feb 17 magazine

3.7 MB·

VOL. 98 • NO. 2 • FEB 2017
The Ideas That Made
Tectonic Shift
a
Naming Ocean Floor
Features
Environment in the
Age of Trump
Freezing Mars’s Core
in the Lab

Earth & Space Science News Contents
FEBRUARY 2017
PROJECT UPDATE
VOLUME 98, ISSUE 2
12
A Name Directory
for the Ocean Floor
New web resources enable scientists to
standardize the naming of seamounts,
trenches, and other undersea features,
reducing ambiguity in identification and
communication.
PROJECT UPDATE
23
Interviewing 101: Navigating
the Four-Step Process
Think of an interview as a dance of words.
As in many dances, there are a few patches
18 of tricky footwork.
COVER RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
A Meeting That Helped Foster 43 New Insight into Silica
Explains Planetary
the Acceptance of Global Tectonics
Smashup
A better equation of state for silica will
Fifty years ago, scientists in the United States added their heft to a
help planetary scientists accurately
theory with profound implications: Earth’s ocean crust recycles itself
constrain the giant impacts that have
on a global scale, and continents move across the face of the planet. shaped our solar system.
Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 1
Contents
DEPARTMENTS
Editor in Chief
Barbara T. Richman: AGU, Washington, D. C., USA; eos_ [email protected]
Editors
Christina M. S. Cohen Wendy S. Gordon Carol A. Stein
California Institute Ecologia Consulting, Department of Earth and
of Technology, Pasadena, Austin, Texas, USA; Environmental Sciences,
Calif., USA; wendy@ecologiaconsulting University of Illinois at
cohen@srl. caltech.edu .com Chicago, Chicago, Ill.,
USA; [email protected]
José D. Fuentes David Halpern
Department of Meteorology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pennsylvania State Pasadena, Calif., USA;
University, University davidhalpern29@gmail
Park, Pa., USA; .com
[email protected]
Editorial Advisory Board
Mark G. Flanner, Atmospheric Jian Lin, Tectonophysics
Sciences Figen Mekik, Paleoceanography
Nicola J. Fox, Space Physics and Paleoclimatology
and Aeronomy Jerry L. Miller, Ocean Sciences
Steve Frolking, Biogeosciences Michael A. Mischna, Planetary Sciences
Edward J. Garnero, Study of the Thomas H. Painter, Cryosphere Sciences
Earth’s Deep Interior Philip J. Rasch, Global Environmental
Michael N. Gooseff, Hydrology Change
41 Brian C. Gunter, Geodesy Eric M. Riggs, Education
Kristine C. Harper, History Adrian Tuck, Nonlinear Geophysics
of Geophysics Sergio Vinciguerra, Mineral
Susan E. Hough, Natural Hazards and Rock Physics
Emily R. Johnson, Volcanology, Andrew C. Wilcox, Earth and Planetary
27–40 AGU News Geochemistry, and Petrology Surface Processes
Keith D. Koper, Seismology Earle Williams, Atmospheric
JGR: Planets Celebrated 25 Years; Robert E. Kopp, Geomagnetism and Space Electricity
and Paleomagnetism Mary Lou Zoback, Societal Impacts
Awardees and Prize Winners John W. Lane, Near-Surface Geophysics and Policy Sciences
Honored at 2016 AGU Fall Meeting.
Staff
Production and Design: Faith A. Ishii, Production Manager; Melissa A. Tribur, Senior
41–43 Research Spotlight Production Specialist; Elizabeth Jacobsen, Production and Editorial Assistant; Yael
Fitzpatrick, Manager, Design and Branding; Travis Frazier and Valerie Friedman,
East of Japan, Upper Ocean Waves Electronic Graphics Specialists
Editorial: Peter L. Weiss, Manager/Senior News Editor; Mohi Kumar, Scientific
Follow a Seasonal Cycle; A Wetter
Content Editor; Randy Showstack, Senior News Writer; JoAnna Wendel, News Writer;
9 Climate Increases Methane Liz Castenson, Editorial and Production Coordinator
Production in Peat; A Significantly Marketing: Jamie R. Liu, Manager, Marketing; Angelo Bouselli and Tyjen Conley,
Hotter Mantle Beneath Iceland; Marketing Program Managers
Advertising: Jeff Borchardt, Development Director; Tel: [phone];
3–7 News New Insight into Silica Explains
Email: [email protected]
Planetary Smashup.
