federal limits. Results are from four mail surveys that examined attitudes about bag limits over time. Following two bag limit increases, a greater proportion of hunters rated the new bag limit “too high” and a smaller proportion rated it “too low.” Several years following the first bag limit increase, the proportion of hunters who indicated that the limit was “too high” had declined, suggesting hunter acceptance of the new regulation. Results suggest that waterfowl bag limits may represent legal norms that influence hunter attitudes and gain legitimacy over time.

Mental health perspectives of Hunter syndrome: Case reports of two biological siblings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kabir Garg

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hunter syndrome is a rare X-linked recessive disorder caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate-2-sulphatase, leading to progressive accumulation of a substance called glycosaminoglycans in nearly all cell types, tissues, and organs. Hunter syndrome presents with facial dysmorphism, airway diseases, skeletal defects, cardiomyopathies, and neuropsychiatric manifestations. Mental subnormality is a cardinal feature in Hunter syndrome. This is a progressive cognitive decline that is not amenable to enzyme replacement therapy. Due to progressive cognitive decline, training the children to improve the adaptive functioning is a challenge that creates immense stress for the caregivers. Patients with Hunter syndrome should undergo serial assessment of intellectual ability and may be trained accordingly.

75 FR 32877 - Financial Assistance: Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration, Hunter Education and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-10

... resources, aquatic-life forms, and sport fishing; and (e) develop responsible attitudes and ethics toward..., Sport Fish Restoration, Hunter Education and Safety AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION... governing the Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration, and Hunter Education and Safety (Enhanced Hunter...

Core Hunter 3: flexible core subset selection.

Science.gov (United States)

De Beukelaer, Herman; Davenport, Guy F; Fack, Veerle

2018-05-31

Core collections provide genebank curators and plant breeders a way to reduce size of their collections and populations, while minimizing impact on genetic diversity and allele frequency. Many methods have been proposed to generate core collections, often using distance metrics to quantify the similarity of two accessions, based on genetic marker data or phenotypic traits. Core Hunter is a multi-purpose core subset selection tool that uses local search algorithms to generate subsets relying on one or more metrics, including several distance metrics and allelic richness. In version 3 of Core Hunter (CH3) we have incorporated two new, improved methods for summarizing distances to quantify diversity or representativeness of the core collection. A comparison of CH3 and Core Hunter 2 (CH2) showed that these new metrics can be effectively optimized with less complex algorithms, as compared to those used in CH2. CH3 is more effective at maximizing the improved diversity metric than CH2, still ensures a high average and minimum distance, and is faster for large datasets. Using CH3, a simple stochastic hill-climber is able to find highly diverse core collections, and the more advanced parallel tempering algorithm further increases the quality of the core and further reduces variability across independent samples. We also evaluate the ability of CH3 to simultaneously maximize diversity, and either representativeness or allelic richness, and compare the results with those of the GDOpt and SimEli methods. CH3 can sample equally representative cores as GDOpt, which was specifically designed for this purpose, and is able to construct cores that are simultaneously more diverse, and either are more representative or have higher allelic richness, than those obtained by SimEli. In version 3, Core Hunter has been updated to include two new core subset selection metrics that construct cores for representativeness or diversity, with improved performance. It combines and outperforms the

Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion.

Science.gov (United States)

Peoples, Hervey C; Duda, Pavel; Marlowe, Frank W

2016-09-01

Recent studies of the evolution of religion have revealed the cognitive underpinnings of belief in supernatural agents, the role of ritual in promoting cooperation, and the contribution of morally punishing high gods to the growth and stabilization of human society. The universality of religion across human society points to a deep evolutionary past. However, specific traits of nascent religiosity, and the sequence in which they emerged, have remained unknown. Here we reconstruct the evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors in early modern humans using a global sample of hunter-gatherers and seven traits describing hunter-gatherer religiosity: animism, belief in an afterlife, shamanism, ancestor worship, high gods, and worship of ancestors or high gods who are active in human affairs. We reconstruct ancestral character states using a time-calibrated supertree based on published phylogenetic trees and linguistic classification and then test for correlated evolution between the characters and for the direction of cultural change. Results indicate that the oldest trait of religion, present in the most recent common ancestor of present-day hunter-gatherers, was animism, in agreement with long-standing beliefs about the fundamental role of this trait. Belief in an afterlife emerged, followed by shamanism and ancestor worship. Ancestor spirits or high gods who are active in human affairs were absent in early humans, suggesting a deep history for the egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer societies. There is a significant positive relationship between most characters investigated, but the trait "high gods" stands apart, suggesting that belief in a single creator deity can emerge in a society regardless of other aspects of its religion.

PALEOLITHIC HUNTER-GATHERERS' DIETARY PATTERNS ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr. Al-Domi

the main aspects of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers' dietary patterns and its main long-term ... Hence, people in developing countries have been exposed to certain ... as food habits, which prompted possible negative impacts on health status leading to ... costs [5, 7]. .... Agricultural revolution with efficient production of grains,.

Mapping and Visualization of Storm-Surge Dynamics for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita

Science.gov (United States)

Gesch, Dean B.

2009-01-01

The damages caused by the storm surges from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita were significant and occurred over broad areas. Storm-surge maps are among the most useful geospatial datasets for hurricane recovery, impact assessments, and mitigation planning for future storms. Surveyed high-water marks were used to generate a maximum storm-surge surface for Hurricane Katrina extending from eastern Louisiana to Mobile Bay, Alabama. The interpolated surface was intersected with high-resolution lidar elevation data covering the study area to produce a highly detailed digital storm-surge inundation map. The storm-surge dataset and related data are available for display and query in a Web-based viewer application. A unique water-level dataset from a network of portable pressure sensors deployed in the days just prior to Hurricane Rita's landfall captured the hurricane's storm surge. The recorded sensor data provided water-level measurements with a very high temporal resolution at surveyed point locations. The resulting dataset was used to generate a time series of storm-surge surfaces that documents the surge dynamics in a new, spatially explicit way. The temporal information contained in the multiple storm-surge surfaces can be visualized in a number of ways to portray how the surge interacted with and was affected by land surface features. Spatially explicit storm-surge products can be useful for a variety of hurricane impact assessments, especially studies of wetland and land changes where knowledge of the extent and magnitude of storm-surge flooding is critical.

Swamp tours in Louisiana post Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita

Science.gov (United States)

Dawn J. Schaffer; Craig A. Miller

2007-01-01

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall in southern Louisiana during August and September 2005. Prior to these storms, swamp tours were a growing sector of nature-based tourism that entertained visitors while teaching about local flora, fauna, and culture. This study determined post-hurricane operating status of tours, damage sustained, and repairs made. Differences...

Hurricane Katrina: A Teachable Moment

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand, Peggy

2009-01-01

This article presents suggestions for integrating the phenomenon of hurricanes into the teaching of high school fluid mechanics. Students come to understand core science concepts in the context of their impact upon both the environment and human populations. Suggestions for using information about hurricanes, particularly Hurricane Katrina, in a…

Ride, shoot, and call: wildlife use among contemporary urban hunters in Três Fronteiras, Brazilian Amazon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathalie van Vliet

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Most bushmeat studies in the Amazon region focus on hunting patterns of indigenous populations in rural settings. Our study describes the existence of urban hunters in medium-sized towns. Using a variety of data collection methods, we describe the main socioeconomic characteristics of urban hunters in Benjamin Constant and Atalaia do Norte, Brazil. We analyze the patterns and motivations of urban hunters as well as the type of prey harvested and quantities traded. All interviewed hunters are caboclos, people of mixed Brazilian indigenous and European origins from rural areas who now live in urban and peri-urban areas. Living in these more populated spaces allows these hunters better market options for their harvest and allows them to alternate hunting with other economic activities. Only 29% of the interviewed hunters relied solely on hunting. In total, 11.6 tons of bushmeat were harvested (of which 97% was traded by four hunters during the monitoring period (60 days. The most hunted species were terecay (Podocnemis unifilis, curassow (Crax sp., paca (Cuniculus paca, and tapir (Tapirus terrestris. The ratio of bushmeat sold to that consumed, as well as the level of participation in the bushmeat market chain, allowed us to differentiate between specialized and diversified hunters. Specialized hunters sell 81% of the bushmeat caught to known wholesalers in the city. Diversified hunters sell 21% of their total catch to families, neighbors, or friends directly as fresh meat, avoiding intermediaries. For all hunters, hunting localities are associated with peri-urban roadways that are easily reached by motorbike or bicycle from the hunters' houses in the urban areas or city fringes. Our results show that urban hunters in medium-sized towns exemplify how traditional hunting systems can be adapted in the face of globalization, by living close to the market, at relatively manageable distances from hunting grounds, and using modern methods of

Cooperation and the evolution of hunter-gatherer storytelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Daniel; Schlaepfer, Philip; Major, Katie; Dyble, Mark; Page, Abigail E; Thompson, James; Chaudhary, Nikhil; Salali, Gul Deniz; Mace, Ruth; Astete, Leonora; Ngales, Marilyn; Vinicius, Lucio; Migliano, Andrea Bamberg

2017-12-05

Storytelling is a human universal. From gathering around the camp-fire telling tales of ancestors to watching the latest television box-set, humans are inveterate producers and consumers of stories. Despite its ubiquity, little attention has been given to understanding the function and evolution of storytelling. Here we explore the impact of storytelling on hunter-gatherer cooperative behaviour and the individual-level fitness benefits to being a skilled storyteller. Stories told by the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population, convey messages relevant to coordinating behaviour in a foraging ecology, such as cooperation, sex equality and egalitarianism. These themes are present in narratives from other foraging societies. We also show that the presence of good storytellers is associated with increased cooperation. In return, skilled storytellers are preferred social partners and have greater reproductive success, providing a pathway by which group-beneficial behaviours, such as storytelling, can evolve via individual-level selection. We conclude that one of the adaptive functions of storytelling among hunter gatherers may be to organise cooperation.

Evaluation of PHI Hunter in Natural Language Processing Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Redd, Andrew; Pickard, Steve; Meystre, Stephane; Scehnet, Jeffrey; Bolton, Dan; Heavirland, Julia; Weaver, Allison Lynn; Hope, Carol; Garvin, Jennifer Hornung

2015-01-01

We introduce and evaluate a new, easily accessible tool using a common statistical analysis and business analytics software suite, SAS, which can be programmed to remove specific protected health information (PHI) from a text document. Removal of PHI is important because the quantity of text documents used for research with natural language processing (NLP) is increasing. When using existing data for research, an investigator must remove all PHI not needed for the research to comply with human subjects' right to privacy. This process is similar, but not identical, to de-identification of a given set of documents. PHI Hunter removes PHI from free-form text. It is a set of rules to identify and remove patterns in text. PHI Hunter was applied to 473 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) text documents randomly drawn from a research corpus stored as unstructured text in VA files. PHI Hunter performed well with PHI in the form of identification numbers such as Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and medical record numbers. The most commonly missed PHI items were names and locations. Incorrect removal of information occurred with text that looked like identification numbers. PHI Hunter fills a niche role that is related to but not equal to the role of de-identification tools. It gives research staff a tool to reasonably increase patient privacy. It performs well for highly sensitive PHI categories that are rarely used in research, but still shows possible areas for improvement. More development for patterns of text and linked demographic tables from electronic health records (EHRs) would improve the program so that more precise identifiable information can be removed. PHI Hunter is an accessible tool that can flexibly remove PHI not needed for research. If it can be tailored to the specific data set via linked demographic tables, its performance will improve in each new document set.

Humans as predators: an overview of predation strategies of hunters with contrasting motivational drivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fredrik Dalerum

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Predator-prey theory suggests that generalist predators are linked to demographic stability of prey whereas specialists are destabilizing. We overview the demographic consequences of different predation strategies and hypothesize that subsistence hunting occurs opportunistically, persecution hunters behave like specialist predators, and recreational hunters behave like generalist predators. Under this hypothesis, persecution hunting would have destabilizing effects, whereas the effects of subsistence and recreational hunting would be neutral or stabilizing. We found poor empirical support for this hypothesis, but there was scarce empirical data. Recreational hunters mainly hunted opportunistically and hunting as managed persecution followed a type III functional response, i.e. with low hunting intensity at low game abundances and a switch to an increased intensity at some level of abundance. We suggest that recreational hunters have limited destabilizing effects on game populations and that hunting may be an ineffective way of complete the removal of invasive species. We urge for further studies quantifying the responses of hunters to game abundances, in particular studies evaluating the responses of subsistence hunters and illegal persecution.

Multi-hazard risk analysis related to hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ning

Hurricanes present major hazards to the United States. Associated with extreme winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge, landfalling hurricanes often cause enormous structural damage to coastal regions. Hurricane damage risk assessment provides the basis for loss mitigation and related policy-making. Current hurricane risk models, however, often oversimplify the complex processes of hurricane damage. This dissertation aims to improve existing hurricane risk assessment methodology by coherently modeling the spatial-temporal processes of storm landfall, hazards, and damage. Numerical modeling technologies are used to investigate the multiplicity of hazards associated with landfalling hurricanes. The application and effectiveness of current weather forecasting technologies to predict hurricane hazards is investigated. In particular, the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), with Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)'s hurricane initialization scheme, is applied to the simulation of the wind and rainfall environment during hurricane landfall. The WRF model is further coupled with the Advanced Circulation (AD-CIRC) model to simulate storm surge in coastal regions. A case study examines the multiple hazards associated with Hurricane Isabel (2003). Also, a risk assessment methodology is developed to estimate the probability distribution of hurricane storm surge heights along the coast, particularly for data-scarce regions, such as New York City. This methodology makes use of relatively simple models, specifically a statistical/deterministic hurricane model and the Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model, to simulate large numbers of synthetic surge events, and conducts statistical analysis. The estimation of hurricane landfall probability and hazards are combined with structural vulnerability models to estimate hurricane damage risk. Wind-induced damage mechanisms are extensively studied. An innovative windborne debris risk model is

The Enchanted Hunters in Nabokov’s Lolita

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justine Shu- Ting Kao

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In Nabokov’s Lolita, Humbert Humbert’s The Enchanted Hunters, as a quest for love, aims to reconstruct a felicitous world or integrate various fragmentary details into an organic unity that revives a lost love, experiencing it on the basis of irony, and revealing a simulation of the desire, violence, and despondency which have been expressed in myths of nymphs and Persephone. The protagonist never reaches this unity, but his narrative of erotic and romantic love reveals him as a pathetic addict engaged in mechanical reproduction related to the phenomena of desire, seduction, violence, and sex. His The Enchanted Hunters does not simulate what he expects of his childhood love with Annabel; rather, it simulates the erotic imagination suggested in Mary D. Sheriff’s term “nymphomania,” in which artists fall degenerately to a model of tragedy. Keywords: simulation, nymph, nymphomania, The Enchanted Hunters The Enchanted Hunters in Nabokov’s Lolita refers to the name of a hotel and the title of a play. This seeming coincidence is actually not coincidental: Nabokov weaves a story concerning a pedophile’s seduction of a prepubescent child into a “story within a story,” in which the girl is imagined as a seducer who bewitches a number of hunters. Just as the girl in the play is a figment of a poet’s imagination, so Lolita in the novel Lolita is an imaginary production of a middle-aged pedophile. Yet Lolita is not so much a novel revealing guilt and mental disorder, but a mélange of art and reality, or more specifically, it is about a coinage in which the author fabricates art and myth in real life. Parallel to the protagonist who simulates what he expects of his childhood love, Annabel, in the form of the nymphet, Lolita, Nabokov replicates the beauty of butterflies in the pursuit of beauty and immortality, and develops the world of art with a pathetic tone whereby we gradually perceive a simulation of the desire, violence, and

Has Anthropogenic Forcing Caused a Discernible Change in Atlantic Hurricane Activity?

Science.gov (United States)

Knutson, T. R.; Vecchi, G. A.

2007-12-01

There is currently evidence both for and against the existence of a discernible anthropogenic impact on Atlantic hurricane activity. Emanuel's (pers. comm. 2007) Power Dissipation Index shows unprecedented high values in recent decades in the context of the past 60 yr, and correlates remarkably well with low-frequency tropical Atlantic SST variations. The limited record length, partial basin coverage by aircraft in the pre-satellite era, and lack of reconciliation with models limit the usefulness of this result for identifying possible anthropogenic influences. Landsea (EOS, 2007) uses landfalling storm statistics to infer no significant increase in basin-wide tropical storm counts since 1900. Landsea's critical assumption of a constant landfalling fraction over time limits confidence in this assessment. Nonetheless, an important finding is that U.S. landfalling hurricane activity (frequency and PDI) show no increasing trend over the past century or so. Holland and Webster (Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2007) conclude that basin-wide tropical cyclone and hurricane counts have increased dramatically during the past century, related to the rise in tropical Atlantic SSTs. Their key assumption is that the existing HURDAT data reliably portrays basin-wide statistics for tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes, at least back to ~1900, which requires further substantiation. We use historical Atlantic ship track and storm track data to estimate the expected number of missing tropical storms each year in the pre-satellite era (1878-1965). After adjustment, the storm counts covary with tropical SSTs on multi-decadal time scales, but their long-term trend (1878-2006) is weaker than the trend in similarly normalized SSTs (though both are nominally positive). The linear trend in adjusted storm counts for 1900-2006 is strongly positive (+4.2 storms/century) and highly significant even after accounting for serial correlation. However, this trend begins near a local minimum in

2005 Atlantic Hurricanes Poster

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 2005 Atlantic Hurricanes poster features high quality satellite images of 15 hurricanes which formed in the Atlantic Basin (includes Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean...

Operational Impact of Data Collected from the Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft During SHOUT

Science.gov (United States)

Wick, G. A.; Dunion, J. P.; Sippel, J.; Cucurull, L.; Aksoy, A.; Kren, A.; Christophersen, H.; Black, P.

2017-12-01

The primary scientific goal of the Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT) Project was to determine the potential utility of observations from high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft systems such as the Global Hawk (GH) aircraft to improve operational forecasts of high-impact weather events or mitigate potential degradation of forecasts in the event of a future gap in satellite coverage. Hurricanes and tropical cyclones are among the most potentially destructive high-impact weather events and pose a major forecasting challenge to NOAA. Major winter storms over the Pacific Ocean, including atmospheric river events, which make landfall and bring strong winds and extreme precipitation to the West Coast and Alaska are also important to forecast accurately because of their societal impact in those parts of the country. In response, the SHOUT project supported three field campaigns with the GH aircraft and dedicated data impact studies exploring the potential for the real-time data from the aircraft to improve the forecasting of both tropical cyclones and landfalling Pacific storms. Dropsonde observations from the GH aircraft were assimilated into the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) and Global Forecast System (GFS) models. The results from several diverse but complementary studies consistently demonstrated significant positive forecast benefits spanning the regional and global models. Forecast skill improvements within HWRF reached up to about 9% for track and 14% for intensity. Within GFS, track skill improvements for multi-storm averages exceeded 10% and improvements for individual storms reached over 20% depending on forecast lead time. Forecasted precipitation was also improved. Impacts for Pacific winter storms were smaller but still positive. The results are highly encouraging and support the potential for operational utilization of data from a platform like the GH. This presentation summarizes the

Influence of Age and Educational Level on the Behavior of Hunters in Vojvodina Province (Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Marković

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Education as an important factor in the development of economy has a major impact on the development of hunting and hunting tourism. In this research, it has conducted a survey of hunters from the territory of Vojvodina Province regarding their attitude and motives for hunting, importance of education, importance of GIS in hunting, poaching as well as their level of hunting ethics. Using SPSS program, it was cross-referenced the individual responses in relation to age category and level of education. The results show that the youngest hunters (18 to 35 years compared to middle age hunters (35-59 years and old hunters (over 60 visit hunting events more, they are the most informed about GIS and they are most willing to learn about these technologies. The number of hunters that took part in the poaching is proportional with their level of education, so that most hunters that participate in poaching hold a university degree. However, hunters holding a university degree in the highest percentage believe that GIS can contribute to the development of hunting largely, and are willing to participate in training.

2004 Landfalling Hurricanes Poster

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 2004 U.S. Landfalling Hurricanes poster is a special edition poster which contains two sets of images of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, created...

Hurricane Katrina Poster (August 28, 2005)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Katrina poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-18 shows a very large Hurricane Katrina as a category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28, 2005....

Hurricane Rita Poster (September 22, 2005)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Rita poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-16 shows Hurricane Rita as a category-4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on September 22, 2005. Poster size is...

Hunter-gatherer genomic diversity suggests a southern African origin for modern humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Henn, Brenna M; Gignoux, Christopher R; Jobin, Matthew; Granka, Julie M; Macpherson, J M; Kidd, Jeffrey M; Rodríguez-Botigué, Laura; Ramachandran, Sohini; Hon, Lawrence; Brisbin, Abra; Lin, Alice A; Underhill, Peter A; Comas, David; Kidd, Kenneth K; Norman, Paul J; Parham, Peter; Bustamante, Carlos D; Mountain, Joanna L; Feldman, Marcus W

2011-03-29

Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations, but the details of human prehistory and evolution in Africa remain largely obscure owing to the complex histories of hundreds of distinct populations. We present data for more than 580,000 SNPs for several hunter-gatherer populations: the Hadza and Sandawe of Tanzania, and the ≠Khomani Bushmen of South Africa, including speakers of the nearly extinct N|u language. We find that African hunter-gatherer populations today remain highly differentiated, encompassing major components of variation that are not found in other African populations. Hunter-gatherer populations also tend to have the lowest levels of genome-wide linkage disequilibrium among 27 African populations. We analyzed geographic patterns of linkage disequilibrium and population differentiation, as measured by F(ST), in Africa. The observed patterns are consistent with an origin of modern humans in southern Africa rather than eastern Africa, as is generally assumed. Additionally, genetic variation in African hunter-gatherer populations has been significantly affected by interaction with farmers and herders over the past 5,000 y, through both severe population bottlenecks and sex-biased migration. However, African hunter-gatherer populations continue to maintain the highest levels of genetic diversity in the world.

PLANET HUNTERS: ASSESSING THE KEPLER INVENTORY OF SHORT-PERIOD PLANETS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwamb, Megan E.; Lintott, Chris J.; Lynn, Stuart; Smith, Arfon M.; Simpson, Robert J.; Fischer, Debra A.; Giguere, Matthew J.; Brewer, John M.; Parrish, Michael; Schawinski, Kevin

2012-01-01

We present the results from a search of data from the first 33.5 days of the Kepler science mission (Quarter 1) for exoplanet transits by the Planet Hunters citizen science project. Planet Hunters enlists members of the general public to visually identify transits in the publicly released Kepler light curves via the World Wide Web. Over 24,000 volunteers reviewed the Kepler Quarter 1 data set. We examine the abundance of ≥2 R ⊕ planets on short-period ( ⊕ Planet Hunters ≥85% efficient at identifying transit signals for planets with periods less than 15 days for the Kepler sample of target stars. Our high efficiency rate for simulated transits along with recovery of the majority of Kepler ≥4 R ⊕ planets suggests that the Kepler inventory of ≥4 R ⊕ short-period planets is nearly complete.

Recovery from PTSD following Hurricane Katrina.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Katie A; Berglund, Patricia; Gruber, Michael J; Kessler, Ronald C; Sampson, Nancy A; Zaslavsky, Alan M

2011-06-01

We examined patterns and correlates of speed of recovery of estimated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among people who developed PTSD in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. A probability sample of prehurricane residents of areas affected by Hurricane Katrina was administered a telephone survey 7-19 months following the hurricane and again 24-27 months posthurricane. The baseline survey assessed PTSD using a validated screening scale and assessed a number of hypothesized predictors of PTSD recovery that included sociodemographics, prehurricane history of psychopathology, hurricane-related stressors, social support, and social competence. Exposure to posthurricane stressors and course of estimated PTSD were assessed in a follow-up interview. An estimated 17.1% of respondents had a history of estimated hurricane-related PTSD at baseline and 29.2% by the follow-up survey. Of the respondents who developed estimated hurricane-related PTSD, 39.0% recovered by the time of the follow-up survey with a mean duration of 16.5 months. Predictors of slow recovery included exposure to a life-threatening situation, hurricane-related housing adversity, and high income. Other sociodemographics, history of psychopathology, social support, social competence, and posthurricane stressors were unrelated to recovery from estimated PTSD. The majority of adults who developed estimated PTSD after Hurricane Katrina did not recover within 18-27 months. Delayed onset was common. Findings document the importance of initial trauma exposure severity in predicting course of illness and suggest that pre- and posttrauma factors typically associated with course of estimated PTSD did not influence recovery following Hurricane Katrina. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

48 CFR 1852.236-73 - Hurricane plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Hurricane plan. 1852.236-73... Hurricane plan. As prescribed in 1836.570(c), insert the following clause: Hurricane Plan (DEC 1988) In the event of a hurricane warning, the Contractor shall— (a) Inspect the area and place all materials...

Drivers of change in hunter offtake and hunting strategies in Sendje, Equatorial Guinea.

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, David J C; Fa, John E; Rowcliffe, J Marcus; Kümpel, Noëlle F

2012-12-01

Economic development in Africa is expected to increase levels of bushmeat hunting through rising demand for meat and improved transport infrastructure. However, few studies have tracked long-term changes in hunter behavior as a means of testing this prediction. We evaluated changes in hunter behavior in a rural community in Equatorial Guinea over a period of rapid national economic growth, during which time road access to the regional capital greatly improved. We conducted offtake surveys (Supporting Information) over 3 7-week periods at the same time of year in 1998, 2003, and 2010 and conducted hunter and household interviews (Supporting Information) in 2003 and 2010. We tested whether relations existed among catch, hunting effort, hunting strategy, and income earned through hunting and other livelihoods in 2003 and 2010. Although village offtake increased from 1775 kg in 1998 to 4172 kg in 2003, it decreased in 2010 to 1361 kg. Aggregate catch per unit effort (i.e., number of carcasses caught per hunter and per trap) decreased from 2003 to 2010, and the majority of hunters reported a decrease in abundance of local fauna. Although these results are indicative of unsustainable hunting, cumulative changes in offtake and catch per unit effort were driven by a contraction in the total area hunted following an out-migration of 29 of the village's hunters, most of whom left to gain employment in the construction industry, after 2003. Hunters operating in both 2003 and 2010 hunted closer to the village because an increased abundance of elephants posed a danger and because they desired to earn income through other activities. Our study provides an example of national economic development contributing to a reduction in the intensity and extent of hunting. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Decision Science Perspectives on Hurricane Vulnerability: Evidence from the 2010–2012 Atlantic Hurricane Seasons

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Kerry Milch

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Although the field has seen great advances in hurricane prediction and response, the economic toll from hurricanes on U.S. communities continues to rise. We present data from Hurricanes Earl (2010, Irene (2011, Isaac (2012, and Sandy (2012 to show that individual and household decisions contribute to this vulnerability. From phone surveys of residents in communities threatened by impending hurricanes, we identify five decision biases or obstacles that interfere with residents’ ability to protect themselves and minimize property damage: (1 temporal and spatial myopia, (2 poor mental models of storm risk, (3 gaps between objective and subjective probability estimates, (4 prior storm experience, and (5 social factors. We then discuss ways to encourage better decision making and reduce the economic and emotional impacts of hurricanes, using tools such as decision defaults (requiring residents to opt out of precautions rather than opt in and tailoring internet-based forecast information so that it is local, specific, and emphasizes impacts rather than probability.

High adult mortality among Hiwi hunter-gatherers: implications for human evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Kim; Hurtado, A M; Walker, R S

2007-04-01

Extant apes experience early sexual maturity and short life spans relative to modern humans. Both of these traits and others are linked by life-history theory to mortality rates experienced at different ages by our hominin ancestors. However, currently there is a great deal of debate concerning hominin mortality profiles at different periods of evolutionary history. Observed rates and causes of mortality in modern hunter-gatherers may provide information about Upper Paleolithic mortality that can be compared to indirect evidence from the fossil record, yet little is published about causes and rates of mortality in foraging societies around the world. To our knowledge, interview-based life tables for recent hunter-gatherers are published for only four societies (Ache, Agta, Hadza, and Ju/'hoansi). Here, we present mortality data for a fifth group, the Hiwi hunter-gatherers of Venezuela. The results show comparatively high death rates among the Hiwi and highlight differences in mortality rates among hunter-gatherer societies. The high levels of conspecific violence and adult mortality in the Hiwi may better represent Paleolithic human demographics than do the lower, disease-based death rates reported in the most frequently cited forager studies.

Hunter-gatherers in southeast Asia: from prehistory to the present.

Science.gov (United States)

Higham, Charles

2013-01-01

Anatomically modern hunter-gatherers expanded from Africa into Southeast Asia at least 50,000 years ago, where they probably encountered and interacted with populations of Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis and the recently discovered Denisovans. Simulation studies suggest that these hunter-gatherers may well have followed a coastal route that ultimately led to the settlement of Sahul, while archaeology confirms that they also crossed significant seas and explored well into the interior. They also adapted to marked environmental changes that alternated between relatively cool and dry conditions and warmer, wetter interludes. During the former, the sea fell by up to 120 m below its present level, which opened up a vast low-lying area known as Sundaland. Three principal alignments can be identified: the first involved the occupation of rock shelters in upland regions, the second has identified settlement on broad riverine floodplains, and the last concentrated on the raised beaches formed from about five millennia ago when the sea level was elevated above its present position. This cultural sequence was dislocated about 4 kya when rice and millet farmers infiltrated the lowlands of Southeast Asia ultimately from the Yangtze River valley. It is suggested that this led to two forms of interaction. In the first, the indigenous hunter-gatherers integrated with intrusive Neolithic communities and, while losing their cultural identity, contributed their genes to the present population of Southeast Asia. In the second, hunter-gatherers withdrew to rainforest refugia and, through selective pressures inherent in such an environment, survived as the small-bodied, dark-skinned humans found to this day in the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, and the Andaman Islands. Beyond the impact of expansive rice farmers in Melanesia and Australia, hunter-gatherers continued to dominate until they encountered European settlement. Copyright © 2013 Wayne State University Press

A Look Inside Hurricane Alma

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

Hurricane season in the eastern Pacific started off with a whimper late last month as Alma, a Category 2 hurricane, slowly made its way up the coast of Baja California, packing sustained winds of 110 miles per hour and gusts of 135 miles per hour. The above image of the hurricane was acquired on May 29, 2002, and displays the rainfall rates occurring within the storm. Click the image above to see an animated data visualization (3.8 MB) of the interior of Hurricane Alma. The images of the clouds seen at the beginning of the movie were retrieved from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA's) Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite (GOES) network. As the movie continues, the clouds are peeled away to reveal an image of rainfall levels in the hurricane. The rainfall data were obtained by the Precipitation Radar aboard NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The Precipitation Radar bounces radio waves off of clouds to retrieve a reading of the number of large, rain-sized droplets within the clouds. Using these data, scientists can tell how much precipitation is occurring within and beneath a hurricane. In the movie, yellow denotes areas where 0.5 inches of rain is falling per hour, green denotes 1 inch per hour, and red denotes over 2 inches per hour. (Please note that high resolution still images of Hurricane Alma are available in the NASA Visible Earth in TIFF format.) Image and animation courtesy Lori Perkins, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Future Discounting in Congo Basin Hunter-Gatherers Declines with Socio-Economic Transitions.

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Gul Deniz Salali

Full Text Available Humans have a tendency to discount the future; that is we value small, short-term rewards over larger, long-term rewards. The degree of future discounting, however, changes in response to socio-ecological factors. Here, we study Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers of northern Congo and their farmer neighbours to investigate adaptations in inter-temporal preferences in humans. We argue that in immediate-return systems, where food storage is absent and egalitarianism is enforced through levelling mechanisms, future discounting is an adaptive strategy to prevent wealth accumulation and the emergence of hierarchies. This ensures food sharing and allows for survival in unpredictable environments where there is risk of an energy shortfall. On the other hand, when food storage is made possible by the emergence of agriculture or as seen in some delayed-return hunter-gatherer populations, wealth accumulation, hierarchies and lower discount rates become the adaptive strategy. Therefore, individuals in immediate-return, egalitarian societies will discount the future more than those in non-egalitarian, delayed-return societies. Consistent with the predictions we found that market integration and socio-economic transitions decrease the future discounting in Mbendjele hunter-gatherers. Our measures of socio-economic differences marked this transition in hunter-gatherers living in a logging town. The degree of future-discounting was the same between more market-integrated hunter-gatherers and their farmer neighbours.

Estimating cellular network performance during hurricanes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booker, Graham; Torres, Jacob; Guikema, Seth; Sprintson, Alex; Brumbelow, Kelly

2010-01-01

Cellular networks serve a critical role during and immediately after a hurricane, allowing citizens to contact emergency services when land-line communication is lost and serving as a backup communication channel for emergency responders. However, due to their ubiquitous deployment and limited design for extreme loading events, basic network elements, such as cellular towers and antennas are prone to failures during adverse weather conditions such as hurricanes. Accordingly, a systematic and computationally feasible approach is required for assessing and improving the reliability of cellular networks during hurricanes. In this paper we develop a new multi-disciplinary approach to efficiently and accurately assess cellular network reliability during hurricanes. We show how the performance of a cellular network during and immediately after future hurricanes can be estimated based on a combination of hurricane wind field models, structural reliability analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and cellular network models and simulation tools. We then demonstrate the use of this approach for assessing the improvement in system reliability that can be achieved with discrete topological changes in the system. Our results suggest that adding redundancy, particularly through a mesh topology or through the addition of an optical fiber ring around the perimeter of the system can be an effective way to significantly increase the reliability of some cellular systems during hurricanes.

Hunter College Dance Therapy Masters Program.

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Schmais, Claire; White, Elissa Q.

Described is development of the Hunter College dance therapy 18-month 30-credit masters program involving 33 adult students, (in two classes beginning in 1971 and 1972), an educational model, internship in psychiatric institutions, and preparation of instructional materials. The dance therapist is said to incorporate the psychiatric patient's…

7 CFR 701.50 - 2005 hurricanes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false 2005 hurricanes. 701.50 Section 701.50 Agriculture... ADMINISTERED UNDER THIS PART § 701.50 2005 hurricanes. In addition benefits elsewhere allowed by this part, claims related to calendar year 2005 hurricane losses may be allowed to the extent provided for in §§ 701...

An Examination of Hurricane Emergency Preparedness Planning at Institutions of Higher Learning of the Gulf South Region Post Hurricane Katrina

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Ventura, Caterina Gulli

2010-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine hurricane emergency preparedness planning at institutions of higher learning of the Gulf South region following Hurricane Katrina. The problem addressed the impact of Hurricane Katrina on decision-making and policy planning processes. The focus was on individuals that administer the hurricane emergency…

Wild-harvested venison yields and sharing by Michigan deer hunters

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Goguen, Amber D.; Riley, Shawn J.; Organ, John F.; Rudolph, Brent A.

2018-01-01

An increased societal focus on wildlife as food and recent policy deliberations regarding legal markets for wild-harvested meat are encouraging wildlife managers and researchers to examine the amount, use, and distribution of meat yielded through recreational hunting. We used responses to questions on the Michigan Deer Harvest Study to estimate the maximum yield of edible venison and assess hunters’ sharing behaviors. We estimated 11,402–14,473 metric tons of edible venison were procured during the 2013 hunting season. Of hunters who harvested a deer, 85% shared their venison. Hunters who shared did so with an average of 5.6 people (SD = 4.5). Sharing occurred most frequently within tight social networks: members of hunters’ households (69%), relatives (52%), and friends, neighbors, or coworkers (50%). In the absence of legal markets, venison is distributed widely by hunters and greatly amplifies the number of people benefiting from hunting. Nonetheless, we also identified the potential breadth of exposure to disease or contaminants from wild-harvested meat.

Structural Integrity Assessment of Reactor Containment Subjected to Aircraft Crash

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Junyong; Chang, Yoonsuk

2013-01-01

When an accident occurs at the NPP, containment building which acts as the last barrier should be assessed and analyzed structural integrity by internal loading or external loading. On many occasions that can occur in the containment internal such as LOCA(Loss Of Coolant Accident) are already reflected to design. Likewise, there are several kinds of accidents that may occur from the outside of containment such as earthquakes, hurricanes and strong wind. However, aircraft crash that at outside of containment is not reflected yet in domestic because NPP sites have been selected based on the probabilistic method. After intentional aircraft crash such as World Trade Center and Pentagon accident in US, social awareness for safety of infrastructure like NPP was raised world widely and it is time for assessment of aircraft crash in domestic. The object of this paper is assessment of reactor containment subjected to aircraft crash by FEM(Finite Element Method). In this paper, assessment of structural integrity of containment building subjected to certain aircraft crash was carried out. Verification of structure integrity of containment by intentional severe accident. Maximum stress 61.21MPa of horizontal shell crash does not penetrate containment. Research for more realistic results needed by steel reinforced concrete model

Hurricane Katrina impacts on Mississippi forests

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Sonja N. Oswalt; Christopher Oswalt; Jeffery Turner

2008-01-01

Hurricane Katrina triggered public interest and concern for forests in Mississippi that required rapid responses from the scientific community. A uniform systematic sample of 3,590 ground plots were established and measured in 687 days immediately after the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. The hurricane damaged an estimated 521 million trees with more...

Anterior Hypopituitarism and Treatment Response in Hunter Syndrome: A Comparison of Two Patients

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Munier A. Nour

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hypopituitarism is a clinically important diagnosis and has not previously been reported in Hunter syndrome. We contrast two cases with anatomic pituitary anomalies: one with anterior panhypopituitarism and the other with intact pituitary function. Patient 1, a 10-year-old boy with Hunter syndrome, was evaluated for poor growth and an ectopic posterior pituitary gland. Endocrine testing revealed growth hormone (GH deficiency, secondary adrenal insufficiency, and tertiary hypothyroidism. An improvement in growth velocity with hormone replacement (GH, thyroxine, and corticosteroid was seen; however, final adult height remained compromised. Patient 2, a 13-year-old male with Hunter syndrome, was evaluated for growth failure. He had a large empty sella turcica with posteriorly displaced pituitary. Functional endocrine testing was normal and a trial of GH-treatment yielded no significant effect. Panhypopituitarism associated with pituitary anomalies has not been previously reported in Hunter syndrome and was an incidental finding of significant clinical importance. In the setting of documented anterior hypopituitarism, while hormone replacement improved growth velocity, final height remained impaired. In patient 2 with equivocal GH-testing results, treatment had no effect on linear growth. These cases highlight the importance of careful clinical assessment in Hunter syndrome and that judicious hormone replacement may be indicated in individual cases.

Estimation of turbulence characteristics of the low-level eyewall and outer-core regions in intense Hurricanes Allen (1980) and Hugo (1989)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J. A.; Marks, F. D.; Montgomery, M.; Lorsolo, S.

2010-12-01

Turbulent transport processes in the atmospheric boundary layer play an important role in the intensification and maintenance of a hurricane vortex. However, direct measurement of turbulence in the hurricane boundary layer has been scarce. This study analyzes the flight-level data collected by research aircraft that penetrated the eyewalls of Category 5 Hurricane Hugo (1989) and Category 4 Hurricane Allen (1980) between 1 km and the sea surface. Momentum flux, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and vertical eddy diffusivity are estimated before and during the eyewall penetrations. Spatial scales of turbulent eddies are determined through spectral analysis. The turbulence parameters estimated for the eyewall penetration leg are found to be nearly an order of magnitude larger than those for the leg outside the eyewall at similar altitudes. In the low-level intense eyewall region, the horizontal length scale of dominant turbulent eddies is found to be between 500 - 3000 m and the corresponding vertical length scale is approximately 100 - 200 m. The results suggest also that it is unwise to include the eyewall vorticity maximum (EVM) in the turbulence parameter estimation, since the EVMs are likely to be quasi two-dimensional vortex structures that are embedded within the three dimensional turbulence on the inside edge of the eyewall.

Genesis of tornadoes associated with hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Gentry, R. C.

1983-01-01

The climatological history of hurricane-tornadoes is brought up to date through 1982. Most of the tornadoes either form near the center of the hurricane, from the outer edge of the eyewall outward, or in an area between north and east-southeast of the hurricane center. The blackbody temperatures of the cloud tops which were analyzed for several hurricane-tornadoes that formed in the years 1974, 1975, and 1979, did not furnish strong precursor signals of tornado formation, but followed one of two patterns: either the temperatures were very low, or the tornado formed in areas of strong temperature gradients. Tornadoes with tropical cyclones most frequently occur at 1200-1800 LST, and although most are relatively weak, they can reach the F3 intensity level. Most form in association with the outer rainbands of the hurricane.

Safety and design impact of hurricane Andrew

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guey, Ching N.

2004-01-01

Turkey Point completed the IPE in June of 1991. Hurricane Andrew landed at Turkey Point on August 24, 1992. Although the safety related systems, components and structures were not damaged by the Hurricane Andrew, certain nonsafety related components and the neighboring fossil plant sustained noticeable damage. Among the major components that were nonsafety related but would affect the PRA of the plant included the service water pumps and the high tower. This paper discusses the safety and design impact of Hurricane Andrew on Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant. The risk of hurricanes on the interim and evolving plant configurations are briefly described. The risk of the plant from internal events as a result of damage incurred during Hurricane Andrew are discussed. The design change as the result of Hurricane Andrew and its impact on the PRA are presented. (author)

Continental United States Hurricane Strikes

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Continental U.S. Hurricane Strikes Poster is our most popular poster which is updated annually. The poster includes all hurricanes that affected the U.S. since...

75 FR 54918 - Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1247, “Design-Basis Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles for Nuclear Power...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-09

.... This series was developed to describe and make available to the public such information as methods that... maximum hurricane windspeeds for hurricanes that originate in the Atlantic and make landfall along the... connected and provides an aerodynamic sail area on which the wind can act. An automobile hurricane missile...

Identification of Caribbean basin hurricanes from Spanish documentary sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Herrera, R. [Depto. Fisica de la Tierra II, Facultad de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Gimeno, L. [Universidad de Vigo, Ourense (Spain); Ribera, P.; Gonzalez, E.; Fernandez, G. [Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla (Spain); Hernandez, E. [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid (Spain)

2007-07-15

This paper analyses five hurricanes that occurred in the period 1600 to 1800. These examples were identified during a systematic search in the General Archive of the Indies (AGI) in Seville. The research combined the expertise of climatologists and historians in order to optimise the search and analysis strategies. Results demonstrate the potential of this archive for the assessment of hurricanes in this period and show some of the difficulties involved in the collection of evidence of hurricane activity. The documents provide detailed descriptions of a hurricane's impacts and allow us to identify previously unreported hurricanes, obtain more precise dates for hurricanes previously identified, better define the area affected by a given hurricane and, finally, better assess a hurricane's intensity.

Clarifying beliefs underlying hunter intentions to support a ban on lead shot

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Doncarlos, Kathy

2016-01-01

Shot from hunting adds toxic lead to environments worldwide. Existing lead shot regulations have been instituted with little understanding of hunter beliefs and attitudes. This study applied the Theory of Reasoned Action, using a multilevel, multivariate approach, to clarify how positive and negative beliefs relate to attitudes about a ban on lead shot. Structure coefficients and commonality analysis were employed to further examine relationships between beliefs and attitudes. Results suggest that while both positive and negative outcomes influence attitudes, positive outcomes were more influential for supporters and negative beliefs for opposers. Management may need to focus on the results from hunters who indicated that they would be unlikely to support a ban, as these hunters include those who may actively oppose additional efforts to regulate lead.

Predicting hurricane wind damage by claim payout based on Hurricane Ike in Texas

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Ji-Myong Kim

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The increasing occurrence of natural disasters and their related damage have led to a growing demand for models that predict financial loss. Although considerable research on the financial losses related to natural disasters has found significant predictors, there has been a lack of comprehensive study that addresses the relationship among vulnerabilities, natural disasters, and the economic losses of individual buildings. This study identifies the vulnerability indicators for hurricanes to establish a metric to predict the related financial loss. We classify hurricane-prone areas by highlighting the spatial distribution of losses and vulnerabilities. This study used a Geographical Information System (GIS to combine and produce spatial data and a multiple regression method to establish a wind damage prediction model. As the dependent variable, we used the value of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA claim payout divided by the appraised values of the buildings to predict real economic loss. As independent variables, we selected a hurricane indicator and built environment vulnerability indicators. The model we developed can be used by government agencies and insurance companies to predict hurricane wind damage.

Hurricane Season: Are You Ready?

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

Hurricanes are one of Mother Nature’s most powerful forces. Host Bret Atkins talks with CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health Director Dr. Chris Portier about the main threats of a hurricane and how you can prepare.

Does Lateral Transmission Obscure Inheritance in Hunter-Gatherer Languages?

Science.gov (United States)

Bowern, Claire; Epps, Patience; Gray, Russell; Hill, Jane; Hunley, Keith; McConvell, Patrick; Zentz, Jason

2011-01-01

In recent years, linguists have begun to increasingly rely on quantitative phylogenetic approaches to examine language evolution. Some linguists have questioned the suitability of phylogenetic approaches on the grounds that linguistic evolution is largely reticulate due to extensive lateral transmission, or borrowing, among languages. The problem may be particularly pronounced in hunter-gatherer languages, where the conventional wisdom among many linguists is that lexical borrowing rates are so high that tree building approaches cannot provide meaningful insights into evolutionary processes. However, this claim has never been systematically evaluated, in large part because suitable data were unavailable. In addition, little is known about the subsistence, demographic, ecological, and social factors that might mediate variation in rates of borrowing among languages. Here, we evaluate these claims with a large sample of hunter-gatherer languages from three regions around the world. In this study, a list of 204 basic vocabulary items was collected for 122 hunter-gatherer and small-scale cultivator languages from three ecologically diverse case study areas: northern Australia, northwest Amazonia, and California and the Great Basin. Words were rigorously coded for etymological (inheritance) status, and loan rates were calculated. Loan rate variability was examined with respect to language area, subsistence mode, and population size, density, and mobility; these results were then compared to the sample of 41 primarily agriculturalist languages in [1]. Though loan levels varied both within and among regions, they were generally low in all regions (mean 5.06%, median 2.49%, and SD 7.56), despite substantial demographic, ecological, and social variation. Amazonian levels were uniformly very low, with no language exhibiting more than 4%. Rates were low but more variable in the other two study regions, in part because of several outlier languages where rates of borrowing were

Comparing Road-Kill Datasets from Hunters and Citizen Scientists in a Landscape Context

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Florian Heigl

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Road traffic has severe effects on animals, especially when road-kills are involved. In many countries, official road-kill data are provided by hunters or police; there are also road-kill observations reported by citizen scientists. The aim of the current study was to test whether road-kill reports by hunters stem from similar landscapes than those reported by citizen scientists. We analysed the surrounding landscapes of 712 road-kill reportings of European hares in the province of Lower Austria. Our data showed that road-killed hares reported both by hunters and citizens are predominantly surrounded by arable land. No difference of hedges and solitary trees could be found between the two datasets. However, significant differences in landcover classes and surrounding road networks indicate that hunters’ and citizen scientists’ data are different. Hunters reported hares from landscapes with significantly higher percentages of arable land, and greater lengths of secondary roads. In contrast, citizens reported hares from landscapes with significantly higher percentages of urban or industrial areas and greater lengths of motorways, primary roads, and residential roads. From this we argue that hunters tend to report data mainly from their hunting areas, whereas citizens report data during their daily routine on the way to/from work. We conclude that a citizen science approach is an important source for road-kill data when used in addition to official data with the aim of obtaining an overview of road-kill events on a landscape scale.

A diary of hurricane Hugo.

Science.gov (United States)

Counts, C S

1989-12-01

Charleston, South Carolina was the recent victim of Hurricane Hugo. This article recalls the events that occurred before, during, and after the hurricane struck. The focus is on four outpatient dialysis units in that area. It is a story from which others may learn more about emergency preparedness.

Hurricane Frances Poster (September 5, 2004)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Frances poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-17 shows Hurricane Frances over central Florida on September 5, 2004. Poster dimension is approximately...

Examining Hurricane Track Length and Stage Duration Since 1980

Science.gov (United States)

Fandrich, K. M.; Pennington, D.

2017-12-01

Each year, tropical systems impact thousands of people worldwide. Current research shows a correlation between the intensity and frequency of hurricanes and the changing climate. However, little is known about other prominent hurricane features. This includes information about hurricane track length (the total distance traveled from tropical depression through a hurricane's final category assignment) and how this distance may have changed with time. Also unknown is the typical duration of a hurricane stage, such as tropical storm to category one, and if the time spent in each stage has changed in recent decades. This research aims to examine changes in hurricane stage duration and track lengths for the 319 storms in NOAA's National Ocean Service Hurricane Reanalysis dataset that reached Category 2 - 5 from 1980 - 2015. Based on evident ocean warming, it is hypothesized that a general increase in track length with time will be detected, thus modern hurricanes are traveling a longer distance than past hurricanes. It is also expected that stage durations are decreasing with time so that hurricanes mature faster than in past decades. For each storm, coordinates are acquired at 4-times daily intervals throughout its duration and track lengths are computed for each 6-hour period. Total track lengths are then computed and storms are analyzed graphically and statistically by category for temporal track length changes. The stage durations of each storm are calculated as the time difference between two consecutive stages. Results indicate that average track lengths for Cat 2 and 3 hurricanes are increasing through time. These findings show that these hurricanes are traveling a longer distance than earlier Cat 2 and 3 hurricanes. In contrast, average track lengths for Cat 4 and 5 hurricanes are decreasing through time, showing less distance traveled than earlier decades. Stage durations for all Cat 2, 4 and 5 storms decrease through the decades but Cat 3 storms show a

Hurricane Isabel Poster (September 18, 2003)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Isabel poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-17 shows Hurricane Isabel making landfall on the North Carolina Outer Banks on September 18, 2003. Poster...

Hurricane Sandy Poster (October 29, 2012)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Sandy poster. Multi-spectral image from Suomi-NPP shows Hurricane Sandy approaching the New Jersey Coast on October 29, 2012. Poster size is approximately...

Hurricane Charley Poster (August 13, 2004)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Charley poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-17 shows a small but powerful hurricane heading toward southern Florida on August 13, 2004. Poster dimension...

Hurricane Jeanne Poster (September 25, 2004)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Jeanne poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-16 shows Hurricane Jeanne near Grand Bahama Island on September 25, 2004. Poster size is 34"x30".

"The Deer Hunter": Rhetoric of the Warrior.

Science.gov (United States)

Rushing, Janice Hocker; Frentz, Thomas S.

A psychological/ritual model of criticism is used to examine the movie "The Deer Hunter" as a rhetorical event in which males undergo psychological change through their war and postwar experiences. The critical model depends on understanding a Jungian interpretation of the human psyche, the form and function of initiation rituals, and…

Hurricane impacts on a pair of coastal forested watersheds: implications of selective hurricane damage to forest structure and streamflow dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakaran, A. D.; Williams, T. M.; Ssegane, H.; Amatya, D. M.; Song, B.; Trettin, C. C.

2014-03-01

Hurricanes are infrequent but influential disruptors of ecosystem processes in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Every southeastern forested wetland has the potential to be struck by a tropical cyclone. We examined the impact of Hurricane Hugo on two paired coastal South Carolina watersheds in terms of streamflow and vegetation dynamics, both before and after the hurricane's passage in 1989. The study objectives were to quantify the magnitude and timing of changes including a reversal in relative streamflow difference between two paired watersheds, and to examine the selective impacts of a hurricane on the vegetative composition of the forest. We related these impacts to their potential contribution to change watershed hydrology through altered evapotranspiration processes. Using over 30 years of monthly rainfall and streamflow data we showed that there was a significant transformation in the hydrologic character of the two watersheds - a transformation that occurred soon after the hurricane's passage. We linked the change in the rainfall-runoff relationship to a catastrophic change in forest vegetation due to selective hurricane damage. While both watersheds were located in the path of the hurricane, extant forest structure varied between the two watersheds as a function of experimental forest management techniques on the treatment watershed. We showed that the primary damage was to older pines, and to some extent larger hardwood trees. We believe that lowered vegetative water use impacted both watersheds with increased outflows on both watersheds due to loss of trees following hurricane impact. However, one watershed was able to recover to pre hurricane levels of evapotranspiration at a quicker rate due to the greater abundance of pine seedlings and saplings in that watershed.

