Monday, October 29, 2012

Episode 134 (10-29-12): Hurricane Sandy and Storm Surge


Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of October 29, 2012.

This week, we start with a warning that residents of northern Virginia and other areas around the Chesapeake Bay could have heard on National Weather Service radio on the morning of October 29.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds.

SOUND.

That was an excerpt from the outlook issued by the Weather Service’s Baltimore/Washington forecast office at 6 a.m. on the 29th, as Hurricane Sandy approached landfall along the mid-Atlantic coast.  Along with high winds and heavy rainfall, one of the most serious impacts expected from Sandy is storm surge and the flooding it can cause to low-lying coastal communities.  Hurricane Sandy’s large storm-surge and coastal-flooding potential is due to the storm’s arrival at the time of increased tides from a full moon, and to the large size of its wind field, which increases both the timing and extent of storm surges.  For an introduction to storm surge potential in Virginia and how shoreline residents can prepare, have a listen for about a minute to the following excerpt from a Virginia Department of Emergency Management video.  The excerpt includes list of Virginia areas most at risk from storm-surge flooding.

SOUND.

By all accounts, Sandy is expected to be historic, not for record-breaking wind speeds but for the floodwaters pushed up in her storm surge.  Let’s hope Surging Sandy is a bit less than feared.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES














(Above) Hurricane Sandy, 12:15 p.m. EDT, 10/29/12; Photo from NOAA Web site
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/browsh.html, accessed 10/29/12, 1:20 p.m.















(Above) House destroyed by 15-foot storm surge in North Carolina during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.  Photo by Dave Gatley/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), accessed at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “Storm Surge” Web site, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/, 10/29/12
.


Acknowledgments: The Chesapeake Bay hazardous weather outlook was taken from the “NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards Streaming Audio” Web page at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm#audio, Baltimore-Washington Forecast Office, 6:02 a.m. EDT 10-29-12 Hazardous Weather Outlook, accessed 10-29-12 at 11 a.m. EDT (no longer functional as of 10-8-16).  The storm-surge audio was excerpted from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s August 2010 video, “Virginia Hurricane Evacuation: Storm Surge” (2 minutes, 48 seconds), accessed on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=83m2K2VNUUo, 10/29/12; that audio except is also used in Episode 337, 10-10-16, on Hurricane Matthew and its storm-surge potential in October 2016.

Sources for more information:
The National Weather Service/National Hurricane Center Web site, at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/, includes information on storm-surge potential and probabilities as part of its updates and advisories on any tropical storm.

The Hurricane Center’s Web site also includes a “Storm Surge Overview” page, at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/.  Among other items, this page includes an explanation of the factors that lead to storm surge, photographs and graphics, and two short videos.

Recent Virginia Water News
            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events
            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Episode 133 (10-22-12): Riverbed Research on Earthquakes


Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of October 22, 2012.


This week, we get an introduction to the work of College of William and Mary geologist Chuck Bailey and student John Hollis, who are studying rocks along the North Anna River in central Virginia for clues to the history of ancient earthquakes and to where future quakes may occur.  Have a listen for about two minutes to this excerpt from the College’s video, “Looking for earthquakes: from the riverbed to the research lab.”

SOUND and VOICE.

The Fall Line, or falls zone, along Virginia’s rivers helped shape the history of human settlement in the Commonwealth.  Through modern scientific study of Fall Line geology and chemistry, this distinctive geographic feature now is helping shape our understanding of the much older history of earthquakes in eastern Virginia.  Thanks to the College of William and Mary for permission to use this week’s sounds.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES
 Figure: Blue shading indicates the Atlantic Coastal Plain, with its western edge marked by the Fall Line, or fall zone, the region in which the William and Mary earthquake research on the North Anna River is being conducted.  In Virginia, the Fall Line approximately follows Interstate 95.  Source: “Design, Revisions, and Considerations for Continued Use of a Ground-Water-Flow Model of the Coastal Plain Aquifer System in Virginia,” by E. Randolph McFarland, U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report WRIR 98-4085, accessed 10/22/12 online at  http://va.water.usgs.gov/online_pubs/WRIR/98-4085/g-wfmcpasys_va.html.

Acknowledgments: This week’s sounds were excerpted from the video “Looking for earthquakes: from the riverbed to the research lab” (approximately four minutes), produced by David Williard, College of William and Mary Office of University Relations, June 22, 2012; accessed online at http://www.wm.edu/news/video/index.php#more (see under “Scholarship/Research”); used with permission.

Sources and more information: A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) “live chat” video (about 28 minutes) on eastern U.S. earthquakes, held three days after the August 23, 2011, earthquake centered in Virginia, is available online at http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/441#.UHwXNYaCvSg.

A USGS report, “One Year Anniversary: Magnitude 5.8 Virginia Earthquake”, by Jessica Robertson, 8/22/12, is available online at



Recent Virginia Water News
            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events
            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.