©2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Material in this issue may
It’s Not Just Fracking: New Database
be photocopied by individual scientists for research or classroom use. Permission is
of Human-Induced Quakes; 44–51 Positions Available also granted to use short quotes, figures, and tables for publication in scientific books
California’s Governor Promises to and journals. For permission for any other uses, contact the AGU Publications Office.
Fight for Science; Rise in Tornadoes Current job openings in the Earth Eos (ISSN 0096-3941) is published monthly by the American Geophysical Union,
2000 Florida Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Periodical Class postage paid
per Outbreak Might Not Be Tied to and space sciences.
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Flood Response Using Earth Views expressed in this publication do not
Observation Data and Products. On the Cover necessarily reflect official positions of the American
Geophysical Union unless expressly stated.
A section of the central rift of Christine W. McEntee, Executive Director/CEO
9–11 Opinion
Reykjanes Ridge in Iceland’s
Environmental Issues in the Age Thingvellir National Park. Credit:
of Trump: Take the Long View. imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo.
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2 // Eos February 2017
NEWS
It’s Not Just Fracking: New Database from a tall building, Foulger said. At some
point, the building will collapse.
of Human-Induced Quakes In 2007, for example, more than 100 mines
in China reported seismic events larger than
magnitude 4, she said. In 1989, an induced
magnitude 5 quake in Germany collapsed the
surface over 5 square kilometers of a potash
University in the mine, killing three.
United Kingdom, Not all m ining-i nduced quakes are so large,
ended up compiling however. The majority of the mining quakes in
the most complete the database range between magnitudes 2 and 4,
database of occur- according to the publicly available preliminary
rences to date. report (see http:// bit . ly/ durham - report).
The team also
found that induced Earthquake Sources
earthquakes are in Groundwater Removal
“tremendously Another example from the “removing mate-
underreported,” rial” column took place in Spain, Foulger said.
Foulger said. She In 2011, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake razed a
presented her team’s small town called Lorca and killed 10 people.
P
Pics via A f1i3n Ddeincgems obne r (see Reveesneat rtcoh t hfoel ld oewciandge sth-l eo enagr trhemquoavkael toife wd athteer
gn http:// bit . ly/ from the ground for irrigation, which drasti-
esi triggered - quakes cally lowered the water table. This led to ground
D
An oil sand mine in Alberta in Canada. Processes involved in mining, such as removing - abstract). subsidence and resulted in the earthquake.
material from the surface or subsurface, can induce earthquakes. A team of research- In fact, a 2014 paper in Nature found that
ers recently cataloged 715 human-induced earthquakes and found that although media Hunting the increase in small earthquakes recorded in
attention focuses mainly on induced earthquakes from wastew ater injection, most for Quakes California’s San Joaquin Valley could be tied to
induced quakes are caused by other processes. Foulger and her col- underground water removal. More than 100
leagues spent a year cubic kilometers of water have been removed
digging through sci- from the ground in the region over the past
How many earthquakes have human entific literature, industry literature, newspa- 150 years, mostly for irrigation purposes (see
processes induced? Probably many per reports, and accounts from colleagues to http:// go . nature . com/ 2id2utN).
more than we think, scientists said in create the database of as many previously “The removal of any mass from under the
December at the 2016 AGU Fall Meeting in San reported induced earthquakes as they could ground is going to create voids, and essentially
Francisco, Calif. find. The database, which stretches back the earth is going to collapse,” Foulger said.
Just in the United States, the number of through the early 19th century, currently lists “There’s just so much material you can
earthquakes per year in the center of the coun- 715 earthquake sequences, each consisting of as remove from the earth before it has to sub-
try has jumped dramatically since the early many as several hundred quakes. side.” And sometimes that subsidence results
2000s. According to the U.S. Geological Survey The catalog divides the causes of induced in an earthquake, she continued.