Shelf sediment transport during hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Kehui; Mickey, Rangley C.; Chen, Qin; Harris, Courtney K.; Hetland, Robert D.; Hu, Kelin; Wang, Jiaze

2016-05-01

Hurricanes can greatly modify the sedimentary record, but our coastal scientific community has rather limited capability to predict hurricane-induced sediment deposition. A three-dimensional sediment transport model was developed in the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to study seabed erosion and deposition on the Louisiana shelf in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the year 2005. Sensitivity tests were performed on both erosional and depositional processes for a wide range of erosional rates and settling velocities, and uncertainty analysis was done on critical shear stresses using the polynomial chaos approximation method. A total of 22 model runs were performed in sensitivity and uncertainty tests. Estimated maximum erosional depths were sensitive to the inputs, but horizontal erosional patterns seemed to be controlled mainly by hurricane tracks, wave-current combined shear stresses, seabed grain sizes, and shelf bathymetry. During the passage of two hurricanes, local resuspension and deposition dominated the sediment transport mechanisms. Hurricane Katrina followed a shelf-perpendicular track before making landfall and its energy dissipated rapidly within about 48 h along the eastern Louisiana coast. In contrast, Hurricane Rita followed a more shelf-oblique track and disturbed the seabed extensively during its 84-h passage from the Alabama-Mississippi border to the Louisiana-Texas border. Conditions to either side of Hurricane Rita's storm track differed substantially, with the region to the east having stronger winds, taller waves and thus deeper erosions. This study indicated that major hurricanes can disturb the shelf at centimeter to meter levels. Each of these two hurricanes suspended seabed sediment mass that far exceeded the annual sediment inputs from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, but the net transport from shelves to estuaries is yet to be determined. Future studies should focus on the modeling of sediment exchange between

Hurricane Hugo Poster (September 21, 1989)

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Hugo poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-11 captures Hurricane Hugo slamming into South Carolina coast on September 21, 1989. Poster size is 36"x36".

Hurricane Ivan Poster (September 15, 2004)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Ivan poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-16 shows Hurricane Ivan in the Gulf of Mexico on September 15, 2004. Poster size is 34"x30".

Hunter versus CIE color measurement systems for analysis of milk-based beverages.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ni; Barbano, David M; Drake, Mary Anne

2018-06-01

The objective of our work was to determine the differences in sensitivity of Hunter and International Commission on Illumination (CIE) methods at 2 different viewer angles (2 and 10°) for measurement of whiteness, red/green, and blue/yellow color of milk-based beverages over a range of composition. Sixty combinations of milk-based beverages were formulated (2 replicates) with a range of fat level from 0.2 to 2%, true protein level from 3 to 5%, and casein as a percent of true protein from 5 to 80% to provide a wide range of milk-based beverage color. In addition, commercial skim, 1 and 2% fat high-temperature, short-time pasteurized fluid milks were analyzed. All beverage formulations were HTST pasteurized and cooled to 4°C before analysis. Color measurement viewer angle (2 vs. 10°) had very little effect on objective color measures of milk-based beverages with a wide range of composition for either the Hunter or CIE color measurement system. Temperature (4, 20, and 50°C) of color measurement had a large effect on the results of color measurement in both the Hunter and CIE measurement systems. The effect of milk beverage temperature on color measurement results was the largest for skim milk and the least for 2% fat milk. This highlights the need for proper control of beverage serving temperature for sensory panel analysis of milk-based beverages with very low fat content and for control of milk temperature when doing objective color analysis for quality control in manufacture of milk-based beverages. The Hunter system of color measurement was more sensitive to differences in whiteness among milk-based beverages than the CIE system, whereas the CIE system was much more sensitive to differences in yellowness among milk-based beverages. There was little difference between the Hunter and CIE system in sensitivity to green/red color of milk-based beverages. In defining milk-based beverage product specifications for objective color measures for dairy product

Hurricane feedback research may improve intensity forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Colin

2012-06-01

Forecasts of a hurricane's intensity are generally much less accurate than forecasts of its most likely path. Large-scale atmospheric patterns dictate where a hurricane will go and how quickly it will get there. The storm's intensity, however, depends on small-scale shifts in atmospheric stratification, upwelling rates, and other transient dynamics that are difficult to predict. Properly understanding the risk posed by an impending storm depends on having a firm grasp of all three properties: translational speed, intensity, and path. Drawing on 40 years of hurricane records representing 3090 different storms, Mei et al. propose that a hurricane's translational speed and intensity may be closely linked.

Hurricane Wilma Poster (October 24, 2005)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Wilma poster. Multi-spectral image from NOAA-18 shows Hurricane Wilma exiting Florida off the east Florida coast on October 24, 2005. Poster size is 34"x30".

Spatial grids for hurricane climate research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elsner, James B.; Hodges, Robert E.; Jagger, Thomas H. [Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (United States)

2012-07-15

The authors demonstrate a spatial framework for studying hurricane climatology. The framework consists of a spatial tessellation of the hurricane basin using equal-area hexagons. The hexagons are efficient at covering hurricane tracks and provide a scaffolding to combine attribute data from tropical cyclones with spatial climate data. The framework's utility is demonstrated using examples from recent hurricane seasons. Seasons that have similar tracks are quantitatively assessed and grouped. Regional cyclone frequency and intensity variations are mapped. A geographically-weighted regression of cyclone intensity on sea-surface temperature emphasizes the importance of a warm ocean in the intensification of cyclones over regions where the heat content is greatest. The largest differences between model predictions and observations occur near the coast. The authors suggest the framework is ideally suited for comparing tropical cyclones generated from different numerical simulations. (orig.)

Fiber-optic displacement sensors on the Hunters Trophy UGT impulse gauge experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, R.E.L.; Poutiatine, A.I.

1995-03-01

As part of a program to develop gauges for measurement of various mechanical properties in hostile environments, the authors fielded purely optical displacement sensors at the ends of long fiber-optic cables as supplements to the regular displacement sensors of four impulse gauges fielded as part of a materials study on the Hunters Trophy underground effects test at the Nevada Test Site. These fiber-optic sensor systems and their performance on the Hunters Trophy test are described in this report.

Physical aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Scatena, F.N.; Larsen, Matthew C.

1991-01-01

On 18 September 1989 the western part ofHurricane Hugo crossed eastern Puerto Rico and the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF). Storm-facing slopes on the northeastern part of the island that were within 15 km of the eye and received greater than 200 mm of rain were most affected by the storm. In the LEF and nearby area, recurrence intervals associated with Hurricane Hugo were 50 yr for wind velocity, 10 to 31 yr for stream discharge, and 5 yr for rainfall intensity. To compare the magnitudes of the six hurricanes to pass over PuertoRico since 1899, 3 indices were developed using the standardized values of the product of: the maximum sustained wind speed at San Juan squared and storm duration; the square of the product of the maximum sustained wind velocity at San Juan and the ratio of the distance between the hurricane eye and San Juan to the distance between the eye and percentage of average annual rainfall delivered by the storm. Based on these indices, HurricaneHugo was of moderate intensity. However, because of the path of Hurricane Hugo, only one of these six storms (the 1932 storm) caused more damage to the LEF than Hurricane Hugo. Hurricanes of Hugo's magnitude are estimated to pass over the LEF once every 50-60 yr, on average. 

On the Influence of Global Warming on Atlantic Hurricane Frequency

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini, S. R.; Scaioni, M.; Marani, M.

2018-04-01

In this paper, the possible connection between the frequency of Atlantic hurricanes to the climate change, mainly the variation in the Atlantic Ocean surface temperature has been investigated. The correlation between the observed hurricane frequency for different categories of hurricane's intensity and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) has been examined over the Atlantic Tropical Cyclogenesis Regions (ACR). The results suggest that in general, the frequency of hurricanes have a high correlation with SST. In particular, the frequency of extreme hurricanes with Category 5 intensity has the highest correlation coefficient (R = 0.82). In overall, the analyses in this work demonstrates the influence of the climate change condition on the Atlantic hurricanes and suggest a strong correlation between the frequency of extreme hurricanes and SST in the ACR.

Gulf of Mexico hurricane wave simulations using SWAN : Bulk formula-based drag coefficient sensitivity for Hurricane Ike

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huang, Y.; Weisberg, R.H.; Zheng, L.; Zijlema, M.

2013-01-01

The effects of wind input parameterizations on wave estimations under hurricane conditions are examined using the unstructured grid, third-generation wave model, Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN). Experiments using Hurricane Ike wind forcing, which impacted the Gulf of Mexico in 2008, illustrate

Targeting hunter distribution based on host resource selection and kill sites to manage disease risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Dugal, Cherie J; van Beest, Floris M; Vander Wal, Eric; Brook, Ryan K

2013-10-01

Endemic and emerging diseases are rarely uniform in their spatial distribution or prevalence among cohorts of wildlife. Spatial models that quantify risk-driven differences in resource selection and hunter mortality of animals at fine spatial scales can assist disease management by identifying high-risk areas and individuals. We used resource selection functions (RSFs) and selection ratios (SRs) to quantify sex- and age-specific resource selection patterns of collared (n = 67) and hunter-killed (n = 796) nonmigratory elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) during the hunting season between 2002 and 2012, in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Distance to protected area was the most important covariate influencing resource selection and hunter-kill sites of elk (AICw = 1.00). Collared adult males (which are most likely to be infected with bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) and chronic wasting disease) rarely selected for sites outside of parks during the hunting season in contrast to adult females and juvenile males. The RSFs showed selection by adult females and juvenile males to be negatively associated with landscape-level forest cover, high road density, and water cover, whereas hunter-kill sites of these cohorts were positively associated with landscape-level forest cover and increasing distance to streams and negatively associated with high road density. Local-level forest was positively associated with collared animal locations and hunter-kill sites; however, selection was stronger for collared juvenile males and hunter-killed adult females. In instances where disease infects a metapopulation and eradication is infeasible, a principle goal of management is to limit the spread of disease among infected animals. We map high-risk areas that are regularly used by potentially infectious hosts but currently underrepresented in the distribution of kill sites. We present a novel application of widely available data to target hunter distribution based on host resource

Isentropic Analysis of a Simulated Hurricane

Science.gov (United States)

Mrowiec, Agnieszka A.; Pauluis, Olivier; Zhang, Fuqing

2016-01-01

Hurricanes, like many other atmospheric flows, are associated with turbulent motions over a wide range of scales. Here the authors adapt a new technique based on the isentropic analysis of convective motions to study the thermodynamic structure of the overturning circulation in hurricane simulations. This approach separates the vertical mass transport in terms of the equivalent potential temperature of air parcels. In doing so, one separates the rising air parcels at high entropy from the subsiding air at low entropy. This technique filters out oscillatory motions associated with gravity waves and separates convective overturning from the secondary circulation. This approach is applied here to study the flow of an idealized hurricane simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. The isentropic circulation for a hurricane exhibits similar characteristics to that of moist convection, with a maximum mass transport near the surface associated with a shallow convection and entrainment. There are also important differences. For instance, ascent in the eyewall can be readily identified in the isentropic analysis as an upward mass flux of air with unusually high equivalent potential temperature. The isentropic circulation is further compared here to the Eulerian secondary circulation of the simulated hurricane to show that the mass transport in the isentropic circulation is much larger than the one in secondary circulation. This difference can be directly attributed to the mass transport by convection in the outer rainband and confirms that, even for a strongly organized flow like a hurricane, most of the atmospheric overturning is tied to the smaller scales.

NOAA predicts active 2013 Atlantic hurricane season

Science.gov (United States)

(discussion) El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion National Hurricane Preparedness Week in both English and Spanish, featuring NOAA hurricane experts and the FEMA administrator at

Salinity and resource management in the Hunter Valley

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Creelman, R.A.; Cooke, R.; Simons, M. [RA Creelman & Associates (Australia)

1995-08-01

If excess water salinity is to be managed in the Hunter Valley, its causes and behaviour must be understood. Although Hunter Valley hydrology, hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry require further study, there is now enough information available to begin the development of both temporal and spatial models as valley management tools. Currently the Department of Water Resources is developing a model known as Integrated Water Quality and Quantity Model (IQQM). IQQM which includes a salinity module is essentially a surface water simulation model. It wll enable testing of alternate management and operation policies such as the salinity property rights trading scheme recently introduced by the EPA to manage salt release from coal mines and power stations. An overview is presented of the progress made to date on the salinity module for IQQM, and an outline is given of the geological and hydrogeochemical concepts that have been assembled to support the salinity module of IQQM. 17 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

Hurricane Resilient Wind Plant Concept Study Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dibra, Besart [Keystone Engineering Inc., Vonore, TN (United States); Finucane, Zachary [Keystone Engineering Inc., Vonore, TN (United States); Foley, Benjamin [Keystone Engineering Inc., Vonore, TN (United States); Hall, Rudy [Keystone Engineering Inc., Vonore, TN (United States); Damiani, Rick [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Maples, Benjamin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Parker, Zachary [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Robertson, Amy [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Scott, George [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Stehly, Tyler [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Wendt, Fabian [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Andersen, Mads Boel Overgaard [Siemens Wind Power A/S, Brande (Denmark); Standish, Kevin [Siemens Wind Power A/S, Brande (Denmark); Lee, Ken [Wetzel Engineering Inc., Round Rock, TX (United States); Raina, Amool [Wetzel Engineering Inc., Round Rock, TX (United States); Wetzel, Kyle [Wetzel Engineering Inc., Round Rock, TX (United States); Musial, Walter [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Schreck, Scott [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-10-01

Hurricanes occur over much of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Long Island to the U.S.-Mexico border, encompassing much of the nation's primary offshore wind resource. Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall as far north as North Carolina, with Category 3 hurricanes reaching New York with some frequency. Along the US West coast, typhoons strike with similar frequency and severity. At present, offshore wind turbine design practices do not fully consider the severe operating conditions imposed by hurricanes. Although universally applied to most turbine designs, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards do not sufficiently address the duration, directionality, magnitude, or character of hurricanes. To assess advanced design features that could mitigate hurricane loading in various ways, this Hurricane-Resilient Wind Plant Concept Study considered a concept design study of a 500-megawatt (MW) wind power plant consisting of 10-MW wind turbines deployed in 25-meter (m) water depths in the Western Gulf of Mexico. This location was selected because hurricane frequency and severity provided a unique set of design challenges that would enable assessment of hurricane risk and projection of cost of energy (COE) changes, all in response to specific U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) objectives. Notably, the concept study pursued a holistic approach that incorporated multiple advanced system elements at the wind turbine and wind power plant levels to meet objectives for system performance and reduced COE. Principal turbine system elements included a 10-MW rotor with structurally efficient, low-solidity blades; a lightweight, permanent-magnet, direct-drive generator, and an innovative fixed substructure. At the wind power plant level, turbines were arrayed in a large-scale wind power plant in a manner aimed at balancing energy production against capital, installation, and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs to achieve significant overall reductions in

Controlling a hurricane by altering its internal climate

Science.gov (United States)

Mardhekar, D.

2010-09-01

Atmospheric hazards, like the fury of a hurricane, can be controlled by altering its internal climate. The hurricane controlling technique suggested is eco-friendly, compatible with hurricane size, has a sound scientific base and is practically possible. The key factor is a large scale dilution of the hurricane fuel, vapour, in the eye wall and spiral rain bands where condensation causing vapor volume reduction (a new concept which can be explained by Avogadro's law) and latent heat release drive the storm. This can be achieved by installing multiple storage tanks containing dry liquefied air on the onshore and offshore coastal regions and islands, preferably underground, in the usual path of a hurricane. Each storage tank is designed to hold and release dry liquefied air of around 100,000 tons. Satellite tracking of hurricanes can locate the eye wall and the spiral rain bands. The installed storage tanks coming under these areas will rapidly inject dry air in huge quantities thereby diluting the vapour content of the vapour-rich air in the eye wall and in the spiral rain bands. This will result in reduced natural input of vapour-rich air, reduced release of latent heat, reduced formation of the low pressure zone due to condensation and volume reduction of the vapor, expansion of the artificially introduced dry air as it goes up occupying a larger space with the diluted fuel, absorption of energy from the system by low temperature of the artificially introduced air. It will effect considerable condensation of the vapor near the sea surface thus further starving the hurricane of its fuel in its engine. Seeding materials, or microscopic dust as suggested by Dr. Daniel Rosenfeld in large quantities may also be introduced via the flow of the injected dry air in order to enhance the hurricane controlling ability. All the above factors are in favour of retarding the hurricane's wind speed and power. The sudden weakening of hurricane Lili was found to be partially caused

Hurricane Recovery and Ecological Resilience: Measuring the Impacts of Wetland Alteration Post Hurricane Ike on the Upper TX Coast

Science.gov (United States)

Reja, Md Y.; Brody, Samuel D.; Highfield, Wesley E.; Newman, Galen D.

2017-12-01

Recovery after hurricane events encourages new development activities and allows reconstruction through the conversion of naturally occurring wetlands to other land uses. This research investigates the degree to which hurricane recovery activities in coastal communities are undermining the ability of these places to attenuate the impacts of future storm events. Specifically, it explores how and to what extent wetlands are being affected by the CWA Section 404 permitting program in the context of post-Hurricane Ike 2008 recovery. Wetland alteration patterns are examined by selecting a control group (Aransas and Brazoria counties with no hurricane impact) vs. study group (Chambers and Galveston counties with hurricane impact) research design with a pretest-posttest measurement analyzing the variables such as permit types, pre-post Ike permits, land cover classes, and within-outside the 100-year floodplain. Results show that permitting activities in study group have increased within the 100-year floodplain and palustrine wetlands continue to be lost compare to the control group. Simultaneously, post-Ike individual and nationwide permits increased in the Hurricane Ike impacted area. A binomial logistic regression model indicated that permits within the study group, undeveloped land cover class, and individual and nationwide permit type have a substantial effect on post-Ike permits, suggesting that post-Ike permits have significant impact on wetland losses. These findings indicate that recovery after the hurricane is compromising ecological resiliency in coastal communities. The study outcome may be applied to policy decisions in managing wetlands during a long-term recovery process to maintain natural function for future flood mitigation.

Tsunamis and Hurricanes A Mathematical Approach

CERN Document Server

Cap, Ferdinand

2006-01-01

Tsunamis and hurricanes have had a devastating impact on the population living near the coast during the year 2005. The calculation of the power and intensity of tsunamis and hurricanes are of great importance not only for engineers and meteorologists but also for governments and insurance companies. This book presents new research on the mathematical description of tsunamis and hurricanes. A combination of old and new approaches allows to derive a nonlinear partial differential equation of fifth order describing the steepening up and the propagation of tsunamis. The description includes dissipative terms and does not contain singularities or two valued functions. The equivalence principle of solutions of nonlinear large gas dynamics waves and of solutions of water wave equations will be used. An extension of the continuity equation by a source term due to evaporation rates of salt seawater will help to understand hurricanes. Detailed formula, tables and results of the calculations are given.

perceptions and adaptations of beekeepers and honey hunters

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prof. Adipala Ekwamu

honey sector (i.e. honey hunters) to climate change are, however, not adequately explored. The objective of .... The statistical software SPSS Version 16 was used for this purpose. ... content analysis is an effort of interpretation, that balances ... FORM. Discontinue. N o = 0 ; Yes = 1. ±. Creditavability. CRED. Discontinue. N.

Injury and Illness Among Deer Hunters

OpenAIRE

McRae, Shelagh M.

1989-01-01

General practice and out-patient emergency records for a five-year period were reviewed for injuries and illnesses that occurred during the week of deer rifle hunting on Manitoulin Island. Of 65 hunters who were identified, most had lacerations secondary to knife injuries. There were two deaths (one shooting and one in a motor vehicle accident), and 19 persons required hospitalization. More than half of these serious accidents occurred on the weekends immediately preceding or following the hu...

Landscape and regional impacts of hurricanes in Puerto Rico

OpenAIRE

Boose, Emery Robert; Serrano, Mayra I.; Foster, David Russell

2004-01-01

Puerto Rico is subject to frequent and severe impacts from hurricanes, whose long-term ecological role must be assessed on a scale of centuries. In this study we applied a method for reconstructing hurricane disturbance regimes developed in an earlier study of hurricanes in New England. Patterns of actual wind damage from historical records were analyzed for 85 hurricanes since European settlement in 1508. A simple meteorological model (HURRECON) was used to reconstruct the impacts of 43 hurr...

Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. OV-1/AC-119 Hunter-Killer Team

Science.gov (United States)

1972-10-10

between Phan Rang, Phu Cat , and Danang in order to provide best coverage of the Vietnamese conflict. -- On 16 February 1970, three AC -ll9Ks and 70...SOUTHEAST ASIA D D DDiv AY/XDOSQA I OV-1/ AC -119 " i IWB I HUNTER-KILLER TEAM 19’.1’ CONTINUING REPORT CLASSIFIED Ey 7AFIDOOC DOWNGRADE TjU SECRET...xamination of C urrent, 0 per’tions I~ I fF!lr T I TII TIIII I OV=1/ AC -119 HUNTER-KILLER TEAMI 1 10 OCTOBER 1972 HQ PACAF Directorate of Operations

Ethical acceptability of recreational hunting - does the motive of the hunter matter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gamborg, Christian; Jensen, Frank Søndergaard; Sandøe, Peter

2016-01-01

Recreational hunting can be a way of taking responsibility for acquiring one’s own meat. However, many recreational hunters focus instead on hunting as a hobby or sport. This distinction, between two rather different motives for hunting, is relevant to the activity’s moral justifiability. The pub......Recreational hunting can be a way of taking responsibility for acquiring one’s own meat. However, many recreational hunters focus instead on hunting as a hobby or sport. This distinction, between two rather different motives for hunting, is relevant to the activity’s moral justifiability...

2005 Significant U.S. Hurricane Strikes Poster

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The 2005 Significant U.S. Hurricane Strikes poster is one of two special edition posters for the Atlantic Hurricanes. This beautiful poster contains two sets of...

Continental United States Hurricane Strikes 1950-2012

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Continental U.S. Hurricane Strikes Poster is our most popular poster which is updated annually. The poster includes all hurricanes that affected the U.S. since...

Radium issues at Hunters Point Annex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dean, S.M.

1994-01-01

Radium was a common source of illumination used in numerous instruments and gauges for military equipment prior to 1970. As a result of its many military applications radium 226 is now a principle radionuclide of concern at military base closures sites throughout the United States. This is an overview of the site characterization strategy employed and a potential site remediation technology being considered at a radium contaminated landfill at Hunters Point Annex, a former U.S. Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California

Comparing Road-Kill Datasets from Hunters and Citizen Scientists in a Landscape Context

OpenAIRE

Florian Heigl; Carina R. Stretz; Wolfgang Steiner; Franz Suppan; Thomas Bauer; Gregor Laaha; Johann G. Zaller

2016-01-01

Road traffic has severe effects on animals, especially when road-kills are involved. In many countries, official road-kill data are provided by hunters or police; there are also road-kill observations reported by citizen scientists. The aim of the current study was to test whether road-kill reports by hunters stem from similar landscapes than those reported by citizen scientists. We analysed the surrounding landscapes of 712 road-kill reportings of European hares in the province of Lower Aust...

Hurricane Sandy: Shared Trauma and Therapist Self-Disclosure.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Nyapati; Mehra, Ashwin

2015-01-01

Hurricane Sandy was one of the most devastating storms to hit the United States in history. The impact of the hurricane included power outages, flooding in the New York City subway system and East River tunnels, disrupted communications, acute shortages of gasoline and food, and a death toll of 113 people. In addition, thousands of residences and businesses in New Jersey and New York were destroyed. This article chronicles the first author's personal and professional experiences as a survivor of the hurricane, more specifically in the dual roles of provider and trauma victim, involving informed self-disclosure with a patient who was also a victim of the hurricane. The general analytic framework of therapy is evaluated in the context of the shared trauma faced by patient and provider alike in the face of the hurricane, leading to important implications for future work on resilience and recovery for both the therapist and patient.

Hurricane impacts on a pair of coastal forested watersheds: implications of selective hurricane damage to forest structure and streamflow dynamics

OpenAIRE

A. D. Jayakaran; T. M. Williams; H. Ssegane; D. M. Amatya; B. Song; C. C. Trettin

2014-01-01

Hurricanes are infrequent but influential disruptors of ecosystem processes in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Every southeastern forested wetland has the potential to be struck by a tropical cyclone. We examined the impact of Hurricane Hugo on two paired coastal watersheds in South Carolina in terms of stream flow and vegetation dynamics, both before and after the hurricane's passage in 1989. The study objectives were to quantify the magnitude and timing of changes including a rev...

ON THE INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL WARMING ON ATLANTIC HURRICANE FREQUENCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. R. Hosseini

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the possible connection between the frequency of Atlantic hurricanes to the climate change, mainly the variation in the Atlantic Ocean surface temperature has been investigated. The correlation between the observed hurricane frequency for different categories of hurricane’s intensity and Sea Surface Temperature (SST has been examined over the Atlantic Tropical Cyclogenesis Regions (ACR. The results suggest that in general, the frequency of hurricanes have a high correlation with SST. In particular, the frequency of extreme hurricanes with Category 5 intensity has the highest correlation coefficient (R = 0.82. In overall, the analyses in this work demonstrates the influence of the climate change condition on the Atlantic hurricanes and suggest a strong correlation between the frequency of extreme hurricanes and SST in the ACR.

Longitudinal Impact of Hurricane Sandy Exposure on Mental Health Symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Rebecca M; Gillezeau, Christina N; Liu, Bian; Lieberman-Cribbin, Wil; Taioli, Emanuela

2017-08-24

Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern coast of the United States in October 2012, causing billions of dollars in damage and acute physical and mental health problems. The long-term mental health consequences of the storm and their predictors have not been studied. New York City and Long Island residents completed questionnaires regarding their initial Hurricane Sandy exposure and mental health symptoms at baseline and 1 year later (N = 130). There were statistically significant decreases in anxiety scores (mean difference = -0.33, p Hurricane Sandy has an impact on PTSD symptoms that persists over time. Given the likelihood of more frequent and intense hurricanes due to climate change, future hurricane recovery efforts must consider the long-term effects of hurricane exposure on mental health, especially on PTSD, when providing appropriate assistance and treatment.

Validation of High Wind Retrievals from the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) Mission

Science.gov (United States)

McKague, D. S.; Ruf, C. S.; Balasubramaniam, R.; Clarizia, M. P.

2017-12-01

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission, launched in December of 2016, provides all-weather observations of sea surface winds. Using GPS-based bistatic reflectometry, the CYGNSS satellites can estimate sea surface winds even through a hurricane eye wall. This, combined with the high temporal resolution of the CYGNSS constellation (median revisit time of 2.8 hours), yields unprecedented ability to estimate hurricane strength winds. While there are a number of other sources of sea surface wind estimates, such as buoys, dropsondes, passive and active microwave from aircraft and satellite, and models, the combination of all-weather, high accuracy, short revisit time, high spatial coverage, and continuous operation of the CYGNSS mission enables significant advances in the understanding, monitoring, and prediction of cyclones. Validating CYGNSS wind retrievals over the bulk of the global wind speed distribution, which peaks at around 7 meters per second, is relatively straight-forward, requiring spatial-temporal matching of observations with independent sources (such as those mentioned above). Validating CYGNSS wind retrievals for "high" winds (> 20 meters per second), though, is problematic. Such winds occur only in intense storms. While infrequent, making validation opportunities also infrequent and problematic due to their intense nature, such storms are important to study because of the high potential for damage and loss of life. This presentation will describe the efforts of the CYGNSS Calibration/Validation team to gather measurements of high sea surface winds for development and validation of the CYGNSS geophysical model function (GMF), which forms the basis of retrieving winds from CYGNSS observations. The bulk of these observations come from buoy measurements as well as aircraft ("hurricane hunter") measurements from passive microwave and dropsondes. These data are matched in space and time to CYGNSS observations for training of the

Numerical modeling of the effects of Hurricane Sandy and potential future hurricanes on spatial patterns of salt marsh morphology in Jamaica Bay, New York City

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hongqing; Chen, Qin; Hu, Kelin; Snedden, Gregg A.; Hartig, Ellen K.; Couvillion, Brady R.; Johnson, Cody L.; Orton, Philip M.

2017-03-29

The salt marshes of Jamaica Bay, managed by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the Gateway National Recreation Area of the National Park Service, serve as a recreational outlet for New York City residents, mitigate flooding, and provide habitat for critical wildlife species. Hurricanes and extra-tropical storms have been recognized as one of the critical drivers of coastal wetland morphology due to their effects on hydrodynamics and sediment transport, deposition, and erosion processes. However, the magnitude and mechanisms of hurricane effects on sediment dynamics and associated coastal wetland morphology in the northeastern United States are poorly understood. In this study, the depth-averaged version of the Delft3D modeling suite, integrated with field measurements, was utilized to examine the effects of Hurricane Sandy and future potential hurricanes on salt marsh morphology in Jamaica Bay, New York City. Hurricane Sandy-induced wind, waves, storm surge, water circulation, sediment transport, deposition, and erosion were simulated by using the modeling system in which vegetation effects on flow resistance, surge reduction, wave attenuation, and sedimentation were also incorporated. Observed marsh elevation change and accretion from a rod surface elevation table and feldspar marker horizons and cesium-137- and lead-210-derived long-term accretion rates were used to calibrate and validate the wind-waves-surge-sediment transport-morphology coupled model.The model results (storm surge, waves, and marsh deposition and erosion) agreed well with field measurements. The validated modeling system was then used to detect salt marsh morphological change due to Hurricane Sandy across the entire Jamaica Bay over the short-term (for example, 4 days and 1 year) and long-term (for example, 5 and 10 years). Because Hurricanes Sandy (2012) and Irene (2011) were two large and destructive tropical cyclones which hit the northeast coast, the validated coupled

Hurricane Impacts to Tropical and Temperate Forest Landscapes

OpenAIRE

Boose, Emery Robert; Foster, David Russell; Fluet, Marcheterre

1994-01-01

Hurricanes represent an important natural disturbance process to tropical and temperate forests in many coastal areas of the world. The complex patterns of damage created in forests by hurricane winds result from the interaction of meteorological, physiographic, and biotic factors on a range of spatial scales. To improve our understanding of these factors and of the role of catastrophic hurricane wind as a disturbance process, we take an integrative approach. A simple meteorological model (HU...

Geologic record of Hurricane impacts on the New Jersey coast

Science.gov (United States)

Nikitina, Daria; Horton, Benjamin; Khan, Nicole; Clear, Jennifer; Shaw, Timothy; Enache, Mihaela; Frizzera, Dorina; Procopio, Nick; Potapova, Marina

2016-04-01

Hurricanes along the US Atlantic coast have caused significant damage and loss of human life over the last century. Recent studies suggest that intense-hurricane activity is closely related to changes of sea surface temperatures and therefore the risk of hurricane strikes may increase in the future. A clear understanding of the role of recent warming on tropical cyclone activity is limited by the shortness of the instrumental record. However, the sediment preserved beneath coastal wetlands is an archive of when hurricanes impacted the coast. We present two complimenting approaches that help to extend pre-historic record and assess frequency and intensity of hurricane landfalls along the New Jersey cost; dating overwash deposits and hurricane-induced salt-marsh erosion documented at multiple sites. The stratigraphic investigation of estuarine salt marshes in the southern New Jersey documented seven distinctive erosion events that correlate among different sites. Radiocarbon dates suggest the prehistoric events occurred in AD 558-673, AD 429-966, AD 558-673, Ad 1278-1438, AD 1526-1558 or AD 1630-1643 (Nikitina et al., 2014). Younger sequences correspond with historical land-falling hurricanes in AD 1903 and AD 1821 or AD 1788. Four events correlate well with barrier overwash deposits documented along the New Jersey coast (Donnelley et al., 2001 and 2004). The stratigraphic sequence of salt High resolution sedimentary-based reconstructions of past intense-hurricane landfalls indicate that significant variability in the frequency of intense hurricanes occurred over the last 2000 years.

Undergraduate Planet Hunters: Tools and Results

Science.gov (United States)

Buzasi, Derek L.; Carboneau, Lindsey; Ferrell, Laura; Green, Gilbert; Kaiser, Maya; Kreke, Kira; Lundy, Samantha; Merritt, William; Passino, Matlin; Paxton, Harrison; Podaril, Alexandria; Stansfield, Alexis

2018-06-01

One student "Honors Experience" option at Florida Gulf Coast University is a research experience, and we have developed a "Planet Hunters" course to provide an astronomical research track that satisfies that requirement. Students spend the first semester learning astronomical background and exoplanet detection techniques, while the second semester is primarily devoted to planet searches in K2 data using student-oriented software tools developed specifically for the task. In this poster, we illustrate those tools and show results obtained by class participants during this years experience.

Hurricane Katrina as a "teachable moment"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. H. Glantz

2008-04-01

Full Text Available By American standards, New Orleans is a very old, very popular city in the southern part of the United States. It is located in Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi River, a river which drains about 40% of the Continental United States, making New Orleans a major port city. It is also located in an area of major oil reserves onshore, as well as offshore, in the Gulf of Mexico. Most people know New Orleans as a tourist hotspot; especially well-known is the Mardi Gras season at the beginning of Lent. People refer to the city as the "Big Easy". A recent biography of the city refers to it as the place where the emergence of modern tourism began. A multicultural city with a heavy French influence, it was part of the Louisiana Purchase from France in early 1803, when the United States bought it, doubling the size of the United States at that time.

Today, in the year 2007, New Orleans is now known for the devastating impacts it withstood during the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. Eighty percent of the city was submerged under flood waters. Almost two years have passed, and many individuals and government agencies are still coping with the hurricane's consequences. And insurance companies have been withdrawing their coverage for the region.

The 2005 hurricane season set a record, in the sense that there were 28 named storms that calendar year. For the first time in hurricane forecast history, hurricane forecasters had to resort to the use of Greek letters to name tropical storms in the Atlantic and Gulf (Fig.~1.

Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane when it was in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, after having passed across southern Florida. At landfall, Katrina's winds decreased in speed and it was relabeled as a Category 4. It devolved into a Category 3 hurricane as it passed inland when it did most of its damage. Large expanses of the city were inundated, many parts under water on

Hurricane Katrina as a "teachable moment"

Science.gov (United States)

Glantz, M. H.

2008-04-01

By American standards, New Orleans is a very old, very popular city in the southern part of the United States. It is located in Louisiana at the mouth of the Mississippi River, a river which drains about 40% of the Continental United States, making New Orleans a major port city. It is also located in an area of major oil reserves onshore, as well as offshore, in the Gulf of Mexico. Most people know New Orleans as a tourist hotspot; especially well-known is the Mardi Gras season at the beginning of Lent. People refer to the city as the "Big Easy". A recent biography of the city refers to it as the place where the emergence of modern tourism began. A multicultural city with a heavy French influence, it was part of the Louisiana Purchase from France in early 1803, when the United States bought it, doubling the size of the United States at that time. Today, in the year 2007, New Orleans is now known for the devastating impacts it withstood during the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. Eighty percent of the city was submerged under flood waters. Almost two years have passed, and many individuals and government agencies are still coping with the hurricane's consequences. And insurance companies have been withdrawing their coverage for the region. The 2005 hurricane season set a record, in the sense that there were 28 named storms that calendar year. For the first time in hurricane forecast history, hurricane forecasters had to resort to the use of Greek letters to name tropical storms in the Atlantic and Gulf (Fig.~1). Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 hurricane when it was in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, after having passed across southern Florida. At landfall, Katrina's winds decreased in speed and it was relabeled as a Category 4. It devolved into a Category 3 hurricane as it passed inland when it did most of its damage. Large expanses of the city were inundated, many parts under water on the order of 20 feet or so. The Ninth Ward, heavily

Hurricane Season: Are You Ready?

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2012-09-24

Hurricanes are one of Mother Nature’s most powerful forces. Host Bret Atkins talks with CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health Director Dr. Chris Portier about the main threats of a hurricane and how you can prepare.  Created: 9/24/2012 by Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).   Date Released: 9/24/2012.

On the relationship between hurricane cost and the integrated wind profile

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, S.; Toumi, R.

2016-11-01

It is challenging to identify metrics that best capture hurricane destructive potential and costs. Although it has been found that the sea surface temperature and vertical wind shear can both make considerable changes to the hurricane destructive potential metrics, it is still unknown which plays a more important role. Here we present a new method to reconstruct the historical wind structure of hurricanes that allows us, for the first time, to calculate the correlation of damage with integrated power dissipation and integrated kinetic energy of all hurricanes at landfall since 1988. We find that those metrics, which include the horizontal wind structure, rather than just maximum intensity, are much better correlated with the hurricane cost. The vertical wind shear over the main development region of hurricanes plays a more dominant role than the sea surface temperature in controlling these metrics and therefore also ultimately the cost of hurricanes.

Worldwide historical hurricane tracks from 1848 through the previous hurricane season

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This Historical Hurricane Tracks web site provides visualizations of storm tracks derived from the 6-hourly (0000, 0600, 1200, 1800 UTC) center locations and...

High Resolution Modeling of Hurricanes in a Climate Context

Science.gov (United States)

Knutson, T. R.

2007-12-01

Modeling of tropical cyclone activity in a climate context initially focused on simulation of relatively weak tropical storm-like disturbances as resolved by coarse grid (200 km) global models. As computing power has increased, multi-year simulations with global models of grid spacing 20-30 km have become feasible. Increased resolution also allowed for simulation storms of increasing intensity, and some global models generate storms of hurricane strength, depending on their resolution and other factors, although detailed hurricane structure is not simulated realistically. Results from some recent high resolution global model studies are reviewed. An alternative for hurricane simulation is regional downscaling. An early approach was to embed an operational (GFDL) hurricane prediction model within a global model solution, either for 5-day case studies of particular model storm cases, or for "idealized experiments" where an initial vortex is inserted into an idealized environments derived from global model statistics. Using this approach, hurricanes up to category five intensity can be simulated, owing to the model's relatively high resolution (9 km grid) and refined physics. Variants on this approach have been used to provide modeling support for theoretical predictions that greenhouse warming will increase the maximum intensities of hurricanes. These modeling studies also simulate increased hurricane rainfall rates in a warmer climate. The studies do not address hurricane frequency issues, and vertical shear is neglected in the idealized studies. A recent development is the use of regional model dynamical downscaling for extended (e.g., season-length) integrations of hurricane activity. In a study for the Atlantic basin, a non-hydrostatic model with grid spacing of 18km is run without convective parameterization, but with internal spectral nudging toward observed large-scale (basin wavenumbers 0-2) atmospheric conditions from reanalyses. Using this approach, our

Targeting hunter distribution based on host resource selection and kill sites to manage disease risk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dugal, Cherie; van Beest, Floris; Vander Wal, Eric

2013-01-01

Endemic and emerging diseases are rarely uniform in their spatial distribution or prevalence among cohorts of wildlife. Spatial models that quantify risk-driven differences in resource selection and hunter mortality of animals at fine spatial scales can assist disease management by identifying high-risk...... areas and individuals. We used resource selection functions (RSFs) and selection ratios (SRs) to quantify sex- and age-specific resource selection patterns of collared (n = 67) and hunter-killed (n = 796) nonmigratory elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) during the hunting season between 2002 and 2012...... juvenile males and hunter-killed adult females. In instances where disease infects a metapopulation and eradication is infeasible, a principle goal of management is to limit the spread of disease among infected animals. We map high-risk areas that are regularly used by potentially infectious hosts...

Hurricane Harvey Report : A fact-finding effort in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in the Greater Houston Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sebastian, A.G.; Lendering, K.T.; Kothuis, B.L.M.; Brand, A.D.; Jonkman, S.N.; van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M.; Kolen, B.; Comes, M.; Lhermitte, S.L.M.; Meesters, K.J.M.G.; van de Walle, B.A.; Ebrahimi Fard, A.; Cunningham, S.; Khakzad Rostami, N.; Nespeca, V.

2017-01-01

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of approximately 200 km/hour. Harvey caused severe damages in coastal Texas due to extreme winds and storm surge, but will go down in history for record-setting rainfall

Tracks of Major Hurricanes of the Western Hemisphere

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This 36"x24" National Hurricane Center poster depicts the complete tracks of all major hurricanes in the north Atlantic and eastern north Pacific basins since as...

Hurricanes accelerated the Florida-Bahamas lionfish invasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Matthew W; Purkis, Sam J

2015-06-01

In this study, we demonstrate how perturbations to the Florida Current caused by hurricanes are relevant to the spread of invasive lionfish from Florida to the Bahamas. Without such perturbations, this current represents a potential barrier to the transport of planktonic lionfish eggs and larvae across the Straits of Florida. We further show that once lionfish became established in the Bahamas, hurricanes significantly hastened their spread through the island chain. We gain these insights through: (1) an analysis of the direction and velocity of simulated ocean currents during the passage of hurricanes through the Florida Straits and (2) the development of a biophysical model that incorporates the tolerances of lionfish to ocean climate, their reproductive strategy, and duration that the larvae remain viable in the water column. On the basis of this work, we identify 23 occasions between the years 1992 and 2006 in which lionfish were provided the opportunity to breach the Florida Current. We also find that hurricanes during this period increased the rate of spread of lionfish through the Bahamas by more than 45% and magnified its population by at least 15%. Beyond invasive lionfish, we suggest that extreme weather events such as hurricanes likely help to homogenize the gene pool for all Caribbean marine species susceptible to transport. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georges Karla

2001-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Ethnomedicines are used by hunters for themselves and their hunting dogs in Trinidad. Plants are used for snakebites, scorpion stings, for injuries and mange of dogs and to facilitate hunting success. Results Plants used include Piper hispidum, Pithecelobium unguis-cati, Bauhinia excisa, Bauhinia cumanensis, Cecropia peltata, Aframomum melegueta, Aristolochia rugosa, Aristolochia trilobata, Jatropha curcas, Jatropha gossypifolia, Nicotiana tabacum, Vernonia scorpioides, Petiveria alliacea, Renealmia alpinia, Justicia secunda, Phyllanthus urinaria,Phyllanthus niruri,Momordica charantia, Xiphidium caeruleum, Ottonia ovata, Lepianthes peltata, Capsicum frutescens, Costus scaber, Dendropanax arboreus, Siparuma guianensis, Syngonium podophyllum, Monstera dubia, Solanum species, Eclipta prostrata, Spiranthes acaulis, Croton gossypifolius, Barleria lupulina, Cola nitida, Acrocomia ierensis (tentative ID. Conclusion Plant use is based on odour, and plant morphological characteristics and is embedded in a complex cultural context based on indigenous Amerindian beliefs. It is suggested that the medicinal plants exerted a physiological action on the hunter or his dog. Some of the plants mentioned contain chemicals that may explain the ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary use. For instance some of the plants influence the immune system or are effective against internal and external parasites. Plant baths may contribute to the health and well being of the hunting dogs.

Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad.

Science.gov (United States)

Lans, C; Harper, T; Georges, K; Bridgewater, E

2001-01-01

Ethnomedicines are used by hunters for themselves and their hunting dogs in Trinidad. Plants are used for snakebites, scorpion stings, for injuries and mange of dogs and to facilitate hunting success. Plants used include Piper hispidum, Pithecelobium unguis-cati, Bauhinia excisa, Bauhinia cumanensis, Cecropia peltata, Aframomum melegueta, Aristolochia rugosa, Aristolochia trilobata, Jatropha curcas, Jatropha gossypifolia, Nicotiana tabacum, Vernonia scorpioides, Petiveria alliacea, Renealmia alpinia, Justicia secunda, Phyllanthus urinaria,Phyllanthus niruri,Momordica charantia, Xiphidium caeruleum, Ottonia ovata, Lepianthes peltata, Capsicum frutescens, Costus scaber, Dendropanax arboreus, Siparuma guianensis, Syngonium podophyllum, Monstera dubia, Solanum species, Eclipta prostrata, Spiranthes acaulis, Croton gossypifolius, Barleria lupulina, Cola nitida, Acrocomia ierensis (tentative ID). Plant use is based on odour, and plant morphological characteristics and is embedded in a complex cultural context based on indigenous Amerindian beliefs. It is suggested that the medicinal plants exerted a physiological action on the hunter or his dog. Some of the plants mentioned contain chemicals that may explain the ethnomedicinal and ethnoveterinary use. For instance some of the plants influence the immune system or are effective against internal and external parasites. Plant baths may contribute to the health and well being of the hunting dogs.

Intergroup aggression in chimpanzees and war in nomadic hunter-gatherers: evaluating the chimpanzee model.

Science.gov (United States)

Wrangham, Richard W; Glowacki, Luke

2012-03-01

Chimpanzee and hunter-gatherer intergroup aggression differ in important ways, including humans having the ability to form peaceful relationships and alliances among groups. This paper nevertheless evaluates the hypothesis that intergroup aggression evolved according to the same functional principles in the two species-selection favoring a tendency to kill members of neighboring groups when killing could be carried out safely. According to this idea chimpanzees and humans are equally risk-averse when fighting. When self-sacrificial war practices are found in humans, therefore, they result from cultural systems of reward, punishment, and coercion rather than evolved adaptations to greater risk-taking. To test this "chimpanzee model," we review intergroup fighting in chimpanzees and nomadic hunter-gatherers living with other nomadic hunter-gatherers as neighbors. Whether humans have evolved specific psychological adaptations for war is unknown, but current evidence suggests that the chimpanzee model is an appropriate starting point for analyzing the biological and cultural evolution of warfare.

Hurricane Katrina Wind Investigation Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desjarlais, A. O.

2007-08-15

This investigation of roof damage caused by Hurricane Katrina is a joint effort of the Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues, Inc. (RICOWI) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Department of Energy (ORNL/DOE). The Wind Investigation Program (WIP) was initiated in 1996. Hurricane damage that met the criteria of a major windstorm event did not materialize until Hurricanes Charley and Ivan occurred in August 2004. Hurricane Katrina presented a third opportunity for a wind damage investigation in August 29, 2005. The major objectives of the WIP are as follows: (1) to investigate the field performance of roofing assemblies after major wind events; (2) to factually describe roofing assembly performance and modes of failure; and (3) to formally report results of the investigations and damage modes for substantial wind speeds The goal of the WIP is to perform unbiased, detailed investigations by credible personnel from the roofing industry, the insurance industry, and academia. Data from these investigations will, it is hoped, lead to overall improvement in roofing products, systems, roofing application, and durability and a reduction in losses, which may lead to lower overall costs to the public. This report documents the results of an extensive and well-planned investigative effort. The following program changes were implemented as a result of the lessons learned during the Hurricane Charley and Ivan investigations: (1) A logistics team was deployed to damage areas immediately following landfall; (2) Aerial surveillance--imperative to target wind damage areas--was conducted; (3) Investigation teams were in place within 8 days; (4) Teams collected more detailed data; and (5) Teams took improved photographs and completed more detailed photo logs. Participating associations reviewed the results and lessons learned from the previous investigations and many have taken the following actions: (1) Moved forward with recommendations for new installation procedures

Estimating the mercury exposure dose in a population of migratory bird hunters in the St. Lawrence River region, Quebec, Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duchesne, J.-F.; Levesque, B.; Gauvin, Denis; Braune, Birgit; Gingras, Suzanne; Dewailly, E.

2004-01-01

St. Lawrence River hunters (Quebec, Canada) are exposed to the pollutants, especially mercury, that contaminate birds and fish. However, the health risks of this have remained unclear because of a lack of information about the hunters' duck, geese, and sportfish consumption habits. A nutritional survey was set up to characterize waterfowl and sportfish consumption in St. Lawrence River duck hunters and to estimate their daily exposure to mercury. During the winter of 2000, 512 hunters selected from the Canadian Wildlife Service database completed a self-administered questionnaire. Daily exposure to contaminants was measured using data from the Canadian Wildlife Service (waterfowl) and available data on St. Lawrence River sportfish. The annual average consumption was 7.5 meals of ducks and geese and 8.7 meals of sportfish. The daily exposure to mercury related to waterfowl consumption was below the Canadian tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.47 μg/kg body wt/day for all participants. The daily mercury intake associated with fish consumption was greater than the TDI in 2 duck hunters. The daily exposure to mercury was higher than the TDI in 4 participants when both waterfowl and fish consumption were combined. Our results suggest that fish consumption (especially freshwater fish) represents the main source of exposure to pollutants in duck hunters

Beyond the Cut Hunter: A Historical Epidemiology of HIV Beginnings in Central Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Rupp, Stephanie; Ambata, Philippe; Narat, Victor; Giles-Vernick, Tamara

2016-12-01

In the absence of direct evidence, an imagined "cut hunter" stands in for the index patient of pandemic HIV/AIDS. During the early years of colonial rule, this explanation goes, a hunter was cut or injured from hunting or butchering a chimpanzee infected with simian immunodeficiency virus, resulting in the first sustained human infection with the virus that would emerge as HIV-1M. We argue here that the "cut hunter" relies on a historical misunderstanding and ecological oversimplification of human-chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes troglodytes) interactions that facilitated pathogenic transmission. This initial host shift cannot explain the beginnings of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Instead, we must understand the processes by which the virus became transmissible, possibly between Sangha basin inhabitants and ultimately reached Kinshasa. A historical epidemiology of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, provides a much-needed corrective to the major shortcomings of the cut hunter. Based on 62 oral historical interviews conducted in southeastern Cameroon and archival research, we show that HIV emerged from ecological, economic, and socio-political transformations of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The gradual imposition of colonial rule built on and reoriented ecologies and economies, and altered older patterns of mobility and sociality. Certain changes may have contributed to the initial viral host shift, but more importantly, facilitated the adaptation of HIV-1M to human-to-human transmission. Our evidence suggests that the most critical changes occurred after 1920. This argument has important implications for public health policy, underscoring recent work emphasizing alternative pathways for zoonotic spillovers into human beings.

Hurricane impacts on US forest carbon sequestration

Science.gov (United States)

Steven G. McNulty

2002-01-01

Recent focus has been given to US forests as a sink for increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Current estimates of US Forest carbon sequestration average approximately 20 Tg (i.e. 1012 g) year. However, predictions of forest carbon sequestration often do not include the influence of hurricanes on forest carbon storage. Intense hurricanes...

Spatial structure of directional wave spectra in hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Esquivel-Trava, Bernardo; Ocampo-Torres, Francisco J.; Osuna, Pedro

2015-01-01

The spatial structure of the wave field during hurricane conditions is studied using the National Data Buoy Center directional wave buoy data set from the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The buoy information, comprising the directional wave spectra during the passage of several hurricanes, was referenced to the center of the hurricane using the path of the hurricane, the propagation velocity, and the radius of the maximum winds. The directional wave spectra were partitioned into their main components to quantify the energy corresponding to the observed wave systems and to distinguish between wind-sea and swell. The findings are consistent with those found using remote sensing data (e.g., Scanning Radar Altimeter data). Based on the previous work, the highest waves are found in the right forward quadrant of the hurricane, where the spectral shape tends to become uni-modal, in the vicinity of the region of maximum winds. More complex spectral shapes are observed in distant regions at the front of and in the rear quadrants of the hurricane, where there is a tendency of the spectra to become bi- and tri-modal. The dominant waves generally propagate at significant angles to the wind direction, except in the regions next to the maximum winds of the right quadrants. Evidence of waves generated by concentric eyewalls associated with secondary maximum winds was also found. The frequency spectra display some of the characteristics of the JONSWAP spectrum adjusted by Young (J Geophys Res 111:8020, 2006); however, at the spectral peak, the similarity with the Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum is clear. These results establish the basis for the use in assessing the ability of numerical models to simulate the wave field in hurricanes.

