GIS Technology Predicts Coastal Vulnerability and Flooding Risks
A newly improved geographic information systems (GIS) technology is in development by Applied Science Associates (ASA), a Rhode Island-based company. The technology allows local planners to better allocate resources, publicize coastal risks in vulnerable areas, and alert the public to be proactive in preparing for impending floods.
Global mean sea level has been rising at an average rate of 1 to 2 mm. a year over the past 100 years, a rate significantly larger than that averaged over the last several thousand years. In addition, severe weather patterns and tropical storm intensities are predicted to increase in conjunction with global climate change.
Exacerbated by recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, many organizations, businesses, and media outlets are asking the question of what our coastlines and low-lying cities might look like when impacted by storms and rising sea levels.
ASA has become increasingly involved in mapping the impacts of storm surge flooding. The effort began in Boston, where the National Environmental Trust (NET) commissioned ASA to map the effects of a 100-year storm surge plus 100 years of sea-level rise along the downtown coast. These images were used in a recently released EPA report, “Climate’s Long Term Impacts on Metro Boston.”
ASA then mapped the effects of a Category II hurricane storm surge plus 100 years of sea-level rise for Miami, Washington (DC), and Manhattan. These images were released by NET in conjunction with the first Conference of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol in December 2005.
The mapping and visualization of the impacts of coastal storms is extremely effective for communicating the vulnerability and risk associated with many coastal areas. Of the ten costliest hurricanes over the last 50 years, eight have occurred in the last five years. By mapping the flood zones of real storms, not just the 100-year FEMA design storm, property owners and officials alike can easily visualize the risks associated with actual events and determine how to reduce vulnerability.
To make these tools more available to users and the public, ASA is conceptualizing an inundation module within the COASTMAP framework. The COASTMAP Inundation Module is planned as a Web-based system that connects to various storm-surge models using the COASTMAP Environmental Data Server (EDS).
The EDS imports real-time weather, oceanographic information, and other environmental data. Capabilities include running inundation models to generate maps of areas at risk from predicted storm surges. These maps can easily be distributed to the public via a variety of Web sites, as well as automatically e-mailed to interested parties, including local planners, emergency workers, and television networks, to help officials and residents better prepare for flooding.
ASA spearheads the development and application of computer tools to investigate marine and freshwater environments. Combining computer modeling tools with the consulting capabilities of a diverse technical staff, the firm provides a broad range of services and software to international, national, and local government agencies, private industry, and educational institutions.
In addition to its Narragansett, RI headquarters, ASA has offices in Australia and Brazil. The company’s Web site contains numerous scientific reports written by its staff and extensive information about its software and services.
For more information about ASA, visit www.appsci.com.