(USGS), the central United States experienced earthquakes into four general triggers: sur-
about 21 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or higher face operations (such as quarrying, building Dam-Induced Quakes
each year between 1973 and 2008. This number structures, and impounding water reser- After mining, the next most common source
grew to almost 100 per year between 2009 and voirs), injecting material into the subsurface of induced earthquakes, making up about 20%,
2013. In 2014 alone, the region experienced (such as wastewater disposal in fracking), is water reservoirs, Foulger said. Huge masses
more than 400 earthquakes. removing material from the subsurface (such of water piling up on Earth’s surface affect the
In the past few years, scientists have begun as mining or pumping water for irrigation), hydrology of the earth below in ways that can
to better understand the relationship between and explosions from underground nuclear alter stress on faults. “If water is forced into
industrial processes and “induced” earth- tests. fault zones, it reduces the confining stress and
quakes. Recent media attention has zeroed in squeezes the fault open a little bit. It’s lubri-
on fracking and wastewater injection, but Mining-Induced Quakes Dominate cating the fault,” she said.
earthquakes are also induced by the load of When the researchers looked at the data, one A notable example is the Koyna Dam in
water impounded behind a dam, mining pro- thing was clear: Of the 715 cases of induced India, which impounds about 3 cubic kilome-
cesses, and extracting groundwater for irriga- earthquake sequences, “mining by far domi- ters of water. There, a magnitude 5 earthquake
tion, among other causes. nated the picture,” Foulger said, with about occurs about every 5 years, according to the
Because repeated small quakes have struck one third of the earthquake sequences tied to researchers’ report.
areas around an oil field in the Netherlands for mining processes. In fact, “mine quakes Other examples in the report include
the past few decades, the Dutch oil and gas account for about 50% of all earthquakes in Egypt’s Aswan High Dam, which impounds
exploration company NAM commissioned a Britain,” she noted. about 132 cubic kilometers of water and has
study by earthquake experts to better under- Mining falls under the category of “remov- induced earthquakes up to magnitude 5.7. In
stand h uman-i nduced earthquakes. The team, ing material from the subsurface.” Imagine addition, in 2007, more than 7000 earth-
led by Gillian Foulger, a geologist at Durham gradually removing support beams and walls quakes were recorded over a 2 -m onth period
Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 3
NNEEWWSS
in Algeria as water was pumped from one res- California’s Governor Promises
ervoir into another (see http:// bit . ly/ nat - haz
- nov2012). to Fight for Science
Database for All
Unfortunately, induced earthquakes are likely
underreported, Foulger noted, because docu-
mented earthquake sequences tend to come lems), fluorinated gases (which contribute to
from places where humans felt them. Some ozone layer destruction), and methane (a
projects, such as offshore oil and gas greenhouse gas more powerful than carbon
extraction, may be far from people, where dioxide). The bill calls for a 50% reduction in
earthquakes aren’t felt and thus aren’t black carbon emissions, a 40% reduction in
recorded, she explained. fluorinated gases, and a 40% reduction in
A corollary of this is that as populations methane by 2030 (see http:// bit . ly/ SB605
move and grow, risk increases. For example, - slcp).
15 years ago “the residents of Oklahoma would From phasing out plastic bags to promises
not have suffered from the quakes” because at to clean up California’s air, the state plans to
that time fewer people lived near areas where remain a beacon for environmental policy
ongoing industrial processes induced quakes, based on sound science. “If anyone in Wash-
Foulger explained. ington starts picking on researchers, you can
Foulger and her colleagues are building a be sure you’ll have a friend in California…and
website, http:// inducedearthquakes . org, which all the legal talent we can bring to bear,”
er
starting in the spring will allow anyone to gn Brown said.
rceropwordts ionudruccinedg, e raerstehaqruchakeerss .w Sihlle b heo apbelse ttho auts bey Gary Wa Science Is “Not a Joke”
the database to further catalog induced earth- California governor Jerry Brown addresses scientists and Brown also touched on the role that extremely
quakes and thus to better understand them. policy makers at the AGU Fall Meeting in December. biased news publications play in muddying
One caveat, Foulger also noted, is that the scientists’ efforts to communicate the dangers
current list includes not only confirmed of climate change. For example, when he
induced quakes but also earthquakes that sci- It’s time to stand up, unite, and fight for sci- pledged to reduce methane emissions in Cali-
entists don’t necessarily agree were induced. ence. That was the message California gov- fornia, Breitbart, a s elf-d escribed source for
This could cause problems, noted Susan ernor Jerry Brown delivered on 14 December the white nationalist “a lt-r ight” group,
Hough, a seismologist at the USGS’s Earth- to a convention hall packed with scientists and “talked about cow farts,” Brown said.