Hurricane preparedness among elderly residents in South Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleier, Jo Ann; Krause, Deirdre; Ogilby, Terry

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe factors associated with hurricane preparation and to test a theoretical model of hurricane preparation decision process among a group of elderly residents living in a high-risk geographical area. This is a descriptive, correlational study. A convenience sample consisted of 188 English-speaking individuals who were aged 55 years or older. In addition to demographic information, two survey instruments were used. Theoretical constructs were operationalized through Moon's Hurricane Preparation Questionnaire. Hurricane preparedness was measured by self-reported responses to FEMA's inventory checklist, which addresses the recommended basic steps of preparation. The theoretical model of hurricane preparation decision process was supported. Main barriers to preparation are the need for cooperation from others and cost of preparation. Participants reported having taken many preparatory steps to shelter-in-place, but too few are prepared if their home were storm-damaged or they should have to evacuate. Findings are consistent with previous studies of samples drawn from similar populations. This report provides guidance as to how public health nurses can become involved with the population and develop interventions based on the constructs of the theoretical model. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

"Just-in-Time" Personal Preparedness: Downloads and Usage Patterns of the American Red Cross Hurricane Application During Hurricane Sandy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirsch, Thomas D; Circh, Ryan; Bissell, Richard A; Goldfeder, Matthew

2016-10-01

Personal preparedness is a core activity but has been found to be frequently inadequate. Smart phone applications have many uses for the public, including preparedness. In 2012 the American Red Cross began releasing "disaster" apps for family preparedness and recovery. The Hurricane App was widely used during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Patterns of download of the application were analyzed by using a download tracking tool by the American Red Cross and Google Analytics. Specific variables included date, time, and location of individual downloads; number of page visits and views; and average time spent on pages. As Hurricane Sandy approached in late October, daily downloads peaked at 152,258 on the day of landfall and by mid-November reached 697,585. Total page views began increasing on October 25 with over 4,000,000 page views during landfall compared to 3.7 million the first 3 weeks of October with a 43,980% increase in views of the "Right Before" page and a 76,275% increase in views of the "During" page. The Hurricane App offered a new type of "just-in-time" training that reached tens of thousands of families in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. The app allowed these families to access real-time information before and after the storm to help them prepare and recover. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6).

Firewood, food and human niche construction: the potential role of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in actively structuring Scotland's woodlands

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Rosie R.; Church, Mike J.; Rowley-Conwy, Peter A.

2015-01-01

Over the past few decades the potential role of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in actively constructing their own niches, through the management of wild plants, has frequently been discussed. It is probable that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers systematically exploited specific woodland resources for food and fuel and influenced the 'natural' abundance or distribution of particular species within Mesolithic environments. Though there has been considerable discussion of the pollen evidence for potential small-scale human-woodland manipulation in Mesolithic Scotland, the archaeobotanical evidence for anthropogenic firewood and food selection has not been discussed in this context. This paper assesses the evidence for the active role of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities in systematically exploiting and managing woodlands for food and fuel in Scotland. While taphonomic factors may have impacted on the frequency of specific species in archaeobotanical assemblages, it is suggested that hunter-gatherers in Mesolithic Scotland were systematically using woodland plants, and in particular hazel and oak, for food and fuel. It is argued that the pollen evidence for woodland management is equivocal, but hints at the role of hunter-gatherers in shaping the structure of their environments, through the maintenance or creation of woodland clearings for settlement or as part of vegetation management strategies. It is proposed that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers may have actively contributed to niche construction and that the systematic use of hazel and oak as a fuel may reflect the deliberate pruning of hazel trees to increase nut-yields and the inadvertent - or perhaps deliberate - coppicing of hazel and oak during greenwood collection.

An Axisymmetric View of Concentric Eyewall Evolution in Hurricane Rita (2005)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

of Hurricane Hugo (1989). Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 1237–1259. Martinez, Y., G. Brunet, and M. K. Yau, 2010: On the dynamics of two-dimensional hurricane ...An Axisymmetric View of Concentric Eyewall Evolution in Hurricane Rita (2005) MICHAEL M. BELL Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, and... Hurricane Research Division, Miami, Florida WEN-CHAU LEE National Center for Atmospheric Research,* Boulder, Colorado (Manuscript received 23 June 2011, in

Fundación Book Hunters: Atrévete a experimentar con la lectura

OpenAIRE

Cruz Mejía, Fernanda

2017-01-01

La fundación Book Hunters es una organización sin ánimo de lucro que busca fortalecer la relación de la lectura en los niños desde temprana edad, involucrando a la comunidad y promoviendo el entendimiento del entorno que rodea hoy en día la infancia. El equipo considera que, para lograr los objetivos es necesario transformar el significado ha perseguido a la lectura durante años, es decir, para Book Hunters leer va más allá de tomar un libro e involucrarse en la historia, en cambio, el si...

Radioactive caesium in hunters and their families

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aagren, G; Bergman, R [Natonal Defence Research Establishment, Umeaa (Sweden); Drottz-Sjoeberg, B M [Center for Risk Research, Stockholm (Sweden); Enander, A [National Defence Research Establishment, Karlstad (Sweden); Johansson, K J [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden)

1995-12-01

We have measured the whole-body content of radiocesium in men and women in households, where at least one member is a hunter. Hunter families live to a great extent on forest products, such as mushrooms, berries and meat from game. Measurements were performed in two areas in northern Sweden and in three areas in the middle part of Sweden with deposition levels between 7 to 80 kBq/m{sup 2}. The average whole body content of {sup 137}Cs varied between 0.3 to 1.9 kBq for women and 0.6 to 4.7 kBq for men, depending on the deposition level. Each individual in the measured group was also asked to fill in questionnaire and a food diary to provide complementary information of, e.g., food intake and other life conditions. The single dietary factor most clearly related to whole-body content in these groups is the intake of meat from moose. The best regression model with variables from the questionnaire explained 60% of the variance in the whole-body content of {sup 137}Cs in the measurement group. Some of the variables in this model were deposition level, sex, rate of intake and estimated consumption of moose meat and estimated amount of bilberries in the fridge. 6 refs, 5 figs, 14 tabs.

Radioactive caesium in hunters and their families

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aagren, G.; Bergman, R.; Drottz-Sjoeberg, B.M.; Enander, A.; Johansson, K.J.

1995-12-01

We have measured the whole-body content of radiocesium in men and women in households, where at least one member is a hunter. Hunter families live to a great extent on forest products, such as mushrooms, berries and meat from game. Measurements were performed in two areas in northern Sweden and in three areas in the middle part of Sweden with deposition levels between 7 to 80 kBq/m 2 . The average whole body content of 137 Cs varied between 0.3 to 1.9 kBq for women and 0.6 to 4.7 kBq for men, depending on the deposition level. Each individual in the measured group was also asked to fill in questionnaire and a food diary to provide complementary information of, e.g., food intake and other life conditions. The single dietary factor most clearly related to whole-body content in these groups is the intake of meat from moose. The best regression model with variables from the questionnaire explained 60% of the variance in the whole-body content of 137 Cs in the measurement group. Some of the variables in this model were deposition level, sex, rate of intake and estimated consumption of moose meat and estimated amount of bilberries in the fridge. 6 refs, 5 figs, 14 tabs

Increased Sensitization to Mold Allergens Measured by Intradermal Skin Testing following Hurricanes.

Science.gov (United States)

Saporta, Diego; Hurst, David

2017-01-01

Objective . To report on changes in sensitivity to mold allergens determined by changes in intradermal skin testing reactivity, after exposure to two severe hurricanes. Methods . A random, retrospective allergy charts review divided into 2 groups of 100 patients each: Group A, patients tested between 2003 and 2010 prior to hurricanes, and Group B, patients tested in 2014 and 2015 following hurricanes. Reactivity to eighteen molds was determined by intradermal skin testing. Test results, age, and respiratory symptoms were recorded. Chi-square test determined reactivity/sensitivity differences between groups. Results . Posthurricane patients had 34.6 times more positive results ( p hurricanes ( p hurricanes ( p hurricanes. This supports climatologists' hypothesis that environmental changes resulting from hurricanes can be a health risk as reflected in increased allergic sensitivities and symptoms and has significant implications for physicians treating patients from affected areas.

Reducing Lead on the Landscape: Anticipating Hunter Behavior in Absence of a Free Nonlead Ammunition Program.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loren Chase

Full Text Available Lead is a neurotoxin that has been documented to affect many forms of wildlife, and has been identified as a limiting factor in a population of California Condors in Northern Arizona. The Arizona Game and Fish Department provides vouchers for free nonlead ammunition to hunters selected to hunt within the distribution of California Condors, with the intention of having fewer lead-laden offal piles available to California Condors. Although wildlife agencies may reasonably assume voucher programs motivate hunters into choosing nonlead ammunition, the lead reduction efforts attributable to the voucher program has not been empirically quantified. Our intention was to compare a control group of hunters to a treatment group of hunters within California Condor occupied areas. Both groups received educational materials regarding the deleterious effects of lead, but the treatment group also received a voucher for a free initial box of ammunition. About half of the control group used nonlead ammunition, compared to about three-fourths of the treatment group. Prominent barriers to adoption of nonlead ammunition included a general difficulty of obtaining it, obtaining it in the desired caliber, and its costliness. Frequently mentioned motivations for using nonlead was the exhortation to use it by the Department, and the desire to aid California Condor recovery by hunters. The disparate compliance rates found herein confirm and quantify the success of nonlead ammunition voucher programs, but underscore the importance of working to increase the supply of nonlead ammunition with the end of facilitating its procurement and reducing its cost.

Diagnosis of Hunter's syndrome carriers; radioactive sulphate incorporation into fibroblasts in the presence of fructose 1-phosphate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toennesen, T.; Lykkelund, C.; Guettler, F.

1982-01-01

Mutual correction of co-cultivated fibroblasts from patients with Hunter's and Hurler's syndrome could be inhibited by either fructose 1-phosphate or mannose 6-phosphate. In the presence of fructose 1-phosphate a 50% mixture of fibroblasts from a patient with Hunter's syndrome and a normal homozygous individual showed an increased 35 S-sulphate incorporation into acid mucopolysaccharides. When fibroblast cultures from one obligate and two possible carriers of Hunter's syndrome were tested for 35 S-sulphate incorporation, the cultures showed either twice the normal 35 S-sulphate incorporation into acid mucopolysaccharides in the presence of fructose 1-phosphate or an abnormally high incorporation in the presence as well as in the absence of the sugar phosphate. (orig.)

Hunters syndrom og hørenedsaettelse

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiaer, Eva Kirkegaard; Møller, Troels Reinholdt; Wetke, Randi

2010-01-01

A 30 month-old boy with delayed language development was referred to the Department of Audiology in Aarhus. At the time of referral he had had 19 cases of acute otitis media and had been tubulated four times. Furthermore, the boy had not developed according to age in several respects: his motor...... functions and language were delayed, and he made audible respiratory sounds and was obviously nasally congested. The boy was referred for further investigations at the Department of Paediatrics. The tests showed that the boy suffered from Hunter Syndrome (MPSII) and he underwent relevant treatment....

Investigations of aerosol impacts on hurricanes: virtual seeding flights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. G. Carrio

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the feasibility of mitigating the intensity of hurricanes by enhancing the CCN concentrations in the outer rainband region. Increasing CCN concentrations would cause a reduced collision and coalescence, resulting in more supercooled liquid water to be transported aloft which then freezes and enhances convection via enhanced latent heat of freezing. The intensified convection would condense more water ultimately enhancing precipitation in the outer rainbands. Enhanced evaporative cooling from the increased precipitation in the outer rainbands would produce stronger and more widespread areal cold pools which block the flow of energy into the storm core, ultimately inhibiting the intensification of the tropical cyclone.

We designed a series of multi-grid for which the time of the "virtual flights" as well as the aerosol release rates are varied. A code that simulates the flight of a plane is used to increase the CCN concentrations as an aircraft flies. Results show a significant sensitivity to both the seeding time and the aerosol release rates and support the aforementioned hypothesis.

Nurses respond to Hurricane Hugo victims' disaster stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinrich, S; Hardin, S B; Johnson, M

1990-06-01

Hugo, a class IV hurricane, hit South Carolina September 22, 1989, and left behind a wake of terror and destruction. Sixty-one nursing students and five faculty were involved in disaster relief with families devastated by the hurricane. A review of the literature led these authors to propose a formulation of the concept of disaster stress, a synthesis of theories that explains response to disaster as a crisis response, a stress response, or as posttraumatic stress. With the concept of disaster stress serving as a theoretical foundation, the nurses observed, assessed, and intervened with one population of hurricane Hugo victims, noting their immediate psychosocial reactions and coping mechanisms. Victims' reactions to disaster stress included confusion, irritability, lethargy, withdrawal, and crying. The most frequently observed coping strategy of these hurricane Hugo victims was talking about their experiences; other coping tactics involved humor, religion, and altruism.

Hurricane Sandy, Disaster Preparedness, and the Recovery Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pizzi, Michael A

2015-01-01

Hurricane Sandy was the second largest and costliest hurricane in U.S. history to affect multiple states and communities. This article describes the lived experiences of 24 occupational therapy students who lived through Hurricane Sandy using the Recovery Model to frame the research. Occupational therapy student narratives were collected and analyzed using qualitative methods and framed by the Recovery Model. Directed content and thematic analysis was performed using the 10 components of the Recovery Model. The 10 components of the Recovery Model were experienced by or had an impact on the occupational therapy students as they coped and recovered in the aftermath of the natural disaster. This study provides insight into the lived experiences and recovery perspectives of occupational therapy students who experienced Hurricane Sandy. Further research is indicated in applying the Recovery Model to people who survive disasters. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Hurricane Katrina Sediment Sampling

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, causing widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States. EPA emergency response personnel worked...

Hurricane Katrina Water Sampling

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, causing widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States. EPA emergency response personnel worked...

Hurricane Katrina Soil Sampling

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, causing widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States. EPA emergency response personnel worked...

Disaster preparedness of dialysis patients for Hurricanes Gustav and Ike 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinpeter, Myra A

2009-01-01

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in massive devastation of the Gulf Coast at Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas during 2005. Because of those disasters, dialysis providers, nephrologists, and dialysis patients used disaster planning activities to work to mitigate the morbidity and mortality associated with the 2005 hurricane season for future events affecting dialysis patients. As Hurricane Gustav approached, anniversary events for Hurricane Katrina were postponed because of evacuation orders for nearly the entire Louisiana Gulf Coast. As part of the hurricane preparation, dialysis units reviewed the disaster plans of patients, and patients made preparation for evacuation. Upon evacuation, many patients returned to the dialysis units that had provided services during their exile from Hurricane Katrina; other patients went to other locations as part of their evacuation plan. Patients uniformly reported positive experiences with dialysis providers in their temporary evacuation communities, provided that those communities did not experience the effects of Hurricane Gustav. With the exception of evacuees to Baton Rouge, patients continued to receive their treatments uninterrupted. Because of extensive damage in the Baton Rouge area, resulting in widespread power losses and delayed restoration of power to hospitals and other health care facilities, some patients missed one treatment. However, as a result of compliance with disaster fluid and dietary recommendations, no adverse outcomes occurred. In most instances, patients were able to return to their home dialysis unit or a nearby unit to continue dialysis treatments within 4 - 5 days of Hurricane Gustav. Hurricane Ike struck the Texas Gulf Coast near Galveston, resulting in devastation of that area similar to the devastation seen in New Orleans after Katrina. The storm surge along the Louisiana Gulf Coast resulted in flooding that temporarily closed coastal dialysis units. Patients were prepared and experienced

On the Impact Angle of Hurricane Sandy's New Jersey Landfall

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Timothy M.; Sobel, Adam H.

2013-01-01

Hurricane Sandy's track crossed the New Jersey coastline at an angle closer to perpendicular than any previous hurricane in the historic record, one of the factors contributing to recordsetting peak-water levels in parts of New Jersey and New York. To estimate the occurrence rate of Sandy-like tracks, we use a stochastic model built on historical hurricane data from the entire North Atlantic to generate a large sample of synthetic hurricanes. From this synthetic set we calculate that under long-term average climate conditions, a hurricane of Sandy's intensity or greater (category 1+) makes NJ landfall at an angle at least as close to perpendicular as Sandy's at an average annual rate of 0.0014 yr-1 (95% confidence range 0.0007 to 0.0023); i.e., a return period of 714 years (95% confidence range 435 to 1429).

Evolution of Subjective Hurricane Risk Perceptions: A Bayesian Approach

OpenAIRE

David Kelly; David Letson; Forest Nelson; David S. Nolan; Daniel Solis

2009-01-01

This paper studies how individuals update subjective risk perceptions in response to hurricane track forecast information, using a unique data set from an event market, the Hurricane Futures Market (HFM). We derive a theoretical Bayesian framework which predicts how traders update their perceptions of the probability of a hurricane making landfall in a certain range of coastline. Our results suggest that traders behave in a way consistent with Bayesian updating but this behavior is based on t...

Deaths associated with Hurricane Sandy - October-November 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-24

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the northeastern U.S. coastline. Sandy's tropical storm winds stretched over 900 miles (1,440 km), causing storm surges and destruction over a larger area than that affected by hurricanes with more intensity but narrower paths. Based on storm surge predictions, mandatory evacuations were ordered on October 28, including for New York City's Evacuation Zone A, the coastal zone at risk for flooding from any hurricane. By October 31, the region had 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) of precipitation, 7-8 million customers without power, approximately 20,000 persons in shelters, and news reports of numerous fatalities (Robert Neurath, CDC, personal communication, 2013). To characterize deaths related to Sandy, CDC analyzed data on 117 hurricane-related deaths captured by American Red Cross (Red Cross) mortality tracking during October 28-November 30, 2012. This report describes the results of that analysis, which found drowning was the most common cause of death related to Sandy, and 45% of drowning deaths occurred in flooded homes in Evacuation Zone A. Drowning is a leading cause of hurricane death but is preventable with advance warning systems and evacuation plans. Emergency plans should ensure that persons receive and comprehend evacuation messages and have the necessary resources to comply with them.

Cooperative Hurricane Network Obs

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Observations from the Cooperative Hurricane Reporting Network (CHURN), a special network of stations that provided observations when tropical cyclones approached the...

Not so close but still extremely loud: recollection of the World Trade Center terror attack and previous hurricanes moderates the association between exposure to hurricane Sandy and posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Palgi, Yuval; Shrira, Amit; Hamama-Raz, Yaira; Palgi, Sharon; Goodwin, Robin; Ben-Ezra, Menachem

2014-05-01

The present study examined whether recollections of the World Trade Center (WTC) terror attack and previous hurricanes moderated the relationship between exposure to Hurricane Sandy and related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. An online sample of 1000 participants from affected areas completed self-report questionnaires a month after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast of the United States. Participants reported their exposure to Hurricane Sandy, their PTSD symptoms, and recollections of the WTC terror attack and previous hurricanes elicited due to Hurricane Sandy. Exposure to Hurricane Sandy was related to PTSD symptoms among those with high level of recollections of the WTC terror attack and past hurricanes, but not among those with low level of recollections. The aftermath of exposure to Hurricane Sandy is related not only to exposure, but also to its interaction with recollections of past traumas. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for practitioners and health policy makers in evaluating and interpreting the impact of past memories on future natural disasters. This may help in intervention plans of social and psychological services. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hurricane-related emergency department visits in an inland area: an analysis of the public health impact of Hurricane Hugo in North Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, R D; Morris, P D; Cole, T B

1994-04-01

To evaluate the public health impact of a hurricane on an inland area. Descriptive study. Seven hospital emergency departments. Patients who were treated from September 22 to October 6, 1989, for an injury or illness related to Hurricane Hugo. None. Over the two-week study period, 2,090 patients were treated for injuries or illnesses related to the hurricane. Of these, 1,833 (88%) were treated for injuries. Insect stings and wounds accounted for almost half of the total cases. A substantial proportion (26%) of the patients suffering from stings had a generalized reaction (eg, hives, wheezing, or both). Nearly one-third of the wounds were caused by chain saws. Hurricanes can lead to substantial morbidity in an inland area. Disaster plans should address risks associated with stinging insects and hazardous equipment and should address ways to improve case reporting.

Post-Hurricane Ivan coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from Crawfordville, Florida, to Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, September 17, 2004

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Karen L.M.; Krohn, M. Dennis; Peterson, Russell D.; Thompson, Philip R.; Subino, Janice A.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts baseline and storm response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms. On September 17, 2004, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey from Crawfordville, Florida, to Petit Bois Island, Mississippi aboard a Piper Navajo Chieftain (aircraft) at an altitude of 500 feet (ft) and approximately 1,000 ft offshore. This mission was flown to collect post-Hurricane Ivan data for assessing incremental changes in the beach and nearshore area since the last survey in 2001, and the data can be used in the assessment of future coastal change.

Hurricane impacts on a pair of coastal forested watersheds: implications of selective hurricane damage to forest structure and streamflow dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

A.D. Jayakaran; T.M. Williams; H. Ssegane; D.M. Amatya; B. Song; C.C. Trettin

2014-01-01

Hurricanes are infrequent but influential disruptors of ecosystem processes in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Every southeastern forested wetland has the potential to be struck by a tropical cyclone. We examined the impact of Hurricane Hugo on two paired coastal South Carolina watersheds in terms of streamflow and vegetation dynamics, both before and after...

Contrasts in livelihoods and protein intake between commercial and subsistence bushmeat hunters in two villages on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

Science.gov (United States)

Vega, María Grande; Carpinetti, Bruno; Duarte, Jesús; Fa, John E

2013-06-01

Across West and Central Africa, wildlife provides a source of food and income. We investigated the relation between bushmeat hunting and household wealth and protein consumption in 2 rural communities in Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. One village was dedicated to commercial hunting, the other trapped game primarily for food. We tested whether commercial-hunter households were nutritionally advantaged over subsistence-hunter households due to their higher income from the bushmeat trade and greater access to wild-animal protein. We conducted bushmeat-offtake surveys in both villages (captures by hunters and carcasses arriving to each village). Mammals (including threatened primates: black colobus [Colobus satanas], Preussi's guenon [Allochrocebus preussi], and russet-eared guenon [Cercopithecus erythrotis]), birds, and reptiles were hunted. The blue duiker (Philantomba monticola), giant pouched rat (Cricetomys emini), and brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) contributed almost all the animal biomass hunted, consumed, or sold in both villages. Monkeys and Ogilbyi's duikers (Cephalophus ogilbyi) were hunted only by commercial hunters. Commercial hunters generated a mean of US$2000/year from bushmeat sales. Households with commercial hunters were on average wealthier, generated more income, spent more money on nonessential goods, and bought more products they did not grow. By contrast, households with subsistence hunters spent less on market items, spent more on essential products, and grew more of their own food. Despite these differences, average consumption of vegetable protein and domestic meat and bushmeat protein did not differ between villages. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the socioeconomic and nutritional context of commercial and subsistence bushmeat hunting to correctly interpret ways of reducing their effects on threatened species and to enable the sustainable offtake of more productive taxa. © 2013 Society for Conservation

EarthLabs - Investigating Hurricanes: Earth's Meteorological Monsters

Science.gov (United States)

McDaris, J. R.; Dahlman, L.; Barstow, D.

2007-12-01

Earth science is one of the most important tools that the global community needs to address the pressing environmental, social, and economic issues of our time. While, at times considered a second-rate science at the high school level, it is currently undergoing a major revolution in the depth of content and pedagogical vitality. As part of this revolution, labs in Earth science courses need to shift their focus from cookbook-like activities with known outcomes to open-ended investigations that challenge students to think, explore and apply their learning. We need to establish a new model for Earth science as a rigorous lab science in policy, perception, and reality. As a concerted response to this need, five states, a coalition of scientists and educators, and an experienced curriculum team are creating a national model for a lab-based high school Earth science course named EarthLabs. This lab course will comply with the National Science Education Standards as well as the states' curriculum frameworks. The content will focus on Earth system science and environmental literacy. The lab experiences will feature a combination of field work, classroom experiments, and computer access to data and visualizations, and demonstrate the rigor and depth of a true lab course. The effort is being funded by NOAA's Environmental Literacy program. One of the prototype units of the course is Investigating Hurricanes. Hurricanes are phenomena which have tremendous impact on humanity and the resources we use. They are also the result of complex interacting Earth systems, making them perfect objects for rigorous investigation of many concepts commonly covered in Earth science courses, such as meteorology, climate, and global wind circulation. Students are able to use the same data sets, analysis tools, and research techniques that scientists employ in their research, yielding truly authentic learning opportunities. This month-long integrated unit uses hurricanes as the story line by

Numerical study of sediment dynamics during hurricane Gustav

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Zhengchen; Xue, Z. George; Bao, Shaowu; Chen, Qin; Walker, Nan D.; Haag, Alaric S.; Ge, Qian; Yao, Zhigang

2018-06-01

In this study, the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-and-sediment transport (COAWST) modeling system was employed to explore sediment dynamics in the northern Gulf of Mexico during hurricane Gustav in 2008. The performance of the model was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively against in-situ and remote sensing measurements, respectively. After Gustav's landfall in coastal Louisiana, the maximum significant wave heights reached more than 8 m offshore and they decreased quickly as it moved toward the inner shelf, where the vertical stratification was largely destroyed. Alongshore currents were dominant westward on the eastern sector of the hurricane track, and offshoreward currents prevailed on the western sector. High suspended sediment concentrations (>1000 mg/l) were confined to the inner shelf at surface layers and the simulated high concentrations at the bottom layer extended to the 200 m isobaths. The stratification was restored one week after landfall, although not fully. The asymmetric hurricane winds induced stronger hydrodynamics in the eastern sector, which led to severe erosion. The calculated suspended sediment flux (SSF) was convergent to the hurricane center and the maximum SSF was simulated near the south and southeast of the Mississippi river delta. The averaged post-hurricane deposition over the Louisiana shelf was 4.0 cm, which was 3.2-26 times higher than the annual accumulation rate under normal weather conditions.

Land area change analysis following hurricane impacts in Delacroix, Louisiana, 2004--2009

Science.gov (United States)

Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Monica; Kranenburg, Christine J.; Brock, John C.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this project is to provide improved estimates of Louisiana wetland land loss due to hurricane impacts between 2004 and 2009 based upon a change detection mapping analysis that incorporates pre- and post-landfall (Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike) fractional water classification of a combination of high resolution (QuickBird, IKONOS and Geoeye-1) and medium resolution (Landsat) satellite imagery. This second dataset focuses on Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, which made landfall on August 29, 2005, and September 1, 2008, respectively. The study area is an approximately 1208-square-kilometer region surrounding Delacroix, Louisiana, in the eastern Delta Plain. Overall, 77 percent of the area remained unchanged between 2004 and 2009, and over 11 percent of the area was changed permanently by Hurricane Katrina (including both land gain and loss). Less than 3 percent was affected, either temporarily or permanently, by Hurricane Gustav. A related dataset (SIM 3141) focused on Hurricane Rita, which made landfall on the Louisiana/Texas border on September 24, 2005, as a Category 3 hurricane.

Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. OV-1/AC-119 Hunter-Killer Team

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sexton, Richard R; Hodgson, William M

1972-01-01

Hunter-Killer operations were but a logical extension of the resourceful thinking behind the development of gunships as a solution to some of the tactical problems of the unique war in Southeast Asia...

Observations of tropospheric trace gases and meteorology in rural Virginia using an unattended monitoring system: Hurricane Hugo (1989), A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Doddridge, Bruce G.; Dickerson, Russell R.; Holland, Joshua Z.; Cooper, James N.; Wardell, R. Glenn; Poulida, Olga; Watkins, James G.

1991-05-01

Tropospheric trace gases such as ozone and reactive nitrogen compounds exert a strong influence on global climate, but observations of these species are limited by the necessity of having a trained observer on site to monitor instruments. A technique using modern communications technology has been developed to transport and review data collected at a remote site. The site was equipped with a PAM II station and satellite data link so that raw, real-time data and equipment status were available for inspection readily on a workstation at the University of Maryland campus through a combination of wide and local area networks. CO, NO, NOy, O3, UV radiative flux, and meteorological parameters were measured in rural Virginia for a full year. The cleanest air observed over the year was associated with the passage of Hurricane Hugo over the mid-Atlantic region on September 22, 1989. Hourly average data for concentrations of CO, NOy, and O3 observed during this particular case study were as low as 90 ppbv, 570 pptv, and 11 ppbv, respectively. Within this period, daytime NO was highly variable, ranging between the detection limit of the instrument, ˜ 20 pptv, and 2.4 ppbv. These concentrations are well below the hourly concentration average at this site for these species during September 1989. Equivalent potential temperature, θe, in conjunction with the trace gas concentrations and geostrophic back-trajectories, illustrates how this hurricane influenced air parcel history; observed concentrations of CO and NOy increased with the time the air parcel spent over land. Observations at this site were consistent with current hurricane models based on mean soundings and aircraft flights. Hurricanes over land also appear to redistribute air vertically throughout the troposphere, creating the potential for substantial post-storm tropospheric column O3 increase.

Linking Hunter Knowledge with Forest Change to Understand Changing Deer Harvest Opportunities in Intensively Logged Landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todd J. Brinkman

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The effects of landscape changes caused by intensive logging on the availability of wild game are important when the harvest of wild game is a critical cultural practice, food source, and recreational activity. We assessed the influence of extensive industrial logging on the availability of wild game by drawing on local knowledge and ecological science to evaluate the relationship between forest change and opportunities to harvest Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. We used data collected through interviews with local deer hunters and GIS analysis of land cover to determine relationships among landscape change, hunter access, and habitat for deer hunting over the last 50 yr. We then used these relationships to predict how harvest opportunities may change in the future. Intensive logging from 1950 into the 1990s provided better access to deer and habitat that facilitated deer hunting. However, successional changes in intensively logged forests in combination with a decline in current logging activity have reduced access to deer and increased undesirable habitat for deer hunting. In this new landscape, harvest opportunities in previously logged landscapes have declined, and hunters identify second-growth forest as one of the least popular habitats for hunting. Given the current state of the logging industry in Alaska, it is unlikely that the logging of the remaining old-growth forests or intensive management of second-growth forests will cause hunter opportunities to rebound to historic levels. Instead, hunter opportunities may continue to decline for at least another human generation, even if the long-term impacts of logging activity and deer harvest on deer numbers are minimal. Adapting hunting strategies to focus on naturally open habitats such as alpine and muskeg that are less influenced by external market forces may require considerably more hunting effort but provide the best option for

Oceanic control of Northeast Pacific hurricane activity at interannual timescales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaguru, Karthik; Ruby Leung, L; Yoon, Jin-ho

2013-01-01

Sea surface temperature (SST) is not the only oceanic parameter that can play a key role in the interannual variability of Northeast Pacific hurricane activity. Using several observational data sets and the statistical technique of multiple linear regression analysis, we show that, along with SST, the thermocline depth (TD) plays an important role in hurricane activity at interannual timescales in this basin. Based on the parameter that dominates, the ocean basin can be divided into two sub-regions. In the Southern sub-region, which includes the hurricane main development area, interannual variability of the upper-ocean heat content (OHC) is primarily controlled by TD variations. Consequently, the interannual variability in the hurricane power dissipation index (PDI), which is a measure of the intensity of hurricane activity, is driven by that of the TD. On the other hand, in the Northern sub-region, SST exerts the major control over the OHC variability and, in turn, the PDI. Our study suggests that both SST and TD have a significant influence on the Northeast Pacific hurricane activity at interannual timescales and that their respective roles are more clearly delineated when sub-regions along an approximate north–south demarcation are considered rather than the basin as a whole. (letter)

Maternal exposure to hurricane destruction and fetal mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahran, Sammy; Breunig, Ian M; Link, Bruce G; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G; Weiler, Stephan; Mielke, Howard W

2014-08-01

The majority of research documenting the public health impacts of natural disasters focuses on the well-being of adults and their living children. Negative effects may also occur in the unborn, exposed to disaster stressors when critical organ systems are developing and when the consequences of exposure are large. We exploit spatial and temporal variation in hurricane behaviour as a quasi-experimental design to assess whether fetal death is dose-responsive in the extent of hurricane damage. Data on births and fetal deaths are merged with Parish-level housing wreckage data. Fetal outcomes are regressed on housing wreckage adjusting for the maternal, fetal, placental and other risk factors. The average causal effect of maternal exposure to hurricane destruction is captured by difference-in-differences analyses. The adjusted odds of fetal death are 1.40 (1.07-1.83) and 2.37 (1.684-3.327) times higher in parishes suffering 10-50% and >50% wreckage to housing stock, respectively. For every 1% increase in the destruction of housing stock, we observe a 1.7% (1.1-2.4%) increase in fetal death. Of the 410 officially recorded fetal deaths in these parishes, between 117 and 205 may be attributable to hurricane destruction and postdisaster disorder. The estimated fetal death toll is 17.4-30.6% of the human death toll. The destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita imposed significant measurable losses in terms of fetal death. Postdisaster migratory dynamics suggest that the reported effects of maternal exposure to hurricane destruction on fetal death may be conservative. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Sleep disturbance and its relationship to psychiatric morbidity after Hurricane Andrew.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellman, T A; David, D; Kulick-Bell, R; Hebding, J; Nolan, B

1995-11-01

Sleep disturbance is an important dimension of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but most of the limited available data were obtained years after the original traumatic event. This study provides information on sleep disturbance and its relationship to posttraumatic morbidity from evaluations done within a year after the trauma. Sleep and psychiatric symptoms of 54 victims (12 men and 42 women) of Hurricane Andrew who had no psychiatric illness in the 6 months before the hurricane were evaluated. A subset of hurricane victims with active psychiatric morbidity (N = 10) and nine comparison subjects who were unaffected by the hurricane were examined in a sleep laboratory. A broad range of sleep-related complaints were rated as being greater after the hurricane, and psychiatric morbidity (which was most commonly PTSD, followed by depression) had a significant effect on most of the subjective sleep measures. In addition, subjects with active morbidity endorsed greater frequencies of "bad dreams" and general sleep disturbances before the hurricane. Polysomnographic results for the hurricane victims revealed a greater number of arousals and entries into stage 1 sleep. REM density correlated positively with both the PTSD symptom of reexperiencing trauma and global distress. Subjects affected by Hurricane Andrew reported sleep disturbances, particularly those subjects with psychiatric morbidity. Tendencies to experience bad dreams and interrupted sleep before a trauma appear to mark vulnerability to posttraumatic morbidity. Results of sleep laboratory evaluations suggested brief shifts toward higher arousal levels during sleep for PTSD subjects and a relationship of REM phasic activity and symptom severity.

Sacrificing Steve: How I Killed the Crocodile Hunter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke Carman

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Bob Hodge and Vijay Mishra argue that the complex issues of illegitimacy at the core of Australian identity are repressed through a continual process of cyclical silencing, where traces of a shameful past are exorcised by a focus on images of a mythologised ‘legend’, embodied in characters such as 'The Man from Snowy River'. This article explores such a 'schizophrenic' cycle in relation to the life, death and resurrection of Steve 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin.

Hurricane-induced failure of low salinity wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Howes, Nick C.; FitzGerald, Duncan M.; Hughes, Zoe J.; Georgiou, Ioannis Y.; Kulp, Mark A.; Miner, Michael D.; Smith, Jane M.; Barras, John A.

2010-01-01

During the 2005 hurricane season, the storm surge and wave field associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita eroded 527 km2 of wetlands within the Louisiana coastal plain. Low salinity wetlands were preferentially eroded, while higher salinity wetlands remained robust and largely unchanged. Here we highlight geotechnical differences between the soil profiles of high and low salinity regimes, which are controlled by vegetation and result in differential erosion. In low salinity wetlands, a weak zone (shear strength 500–1450 Pa) was observed ∼30 cm below the marsh surface, coinciding with the base of rooting. High salinity wetlands had no such zone (shear strengths > 4500 Pa) and contained deeper rooting. Storm waves during Hurricane Katrina produced shear stresses between 425–3600 Pa, sufficient to cause widespread erosion of the low salinity wetlands. Vegetation in low salinity marshes is subject to shallower rooting and is susceptible to erosion during large magnitude storms; these conditions may be exacerbated by low inorganic sediment content and high nutrient inputs. The dramatic difference in resiliency of fresh versus more saline marshes suggests that the introduction of freshwater to marshes as part of restoration efforts may therefore weaken existing wetlands rendering them vulnerable to hurricanes. PMID:20660777

Low ionospheric reactions on tropical depressions prior hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Nina, Aleksandra; Radovanović, Milan; Milovanović, Boško; Kovačević, Andjelka; Bajčetić, Jovan; Popović, Luka Č.

2017-10-01

We study the reactions of the low ionosphere during tropical depressions (TDs) which have been detected before the hurricane appearances in the Atlantic Ocean. We explore 41 TD events using very low frequency (VLF) radio signals emitted by NAA transmitter located in the USA and recorded by VLF receiver located in Belgrade (Serbia). We found VLF signal deviations (caused ionospheric turbulence) in the case of 36 out of 41 TD events (88%). Additionally, we explore 27 TDs which have not been developed in hurricanes and found similar low ionospheric reactions. However, in the sample of 41 TDs which are followed by hurricanes the typical low ionosphere perturbations seem to be more frequent than other TDs.

Effects of track and threat information on judgments of hurricane strike probability.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hao-Che; Lindell, Michael K; Prater, Carla S; Samuelson, Charles D

2014-06-01

Although evacuation is one of the best strategies for protecting citizens from hurricane threat, the ways that local elected officials use hurricane data in deciding whether to issue hurricane evacuation orders is not well understood. To begin to address this problem, we examined the effects of hurricane track and intensity information in a laboratory setting where participants judged the probability that hypothetical hurricanes with a constant bearing (i.e., straight line forecast track) would make landfall in each of eight 45 degree sectors around the Gulf of Mexico. The results from 162 participants in a student sample showed that the judged strike probability distributions over the eight sectors within each scenario were, unsurprisingly, unimodal and centered on the sector toward which the forecast track pointed. More significantly, although strike probability judgments for the sector in the direction of the forecast track were generally higher than the corresponding judgments for the other sectors, the latter were not zero. Most significantly, there were no appreciable differences in the patterns of strike probability judgments for hurricane tracks represented by a forecast track only, an uncertainty cone only, or forecast track with an uncertainty cone-a result consistent with a recent survey of coastal residents threatened by Hurricane Charley. The study results suggest that people are able to correctly process basic information about hurricane tracks but they do make some errors. More research is needed to understand the sources of these errors and to identify better methods of displaying uncertainty about hurricane parameters. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Teacher Guidelines for Helping Students after a Hurricane

Science.gov (United States)

National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2013

2013-01-01

Being in a hurricane can be very frightening, and the days, weeks, and months following the storm can be very stressful. Most families recover over time, especially with the support of relatives, friends, and their community. But different families may have different experiences during and after a hurricane, and how long it takes them to recover…

Hide Tanning and Its Use in Taiga: The Case of the Orochen-Evenki Reindeer Herders and Hunters of Zabaikalye (East Siberia)

OpenAIRE

Donatas Brandišauskas

2010-01-01

This article documents the way in which the Orochen-Evenki hunters and herders in northern part of Zabaikalye tan hides and produce gear in the post-Soviet era. Here, I wish to present the argument that it is difficult to understand the reviving of hide tanning in remote villages and the taiga without understanding how hunters and herders in this region adapt to the unstable post-Soviet environment. I suggest that hunters and herders aim to maintain their autonomy from goods and resources imp...

Morphological responses of the Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, to Hurricanes Rita

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Xing

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study examines the morphodynamic response of a deltaic system to extreme weather events. The Wax Lake Delta (WLD in Louisiana, USA, is used to illustrate the impact of extreme events (hurricanes on a river-dominated deltaic system. Simulations using the open source Delft3D model reveal that Hurricane Rita, which made landfall 120 km to the west of WLD as a Category 3 storm in 2005, caused erosion on the right side and deposition on the left side of the hurricane eye track on the continental shelf line (water depth 10 m to 50 m. Erosion over a wide area occurred both on the continental shelf line and in coastal areas when the hurricane moved onshore, while deposition occurred along the Gulf coastline (water depth < 5 m when storm surge water moved back offshore. The numerical model estimated that Hurricane Rita’s storm surge reached 2.5 m, with maximum currents of 2.0 m s–1, and wave heights of 1.4 m on the WLD. The northwestern-directed flow and waves induced shear stresses, caused erosion on the eastern banks of the deltaic islands and deposition in channels located west of these islands. In total, Hurricane Rita eroded more than 500,000 m3 of sediments on the WLD area. Including waves in the analysis resulted in doubling the amount of erosion in the study area, comparing to the wave-excluding scenario. The exclusion of fluvial input caused minor changes in deltaic morphology during the event. Vegetation cover was represented as rigid rods in the model which add extra source terms for drag and turbulence to influence the momentum and turbulence equations. Vegetation slowed down the floodwater propagation and decreased flow velocity on the islands, leading to a 47% reduction in the total amount of erosion. Morphodynamic impact of the hurricane track relative to the delta was explored. Simulations indicate that the original track of Hurricane Rita (landfall 120 km west of the WLD produced twice as much erosion and deposition at the delta

Radial profiles of velocity and pressure for condensation-induced hurricanes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makarieva, A.M.; Gorshkov, V.G.

2011-01-01

The Bernoulli integral in the form of an algebraic equation is obtained for the hurricane air flow as the sum of the kinetic energy of wind and the condensational potential energy. With an account for the eye rotation energy and the decrease of angular momentum towards the hurricane center it is shown that the theoretical profiles of pressure and velocity agree well with observations for intense hurricanes. The previous order of magnitude estimates obtained in pole approximation are confirmed.

Radial profiles of velocity and pressure for condensation-induced hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Makarieva, A. M.; Gorshkov, V. G.

2011-02-01

The Bernoulli integral in the form of an algebraic equation is obtained for the hurricane air flow as the sum of the kinetic energy of wind and the condensational potential energy. With an account for the eye rotation energy and the decrease of angular momentum towards the hurricane center it is shown that the theoretical profiles of pressure and velocity agree well with observations for intense hurricanes. The previous order of magnitude estimates obtained in pole approximation are confirmed.

Radial profiles of velocity and pressure for condensation-induced hurricanes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makarieva, A.M., E-mail: ammakarieva@gmail.co [Theoretical Physics Division, Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Gatchina, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Gorshkov, V.G. [Theoretical Physics Division, Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Gatchina, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)

2011-02-14

The Bernoulli integral in the form of an algebraic equation is obtained for the hurricane air flow as the sum of the kinetic energy of wind and the condensational potential energy. With an account for the eye rotation energy and the decrease of angular momentum towards the hurricane center it is shown that the theoretical profiles of pressure and velocity agree well with observations for intense hurricanes. The previous order of magnitude estimates obtained in pole approximation are confirmed.

Changes in trace metals in Thalassia testudinum after hurricane impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Whelan, T; Van Tussenbroek, B I; Santos, M G Barba

2011-12-01

Major hurricanes Emily and Wilma hit the Mexican Caribbean in 2005. Changes in trace metals in the seagrass Thalassia testudinum prior to (May 2004, 2005) and following passage of these hurricanes (May, June 2006) were determined at four locations along a ≈ 130 km long stretch of coast. Before the hurricanes, essential metals were likely limiting and concentrations of potentially toxic Pb were high in a contaminated lagoon (27.5 μg g(-1)) and near submarine springs (6.10 μg g(-1)); the likely sources were inland sewage disposal or excessive boat traffic. After the hurricanes, Pb decreased to 2.0 μg g(-1) in the contaminated lagoon probably through flushing. At the northern sites, essential Fe increased >2-fold (from 26.8 to 68.3 μg g(-1) on average), possibly from remobilization of anoxic sediments or upwelling of deep seawater during Wilma. Thus, hurricanes can be beneficial to seagrass beds in flushing toxic metals and replenishing essential elements. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dependence of US hurricane economic loss on maximum wind speed and storm size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai, Alice R; Jiang, Jonathan H

2014-01-01

Many empirical hurricane economic loss models consider only wind speed and neglect storm size. These models may be inadequate in accurately predicting the losses of super-sized storms, such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In this study, we examined the dependences of normalized US hurricane loss on both wind speed and storm size for 73 tropical cyclones that made landfall in the US from 1988 through 2012. A multi-variate least squares regression is used to construct a hurricane loss model using both wind speed and size as predictors. Using maximum wind speed and size together captures more variance of losses than using wind speed or size alone. It is found that normalized hurricane loss (L) approximately follows a power law relation with maximum wind speed (V max ) and size (R), L = 10 c V max a R b , with c determining an overall scaling factor and the exponents a and b generally ranging between 4–12 and 2–4 respectively. Both a and b tend to increase with stronger wind speed. Hurricane Sandy’s size was about three times of the average size of all hurricanes analyzed. Based on the bi-variate regression model that explains the most variance for hurricanes, Hurricane Sandy’s loss would be approximately 20 times smaller if its size were of the average size with maximum wind speed unchanged. It is important to revise conventional empirical hurricane loss models that are only dependent on maximum wind speed to include both maximum wind speed and size as predictors. (letters)

Developing Local Scale, High Resolution, Data to Interface with Numerical Hurricane Models

Science.gov (United States)

Witkop, R.; Becker, A.

2017-12-01

In 2017, the University of Rhode Island's (URI's) Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) developed hurricane models that specify wind speed, inundation, and erosion around Rhode Island with enough precision to incorporate impacts on individual facilities. At the same time, URI's Marine Affairs Visualization Lab (MAVL) developed a way to realistically visualize these impacts in 3-D. Since climate change visualizations and water resource simulations have been shown to promote resiliency action (Sheppard, 2015) and increase credibility (White et al., 2010) when local knowledge is incorporated, URI's hurricane models and visualizations may also more effectively enable hurricane resilience actions if they include Facility Manager (FM) and Emergency Manager (EM) perceived hurricane impacts. This study determines how FM's and EM's perceive their assets as being vulnerable to quantifiable hurricane-related forces at the individual facility scale while exploring methods to elicit this information from FMs and EMs in a format usable for incorporation into URI GSO's hurricane models.

Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) Observations of Brightness Temperatures and Ocean Surface Wind Speed and Rain Rate During NASA's GRIP and HS3 Campaigns

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Timothy L.; James, M. W.; Roberts, J. B.; Jones, W. L.; Biswas, S.; Ruf, C. S.; Uhlhorn, E. W.; Atlas, R.; Black, P.; Albers, C.

2012-01-01

HIRAD flew on high-altitude aircraft over Earl and Karl during NASA s GRIP (Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes) campaign in August - September of 2010, and plans to fly over Atlantic tropical cyclones in September of 2012 as part of the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) mission. HIRAD is a new C-band radiometer using a synthetic thinned array radiometer (STAR) technology to obtain spatial resolution of approximately 2 km, out to roughly 30 km each side of nadir. By obtaining measurements of emissions at 4, 5, 6, and 6.6 GHz, observations of ocean surface wind speed and rain rate can be retrieved. The physical retrieval technique has been used for many years by precursor instruments, including the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR), which has been flying on the NOAA and USAF hurricane reconnaissance aircraft for several years to obtain observations within a single footprint at nadir angle. Results from the flights during the GRIP and HS3 campaigns will be shown, including images of brightness temperatures, wind speed, and rain rate. Comparisons will be made with observations from other instruments on the campaigns, for which HIRAD observations are either directly comparable or are complementary. Features such as storm eye and eye-wall, location of storm wind and rain maxima, and indications of dynamical features such as the merging of a weaker outer wind/rain maximum with the main vortex may be seen in the data. Potential impacts on operational ocean surface wind analyses and on numerical weather forecasts will also be discussed.

Hurricane Impact on Seepage Water in Larga Cave, Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Vieten, Rolf; Warken, Sophie; Winter, Amos; Schröder-Ritzrau, Andrea; Scholz, Denis; Spötl, Christoph

2018-03-01

Hurricane-induced rainfall over Puerto Rico has characteristic δ18O values which are more negative than local rainfall events. Thus, hurricanes may be recorded in speleothems from Larga cave, Puerto Rico, as characteristic oxygen isotope excursions. Samples of 84 local rainfall events between 2012 and 2013 ranged from -6.2 to +0.3‰, whereas nine rainfall samples belonging to a rainband of hurricane Isaac (23-24 August 2012) ranged from -11.8 to -7.1‰. Cave monitoring covered the hurricane season of 2014 and investigated the impact of hurricane rainfall on drip water chemistry. δ18O values were measured in cumulative monthly rainwater samples above the cave. Inside the cave, δ18O values of instantaneous drip water samples were analyzed and drip rates were recorded at six drip sites. Most effective recharge appears to occur during the wet months (April-May and August-November). δ18O values of instantaneous drip water samples ranged from -3.5 to -2.4‰. In April 2014 and April 2015 some drip sites showed more negative δ18O values than the effective rainfall (-2.9‰), implying an influence of hurricane rainfall reaching the cave via stratified seepage flow months to years after the event. Speleothems from these drip sites in Larga cave have a high potential for paleotempestology studies.

Estimating the spatial distribution of power outages during hurricanes in the Gulf coast region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, S.-R.; Guikema, Seth D.; Quiring, Steven M.; Lee, Kyung-Ho; Rosowsky, David; Davidson, Rachel A.

2009-01-01

Hurricanes have caused severe damage to the electric power system throughout the Gulf coast region of the US, and electric power is critical to post-hurricane disaster response as well as to long-term recovery for impacted areas. Managing power outage risk and preparing for post-storm recovery efforts requires accurate methods for estimating the number and location of power outages. This paper builds on past work on statistical power outage estimation models to develop, test, and demonstrate a statistical power outage risk estimation model for the Gulf Coast region of the US. Previous work used binary hurricane-indicator variables representing particular hurricanes in order to achieve a good fit to the past data. To use these models for predicting power outages during future hurricanes, one must implicitly assume that an approaching hurricane is similar to the average of the past hurricanes. The model developed in this paper replaces these indicator variables with physically measurable variables, enabling future predictions to be based on only well-understood characteristics of hurricanes. The models were developed using data about power outages during nine hurricanes in three states served by a large, investor-owned utility company in the Gulf Coast region

Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport along Hunter Creek, southwestern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Krista L.; Wallick, J. Rose; O'Connor, Jim E.; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Mangano, Joseph F.; Risley, John C.

2011-01-01

This preliminary assessment of (1) bed-material transport in the Hunter Creek basin, (2) historical changes in channel condition, and (3) supplementary data needed to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel extraction revealed the following: Along the lower 12.4 km (kilometers) of Hunter Creek from its confluence with the Little South Fork Hunter Creek to its mouth, the river has confined and unconfined segments and is predominately alluvial in its lowermost 11 km. This 12.4-km stretch of river can be divided into two geomorphically distinct study reaches based primarily on valley physiography. In the Upper Study Reach (river kilometer [RKM] 12.4-6), the active channel comprises a mixed bed of bedrock, boulders, and smaller grains. The stream is confined in the upper 1.4 km of the reach by a bedrock canyon and in the lower 2.4 km by its valley. In the Lower Study Reach (RKM 6-0), where the area of gravel bars historically was largest, the stream flows over bed material that is predominately alluvial sediments. The channel alternates between confined and unconfined segments. The primary human activities that likely have affected bed-material transport and the extent and area of gravel bars are (1) historical and ongoing aggregate extraction from gravel bars in the study area and (2) timber harvest and associated road construction throughout the basin. These anthropogenic activities likely have varying effects on sediment transport and deposition throughout the study area and over time. Although assessing the relative effects of these anthropogenic activities on sediment dynamics would be challenging, the Hunter Creek basin may serve as a case study for such an assessment because it is mostly free of other alterations to hydrologic and geomorphic processes such as flow regulation, dredging, and other navigation improvements that are common in many Oregon coastal basins. Several datasets are available that may support a more detailed physical assessment

HiggsHunters - a citizen science project for ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Haas, Andrew; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

Since the launch of HiggsHunters.org in November 2014, citizen science volunteers have classified more than a million points of interest in images from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Volunteers have been looking for displaced vertices and unusual features in images recorded during LHC Run-1. We discuss the design of the project, its impact on the public, and the surprising results of how the human volunteers performed relative to the computer algorithms in identifying displaced secondary vertices.

