BATON ROUGE -- LSU researchers from various fields of study have recently joined forces to study all aspects of hurricanes. This interdisciplinary approach enables scientists, engineers, architects and other specialists to work together to improve hurricane predictions, evacuation procedures, construction techniques and hurricane-shelter selection. LSU's work is crucial because Louisiana is the most at-risk state on the Gulf of Mexico.
Some things to consider about Louisiana:
- Over the past 100 years, Louisiana's coastline (from New Orleans to Morgan City) has had the highest incidence of major hurricane hits (category 3-5 hurricanes) of any part of the Gulf Coast.
- The same area is suffering the highest rate of coastal erosion and wetland loss in the nation.
- 70 percent of Louisiana's population lives in coastal zones.
- Nearly all of South Louisiana is at or below sea-level.
- Until recently, Louisiana's coastline had fewer weather-measuring instruments than any other Gulf Coast state, making landfall predictions less accurate and warning systems less effective.
- A large hurricane could flood New Orleans with no way to pump the water out.
Story ideas:
Catastrophic Hurricanes Hit the Gulf Coast Only Once Every 300-600 Years, but the Frequency and Intensity of Major Storms Could Drastically Increase in the Next Millennium.
LSU researcher Kam-biu Liu collects sediment from the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts and uses radio-carbon dating to determine how many catastrophic hurricanes have hit the coastlines. His findings show that major storms hit the Gulf Coast once every 300-600 years. However, his study also shows a distinct millennial variability, and the frequency and intensity of storms could greatly increase in the next 1,000 years.
-- Kam-biu Liu, professor, LSU Department of Geography and Anthropology, 225-388-6136, kliu1@lsu.edu .
Hurricane Studies Lead Researchers to Help Rebuild Honduras.
Three LSU researchers are aiding a few communities in Honduras that were devastated by Hurricane Mitch. The program involves a multi-disciplinary attempt to better prepare Honduras for future hurricanes.
-- Bruce Sharky, director, LSU School of Landscape Architecture, 225-388-1441, lasharky@aol.com .
-- Ivor Van Heerden, associate professor, Louisiana Geological Survey, 225-388-5974, heerd@unix1.sncc.lsu.edu .
-- Marc Levitan, associate professor, LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 225-388-4445, levitan@eng.lsu.edu .
What are the Psychological Effects of a Disastrous Hurricane on its Victims?
Two LSU researchers are studying the effects of disasters on people -- in particular, they have looked at hurricanes and how people react in the wake of a storm that has destroyed their property and their communities. They study why people do or do not evacuate and who the victims relied upon when they had nowhere else to turn. Husband and wife team:
-- John Beggs, associate professor, LSU Department of Sociology, 225-388-1119, beggs@lapop.lsu.edu .
-- Jeanne Hurlbert, associate professor, LSU Department of Sociology, 225-388-3311, jhurlbert@lapop.lsu.edu .
What to do if Hurricane Winds or Storm Surge Cause a Hazardous Chemical Leak?
This researcher studies the possibilities of a hazardous-materials crisis that could occur during a hurricane -- for example, how to respond if high winds or storm surge cause chemical-plant leaks or water contamination. His Web sites are at http://hurricane.lsu.edu and http://risk.lsu.edu .
-- John Pine, associate professor, LSU Institute for Environmental Studies, 225-388-1075, jpine@lsu.edu .
What Are the Chances of Such a Leak or Spill?
-- Marc Levitan, associate professor, LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 225-388-4445, evitan@eng.lsu.edu .
How Well Will Your House/Trees Hold Up During Hurricane-Force Winds?
This researcher studies wind effects on structures, wind forces during hurricanes and can speak on how a house or building will hold up during hurricane-force winds. He uses a wind tunnel in his research.
-- Marc Levitan, associate professor, LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 225-388-4445, levitan@eng.lsu.edu .