quake Science Center in Pasadena, Calif., press at the 2016 AGU Fall Meeting in San “Everything is reduced from seriousness to
who wasn’t involved with the research. Francisco, Calif. just a joke. Well, it’s not a joke,” Governor
“There will be a danger of people taking the “Some people need a heart attack to stop Brown said. “This is about real life. This is
catalog as gospel, not appreciating the fact smoking. Maybe we just got our heart attack,” about real people, real science, and [scientists]
that some associations remain controver- Brown said, referring to recent threats against are the custodians of that aspect of our lives.”
sial,” she said. Earth and climate science as a new adminis- The governor also referenced his old moni-
However, it’s a “worthy effort to try to tration was about to gather in Washington. ker, “Governor Moonbeam,” from his guber-
compile a catalog,” Hough continued. “It will “This is a l ong-t erm slog into the future, and natorial term in the 1970s, bestowed on him
be useful to test hypotheses about induced [scientists] are there, the foot soldiers of when he proposed that California launch its
earthquakes and, fundamentally, to highlight change” and collaboration, he said. own Landsat-t ype satellite. He said that the
the scale and scope of the problem.” new administration has threatened to turn
A Friend in California off some of the satellites that monitor Earth’s
Minimizing Risk “California will continue in support of atmosphere and surface and lightheartedly
Despite the fears surrounding induced earth- research,” Brown said. “We’ve got the scien- joked, “If Trump turns off [the] satellites,
quakes, Foulger stressed that concerned par- tists, we’ve got the lawyers, and we’re ready to California will launch its own damn satel-
ties should work with industry leaders to fight. California is no stranger to this fight.” lites.”
manage risk rather than attempt to cease The Golden State has long been a leader in Governor Moonbeam is back, and he’s here
industrial activities altogether. enacting environmental policy. In 2012, Gov- to ramp up scientific engagement. He told sci-
Think of it like building a road, she ernor Brown signed into law the nation’s entists, “It’ll be up to you, as truth tellers and
explained. The future road may be a source of strictest vehicle emissions standards, which truth seekers, to mobilize all your efforts to
car accidents, but “people don’t prevent called for a 75% reduction of smog and a 50% fight back.”
industrial activity because new roads have to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by
be built. These earthquakes are the same—a 2025. Shortly after the law was signed, these
potentially dangerous side effect of industrial standards became national. “California drove By JoAnna Wendel (@JoAnnaScience), Staff
activity that needs to be managed,” she said. the United States,” Brown said. Writer
In 2014, Governor Brown also signed into
law a bill to create a strategy to reduce s hort- Editor’s Note: A full recording of Brown’s speech is
By JoAnna Wendel (@JoAnnaScience), Staff lived climate pollutants such as black carbon available on AGU’s Facebook page (see http://b it
Writer (toxic particles that cause respiratory prob- . ly/ gov - brown - video)
4 // Eos February 2017
NEWS
Rise in Tornadoes per Outbreak
Might Not Be Tied to Warming
Early last year, a Nature Communications rates a thunder-
paper reported that although the num- storm. Higher CAPE
ber of tornadoes per year in the United values mean higher
States remains consistent, the average num- chances that torna-
ber of tornadoes per outbreak has increased does will spawn.
steadily from 10 per outbreak to 15 since 1954.
The authors had no idea why. Chasing the Cause
The researchers also found that outbreaks The researchers
with extraordinarily large numbers of torna- wanted to know to
does—like an outbreak in 2011 that included a what degree the
tornado that razed neighborhoods and killed increasing number of
more than 100 people just in Joplin, Mo.— tornadoes per out-
es
have become more common as well. break was connected mag
The same research team, plus another col- to climate change. etty I
league, set out to investigate possible causes Models of climate G
for the swelling of outbreaks. They found change show that “in ment/
o
something unexpected: Effects from global a warmer climate, M
warming may not be the cause of this there tends to be ones/
irneccerenatslyin ign nScuimenbcee r(.s Tehe ehitrt fpi:n/d/ binitg . lsy a/ Tpippepaertetd gtuernee irna ltlhy em aotmreo m-ois- Phillip J
- etal). sphere, which would A house destroyed by a large, powerful tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., in 2011. Scien-
allow values of CAPE tists have suspected that climate change is causing a recently discovered d ecades-
Tornado Ingredients to increase,” Tippett long rise in the average number of tornadoes per outbreak in the United States. How-
Every year, about 1200 tornadoes hit the said. Prior studies ever, new research on that trend has found that the expected signature of global
United States, concentrated disproportion- have indicated that warming in t ornado-s pawning storms is surprisingly absent.