JEFX 10 demonstration of Cooperative Hunter Killer UAS and upstream data fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Brian K.; Castelli, Jonathan C.; Watkins, Adam S.; McCubbin, Christopher B.; Marshall, Steven J.; Barton, Jeffrey D.; Newman, Andrew J.; Peterson, Cammy K.; DeSena, Jonathan T.; Dutrow, Daniel A.; Rodriguez, Pedro A.

2011-05-01

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory deployed and demonstrated a prototype Cooperative Hunter Killer (CHK) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) capability and a prototype Upstream Data Fusion (UDF) capability as participants in the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2010 in April 2010. The CHK capability was deployed at the Nevada Test and Training Range to prosecute a convoy protection operational thread. It used mission-level autonomy (MLA) software applied to a networked swarm of three Raven hunter UAS and a Procerus Miracle surrogate killer UAS, all equipped with full motion video (FMV). The MLA software provides the capability for the hunter-killer swarm to autonomously search an area or road network, divide the search area, deconflict flight paths, and maintain line of sight communications with mobile ground stations. It also provides an interface for an operator to designate a threat and initiate automatic engagement of the target by the killer UAS. The UDF prototype was deployed at the Maritime Operations Center at Commander Second Fleet, Naval Station Norfolk to provide intelligence analysts and the ISR commander with a common fused track picture from the available FMV sources. It consisted of a video exploitation component that automatically detected moving objects, a multiple hypothesis tracker that fused all of the detection data to produce a common track picture, and a display and user interface component that visualized the common track picture along with appropriate geospatial information such as maps and terrain as well as target coordinates and the source video.

Significant Wave Height under Hurricane Irma derived from SAR Sentinel-1 Data

Science.gov (United States)

Lehner, S.; Pleskachevsky, A.; Soloviev, A.; Fujimura, A.

2017-12-01

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was with three major hurricanes a particular active one. The Category 4 hurricane Irma made landfall on the Florida Keys on September 10th 2017 and was imaged several times by ESAs Sentinel-1 satellites in C-band and the TerraSAR-X satellite in X-band. The high resolution TerraSAR-X imagery showed the footprint of individual tornadoes on the sea surface together with their turbulent wake imaged as a dark line due to increased turbulence. The water-cloud structures of the tornadoes are analyzed and their sea surface structure is compared to optical and IR cloud imagery. An estimate of the wind field using standard XMOD algorithms is provided, although saturating under the strong rain and high wind speed conditions. Imaging the hurricanes by space radar gives the opportunity to observe the sea surface and thus measure the wind field and the sea state under hurricane conditions through the clouds even in this severe weather, although rain features, which are usually not observed in SAR become visible due to damping effects. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 A and B satellites, which are operating in C-band provided several images of the sea surface under hurricane Irma, Jose and Maria. The data were acquired daily and converted into measurements of sea surface wind field u10 and significant wave height Hs over a swath width of 280km about 1000 km along the orbit. The wind field of the hurricanes as derived by CMOD is provided by NOAA operationally on their web server. In the hurricane cases though the wind speed saturates at 20 m/sec and is thus too low in the area of hurricane wind speed. The technique to derive significant wave height is new though and does not show any calibration issues. This technique provides for the first time measurements of the areal coverage and distribution of the ocean wave height as caused by a hurricane on SAR wide swath images. Wave heights up to 10 m were measured under the forward quadrant of the hurricane

Science and the storms: The USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Farris, G. S.; Smith, G.J.; Crane, M.P.; Demas, C.R.; Robbins, L.L.; Lavoie, D.L.

2007-01-01

This report is designed to give a view of the immediate response of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to four major hurricanes of 2005: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Some of this response took place days after the hurricanes; other responses included fieldwork and analysis through the spring. While hurricane science continues within the USGS, this overview of work following these hurricanes reveals how a Department of the Interior bureau quickly brought together a diverse array of its scientists and technologies to assess and analyze many hurricane effects. Topics vary from flooding and water quality to landscape and ecosystem impacts, from geotechnical reconnaissance to analyzing the collapse of bridges and estimating the volume of debris. Thus, the purpose of this report is to inform the American people of the USGS science that is available and ongoing in regard to hurricanes. It is the hope that such science will help inform the decisions of those citizens and officials tasked with coastal restoration and planning for future hurricanes. Chapter 1 is an essay establishing the need for science in building a resilient coast. The second chapter includes some hurricane facts that provide hurricane terminology, history, and maps of the four hurricanes’ paths. Chapters that follow give the scientific response of USGS to the storms. Both English and metric measurements are used in the articles in anticipation of both general and scientific audiences in the United States and elsewhere. Chapter 8 is a compilation of relevant ongoing and future hurricane work. The epilogue marks the 2-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. An index of authors follows the report to aid in finding articles that are cross-referenced within the report. In addition to performing the science needed to understand the effects of hurricanes, USGS employees helped in the rescue of citizens by boat and through technology by “geoaddressing” 911 calls after Katrina and Rita so that other

Post-hurricane forest damage assessment using satellite remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

W. Wang; J.J. Qu; X. Hao; Y. Liu; J.A. Stanturf

2010-01-01

This study developed a rapid assessment algorithm for post-hurricane forest damage estimation using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements. The performance of five commonly used vegetation indices as post-hurricane forest damage indicators was investigated through statistical analysis. The Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII) was...

A Climatological Study of Hurricane Force Extratropical Cyclones

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

extratropical cyclone by months in the Pacific basin. Most of the storms occur from October through March...hurricane force extratropical cyclone. Starting from left to right; the first column is the storm name, second column is the year, month, day, hour (UTC...2000 through 2007 illustrates that the number of hurricane-force extratropical cyclones is quite significant: approximately 500 storms , nearly evenly

Evacuation Shelters - MDC_HurricaneShelter

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — A label feature class of Miami-Dade County Hurricane Evacuation Shelters (HEC) including Special Need Evacuation Centers (SNEC) and Medical Management Facilities...

Psychological distress of adolescents exposed to Hurricane Hugo.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardin, S B; Weinrich, M; Weinrich, S; Hardin, T L; Garrison, C

1994-07-01

To ascertain the effects of a natural disaster on adolescents, 1482 South Carolina high school students who were exposed to Hurricane Hugo were surveyed 1 year after the disaster. Subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire measuring Hugo exposure, nonviolent and violent life events, social support, self-efficacy, and psychological distress. Results showed that the students reported minimal exposure to the hurricane and psychological distress variables approximated national norms. As exposure increased, adolescents reported increased symptoms of psychological distress; i.e., anger, depression, anxiety, and global mental distress. Females and white students experienced higher levels of distress. In most cases, other stressful life events were at least as strong a predictor of psychological distress as was exposure to the hurricane. Self-efficacy and social support were protective.

Co-residence patterns in hunter-gatherer societies show unique human social structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Kim R; Walker, Robert S; Bozicević, Miran; Eder, James; Headland, Thomas; Hewlett, Barry; Hurtado, A Magdalena; Marlowe, Frank; Wiessner, Polly; Wood, Brian

2011-03-11

Contemporary humans exhibit spectacular biological success derived from cumulative culture and cooperation. The origins of these traits may be related to our ancestral group structure. Because humans lived as foragers for 95% of our species' history, we analyzed co-residence patterns among 32 present-day foraging societies (total n = 5067 individuals, mean experienced band size = 28.2 adults). We found that hunter-gatherers display a unique social structure where (i) either sex may disperse or remain in their natal group, (ii) adult brothers and sisters often co-reside, and (iii) most individuals in residential groups are genetically unrelated. These patterns produce large interaction networks of unrelated adults and suggest that inclusive fitness cannot explain extensive cooperation in hunter-gatherer bands. However, large social networks may help to explain why humans evolved capacities for social learning that resulted in cumulative culture.

An Observational Study of Tropical Cyclone Spin-Up in Supertyphoon Jangmi and Hurricane Georges

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-01

Marks et al. (2008) flight level and radar observations from Hurricane Hugo shown in Figure 9 (their Figure 3) and Hurricane Isabel (Montgomery et al...Figure 3c and Figure 6c) and Persing and Montgomery (2003, their Figures 8, 9, and 12). For the case of Hurricane Hugo , a cross-section of the... Hurricane Hugo (1989). Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 1237–1259. McTaggart-Cowan, R., L. F. Bosart, J. R. Gyakum, and E. H. Atallah, 2007: Hurricane Katrina

Performance assessment of topologically diverse power systems subjected to hurricane events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkler, James; Duenas-Osorio, Leonardo; Stein, Robert; Subramanian, Devika

2010-01-01

Large tropical cyclones cause severe damage to major cities along the United States Gulf Coast annually. A diverse collection of engineering and statistical models are currently used to estimate the geographical distribution of power outage probabilities stemming from these hurricanes to aid in storm preparedness and recovery efforts. Graph theoretic studies of power networks have separately attempted to link abstract network topology to transmission and distribution system reliability. However, few works have employed both techniques to unravel the intimate connection between network damage arising from storms, topology, and system reliability. This investigation presents a new methodology combining hurricane damage predictions and topological assessment to characterize the impact of hurricanes upon power system reliability. Component fragility models are applied to predict failure probability for individual transmission and distribution power network elements simultaneously. The damage model is calibrated using power network component failure data for Harris County, TX, USA caused by Hurricane Ike in September of 2008, resulting in a mean outage prediction error of 15.59% and low standard deviation. Simulated hurricane events are then applied to measure the hurricane reliability of three topologically distinct transmission networks. The rate of system performance decline is shown to depend on their topological structure. Reliability is found to correlate directly with topological features, such as network meshedness, centrality, and clustering, and the compact irregular ring mesh topology is identified as particularly favorable, which can influence regional lifeline policy for retrofit and hardening activities to withstand hurricane events.

Retention of Displaced Students after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Science.gov (United States)

Coco, Joshua Christian

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the strategies that university leaders implemented to improve retention of displaced students in the aftermaths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The universities that participated in this study admitted displaced students after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This study utilized a qualitative…

Resilience of Professional Counselors Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Simone F.; Lawson, Gerard

2013-01-01

Professional counselors who provided services to those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita completed the K6+ (screen for severe mental illness), the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Results indicated that participants who survived the hurricanes had higher levels of posttraumatic growth than…

Litterfall Production Prior to and during Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Four Puerto Rican Forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianbin Liu

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck Puerto Rico on the 6th and 20th of September 2017, respectively. These two powerful Cat 5 hurricanes severely defoliated forest canopy and deposited massive amounts of litterfall in the forests across the island. We established a 1-ha research plot in each of four forests (Guánica State Forest, Río Abajo State Forest, Guayama Research Area and Luquillo Experiment Forest before September 2016, and had collected one full year data of litterfall production prior to the arrival of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Hurricane-induced litterfall was collected within one week after Hurricane Irma, and within two weeks after Hurricane Maria. Each litterfall sample was sorted into leaves, wood (branches and barks, reproductive organs (flowers, fruits and seeds and miscellaneous materials (mostly dead animal bodies or feces after oven-drying to constant weight. Annual litterfall production prior to the arrival of Hurricanes Irma and Maria varied from 4.68 to 25.41 Mg/ha/year among the four forests, and annual litterfall consisted of 50–81% leaffall, 16–44% woodfall and 3–6% fallen reproductive organs. Hurricane Irma severely defoliated the Luquillo Experimental Forest, but had little effect on the other three forests, whereas Hurricane Maria defoliated all four forests. Total hurricane-induced litterfall from Hurricanes Irma and Maria amounted to 95–171% of the annual litterfall production, with leaffall and woodfall from hurricanes amounting to 63–88% and 122–763% of their corresponding annual leaffall and woodfall, respectively. Hurricane-induced litterfall consisted of 30–45% leaves and 55–70% wood. Our data showed that Hurricanes Irma and Maria deposited a pulse of litter deposition equivalent to or more than the total annual litterfall input with at least a doubled fraction of woody materials. This pulse of hurricane-induced debris and elevated proportion of woody component may trigger changes in

Calculations of the hurricane eye motion based on singularity propagation theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Danilov

2002-02-01

Full Text Available We discuss the possibility of using calculating singularities to forecast the dynamics of hurricanes. Our basic model is the shallow-water system. By treating the hurricane eye as a vortex type singularity and truncating the corresponding sequence of Hugoniot type conditions, we carry out many numerical experiments. The comparison of our results with the tracks of three actual hurricanes shows that our approach is rather fruitful.

Race differences in depression vulnerability following Hurricane Katrina.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Jeanelle S; Farrell, Amy S; Alexander, Adam C; Forde, David R; Stockton, Michelle; Ward, Kenneth D

2017-05-01

This study investigated whether racial disparities in depression were present after Hurricane Katrina. Data were gathered from 932 New Orleans residents who were present when Hurricane Katrina struck, and who returned to New Orleans the following year. Multiple logistic regression models evaluated racial differences in screening positive for depression (a score ≥16 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), and explored whether differential vulnerability (prehurricane physical and mental health functioning and education level), differential exposure to hurricane-related stressors, and loss of social support moderated and/or reduced the association of race with depression. A univariate logistic regression analysis showed the odds for screening positive for depression were 86% higher for African Americans than for Caucasians (odds ratio [OR] = 1.86 [1.28-2.71], p = .0012). However, after controlling simultaneously for sociodemographic characteristics, preexisting vulnerabilities, social support, and trauma-specific factors, race was no longer a significant correlate for screening positive for depression (OR = 1.54 [0.95-2.48], p = .0771). The racial disparity in postdisaster depression seems to be confounded by sociodemographic characteristics, preexisting vulnerabilities, social support, and trauma-specific factors. Nonetheless, even after adjusting for these factors, there was a nonsignificant trend effect for race, which could suggest race played an important role in depression outcomes following Hurricane Katrina. Future studies should examine these associations prospectively, using stronger assessments for depression, and incorporate measures for discrimination and segregation, to further understand possible racial disparities in depression after Hurricane Katrina. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

AllerHunter: a SVM-pairwise system for assessment of allergenicity and allergic cross-reactivity in proteins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hon Cheng Muh

Full Text Available Allergy is a major health problem in industrialized countries. The number of transgenic food crops is growing rapidly creating the need for allergenicity assessment before they are introduced into human food chain. While existing bioinformatic methods have achieved good accuracies for highly conserved sequences, the discrimination of allergens and non-allergens from allergen-like non-allergen sequences remains difficult. We describe AllerHunter, a web-based computational system for the assessment of potential allergenicity and allergic cross-reactivity in proteins. It combines an iterative pairwise sequence similarity encoding scheme with SVM as the discriminating engine. The pairwise vectorization framework allows the system to model essential features in allergens that are involved in cross-reactivity, but not limited to distinct sets of physicochemical properties. The system was rigorously trained and tested using 1,356 known allergen and 13,449 putative non-allergen sequences. Extensive testing was performed for validation of the prediction models. The system is effective for distinguishing allergens and non-allergens from allergen-like non-allergen sequences. Testing results showed that AllerHunter, with a sensitivity of 83.4% and specificity of 96.4% (accuracy = 95.3%, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve AROC = 0.928+/-0.004 and Matthew's correlation coefficient MCC = 0.738, performs significantly better than a number of existing methods using an independent dataset of 1443 protein sequences. AllerHunter is available at (http://tiger.dbs.nus.edu.sg/AllerHunter.

The effects of hurricanes on birds, with special reference to Caribbean islands

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, J.W.; Wunderle, J.M.

1993-01-01

Cyclonic storms, variously called typhoons, cyclones, or hurricanes (henceforth, hurricanes), are common in many parts of the world, where their frequent occurrence can have both direct and indirect effects on bird populations. Direct effects of hurricanes include mortality from exposure to hurricane winds, rains, and storm surges, and geographic displacement of individuals by storm winds. Indirect effects become apparent in the storm's aftermath and include loss of food supplies or foraging substrates; loss of nests and nest or roost sites; increased vulnerability to predation; microclimate changes; and increased conflict with humans. The short-term response of bird populations to hurricane damage, before changes in plant succession, includes shifts in diet, foraging sites or habitats, and reproductive changes. Bird populations may show long-term responses to changes in plant succession as second-growth vegetation increases in storm-damaged old-growth forests. The greatest stress of a hurricane to most upland terrestrial bird populations occurs after its passage rather than during its impact. The most important effect of a hurricane is the destruction of vegetation, which secondarily affects wildlife in the storm's aftermath. The most vulnerable terrestrial wildlife populations have a diet of nectar, fruit, or seeds; nest, roost, or forage on large old trees; require a closed forest canopy; have special microclimate requirements and/or live in a habitat in which vegetation has a slow recovery rate. Small populations with these traits are at greatest risk to hurricane-induced extinction, particularly if they exist in small isolated habitat fragments. Recovery of avian populations from hurricane effects is partially dependent on the extent and degree of vegetation damage as well as its rate of recovery. Also, the reproductive rate of the remnant local population and recruitment from undisturbed habitat patches influence the rate at which wildlife populations recover

Avifauna response to hurricanes: regional changes in community similarity

Science.gov (United States)

Chadwick D. Rittenhouse; Anna M. Pidgeon; Thomas P. Albright; Patrick D. Culbert; Murray K. Clayton; Curtis H. Flather; Chengquan Huang; Jeffrey G. Masek; Volker C. Radeloff

2010-01-01

Global climate models predict increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events such as hurricanes, which may abruptly alter ecological processes in forests and thus affect avian diversity. Developing appropriate conservation measures necessitates identifying patterns of avifauna response to hurricanes. We sought to answer two questions: (1) does...

On the molecular dynamics in the hurricane interactions with its environment

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Gabriel; Vitiello, Giuseppe

2018-06-01

By resorting to the Burgers model for hurricanes, we study the molecular motion involved in the hurricane dynamics. We show that the Lagrangian canonical formalism requires the inclusion of the environment degrees of freedom. This also allows the description of the motion of charged particles. In view of the role played by moist convection, cumulus and cloud water droplets in the hurricane dynamics, we discuss on the basis of symmetry considerations the role played by the molecular electrical dipoles and the formation of topologically non-trivial structures. The mechanism of energy storage and dissipation, the non-stationary time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation and the vortex equation are studied. Finally, we discuss the fractal self-similarity properties of hurricanes.

Longitudinal Impact of Hurricane Sandy Exposure on Mental Health Symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca M. Schwartz

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern coast of the United States in October 2012, causing billions of dollars in damage and acute physical and mental health problems. The long-term mental health consequences of the storm and their predictors have not been studied. New York City and Long Island residents completed questionnaires regarding their initial Hurricane Sandy exposure and mental health symptoms at baseline and 1 year later (N = 130. There were statistically significant decreases in anxiety scores (mean difference = −0.33, p < 0.01 and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD scores (mean difference = −1.98, p = 0.001 between baseline and follow-up. Experiencing a combination of personal and property damage was positively associated with long-term PTSD symptoms (ORadj 1.2, 95% CI [1.1–1.4] but not with anxiety or depression. Having anxiety, depression, or PTSD at baseline was a significant predictor of persistent anxiety (ORadj 2.8 95% CI [1.1–6.8], depression (ORadj 7.4 95% CI [2.3–24.1 and PTSD (ORadj 4.1 95% CI [1.1–14.6] at follow-up. Exposure to Hurricane Sandy has an impact on PTSD symptoms that persists over time. Given the likelihood of more frequent and intense hurricanes due to climate change, future hurricane recovery efforts must consider the long-term effects of hurricane exposure on mental health, especially on PTSD, when providing appropriate assistance and treatment.

Understanding the Relationships Between Lightning, Cloud Microphysics, and Airborne Radar-derived Storm Structure During Hurricane Karl (2010)

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhart, Brad; Fuelberg, Henry; Blakeslee, Richard; Mach, Douglas; Heymsfield, Andrew; Bansemer, Aaron; Durden, Stephen L.; Tanelli, Simone; Heymsfield, Gerald; Lambrigtsen, Bjorn

2013-01-01

This study explores relationships between lightning, cloud microphysics, and tropical cyclone (TC) storm structure in Hurricane Karl (16 September 2010) using data collected by the NASA DC-8 and Global Hawk (GH) aircraft during NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) experiment. The research capitalizes on the unique opportunity provided by GRIP to synthesize multiple datasets from two aircraft and analyze the microphysical and kinematic properties of an electrified TC. Five coordinated flight legs through Karl by the DC-8 and GH are investigated, focusing on the inner-core region (within 50km of the storm center) where the lightning was concentrated and the aircraft were well coordinated. GRIP datasets are used to compare properties of electrified and nonelectrified inner-core regions that are related to the noninductive charging mechanism, which is widely accepted to explain the observed electric fields within thunderstorms. Three common characteristics of Karl's electrified regions are identified: 1) strong updrafts of 10-20ms21, 2) deep mixed-phase layers indicated by reflectivities.30 dBZ extending several kilometers above the freezing level, and 3) microphysical environments consisting of graupel, very small ice particles, and the inferred presence of supercooled water. These characteristics describe an environment favorable for in situ noninductive charging and, hence, TC electrification. The electrified regions in Karl's inner core are attributable to a microphysical environment that was conducive to electrification because of occasional, strong convective updrafts in the eyewall.

Improving Post-Hurricane Katrina Forest Management with MODIS Time Series Products

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Mark David; Spruce, Joseph; Evans, David; Anderson, Daniel

2012-01-01

Hurricane damage to forests can be severe, causing millions of dollars of timber damage and loss. To help mitigate loss, state agencies require information on location, intensity, and extent of damaged forests. NASA's MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data products offers a potential means for state agencies to monitor hurricane-induced forest damage and recovery across a broad region. In response, a project was conducted to produce and assess 250 meter forest disturbance and recovery maps for areas in southern Mississippi impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The products and capabilities from the project were compiled to aid work of the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory (MIFI). A series of NDVI change detection products were computed to assess hurricane induced damage and recovery. Hurricane-induced forest damage maps were derived by computing percent change between MODIS MOD13 16-day composited NDVI pre-hurricane "baseline" products (2003 and 2004) and post-hurricane NDVI products (2005). Recovery products were then computed in which post storm 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 NDVI data was each singularly compared to the historical baseline NDVI. All percent NDVI change considered the 16-day composite period of August 29 to September 13 for each year in the study. This provided percent change in the maximum NDVI for the 2 week period just after the hurricane event and for each subsequent anniversary through 2009, resulting in forest disturbance products for 2005 and recovery products for the following 4 years. These disturbance and recovery products were produced for the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory's (MIFI) Southeast Inventory District and also for the entire hurricane impact zone. MIFI forest inventory products were used as ground truth information for the project. Each NDVI percent change product was classified into 6 categories of forest disturbance intensity. Stand age

Hurricane Harvey Report: A fact-finding effort in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in the Greater Houston Region

OpenAIRE

Sebastian, A.G.; Lendering, K.T.; Kothuis, B.L.M.; Brand, A.D.; Jonkman, S.N.; van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M.; Kolen, B.; Comes, M.; Lhermitte, S.L.M.; Meesters, K.J.M.G.; van de Walle, B.A.; Ebrahimi Fard, A.; Cunningham, S.; Khakzad Rostami, N.; Nespeca, V.

2017-01-01

On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of approximately 200 km/hour. Harvey caused severe damages in coastal Texas due to extreme winds and storm surge, but will go down in history for record-setting rainfall totals and flood-related damages. Across large portions of southeast Texas, rainfall totals during the six-day period between August 25 and 31, 2017 were amongst the highest ever recorded, causing flo...

Extreme Wind, Rain, Storm Surge, and Flooding: Why Hurricane Impacts are Difficult to Forecast?

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, S. S.

2017-12-01

The 2017 hurricane season is estimated as one of the costliest in the U.S. history. The damage and devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Irma in Florida, and Maria in Puerto Rico are distinctly different in nature. The complexity of hurricane impacts from extreme wind, rain, storm surge, and flooding presents a major challenge in hurricane forecasting. A detailed comparison of the storm impacts from Harvey, Irma, and Maria will be presented using observations and state-of-the-art new generation coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean hurricane forecast model. The author will also provide an overview on what we can expect in terms of advancement in science and technology that can help improve hurricane impact forecast in the near future.

Hurricane Satellite (HURSAT) Microwave (MW)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Hurricane Satellite (HURSAT) from Microwave (MW) observations of tropical cyclones worldwide data consist of raw satellite observations. The data derive from the...

The measurement of winds over the ocean from Skylab with application to measuring and forecasting typhoons and hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Cardone, V. J.; Pierson, W. J.

1975-01-01

On Skylab, a combination microwave radar-radiometer (S193) made measurements in a tropical hurricane (AVA), a tropical storm, and various extratropical wind systems. The winds at each cell scanned by the instrument were determined by objective numerical analysis techniques. The measured radar backscatter is compared to the analyzed winds and shown to provide an accurate method for measuring winds from space. An operational version of the instrument on an orbiting satellite will be able to provide the kind of measurements in tropical cyclones available today only by expensive and dangerous aircraft reconnaissance. Additionally, the specifications of the wind field in the tropical boundary layer should contribute to improved accuracy of tropical cyclone forecasts made with numerical weather predictions models currently being applied to the tropical atmosphere.

Contrasting Hydrodynamic and Environmental Effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Ike in a Highly Industrialized Estuary

Science.gov (United States)

Kiaghadi, A.; Rifai, H. S.

2017-12-01

It is commonly believed that storm surge is the most destructive aspect of hurricanes. However, massive rainfall with a return period of 100 years or more induced by hurricanes can cause more catastrophic damage than losses caused by storm surge as demonstrated recently by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. In this study the hydrodynamics and environmental effects of hurricanes Ike and Harvey were compared and contrasted by linking hydrodynamic flow models with water quality models to simulate spills from storage tanks located in the Houston Ship Channel (HSC). Hurricane Ike with a maximum surge of 5.3 meters in Galveston Bay and Harvey with a maximum rainfall of 1.25 meters both struck the HSC region in Texas in 2008 and 2017, respectively. Both events resulted in numerous spills from municipal and industrial facilities, hazardous waste sites, superfund sites, and landfills. The Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code (EFDC) was coupled with the SWAN+ADCIRC hurricane simulation model to simulate Hurricane Ike and EFDC was coupled with USGS flow boundary conditions to model Hurricane Harvey. A conservative dye release was used to simulate a chemical release during each event. The results showed Hurricane Harvey caused higher water surface elevations within the HSC accompanied by longer and wider-spread land inundation. In contrast, higher water surface elevations were observed within the shallow side bays during Hurricane Ike that caused sediment resuspension and repartitioning of pollutants. Rapid spill mass transportation was observed for both hurricanes; 50% of total spill mass reached Galveston Bay in 20 and 22 hours after a spill event for Hurricane Harvey and Ike, respectively, and more than 90% of the spill mass reached the bay in 36 and 48 hours, respectively. Unlike Hurricane Harvey, the conservative tracer was spread almost 2.5 km upstream of the releasing point for Hurricane Ike due to surge. However, during Harvey, 35% more land was affected by the spilled

Predicting the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association claim payout of commercial buildings from Hurricane Ike

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J. M.; Woods, P. K.; Park, Y. J.; Son, K.

2013-08-01

Following growing public awareness of the danger from hurricanes and tremendous demands for analysis of loss, many researchers have conducted studies to develop hurricane damage analysis methods. Although researchers have identified the significant indicators, there currently is no comprehensive research for identifying the relationship among the vulnerabilities, natural disasters, and economic losses associated with individual buildings. To address this lack of research, this study will identify vulnerabilities and hurricane indicators, develop metrics to measure the influence of economic losses from hurricanes, and visualize the spatial distribution of vulnerability to evaluate overall hurricane damage. This paper has utilized the Geographic Information System to facilitate collecting and managing data, and has combined vulnerability factors to assess the financial losses suffered by Texas coastal counties. A multiple linear regression method has been applied to develop hurricane economic damage predicting models. To reflect the pecuniary loss, insured loss payment was used as the dependent variable to predict the actual financial damage. Geographical vulnerability indicators, built environment vulnerability indicators, and hurricane indicators were all used as independent variables. Accordingly, the models and findings may possibly provide vital references for government agencies, emergency planners, and insurance companies hoping to predict hurricane damage.

Energy expenditure and activity among Hadza hunter-gatherers.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontzer, Herman; Raichlen, David A; Wood, Brian M; Emery Thompson, Melissa; Racette, Susan B; Mabulla, Audax Z P; Marlowe, Frank W

2015-01-01

Studies of total energy expenditure, (TEE; kcal/day) among traditional populations have challenged current models relating habitual physical activity to daily energy requirements. Here, we examine the relationship between physical activity and TEE among traditional Hadza hunter-gatherers living in northern Tanzania. Hadza adults were studied at two camps, with minimal intervention so as to monitor energy expenditure and activity during normal daily life. We measured daily walking distance and walking speed using wearable GPS units for 41 adults. For a subset of 30 adults, we measured TEE using doubly labeled water, three indices of work load (foraging return rate, maternal status, and number of dependent children), and urinary biomarkers of metabolic activity and stress (8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, cortisol, and testosterone). Fat-free mass was the single strongest predictor of TEE among Hadza adults (r(2)  = 0.66, P < 0.001). Hadza men used greater daily walking distances and faster walking speeds compared with that of Hadza women, but neither sex nor any measure of physical activity or work load were correlated with TEE in analyses controlling for fat-free mass. Compared with developed, industrial populations, Hadza adults had similar TEE but elevated levels of metabolic stress as measured by 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine. Our results indicate that daily physical activity may not predict TEE within traditional hunter-gatherer populations like the Hadza. Instead, adults with high levels of habitual physical activity may adapt by reducing energy allocation to other physiological activity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mortality, fertility, and the OY ratio in a model hunter-gatherer system.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Andrew A

2014-06-01

An agent-based model (ABM) is used to explore how the ratio of old to young adults (the OY ratio) in a sample of dead individuals is related to aspects of mortality, fertility, and longevity experienced by the living population from which the sample was drawn. The ABM features representations of rules, behaviors, and constraints that affect person- and household-level decisions about marriage, reproduction, and infant mortality in hunter-gatherer systems. The demographic characteristics of the larger model system emerge through human-level interactions playing out in the context of "global" parameters that can be adjusted to produce a range of mortality and fertility conditions. Model data show a relationship between the OY ratios of living populations (the living OY ratio) and assemblages of dead individuals drawn from those populations (the dead OY ratio) that is consistent with that from empirically known ethnographic hunter-gatherer cases. The dead OY ratio is clearly related to the mean ages, mean adult mortality rates, and mean total fertility rates experienced by living populations in the model. Sample size exerts a strong effect on the accuracy with which the calculated dead OY ratio reflects the actual dead OY ratio of the complete assemblage. These results demonstrate that the dead OY ratio is a potentially useful metric for paleodemographic analysis of changes in mortality and mean age, and suggest that, in general, hunter-gatherer populations with higher mortality, higher fertility, and lower mean ages are characterized by lower dead OY ratios. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lessons Learnt From Hurricane Katrina.

Science.gov (United States)

Akundi, Murty

2008-03-01

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and its suburbs on Monday August 29^th, 2005. The previous Friday morning, August 26, the National Hurricane Center indicated that Katrina was a Category One Hurricane, which was expected to hit Florida. By Friday afternoon, it had changed its course, and neither the city nor Xavier University was prepared for this unexpected turn in the hurricane's path. The university had 6 to 7 ft of water in every building and Xavier was closed for four months. Students and university personnel that were unable to evacuate were trapped on campus and transportation out of the city became a logistical nightmare. Email and all electronic systems were unavailable for at least a month, and all cell phones with a 504 area code stopped working. For the Department, the most immediate problem was locating faculty and students. Xavier created a list of faculty and their new email addresses and began coordinating with faculty. Xavier created a web page with advice for students, and the chair of the department created a separate blog with contact information for students. The early lack of a clear method of communication made worse the confusion and dismay among the faculty on such issues as when the university would reopen, whether the faculty would be retained, whether they should seek temporary (or permanent) employment elsewhere, etc. With the vision and determination of President Dr. Francis, Xavier was able to reopen the university in January and ran a full academic year from January through August. Since Katrina, the university has asked every department and unit to prepare emergency preparedness plans. Each department has been asked to collect e-mail addresses (non-Xavier), cell phone numbers and out of town contact information. The University also established an emergency website to communicate. All faculty have been asked to prepare to teach classes electronically via Black board or the web. Questions remain about the longer term issues of

Fairy tales? Marion Jones, C.J. Hunter and the framing of doping in American newspapers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pfister, Gertrud Ursula; Gems, Gerald

2015-01-01

This article deals with the images, metaphors and narratives in the media coverage of doping in the United States. It presents a case study with a focus on Marion Jones, the most celebrated track athlete of the turn of the millennium, and her husband, C.J. Hunter, a shot put world champion...... under suspicion. At the same time, the 2000 Olympics can be considered a watershed in American anti-doping policy. The media portrayed Jones and Hunter as the Beauty and the Beast or Svengali and his victim, using a famous fairy tale and a well-known novel to capture attention, label the protagonists...

Hurricane disturbance benefits nesting American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus)

Science.gov (United States)

Simons, Theodore R.; Schulte, Shiloh A.

2016-01-01

Coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressure from human activity, introduced species, sea level rise, and storm activity. Hurricanes are a powerful destructive force, but can also renew coastal habitats. In 2003, Hurricane Isabel altered the barrier islands of North Carolina, flattening dunes and creating sand flats. American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) are large shorebirds that inhabit the coastal zone throughout the year. Alternative survival models were evaluated for 699 American Oystercatcher nests on North Core Banks and South Core Banks, North Carolina, USA, from 1999–2007. Nest survival on North Core Banks increased from 0.170 (SE = 0.002) to 0.772 (SE = 0.090) after the hurricane, with a carry-over effect lasting 2 years. A simple year effects model described nest survival on South Core Banks. Habitat had no effect on survival except when the overall rate of nest survival was at intermediate levels (0.300–0.600), when nests on open flats survived at a higher rate (0.600; SE = 0.112) than nests in dune habitat (0.243; SE = 0.094). Predator activity declined on North Core Banks after the hurricane and corresponded with an increase in nest survival. Periodic years with elevated nest survival may offset low annual productivity and contribute to the stability of American Oystercatcher populations.

Mass Media Use by College Students during Hurricane Threat

Science.gov (United States)

Piotrowski, Chris

2015-01-01

There is a dearth of studies on how college students prepare for the threat of natural disasters. This study surveyed college students' preferences in mass media use prior to an approaching hurricane. The convenience sample (n = 76) were from a university located in the hurricane-prone area of the central Gulf of Mexico coast. Interestingly,…

Generic Hurricane Extreme Seas State

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wehmeyer, Christof; Skourup, Jesper; Frigaard, Peter

2012-01-01

Extreme sea states, which the IEC 61400-3 (2008) standard requires for the ultimate limit state (ULS) analysis of offshore wind turbines are derived to establish the design basis for the conceptual layout of deep water floating offshore wind turbine foundations in hurricane affected areas....... Especially in the initial phase of floating foundation concept development, site specific metocean data are usually not available. As the areas of interest are furthermore not covered by any design standard, in terms of design sea states, generic and in engineering terms applicable environmental background...... data is required for a type specific conceptual design. ULS conditions for different return periods are developed, which can subsequently be applied in siteindependent analysis and conceptual design. Recordings provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), of hurricanes along...

Nonlinear analysis of the occurrence of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Rojo-Garibaldi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Hurricanes are complex systems that carry large amounts of energy. Their impact often produces natural disasters involving the loss of human lives and materials, such as infrastructure, valued at billions of US dollars. However, not everything about hurricanes is negative, as hurricanes are the main source of rainwater for the regions where they develop. This study shows a nonlinear analysis of the time series of the occurrence of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea obtained from 1749 to 2012. The construction of the hurricane time series was carried out based on the hurricane database of the North Atlantic basin hurricane database (HURDAT and the published historical information. The hurricane time series provides a unique historical record on information about ocean–atmosphere interactions. The Lyapunov exponent indicated that the system presented chaotic dynamics, and the spectral analysis and nonlinear analyses of the time series of the hurricanes showed chaotic edge behavior. One possible explanation for this chaotic edge is the individual chaotic behavior of hurricanes, either by category or individually regardless of their category and their behavior on a regular basis.

Nonlinear analysis of the occurrence of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Rojo-Garibaldi, Berenice; Salas-de-León, David Alberto; Adela Monreal-Gómez, María; Sánchez-Santillán, Norma Leticia; Salas-Monreal, David

2018-04-01

Hurricanes are complex systems that carry large amounts of energy. Their impact often produces natural disasters involving the loss of human lives and materials, such as infrastructure, valued at billions of US dollars. However, not everything about hurricanes is negative, as hurricanes are the main source of rainwater for the regions where they develop. This study shows a nonlinear analysis of the time series of the occurrence of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea obtained from 1749 to 2012. The construction of the hurricane time series was carried out based on the hurricane database of the North Atlantic basin hurricane database (HURDAT) and the published historical information. The hurricane time series provides a unique historical record on information about ocean-atmosphere interactions. The Lyapunov exponent indicated that the system presented chaotic dynamics, and the spectral analysis and nonlinear analyses of the time series of the hurricanes showed chaotic edge behavior. One possible explanation for this chaotic edge is the individual chaotic behavior of hurricanes, either by category or individually regardless of their category and their behavior on a regular basis.

Using data envelopment analysis to evaluate the performance of post-hurricane electric power restoration activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reilly, Allison C.; Davidson, Rachel A.; Nozick, Linda K.; Chen, Thomas; Guikema, Seth D.

2016-01-01

Post-hurricane restoration of electric power is attracting increasing scrutiny as customers’ tolerance for even short power interruptions decreases. At the peak, 8.5 million customers were without power after Hurricane Sandy and over 1 million customers were without power more than a week after the storm made landfall. Currently, restoration processes are typically evaluated on a case-by-case basis by a regional public service commission or similar body and lack systematic comparisons to other restoration experiences. This paper introduces a framework using data envelopment analysis to help evaluate post-hurricane restorations through comparison with the experiences of other companies in similar storms. The method accounts for the variable severity of the hurricanes themselves, so that companies are not penalized for outages that are long only because the hurricane that caused them was particularly severe. The analysis is illustrated through an application comparing 27 recent post-hurricane restoration experiences across 13 different electric power companies in the United States. The results of the study show some consistency in performance among individual utilities after the hurricanes they experience. The method could be applied to other types of infrastructure systems and other extreme events as well. - Highlights: • A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework is developed to compare post- hurricane power-outage restoration performance. • Hurricane severity is considered, so that utilities are not penalized for long outages caused by severe storms. • A case study using real data compares 27 recent post-hurricane restoration experiences. • The results of the study show utilities tend to perform consistently after the hurricanes they experience.

Retrieving hurricane wind speeds using cross-polarization C-band measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Zadelhoff, G.J.; Stoffelen, A.; Vachon, P.W.; Wolfe, J.; Horstmann, J.; Belmonte Rivas, M.

2014-01-01

Hurricane-force wind speeds can have a large societal impact and in this paper microwave C-band cross-polarized (VH) signals are investigated to assess if they can be used to derive extreme wind-speed conditions. European satellite scatterometers have excellent hurricane penetration capability at

Game meat consumption by hunters and their relatives: A probabilistic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sevillano Morales, Jesus; Moreno-Ortega, Alicia; Amaro Lopez, Manual Angel; Arenas Casas, Antonio; Cámara-Martos, Fernando; Moreno-Rojas, Rafael

2018-06-18

This study aimed to estimate the consumption of meat and products derived from hunting by the consumer population and, specifically, by hunters and their relatives. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on the frequency of consuming meat from the four most representative game species in Spain, two of big game, wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) and two of small game, rabbit (Oryctolagus cunulucus) and red partridge (Alectoris rufa), as well as of processed meat products (salami-type sausage) made from those big game species. The survey was carried out on 337 habitual consumers of these types of products (hunters and their relatives). The total mean game meat consumption, per capita in this population group, is 6.87 kg/person/year of meat and 8.57 kg/person/year if the processed meat products are also considered. Consumption of rabbit, red partridge, red deer and wild boar, individually, was 1.85, 0.82, 2.28 and 1.92 kg/person/year, respectively. It was observed that hunters generally registered a larger intake of game meat, this being statistically significant in the case of rabbit meat consumption. Using probabilistic methods, the meat consumption frequency distributions for each hunting species studied were estimated, as well as the products made from big game species and the total consumption both of meat by itself and that including the products made from it. The consumption frequency distributions were adjusted to exponential ones, verified by the test suitable for it according to Akaike Information Criterion, Bayesian Information Criterion, the Chi-Squared and Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics. In addition, the consumption percentiles of the different distributions were obtained. The latter could be a good tool when making nutrition or contaminant studies since they permit the assessment of exposure to the compound in question.

Hurricane Loss Analysis Based on the Population-Weighted Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzegorz Kakareko

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses different measures for quantifying regional hurricane loss. The main measures used in the past are normalized percentage loss and dollar value loss. In this research, we show that these measures are useful but may not properly reflect the size of the population influenced by hurricanes. A new loss measure is proposed that reflects the hurricane impact on people occupying the structure. For demonstrating the differences among these metrics, regional loss analysis was conducted for Florida. The regional analysis was composed of three modules: the hazard module stochastically modeled the wind occurrence in the region; the vulnerability module utilized vulnerability functions developed in this research to calculate the loss; and the financial module quantified the hurricane loss. In the financial module, we calculated three loss metrics for certain region. The first metric is the average annual loss (AAL which represents the expected loss per year in percentage. The second is the average annual dollar loss which represents the expected dollar amount loss per year. The third is the average annual population-weighted loss (AAPL—a new measure proposed in this research. Compared with the AAL, the AAPL reflects the number of people influenced by the hurricane. The advantages of the AAPL are illustrated using three different analysis examples: (1 conventional regional loss analysis, (2 mitigation potential analysis, and (3 forecasted future loss analysis due to the change in population.

Hide Tanning and Its Use in Taiga: The Case of the Orochen-Evenki Reindeer Herders and Hunters of Zabaikalye (East Siberia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donatas Brandišauskas

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This article documents the way in which the Orochen-Evenki hunters and herders in northern part of Zabaikalye tan hides and produce gear in the post-Soviet era. Here, I wish to present the argument that it is difficult to understand the reviving of hide tanning in remote villages and the taiga without understanding how hunters and herders in this region adapt to the unstable post-Soviet environment. I suggest that hunters and herders aim to maintain their autonomy from goods and resources imported from cities, and, in spending little effort connecting with state powers in this way, securing their lives from socio-economic constraints.

Hide Tanning and Its Use in Taiga: The Case of the Orochen-Evenki Reindeer Herders and Hunters of Zabaikalye (East Siberia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donatas Brandišauskas

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This article documents the way in which the Orochen-Evenki hunters and herders in northern part of Zabaikalye tan hides and produce gear in the post-Soviet era. Here, I wish to present the argument that it is difficult to understand the reviving of hide tanning in remote villages and the taiga without understanding how hunters and herders in this region adapt to the unstable post-Soviet environment. I suggest that hunters and herders aim to maintain their autonomy from goods and resources imported from cities, and, in spending little effort connecting with state powers in this way, securing their lives from socio-economic constraints.

Effect of Piper chaba Hunter, Piper sarmentosum Roxb. and Piper interruptum Opiz. on natural killer cell activity and lymphocyte proliferation.

Science.gov (United States)

Panthong, Sumalee; Itharat, Arunporn

2014-08-01

Immune system is the most important system ofhuman body. Thaifolk doctors have used some medicinal plants as an adaptogenic drug or immunomodulatory agent. Piper chaba Hunter, Piper sarmentosum Roxb. and Piper interruptum Opiz. are used by folk doctors to activate immune response in cancer patients. To investigate the effect on natural killer cell activity and on lymphocyte proliferation activity of water extract of P chaba Hunter P. sarmentosum Roxb. and P interruptum Opiz. MATERIAL ANDMETHOD: Plant materials were extracted by decoction method. All extracts were testedfor an immunomodulatory effect using PBMCs from twelve healthy donors by chromium release assay. Lymphocyte proliferation was also determined by 3H-thymidine uptake assay. The degree of activation was expressed as the stimulation index. The water extract of P chaba Hunter significantly increased lymphocyte proliferation at concentrations ofl ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 1 μg/ml, 5 μg/ml, 10 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml. P sarmentosum Roxb., and P interruptum Opiz. extracts at those concentrations significantly stimulated lymphocyteproliferation. P sarmentosum Roxb. extractsignificantly increased natural killer (NK) cell activity at a concentration of 100 μg/ml but P chaba Hunter and P interruptum Opiz. extracts did not significantly stimulate natural killer cell activity. P chaba Hunter, P interruptum Opiz. andP sarmentosum Roxb. have an immunomodulatory effect especially for P sarmentosum Roxb. extract which can activate both lymphocyte proliferation and NK cell activity.

Analyzing after-action reports from Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina: repeated, modified, and newly created recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Knox, Claire Connolly

2013-01-01

Thirteen years after Hurricane Andrew struck Homestead, FL, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Alabama, and southeastern Louisiana. Along with all its destruction, the term "catastrophic" was redefined. This article extends the literature on these hurricanes by providing a macrolevel analysis of The Governor's Disaster Planning and Response Review Committee Final Report from Hurricane Andrew and three federal after-action reports from Hurricane Katrina, as well as a cursory review of relevant literature. Results provide evidence that previous lessons have not been learned or institutionalized with many recommendations being repeated or modified. This article concludes with a discussion of these lessons, as well as new issues arising during Hurricane Katrina.

Coastal Sediment Distribution Patterns Following Category 5 Hurricanes (Irma and Maria): Pre and Post Hurricane High Resolution Multibeam Surveys of Eastern St. John, US Virgin Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, T. N.; Sawyer, D. E.; Russell, P.

2017-12-01

In August of 2017 we collected high resolution multibeam data of the seafloor in a large embayment in eastern St. John, US Virgin Islands (USVI). One month later, the eyewall of Category 5 Hurricane Irma directly hit St. John as one of the largest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic Ocean. A week later, Category 5 Hurricane Maria passed over St. John. While the full extent of the impacts are still being assessed, the island experienced a severe loss of vegetation, infrastructure, buildings, roads, and boats. We mobilized less than two months afterward to conduct a repeat survey of the same area on St. John. We then compared these data to document and quantify the sediment influx and movement that occurred in coastal embayments as a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The preliminary result of the intense rain, wind, and storm surge likely yields an event deposit that can be mapped and volumetrically quantified in the bays of eastern St. John. The results of this study allow for a detailed understanding of the post-hurricane pulse of sediment that enters the marine environment, the sediment flux seaward, and the morphological changes to the bay floor.

Learning from the mistakes of others: How female elk (Cervus elaphus) adjust behaviour with age to avoid hunters.

Science.gov (United States)

Thurfjell, Henrik; Ciuti, Simone; Boyce, Mark S

2017-01-01

In animal behaviour, there is a dichotomy between innate behaviours (e.g., temperament or personality traits) versus those behaviours shaped by learning. Innate personality traits are supposedly less evident in animals when confounded by learning acquired with experience through time. Learning might play a key role in the development and adoption of successful anti-predator strategies, and the related adaptation has the potential to make animals that are more experienced less vulnerable to predation. We carried out a study in a system involving a large herbivorous mammal, female elk, Cervus elaphus, and their primary predator, i.e., human hunters. Using fine-scale satellite telemetry relocations, we tested whether differences in behaviour depending on age were due solely to selection pressure imposed by human hunters, meaning that females that were more cautious were more likely to survive and become older. Or whether learning also was involved, meaning that females adjusted their behaviour as they aged. Our results indicated that both human selection and learning contributed to the adoption of more cautious behavioural strategies in older females. Whereas human selection of behavioural traits has been shown in our previous research, we here provide evidence of additive learning processes being responsible for shaping the behaviour of individuals in this population. Female elk are indeed almost invulnerable to human hunters when older than 9-10 y.o., confirming that experience contributes to their survival. Female elk monitored in our study showed individually changing behaviours and clear adaptation as they aged, such as reduced movement rates (decreased likelihood of encountering human hunters), and increased use of secure areas (forest and steeper terrain), especially when close to roads. We also found that elk adjusted behaviours depending on the type of threat (bow and arrow vs. rifle hunters). This fine-tuning by elk to avoid hunters, rather than just

Hunter disease eClinic: interactive, computer-assisted, problem-based approach to independent learning about a rare genetic disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moldovan Laura

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Computer-based teaching (CBT is a well-known educational device, but it has never been applied systematically to the teaching of a complex, rare, genetic disease, such as Hunter disease (MPS II. Aim To develop interactive teaching software functioning as a virtual clinic for the management of MPS II. Implementation and Results The Hunter disease eClinic, a self-training, user-friendly educational software program, available at the Lysosomal Storage Research Group (http://www.lysosomalstorageresearch.ca, was developed using the Adobe Flash multimedia platform. It was designed to function both to provide a realistic, interactive virtual clinic and instantaneous access to supporting literature on Hunter disease. The Hunter disease eClinic consists of an eBook and an eClinic. The eClinic is the interactive virtual clinic component of the software. Within an environment resembling a real clinic, the trainee is instructed to perform a medical history, to examine the patient, and to order appropriate investigation. The program provides clinical data derived from the management of actual patients with Hunter disease. The eBook provides instantaneous, electronic access to a vast collection of reference information to provide detailed background clinical and basic science, including relevant biochemistry, physiology, and genetics. In the eClinic, the trainee is presented with quizzes designed to provide immediate feedback on both trainee effectiveness and efficiency. User feedback on the merits of the program was collected at several seminars and formal clinical rounds at several medical centres, primarily in Canada. In addition, online usage statistics were documented for a 2-year period. Feedback was consistently positive and confirmed the practical benefit of the program. The online English-language version is accessed daily by users from all over the world; a Japanese translation of the program is also available. Conclusions The

Hunter disease eClinic: interactive, computer-assisted, problem-based approach to independent learning about a rare genetic disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Jasmi, Fatma; Moldovan, Laura; Clarke, Joe T R

2010-10-25

Computer-based teaching (CBT) is a well-known educational device, but it has never been applied systematically to the teaching of a complex, rare, genetic disease, such as Hunter disease (MPS II). To develop interactive teaching software functioning as a virtual clinic for the management of MPS II. The Hunter disease eClinic, a self-training, user-friendly educational software program, available at the Lysosomal Storage Research Group (http://www.lysosomalstorageresearch.ca), was developed using the Adobe Flash multimedia platform. It was designed to function both to provide a realistic, interactive virtual clinic and instantaneous access to supporting literature on Hunter disease. The Hunter disease eClinic consists of an eBook and an eClinic. The eClinic is the interactive virtual clinic component of the software. Within an environment resembling a real clinic, the trainee is instructed to perform a medical history, to examine the patient, and to order appropriate investigation. The program provides clinical data derived from the management of actual patients with Hunter disease. The eBook provides instantaneous, electronic access to a vast collection of reference information to provide detailed background clinical and basic science, including relevant biochemistry, physiology, and genetics. In the eClinic, the trainee is presented with quizzes designed to provide immediate feedback on both trainee effectiveness and efficiency. User feedback on the merits of the program was collected at several seminars and formal clinical rounds at several medical centres, primarily in Canada. In addition, online usage statistics were documented for a 2-year period. Feedback was consistently positive and confirmed the practical benefit of the program. The online English-language version is accessed daily by users from all over the world; a Japanese translation of the program is also available. The Hunter disease eClinic employs a CBT model providing the trainee with realistic

Learning from the mistakes of others: How female elk (Cervus elaphus adjust behaviour with age to avoid hunters.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrik Thurfjell

Full Text Available In animal behaviour, there is a dichotomy between innate behaviours (e.g., temperament or personality traits versus those behaviours shaped by learning. Innate personality traits are supposedly less evident in animals when confounded by learning acquired with experience through time. Learning might play a key role in the development and adoption of successful anti-predator strategies, and the related adaptation has the potential to make animals that are more experienced less vulnerable to predation. We carried out a study in a system involving a large herbivorous mammal, female elk, Cervus elaphus, and their primary predator, i.e., human hunters. Using fine-scale satellite telemetry relocations, we tested whether differences in behaviour depending on age were due solely to selection pressure imposed by human hunters, meaning that females that were more cautious were more likely to survive and become older. Or whether learning also was involved, meaning that females adjusted their behaviour as they aged. Our results indicated that both human selection and learning contributed to the adoption of more cautious behavioural strategies in older females. Whereas human selection of behavioural traits has been shown in our previous research, we here provide evidence of additive learning processes being responsible for shaping the behaviour of individuals in this population. Female elk are indeed almost invulnerable to human hunters when older than 9-10 y.o., confirming that experience contributes to their survival. Female elk monitored in our study showed individually changing behaviours and clear adaptation as they aged, such as reduced movement rates (decreased likelihood of encountering human hunters, and increased use of secure areas (forest and steeper terrain, especially when close to roads. We also found that elk adjusted behaviours depending on the type of threat (bow and arrow vs. rifle hunters. This fine-tuning by elk to avoid hunters, rather

The 2017 Hurricane Season: A Revolution in Geostationary Weather Satellite Imaging and Data Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Weiner, A. M.; Gundy, J.; Brown-Bertold, B.; Yates, H.; Dobler, J. T.