This researcher studies the effects of hurricane-force winds on different types of trees.
-- Dennis Abbey, associate professor, LSU School of Landscape Architecture, 225-766-0922, 225-388-1475, aaincla@aol.com .
Computer Models Depict the Vulnerability of New Orleans During a Hurricane.
Several LSU researchers run computer-simulation models of the damage that might occur to a particular city if a hurricane makes landfall at that city. They have created a model of the disastrous "New Orleans scenario."
-- Joseph Suhayda, associate professor, LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; director, Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, 225-388-8620, suhaydaj@lwrri.lsu.edu .
-- Vibhas Aravamuthan, director, Natural Systems Engineering Laboratory, 225-388-6027, vibs@varuna.eng.lsu.edu .
-- Nedra Korevec, research associate, LWRRI, 225-388-6027, nkorevec@lwrri.lsu.edu . Nedra is webmaster for the LWRRI website: www.lwrri.lsu.edu . Site includes images that can be downloaded by the media.
Natural Beaches Along the Gulf Coast Recover Better From Hurricanes Than Do Developed Beaches.
An LSU researcher is studying a portion of the Gulf Coast beaches (from the Biloxi, Miss., area to the Florida panhandle). This area has been hit by six storms in the past five years. He is studying how the beaches react when they are stressed. So far, his findings show that natural areas recover well with little loss of sand. However, developed areas of the beach responded unfavorably, with major land losses. The researcher hopes to include parts of the Louisiana coastline in future studies.
-- Gregory Stone, associate professor at the LSU Coastal Studies Institute, 225-388-6188, gagreg@lsu.edu .
Louisiana Finally Gets Weather-Measuring Devices Along its Coast.
Until 1999, Louisiana's coastline lacked any type of accurate weather-measuring instruments in the Gulf. LSU researcher Gregory Stone recently obtained funding for four weather buoys to be placed in the Gulf off Louisiana's coast. He has designed the devices to measure wind and wave conditions, then to process that information and transmit it via satellite to a computer in his lab, where it is analyzed and distributed through a network to the National Weather Service, the Office of Emergency Preparedness and other important locations. It is the first system of its kind in the U.S.
-- Gregory Stone, associate professor at the LSU Coastal Studies Institute, 225-388-6188, gagreg@lsu.edu .
LSU Receives Weather Data More Quickly Than the National Weather Service.
LSU operates a satellite-receiving site called the Earth Scan Laboratory, which receives weather information from satellites above Louisiana, then provides that information to the National Weather Service. The Earth Scan lab has a Web site with animated imagery and photos at www.esl.lsu.edu .
The researcher who directs the lab also studies the effects of hurricanes on coastal erosion and coastal build-up. Sometimes land masses are built up by hurricane-force winds.
-- Oscar Huh, professor at the LSU Coastal Studies Institute and director of the Earth Scan Laboratory, 225-388-2952, oscar@antares.esl.lsu.edu .
-- Gregory Stone, associate professor at the LSU Coastal Studies Institute, 225-388-6188, gagreg@lsu.edu .
--Kevin Robbins, director, Southern Regional Climate Center housed at LSU, 225-388-6870, krobbins@mistral.srcc.lsu.edu .
What Types of Structures Make the Best Hurricane Shelters?
Two researchers evaluate shelters to determine what types of structures will make the best shelters.
-- John Pine, associate professor, LSU Institute for Environmental Studies, 225-388-1075, jpine@lsu.edu .
-- Marc Levitan, associate professor, LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 225-388-4445, levitan@eng.lsu.edu .
Does Cloud Temperature Determine Storm Intensity?
This researcher is studying cloud-top temperatures to determine the correlation between cloud temperature and intensity during hurricanes.
-- Shih Ang Hsu, professor, LSU Coastal Studies Institute, 225-388-2962, sahsu@antares.esl.lsu.edu .
Contact Kristine Calongne
LSU News Service
225 388-5985
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