2017-12-01

Since their introduction, geostationary weather satellites have enabled us to track hurricane life-cycle movement from development to dissipation. During the 2017 hurricane season, the new GOES-16 geostationary satellite demonstrated just how far we have progressed technologically in geostationary satellite imaging, with hurricane imagery showing never-before-seen detail of the hurricane eye and eyewall structure and life cycle. In addition, new ground system technology, leveraging high-performance computing, delivered imagery and data to forecasters with unprecedented speed—and with updates as often as every 30 seconds. As additional satellites and new products become operational, forecasters will be able to track hurricanes with even greater accuracy and assist in aftermath evaluations. This presentation will present glimpses into the past, a look at the present, and a prediction for the future utilization of geostationary satellites with respect to all facets of hurricane support.

A Coordinated USGS Science Response to Hurricane Sandy

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, S.; Buxton, H. T.; Andersen, M.; Dean, T.; Focazio, M. J.; Haines, J.; Hainly, R. A.

2013-12-01

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy came ashore during a spring high tide on the New Jersey coastline, delivering hurricane-force winds, storm tides exceeding 19 feet, driving rain, and plummeting temperatures. Hurricane Sandy resulted in 72 direct fatalities in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States, and widespread and substantial physical, environmental, ecological, social, and economic impacts estimated at near $50 billion. Before the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, the USGS provided forecasts of potential coastal change; collected oblique aerial photography of pre-storm coastal morphology; deployed storm-surge sensors, rapid-deployment streamgages, wave sensors, and barometric pressure sensors; conducted Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) aerial topographic surveys of coastal areas; and issued a landslide alert for landslide prone areas. During the storm, Tidal Telemetry Networks provided real-time water-level information along the coast. Long-term networks and rapid-deployment real-time streamgages and water-quality monitors tracked river levels and changes in water quality. Immediately after the storm, the USGS serviced real-time instrumentation, retrieved data from over 140 storm-surge sensors, and collected other essential environmental data, including more than 830 high-water marks mapping the extent and elevation of the storm surge. Post-storm lidar surveys documented storm impacts to coastal barriers informing response and recovery and providing a new baseline to assess vulnerability of the reconfigured coast. The USGS Hazard Data Distribution System served storm-related information from many agencies on the Internet on a daily basis. Immediately following Hurricane Sandy the USGS developed a science plan, 'Meeting the Science Needs of the Nation in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy-A U.S. Geological Survey Science Plan for Support of Restoration and Recovery'. The plan will ensure continuing coordination of internal USGS activities as well as

Epidemic gasoline exposures following Hurricane Sandy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hong K; Takematsu, Mai; Biary, Rana; Williams, Nicholas; Hoffman, Robert S; Smith, Silas W

2013-12-01

Major adverse climatic events (MACEs) in heavily-populated areas can inflict severe damage to infrastructure, disrupting essential municipal and commercial services. Compromised health care delivery systems and limited utilities such as electricity, heating, potable water, sanitation, and housing, place populations in disaster areas at risk of toxic exposures. Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012 and caused severe infrastructure damage in heavily-populated areas. The prolonged electrical outage and damage to oil refineries caused a gasoline shortage and rationing unseen in the USA since the 1970s. This study explored gasoline exposures and clinical outcomes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Prospectively collected, regional poison control center (PCC) data regarding gasoline exposure cases from October 29, 2012 (hurricane landfall) through November 28, 2012 were reviewed and compared to the previous four years. The trends of gasoline exposures, exposure type, severity of clinical outcome, and hospital referral rates were assessed. Two-hundred and eighty-three gasoline exposures were identified, representing an 18 to 283-fold increase over the previous four years. The leading exposure route was siphoning (53.4%). Men comprised 83.0% of exposures; 91.9% were older than 20 years of age. Of 273 home-based calls, 88.7% were managed on site. Asymptomatic exposures occurred in 61.5% of the cases. However, minor and moderate toxic effects occurred in 12.4% and 3.5% of cases, respectively. Gastrointestinal (24.4%) and pulmonary (8.4%) symptoms predominated. No major outcomes or deaths were reported. Hurricane Sandy significantly increased gasoline exposures. While the majority of exposures were managed at home with minimum clinical toxicity, some patients experienced more severe symptoms. Disaster plans should incorporate public health messaging and regional PCCs for public health promotion and toxicological surveillance.

Long-term response of Caribbean palm forests to hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Ariel Lugo; J.L. Frangi

2016-01-01

We studied the response of Prestoea montana (Sierra Palm, hereafter Palm) brakes and a Palm floodplain forest to hurricanes in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. Over a span of 78 years, 3 hurricanes passed over the study sites for which we have 64 years of measurements for Palm brakes and 20 years for the Palm floodplain forest. For each stand, species...

Levels and sources of forest fire prevention knowledge of California hunters

Science.gov (United States)

William S. Folkman

1963-01-01

Males 30-50 years of age from the smaller urban centers (under 25,000 population) make up the bulk of the California hunter population. They are mainly from the skilled-semiskilled and professional-managerial occupations. Their level of knowledge about forest fire prevention is generally high, but their knowledge is weak in some pertinent areas. Most frequently...

Satellite Remote Sensing of Ocean Winds, Surface Waves and Surface Currents during the Hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, G.; Perrie, W. A.; Liu, G.; Zhang, L.

2017-12-01

Hurricanes over the ocean have been observed by spaceborne aperture radar (SAR) since the first SAR images were available in 1978. SAR has high spatial resolution (about 1 km), relatively large coverage and capability for observations during almost all-weather, day-and-night conditions. In this study, seven C-band RADARSAT-2 dual-polarized (VV and VH) ScanSAR wide images from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Hurricane Watch Program in 2017 are collected over five hurricanes: Harvey, Irma, Maria, Nate, and Ophelia. We retrieve the ocean winds by applying our C-band Cross-Polarization Coupled-Parameters Ocean (C-3PO) wind retrieval model [Zhang et al., 2017, IEEE TGRS] to the SAR images. Ocean waves are estimated by applying a relationship based on the fetch- and duration-limited nature of wave growth inside hurricanes [Hwang et al., 2016; 2017, J. Phys. Ocean.]. We estimate the ocean surface currents using the Doppler Shift extracted from VV-polarized SAR images [Kang et al., 2016, IEEE TGRS]. C-3PO model is based on theoretical analysis of ocean surface waves and SAR microwave backscatter. Based on the retrieved ocean winds, we estimate the hurricane center locations, maxima wind speeds, and radii of the five hurricanes by adopting the SHEW model (Symmetric Hurricane Estimates for Wind) by Zhang et al. [2017, IEEE TGRS]. Thus, we investigate possible relations between hurricane structures and intensities, and especially some possible effects of the asymmetrical characteristics on changes in the hurricane intensities, such as the eyewall replacement cycle. The three SAR images of Ophelia include the north coast of Ireland and east coast of Scotland allowing study of ocean surface currents respond to the hurricane. A system of methods capable of observing marine winds, surface waves, and surface currents from satellites is of value, even if these data are only available in near real-time or from SAR-related satellite images. Insight into high resolution ocean winds

Favorable ecological circumstances promote life expectancy in chimpanzees similar to that of human hunter-gatherers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Brian M; Watts, David P; Mitani, John C; Langergraber, Kevin E

2017-04-01

Demographic data on wild chimpanzees are crucial for understanding the evolution of chimpanzee and hominin life histories, but most data come from populations affected by disease outbreaks and anthropogenic disturbance. We present survivorship data from a relatively undisturbed and exceptionally large community of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda. We monitored births, deaths, immigrations, and emigrations in the community between 1995 and 2016. Using known and estimated ages, we calculated survivorship curves for the whole community, for males and females separately, and for individuals ≤2 years old when identified. We used a novel method to address age estimation error by calculating stochastic survivorship curves. We compared Ngogo life expectancy, survivorship, and mortality rates to those from other chimpanzee communities and human hunter-gatherers. Life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined was 32.8 years, far exceeding estimates of chimpanzee life expectancy in other communities, and falling within the range of human hunter-gatherers (i.e., 27-37 years). Overall, the pattern of survivorship at Ngogo was more similar to that of human hunter-gatherers than to other chimpanzee communities. Maximum lifespan for the Ngogo chimpanzees, however, was similar to that reported at other chimpanzee research sites and was less than that of human-hunter gatherers. The absence of predation by large carnivores may contribute to some of the higher survivorship at Ngogo, but this cannot explain the much higher survivorship at Ngogo than at Kanyawara, another chimpanzee community in the same forest, which also lacks large carnivores. Higher survivorship at Ngogo appears to be an adaptive response to a food supply that is more abundant and varies less than that of Kanyawara. Future analyses of hominin life history evolution should take these results into account. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

The seed hunter in het spoor van Vavilov (interview met C. Kik)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zanderink, R.; Kik, C.

2013-01-01

Er moet voor een veredelaar een grote variatie aan plantmateriaal aanwezig zijn om uit te kunnen putten zodat onze gewassen, die vaak bestaan uit monoculturen, voor de toekomst veiliggesteld worden. Het vinden van die variatie is het werk van seed hunters of zadenverzamelaars. Eén van die seed

The hunter a scientific novel

CERN Document Server

Genta, Giancarlo

2013-01-01

The 24th century: humankind has become a spacefaring civilization, colonizing the solar system and beyond. While no alien forms of life have yet been encountered in this expansion into space, colonists suddenly encounter machines of alien origin - huge robots able to reproduce themselves.  Called replicators by the colonists, they seem to have but a single goal: to destroy all organic life they come in contact with. Since the colonial governments have no means to fight this menace directly, they instead promise huge rewards to whoever destroys a replicator. As a result, the frontier attracts a new kind of adventurers, the Hunters, who work to find and destroy the replicators. Mike Edwards, a skilled young maintenance technician and robotics expert at a faraway outpost, will not only become one of them - but be the very first one to unlock the secret behind the replicators’ origin and mission.   The scientific and technical aspects underlying the plot - in particular space travel, robotics and self-replica...

Spatial Ecology of Puerto Rican Boas (Epicrates inornatus) in a Hurricane Impacted Forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph M. Wunderle Jr.; Javier E. Mercado Bernard Parresol Esteban Terranova 2

2004-01-01

Spatial ecology of Puerto Rican boas (Epicrates inornatus, Boidae) was studied with radiotelemetry in a subtropical wet forest recovering from a major hurricane (7–9 yr previous) when Hurricane Georges struck. Different boas were studied during three periods relative to Hurricane Georges: before only; before and after; and after only. Mean daily movement per month...

Shooting history and presence of high-frequency hearing impairment in swedish hunters: A cross-sectional internet-based observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Honeth, Louise; Ström, Peter; Ploner, Alexander; Bagger-Sjöbäck, Dan; Rosenhall, Ulf; Nyrén, Olof

2015-01-01

The aim of this cross-sectional study among Swedish hunters was to examine the association between shooting history and presence of high-frequency hearing impairment (HFHI). All hunters registered with an e-mail address in the membership roster of the Swedish Hunters' Association were invited via e-mail to a secure website with a questionnaire and an Internet-based audiometry test. Associations, expressed as prevalence ratio (PR), were multivariately modelled using Poisson regression. The questionnaire was answered by 1771 hunters (age 11-91 years), and 202 of them also completed the audiometry test. Subjective severe hearing loss was reported by 195/1771 (11%), while 23/202 (11%) exhibited HFHI upon testing with Internet-based audiometry. As many as 328/1771 (19%) had never used hearing protection during hunting. In the preceding 5 years, 785/1771 (45%), had fired >6 unprotected gunshots with hunting rifle calibers. The adjusted PR of HFHI when reporting 1-6 such shots, relative to 0, was 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.1; P = 0.02]. We could not verify any excessive HFHI prevalence among 89 hunters reporting unprotected exposure to such gunshot noise >6 times. Nor did the total number of reported rifle shots seem to matter. These findings support the notion of a wide variation in individual susceptibility to impulse noise; that significant sound energy, corresponding to unprotected noise from hunting rifle calibers, seems to be required; that susceptible individuals may sustain irreversible damage to the inner ear from just one or a few shots; and that use of hearing protection should be encouraged from the first shot with such weapons.

Hurricane Risk Variability along the Gulf of Mexico Coastline

Science.gov (United States)

Trepanier, Jill C.; Ellis, Kelsey N.; Tucker, Clay S.

2015-01-01

Hurricane risk characteristics are examined across the U. S. Gulf of Mexico coastline using a hexagonal tessellation. Using an extreme value model, parameters are collected representing the rate or λ (frequency), the scale or σ (range), and the shape or ξ (intensity) of the extreme wind distribution. These latent parameters and the 30-year return level are visualized across the grid. The greatest 30-year return levels are located toward the center of the Gulf of Mexico, and for inland locations, along the borders of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Using a geographically weighted regression model, the relationship of these parameters to sea surface temperature (SST) is found to assess sensitivity to change. It is shown that as SSTs increase near the coast, the frequency of hurricanes in these grids decrease significantly. This reinforces the importance of SST in areas of likely tropical cyclogenesis in determining the number of hurricanes near the coast, along with SSTs along the lifespan of the storm, rather than simply local SST. The range of hurricane wind speeds experienced near Florida is shown to increase with increasing SSTs (insignificant), suggesting that increased temperatures may allow hurricanes to maintain their strength as they pass over the Florida peninsula. The modifiable areal unit problem is assessed using multiple grid sizes. Moran’s I and the local statistic G are calculated to examine spatial autocorrelation in the parameters. This research opens up future questions regarding rapid intensification and decay close to the coast and the relationship to changing SSTs. PMID:25767885

Hurricane risk variability along the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

Science.gov (United States)

Trepanier, Jill C; Ellis, Kelsey N; Tucker, Clay S

2015-01-01

Hurricane risk characteristics are examined across the U. S. Gulf of Mexico coastline using a hexagonal tessellation. Using an extreme value model, parameters are collected representing the rate or λ (frequency), the scale or σ (range), and the shape or ξ (intensity) of the extreme wind distribution. These latent parameters and the 30-year return level are visualized across the grid. The greatest 30-year return levels are located toward the center of the Gulf of Mexico, and for inland locations, along the borders of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Using a geographically weighted regression model, the relationship of these parameters to sea surface temperature (SST) is found to assess sensitivity to change. It is shown that as SSTs increase near the coast, the frequency of hurricanes in these grids decrease significantly. This reinforces the importance of SST in areas of likely tropical cyclogenesis in determining the number of hurricanes near the coast, along with SSTs along the lifespan of the storm, rather than simply local SST. The range of hurricane wind speeds experienced near Florida is shown to increase with increasing SSTs (insignificant), suggesting that increased temperatures may allow hurricanes to maintain their strength as they pass over the Florida peninsula. The modifiable areal unit problem is assessed using multiple grid sizes. Moran's I and the local statistic G are calculated to examine spatial autocorrelation in the parameters. This research opens up future questions regarding rapid intensification and decay close to the coast and the relationship to changing SSTs.

Infrasonic ray tracing applied to mesoscale atmospheric structures: refraction by hurricanes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedard, Alfred J; Jones, R Michael

2013-11-01

A ray-tracing program is used to estimate the refraction of infrasound by the temperature structure of the atmosphere and by hurricanes represented by a Rankine-combined vortex wind plus a temperature perturbation. Refraction by the hurricane winds is significant, giving rise to regions of focusing, defocusing, and virtual sources. The refraction of infrasound by the temperature anomaly associated with a hurricane is small, probably no larger than that from uncertainties in the wind field. The results are pertinent to interpreting ocean wave generated infrasound in the vicinities of tropical cyclones.

Hurricane Mitch: Peak Discharge for Selected River Reachesin Honduras

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Mark E.; Phillips, Jeffrey V.; Spahr, Norman E.

2002-01-01

Hurricane Mitch began as a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea on 22 October 1998. By 26 October, Mitch had strengthened to a Category 5 storm as defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (National Climate Data Center, 1999a), and on 27 October was threatening the northern coast of Honduras (fig. 1). After making landfall 2 days later (29 October), the storm drifted south and west across Honduras, wreaking destruction throughout the country before reaching the Guatemalan border on 31 October. According to the National Climate Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Climate Data Center, 1999b), Hurricane Mitch ranks among the five strongest storms on record in the Atlantic Basin in terms of its sustained winds, barometric pressure, and duration. Hurricane Mitch also was one of the worst Atlantic storms in terms of loss of life and property. The regionwide death toll was estimated to be more than 9,000; thousands of people were reported missing. Economic losses in the region were more than $7.5 billion (U.S. Agency for International Development, 1999). Honduras suffered the most widespread devastation during the storm. More than 5,000 deaths, and economic losses of more than $4 billion, were reported by the Government of Honduras. Honduran officials estimated that Hurricane Mitch destroyed 50 years of economic development. In addition to the human and economic losses, intense flooding and landslides scarred the Honduran landscape - hydrologic and geomorphologic processes throughout the country likely will be affected for many years. As part of the U.S. Government's response to the disaster, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted post-flood measurements of peak discharge at 16 river sites throughout Honduras (fig. 2). Such measurements, termed 'indirect' measurements, are used to determine peak flows when direct measurements (using current meters or dye studies, for example) cannot be made. Indirect measurements of

Effects of Hurricane Hugo: Mental Health Workers and Community Members.

Science.gov (United States)

Muzekari, Louis H.; And Others

This paper reports the effects of Hurricane Hugo on mental health workers and indigenous community members. The response and perceptions of mental health staff from the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (Go Teams) from areas unaffected by the hurricane were compared and contrasted with those of a subsequent Hugo Outreach Support Team…

Hurricane Katrina - Murphy Oil Spill Boundary

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, causing widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast of the United States. EPA emergency response personnel worked...

Biogeochemical Impact of Hurricane Harvey on Texas Coastal Lagoons

Science.gov (United States)

Montagna, P.; Hu, X.; Walker, L.; Wetz, M.

2017-12-01

Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday 25 August 2017 as a Category 4 hurricane, which is the strongest hurricane to hit the middle Texas coast since Carla in 1961. After the wind storm and storm surge, coastal flooding occurred due to the storm lingering over Texas for four more days, dumping as much as 50" of rain near Houston, producing 1:1000 year flood event. The Texas coast is characterized by lagoons behind barrier islands, and their ecology and biogeochemistry are strongly influenced by coastal hydrology. The ensuing inflow event replaced brackish water with fresh water that was high in inorganic an organic matter, significantly enhancing respiration of coastal blue carbon, and dissolved oxygen went to zero for a long period of time. Recovery will likely take months or nearly one year.

Shifts in biomass and productivity for a subtropical dry forest in response to simulated elevated hurricane disturbances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, Jennifer A.; Van Bloem, Skip J.; Larocque, Guy R.; Shugart, Herman H.

2017-01-01

Caribbean tropical forests are subject to hurricane disturbances of great variability. In addition to natural storm incongruity, climate change can alter storm formation, duration, frequency, and intensity. This model -based investigation assessed the impacts of multiple storms of different intensities and occurrence frequencies on the long-term dynamics of subtropical dry forests in Puerto Rico. Using the previously validated individual-based gap model ZELIG-TROP, we developed a new hurricane damage routine and parameterized it with site- and species-specific hurricane effects. A baseline case with the reconstructed historical hurricane regime represented the control condition. Ten treatment cases, reflecting plausible shifts in hurricane regimes, manipulated both hurricane return time (i.e. frequency) and hurricane intensity. The treatment-related change in carbon storage and fluxes were reported as changes in aboveground forest biomass (AGB), net primary productivity (NPP), and in the aboveground carbon partitioning components, or annual carbon accumulation (ACA). Increasing the frequency of hurricanes decreased aboveground biomass by between 5% and 39%, and increased NPP between 32% and 50%. Decadal-scale biomass fluctuations were damped relative to the control. In contrast, increasing hurricane intensity did not create a large shift in the long-term average forest structure, NPP, or ACA from that of historical hurricane regimes, but produced large fluctuations in biomass. Decreasing both the hurricane intensity and frequency by 50% produced the highest values of biomass and NPP. For the control scenario and with increased hurricane intensity, ACA was negative, which indicated that the aboveground forest components acted as a carbon source. However, with an increase in the frequency of storms or decreased storms, the total ACA was positive due to shifts in leaf production, annual litterfall, and coarse woody debris inputs, indicating a carbon sink into the

Hurricane Harvey Building Damage Assessment Using UAV Data

Science.gov (United States)

Yeom, J.; Jung, J.; Chang, A.; Choi, I.

2017-12-01

Hurricane Harvey which was extremely destructive major hurricane struck southern Texas, U.S.A on August 25, causing catastrophic flooding and storm damages. We visited Rockport suffered severe building destruction and conducted UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) surveying for building damage assessment. UAV provides very high resolution images compared with traditional remote sensing data. In addition, prompt and cost-effective damage assessment can be performed regardless of several limitations in other remote sensing platforms such as revisit interval of satellite platforms, complicated flight plan in aerial surveying, and cloud amounts. In this study, UAV flight and GPS surveying were conducted two weeks after hurricane damage to generate an orthomosaic image and a DEM (Digital Elevation Model). 3D region growing scheme has been proposed to quantitatively estimate building damages considering building debris' elevation change and spectral difference. The result showed that the proposed method can be used for high definition building damage assessment in a time- and cost-effective way.

Hindcasting of Storm Surges, Currents, and Waves at Lower Delaware Bay during Hurricane Isabel

Science.gov (United States)

Salehi, M.

2017-12-01

Hurricanes are a major threat to coastal communities and infrastructures including nuclear power plants located in low-lying coastal zones. In response, their sensitive elements should be protected by smart design to withstand against drastic impact of such natural phenomena. Accurate and reliable estimate of hurricane attributes is the first step to that effort. Numerical models have extensively grown over the past few years and are effective tools in modeling large scale natural events such as hurricane. The impact of low probability hurricanes on the lower Delaware Bay is investigated using dynamically coupled meteorological, hydrodynamic, and wave components of Delft3D software. Efforts are made to significantly reduce the computational overburden of performing such analysis for the industry, yet keeping the same level of accuracy at the area of study (AOS). The model is comprised of overall and nested domains. The overall model domain includes portion of Atlantic Ocean, Delaware, and Chesapeake bays. The nested model domain includes Delaware Bay, its floodplain, and portion of the continental shelf. This study is portion of a larger modeling effort to study the impact of low probability hurricanes on sensitive infrastructures located at the coastal zones prone to hurricane activity. The AOS is located on the east bank of Delaware Bay almost 16 miles upstream of its mouth. Model generated wind speed, significant wave height, water surface elevation, and current are calibrated for hurricane Isabel (2003). The model calibration results agreed reasonably well with field observations. Furthermore, sensitivity of surge and wave responses to various hurricane parameters was tested. In line with findings from other researchers, accuracy of wind field played a major role in hindcasting the hurricane attributes.

The Importance of Hurricane Research to Life, Property, the Economy, and National Security.

Science.gov (United States)

Busalacchi, A. J.

2017-12-01

The devastating 2017 Atlantic hurricane season has brought into stark relief how much hurricane forecasts have improved - and how important it is to make them even better. Whereas the error in 48-hour track forecasts has been reduced by more than half, according to the National Hurricane Center, intensity forecasts remain challenging, especially with storms such as Harvey that strengthened from a tropical depression to a Category 4 hurricane in less than three days. The unusually active season, with Hurricane Irma sustaining 185-mph winds for a record 36 hours and two Atlantic hurricanes reaching 150-mph winds simultaneously for the first time, also highlighted what we do, and do not, know about how tropical cyclones will change as the climate warms. The extraordinary toll of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria - which may ultimately be responsible for hundreds of deaths and an estimated $200 billion or more in damages - underscores why investments into improved forecasting must be a national priority. At NCAR and UCAR, scientists are working with their colleagues at federal agencies, the private sector, and the university community to advance our understanding of these deadly storms. Among their many projects, NCAR researchers are making experimental tropical cyclone forecasts using an innovative Earth system model that allows for variable resolution. We are working with NOAA to issue flooding, inundation, and streamflow forecasts for areas hit by hurricanes, and we have used extremely high-resolution regional models to simulate successfully the rapid hurricane intensification that has proved so difficult to predict. We are assessing ways to better predict the damage potential of tropical cyclones by looking beyond wind speed to consider such important factors as the size and forward motion of the storm. On the important question of climate change, scientists have experimented with running coupled climate models at a high enough resolution to spin up a hurricane

Hurricane Wind Speed Estimation Using WindSat 6 and 10 GHz Brightness Temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Zhang

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The realistic and accurate estimation of hurricane intensity is highly desired in many scientific and operational applications. With the advance of passive microwave polarimetry, an alternative opportunity for retrieving wind speed in hurricanes has become available. A wind speed retrieval algorithm for wind speeds above 20 m/s in hurricanes has been developed by using the 6.8 and 10.7 GHz vertically and horizontally polarized brightness temperatures of WindSat. The WindSat measurements for 15 category 4 and category 5 hurricanes from 2003 to 2010 and the corresponding H*wind analysis data are used to develop and validate the retrieval model. In addition, the retrieved wind speeds are also compared to the Remote Sensing Systems (RSS global all-weather product and stepped-frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR measurements. The statistical results show that the mean bias and the overall root-mean-square (RMS difference of the retrieved wind speeds with respect to the H*wind analysis data are 0.04 and 2.75 m/s, respectively, which provides an encouraging result for retrieving hurricane wind speeds over the ocean surface. The retrieved wind speeds show good agreement with the SFMR measurements. Two case studies demonstrate that the mean bias and RMS difference are 0.79 m/s and 1.79 m/s for hurricane Rita-1 and 0.63 m/s and 2.38 m/s for hurricane Rita-2, respectively. In general, the wind speed retrieval accuracy of the new model in hurricanes ranges from 2.0 m/s in light rain to 3.9 m/s in heavy rain.

An Organic Molecular Approach towards the Reconstruction of Past Hurricane Activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammers, J. M.; van Soelen, E.; Liebrand, D.; Donders, T.; Reichart, G. J.

2009-01-01

The relationship between global warming and hurricane activity is the focus of considerable interest and intensive research. The available instrumental record, however, is still too short to document and understand the long term climatic controls on hurricane generation. Only by extending the

Settlement-Size Scaling among Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems in the New World.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W Randall Haas

Full Text Available Settlement size predicts extreme variation in the rates and magnitudes of many social and ecological processes in human societies. Yet, the factors that drive human settlement-size variation remain poorly understood. Size variation among economically integrated settlements tends to be heavy tailed such that the smallest settlements are extremely common and the largest settlements extremely large and rare. The upper tail of this size distribution is often formalized mathematically as a power-law function. Explanations for this scaling structure in human settlement systems tend to emphasize complex socioeconomic processes including agriculture, manufacturing, and warfare-behaviors that tend to differentially nucleate and disperse populations hierarchically among settlements. But, the degree to which heavy-tailed settlement-size variation requires such complex behaviors remains unclear. By examining the settlement patterns of eight prehistoric New World hunter-gatherer settlement systems spanning three distinct environmental contexts, this analysis explores the degree to which heavy-tailed settlement-size scaling depends on the aforementioned socioeconomic complexities. Surprisingly, the analysis finds that power-law models offer plausible and parsimonious statistical descriptions of prehistoric hunter-gatherer settlement-size variation. This finding reveals that incipient forms of hierarchical settlement structure may have preceded socioeconomic complexity in human societies and points to a need for additional research to explicate how mobile foragers came to exhibit settlement patterns that are more commonly associated with hierarchical organization. We propose that hunter-gatherer mobility with preferential attachment to previously occupied locations may account for the observed structure in site-size variation.

Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Hunter Syndrome for clinicians in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Giugliani

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This review aims to provide clinicians in Latin America with the most current information on the clinical aspects, diagnosis, and management of Hunter syndrome, a serious and progressive disease for which specific treatment is available. Hunter syndrome is a genetic disorder where iduronate-2-sulfatase (I2S, an enzyme that degrades glycosaminoglycans, is absent or deficient. Clinical manifestations vary widely in severity and involve multiple organs and tissues. An attenuated and a severe phenotype are recognized depending on the degree of cognitive impairment. Early diagnosis is vital for disease management. Clinical signs common to children with Hunter syndrome include inguinal hernia, frequent ear and respiratory infections, facial dysmorphisms, macrocephaly, bone dysplasia, short stature, sleep apnea, and behavior problems. Diagnosis is based on screening urinary glycosaminoglycans and confirmation by measuring I2S activity and analyzing I2S gene mutations. Idursulfase (recombinant I2S (Elaprase®, Shire enzyme replacement therapy (ERT, designed to address the underlying enzyme deficiency, is approved treatment and improves walking capacity and respiratory function, and reduces spleen and liver size and urinary glycosaminoglycan levels. Additional measures, responding to the multi-organ manifestations, such as abdominal/inguinal hernia repair, carpal tunnel surgery, and cardiac valve replacement, should also be considered. Investigational treatment options such as intrathecal ERT are active areas of research, and bone marrow transplantation is in clinical practice. Communication among care providers, social workers, patients and families is essential to inform and guide their decisions, establish realistic expectations, and assess patients' responses.

Mental health outcomes among adults in Galveston and Chambers counties after Hurricane Ike.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggiero, Kenneth J; Gros, Kirstin; McCauley, Jenna L; Resnick, Heidi S; Morgan, Mark; Kilpatrick, Dean G; Muzzy, Wendy; Acierno, Ron

2012-03-01

  To examine the mental health effects of Hurricane Ike, the third costliest hurricane in US history, which devastated the upper Texas coast in September 2008.   Structured telephone interviews assessing immediate effects of Hurricane Ike (damage, loss, displacement) and mental health diagnoses were administered via random digit-dial methods to a household probability sample of 255 Hurricane Ike-affected adults in Galveston and Chambers counties.   Three-fourths of respondents evacuated the area because of Hurricane Ike and nearly 40% were displaced for at least one week. Postdisaster mental health prevalence estimates were 5.9% for posttraumatic stress disorder, 4.5% for major depressive episode, and 9.3% for generalized anxiety disorder. Bivariate analyses suggested that peritraumatic indicators of hurricane exposure severity-such as lack of adequate clean clothing, electricity, food, money, transportation, or water for at least one week-were most consistently associated with mental health problems.   The significant contribution of factors such as loss of housing, financial means, clothing, food, and water to the development and/or maintenance of negative mental health consequences highlights the importance of systemic postdisaster intervention resources targeted to meet basic needs in the postdisaster period.

Hurricanes and coral bleaching linked to changes in coral recruitment in Tobago.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallela, J; Crabbe, M J C

2009-10-01

Knowledge of coral recruitment patterns helps us understand how reefs react following major disturbances and provides us with an early warning system for predicting future reef health problems. We have reconstructed and interpreted historical and modern-day recruitment patterns, using a combination of growth modelling and in situ recruitment experiments, in order to understand how hurricanes, storms and bleaching events have influenced coral recruitment on the Caribbean coastline of Tobago. Whilst Tobago does not lie within the main hurricane belt results indicate that regional hurricane events negatively impact coral recruitment patterns in the Southern Caribbean. In years following hurricanes, tropical storms and bleaching events, coral recruitment was reduced when compared to normal years (p=0.016). Following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and the 2005-2006 bleaching event, coral recruitment was markedly limited with only 2% (n=6) of colonies estimated to have recruited during 2006 and 2007. Our experimental results indicate that despite multiple large-scale disturbances corals are still recruiting on Tobago's marginal reef systems, albeit in low numbers.

Validation of a probabilistic model for hurricane insurance loss projections in Florida

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinelli, J.-P.; Gurley, K.R.; Subramanian, C.S.; Hamid, S.S.; Pita, G.L.

2008-01-01

The Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model is one of the first public models accessible for scrutiny to the scientific community, incorporating state of the art techniques in hurricane and vulnerability modeling. The model was developed for Florida, and is applicable to other hurricane-prone regions where construction practice is similar. The 2004 hurricane season produced substantial losses in Florida, and provided the means to validate and calibrate this model against actual claim data. This paper presents the predicted losses for several insurance portfolios corresponding to hurricanes Andrew, Charley, and Frances. The predictions are validated against the actual claim data. Physical damage predictions for external building components are also compared to observed damage. The analyses show that the predictive capabilities of the model were substantially improved after the calibration against the 2004 data. The methodology also shows that the predictive capabilities of the model could be enhanced if insurance companies report more detailed information about the structures they insure and the types of damage they suffer. This model can be a powerful tool for the study of risk reduction strategies

Dual-Polarization, Multi-Frequency Antenna Array for use with Hurricane Imaging Radiometer

Science.gov (United States)

Little, John

2013-01-01

Advancements in common aperture antenna technology were employed to utilize its proprietary genetic algorithmbased modeling tools in an effort to develop, build, and test a dual-polarization array for Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) applications. Final program results demonstrate the ability to achieve a lightweight, thin, higher-gain aperture that covers the desired spectral band. NASA employs various passive microwave and millimeter-wave instruments, such as spectral radiometers, for a range of remote sensing applications, from measurements of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, to cosmic background emission. These instruments such as the HIRAD, SFMR (Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer), and LRR (Lightweight Rainfall Radiometer), provide unique data accumulation capabilities for observing sea surface wind, temperature, and rainfall, and significantly enhance the understanding and predictability of hurricane intensity. These microwave instruments require extremely efficient wideband or multiband antennas in order to conserve space on the airborne platform. In addition, the thickness and weight of the antenna arrays is of paramount importance in reducing platform drag, permitting greater time on station. Current sensors are often heavy, single- polarization, or limited in frequency coverage. The ideal wideband antenna will have reduced size, weight, and profile (a conformal construct) without sacrificing optimum performance. The technology applied to this new HIRAD array will allow NASA, NOAA, and other users to gather information related to hurricanes and other tropical storms more cost effectively without sacrificing sensor performance or the aircraft time on station. The results of the initial analysis and numerical design indicated strong potential for an antenna array that would satisfy all of the design requirements for a replacement HIRAD array. Multiple common aperture antenna methodologies were employed to achieve exceptional gain over the entire

A look into hurricane Maria rapid intensification using Meteo-France's Arome-Antilles model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilon, R.; Faure, G.; Dupont, T.; Chauvin, F.

2017-12-01

Category 5 Hurricane Maria created a string of humanitarian crises. It caused billions of dollars of damage over the Caribbean but is also one of the worst natural disaster in Dominica.The hurricane took approximately 29 hours to strengthen from a tropical storm to a major category 5 hurricane. Here we present real-time forecasts of high resolution (2.5 km) Arome-Antilles regional model forced by real-time ECMWF's Integrated Forecasting System. The model was able to relatively represent well the rapid intensification of the hurricane whether it was in timing or in location of the eye and strength of its eye wall.We will present an outline of results.

Hydrologic aspects of Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina, September 1989

Science.gov (United States)

Schuck-Kolben, R. E.; Cherry, R.N.

1995-01-01

Hurricane Hugo, with winds in excess of 135 miles per hour(mi/h), made landfall near Charleston, S.C., early on the morning of September 22, 1989. It was the most destructive hurricane ever experienced in South Carolina. The storm caused 35 deaths and $7 billion in property damage in South Carolina (Purvis, 1990).This report documents some hydrologic effects of Hurricane Hugo along the South Carolina coast. The report includes maps showing storm-tide stage and profiles of the maximum storm-tide stages along the outer coast. Storm-tide stage frequency information is presented and changes in beach morphology and water quality of coastal streams resulting from the storm are described.

Spectral Growth of Hurricane Generated Seas

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Finlayson, William

1997-01-01

The characteristics of a growing sea during hurricanes are significantly different from those observed in ordinary storms since the source of energy generating waves is moving and the rate of change...

Effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana black bear habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Joseph D.; Murrow, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) is comprised of 3 subpopulations, each being small, geographically isolated, and vulnerable to extinction. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts in 2005, potentially altering habitat occupied by this federally threatened subspecies. We used data collected on radio-telemetered bears from 1993 to 1995 and pre-hurricane landscape data to develop a habitat model based on the Mahalanobis distance (D2) statistic. We then applied that model to post-hurricane landscape data where the telemetry data were collected (i.e., occupied study area) and where bear range expansion might occur (i.e., unoccupied study area) to quantify habitat loss or gain. The D2 model indicated that quality bear habitat was associated with areas of high mast-producing forest density, low water body density, and moderate forest patchiness. Cross-validation and testing on an independent data set in central Louisiana indicated that prediction and transferability of the model were good. Suitable bear habitat decreased from 348 to 345 km2 (0.9%) within the occupied study area and decreased from 34,383 to 33,891 km2 (1.4%) in the unoccupied study area following the hurricanes. Our analysis indicated that bear habitat was not significantly degraded by the hurricanes, although changes that could have occurred on a microhabitat level would be more difficult to detect at the resolution we used. We suggest that managers continue to monitor the possible long-term effects of these hurricanes (e.g., vegetation changes from flooding, introduction of toxic chemicals, or water quality changes).

Diagnostics comparing sea surface temperature feedbacks from operational hurricane forecasts to observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian D. Lloyd

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the ability of recent versions of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Operational Hurricane Forecast Model (GHM to reproduce the observed relationship between hurricane intensity and hurricane-induced Sea Surface Temperature (SST cooling. The analysis was performed by taking a Lagrangian composite of all hurricanes in the North Atlantic from 1998–2009 in observations and 2005–2009 for the GHM. A marked improvement in the intensity-SST relationship for the GHM compared to observations was found between the years 2005 and 2006–2009 due to the introduction of warm-core eddies, a representation of the loop current, and changes to the drag coefficient parameterization for bulk turbulent flux computation. A Conceptual Hurricane Intensity Model illustrates the essential steady-state characteristics of the intensity-SST relationship and is explained by two coupled equations for the atmosphere and ocean. The conceptual model qualitatively matches observations and the 2006–2009 period in the GHM, and presents supporting evidence for the conclusion that weaker upper oceanic thermal stratification in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by the introduction of the loop current and warm core eddies, is crucial to explaining the observed SST-intensity pattern. The diagnostics proposed by the conceptual model offer an independent set of metrics for comparing operational hurricane forecast models to observations.

Environmental Modeling, Technology, and Communication for Land Falling Tropical Cyclone/Hurricane Prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Tchounwou

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Katrina (a tropical cyclone/hurricane began to strengthen reaching a Category 5 storm on 28th August, 2005 and its winds reached peak intensity of 175 mph and pressure levels as low as 902 mb. Katrina eventually weakened to a category 3 storm and made a landfall in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, south of Buras on 29th August 2005. We investigate the time series intensity change of the hurricane Katrina using environmental modeling and technology tools to develop an early and advanced warning and prediction system. Environmental Mesoscale Model (Weather Research Forecast, WRF simulations are used for prediction of intensity change and track of the hurricane Katrina. The model is run on a doubly nested domain centered over the central Gulf of Mexico, with grid spacing of 90 km and 30 km for 6 h periods, from August 28th to August 30th. The model results are in good agreement with the observations suggesting that the model is capable of simulating the surface features, intensity change and track and precipitation associated with hurricane Katrina. We computed the maximum vertical velocities (Wmax using Convective Available Kinetic Energy (CAPE obtained at the equilibrium level (EL, from atmospheric soundings over the Gulf Coast stations during the hurricane land falling for the period August 21–30, 2005. The large vertical atmospheric motions associated with the land falling hurricane Katrina produced severe weather including thunderstorms and tornadoes 2–3 days before landfall. The environmental modeling simulations in combination with sounding data show that the tools may be used as an advanced prediction and communication system (APCS for land falling tropical cyclones/hurricanes.

Performance of Oil Infrastructure during Hurricane Harvey

Science.gov (United States)

Bernier, C.; Kameshwar, S.; Padgett, J.

2017-12-01

Three major refining centers - Corpus Christi, Houston, and Beaumont/Port Arthur - were affected during Hurricane Harvey. Damage to oil infrastructure, especially aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), caused the release of more than a million gallons of hazardous chemicals in the environment. The objective of this presentation is to identify and gain a better understanding of the different damage mechanisms that occurred during Harvey in order to avoid similar failures during future hurricane events. First, a qualitative description of the damage suffered by ASTs during Hurricane Harvey is presented. Analysis of aerial imagery and incident reports indicate that almost all spills were caused by rainfall and the associated flooding. The largest spill was caused by two large ASTs that floated due to flooding in the Houston Ship Channel releasing 500,000 gallons of gasoline. The vulnerability of ASTs subjected to flooding was already well known and documented from previous storm events. In addition to flooding, Harvey also exposed the vulnerability of ASTs with external floating roof to extreme rainfall; more than 15 floating roofs sank or tilted due to rain water accumulation on them, releasing pollutants in the atmosphere. Secondly, recent fragility models developed by the authors are presented which allow structural vulnerability assessment of floating roofs during rainfall events and ASTs during flood events. The fragility models are then coupled with Harvey rainfall and flood empirical data to identify the conditions (i.e.: internal liquid height or density, drainage system design and efficiency, etc.) that could have led to the observed failures during Hurricane Harvey. Finally, the conditions causing tank failures are studied to propose mitigation measures to prevent future AST failures during severe storm, flood, or rainfall events.

Quantifying human mobility perturbation and resilience in Hurricane Sandy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qi Wang

Full Text Available Human mobility is influenced by environmental change and natural disasters. Researchers have used trip distance distribution, radius of gyration of movements, and individuals' visited locations to understand and capture human mobility patterns and trajectories. However, our knowledge of human movements during natural disasters is limited owing to both a lack of empirical data and the low precision of available data. Here, we studied human mobility using high-resolution movement data from individuals in New York City during and for several days after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. We found the human movements followed truncated power-law distributions during and after Hurricane Sandy, although the β value was noticeably larger during the first 24 hours after the storm struck. Also, we examined two parameters: the center of mass and the radius of gyration of each individual's movements. We found that their values during perturbation states and steady states are highly correlated, suggesting human mobility data obtained in steady states can possibly predict the perturbation state. Our results demonstrate that human movement trajectories experienced significant perturbations during hurricanes, but also exhibited high resilience. We expect the study will stimulate future research on the perturbation and inherent resilience of human mobility under the influence of hurricanes. For example, mobility patterns in coastal urban areas could be examined as hurricanes approach, gain or dissipate in strength, and as the path of the storm changes. Understanding nuances of human mobility under the influence of such disasters will enable more effective evacuation, emergency response planning and development of strategies and policies to reduce fatality, injury, and economic loss.

Tropical Atlantic Hurricanes, Easterly Waves, and West African Mesoscale Convective Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yves K. Kouadio

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The relationship between tropical Atlantic hurricanes (Hs, atmospheric easterly waves (AEWs, and West African mesoscale convective systems (MCSs is investigated. It points out atmospheric conditions over West Africa before hurricane formation. The analysis was performed for two periods, June–November in 2004 and 2005, during which 12 hurricanes (seven in 2004, five in 2005 were selected. Using the AEW signature in the 700 hPa vorticity, a backward trajectory was performed to the African coast, starting from the date and position of each hurricane, when and where it was catalogued as a tropical depression. At this step, using the Meteosat-7 satellite dataset, we selected all the MCSs around this time and region, and tracked them from their initiation until their dissipation. This procedure allowed us to relate each of the selected Hs with AEWs and a succession of MCSs that occurred a few times over West Africa before initiation of the hurricane. Finally, a dipole in sea surface temperature (SST was observed with a positive SST anomaly within the region of H generation and a negative SST anomaly within the Gulf of Guinea. This SST anomaly dipole could contribute to enhance the continental convergence associated with the monsoon that impacts on the West African MCSs formation.

NOAA predicts near-normal or below-normal 2014 Atlantic hurricane season

Science.gov (United States)

Related link: Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season Outlook Discussion El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO ) Diagnostic Discussion National Hurricane Preparedness Week FEMA Media Contact Maureen O'Leary 301-427-9000 tips, along with video and audio public service announcements in both English and Spanish, featuring

Bottom Scour Observed Under Hurricane Ivan

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Teague, William J; Jarosz, Eva; Keen, Timothy R; Wang, David W; Hulbert, Mark S

2006-01-01

Observations that extensive bottom scour along the outer continental shelf under Hurricane Ivan resulted in the displacement of more than 100 million cubic meters of sediment from a 35x15 km region...

Coccidioidomycosis in armadillo hunters from the state of Ceará, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Brillhante, Raimunda Sâmia Nogueira; Moreira Filho, Renato Evando; Rocha, Marcos Fábio Gadelha; Castelo-Branco, Débora de Souza Collares Maia; Fechine, Maria Auxiliadora Bezerra; Lima, Rita Amanda Chaves de; Picanço, Yuri Vieira Cunha; Cordeiro, Rossana de Aguiar; Camargo, Zoilo Pires de; Queiroz, José Ajax Nogueira; Araujo, Roberto Wagner Bezerra de; Mesquita, Jacó Ricarte Lima de; Sidrim, José Júlio Costa

2012-01-01

Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis with a variable clinical presentation. Misdiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis as bacterial pneumopathy leads to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and delayed diagnosis. This report describes an outbreak among armadillo hunters in northeastern Brazil in which an initial diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was later confirmed as coccidioidomycosis caused by Coccidioides posadasii. Thus, this mycosis should be considered as an alternative diagnosis in pa...

A Comparison of HWRF, ARW and NMM Models in Hurricane Katrina (2005 Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anjaneyulu Yerramilli

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The life cycle of Hurricane Katrina (2005 was simulated using three different modeling systems of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF mesoscale model. These are, HWRF (Hurricane WRF designed specifically for hurricane studies and WRF model with two different dynamic cores as the Advanced Research WRF (ARW model and the Non-hydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM. The WRF model was developed and sourced from National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR, incorporating the advances in atmospheric simulation system suitable for a broad range of applications. The HWRF modeling system was developed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP based on the NMM dynamic core and the physical parameterization schemes specially designed for tropics. A case study of Hurricane Katrina was chosen as it is one of the intense hurricanes that caused severe destruction along the Gulf Coast from central Florida to Texas. ARW, NMM and HWRF models were designed to have two-way interactive nested domains with 27 and 9 km resolutions. The three different models used in this study were integrated for three days starting from 0000 UTC of 27 August 2005 to capture the landfall of hurricane Katrina on 29 August. The initial and time varying lateral boundary conditions were taken from NCEP global FNL (final analysis data available at 1 degree resolution for ARW and NMM models and from NCEP GFS data at 0.5 degree resolution for HWRF model. The results show that the models simulated the intensification of Hurricane Katrina and the landfall on 29 August 2005 agreeing with the observations. Results from these experiments highlight the superior performance of HWRF model over ARW and NMM models in predicting the track and intensification of Hurricane Katrina.

Human behavior. Sex equality can explain the unique social structure of hunter-gatherer bands.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyble, M; Salali, G D; Chaudhary, N; Page, A; Smith, D; Thompson, J; Vinicius, L; Mace, R; Migliano, A B

2015-05-15

The social organization of mobile hunter-gatherers has several derived features, including low within-camp relatedness and fluid meta-groups. Although these features have been proposed to have provided the selective context for the evolution of human hypercooperation and cumulative culture, how such a distinctive social system may have emerged remains unclear. We present an agent-based model suggesting that, even if all individuals in a community seek to live with as many kin as possible, within-camp relatedness is reduced if men and women have equal influence in selecting camp members. Our model closely approximates observed patterns of co-residence among Agta and Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers. Our results suggest that pair-bonding and increased sex egalitarianism in human evolutionary history may have had a transformative effect on human social organization. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

EAARL Coastal Topography-Mississippi and Alabama Barrier Islands, Post-Hurricane Gustav, 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Bonisteel-Cormier, J.M.; Nayegandhi, Amar; Wright, C.W.; Sallenger, A.H.; Brock, J.C.; Nagle, D.B.; Klipp, E.S.; Vivekanandan, Saisudha; Fredericks, Xan; Segura, Martha

2010-01-01

These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of lidar-derived bare-earth (BE) and first-surface (FS) topography datasets were produced collaboratively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL; the National Park Service (NPS), Gulf Coast Network, Lafayette, LA; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility, VA. This project provides highly detailed and accurate datasets of a portion of the Mississippi and Alabama barrier islands, acquired post-Hurricane Gustav (September 2008 hurricane) on September 8, 2008. The datasets are made available for use as a management tool to research scientists and natural-resource managers. An innovative airborne lidar instrument originally developed at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, and known as the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), was used during data acquisition. The EAARL system is a raster-scanning, waveform-resolving, green-wavelength (532-nanometer) lidar designed to map near-shore bathymetry, topography, and vegetation structure simultaneously. The EAARL sensor suite includes the raster-scanning, water-penetrating full-waveform adaptive lidar, a down-looking red-green-blue (RGB) digital camera, a high-resolution multispectral color infrared (CIR) camera, two precision dual-frequency kinematic carrier-phase GPS receivers, and an integrated miniature digital inertial measurement unit, which provide for sub-meter georeferencing of each laser sample. The nominal EAARL platform is a twin-engine Cessna 310 aircraft, but the instrument may be deployed on a range of light aircraft. A single pilot, a lidar operator, and a data analyst constitute the crew for most survey operations. This sensor has the potential to make significant contributions in measuring sub-aerial and submarine coastal topography within cross-environmental surveys. Elevation measurements were collected over the

Impacts of Hurricane Rita on the beaches of western Louisiana: Chapter 5D in Science and the storms-the USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Stockdon, Hilary F.; Fauver, Laura A.; Sallenger,, Asbury H.; Wright, C. Wayne

2007-01-01

Hurricane Rita made landfall as a category 3 storm in western Louisiana in late September 2005, 1 month following Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall in the eastern part of the State. Large waves and storm surge inundated the lowelevation coastline, destroying many communities and causing extensive coastal change including beach, dune, and marsh erosion.

Lightning and radar observations of hurricane Rita landfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henderson, Bradley G [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Suszcynsky, David M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hamlin, Timothy E [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Jeffery, C A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Wiens, Kyle C [TEXAS TECH U.; Orville, R E [TEXAS A& M

2009-01-01

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) owns and operates an array of Very-Low Frequency (VLF) sensors that measure the Radio-Frequency (RF) waveforms emitted by Cloud-to-Ground (CG) and InCloud (IC) lightning. This array, the Los Alamos Sferic Array (LASA), has approximately 15 sensors concentrated in the Great Plains and Florida, which detect electric field changes in a bandwidth from 200 Hz to 500 kHz (Smith et al., 2002). Recently, LANL has begun development of a new dual-band RF sensor array that includes the Very-High Frequency (VHF) band as well as the VLF. Whereas VLF lightning emissions can be used to deduce physical parameters such as lightning type and peak current, VHF emissions can be used to perform precise 3d mapping of individual radiation sources, which can number in the thousands for a typical CG flash. These new dual-band sensors will be used to monitor lightning activity in hurricanes in an effort to better predict intensification cycles. Although the new LANL dual-band array is not yet operational, we have begun initial work utilizing both VLF and VHF lightning data to monitor hurricane evolution. In this paper, we present the temporal evolution of Rita's landfall using VLF and VHF lightning data, and also WSR-88D radar. At landfall, Rita's northern eyewall experienced strong updrafts and significant lightning activity that appear to mark a transition between oceanic hurricane dynamics and continental thunderstorm dynamics. In section 2, we give a brief overview of Hurricane Rita, including its development as a hurricane and its lightning history. In the following section, we present WSR-88D data of Rita's landfall, including reflectivity images and temporal variation. In section 4, we present both VHF and VLF lightning data, overplotted on radar reflectivity images. Finally, we discuss our observations, including a comparison to previous studies and a brief conclusion.

Saharan Dust, Transport Processes, and Possible Impacts on Hurricane Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, William K. M.; Kim, K. M.

2010-01-01

In this paper, we present observational evidence of significant relationships between Saharan dust outbreak, and African Easterly wave activities and hurricane activities. We found two dominant paths of transport of Saharan dust: a northern path, centered at 25degN associated with eastward propagating 6-19 days waves over northern Africa, and a southern path centered at 15degN, associated with the AEW, and the Atlantic ITCZ. Seasons with stronger dust outbreak from the southern path are associated with a drier atmosphere over the Maximum Development Region (MDR) and reduction in tropical cyclone and hurricane activities in the MDR. Seasons with stronger outbreak from the northern path are associated with a cooler N. Atlantic, and suppressed hurricane in the western Atlantic basin.

HiggsHunters - a citizen science project for ATLAS

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00053405; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Since the launch of HiggsHunters.org in November 2014, citizen science volunteers have classified more than a million points of interest in images from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Volunteers have been looking for displaced vertices and unusual features in images recorded during LHC Run-1. We discuss the design of the project, its impact on the public, and the results of how the human volunteers performed relative to the computer algorithms in identifying displaced secondary vertices. People were better than existing algorithms at identifying displaced vertices for some masses and lifetimes, and showed good ability to recognize unexpected new features in the data.

Deer hunting and television: are tv shows creating expectations among deer hunters?

Science.gov (United States)

Joshua D. Agee; Craig A. Miller

2009-01-01

Throughout the past two decades new media outlets emphasizing trophy deer hunting have come to dominate hunting culture. Using data collected through a mail survey of Illinois deer hunters (n = 2,683, 78.5-percent response), we tested two hypotheses to determine factors that contribute to preference for hunting trophy deer. In particular, we examined the relationship...

Cadmium, lead, and chromium in large game: a local-scale exposure assessment for hunters consuming meat and liver of wild boar.

Science.gov (United States)

Danieli, P P; Serrani, F; Primi, R; Ponzetta, M P; Ronchi, B; Amici, A

2012-11-01

Heavy metals are ubiquitous in soil, water, and air. Their entrance into the food chain is an important environmental issue that entails risks to humans. Several reports indicate that game meat can be an important source of heavy metals, particularly because of the increasing consumption of game meat, mainly by hunters. We performed an exposure assessment of hunters and members of their households, both adults and children, who consumed wild boar (WB) meat and offal. We estimated the amount of cadmium, lead, and chromium in the tissues of WB hunted in six areas within Viterbo Province (Italy) and gathered data on WB meat and offal consumption by conducting specific diet surveys in the same areas. The exposure to cadmium, lead, and chromium was simulated with specifically developed Monte Carlo simulation models. Cadmium and lead levels in WB liver and meat harvested in Viterbo Province (Italy) were similar to or lower than the values reported in other studies. However, some samples contained these metals at levels greater then the EU limits set for domestic animals. The chromium content of meat or liver cannot be evaluated against any regulatory limit, but our results suggest that the amounts of this metal found in WB products may reflect a moderate environmental load. Our survey of the hunter population confirmed that their consumption of WB meat and liver was greater than that of the general Italian population. This level of consumption was comparable with other European studies. Consumption of WB products contributes significantly to cadmium and lead exposure of both adults and children. More specifically, consumption of the WB liver contributed significantly to total cadmium and lead exposure of members of the households of WB hunters. As a general rule, liver consumption should be kept to a minimum, especially for children living in these hunter households. The exposure to chromium estimated for this population of hunters may be considered to be safe. However

Hurricane Irene Poster (August 27, 2011)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Hurricane Irene poster. Color composite GOES image shows Irene moving through the North Carolina Outer Banks on August 27, 2011. Poster size is 36"x27"

High Temporal Resolution Tropospheric Wind Profile Observations at NASA Kennedy Space Center During Hurricane Irma

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Ryan K.; Barbre, Robert E., Jr.; Huddleston, Lisa; Brauer, Thomas; Wilfong, Timothy

2018-01-01

The NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) operates a 48-MHz Tropospheric/Stratospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (TDRWP) on a continual basis generating wind profiles between 2-19 km in the support of space launch vehicle operations. A benefit of the continual operability of the system is the ability to provide unique observations of severe weather events such as hurricanes. Over the past two Atlantic Hurricane seasons the TDRWP has made high temporal resolution wind profile observations of Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Hurricane Irma was responsible for power outages to approximately 2/3 of Florida's population during its movement over the state(Stein,2017). An overview of the TDRWP system configuration, brief summary of Hurricanes Irma and Matthew storm track in proximity to KSC, characteristics of the tropospheric wind observations from the TDRWP during both events, and discussion of the dissemination of TDRWP data during the event will be presented.

Identification of Caribbean basin hurricanes from Spanish documentary sources

OpenAIRE

García Herrera, Ricardo; Gimeno, Luis; Ribera, Pedro; Hernández, Emiliano; González, Ester; Fernández, Guadalupe

2007-01-01

This paper analyses five hurricanes that occurred in the period 1600 to 1800. These examples were identified during a systematic search in the General Archive of the Indies (AGI) in Seville. The research combined the expertise of climatologists and historians in order to optimise the search and analysis strategies. Results demonstrate the potential of this archive for the assessment of hurricanes in this period and show some of the difficulties involved in the collection of evidence of hurric...

Post-Hurricane Irene coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, to Virginia Beach, Virginia, August 30-31, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Karen L. M.; Krohn, M. Dennis

2016-02-17

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project, conducts baseline and storm-response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms (Morgan, 2009). On August 30-31, 2011, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, to Virginia Beach, Virginia, aboard a Piper Navajo Chieftain (aircraft) at an altitude of 500 feet (ft) and approximately 1,200 ft offshore. This mission was flown to collect post-Hurricane Irene data for assessing incremental changes in the beach and nearshore area since the last survey, flown in May 2008, and the data can be used in the assessment of future coastal change.

Price Increases in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Authority to Limit Price Gouging

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Welborn, Angie A; Flynn, Aaron M

2005-01-01

.... Specifically, questions have arisen regarding increased prices in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and the effect that the damage caused by the hurricane will have on prices, specifically...

Blood, guts and knife cuts: reducing the risk of swine brucellosis in feral pig hunters in north-west New South Wales, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, P D; Polkinghorne, B G; Durrheim, D N; Lower, T; Speare, R

2011-01-01

Humans who have close contact with livestock, wild or feral animals can risk acquiring zoonotic infections such as brucellosis, Q fever, and leptospirosis. Human infection with Brucella suis (swine brucellosis) usually follows occupational or recreational exposure to infected animals. Worldwide, many cases of human infection follow contact with infected feral pigs. In Australia there is a growing market for the export of 'wild boar' and a considerable number of people are involved in feral pig hunting. However, feral pig hunters are often hard to reach with health strategies. According to Australian authorities the most important means of preventing disease in humans includes covering cuts; wearing gloves; washing hands; and avoiding blood when coming into contact with feral pigs. There has not been an evaluation of the acceptability of these recommended risk-reduction strategies in the settings where feral pig hunting and evisceration occurs. Semi-structured interviews and small focus groups were conducted with feral pig hunters in north-west New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to explore their hunting experiences and views on the brucellosis prevention strategies. Interview and focus group notes were thematically analysed. There was a range of experiences of feral pig hunting, from a very professional approach to a purely recreational approach. The main domains that emerged from participants' experiences during their most recent feral pig hunting activity and their reflections on current swine brucellosis risk reduction strategies were: 'you've gotta be tough to be a feral pig hunter'; 'most of the suggested strategies won't work as they are'; 'reducing risk in the scrub'; and 'how to let pig hunters know'. The recreational nature and prevailing macho perspective of participants demand a pragmatic approach to risk reduction if it is going to prove acceptable to feral pig hunters. The 'you've gotta be tough to be a feral pig hunter' context of the activity and the

Life course transitions and natural disaster: marriage, birth, and divorce following Hurricane Hugo.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohan, Catherine L; Cole, Steve W

2002-03-01

Change in marriage, birth, and divorce rates following Hurricane Hugo in 1989 were examined prospectively from 1975 to 1997 for all counties in South Carolina. Stress research and research on economic circumstances suggested that marriages and births would decline and divorces would increase in affected counties after the hurricane. Attachment theory suggested that marriages and births would increase and divorces would decline after the hurricane. Time-series analysis indicated that the year following the hurricane, marriage, birth, and divorce rates increased in the 24 counties declared disaster areas compared with the 22 other counties in the state. Taken together, the results suggested that a life-threatening event motivated people to take significant action in their close relationships that altered their life course.

Mosquito fauna and arbovirus surveillance in a coastal Mississippi community after Hurricane Katrina.

Science.gov (United States)

Foppa, Ivo M; Evans, Christopher L; Wozniak, Arthur; Wills, William

2007-06-01

Hurricane Katrina caused massive destruction and flooding along the Gulf Coast in August 2005. We collected mosquitoes and tested them for arboviral infection in a severely hurricane-damaged community to determine species composition and to assess the risk of a mosquito-borne epidemic disease in that community about 6 wk after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. Light-trap collections yielded 8,215 mosquitoes representing 19 species, while limited gravid-trap collections were not productive. The most abundant mosquito species was Culex nigripalpus, which constituted 73.6% of all specimens. No arboviruses were detected in any of the mosquitoes collected in this survey, which did not support the assertion that human risk for arboviral infection was increased in the coastal community 6 wk after the hurricane.

Quantifying the hurricane catastrophe risk to offshore wind power.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Stephen; Jaramillo, Paulina; Small, Mitchell J; Apt, Jay

2013-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that over 50 GW of offshore wind power will be required for the United States to generate 20% of its electricity from wind. Developers are actively planning offshore wind farms along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts and several leases have been signed for offshore sites. These planned projects are in areas that are sometimes struck by hurricanes. We present a method to estimate the catastrophe risk to offshore wind power using simulated hurricanes. Using this method, we estimate the fraction of offshore wind power simultaneously offline and the cumulative damage in a region. In Texas, the most vulnerable region we studied, 10% of offshore wind power could be offline simultaneously because of hurricane damage with a 100-year return period and 6% could be destroyed in any 10-year period. We also estimate the risks to single wind farms in four representative locations; we find the risks are significant but lower than those estimated in previously published results. Much of the hurricane risk to offshore wind turbines can be mitigated by designing turbines for higher maximum wind speeds, ensuring that turbine nacelles can turn quickly to track the wind direction even when grid power is lost, and building in areas with lower risk. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Are recent hurricane (Harvey, Irma, Maria) disasters natural?

Science.gov (United States)

Trenberth, K. E.; Lijing, C.; Jacobs, P.; Abraham, J. P.

2017-12-01

Yes and no! Hurricanes are certainly natural, but human-caused climate change is supersizing them, and unbridled growth is exacerbating risk of major damages. The addition of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere has led to observed increases in upper ocean heat content (OHC). This human-caused increase in OHC supports higher sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and atmospheric moisture. These elevated temperatures and increased moisture availability fuel tropical storms, allowing them to grow larger, longer lasting, and more intense, and with widespread heavy rainfalls. Our preliminary analysis of OHC through the August of 2017 shows not only was it by far the highest on record globally, but it was also the highest on record in the Gulf of Mexico prior to hurricane Harvey occurring. The human influence on the climate is also evident in rising sea levels, which increases risks from storm surges. These climatic changes are taking place against a background of growing habitation along coasts, which further increases the risk storms pose to life and property. This combination of planning choice and climatic change illustrates the tragedy of global warming, as evidenced by Harvey in Houston, Irma in the Caribbean and Florida, and Maria in Puerto Rico. However, future damages and loss of life can be mitigated, by stopping or slowing human-caused climate change, and through proactive planning (e.g., better building codes, increased-capacity drainage systems, shelters, and evacuation plans). We discuss the climatic and planning contexts of the unnatural disasters of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season, including novel indices of climate-hurricane influence.

The intertropical convergence zone modulates intense hurricane strikes on the western North Atlantic margin.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hengstum, Peter J; Donnelly, Jeffrey P; Fall, Patricia L; Toomey, Michael R; Albury, Nancy A; Kakuk, Brian

2016-02-24

Most Atlantic hurricanes form in the Main Development Region between 9°N to 20°N along the northern edge of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Previous research has suggested that meridional shifts in the ITCZ position on geologic timescales can modulate hurricane activity, but continuous and long-term storm records are needed from multiple sites to assess this hypothesis. Here we present a 3000 year record of intense hurricane strikes in the northern Bahamas (Abaco Island) based on overwash deposits in a coastal sinkhole, which indicates that the ITCZ has likely helped modulate intense hurricane strikes on the western North Atlantic margin on millennial to centennial-scales. The new reconstruction closely matches a previous reconstruction from Puerto Rico, and documents a period of elevated intense hurricane activity on the western North Atlantic margin from 2500 to 1000 years ago when paleo precipitation proxies suggest that the ITCZ occupied a more northern position. Considering that anthropogenic warming is predicted to be focused in the northern hemisphere in the coming century, these results provide a prehistoric analog that an attendant northern ITCZ shift in the future may again return the western North Atlantic margin to an active hurricane interval.

Hurricane Agnes rainfall and floods, June-July 1972

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, James F.; Patterson, James Lee; Paulhus, Joseph Louis Hornore

1975-01-01

Hurricane Agnes originated in the Caribbean Sea region in mid-June. Circulation barely reached hurricane intensity for a brief period in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm crossed the Florida Panhandle coastline on June 19, 1972, and followed an unusually extended overland trajectory combining with an extratropical system to bring very heavy rain from the Carolinas northward to New York. This torrential rain followed the abnormally wet May weather in the Middle Atlantic States and set the stage for the subsequent major flooding. The record-breaking floods occurred in the Middle Atlantic States in late June and early July 1972. Many streams in the affected area experienced peak discharges several times the previous maxima of record. Estimated recurrence intervals of peak flows at many gaging stations on major rivers and their tributaries exceeded 100 years. The suspended-sediment concentration and load of most flooded streams were also unusually high. The widespread flooding from this storm caused Agnes to be called the most destructive hurricane in United States history, claiming 117 lives and causing damage estimated at $3.1 billion in 12 States. Damage was particularly high in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The detailed life history of Hurricane Agnes, including the tropical depression and tropical storm stages, is traced. Associated rainfalls are analyzed and compared with climatologic recurrence values. These are followed by a detailed description of the flood and streamflows of each affected basin. A summary of peak stages and discharges and comparison data for previous floods at 989 stations are presented. Deaths and flood damage estimates are compiled.

Period Determination of Binary Asteroid Targets Observed at Hunters Hill Observatory: May-September 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Higgins, David; Oey, Julian; Pravec, Petr

2011-01-01

Lightcurves for seven confirmed or possible binary asteroids were obtained at the Hunters Hill Observatory (HHO) and Leura Observatory from 2009 May through 2010 September: 1453 Fennia, 2501 Lohja, 3076 Garbor, 4029 Bridges, 5325 Silver, 6244 Okamoto, and (6265) 1985 TW3.

Hurricane Impacts on Small Island Communities: Case study of Hurricane Matthew on Great Exuma, The Bahamas

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan Sealey, Kathleen; Bowleg, John

2017-04-01

Great Exuma has been a UNESCO Eco-hydrology Project Site with a focus on coastal restoration and flood management. Great Exuma and its largest settlement, George Town, support a population of just over 8.000 people on an island dominated by extensive coastal wetlands. The Victoria Pond Eco-Hydrology project restored flow and drainage to highly-altered coastal wetlands to reduce flooding of the built environment as well as regain ecological function. The project was designed to show the value of a protected wetland and coastal environment within a populated settlement; demonstrating that people can live alongside mangroves and value "green" infrastructure for flood protection. The restoration project was initiated after severe storm flooding in 2007 with Tropical Storm Noel. In 2016, the passing of Hurricane Matthew had unprecedented impacts on the coastal communities of Great Exuma, challenging past practices in restoration and flood prevention. This talk reviews the loss of natural capital (for example, fish populations, mangroves, salt water inundation) from Hurricane Matthew based on a rapid response survey of Great Exuma. The surprisingly find was the impact of storm surge on low-lying areas used primarily for personal farms and small-scale agriculture. Although women made up the overwhelming majority of people who attended Coastal Restoration workshops, women were most adversely impacted by the recent hurricane flooding with the loss of their small low-lying farms and gardens. Although increasing culverts in mangrove creeks in two areas did reduce building flood damage, the low-lying areas adjacent to mangroves, mostly ephemeral freshwater wetlands, were inundated with saltwater, and seasonal crops in these areas were destroyed. These ephemeral wetlands were designed as part of the wetland flooding system, it was not known how important these small areas were to artisanal farming on Great Exuma. The size and scope of Hurricane Matthew passing through the

Influence of hurricane wind field in the structure of directional wave spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Esquivel-Trava, Bernardo; Ocampo-Torres, Francisco J.; Osuna, Pedro

2015-04-01

Extensive field measurements of wind waves in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, have been analyzed to describe the spatial structure of directional wave spectra during hurricane conditions. Following Esquivel-Trava et al. (2015) this analysis was made for minor hurricanes (categories 1 and 2) and major hurricanes (categories 3, 4 and 5). In both cases the directionality of the energy wave spectrum is similar in all quadrants. Some differences are observed however, and they are associated with the presence and the shape of swell energy in each quadrant. Three numerical experiments using the spectral wave prediction model SWAN were carried out to gain insight into the mechanism that controls the directional and frequency distributions of hurricane wave energy. The aim of the experiments is to evaluate the effect of the translation speed of the hurricane and the presence of concentric eye walls, on both the wave growth process and the shape of the directional wave spectrum. The HRD wind field of Hurricane Dean on August 20 at 7:30 was propagated at two different velocities (5 and 10 m/s). An idealized concentric eye wall (a Gaussian function that evolve in time along a path in the form of an Archimedean spiral) was imposed to the wind field. The white-capping formulation of Westhuysen et al. (2007) was selected. The wave model represents fairly well the directionality of the energy and the shape of the directional spectra in the hurricane domain. The model results indicate that the forward movement of the storm influences the development of the waves, consistent with field observations. This work has been supported by CONACYT scholarship 164510 and projects RugDisMar (155793), CB-2011-01-168173 and the Department of Physical Oceanography of CICESE. References Esquivel-Trava, B., Ocampo-Torres, F. J., & Osuna, P. (2015). Spatial structure of directional wave spectra in hurricanes. Ocean Dynam., 65(1), 65-76. doi:10.1007/s10236-014-0791-9 Van der

Microseisms from Hurricane "Hilda".

Science.gov (United States)

De Bremaecker, J C

1965-06-25

As hurricane "Hilda" crossed the Gulf of Mexico the dominant period of the microseisms shifted from about 8 to 5 seconds as the eye reached water about 150 to 200 meters deep. The conversion of wind energy to microseismic energy is most efficient in water depths from 20 to 200 meters. There is no evidence that two periods, one twice the other, are present.

Mold exposure and health effects following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbeau, Deborah N; Grimsley, L Faye; White, LuAnn E; El-Dahr, Jane M; Lichtveld, Maureen

2010-01-01

The extensive flooding in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita created conditions ideal for indoor mold growth, raising concerns about the possible adverse health effects associated with indoor mold exposure. Studies evaluating the levels of indoor and outdoor molds in the months following the hurricanes found high levels of mold growth. Homes with greater flood damage, especially those with >3 feet of indoor flooding, demonstrated higher levels of mold growth compared with homes with little or no flooding. Water intrusion due to roof damage was also associated with mold growth. However, no increase in the occurrence of adverse health outcomes has been observed in published reports to date. This article considers reasons why studies of mold exposure after the hurricane do not show a greater health impact.

2012-2013 Post-Hurricane Sandy EAARL-B Submerged Topography - Barnegat Bay, New Jersey

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Binary point-cloud data for part of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, post-Hurricane Sandy (October 2012 hurricane), were produced from remotely sensed, geographically...

Mangrove forest recovery in the Everglades following Hurricane Wilma

Science.gov (United States)

Sarmiento, Daniel; Barr, Jordan; Engel, Vic; Fuentes, Jose D.; Smith, Thomas J.; Zieman, Jay C.

2009-01-01

On October 24th, 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on the south western shore of the Florida peninsula. This major disturbance destroyed approximately 30 percent of the mangrove forests in the area. However, the damage to the ecosystem following the hurricane provided researchers at the Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) LTER site with the rare opportunity to track the recovery process of the mangroves as determined by carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy exchanges, measured along daily and seasonal time scales.

Hazardous substances releases associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in industrial settings, Louisiana and Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruckart, Perri Zeitz; Orr, Maureen F; Lanier, Kenneth; Koehler, Allison

2008-11-15

The scientific literature concerning the public health response to the unprecedented hurricanes striking the Gulf Coast in August and September 2005 has focused mainly on assessing health-related needs and surveillance of injuries, infectious diseases, and other illnesses. However, the hurricanes also resulted in unintended hazardous substances releases in the affected states. Data from two states (Louisiana and Texas) participating in the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system were analyzed to describe the characteristics of hazardous substances releases in industrial settings associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. HSEES is an active multi-state Web-based surveillance system maintained by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). In 2005, 166 hurricane-related hazardous substances events in industrial settings in Louisiana and Texas were reported. Most (72.3%) releases were due to emergency shut downs in preparation for the hurricanes and start-ups after the hurricanes. Emphasis is given to the contributing causal factors, hazardous substances released, and event scenarios. Recommendations are made to prevent or minimize acute releases of hazardous substances during future hurricanes, including installing backup power generation, securing equipment and piping to withstand high winds, establishing procedures to shutdown process operations safely, following established and up-to-date start-up procedures and checklists, and carefully performing pre-start-up safety reviews.

Hazardous substances releases associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in industrial settings, Louisiana and Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruckart, Perri Zeitz; Orr, Maureen F.; Lanier, Kenneth; Koehler, Allison

2008-01-01

The scientific literature concerning the public health response to the unprecedented hurricanes striking the Gulf Coast in August and September 2005 has focused mainly on assessing health-related needs and surveillance of injuries, infectious diseases, and other illnesses. However, the hurricanes also resulted in unintended hazardous substances releases in the affected states. Data from two states (Louisiana and Texas) participating in the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system were analyzed to describe the characteristics of hazardous substances releases in industrial settings associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. HSEES is an active multi-state Web-based surveillance system maintained by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). In 2005, 166 hurricane-related hazardous substances events in industrial settings in Louisiana and Texas were reported. Most (72.3%) releases were due to emergency shut downs in preparation for the hurricanes and start-ups after the hurricanes. Emphasis is given to the contributing causal factors, hazardous substances released, and event scenarios. Recommendations are made to prevent or minimize acute releases of hazardous substances during future hurricanes, including installing backup power generation, securing equipment and piping to withstand high winds, establishing procedures to shutdown process operations safely, following established and up-to-date start-up procedures and checklists, and carefully performing pre-start-up safety reviews

Hazardous substances releases associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in industrial settings, Louisiana and Texas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruckart, Perri Zeitz [Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, GA (United States)], E-mail: afp4@cdc.gov; Orr, Maureen F. [Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, GA (United States); Lanier, Kenneth; Koehler, Allison [Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health, New Orleans, LA (United States)

2008-11-15

The scientific literature concerning the public health response to the unprecedented hurricanes striking the Gulf Coast in August and September 2005 has focused mainly on assessing health-related needs and surveillance of injuries, infectious diseases, and other illnesses. However, the hurricanes also resulted in unintended hazardous substances releases in the affected states. Data from two states (Louisiana and Texas) participating in the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system were analyzed to describe the characteristics of hazardous substances releases in industrial settings associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. HSEES is an active multi-state Web-based surveillance system maintained by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). In 2005, 166 hurricane-related hazardous substances events in industrial settings in Louisiana and Texas were reported. Most (72.3%) releases were due to emergency shut downs in preparation for the hurricanes and start-ups after the hurricanes. Emphasis is given to the contributing causal factors, hazardous substances released, and event scenarios. Recommendations are made to prevent or minimize acute releases of hazardous substances during future hurricanes, including installing backup power generation, securing equipment and piping to withstand high winds, establishing procedures to shutdown process operations safely, following established and up-to-date start-up procedures and checklists, and carefully performing pre-start-up safety reviews.

Online Media Use and Adoption by Hurricane Sandy Affected Fire and Police Departments

OpenAIRE

Chauhan, Apoorva

2014-01-01

In this thesis work, I examine the use and adoption of online communication media by 840 fire and police departments that were affected by the 2012 Hurricane Sandy. I began by exploring how and why these fire and police departments used (or did not use) online media to communicate with the public during Hurricane Sandy. Results show that fire and police departments used online media during Hurricane Sandy to give timely and relevant information to the public about things such as evacuations, ...

Water and erosion damage to coastal structures: South Carolina Coast, Hurricane Hugo, 1989

OpenAIRE

Wang, Hsiang

1990-01-01

Hurricane Hugo hit U.S. Mainland on September 21, 1989 just north of Charleston, South Carolina. It was billed as the most costly hurricane on record. The loss on the mainland alone exceeded 7 billion dollars, more than 15,000 homes were destroyed and the loss of lives exceeded forty. This article documents one aspect of the multi-destructions caused by the hurricane - the water and erosion damage on water front or near water front properties. A general damage surve...

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL WATERS FOLLOWING HURRICANE KATRINA

Science.gov (United States)

On the morning of August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck the coast of Louisiana, between New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi, as a strong category three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The massive winds and flooding had the potential for a tremendous environmental impac...

Ocean surface waves in Hurricane Ike (2008) and Superstorm Sandy (2012): Coupled model predictions and observations

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuyi S.; Curcic, Milan

2016-07-01

Forecasting hurricane impacts of extreme winds and flooding requires accurate prediction of hurricane structure and storm-induced ocean surface waves days in advance. The waves are complex, especially near landfall when the hurricane winds and water depth varies significantly and the surface waves refract, shoal and dissipate. In this study, we examine the spatial structure, magnitude, and directional spectrum of hurricane-induced ocean waves using a high resolution, fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model and observations. The coupled model predictions of ocean surface waves in Hurricane Ike (2008) over the Gulf of Mexico and Superstorm Sandy (2012) in the northeastern Atlantic and coastal region are evaluated with the NDBC buoy and satellite altimeter observations. Although there are characteristics that are general to ocean waves in both hurricanes as documented in previous studies, wave fields in Ike and Sandy possess unique properties due mostly to the distinct wind fields and coastal bathymetry in the two storms. Several processes are found to significantly modulate hurricane surface waves near landfall. First, the phase speed and group velocities decrease as the waves become shorter and steeper in shallow water, effectively increasing surface roughness and wind stress. Second, the bottom-induced refraction acts to turn the waves toward the coast, increasing the misalignment between the wind and waves. Third, as the hurricane translates over land, the left side of the storm center is characterized by offshore winds over very short fetch, which opposes incoming swell. Landfalling hurricanes produce broader wave spectra overall than that of the open ocean. The front-left quadrant is most complex, where the combination of windsea, swell propagating against the wind, increasing wind-wave stress, and interaction with the coastal topography requires a fully coupled model to meet these challenges in hurricane wave and surge prediction.

A team approach to preparing for hurricanes and other disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Kendig, Jim

2009-01-01

Applying lessons learned in Hurricane Floyd in 1999, a three-hospital system located on Florida's exposed Space Coast was able to better deal with the devastation caused by hurricanes in 2004 and make changes in its plans to better prepare for the named storms which hit its area in 2008. Each new disaster, the author points out, brings with it new challenges which have to be considered in disaster planning.

On the Existence of the Logarithmic Surface Layer in the Inner Core of Hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

characteristics of eyewall boundary layer of Hurricane Hugo (1989). Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 1447-1462. Zhang, JA, Montgomery MT. 2012 Observational...the inner core of hurricanes Roger K. Smitha ∗and Michael T. Montgomeryb a Meteorological Institute, University of Munich, Munich, Germany b Dept. of...logarithmic surface layer”, or log layer, in the boundary layer of the rapidly-rotating core of a hurricane . One such study argues that boundary-layer

Preparing for a Hurricane: Prescription Medications

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2006-08-10

What you should do to protect yourself and your family from a hurricane. As you evacuate, remember to take your prescription medicines with you.  Created: 8/10/2006 by Emergency Communications System.   Date Released: 7/17/2008.

Transportation during and after Hurricane Sandy.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-01

"Hurricane Sandy demonstrated the strengths and limits of the transportation infrastructure in New York City and the surrounding region. As a result of the timely and thorough preparations by New York City and the MTA, along with the actions of city ...

Inferring the demographic history of African farmers and pygmy hunter-gatherers using a multilocus resequencing data set.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etienne Patin

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The transition from hunting and gathering to farming involved a major cultural innovation that has spread rapidly over most of the globe in the last ten millennia. In sub-Saharan Africa, hunter-gatherers have begun to shift toward an agriculture-based lifestyle over the last 5,000 years. Only a few populations still base their mode of subsistence on hunting and gathering. The Pygmies are considered to be the largest group of mobile hunter-gatherers of Africa. They dwell in equatorial rainforests and are characterized by their short mean stature. However, little is known about the chronology of the demographic events-size changes, population splits, and gene flow--ultimately giving rise to contemporary Pygmy (Western and Eastern groups and neighboring agricultural populations. We studied the branching history of Pygmy hunter-gatherers and agricultural populations from Africa and estimated separation times and gene flow between these populations. We resequenced 24 independent noncoding regions across the genome, corresponding to a total of approximately 33 kb per individual, in 236 samples from seven Pygmy and five agricultural populations dispersed over the African continent. We used simulation-based inference to identify the historical model best fitting our data. The model identified included the early divergence of the ancestors of Pygmy hunter-gatherers and farming populations approximately 60,000 years ago, followed by a split of the Pygmies' ancestors into the Western and Eastern Pygmy groups approximately 20,000 years ago. Our findings increase knowledge of the history of the peopling of the African continent in a region lacking archaeological data. An appreciation of the demographic and adaptive history of African populations with different modes of subsistence should improve our understanding of the influence of human lifestyles on genome diversity.

Frequent Disasters in Mexico: hurricanes Pauline and Manuel in Acapulco, Guerrero

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Manuel Rodríguez Esteves

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Hurricanes and other tropical storms are natural phenomena that attract the interest of people all over the world, especially when they affect coastal communities. Each year, especially during the hurricane season, it is common to read or see in the different media damage caused by tropical storms in several countries, especially in Latin America and Asia. In Mexico total economic losses associated with natural phenomena has been increasing. During the year 2000 were allocated 230 million US dollars for the reconstruction of the infrastructure affected by hydrometeorological phenomena, while in 2013 damage amounted to $ 4,476 million, peaking during 2010 were recorded when 7,208 million dollars in losses. On the other hand, the total of damage caused by natural phenomena, 92 % were associated with hydrometeorological phenomena, which include hurricanes and other phenomena (SEGOB, 2014. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impacts caused by disasters associated with the influence of hurricanes from a comparative perspective between two phenomena in particular, hurricane Pauline in 1997 and Manuel storm in 2013 events hydrometeorological which affected the Mexican state of Guerrero, but especially to the port of Acapulco. one of the main conclusions of this study refers to that no matter only the intensity of the natural phenomenon to generate damage on society, but the total of damages also refers to the contexts of vulnerability generated by a society with the course of the years.

Estimating the human influence on Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria

Science.gov (United States)

Wehner, M. F.; Patricola, C. M.; Risser, M. D.

2017-12-01

Attribution of the human-induced climate change influence on the physical characteristics of individual extreme weather events has become an advanced science over the past decade. However, it is only recently that such quantification of anthropogenic influences on event magnitudes and probability of occurrence could be applied to very extreme storms such as hurricanes. We present results from two different classes of attribution studies for the impactful Atlantic hurricanes of 2017. The first is an analysis of the record rainfall amounts during Hurricane Harvey in the Houston, Texas area. We analyzed observed precipitation from the Global Historical Climatology Network with a covariate-based extreme value statistical analysis, accounting for both the external influence of global warming and the internal influence of ENSO. We found that human-induced climate change likely increased Hurricane Harvey's total rainfall by at least 19%, and likely increased the chances of the observed rainfall by a factor of at least 3.5. This suggests that changes exceeded Clausius-Clapeyron scaling, motivating attribution studies using dynamical climate models. The second analysis consists of two sets of hindcast simulations of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) at 4.5 km resolution. The first uses realistic boundary and initial conditions and present-day greenhouse gas forcings while the second uses perturbed conditions and pre-industrial greenhouse has forcings to simulate counterfactual storms without anthropogenic influences. These simulations quantify the fraction of Harvey's precipitation attributable to human activities and test the super Clausius-Clapeyron scaling suggested by the observational analysis. We will further quantify the human influence on intensity for Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

Caribbean Brain coral tracks the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Past Hurricane Intensity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hetzinger, S.; Pfeiffer, M.; Dullo, W.-C.; Keenlyside, N.; Latif, M.; Zinke, J.

2008-01-01

It is highly debated whether global warming contributed to the strong hurricane activity observed during the last decade. The crux of the recent debate is the limited length of the reliable instrumental record that exacerbates the detection of possible long-term changes in hurricane activity, which

From Head-hunter to Organ-thief: Verisimilitude, Doubt and Plausible Worlds in Indonesia and Beyond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bubandt, Nils Ole

2017-01-01

their victims and using the human heads in construction rituals as they used to do, head-hunters are now allegedly harvesting the victims’ organs for sale on the international organ market. Based on a comparison of ethnographic material from North Maluku, a province in the eastern part of Indonesia, and news...... reports I trace the shift from head-hunting to organ theft and suggest that this plasticity is not merely a symbolic representation of changing political and economic realities. Rather, I argue, the organ-stealing head-hunters are part of a global travelling package that includes and entangles organ...... trafficking practices, media accounts, political imaginaries, and social anxieties within the same field of reality and possibility, a field of verisimilitude in which fiction and fact, rumour and reality, are fundamentally blurred. The article proposes a ‘more-than-representational’ approach to the organ...

Trapped in Place? Segmented Resilience to Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, 1970–2005

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, John R.; Issar, Sukriti; Xu, Zengwang

2016-01-01

Hurricanes pose a continuing hazard to populations in coastal regions. This study estimates the impact of hurricanes on population change in the years 1970–2005 in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Geophysical models are used to construct a unique data set that simulates the spatial extent and intensity of wind damage and storm surge from the 32 hurricanes that struck the region in this period. Multivariate spatial time-series models are used to estimate the impacts of hurricanes on population change. Population growth is found to be reduced significantly for up to three successive years after counties experience wind damage, particularly at higher levels of damage. Storm surge is associated with reduced population growth in the year after the hurricane. Model extensions show that change in the white and young adult population is more immediately and strongly affected than is change for blacks and elderly residents. Negative effects on population are stronger in counties with lower poverty rates. The differentiated impact of hurricanes on different population groups is interpreted as segmented withdrawal—a form of segmented resilience in which advantaged population groups are more likely to move out of or avoid moving into harm’s way while socially vulnerable groups have fewer choices. PMID:27531504

Condensation-induced kinematics and dynamics of cyclones, hurricanes and tornadoes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makarieva, A.M.; Gorshkov, V.G.

2009-01-01

A universal equation is obtained for air pressure and wind velocity in cyclones, hurricanes and tornadoes as dependent on the distance from the center of the considered wind pattern driven by water vapor condensation. The obtained theoretical estimates of the horizontal profiles of air pressure and wind velocity, eye and wind wall radius in hurricanes and tornadoes and maximum values of the radial, tangential and vertical velocity components are in good agreement with empirical evidence.

Optimization of Evacuation Warnings Prior to a Hurricane Disaster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dian Sun

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The key purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that optimization of evacuation warnings by time period and impacted zone is crucial for efficient evacuation of an area impacted by a hurricane. We assume that people behave in a manner consistent with the warnings they receive. By optimizing the issuance of hurricane evacuation warnings, one can control the number of evacuees at different time intervals to avoid congestion in the process of evacuation. The warning optimization model is applied to a case study of Hurricane Sandy using the study region of Brooklyn. We first develop a model for shelter assignment and then use this outcome to model hurricane evacuation warning optimization, which prescribes an evacuation plan that maximizes the number of evacuees. A significant technical contribution is the development of an iterative greedy heuristic procedure for the nonlinear formulation, which is shown to be optimal for the case of a single evacuation zone with a single evacuee type case, while it does not guarantee optimality for multiple zones under unusual circumstances. A significant applied contribution is the demonstration of an interface of the evacuation warning method with a public transportation scheme to facilitate evacuation of a car-less population. This heuristic we employ can be readily adapted to the case where response rate is a function of evacuation number in prior periods and other variable factors. This element is also explored in the context of our experiment.

Hurricane shuts down gulf activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koen, A.D.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that producers in the Gulf of Mexico and plant operators in South Louisiana last week were checking for damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew. In its wake Andrew left evacuated rigs and platforms in the gulf and shuttered plants across a wide swath of the Gulf Coast. Operations were beginning to return to normal late last week. Not all gulf operators, especially in the central gulf, expected to return to offshore facilities. And even producers able to book helicopters did not expect to be able to fully assess damage to all offshore installations before the weekend. MMS officials in Washington estimated that 37,500 offshore workers were evacuated from 700 oil and gas installations on the gulf's Outer Continental Shelf. Gulf oil and gas wells account for about 800,000 b/d of oil and one fourth of total U.S. gas production. MMS was awaiting an assessment of hurricane damage before estimating how soon and how much gulf oil and gas production would be restored

EFFECTS OF HURRICANE IVAN ON WATER QUALITY IN PENSACOLA BAY, FL USA

Science.gov (United States)

Pensacola Bay was in the strong NE quadrant of Hurricane Ivan when it made landfall on September 16, 2004 as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. We present data describing the timeline and maximum height of the storm surge, the extent of flooding of coastal land, ...

Application of a regional hurricane wind risk forecasting model for wood-frame houses.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Vineet Kumar; Davidson, Rachel Ann

2007-02-01

Hurricane wind risk in a region changes over time due to changes in the number, type, locations, vulnerability, and value of buildings. A model was developed to quantitatively estimate changes over time in hurricane wind risk to wood-frame houses (defined in terms of potential for direct economic loss), and to estimate how different factors, such as building code changes and population growth, contribute to that change. The model, which is implemented in a simulation, produces a probability distribution of direct economic losses for each census tract in the study region at each time step in the specified time horizon. By changing parameter values and rerunning the analysis, the effects of different changes in the built environment on the hurricane risk trends can be estimated and the relative effectiveness of hypothetical mitigation strategies can be evaluated. Using a case study application for wood-frame houses in selected counties in North Carolina from 2000 to 2020, this article demonstrates how the hurricane wind risk forecasting model can be used: (1) to provide insight into the dynamics of regional hurricane wind risk-the total change in risk over time and the relative contribution of different factors to that change, and (2) to support mitigation planning. Insights from the case study include, for example, that the many factors contributing to hurricane wind risk for wood-frame houses interact in a way that is difficult to predict a priori, and that in the case study, the reduction in hurricane losses due to vulnerability changes (e.g., building code changes) is approximately equal to the increase in losses due to building inventory growth. The potential for the model to support risk communication is also discussed.

Changes in microbial community structure in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Science.gov (United States)

Amaral-Zettler, Linda A; Rocca, Jennifer D; Lamontagne, Michael G; Dennett, Mark R; Gast, Rebecca J

2008-12-15

Hurricanes have the potential to alter the structures of coastal ecosystems and generate pathogen-laden floodwaters thatthreaten public health. To examine the impact of hurricanes on urban systems, we compared microbial community structures in samples collected after Hurricane Katrina and before and after Hurricane Rita. We extracted environmental DNA and sequenced small-subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) gene clone libraries to survey microbial communities in floodwater, water, and sediment samples collected from Lake Charles, Lake Pontchartrain, the 17th Street and Industrial Canals in New Orleans, and raw sewage. Correspondence analysis showed that microbial communities associated with sediments formed one cluster while communities associated with lake and Industrial Canal water formed a second. Communities associated with water from the 17th Street Canal and floodwaters collected in New Orleans showed similarity to communities in raw sewage and contained a number of sequences associated with possible pathogenic microbes. This suggests that a distinct microbial community developed in floodwaters following Hurricane Katrina and that microbial community structures as a whole might be sensitive indicators of ecosystem health and serve as "sentinels" of water quality in the environment.

Assessment of risk to aquatic biota from elevated salinity -- a case study from the Hunter River, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Muschal, Monika

2006-05-01

An ecological risk assessment was performed on salinity levels of the Hunter River and its tributaries to respond to concerns that high salinity may be damaging aquatic ecosystems. Probabilistic techniques were used to assess likelihood and consequence, and hence the risk to aquatic biota from salinity. Continuous electrical conductivity distributions were used to describe the likelihood that high salinity would occur (exposure dataset) and toxicity values were compiled from the limited literature sources available to describe the consequence of high salinity (effects dataset). The assessment was preliminary in the sense that it modelled risk on the basis of existing data and did not undertake site-specific toxicity testing. Some sections of the Hunter River catchment have geologies that are saline because of their marine origins. Catchment development has increased the liberation rates of salts into surface-waters. Such modifying activities include coal-mining, power generation and land clearing. The aquatic biota of tributaries had a greater risk of impairment from high salinity than that of the Hunter River. High salinities in the tributaries were attributed to the combined factors of naturally saline geologies, increased liberation of salts due to modification of the landscape, and reduced dilution by flushing flows. A salinity guideline trigger value of 1100 mg L(-1) was recommended.

Rebuilding Emergency Care After Hurricane Sandy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, David C; Smith, Silas W; McStay, Christopher M; Portelli, Ian; Goldfrank, Lewis R; Husk, Gregg; Shah, Nirav R

2014-04-09

A freestanding, 911-receiving emergency department was implemented at Bellevue Hospital Center during the recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy to compensate for the increased volume experienced at nearby hospitals. Because inpatient services at several hospitals remained closed for months, emergency volume increased significantly. Thus, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health and other partners, the Health and Hospitals Corporation and Bellevue Hospital Center opened a freestanding emergency department without on-site inpatient care. The successful operation of this facility hinged on key partnerships with emergency medical services and nearby hospitals. Also essential was the establishment of an emergency critical care ward and a system to monitor emergency department utilization at affected hospitals. The results of this experience, we believe, can provide a model for future efforts to rebuild emergency care capacity after a natural disaster such as Hurricane Sandy. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4).

Gusts and shear within hurricane eyewalls can exceed offshore wind turbine design standards

Science.gov (United States)

Worsnop, Rochelle P.; Lundquist, Julie K.; Bryan, George H.; Damiani, Rick; Musial, Walt

2017-06-01

Offshore wind energy development is underway in the U.S., with proposed sites located in hurricane-prone regions. Turbine design criteria outlined by the International Electrotechnical Commission do not encompass the extreme wind speeds and directional shifts of hurricanes stronger than category 2. We examine a hurricane's turbulent eyewall using large-eddy simulations with Cloud Model 1. Gusts and mean wind speeds near the eyewall of a category 5 hurricane exceed the current Class I turbine design threshold of 50 m s-1 mean wind and 70 m s-1 gusts. Largest gust factors occur at the eye-eyewall interface. Further, shifts in wind direction suggest that turbines must rotate or yaw faster than current practice. Although current design standards omit mention of wind direction change across the rotor layer, large values (15-50°) suggest that veer should be considered.

EnKF OSSE Experiments Assessing the Impact of HIRAD Wind Speed and HIWRAP Radial Velocity Data on Analysis of Hurricane Karl (2010)

Science.gov (United States)

Albers, Cerese; Sippel, Jason A.; Braun, Scott A.; Miller, Timothy

2012-01-01

Previous studies (e.g., Zhang et al. 2009, Weng et al. 2011) have shown that radial velocity data from airborne and ground-based radars can be assimilated into ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) systems to produce accurate analyses of tropical cyclone vortices, which can reduce forecast intensity error. Recently, wind speed data from SFMR technology has also been assimilated into the same types of systems and has been shown to improve the forecast intensity of mature tropical cyclones. Two instruments that measure these properties were present during the NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field experiment in 2010 which sampled Hurricane Karl, and will next be co-located on the same aircraft for the subsequent NASA HS3 experiment. The High Altitude Wind and Rain Profiling Radar (HIWRAP) is a conically scanning Doppler radar mounted upon NASAs Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, and the usefulness of its radial velocity data for assimilation has not been previously examined. Since the radar scans from above with a fairly large fixed elevation angle, it observes a large component of the vertical wind, which could degrade EnKF analyses compared to analyses with data taken from lesser elevation angles. The NASA Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is a passive microwave radiometer similar to SFMR, and measures emissivity and retrieves hurricane surface wind speeds and rain rates over a much wider swath. Thus, this study examines the impact of assimilating simulated HIWRAP radial velocity data into an EnKF system, simulated HIRAD wind speed, and HIWRAP+HIRAD with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and compares the results to no data assimilation and also to the Truth from which the data was simulated for both instruments.

Brief communication "Hurricane Irene: a wake-up call for New York City?"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. C. J. H. Aerts

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The weakening of Irene from a Category 3 hurricane to a tropical storm resulted in less damage in New York City (NYC than initially was anticipated. It is widely recognized that the storm surge and associated flooding could have been much more severe. In a recent study, we showed that a direct hit to the city from a hurricane may expose an enormous number of people to flooding. A major hurricane has the potential to cause large-scale damage in NYC. The city's resilience to flooding can be increased by improving and integrating flood insurance, flood zoning, and building code policies.

Indice de Indices en la Biblioteca de Hunter College para el Estudiante Hispano.

Science.gov (United States)

Talero Bielsa, Alberto; And Others

Designed for Spanish-speaking students of Hunter College of the City University of New York, this guide explains the use of 70 English-language indexes found in the college library. The explanations are given in Spanish in order to simplify the process of library research for students who are not completely comfortable with English. Each index is…

Predicting Mothers' Reports of Children's Mental Health Three Years after Hurricane Katrina

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, Sarah R.; Godoy, Leandra; Rhodes, Jean E.; Carter, Alice S.

2013-01-01

This study explored pathways through which hurricane-related stressors affected the psychological functioning of elementary school aged children who survived Hurricane Katrina. Participants included 184 mothers from the New Orleans area who completed assessments one year pre-disaster (Time 1), and one and three years post-disaster (Time 2 and Time…

Recent Atlantic Hurricanes, Pacific Super Typhoons, and Tropical Storm Awareness in Underdeveloped Island and Coastal Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Plondke, D. L.

2017-12-01

Hurricane Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the continental U.S. in 12 years. The next tropical storm in the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season was Hurricane Irma, a category 5 storm and the strongest storm to strike the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. These two storms were the third and fourth in a sequence of 10 consecutive storms to reach hurricane status in this season that ranks at least seventh among the most active seasons as measured by the Accumulate Cyclone Energy (ACE) index. Assessment of damage from Harvey may prove it to be the costliest storm in U.S. history, approaching $190 billion. Irma was the first category 5 hurricane to hit the Leeward Islands, devastating island environments including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Barbuda, Saint Barthelemy, and Anguilla with sustained winds reaching at times 185 mph. Together with the two super typhoons of the 2017 Pacific season, Noru and Lan, the two Atlantic hurricanes rank among the strongest, longest-lasting tropical cyclones on record. How many more billions of dollars will be expended in recovery and reconstruction efforts following future mega-disasters comparable to those of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma? Particularly on Caribbean and tropical Pacific islands with specialized and underdeveloped economies, aging and substandard infrastructure often cannot even partially mitigate against the impacts of major hurricanes. The most frequently used measurements of storm impact are insufficient to assess the economic impact. Analysis of the storm tracks and periods of greatest storm intensity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and Super Typhoons Lan and Noru, in spatial relationship with island and coastal administrative regions, shows that rainfall totals, flooded area estimates, and property/infrastructure damage dollar estimates are all quantitative indicators of storm impact, but do not measure the costs that result from lack of storm preparedness and education of residents

Landslides triggered by Hurricane Hugo in eastern Puerto Rico, September 1989

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Matthew C.; Torres-Sanchez, Angel J.

1992-01-01

On the morning of September 18, 1989, a category-four hurricane struck eastern Puerto Rico with a sustained wind speed in excess of 46 m/s. The 24-h rainfall accumulation from the hurricane ranged from 100 to 339 mm. Average rainfall intensities ranging from 34 to 39 mm/h were calculated for 4 and 6 h periods, respectively, at a rain gage equipped with satellite telemetry, and at an observer station. The hurricane rainfall triggered more than 400 landslides in the steeply sloping, highly dissected mountains of eastern Puerto Rico. Of these landslides, 285 were mapped from aerial photography which covered 6474 ha. Many of the mapped landslides were on northeast- and northwest-facing slopes at the eastern terminus of the mountains, nearest the hurricane path. The surface area of individual landslides ranged from 18 m2 to 4500 m2, with a median size of 148 m2. The 285 landslides disturbed 0.11% of the land surface in the area covered by aerial photographs. An approximate denudation rate of 164 mm/1000 y was calculated from the volume of material eroded by landsliding and the 10-y rainfall recurrence interval.

From the incident command center oil spills from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guidry, R.J. [Lousiana Oil Spill Coordinator' s Office, Baton Rouge, LA (United States)

2006-07-01

Approximately 30.2 million litres of oil were discharged during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A total of 230 incidents were reported to the state's spill response community, including ruptured pipelines, damaged and moved storage tanks, refineries, and sunken vessels. By January 2006, industry had reported the recovery of 14.7 million litres of oil. After Hurricane Rita, a further 234 off- and onshore incidents were reported. This paper presented a chronology from August 26 2005 through to June 2006 of clean-up activities for both hurricanes, with specific reference to logistic and communications issues associated with working in environments that are difficult to access due to damaged transportation infrastructure. An outline of the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office's role in the incidents was presented, as well as an overview of the Louisiana State Contingency Plan. It was noted that the lack of communications systems caused considerable difficulties for responders. It was concluded that responses to hurricanes can be made more effective by having all response communities incident command structure (ICS)-trained with a thorough knowledge of the National Response Plan as it relates to the National Contingency Plan. Ensuring that plans are operational, having clear lines of authority on all hurricane-related issues, and having a robust communications plan were recommended, as well as the ability to respond without communications.

From the incident command center oil spills from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guidry, R.J.

2006-01-01

Approximately 30.2 million litres of oil were discharged during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A total of 230 incidents were reported to the state's spill response community, including ruptured pipelines, damaged and moved storage tanks, refineries, and sunken vessels. By January 2006, industry had reported the recovery of 14.7 million litres of oil. After Hurricane Rita, a further 234 off- and onshore incidents were reported. This paper presented a chronology from August 26 2005 through to June 2006 of clean-up activities for both hurricanes, with specific reference to logistic and communications issues associated with working in environments that are difficult to access due to damaged transportation infrastructure. An outline of the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office's role in the incidents was presented, as well as an overview of the Louisiana State Contingency Plan. It was noted that the lack of communications systems caused considerable difficulties for responders. It was concluded that responses to hurricanes can be made more effective by having all response communities incident command structure (ICS)-trained with a thorough knowledge of the National Response Plan as it relates to the National Contingency Plan. Ensuring that plans are operational, having clear lines of authority on all hurricane-related issues, and having a robust communications plan were recommended, as well as the ability to respond without communications

The impact of Saharan Dust on the genesis and evolution of Hurricane Earl (2010)

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, B.; Wang, Y.; Hsieh, J. S.; Lin, Y.; Hu, J.; Zhang, R.

2017-12-01

Dust, one of the most abundant natural aerosols, can exert substantial radiative and microphysical effects on the regional climate and has potential impacts on the genesis and intensification of tropical cyclones (TCs). A Weather Research and Forecasting Model and the Regional Oceanic Modeling System coupled model (WRF-ROMS) is used to simulate the evolution of Hurricane Earl (2010), of which Earl was interfered by Saharan dust at the TC genesis stage. A new dust module has been implemented to the TAMU two-moment microphysics scheme in the WRF model. It accounts for both dust as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and Ice Nuclei (IN). The hurricane track, intensity and precipitation have been compared to the best track data and TRMM precipitation, respectively. The influences of Saharan dust on Hurricane Earl are investigated with dust-CCN, dust-IN, and dust-free scenarios. The analysis shows that Saharan dust changes the latent heat and moisture distribution, invigorates the convections in the hurricane's eyewall, and suppresses the development of Earl. This finding addresses the importance of accounting dust microphysics effect on hurricane predictions.

Near-source surface seismic measurements for the NPE, NPE Calibration, Hunter`s Trophy, and Mineral Quarry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinke, R.E.; Leverette, J.A. [Field Command Defense Nuclear Agency, Kirtland AFB, NM (United States); Stump, B.W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)] [and others

1994-12-31

An extensive seismic network was deployed on the surface of Rainier Mesa for both the Non-Proliferation Experiment (NPE) Calibration shot as well as the full scale NPE event. This network was very similar to previous deployments for the nuclear events MISTY ECHO, MINERAL QUARRY, and HUNTERS TROPHY. For the full scale NPE event three-component accelerometers and seismometers were fielded at 32 sites across the mesa. A slightly smaller network with 28 stations was in operation for the 300 pound NPE calibration event. The mesa top array included both accelerometers and seismometers. The accelerometers were used to obtain data from the main NPE event while the seismometers with their higher sensitivity were used to record the 300 pound cal shot and several hundred after events from the NPE. Large spatial variations in ground motion are evident in both the full mesa data set as well as a small (80 m on a side) aperture, 9-element triangular array. This paper summarizes the data and discusses wave propagation effects. A companion paper presents a comparative source analysis.

Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Inundation for Categories 2 and 4

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The file geodatabase (fgdb) contains the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Maximum of Maximums (MOM) model for hurricane categories 2 and 4. The...

How Disasters Affect Local Labor Markets: The Effects of Hurricanes in Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Belasen, Ariel R.; Polachek, Solomon W.

2009-01-01

This study improves upon the Difference in Difference approach by examining exogenous shocks using a Generalized Difference in Difference (GDD) technique that identifies economic effects of hurricanes. Based on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data, worker earnings in Florida counties hit by a hurricane increase up to 4 percent,…

Hurricanes, Coral Reefs and Rainforests: Resistance, Ruin and Recovery in the Caribbean

Science.gov (United States)

A. E. Lugo; C. S. Rogers; S. W Nixon

2000-01-01

The coexistence of hurricanes, coral reefs, and rainforests in the Caribbean demonstrates that highly structured ecosystems with great diversity can flourish in spite of recurring exposure to intense destructive energy. Coral reefs develop in response to wave energy and resist hurricanes largely by virtue of their structural strength. Limited fetch also protects some...

Just-in-Time Training: The Lessons of Hurricane Katrina, 10 Years Later

Science.gov (United States)

Boerner, Heather

2016-01-01

Hurricane Katrina reshaped college workforce development programs as thoroughly as it did the coastline--but in this case, the changes were for the good of students, employers and the community. This article discusses the effects and changes made by 4 community colleges who were effected by Hurricane Katrina: (1) Louisiana Community and Technical…

Do individual differences in use of cover habitat affect red deer`s (Cervus elaphus) probability of being shot by hunters?

OpenAIRE

Stamnes, Inga

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test if red deer (Cervus elaphus) habitat use affects their risk of being shot by hunters. I compared habitat use of 20 GPS-marked red deer that survived the hunting season with 20 individuals that were shot. I predicted that shot red deer used open areas within forested habitats with a better visibility for hunters than surviving red deer. I also predicted that the use of less risky habitat is costly in terms of foraging opportunity, with shot animals using b...

The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the mental health of New York area residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Rebecca M; Sison, Cristina; Kerath, Samantha M; Murphy, Lisa; Breil, Trista; Sikavi, Daniel; Taioli, Emanuela

2015-01-01

To evaluate the long-term psychological impact of Hurricane Sandy on New York residents. Prospective, cross-sectional study. Community-based study. From October 2013 to February 2015, 669 adults in Long Island, Queens, and Staten Island completed a survey on their behavioral and psychological health, demographics, and hurricane impact (ie, exposure). Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using multivariable logistic regression models, the relationships between Hurricane Sandy exposure and depression, anxiety, and PTSD were examined. Participants experienced an average of 3.9 exposures to Hurricane Sandy, most of which were related to property damage/loss. Probable depression was reported in 33.4 percent of participants, probable anxiety in 46 percent, and probable PTSD in 21.1 percent. Increased exposure to Hurricane Sandy was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.14), anxiety (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.13), and probable PTSD (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.23-1.40), even after controlling for demographic factors known to increase susceptibility to mental health issues. Individuals affected by Hurricane Sandy reported high levels of mental health issues and were at an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and PTSD in the years following the storm. Recovery and prevention efforts should focus on mental health issues in affected populations.

Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Matthew along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Frantz, Eric R.; Byrne,, Michael L.; Caldwell, Andral W.; Harden, Stephen L.

2017-11-02

IntroductionHurricane Matthew moved adjacent to the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The hurricane made landfall once near McClellanville, South Carolina, on October 8, 2016, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of storm-tide sensors at 284 sites along the Atlantic coast from Florida to North Carolina to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Matthew. Storm tide, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the water-level rise generated by a combination of storm surge and astronomical tide during a coastal storm.The deployment for Hurricane Matthew was the largest deployment of storm-tide sensors in USGS history and was completed as part of a coordinated Federal emergency response as outlined by the Stafford Act (Public Law 92–288, 42 U.S.C. 5121–5207) under a directed mission assignment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In total, 543 high-water marks (HWMs) also were collected after Hurricane Matthew, and this was the second largest HWM recovery effort in USGS history after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.During the hurricane, real-time water-level data collected at temporary rapid deployment gages (RDGs) and long-term USGS streamgage stations were relayed immediately for display on the USGS Flood Event Viewer (https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/FEV/#MatthewOctober2016). These data provided emergency managers and responders with critical information for tracking flood-effected areas and directing assistance to effected communities. Data collected from this hurricane can be used to calibrate and evaluate the performance of storm-tide models for maximum and incremental water level and flood extent, and the site-specific effects of storm tide on natural and anthropogenic features of the environment.

The Role of Porosity in the Formation of Coastal Boulder Deposits - Hurricane Versus Tsunami

Science.gov (United States)

Spiske, M.; Boeroecz, Z.; Bahlburg, H.

2007-12-01

Coastal boulder deposits are a consequence of high-energy wave impacts, such as storms, hurricanes or tsunami. Distinguishing parameters between storm, hurricane and tsunami origin are distance of a deposit from the coast, boulder weight and inferred wave height. Formulas to calculate minimum wave heights of both storm and tsunami waves depend on accurate determination of boulder dimensions and lithology from the respective deposits. At present however, boulder porosity appears to be commonly neglected, leading to significant errors in determined bulk density, especially when boulders consist of reef or coral limestone. This limits precise calculations of wave heights and hampers a clear distinction between storm, hurricane and tsunami origin. Our study uses Archimedean and optical 3D-profilometry measurements for the determination of porosities and bulk densities of reef and coral limestone boulders from the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC Islands, Netherlands Antilles). Due to the high porosities (up to 68 %) of the enclosed coral species, the weights of the reef rock boulders are as low as 20 % of previously calculated values. Hence minimum calculated heights both for tsunami and hurricane waves are smaller than previously proposed. We show that hurricane action appears to be the likely depositional mechanism for boulders on the ABC Islands, since 1) our calculations result in tsunami wave heights which do not permit the overtopping of coastal platforms on the ABC Islands, 2) boulder fields lie on the windward (eastern) sides of the islands, 3) recent hurricanes transported boulders up to 35 m3 and 4) the scarcity of tsunami events affecting the coasts of the ABC Islands compared to frequent impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Projecting future impacts of hurricanes on the carbon balance of eastern U.S. forests

Science.gov (United States)

Fisk, J. P.; Hurtt, G. C.; Chambers, J. Q.; Zeng, H.; Dolan, K.; Flanagan, S.; Rourke, O.; Negron Juarez, R. I.

2011-12-01

In U.S. Atlantic coastal areas, hurricanes are a principal agent of catastrophic wind damage, with dramatic impacts on the structure and functioning of forests. Substantial recent progress has been made to estimate the biomass loss and resulting carbon emissions caused by hurricanes impacting the U.S. Additionally, efforts to evaluate the net effects of hurricanes on the regional carbon balance have demonstrated the importance of viewing large disturbance events in the broader context of recovery from a mosaic of past events. Viewed over sufficiently long time scales and large spatial scales, regrowth from previous storms may largely offset new emissions; however, changes in number, strength or spatial distribution of extreme disturbance events will result in changes to the equilibrium state of the ecosystem and have the potential to result in a lasting carbon source or sink. Many recent studies have linked climate change to changes in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes. In this study, we use a mechanistic ecosystem model, the Ecosystem Demography (ED) model, driven by scenarios of future hurricane activity based on historic activity and future climate projections, to evaluate how changes in hurricane frequency, intensity and spatial distribution could affect regional carbon storage and flux over the coming century. We find a non-linear response where increased storm activity reduces standing biomass stocks reducing the impacts of future events. This effect is highly dependent on the spatial pattern and repeat interval of future hurricane activity. Developing this kind of predictive modeling capability that tracks disturbance events and recovery is key to our understanding and ability to predict the carbon balance of forests.

Effects of Hurricane Georges on habitat use by captive-reared Hispaniolan Parrots (Amazona ventralis) released in the Dominican Republic

Science.gov (United States)

White, T.H.; Collazo, J.A.; Vilella, F.J.; Guerrero, S.A.

2005-01-01

We radio-tagged and released 49 captive-reared Hispaniolan Parrots (Amazona ventralis) in Parque Nacional del Este (PNE), Dominican Republic, during 1997 and 1998. Our primary objective was to develop a restoration program centered on using aviary-reared birds to further the recovery of the critically endangered Puerto Rican Parrot (A. vittata). Hurricane Georges made landfall over the release area on 22 September 1998 with sustained winds of 224 km/h, providing us with a unique opportunity to quantify responses of parrots to such disturbances. Quantitative data on such responses by any avian species are scarce, particularly for Amazona species, many of which are in peril and occur in hurricane-prone areas throughout the Caribbean. Mean home ranges of 18 parrots monitored both before and after the hurricane increased (P = 0.08) from 864 ha (CI = 689-1039 ha) pre-hurricane to 1690 ha (CI = 1003-2377 ha) post-hurricane. The total area traversed by all parrots increased > 300%, from 4884 ha pre-hurricane to 15,490 ha post-hurricane. Before Hurricane Georges, parrot activity was concentrated in coastal scrub, tall broadleaf forest, and abandoned agriculture (conucos). After the hurricane, parrots concentrated their activities in areas of tall broadleaf forest and abandoned conucos. Topographic relief, primarily in the form of large sinkholes, resulted in "resource refugia" where parrots and other frugivores foraged after the hurricane. Habitat use and movement patterns exhibited by released birds highlight the importance of carefully considering effects of season, topography, and overall size of release areas when planning psittacine restorations in hurricane-prone areas. ?? The Neotropical Ornithological Society.

Investigation of long-term hurricane activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nguyen, B.M.; Van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a new approach of applying numerical methods to model storm processes. A storm empirical track technique is utilized to simulate the full tracks of hurricanes, starting with their initial points over the sea and ending with their landfall locations or final dissipations. The

Evidence for early hunters beneath the Great Lakes.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Shea, John M; Meadows, Guy A

2009-06-23

Scholars have hypothesized that the poorly understood and rarely encountered archaeological sites from the terminal Paleoindian and Archaic periods associated with the Lake Stanley low water stage (10,000-7,500 BP) are lost beneath the modern Great Lakes. Acoustic and video survey on the Alpena-Amberley ridge, a feature that would have been a dry land corridor crossing the Lake Huron basin during this time period, reveals the presence of a series of stone features that match, in form and location, structures used for caribou hunting in both prehistoric and ethnographic times. These results present evidence for early hunters on the Alpena-Amberley corridor, and raise the possibility that intact settlements and ancient landscapes are preserved beneath Lake Huron.

Hurricane-induced Sediment Transport and Morphological Change in Jamaica Bay, New York

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, K.; Chen, Q. J.

2016-02-01

Jamaica Bay is located in Brooklyn and Queens, New York on the western end of the south shore of the Long Island land mass. It experienced a conversion of more than 60% of the vegetated salt-marsh islands to intertidal and subtidal mudflats. Hurricanes and nor'easters are among the important driving forces that reshape coastal landscape quickly and affect wetland sustainability. Wetland protection and restoration need a better understanding of hydrodynamics and sediment transport in this area, especially under extreme weather conditions. Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall along east coast on October 30, 2012, provides a critical opportunity for studying the impacts of hurricanes on sedimentation, erosion and morphological changes in Jamaica Bay and salt marsh islands. The Delft3D model suit was applied to model hydrodynamics and sediment transport in Jamaica Bay and salt marsh islands. Three domains were set up for nesting computation. The local domain covering the bay and salt marshes has a resolution of 10 m. The wave module was online coupled with the flow module. Vegetation effects were considered as a large number of rigid cylinders by a sub-module in Delft3D. Parameters in sediment transport and morphological change were carefully chosen and calibrated. Prior- and post-Sandy Surface Elevation Table (SET)/accretion data including mark horizon (short-term) and 137Cs and 210Pb (long-term) at salt marsh islands in Jamaica Bay were used for model validation. Model results indicate that waves played an important role in hurricane-induced morphological change in Jamaica Bay and wetlands. In addition, numerical experiments were carried out to investigate the impacts of hypothetic hurricanes. This study has been supported by the U.S. Geological Survey Hurricane Sandy Disaster Recovery Act Funds.

Non-arborescent vegetation trajectories following repeated hurricane disturbance: ephemeral versus enduring responses

Science.gov (United States)

Alejandro A. Royo; Tamara Heartsill-Scalley; Samuel Moya; Fred N. Scatena

2011-01-01

Hurricanes strongly influence short-term patterns of plant community structure, composition, and abundance and are a major contributor to the maintenance of plant diversity in many forests. Although much research has focused on the immediate and long-term effects of hurricane disturbance on tree diversity, far less attention has been devoted to the non-arborescent...

Initial estimates of hurricane Katrina impacts of Mississippi gulf coast forest resources

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick A. Glass; Sonja N. Oswalt

2007-01-01

Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast of Mississippi on August 29, 2005. The eye wall of the storm passed directly over Hancock and Pearl River Counties. Harrison, Jackson, Stone, and George Counties on the windward side of the hurricane's path sustained severe damage before the storm's strength dissipated as it moved farther inland (fig. 1).

Hurricane Ike: Observations and Analysis of Coastal Change

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Kara S.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Stockdon, Hilary F.; Sallenger, Asbury H.; Serafin, Katherine A.

2009-01-01

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with the storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, and wave climate. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along the coast, but it is ultimately responsible for much of the energy that is transferred to the ocean and expressed as storm surge, mean currents, and large waves. Waves and currents are the processes most responsible for moving sediments in the coastal zone during extreme storm events. Storm surge, the rise in water level due to the wind, barometric pressure, and other factors, allows both waves and currents to attack parts of the coast not normally exposed to those processes. Coastal geomorphology, including shapes of the shoreline, beaches, and dunes, is equally important to the coastal change observed during extreme storm events. Relevant geomorphic variables include sand dune elevation, beach width, shoreline position, sediment grain size, and foreshore beach slope. These variables, in addition to hydrodynamic processes, can be used to predict coastal vulnerability to storms The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards Project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes), strives to provide hazard information to those interested in the Nation's coastlines, including residents of coastal areas, government agencies responsible for coastal management, and coastal researchers. As part of the National Assessment, observations were collected to measure coastal changes associated with Hurricane Ike, which made landfall near Galveston, Texas, on September 13, 2008. Methods of observation included aerial photography and airborne topographic surveys. This report documents these data-collection efforts and presents qualitative and quantitative descriptions of hurricane-induced changes to the shoreline

Modeling hurricane effects on mangrove ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Thomas W.

1997-01-01

Mangrove ecosystems are at their most northern limit along the coastline of Florida and in isolated areas of the gulf coast in Louisiana and Texas. Mangroves are marine-based forests that have adapted to colonize and persist in salty intertidal waters. Three species of mangrove trees are common to the United States, black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Mangroves are highly productive ecosystems and provide valuable habitat for fisheries and shorebirds. They are susceptible to lightning and hurricane disturbance, both of which occur frequently in south Florida. Climate change studies predict that, while these storms may not become more frequent, they may become more intense with warming sea temperatures. Sea-level rise alone has the potential for increasing the severity of storm surge, particularly in areas where coastal habitats and barrier shorelines are rapidly deteriorating. Given this possibility, U.S. Geological Survey researchers modeled the impact of hurricanes on south Florida mangrove communities.

Hurricanes, coral reefs and rainforests: resistance, ruin and recovery in the Caribbean

Science.gov (United States)

Lugo, Ariel E.; Rogers, Caroline S.; Nixon, Scott W.

2000-01-01

The coexistence of hurricanes, coral reefs, and rainforests in the Caribbean demonstrates that highly structured ecosystems with great diversity can flourish in spite of recurring exposure to intense destructive energy. Coral reefs develop in response to wave energy and resist hurricanes largely by virtue of their structural strength. Limited fetch also protects some reefs from fully developed hurricane waves. While storms may produce dramatic local reef damage, they appear to have little impact on the ability of coral reefs to provide food or habitat for fish and other animals. Rainforests experience an enormous increase in wind energy during hurricanes with dramatic structural changes in the vegetation. The resulting changes in forest microclimate are larger than those on reefs and the loss of fruit, leaves, cover, and microclimate has a great impact on animal populations. Recovery of many aspects of rainforest structure and function is rapid, though there may be long-term changes in species composition. While resistance and repair have maintained reefs and rainforests in the past, human impacts may threaten their ability to survive.

Post-Hurricane Successional Dynamics in Abundance and Diversity of Canopy Arthropods in a Tropical Rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

Schowalter, T D; Willig, M R; Presley, S J

2017-02-01

We quantified long-term successional trajectories of canopy arthropods on six tree species in a tropical rainforest ecosystem in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico that experienced repeated hurricane-induced disturbances during the 19-yr study (1991-2009). We expected: 1) differential performances of arthropod species to result in taxon- or guild-specific responses; 2) differences in initial conditions to result in distinct successional responses to each hurricane; and 3) the legacy of hurricane-created gaps to persist despite subsequent disturbances. At least one significant effect of gap, time after hurricane, or their interaction occurred for 53 of 116 analyses of taxon abundance, 31 of 84 analyses of guild abundance, and 21 of 60 analyses of biodiversity (e.g., richness, evenness, dominance, and rarity). Significant responses were ∼60% more common for time after hurricane than for gap creation, indicating that temporal changes in habitat during recovery were of primary importance. Both increases and decreases in abundance or diversity occurred in response to each factor. Guild-level responses were probably driven by changes in the abundance of resources on which they rely. For example, detritivores were most abundant soon after hurricanes when litter resources were elevated, whereas sap-suckers were most abundant in gaps where new foliage growth was the greatest. The legacy of canopy gaps created by Hurricane Hugo persisted for at least 19 yr, despite droughts and other hurricanes of various intensities that caused forest damage. This reinforces the need to consider historical legacies when seeking to understand responses to disturbance. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Petroleum industry assists hurricane relief

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that the petroleum industry is aiding victims of last month's Hurricane Andrew with cash, clothing, food, water, and other supplies. Cash contributions announced as of last week totaled more than $2.7 million for distribution in South Florida and South Louisiana. Petroleum industry employees were collecting relief items such as bottled water and diapers for distribution in those areas

Origin and diet of the prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the mediterranean island of Favignana (Ègadi Islands, Sicily.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcello A Mannino

Full Text Available Hunter-gatherers living in Europe during the transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene intensified food acquisition by broadening the range of resources exploited to include marine taxa. However, little is known on the nature of this dietary change in the Mediterranean Basin. A key area to investigate this issue is the archipelago of the Ègadi Islands, most of which were connected to Sicily until the early Holocene. The site of Grotta d'Oriente, on the present-day island of Favignana, was occupied by hunter-gatherers when Postglacial environmental changes were taking place (14,000-7,500 cal BP. Here we present the results of AMS radiocarbon dating, palaeogenetic and isotopic analyses undertaken on skeletal remains of the humans buried at Grotta d'Oriente. Analyses of the mitochondrial hypervariable first region of individual Oriente B, which belongs to the HV-1 haplogroup, suggest for the first time on genetic grounds that humans living in Sicily during the early Holocene could have originated from groups that migrated from the Italian Peninsula around the Last Glacial Maximum. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses show that the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Favignana consumed almost exclusively protein from terrestrial game and that there was only a slight increase in marine food consumption from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene. This dietary change was similar in scale to that at sites on mainland Sicily and in the rest of the Mediterranean, suggesting that the hunter-gatherers of Grotta d'Oriente did not modify their subsistence strategies specifically to adapt to the progressive isolation of Favignana. The limited development of technologies for intensively exploiting marine resources was probably a consequence both of Mediterranean oligotrophy and of the small effective population size of these increasingly isolated human groups, which made innovation less likely and prevented transmission of

Origin and Diet of the Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers on the Mediterranean Island of Favignana (Ègadi Islands, Sicily)

Science.gov (United States)

Mannino, Marcello A.; Catalano, Giulio; Talamo, Sahra; Mannino, Giovanni; Di Salvo, Rosaria; Schimmenti, Vittoria; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Messina, Andrea; Petruso, Daria; Caramelli, David; Richards, Michael P.; Sineo, Luca

2012-01-01

Hunter-gatherers living in Europe during the transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene intensified food acquisition by broadening the range of resources exploited to include marine taxa. However, little is known on the nature of this dietary change in the Mediterranean Basin. A key area to investigate this issue is the archipelago of the Ègadi Islands, most of which were connected to Sicily until the early Holocene. The site of Grotta d’Oriente, on the present-day island of Favignana, was occupied by hunter-gatherers when Postglacial environmental changes were taking place (14,000-7,500 cal BP). Here we present the results of AMS radiocarbon dating, palaeogenetic and isotopic analyses undertaken on skeletal remains of the humans buried at Grotta d’Oriente. Analyses of the mitochondrial hypervariable first region of individual Oriente B, which belongs to the HV-1 haplogroup, suggest for the first time on genetic grounds that humans living in Sicily during the early Holocene could have originated from groups that migrated from the Italian Peninsula around the Last Glacial Maximum. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses show that the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Favignana consumed almost exclusively protein from terrestrial game and that there was only a slight increase in marine food consumption from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene. This dietary change was similar in scale to that at sites on mainland Sicily and in the rest of the Mediterranean, suggesting that the hunter-gatherers of Grotta d’Oriente did not modify their subsistence strategies specifically to adapt to the progressive isolation of Favignana. The limited development of technologies for intensively exploiting marine resources was probably a consequence both of Mediterranean oligotrophy and of the small effective population size of these increasingly isolated human groups, which made innovation less likely and prevented transmission of fitness

GRIP HURRICANE IMAGING RADIOMETER (HIRAD) V1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GRIP Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) V1 dataset contains measurements of brightness temperature taken at 4, 5, 6 and 6.6 GHz, as well as MERRA 2 m wind...

Using Large-Eddy Simulations to Define Spectral and Coherence Characteristics of the Hurricane Boundary Layer for Wind-Energy Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Worsnop, Rochelle P.; Bryan, George H.; Lundquist, Julie K.; Zhang, Jun A.

2017-10-01

Offshore wind-energy development is planned for regions where hurricanes commonly occur, such as the USA Atlantic Coast. Even the most robust wind-turbine design (IEC Class I) may be unable to withstand a Category-2 hurricane (hub-height wind speeds >50 m s^{-1}). Characteristics of the hurricane boundary layer that affect the structural integrity of turbines, especially in major hurricanes, are poorly understood, primarily due to a lack of adequate observations that span typical turbine heights (wind profiles of an idealized Category-5 hurricane at high spatial (10 m) and temporal (0.1 s) resolution. By comparison with unique flight-level observations from a field project, we find that a relatively simple configuration of the Cloud Model I model accurately represents the properties of Hurricane Isabel (2003) in terms of mean wind speeds, wind-speed variances, and power spectra. Comparisons of power spectra and coherence curves derived from our hurricane simulations to those used in current turbine design standards suggest that adjustments to these standards may be needed to capture characteristics of turbulence seen within the simulated hurricane boundary layer. To enable improved design standards for wind turbines to withstand hurricanes, we suggest modifications to account for shifts in peak power to higher frequencies and greater spectral coherence at large separations.

76 FR 46149 - Financial Assistance: Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration, Hunter Education and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-01

... these regulations on June 10, 2010, to address changes in law, regulation, policy, technology, and... Service 50 CFR Part 80 Financial Assistance: Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration, Hunter... 80 [Docket No. FWS-R9-WSR-2009-0088; 91400-5110-POLI-7B; 91400-9410-POLI- 7B] RIN 1018-AW65 Financial...

Assessment of Risk of Cholera in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Rakib; Anwar, Rifat; Akanda, Shafqat; McDonald, Michael D; Huq, Anwar; Jutla, Antarpreet; Colwell, Rita

2017-09-01

Damage to the inferior and fragile water and sanitation infrastructure of Haiti after Hurricane Matthew has created an urgent public health emergency in terms of likelihood of cholera occurring in the human population. Using satellite-derived data on precipitation, gridded air temperature, and hurricane path and with information on water and sanitation (WASH) infrastructure, we tracked changing environmental conditions conducive for growth of pathogenic vibrios. Based on these data, we predicted and validated the likelihood of cholera cases occurring past hurricane. The risk of cholera in the southwestern part of Haiti remained relatively high since November 2016 to the present. Findings of this study provide a contemporary process for monitoring ground conditions that can guide public health intervention to control cholera in human population by providing access to vaccines, safe WASH facilities. Assuming current social and behavioral patterns remain constant, it is recommended that WASH infrastructure should be improved and considered a priority especially before 2017 rainy season.

Wind and waves in extreme hurricanes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holthuijsen, L.H.; Powell, M.D.; Pietrzak, J.D.

2012-01-01

Waves breaking at the ocean surface are important to the dynamical, chemical and biological processes at the air-sea interface. The traditional view is that the white capping and aero-dynamical surface roughness increase with wind speed up to a limiting value. This view is fundamental to hurricane

Climate Prediction Center - Atlantic Hurricane Outlook

Science.gov (United States)

Weather Service NWS logo - Click to go to the NWS home page Climate Prediction Center Home Site Map News ; Seasonal Climate Summary Archive The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season outlook is an official product of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC). The outlook is

Evacuating the Area of a Hurricane

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2006-08-10

If a hurricane warning is issued for your area, or authorities tell you to evacuate, take only essential items. If you have time, turn off gas, electricity, and water and disconnect appliances.  Created: 8/10/2006 by Emergency Communications System.   Date Released: 10/10/2007.

Hurricane & Tropical Storm Impacts over the South Florida Metropolitan Area: Mortality & Government

Science.gov (United States)

Colon Pagan, I. C.

2007-12-01

Since 1985, the South Florida Metropolitan area (SFMA), which covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, has been directly affected by 9 tropical cyclones: four tropical storms and 5 hurricanes. This continuous hurricane and tropical storm activity has awakened the conscience of the communities, government, and private sector, about the social vulnerability, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and others. Several factors have also been significant enough to affect the vulnerability of the South Florida Metropolitan area, like its geographic location which is at the western part of the Atlantic hurricane track, with a surface area of 6,137 square miles, and elevation of 15 feet. And second, from the 2006 Census estimate, this metropolitan area is the 7th most populous area in the United States supporting almost 1,571 individuals per square mile. Mortality levels due to hurricanes and tropical storms have fluctuated over the last 21 years without any signal of a complete reduction, a phenomenon that can be related to both physical characteristics of the storms and government actions. The average annual death count remains almost the same from 4.10 between 1985 and 1995 to 4 from 1996 to 2006. However, the probability of occurrence of a direct impact of an atmospheric disturbance has increase from 0.3 to 0.6, with an average of three hurricane or tropical storm direct impacts for every five. This analysis suggests an increasing problem with regard to atmospheric disturbances-related deaths in the South Florida Metropolitan area. In other words, despite substantial increases in population during the last 21 years, the number of tropical cyclone-related deaths is not declining; it's just being segregated among more storms. Gaps between each impact can be related to mortality levels. When that time increases in five years or more, such as Bob and Andrew or Irene and Katrina, or decreases in weeks or months, such as Harvey and Irene or Katrina and Wilma

JLAB Hurricane recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A. Hutton; D. Arenius; J. Benesch; S. Chattopadhyay; E. F. Daly; O. Garza; R. Kazimi; R. Lauzi; L. Merminga; W. Merz; R. Nelson; W. Oren; M. Poelker; P. Powers; J. Preble; V. Ganni; C. R. Reece; R. Rimmer; M. Spata; S. Suhring

2004-01-01

Hurricane Isabel, originally a Category 5 storm, arrived at Jefferson Lab on September 18, 2003 with winds of only 75 mph, creating little direct damage to the infrastructure. However, electric power was lost for four days allowing the superconducting cryomodules to warm up and causing a total loss of the liquid helium. The subsequent recovery of the cryomodules and the impact of the considerable amount of opportunistic preventive maintenance provides important lessons for all accelerator complexes, not only those with superconducting elements. The details of how the recovery process was structured and the resulting improvement in accelerator availability will be discussed in detail

Hurricane Isaac: observations and analysis of coastal change

Science.gov (United States)

Guy, Kristy K.; Stockdon, Hilary F.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Doran, Kara S.; Morgan, Karen L.M.

2013-01-01

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with a storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical process of interest is sediment transport that is driven by waves, currents, and storm surge associated with storms. Storm surge, which is the rise in water level due to the wind, barometric pressure, and other factors, allows both waves and currents to impact parts of the coast not normally exposed to these processes. Coastal geomorphology reflects the coastal changes associated with extreme-storm processes. Relevant geomorphic variables that are observable before and after storms include sand dune elevation, beach width, shoreline position, sediment grain size, and foreshore beach slope. These variables, in addition to hydrodynamic processes, can be used to quantify coastal change and are used to predict coastal vulnerability to storms (Stockdon and others, 2007). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards (NACCH) project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/national-assessment/) provides hazard information to those concerned about the Nation’s coastlines, including residents of coastal areas, government agencies responsible for coastal management, and coastal researchers. Extreme-storm research is a component of the NACCH project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/) that includes development of predictive understanding, vulnerability assessments using models, and updated observations in response to specific storm events. In particular, observations were made to determine morphological changes associated with Hurricane Isaac, which made landfall in the United States first at Southwest Pass, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, at 0000 August 29, 2012 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) and again, 8 hours later, west of Port Fourchon, Louisiana (Berg, 2013). Methods of observation included oblique aerial photography

Forecasting Hurricane Tracks Using a Complex Adaptive System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lear, Matthew R

2005-01-01

Forecast hurricane tracks using a multi-model ensemble that consists of linearly combining the individual model forecasts have greatly reduced the average forecast errors when compared to individual...

Use of outpatient mental health services by homeless veterans after hurricanes.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Lisa M; Barnett, Scott; Hickling, Edward; Frahm, Kathryn; Campbell, Robert R; Olney, Ronald; Schinka, John A; Casey, Roger

2013-05-01

Little is known about the impact of hurricanes on people who are homeless at the time a disaster occurs. Although researchers have extensively studied the psychosocial consequences of disaster produced homelessness on the general population, efforts focused on understanding how homeless people fare have been limited to a few media reports and the gray literature. In the event of a hurricane, homeless veterans may be at increased risk for negative outcomes because of their cumulative vulnerabilities. Health care statistics consistently document that homeless veterans experience higher rates of medical, emotional, substance abuse, legal, and financial problems compared with the general population. This study used the 2004 to 2006 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Outpatient Medical Dataset to examine the effects of hurricanes on use of outpatient mental health services by homeless veterans. Homeless veterans residing in hurricane-affected counties were significantly more likely to participate in group psychotherapy (32.4% vs. 13.4%, p < .002), but less likely to participate in individual 30-40-min sessions with medical evaluations (3.5% vs. 17.3%, p < .001). The study findings have implications for homeless programs and the provision of VHA mental health services to homeless veterans postdisaster. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnorr, Stephanie L; Candela, Marco; Rampelli, Simone; Centanni, Manuela; Consolandi, Clarissa; Basaglia, Giulia; Turroni, Silvia; Biagi, Elena; Peano, Clelia; Severgnini, Marco; Fiori, Jessica; Gotti, Roberto; De Bellis, Gianluca; Luiselli, Donata; Brigidi, Patrizia; Mabulla, Audax; Marlowe, Frank; Henry, Amanda G; Crittenden, Alyssa N

2014-04-15

Human gut microbiota directly influences health and provides an extra means of adaptive potential to different lifestyles. To explore variation in gut microbiota and to understand how these bacteria may have co-evolved with humans, here we investigate the phylogenetic diversity and metabolite production of the gut microbiota from a community of human hunter-gatherers, the Hadza of Tanzania. We show that the Hadza have higher levels of microbial richness and biodiversity than Italian urban controls. Further comparisons with two rural farming African groups illustrate other features unique to Hadza that can be linked to a foraging lifestyle. These include absence of Bifidobacterium and differences in microbial composition between the sexes that probably reflect sexual division of labour. Furthermore, enrichment in Prevotella, Treponema and unclassified Bacteroidetes, as well as a peculiar arrangement of Clostridiales taxa, may enhance the Hadza's ability to digest and extract valuable nutrition from fibrous plant foods.

Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Inundation for Categories 2 and 4

Science.gov (United States)

The file geodatabase (fgdb) contains the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) Maximum of Maximums (MOM) model for hurricane categories 2 and 4. The EPA Office of Research & Development (ORD) modified the original model from NOAA to fit the model parameters for the Buzzards Bay region. The models show storm surge extent for the Mattapoisett area and therefore the flooding area was reduced to the study area. Areas of flooding that were not connected to the main water body were removed. The files in the geodatabase are:Cat2_SLR0_Int_Feet_dissolve_Mattapoisett: Current Category 2 hurricane with 0 ft sea level riseCat4_SLR0_Int_Feet_dissolve_Mattapoisett: Current Category 4 hurricane with 0 ft sea level riseCat4_SLR4_Int_Feet_dissolve_Mattapoisett: Future Category 4 hurricane with 4 feet sea level riseThe features support the Weather Ready Mattapoisett story map, which can be accessed via the following link:https://epa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=1ff4f1d28a254cb689334799d94b74e2

Hurricane Activity and the Large-Scale Pattern of Spread of an Invasive Plant Species

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattarai, Ganesh P.; Cronin, James T.

2014-01-01

Disturbances are a primary facilitator of the growth and spread of invasive species. However, the effects of large-scale disturbances, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, on the broad geographic patterns of invasive species growth and spread have not been investigated. We used historical aerial imagery to determine the growth rate of invasive Phragmites australis patches in wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These were relatively undisturbed wetlands where P. australis had room for unrestricted growth. Over the past several decades, invasive P. australis stands expanded in size by 6–35% per year. Based on tropical storm and hurricane activity over that same time period, we found that the frequency of hurricane-force winds explained 81% of the variation in P. australis growth over this broad geographic range. The expansion of P. australis stands was strongly and positively correlated with hurricane frequency. In light of the many climatic models that predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes over the next century, these results suggest a strong link between climate change and species invasion and a challenging future ahead for the management of invasive species. PMID:24878928

Impacts of cloud flare-ups on hurricane intensity resulting from departures from balance laws

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. N. Krishnamurti

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Cloud flare-ups along the inner eye wall of a hurricane lead to enhancement of cloud scale divergence, which in turn leads to a large local enhancement of the departure from balance laws and can lead to local supergradient winds. This scenario is tested using the results from a mesoscale microphysical model at horizontal resolution of 1.33 km for the simulation of hurricane Katrina. Rainwater mixing ratio tags growing cloud elements. The departure from balance laws includes terms such as the local, horizontal and vertical advections of divergence, divergence square and a term invoking the gradient of vertical velocity. It is noted that these terms collectively contribute to a substantial local enhancement of the departure from balance laws. Departures from balance laws are related to the radial gradient wind imbalances in a storm-centred coordinate. In this study, several examples, from the hurricane Katrina simulations, that display this scenario of rapid intensification are illustrated. Organisation of convection in the azimuthal direction seems important for the hurricane scale; cloud flare-ups away from such regions of azimuthal organisation fail to contribute to this scenario for the overall intensification of the hurricane.

Modelling dune erosion, overwash and breaching at Fire Island (NY) during hurricane Sandy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Vet, P.L.M.; McCall, R.T.; Den Bieman, J.P.; Stive, M.J.F.; Van Ormondt, M.

2015-01-01

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused a breach at Fire Island (NY, USA), near Pelican Island. This paper aims at modelling dune erosion, overwash and breaching processes that occured during the hurricane event at this stretch of coast with the numerical model XBeach. By using the default settings, the

Avian influenza prevalence among hunter-harvested birds in a remote Canadian First Nation community.

Science.gov (United States)

Liberda, Eric N; Meldrum, Richard; Charania, Nadia A; Davey, Robert; Tsuji, Leonard Js

2017-01-01

Avian influenza virus (AIV) prevalence has been associated with wild game and other bird species. The contamination of these birds may pose a greater risk to those who regularly hunt and consumed infected species. Due to resident concerns communicated by local Band Council, hunter-harvested birds from a remote First Nation community in subArctic Ontario, Canada were assessed for AIV. Hunters, and especially those who live a subsistence lifestyle, are at higher risk of AIV exposure due to their increased contact with wild birds, which represent an important part of their diet. Cloacal swabs from 304 harvested game birds representing several species of wild birds commonly hunted and consumed in this First Nation community were analyzed for AIV using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Subtyping was performed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Sequences were assembled using Lasergene, and the sequences were compared to Genbank. In total, 16 of the 304 cloacal swab samples were positive for AIV. Of the 16 positive samples, 12 were found in mallard ducks, 3 were found in snow geese (wavies), and 1 positive sample was found in partridge. The AIV samples were subtyped, when possible, and found to be positive for the low pathogenic avian influenza virus subtypes H3 and H4. No samples were positive for subtypes of human concern, namely H5 and H7. This work represents the first AIV monitoring program results of hunter-harvested birds in a remote subsistence First Nation community. Community-level surveillance of AIV in remote subsistence hunting communities may help to identify future risks, while educating those who may have the highest exposure about proper handling of hunted birds. Ultimately, only low pathogenic strains of AIV were found, but monitoring should be continued and expanded to safeguard those with the highest exposure risk to AIV.

Risk Perceptions on Hurricanes: Evidence from the U.S. Stock Market.

Science.gov (United States)

Feria-Domínguez, José Manuel; Paneque, Pilar; Gil-Hurtado, María

2017-06-05

This article examines the market reaction of the main Property and Casualty (P & C) insurance companies listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to seven most recent hurricanes that hit the East Coast of the United States from 2005 to 2012. For this purpose, we run a standard short horizon event study in order to test the existence of abnormal returns around the landfalls. P & C companies are one of the most affected sectors by such events because of the huge losses to rebuild, help and compensate the inhabitants of the affected areas. From the financial investors' perception, this kind of events implies severe losses, which could influence the expected returns. Our research highlights the existence of significant cumulative abnormal returns around the landfall event window in most of the hurricanes analyzed, except for the Katrina and Sandy Hurricanes.

Metal concentrations in schoolyard soils from New Orleans, Louisiana before and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Science.gov (United States)

Presley, Steven M; Abel, Michael T; Austin, Galen P; Rainwater, Thomas R; Brown, Ray W; McDaniel, Les N; Marsland, Eric J; Fornerette, Ashley M; Dillard, Melvin L; Rigdon, Richard W; Kendall, Ronald J; Cobb, George P

2010-06-01

The long-term environmental impact and potential human health hazards resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita throughout much of the United States Gulf Coast, particularly in the New Orleans, Louisiana, USA area are still being assessed and realized after more than four years. Numerous government agencies and private entities have collected environmental samples from throughout New Orleans and found concentrations of contaminants exceeding human health screening values as established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for air, soil, and water. To further assess risks of exposure to toxic concentrations of soil contaminants for citizens, particularly children, returning to live in New Orleans following the storms, soils collected from schoolyards prior to Hurricane Katrina and after Hurricane Rita were screened for 26 metals. Concentrations exceeding USEPA Regional Screening Levels (USEPA-RSL), total exposure, non-cancer endpoints, for residential soils for arsenic (As), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), and thallium (Tl) were detected in soil samples collected from schoolyards both prior to Hurricane Katrina and after Hurricane Rita. Approximately 43% (9/21) of schoolyard soils collected prior to Hurricane Katrina contained Pb concentrations greater than 400mgkg(-1), and samples from four schoolyards collected after Hurricane Rita contained detectable Pb concentrations, with two exceeding 1700mgkg(-1). Thallium concentrations exceeded USEPA-RSL in samples collected from five schoolyards after Hurricane Rita. Based upon these findings and the known increased susceptibility of children to the effects of Pb exposure, a more extensive assessment of the soils in schoolyards, public parks and other residential areas of New Orleans for metal contaminants is warranted. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of Ground, Buoys, Satellite and Model data to map the Changes in Meteorological Parameters Associated with Harvey Hurricane

Science.gov (United States)

Chauhan, A.; Sarkar, S.; Singh, R. P.

2017-12-01

The coastal areas have dense onshore and marine observation network and are also routinely monitored by constellation of satellites. The monitoring of ocean, land and atmosphere through a range of meteorological parameters, provides information about the land and ocean surface. Satellite data also provide information at different pressure levels that help to access the development of tropical storms and formation of hurricanes at different categories. Integration of ground, buoys, satellite and model data showing the changes in meteorological parameters during the landfall stages of hurricane Harvey will be discussed. Hurricane Harvey was one of the deadliest hurricanes at the Gulf coast which caused intense flooding from the precipitation. The various observation networks helped city administrators to evacuate the coastal areas, that minimized the loss of lives compared to the Galveston hurricane of 1900 which took 10,000 lives. Comparison of meteorological parameters derived from buoys, ground stations and satellites associated with Harvey and 2005 Katrina hurricane present some of the interesting features of the two hurricanes.

Sex differences in Nintendo Wii performance as expected from hunter-gatherer selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherney, Isabelle D; Poss, Jordan L

2008-06-01

To test the hunter-gatherer theory of cognitive sex differences, men and women each played four video games on a Wii console: two games simulating skills necessary for hunting (navigation and shooting) and two games simulating skills necessary for gathering (fine motor and visual search). Men outperformed women on the two hunting games, whereas there were no sex differences on the gathering skill games. The findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychology theory.

Rhode Island Hurricane Evacuation Study Technical Data Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1995-01-01

... evacuation decision-making. To accomplish this, the study provides information on the extent and severity of potential flooding from hurricanes, the associated vulnerable population, capacities of existing public shelters...

Rhode Island Hurricane Evacuation Study Technical Data Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1995-01-01

.... The purpose of the study is to provide the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and Rhode Island coastal communities with realistic data quantifying the major factors involved in hurricane...

High frequency of lactose intolerance in a prehistoric hunter-gatherer population in northern Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holmlund Gunilla

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genes and culture are believed to interact, but it has been difficult to find direct evidence for the process. One candidate example that has been put forward is lactase persistence in adulthood, i.e. the ability to continue digesting the milk sugar lactose after childhood, facilitating the consumption of raw milk. This genetic trait is believed to have evolved within a short time period and to be related with the emergence of sedentary agriculture. Results Here we investigate the frequency of an allele (-13910*T associated with lactase persistence in a Neolithic Scandinavian population. From the 14 individuals originally examined, 10 yielded reliable results. We find that the T allele frequency was very low (5% in this Middle Neolithic hunter-gatherer population, and that the frequency is dramatically different from the extant Swedish population (74%. Conclusions We conclude that this difference in frequency could not have arisen by genetic drift and is either due to selection or, more likely, replacement of hunter-gatherer populations by sedentary agriculturalists.

Seasonal and Long-term Variations in 137Cs Among Adults from Swedish Hunter Families

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agren, G.

2001-01-01

To study seasonal variations in 137 Cs, whole-body content measurements of adults from Swedish hunter families have been performed in autumn 1997 and spring 1998. Measurements were performed in three locations, By, Harbo and Gavle, geographically close (within 100 km of each other) but with large differences in ground deposition levels. The hunter families at these three locations were previously measured in 1994. The measured persons were also asked for their frequency of intake of moose, roe-deer, freshwater fish, mushrooms and berries. A statistically significant lower frequency of intake of mushrooms and berries in By, moose, roe-deer and mushrooms in Harbo, and moose in Gavle was found in springtime compared to autumn. In one of the locations, there was a statistically significant lower average 137 Cs whole-body content in spring 1998 than in autumn 1997 while in the other two locations no such effects could be seen. The 137 Cs whole-body content has decreased by 37% from 1994 and to 1998 (including physical decay) correlated to an effective ecological half time of 6 years. (author)

Influence of potential sea level rise on societal vulnerability to hurricane storm-surge hazards, Sarasota County, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Frazier, Tim G.; Wood, Nathan; Yarnal, Brent; Bauer, Denise H.

2010-01-01

Although the potential for hurricanes under current climatic conditions continue to threaten coastal communities, there is concern that climate change, specifically potential increases in sea level, could influence the impacts of future hurricanes. To examine the potential effect of sea level rise on community vulnerability to future hurricanes, we assess variations in socioeconomic exposure in Sarasota County, FL, to contemporary hurricane storm-surge hazards and to storm-surge hazards enhanced by sea level rise scenarios. Analysis indicates that significant portions of the population, economic activity, and critical facilities are in contemporary and future hurricane storm-surge hazard zones. The addition of sea level rise to contemporary storm-surge hazard zones effectively causes population and asset (infrastructure, natural resources, etc) exposure to be equal to or greater than what is in the hazard zone of the next higher contemporary Saffir–Simpson hurricane category. There is variability among communities for this increased exposure, with greater increases in socioeconomic exposure due to the addition of sea level rise to storm-surge hazard zones as one progresses south along the shoreline. Analysis of the 2050 comprehensive land use plan suggests efforts to manage future growth in residential, economic and infrastructure development in Sarasota County may increase societal exposure to hurricane storm-surge hazards.

Assessing the present and future probability of Hurricane Harvey’s rainfall

OpenAIRE

Emanuel, Kerry

2017-01-01

Significance Natural disasters such as the recent Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria highlight the need for quantitative estimates of the risk of such disasters. Statistically based risk assessment suffers from short records of often poor quality, and in the case of meteorological hazards, from the fact that the underlying climate is changing. This study shows how a recently developed physics-based risk assessment method can be applied to assessing the probabilities of extreme hurricane rainf...

Geospatial relationships of tree species damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in south Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Mark W. Garrigues; Zhaofei Fan; David L. Evans; Scott D. Roberts; William H. Cooke III

2012-01-01

Hurricane Katrina generated substantial impacts on the forests and biological resources of the affected area in Mississippi. This study seeks to use classification tree analysis (CTA) to determine which variables are significant in predicting hurricane damage (shear or windthrow) in the Southeast Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory District. Logistic regressions...

First Spaceborne GNSS-Reflectometry Observations of Hurricanes From the UK TechDemoSat-1 Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Foti, Giuseppe; Gommenginger, Christine; Srokosz, Meric

2017-12-01

We present the first examples of Global Navigation Satellite Systems-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) observations of hurricanes using spaceborne data from the UK TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) mission. We confirm that GNSS-R signals can detect ocean condition changes in very high near-surface ocean wind associated with hurricanes. TDS-1 GNSS-R reflections were collocated with International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) hurricane data, MetOp ASCAT A/B scatterometer winds, and two reanalysis products. Clear variations of GNSS-R reflected power (σ0) are observed as reflections travel through hurricanes, in some cases up to and through the eye wall. The GNSS-R reflected power is tentatively inverted to estimate wind speed using the TDS-1 baseline wind retrieval algorithm developed for low to moderate winds. Despite this, TDS-1 GNSS-R winds through the hurricanes show closer agreement with IBTrACS estimates than winds provided by scatterometers and reanalyses. GNSS-R wind profiles show realistic spatial patterns and sharp gradients that are consistent with expected structures around the eye of tropical cyclones.

A Near-Annual Record of Hurricane Activity From the Little Bahama Bank Over the Last 700 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, T. S.; van Hengstum, P. J.; Donnelly, J. P.; Sullivan, R.; Albury, N. A.

2016-12-01

Long-term and high-resolution records of hurricane activity that extend past the short observational record (8m vibracores collected with a Rossfelder P-3. The previous core analyzed (TPBH-C1, Continental Shelf Research, 2014) was likely obtained from the cave-area of the bluehole, and previous radiocarbon-dated bivalves deeper in the core were likely impacted by an old-carbon effect, casting doubt on the veracity of the previous age-model at this site. Recent overwash beds from Hurricane Jeanne (2004) and Hurricane Floyd (1999) are present at all coretops, and additional radiocarbon dating that includes terrestrial organic matter fragments indicates a near-annual sedimentation rate in the bluehole (>1cm yr-1), with the record spanning the last 700 years. Since 1866 CE, 12 hurricanes with wind speeds exceeding Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale (wind speeds 154-177 km hr-1) have passed within a 50 km radius of TPBH, many of which can be associated with coarse-grained overwash deposits in the top 200 cm of TPBH-C3. It appears from this high-resolution record that 1500-1650 CE and 1750-1800 CE were active intervals for hurricanes near Abaco, which were previously identified in a lower-resolution (multi-decadal) hurricane reconstruction from Abaco (Blackwood Sinkhole). Additionally, these active intervals coincide with evidence of regional storminess from multiple reconstructions based on historical archives (e.g.: Archivo General de Indias, newspapers, ships' logbooks, meteorological journals), and the 1500-1650 CE active interval falls within a previously identified 1400-1675 CE active interval of intense hurricane strikes on the Northeastern United States. Once the age-model is finalized, further comparison of this record to other regional oceanographic and high-resolution hurricane reconstructions may provide further insight into the drivers of hurricane activity during the last millennium.

Development and Application of Syndromic Surveillance for Severe Weather Events Following Hurricane Sandy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Stella; Hamby, Teresa; Chu, Alvin; Gleason, Jessie A; Goodrow, Gabrielle M; Gu, Hui; Lifshitz, Edward; Fagliano, Jerald A

2016-06-01

Following Hurricane Superstorm Sandy, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) developed indicators to enhance syndromic surveillance for extreme weather events in EpiCenter, an online system that collects and analyzes real-time chief complaint emergency department (ED) data and classifies each visit by indicator or syndrome. These severe weather indicators were finalized by using 2 steps: (1) key word inclusion by review of chief complaints from cases where diagnostic codes met selection criteria and (2) key word exclusion by evaluating cases with key words of interest that lacked selected diagnostic codes. Graphs compared 1-month, 3-month, and 1-year periods of 8 Hurricane Sandy-related severe weather event indicators against the same period in the following year. Spikes in overall ED visits were observed immediately after the hurricane for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, the 3 disrupted outpatient medical care indicators, asthma, and methadone-related substance use. Zip code level scan statistics indicated clusters of CO poisoning and increased medicine refill needs during the 2 weeks after Hurricane Sandy. CO poisoning clusters were identified in areas with power outages of 4 days or longer. This endeavor gave the NJDOH a clearer picture of the effects of Hurricane Sandy and yielded valuable state preparation information to monitor the effects of future severe weather events. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:463-471).

Teaching Experientially with the Madeline Hunter Method: An Application in a Marketing Research Course

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Alvin C.

2006-01-01

Due to concerns about the disparity of learning and the high nonresponse rates encountered by student marketing research teams working with sponsors, the author adopted the Hunter Method to restructure his course. This method requires the use of a model onto which students can map their learning via guided practice as well as independent practice.…

Understanding household preferences for hurricane risk mitigation information: evidence from survey responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatterjee, Chiradip; Mozumder, Pallab

2014-06-01

Risk information is critical to adopting mitigation measures, and seeking risk information is influenced by a variety of factors. An essential component of the recently adopted My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) program by the State of Florida is to provide homeowners with pertinent risk information to facilitate hurricane risk mitigation activities. We develop an analytical framework to understand household preferences for hurricane risk mitigation information through allowing an intensive home inspection. An empirical analysis is used to identify major drivers of household preferences to receive personalized information regarding recommended hurricane risk mitigation measures. A variety of empirical specifications show that households with home insurance, prior experience with damages, and with a higher sense of vulnerability to be affected by hurricanes are more likely to allow inspection to seek information. However, households with more members living in the home and households who live in manufactured/mobile homes are less likely to allow inspection. While findings imply MSFH program's ability to link incentives offered by private and public agencies in promoting mitigation, households that face a disproportionately higher level of risk can get priority to make the program more effective. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

What role do hurricanes play in sediment delivery to subsiding river deltas?

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, James E.; Bentley, Samuel J.; Snedden, Gregg; White, Crawford

2015-01-01

The Mississippi River Delta (MRD) has undergone tremendous land loss over the past century due to natural and anthropogenic influences, a fate shared by many river deltas globally. A globally unprecedented effort to restore and sustain the remaining subaerial portions of the delta is now underway, an endeavor that is expected to cost $50–100B over the next 50 yr. Success of this effort requires a thorough understanding of natural and anthropogenic controls on sediment supply and delta geomorphology. In the MRD, hurricanes have been paradoxically identified as both substantial agents of widespread land loss, and vertical marsh sediment accretion. We present the first multi-decadal chronostratigraphic assessment of sediment supply for a major coastal basin of the MRD that assesses both fluvial and hurricane-induced contributions to sediment accumulation in deltaic wetlands. Our findings indicate that over multidecadal timescales, hurricane-induced sediment delivery may be an important contributor for deltaic wetland vertical accretion, but the contribution from hurricanes to long-term sediment accumulation is substantially less than sediment delivery supplied by existing and planned river-sediment diversions at present-day river-sediment loads.

What Role do Hurricanes Play in Sediment Delivery to Subsiding River Deltas?

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, James E; Bentley, Samuel J; Snedden, Gregg A; White, Crawford

2015-12-02

The Mississippi River Delta (MRD) has undergone tremendous land loss over the past century due to natural and anthropogenic influences, a fate shared by many river deltas globally. A globally unprecedented effort to restore and sustain the remaining subaerial portions of the delta is now underway, an endeavor that is expected to cost $50-100B over the next 50 yr. Success of this effort requires a thorough understanding of natural and anthropogenic controls on sediment supply and delta geomorphology. In the MRD, hurricanes have been paradoxically identified as both substantial agents of widespread land loss, and vertical marsh sediment accretion. We present the first multi-decadal chronostratigraphic assessment of sediment supply for a major coastal basin of the MRD that assesses both fluvial and hurricane-induced contributions to sediment accumulation in deltaic wetlands. Our findings indicate that over multidecadal timescales, hurricane-induced sediment delivery may be an important contributor for deltaic wetland vertical accretion, but the contribution from hurricanes to long-term sediment accumulation is substantially less than sediment delivery supplied by existing and planned river-sediment diversions at present-day river-sediment loads.

A chronology of hurricane landfalls at Little Sippewissett Marsh, Massachusetts, USA, using optical dating

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Anni Tindahl; Duller, G.A.T.; Donnelly, J.P.

2009-01-01

Optical dating has been applied to sediments preserved in Little Sippewissett Marsh, Massachusetts, USA, which are associated with overwashing of the beach barrier during hurricane strikes on the coast. The aims were to determine the hurricane landfall frequency, and make comparisons with indepen...

Divergent responses of leaf herbivory to simulated hurricane effects in a rainforest understory

Science.gov (United States)

Chelse Prather

2014-01-01

Hurricanes are major disturbances in many forests, but studies showing effects of natural hurricanes on herbivory rates have yielded mixed results. Forest managers could benefit from a better understanding of the effects of disturbances on herbivory to manage for particular recovery or restoration goals after anthropogenic or natural disturbances, such as logging and...

Are species photosynthetic characteristics good predictors of seedling post-hurricane demographic patterns and species spatiotemporal distribution in a hurricane impacted wet montane forest?

Science.gov (United States)

Luke, Denneko; McLaren, Kurt

2018-05-01

In situ measurements of leaf level photosynthetic response to light were collected from seedlings of ten tree species from a tropical montane wet forest, the John Crow Mountains, Jamaica. A model-based recursive partitioning ('mob') algorithm was then used to identify species associations based on their fitted photosynthetic response curves. Leaf area dark respiration (RD) and light saturated maximum photosynthetic (Amax) rates were also used as 'mob' partitioning variables, to identify species associations based on seedling demographic patterns (from June 2007 to May 2010) following a hurricane (Aug. 2007) and the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of stems in 2006 and 2012. RD and Amax rates ranged from 1.14 to 2.02 μmol (CO2) m-2s-1 and 2.97-5.87 μmol (CO2) m-2s-1, respectively, placing the ten species in the range of intermediate shade tolerance. Several parsimonious species 'mob' groups were formed based on 1) interspecific differences among species response curves, 2) variations in post-hurricane seedling demographic trends and 3) RD rates and species spatiotemporal distribution patterns at aspects that are more or less exposed to hurricanes. The composition of parsimonious groupings based on photosynthetic curves was not concordant with the groups based on demographic trends but was partially concordant with the RD - species spatiotemporal distribution groups. Our results indicated that the influence of photosynthetic characteristics on demographic traits and species distributions was not straightforward. Rather, there was a complex pattern of interaction between ecophysiological and demographic traits, which determined species successional status, post-hurricane response and ultimately, species distribution at our study site.

Modeling hurricane evacuation traffic : testing the gravity and intervening opportunity models as models of destination choice in hurricane evacuation.

Science.gov (United States)

2006-09-01

The test was conducted by estimating the models on a portion of evacuation data from South Carolina following Hurricane Floyd, and then observing how well the models reproduced destination choice at the county level on the remaining data. The tests s...

An Analysis of the Observed Low-level Structure of Rapidly Intensifying and Mature Hurricane Earl (2010)

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

structure. J. Atmos. Sci. 49: 919–942. Marks FD, Black PG, Montgomery MT, Burpee RW. 2008. Structure of the eye and eyewall of hurricane Hugo (1989...structure of rapidly intensifying and mature hurricane Earl (2010) Michael T. Montgomery,a* Jun A. Zhangb and Roger K. Smithc aDepartment of Meteorology...Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA bNOAA Hurricane Research Division, Miami, FL, USA cMeteorological Institute, Ludwig Maximilians, University

ASTER and USGS EROS emergency imaging for hurricane disasters: Chapter 4D in Science and the storms-the USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Duda, Kenneth A.; Abrams, Michael

2007-01-01

Satellite images have been extremely useful in a variety of emergency response activities, including hurricane disasters. This article discusses the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Joint United States-Japan Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Science Team, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in responding to crisis situations by tasking the ASTER instrument and rapidly providing information to initial responders. Insight is provided on the characteristics of the ASTER systems, and specific details are presented regarding Hurricane Katrina support.

Racial Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Vulnerability Following Hurricane Katrina Among a Sample of Adult Cigarette Smokers from New Orleans.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Adam C; Ali, Jeanelle; McDevitt-Murphy, Meghan E; Forde, David R; Stockton, Michelle; Read, Mary; Ward, Kenneth D

2017-02-01

Although blacks are more likely than whites to experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a natural disaster, the reasons for this disparity are unclear. This study explores whether race is associated with PTSD after adjusting for differences in preexisting vulnerabilities, exposure to stressors, and loss of social support due to Hurricane Katrina using a representative sample of 279 black and white adult current and past smokers who were present when Hurricane Katrina struck, and identified it as the most traumatic event in their lifetime. Multiple logistic regression models evaluated whether differential vulnerability (pre-hurricane physical and mental health functioning, and education level), differential exposure to hurricane-related stressors, and loss of social support deterioration reduced the association of race with PTSD. Blacks were more likely than whites to screen positive for PTSD (49 vs. 39 %, respectively, p = 0.030). Although blacks reported greater pre-hurricane vulnerability (worse mental health functioning and lower educational attainment) and hurricane-related stressor exposure and had less social support after the hurricane, only pre-hurricane mental health functioning attenuated the association of race with screening positive for PTSD. Thus, racial differences in pre-hurricane functioning, particularly poorer mental health, may partially explain racial disparities in PTSD after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. Future studies should examine these associations prospectively using representative cohorts of black and whites and include measures of residential segregation and discrimination, which may further our understanding of racial disparities in PTSD after a natural disaster.

A chronology of hurricane landfalls at Little Sippewissett Marsh, Massachusetts, USA, using optical dating

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, A. T.; Duller, G. A. T.; Donnelly, J. P.; Roberts, H. M.; Wintle, A. G.

2009-08-01

Optical dating has been applied to sediments preserved in Little Sippewissett Marsh, Massachusetts, USA, which are associated with overwashing of the beach barrier during hurricane strikes on the coast. The aims were to determine the hurricane landfall frequency, and make comparisons with independent age control and the historical record. Written sources of hurricane activity along the American east coast are only considered reliable back to the mid 19th century, but the sedimentary record is potentially much longer. Optical dating was applied to quartz grains extracted from thirteen samples within a sediment core from the salt-marsh. Variability in the luminescence characteristics between aliquots was observed and ~ 33% of the measured aliquots were discarded based upon the ratio of the fast component to the medium component. The majority of the samples gave normal dose distributions implying homogeneous resetting of the luminescence signal at the time of deposition, but three of the samples required application of the minimum age model (MAM). Ages ranging between 20 ± 2 and 594 ± 38 years were obtained and are broadly in agreement with independent chronologies, thus demonstrating the potential of optical dating in this setting. The hurricane record based upon optical dating extends approximately 300 years further back in time than the official National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) record. The localised nature of hurricane landfalls means that it will be necessary to collect multiple cores from a number of different sites in order to build up a complete hurricane record for this part of the coast.

Telehealth at the US Department of Veterans Affairs after Hurricane Sandy.

Science.gov (United States)

Der-Martirosian, Claudia; Griffin, Anne R; Chu, Karen; Dobalian, Aram

2018-01-01

Background Like other integrated health systems, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has widely implemented telehealth during the past decade to improve access to care for its patient population. During major crises, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has the potential to transition healthcare delivery from traditional care to telecare. This paper identifies the types of Veterans Affairs telehealth services used during Hurricane Sandy (2012), and examines the patient characteristics of those users. Methods This study conducted both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Veterans Affairs administrative and clinical data files were used to illustrate the use of telehealth services 12 months pre- and 12 months post- Hurricane Sandy. In-person interviews with 31 key informants at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center three-months post- Hurricane Sandy were used to identify major themes related to telecare. Results During the seven-month period of hospital closure at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center after Hurricane Sandy, in-person patient visits decreased dramatically while telehealth visits increased substantially, suggesting that telecare was used in lieu of in-person care for some vulnerable patients. The most commonly used types of Veterans Affairs telehealth services included primary care, triage, mental health, home health, and ancillary services. Using qualitative analyses, three themes emerged from the interviews regarding the use of Veterans Affairs telecare post- Hurricane Sandy: patient safety, provision of telecare, and patient outreach. Conclusion Telehealth offers the potential to improve post-disaster access to and coordination of care. More information is needed to better understand how telehealth can change the processes and outcomes during disasters. Future studies should also evaluate key elements, such as adequate resources, regulatory and technology issues, workflow integration, provider resistance, diagnostic fidelity and

Elements of extreme wind modeling for hurricanes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Søren Ejling; Ejsing Jørgensen, Hans; Kelly, Mark C.

The report summarizes characteristics of the winds associated with Tropical Cyclones (Hurricanes, Typhoons). It has been conducted by the authors across several years, from 2012-2015, to identify the processes and aspects that one should consider when building at useful computer support system...

Hurricane Ike versus an Atomic Bomb

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Earl F.

2013-01-01

The destructive potential of one of nature's most destructive forces, the hurricane, is compared to one of human's most destructive devices, an atomic bomb. Both can create near absolute devastation at "ground zero". However, how do they really compare in terms of destructive energy? This discussion compares the energy, the…

Estimation of the tourism climate in the Hunter Region, Australia, in the early twenty-first century

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Shiue, Ivy; Matzarakis, Andreas

2011-07-01

Existing tourism-related climate information and evaluation are typically based on mean monthly conditions of air temperature and precipitation and do not include thermal perception and other climate parameters relevant for tourists. Here, we quantify climate based on the climate facets relevant to tourism (thermal, physical, aesthetical), and apply the results to the Climate-Tourism-Information-Scheme (CTIS). This paper presents bioclimatic and tourism climatological conditions in the Hunter Region—one of Australia's most popular tourist destinations. In the Hunter Region, generally, temperatures below 15°C occur from April through October, temperatures less than 25°C are expected throughout the whole year, while humidity sits around 50%. As expected, large differences between air temperature and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) were clearly identified. The widest differences were seen in summer time rather than in the winter period. In addition, cold stress was observed less than 10% of the time in winter while around 40-60% of heat stress was observed in summer time. This correlates with the highest numbers of international visitors, who usually seek a warmer weather, at the beginning of summer time (November and December) and also to the number of domestic visitors, who tend to seek cooler places for recreation and leisure, in late summer (January-March). It was concluded that thermal bioclimate assessment such as PET and CTIS can be applied in the Hunter region, and that local governments and the tourism industry should take an integrated approach to providing more relevant weather and climate information for both domestic and international tourists in the near future.

Use of ultralight aircraft for introducing migratory crane populations

Science.gov (United States)

Clegg, K.R.; Lewis, J.C.; Ellis, D.H.; Urbanek, Richard P.; Stahlecker, Dale

1997-01-01

Objectives were to determine if captive-reared cranes could be led behind an ultralight aircraft (UL) along a migration route and, if after release on a wintering area, they would integrate with wild cranes and migrate north in spring to their natal area without assistance. Greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) were used as the research surrogate for whooping cranes (Grus americana). In 1995, the senior author raised 15 cranes to fledging and trained them to respond to his vocal imitation of a sandhill crane brood call. Chicks learned to follow him as he walked, drove an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), or piloted an UL. The caretakers were not in crane costumes. Cranes were tame but allowed to roam at will without accompanying humans part of the day and were penned at night. Daily excursions provided exposure to habitats, foods, and predators the birds would encounter after release into the wild. In mid-October 1995, 11 radio-tagged cranes were led in migration from Grade, Idaho to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (BdANWR), central New Mexico, and released near wild wintering sandhill cranes. The 1,204km migration took 11 days, including 1 day when the aircraft were grounded due to a winter storm. Hazards encountered enroute included mountainous terrain, turbulent air, and attacks by gold eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). On the wintering ground, hazards included crane hunters and coyotes (Canis latrans). Within 2 days after release at the BdANWR wintering site, the research cranes were associating with and imitating the behavior of wild cranes. The 4 surviving birds migrated north in spring 1996 and at the time of this writing 2 were within 53 km of their natal area in Idaho.

The carbon cycle and hurricanes in the United States between 1900 and 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahal, Devendra; Liu, Shuguang; Oeding, Jennifer

2014-06-06

Hurricanes cause severe impacts on forest ecosystems in the United States. These events can substantially alter the carbon biogeochemical cycle at local to regional scales. We selected all tropical storms and more severe events that made U.S. landfall between 1900 and 2011 and used hurricane best track database, a meteorological model (HURRECON), National Land Cover Database (NLCD), U. S. Department of Agirculture Forest Service biomass dataset, and pre- and post-MODIS data to quantify individual event and annual biomass mortality. Our estimates show an average of 18.2 TgC/yr of live biomass mortality for 1900-2011 in the US with strong spatial and inter-annual variability. Results show Hurricane Camille in 1969 caused the highest aboveground biomass mortality with 59.5 TgC. Similarly 1954 had the highest annual mortality with 68.4 TgC attributed to landfalling hurricanes. The results presented are deemed useful to further investigate historical events, and the methods outlined are potentially beneficial to quantify biomass loss in future events.

Hurricane Harvey Riverine Flooding: Part 1 - Reconstruction of Hurricane Harvey Flooding for Harris County, TX using a GPU-accelerated 2D flood model for post-flood hazard analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kalyanapu, A. J.; Dullo, T. T.; Gangrade, S.; Kao, S. C.; Marshall, R.; Islam, S. R.; Ghafoor, S. K.

2017-12-01

Hurricane Harvey that made landfall in the southern Texas this August is one of the most destructive hurricanes during the 2017 hurricane season. During its active period, many areas in coastal Texas region received more than 40 inches of rain. This downpour caused significant flooding resulting in about 77 casualties, displacing more than 30,000 people, inundating hundreds of thousands homes and is currently estimated to have caused more than $70 billion in direct damage. One of the significantly affected areas is Harris County where the city of Houston, TX is located. Covering over two HUC-8 drainage basins ( 2702 mi2), this county experienced more than 80% of its annual average rainfall during this event. This study presents an effort to reconstruct flooding caused by extreme rainfall due to Hurricane Harvey in Harris County, Texas. This computationally intensive task was performed at a 30-m spatial resolution using a rapid flood model called Flood2D-GPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerated model, on Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) Titan Supercomputer. For this task, the hourly rainfall estimates from the National Center for Environmental Prediction Stage IV Quantitative Precipitation Estimate were fed into the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model and Routing Application for Parallel computation of Discharge (RAPID) routing model to estimate flow hydrographs at 69 locations for Flood2D-GPU simulation. Preliminary results of the simulation including flood inundation extents, maps of flood depths and inundation duration will be presented. Future efforts will focus on calibrating and validating the simulation results and assessing the flood damage for better understanding the impacts made by Hurricane Harvey.

Food Sharing among Hadza Hunter-Gatherer Children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alyssa N Crittenden

Full Text Available Human prosociality is one of the defining characteristics of our species, yet the ontogeny of altruistic behavior remains poorly understood. The evolution of widespread food sharing in humans helped shape cooperation, family formation, life history, language, and the development of economies of scale. While the behavioral and ecological correlates of food sharing among adults are widely studied, very little is known about food sharing among children. Here, in the first study to analyze the food sharing patterns of hunter-gatherer children, we show that while sharing may be biased towards kin, reciprocity characterizes the majority of all sharing dyads, both related and unrelated. These data lend support to the recent claim that discrimination among kin might be linked with reciprocal altruism theory. Furthermore, we show that age positively correlates with an increase in sharing, both in frequency and amount, supporting recent suggestions that prosocial behaviors and egalitarianism develop strongly in middle childhood when children acquire the normative rules of their society.

Food Sharing among Hadza Hunter-Gatherer Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Crittenden, Alyssa N; Zes, David A

2015-01-01

Human prosociality is one of the defining characteristics of our species, yet the ontogeny of altruistic behavior remains poorly understood. The evolution of widespread food sharing in humans helped shape cooperation, family formation, life history, language, and the development of economies of scale. While the behavioral and ecological correlates of food sharing among adults are widely studied, very little is known about food sharing among children. Here, in the first study to analyze the food sharing patterns of hunter-gatherer children, we show that while sharing may be biased towards kin, reciprocity characterizes the majority of all sharing dyads, both related and unrelated. These data lend support to the recent claim that discrimination among kin might be linked with reciprocal altruism theory. Furthermore, we show that age positively correlates with an increase in sharing, both in frequency and amount, supporting recent suggestions that prosocial behaviors and egalitarianism develop strongly in middle childhood when children acquire the normative rules of their society.

Coccidioidomycosis in armadillo hunters from the state of Ceará, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Brillhante, Raimunda Sâmia Nogueira; Moreira Filho, Renato Evando; Rocha, Marcos Fábio Gadelha; Castelo-Branco, Débora de Souza Collares Maia; Fechine, Maria Auxiliadora Bezerra; Lima, Rita Amanda Chaves de; Picanço, Yuri Vieira Cunha; Cordeiro, Rossana de Aguiar; Camargo, Zoilo Pires de; Queiroz, José Ajax Nogueira; Araujo, Roberto Wagner Bezerra de; Mesquita, Jacó Ricarte Lima de; Sidrim, José Júlio Costa

2012-09-01

Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis with a variable clinical presentation. Misdiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis as bacterial pneumopathy leads to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and delayed diagnosis. This report describes an outbreak among armadillo hunters in northeastern Brazil in which an initial diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was later confirmed as coccidioidomycosis caused by Coccidioides posadasii. Thus, this mycosis should be considered as an alternative diagnosis in patients reporting symptoms of pneumonia, even if these symptoms are only presented for a short period, who are from areas considered endemic for this disease.

Coccidioidomycosis in armadillo hunters from the state of Ceará, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raimunda Sâmia Nogueira Brillhante

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Coccidioidomycosis is a systemic mycosis with a variable clinical presentation. Misdiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis as bacterial pneumopathy leads to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics and delayed diagnosis. This report describes an outbreak among armadillo hunters in northeastern Brazil in which an initial diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was later confirmed as coccidioidomycosis caused by Coccidioides posadasii. Thus, this mycosis should be considered as an alternative diagnosis in patients reporting symptoms of pneumonia, even if these symptoms are only presented for a short period, who are from areas considered endemic for this disease.

Urban sprawl and body mass index among displaced Hurricane Katrina survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Arcaya, Mariana; James, Peter; Rhodes, Jean E; Waters, Mary C; Subramanian, S V

2014-08-01

Existing research suggests that walkable environments are protective against weight gain, while sprawling neighborhoods may pose health risks. Using prospective data on displaced Hurricane Katrina survivors, we provide the first natural experimental data on sprawl and body mass index (BMI). The analysis uses prospectively collected pre- (2003-2005) and post-hurricane (2006-2007) data from the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) project on 280 displaced Hurricane Katrina survivors who had little control over their neighborhood placement immediately after the disaster. The county sprawl index, a standardized measure of built environment, was used to predict BMI at follow-up, adjusted for baseline BMI and sprawl; hurricane-related trauma; and demographic and economic characteristics. Respondents from 8 New Orleans-area counties were dispersed to 76 counties post-Katrina. Sprawl increased by an average of 1.5 standard deviations (30 points) on the county sprawl index. Each one point increase in sprawl was associated with approximately .05kg/m(2) higher BMI in unadjusted models (95%CI: .01-.08), and the relationship was not attenuated after covariate adjustment. We find a robust association between residence in a sprawling county and higher BMI unlikely to be caused by self-selection into neighborhoods, suggesting that the built environment may foster changes in weight. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simulating the formation of Hurricane Isabel (2003) with AIRS data

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Liguang; Braun, Scott A.; Qu, John J.; Hao, Xianjun

2006-02-01

Using the AIRS retrieved temperature and humidity profiles, the Saharan Air Layer (SAL) influence on the formation of Hurricane Isabel (2003) is simulated numerically with the MM5 model. The warmth and dryness of the SAL (the thermodynamic effect) is assimilated by use of the nudging technique, which enables the model thermodynamic state to be relaxed to the profiles of the AIRS retrieved data for the regions without cloud contamination. By incorporating the AIRS data, MM5 better simulates the large-scale flow patterns and the timing and location of the formation of Hurricane Isabel and its subsequent track. By comparing with an experiment without nudging of the AIRS data, it is shown that the SAL may have delayed the formation of Hurricane Isabel and inhibited the development of another tropical disturbance to the east. This case study confirms the argument by Dunion and Velden (2004) that the SAL can suppress Atlantic tropical cyclone activity by increasing the vertical wind shear, reducing the mean relative humidity, and stabilizing the environment at lower levels.

Beyond the drip-line: a high-resolution open-air Holocene hunter-gatherer sequence from highland Lesotho

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mitchell, P

2011-03-01

Full Text Available the drip-line: a high-resolution open-air Holocene hunter-gatherer sequence from highland Lesotho Peter Mitchell1, Ina Plug2, Geoff Bailey3, Ruth Charles4, Amanda Esterhuysen5, Julia Lee Thorp6, Adrian Parker7 & Stephan Woodborne8 The activities...

Surface evolution and carbon sequestration in disturbed and undisturbed wetland soils of the Hunter estuary, southeast Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, A. J.; Rodríguez, J. F.; Saco, P. M.

2009-08-01

The aim of this work was to quantify the soil carbon storage and sequestration rates of undisturbed natural wetlands and disturbed wetlands subject to restriction of tidal flow and subsequent rehabilitation in an Australian estuary. Disturbed and undisturbed estuarine wetlands of the Hunter estuary, New South Wales, Australia were selected as the study sites for this research. Vertical accretion rates of estuarine substrates were combined with soil carbon concentrations and bulk densities to determine the carbon store and carbon sequestration rates of the substrates tested. Relationships between estuary water level, soil evolution and vertical accretion were also examined. The carbon sequestration rate of undisturbed wetlands was lower (15% for mangrove and 55% for saltmarsh) than disturbed wetlands, but the carbon store was higher (65% for mangrove and 60% for saltmarsh). The increased carbon sequestration rate of the disturbed wetlands was driven by substantially higher rates of vertical accretion (95% for mangrove and 345% for saltmarsh). Estuarine wetland carbon stores were estimated at 700-1000 Gg C for the Hunter estuary and 3900-5600 Gg C for New South Wales. Vertical accretion and carbon sequestration rates of estuarine wetlands in the Hunter are at the lower end of the range reported in the literature. The comparatively high carbon sequestration rates reported for the disturbed wetlands in this study indicate that wetland rehabilitation has positive benefits for regulation of atmospheric carbon concentrations, in addition to more broadly accepted ecosystem services.

Hurricane Gustav: Observations and Analysis of Coastal Change

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Kara S.; Stockdon, Hilary F.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Sallenger, Asbury H.; Guy, Kristy K.; Serafin, Katherine A.

2009-01-01

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with a storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, currents, and wave field. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along the coast, but it is ultimately responsible for much of the energy that is transferred to the ocean and expressed as storm surge, mean currents, and surface waves. Waves and currents are the processes most responsible for moving sediments in the coastal zone during extreme storm events. Storm surge, which is the rise in water level due to the wind, barometric pressure, and other factors, allows both waves and currents to attack parts of the coast not normally exposed to these processes. Coastal geomorphology, including shapes of the shoreline, beaches, and dunes, is also a significant aspect of the coastal change observed during extreme storms. Relevant geomorphic variables include sand dune elevation, beach width, shoreline position, sediment grain size, and foreshore beach slope. These variables, in addition to hydrodynamic processes, can be used to predict coastal vulnerability to storms. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project (http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes) strives to provide hazard information to those concerned about the Nation's coastlines, including residents of coastal areas, government agencies responsible for coastal management, and coastal researchers. As part of the National Assessment, observations were collected to measure morphological changes associated with Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana, on September 1, 2008. Methods of observation included oblique aerial photography, airborne topographic surveys, and ground-based topographic surveys. This report documents these data-collection efforts and presents qualitative and

Mother and Child Reports of Hurricane Related Stressors: Data from a Sample of Families Exposed to Hurricane Katrina

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Betty S.; Beaulieu, Brooke; Ogokeh, Constance E.; Self-Brown, Shannon; Kelley, Mary Lou

2015-01-01

Background: Families exposed to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are at risk for numerous adverse outcomes. While previous literature suggests that the degree of disaster exposure corresponds with experiencing negative outcomes, it is unclear if parents and children report similar levels of disaster exposure. Objective: The purpose of this…

Lessons from Crisis Recovery in Schools: How Hurricanes Impacted Schools, Families and the Community

Science.gov (United States)

Howat, Holly; Curtis, Nikki; Landry, Shauna; Farmer, Kara; Kroll, Tobias; Douglass, Jill

2012-01-01

This article examines school and school district-level efforts to reopen schools after significant damage from hurricanes. Through an empirical, qualitative research design, four themes emerged as critical to the hurricane recovery process: the importance of communication, resolving tension, coordinating with other services and learning from the…

An assessment of change in risk perception and optimistic bias for hurricanes among Gulf Coast residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Trumbo, Craig; Meyer, Michelle A; Marlatt, Holly; Peek, Lori; Morrissey, Bridget

2014-06-01

This study focuses on levels of concern for hurricanes among individuals living along the Gulf Coast during the quiescent two-year period following the exceptionally destructive 2005 hurricane season. A small study of risk perception and optimistic bias was conducted immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Two years later, a follow-up was done in which respondents were recontacted. This provided an opportunity to examine changes, and potential causal ordering, in risk perception and optimistic bias. The analysis uses 201 panel respondents who were matched across the two mail surveys. Measures included hurricane risk perception, optimistic bias for hurricane evacuation, past hurricane experience, and a small set of demographic variables (age, sex, income, and education). Paired t-tests were used to compare scores across time. Hurricane risk perception declined and optimistic bias increased. Cross-lagged correlations were used to test the potential causal ordering between risk perception and optimistic bias, with a weak effect suggesting the former affects the latter. Additional cross-lagged analysis using structural equation modeling was used to look more closely at the components of optimistic bias (risk to self vs. risk to others). A significant and stronger potentially causal effect from risk perception to optimistic bias was found. Analysis of the experience and demographic variables' effects on risk perception and optimistic bias, and their change, provided mixed results. The lessening of risk perception and increase in optimistic bias over the period of quiescence suggest that risk communicators and emergency managers should direct attention toward reversing these trends to increase disaster preparedness. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Hurricane Sandy Exposure Alters the Development of Neural Reactivity to Negative Stimuli in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessel, Ellen M; Nelson, Brady D; Kujawa, Autumn; Hajcak, Greg; Kotov, Roman; Bromet, Evelyn J; Carlson, Gabrielle A; Klein, Daniel N

2018-03-01

This study examined whether exposure to Hurricane Sandy-related stressors altered children's brain response to emotional information. An average of 8 months (M age  = 9.19) before and 9 months after (M age  = 10.95) Hurricane Sandy, 77 children experiencing high (n = 37) and low (n = 40) levels of hurricane-related stress exposure completed a task in which the late positive potential, a neural index of emotional reactivity, was measured in response to pleasant and unpleasant, compared to neutral, images. From pre- to post-Hurricane Sandy, children with high stress exposure failed to show the same decrease in emotional reactivity to unpleasant versus neutral stimuli as those with low stress exposure. Results provide compelling evidence that exposure to natural disaster-related stressors alters neural emotional reactivity to negatively valenced information. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Fire management ramifications of Hurricane Hugo

Science.gov (United States)

J. M. Saveland; D. D. Wade

1991-01-01

Hurricane Hugo passed over the Francis Marion National Forest on September 22, 1989, removing almost 75 percent of the overstory. The radically altered fuel bed presented new and formidable challenges to fire managers. Tractor-plows, the mainstay of fire suppression, were rendered ineffective. The specter of wind-driven escaped burns with no effective means of ground...

Velocity Spectrum Variation in Central Gulf of Mexico: 9Case Studies for the 2005 Hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, F.; Li, C.

2012-12-01

Significant near inertial oscillation caused by hurricanes is common in the ocean. The details of the vertical and temporal variations of hurricane induced near inertial oscillation are usually complicated. We have done a case study of such vertical and temporal variations of velocity spectrum focusing around the inertial frequency for the 2005 hurricane season. Data were from a deep water mooring chain containing a series of current meters and 2 ADCPs from June to November 2005. The velocity spectrum is obtained with a 10-day sliding window at different depths for the 40-hour high-passed data to exclude the low frequency Loop Current variations. This gives a temporal variation of the spectrum at different depths. Such variations in velocity spectrum are resulted from the ocean dynamics influenced by the passage of hurricanes. Our preliminary analysis of the results show that (1) right before the center of the hurricane gets closest to the mooring site, there always exists a 2-peak feature of energy at almost all depths; while during the passage of the hurricane these two peaks will merge Into one peak which has a corresponding period of 30.3 to 25.6 hours, encompassing that corresponding to the inertial frequency in this latitude; (2) after the passage of the hurricane, the decay process of energy is also complicated. It is found that the whole profile can be at least divided into 3 layers: surface to 800m, 800m to 1500m, and 1500m to the bottom, which is consistent with the stratification of the water column. It is also found that shift in the peak frequency to either side of the inertial frequency is very common. The main peak of energy can break into several parts during the decay stage, with blue shift and red shift.; ;

Projecting the past and future impacts of hurricanes on the carbon balance of eastern U.S. forests (1851-2100)

Science.gov (United States)

Fisk, J.; Hurtt, G. C.; Chambers, J. Q.; Zeng, H.

2009-12-01

In U.S. Atlantic coastal areas, hurricanes are a principal agent of catastrophic wind damage, with dramatic impacts on the structure and functioning of forests. Estimates of the carbon emissions resulting from single storms range as high as ~100 Tg C, an amount equivalent to the annual U.S. carbon sink in forest trees. Recent studies have estimated the historic regional carbon emissions from hurricane activity using an empirically based approach. Here, we use a mechanistic ecosystem model, the Ecosystem Demography (ED) model, driven by maps of mortality and damage based on historic hurricane tracks and future scenarios to predict the past and future impacts of hurricanes on the carbon balance of eastern U.S. forests. Model estimates compare well to previous empirically based estimates, with mean annual biomass loss of 26 Tg C yr-1 (range 0 to ~225 Tg C yr-1) resulting from hurricanes during the period 1851-2000. Using the mechanistic model, we are able to include the effects of both disturbance and recovery on the net carbon flux. We find a regional carbon sink throughout much of the 20th century resulting from forest recovery following a peak in hurricane activity during the late 19th century exceeding biomass loss. Recent increased hurricane activity has resulted in the region becoming a net carbon source. For the future, several recent studies have linked increased sea surface temperatures expected with climate change to increased hurricane activity. Based on these relationships, we investigate a range of scenarios of future hurricane activity and find the potential for substantial increases in emissions from hurricane mortality and reductions in regional carbon stocks. In our scenario with the largest increase in hurricane activity, we find a 35% increase in area disturbed by 2100, but due to the reduction of standing biomass, only a 20% increase in biomass loss per year. Developing this kind of predictive modeling capability that tracks disturbance events and

The Role of Peers in the Relation between Hurricane Exposure and Ataques de Nervios among Puerto Rican Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubens, Sonia L; Felix, Erika D; Vernberg, Eric M; Canino, Glorisa

2014-11-01

Although a relation between disaster exposure and ataques de nervios ( ataques ) has been established in adult samples, little is known about this among youth, including factors that may moderate this relation. This study examined the role of the peer context in the relation between exposure to Hurricane Georges and experiencing a past year and lifetime ataques among a representative community sample of 905 youth (N = 476 boys and 429 girls; ages 11-18) residing in Puerto Rico. Data were gathered from 1999-2000 in Puerto Rico, 12-27 months following Hurricane Georges. Logistic regression analyses found that peer violence significantly predicted experiencing an ataque in the past year. Hurricane exposure and peer violence were both significant predictors of a lifetime experience of an ataque . An interaction was found between hurricane exposure and peer violence, indicating that hurricane exposure was significantly related to a lifetime experience of an ataque among adolescents who do not report associating with violent peers. For participants reporting high levels of peer violence, hurricane exposure did not add additional risk for a lifetime experience of an ataque . Understanding the influence of peers in the relation between hurricane exposure and experiencing an ataque may assist in planning developmentally and culturally sensitive response plans.

Analysis of storm-tide impacts from Hurricane Sandy in New York

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, Christopher E.; Busciolano, Ronald J.; Hearn, Paul P.; Rahav, Ami N.; Behrens, Riley; Finkelstein, Jason S.; Monti, Jack; Simonson, Amy E.

2015-07-21

The hybrid cyclone-nor’easter known as Hurricane Sandy affected the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States during October 28-30, 2012, causing extensive coastal flooding. Prior to storm landfall, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network from Virginia to Maine to record the storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. This sensor network augmented USGS and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) networks of permanent monitoring sites that also documented storm surge. Continuous data from these networks were supplemented by an extensive post-storm high-water-mark (HWM) flagging and surveying campaign. The sensor deployment and HWM campaign were conducted under a directed mission assignment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The need for hydrologic interpretation of monitoring data to assist in flood-damage analysis and future flood mitigation prompted the current analysis of Hurricane Sandy by the USGS under this FEMA mission assignment.

An improved assay for iduronate 2-sulphate sulphatase in serum and its use in the detection of carriers of the Hunter syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Archer, I.M.; Harper, P.S.; Wusteman, F.S.

1981-01-01

A more sensitive assay procedure has been developed for the enzyme iduronate 2-sulphate sulphatase which is deficient in the Hunter syndrome. The substrate is O-(α-L-idopyranosyluronic acid 2-sulphate)-(1 → 4)-2,5 anhydro-D-[ 3 H-1)mannitol 6-sulphate, which, after incubation, is separated from the product by ion-exchange chromatography on a micro-columnn of Dowex 1 X 2 (Cl - ). Serum analyses can be used to supplement those on hair roots in the detection of carriers of the Hunter syndrome. (Auth.)

Transformative experiences for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disaster volunteers.

Science.gov (United States)

Clukey, Lory

2010-07-01

The massive destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 provided an opportunity for many volunteers to be involved with disaster relief work. Exposure to devastation and personal trauma can have long-lasting and sometimes detrimental effects on people providing help. This qualitative study explored the experience of volunteer relief workers who provided disaster relief services after the hurricanes. Three major themes emerged: emotional reactions that included feelings of shock, fatigue, anger and grief as well as sleep disturbances; frustration with leadership; and life-changing personal transformation. Stress reactions were noted but appeared to be mitigated by feelings of compassion for the victims and personal satisfaction in being able to provide assistance. Suggestions are provided for further research.

Quantifying the Digital Traces of Hurricane Sandy on Flickr

Science.gov (United States)

Preis, Tobias; Moat, Helen Susannah; Bishop, Steven R.; Treleaven, Philip; Stanley, H. Eugene

2013-11-01

Society's increasing interactions with technology are creating extensive ``digital traces'' of our collective human behavior. These new data sources are fuelling the rapid development of the new field of computational social science. To investigate user attention to the Hurricane Sandy disaster in 2012, we analyze data from Flickr, a popular website for sharing personal photographs. In this case study, we find that the number of photos taken and subsequently uploaded to Flickr with titles, descriptions or tags related to Hurricane Sandy bears a striking correlation to the atmospheric pressure in the US state New Jersey during this period. Appropriate leverage of such information could be useful to policy makers and others charged with emergency crisis management.

Database on aircraft accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, Masahide; Koriyama, Tamio

2012-09-01

The Reactor Safety Subcommittee in the Nuclear Safety and Preservation Committee published the report 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' as the standard method for evaluating probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities in July 2002. In response to the report, Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has been collecting open information on aircraft accidents of commercial airplanes, self-defense force (SDF) airplanes and US force airplanes every year since 2003, sorting out them and developing the database of aircraft accidents for latest 20 years to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities. This year, the database was revised by adding aircraft accidents in 2010 to the existing database and deleting aircraft accidents in 1991 from it, resulting in development of the revised 2011 database for latest 20 years from 1991 to 2010. Furthermore, the flight information on commercial aircrafts was also collected to develop the flight database for latest 20 years from 1991 to 2010 to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities. The method for developing the database of aircraft accidents to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities is based on the report 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' described above. The 2011 revised database for latest 20 years from 1991 to 2010 shows the followings. The trend of the 2011 database changes little as compared to the last year's one. (1) The data of commercial aircraft accidents is based on 'Aircraft accident investigation reports of Japan transport safety board' of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 4 large fixed-wing aircraft accidents, 58 small fixed-wing aircraft accidents, 5 large bladed aircraft accidents and 114 small bladed aircraft accidents occurred. The relevant accidents for evaluating

Lessons from Hurricane Sandy for port resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-01

New York Harbor was directly in the path of the most damaging part of Hurricane Sandy causing significant impact on many of the : facilities of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The U.S. Coast Guard closed the entire Port to all traffic before the...

Subinertial response of the Gulf Stream System to Hurricane Fran of 1996

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Lian; Pietrafesa, Leonard J.; Zhang, Chen

The evidence of subinertial-frequency (with periods from 2 days to 2 weeks) oceanic response to Hurricane Fran of 1996 is documented. Hurricane Fran traveled northward across the Gulf Stream and then over a cool-core trough, known as the Charleston Trough, due east of Charleston, SC and in the lee of the Charleston Bump during the period 4-5 September, 1996. During the passage of the storm, the trough closed into a gyre to form an intense cool-core cyclonic eddy. This cool-core eddy had an initial size of approximately 130 km by 170 km and drifted northeastward along the Gulf Stream front at a speed of 13 to 15 km/day as a subinertial baroclinic wave. Superimposed on this subinertial-frequency wave were near-inertial frequency, internal inertia-gravity waves formed in the stratified mixed-layer base after the passage of the storm. The results from a three-dimensional numerical ocean model confirm the existence of both near-inertial and subinertial-frequency waves in the Gulf Stream system during and after the passage of Hurricane Fran. Model results also showed that hurricane-forced oceanic response can modify Gulf Stream variability at both near-inertial and subinertial frequencies.

Simulating the effects of social networks on a population's hurricane evacuation participation

Science.gov (United States)

Widener, Michael J.; Horner, Mark W.; Metcalf, Sara S.

2013-04-01

Scientists have noted that recent shifts in the earth's climate have resulted in more extreme weather events, like stronger hurricanes. Such powerful storms disrupt societal function and result in a tremendous number of casualties, as demonstrated by recent hurricane experience in the US Planning for and facilitating evacuations of populations forecast to be impacted by hurricanes is perhaps the most effective strategy for reducing risk. A potentially important yet relatively unexplored facet of people's evacuation decision-making involves the interpersonal communication processes that affect whether at-risk residents decide to evacuate. While previous research has suggested that word-of-mouth effects are limited, data supporting these assertions were collected prior to the widespread adoption of digital social media technologies. This paper argues that the influence of social network effects on evacuation decisions should be revisited given the potential of new social media for impacting and augmenting information dispersion through real-time interpersonal communication. Using geographic data within an agent-based model of hurricane evacuation in Bay County, Florida, we examine how various types of social networks influence participation in evacuation. It is found that strategies for encouraging evacuation should consider the social networks influencing individuals during extreme events, as it can be used to increase the number of evacuating residents.

The coexistence of Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) and indigenous hunters in northeastern Honduras.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Marc; Estrada, Nereyda; Smith, Derek A

2012-12-01

The Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is a popular game species throughout Central America, particularly among indigenous populations, and is currently endangered. Research on Miskitu hunting was conducted over 4 months in a remote region in northeastern Honduras that overlaps with the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve. The hunting zone was mapped together with hunters and interviews were conducted with elders and other community members about tapir hunting. Results show that tapir harvesting is targeted toward specific habitats at specific times of year. Harvest rates for one year suggest that tapir hunting in the area exceeds estimates of maximum sustainable production. Nevertheless, field surveys reveal the presence of tapir within 1 km of the community, and its harvest tends to be nearby, in both forested and agricultural landscapes, suggesting that the animal has not been depleted in the area. It appears that the existence of forest areas adjacent to the hunting zone that do not experience hunting, together with the anthropogenic habitats created through shifting cultivation, are factors that help explain the presence of tapirs in the area. The article concludes with a discussion regarding the potential positive role of indigenous hunters in tapir conservation throughout its distribution range. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, ISZS and IOZ/CAS.

The Repopulation of New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McCarthy, Kevin; Peterson, D. J; Sastry, Narayan; Pollard, Michael

2006-01-01

What the future size and composition of the population of New Orleans will be in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is a topic of intense interest and discussion among current and displaced residents of the city...

Measuring and Comparing Hospital Accessibility for Palm Beach County's Elderly and Nonelderly Populations During a Hurricane.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, Shivangi

2017-09-18

To determine whether, during a hurricane, geographic accessibility to hospitals with emergency care is compromised disproportionately for the elderly than for the nonelderly. The locations of hospitals with emergency health care and a subset of those hospitals functional during a hurricane were compared with the distribution of the elderly population at the block group level in Palm Beach County, Florida. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) proximity analysis (minimum distance to closest hospital) and cumulative distribution functions were used to measure and compare hospital accessibility during normal and hurricane conditions for the elderly and nonelderly populations. Accessibility to closest functional hospital during a hurricane was compromised disproportionately for the elderly. Geographic accessibility to emergency health care is compromised disproportionately for the elderly in Palm Beach County. Compounding the risk is the likelihood of the elderly experiencing a greater health care need during a hurricane. This poses a community public health crisis and calls for effective and collaborative planning between health professionals and disaster planners to address the health care needs of the elderly. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;page 1 of 5).

14 CFR 21.6 - Manufacture of new aircraft, aircraft engines, and propellers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Manufacture of new aircraft, aircraft... Manufacture of new aircraft, aircraft engines, and propellers. (a) Except as specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, no person may manufacture a new aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller based on...

A hurricane modification process, applying a new technology tested for warm cloud seeding to produce artificial rains

Science.gov (United States)

Imai, T.; Martin, I.; Iha, K.

A Hurricane Modification Process with application of a new clean technology attested for seeding warm clouds with collector pure water droplets of controlled size to produce artificial rains in warm clouds is proposed to modify the hurricanes in order to avoid their formation or to modify the trajectory or to weaken hurricanes in action The Process is based on the time-dependent effects of cloud droplets microphysical processes for the formation and growth of the natural water droplets inside the clouds releasing large volumes of Aeolian energy to form the strong rotative upside air movements A new Paradigm proposed explain the strong and rotative winds created with the water droplets formation and grow process releasing the rotative Aeolian Energy in Tornados and Hurricanes This theory receive the Gold Medal Award of the Water Science in the 7th International Water Symposium 2005 in France Artificial seeding in the Process studies condensing a specified percentage of the water vapor to liquid water droplets where we observe the release of larges intensity of the Aeolian energy creates the hurricanes producing appreciable perturbations With they rotating strong wind created by the water droplets releasing Aeolian energy The Amplitudes of these winds are comparable to natural disasters Once this natural thermal process is completely understood artificial process to modify the hurricanes become scientifically possible to avoid them to happen or to deviate their trajectory or to weaken the already formed hurricanes In this work

Estimating hurricane hazards using a GIS system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Taramelli

2008-08-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a GIS-based integrated approach to the Multi-Hazard model method, with reference to hurricanes. This approach has three components: data integration, hazard assessment and score calculation to estimate elements at risk such as affected area and affected population. First, spatial data integration issues within a GIS environment, such as geographical scales and data models, are addressed. Particularly, the integration of physical parameters and population data is achieved linking remotely sensed data with a high resolution population distribution in GIS. In order to assess the number of affected people, involving heterogeneous data sources, the selection of spatial analysis units is basic. Second, specific multi-hazard tasks, such as hazard behaviour simulation and elements at risk assessment, are composed in order to understand complex hazard and provide support for decision making. Finally, the paper concludes that the integrated approach herein presented can be used to assist emergency management of hurricane consequences, in theory and in practice.

Silver linings: a personal memoir about Hurricane Katrina and fungal volatiles

OpenAIRE

Bennett, Joan W.

2015-01-01

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the levees protecting New Orleans, Louisiana failed. Because approximately 80% of the city was under sea level, widespread flooding ensued. As a resident of New Orleans who had evacuated before the storm and a life-long researcher on filamentous fungi, I had known what to expect. After the hurricane I traveled home with a suitcase full of Petri dishes and sampling equipment so as to study the fungi that were “eating my house.” Not only were surfaces cove...

Database on aircraft accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, Masahide; Koriyama, Tamio

2013-11-01

The Reactor Safety Subcommittee in the Nuclear Safety and Preservation Committee published 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' as the standard method for evaluating probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities in July 2002. In response to this issue, Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has been collecting open information on aircraft accidents of commercial airplanes, self-defense force (SDF) airplanes and US force airplanes every year since 2003, sorting out them and developing the database of aircraft accidents for the latest 20 years to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities. In this report the database was revised by adding aircraft accidents in 2011 to the existing database and deleting aircraft accidents in 1991 from it, resulting in development of the revised 2012 database for the latest 20 years from 1992 to 2011. Furthermore, the flight information on commercial aircrafts was also collected to develop the flight database for the latest 20 years from 1992 to 2011 to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities. The method for developing the database of aircraft accidents to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities is based on the report 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' described above. The 2012 revised database for the latest 20 years from 1992 to 2011 shows the followings. The trend of the 2012 database changes little as compared to the last year's report. (1) The data of commercial aircraft accidents is based on 'Aircraft accident investigation reports of Japan transport safety board' of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The number of commercial aircraft accidents is 4 for large fixed-wing aircraft, 58 for small fixed-wing aircraft, 5 for large bladed aircraft and 99 for small bladed aircraft. The relevant accidents

Trematode communities in snails can indicate impact and recovery from hurricanes in a tropical coastal lagoon.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre-Macedo, María Leopoldina; Vidal-Martínez, Victor M; Lafferty, Kevin D

2011-11-01

In September 2002, Hurricane Isidore devastated the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. To understand its effects on the parasites of aquatic organisms, we analyzed long-term monthly population data of the horn snail Cerithidea pliculosa and its trematode communities in Celestún, Yucatán, Mexico before and after the hurricane (February 2001 to December 2009). Five trematode species occurred in the snail population: Mesostephanus appendiculatoides, Euhaplorchis californiensis, two species of the genus Renicola and one Heterophyidae gen. sp. Because these parasites use snails as first intermediate hosts, fishes as second intermediate hosts and birds as final hosts, their presence in snails depends on food webs. No snails were present at the sampled sites for 6 months after the hurricane. After snails recolonised the site, no trematodes were found in snails until 14 months after the hurricane. It took several years for snail and trematode populations to recover. Our results suggest that the increase in the occurrence of hurricanes predicted due to climate change can impact upon parasites with complex life cycles. However, both the snail populations and their parasite communities eventually reached numbers of individuals and species similar to those before the hurricane. Thus, the trematode parasites of snails can be useful indicators of coastal lagoon ecosystem degradation and recovery. Copyright © 2011 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. All rights reserved.

Extreme Hurricane-Generated Waves in Gulf of Mexico

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Alberto, Carlos; Fernandes, Santos

2005-01-01

.... Although WaveWatchIII (WW3) is used by many operational forecasting centers around the world, there is a lack of field studies to evaluate its accuracy in regional applications and under extreme conditions, such as Hurricanes...