ately in a region called “Tornado Alley,” increases in CAPE
which spans the south central United States. are a signature effect
(Meteorologists note that tornadoes can of climate change on severe thunderstorms, “Changes in CAPE can’t explain the change.
strike anywhere that environmental condi- he added. It seems that changes in shear are more
tions are right.) Tornadoes form out of thun- The researchers dug into two data sets: one important.”
derstorms because humid, warm, buoyant air that compiled observations of actual torna- However, the causes of the greater wind
meets relatively dry, cold air and winds mov- does between 1951 and 2015 and one that com- shear—and the accompanying weather pat-
ing at different speeds interact to form a vor- piled meteorological observations surrounding terns—remain unknown and are an area for
tex. the tornadoes starting in 1979. The research- future research, Tippett said.
A tornado “outbreak” is defined many ways ers specifically looked at the changes in the Although no signature of global warming
but generally refers to six or more tornadoes daily averages of CAPE and vertical wind shear emerged from the new analysis, the new
rated 1 or greater on the Fujita or enhanced and how they changed over the years com- findings don’t rule out warming as a cause.
Fujita intensity scale forming from the same pared with tornado occurrence. If climate change is contributing to the
weather system. The results surprised them: Instead of an greater number of tornadoes in each out-
Led by climate and weather expert Michael increase in CAPE, which would tie the rise in break, “then we might expect to see either
Tippett (who was also the lead author on the the number of tornadoes per outbreak to cli- continued increases in the number of torna-
Nature Communications paper (http:// go mate change, they found an increase in verti- does per outbreak or at least no return to
. nature . com/ 2ig9IiO)) of Columbia University cal wind shear, Tippett said. This increase in earlier levels,” the 1 December Science paper
in New York, the team homed in on two key wind shear may be what’s driving the increas- notes.
meteorological ingredients for tornado for- ing number of tornadoes per outbreak, the Another possibility is that the outbreak
mation to explore what may be causing the authors speculate. trend results from s horter-t erm fluctuations
increase in the average number of tornadoes in climate on timescales of several years or
per outbreak. Climate Variations decades. In that case, the researchers write, “a
One of these ingredients is vertical wind “The study is important because it addresses return toward earlier levels [of the number of
shear, which refers to differences in wind one of the hypotheses that has been raised to tornadoes per outbreak] might be possible in
speed and direction as altitude changes, Tip- explain the observed change in number of tor- the future.”
pett told Eos. Another key ingredient in tor- nadoes in outbreaks,” Harold Brooks, senior
nado formation is convective available poten- scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmo-
tial energy (CAPE). This refers to the potential spheric Administration’s National Severe By JoAnna Wendel (@JoAnnaScience), Staff
for the upward rush of warm air that invigo- Storms Laboratory, said in a statement. Writer
Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 5
NNEEWWSS
Freezing Mars’s Core— experimental results on 13 December at the
2016 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
in the Lab
Sulfur Scenarios
The experiments revealed that if the core con-
tained 10%–12% sulfur, snowfall would domi-
nate the core’s freezing process, Gilfoy told
- 1 - 07). Earth researchers suspect Eos. During cooling, alloys would crystallize in
that outward growing crystalliza- the outer reaches of the core and then sink
tion is taking place in our own toward the planet’s center, displacing lighter
planet’s deep interior. elements. This is what scientists think is hap-
pening within Mercury.
Bringing Mars into the Lab The team’s second scenario is an Earth ana-
Gilfoy and his team decided to logue. Our own planet’s core is slowly solidify-
explore these scenarios by mim- ing in a process called b ottom-u p crystalliza-
icking Mars solidification in the tion. “Imagine [that] iron forms at the center
lab. They ground up and melted a and slowly grows outward, like a growing
mixture of iron, nickel, and sulfur, apple,” said Gilfoy. According to him, this
the main components of Mars’s occurred in melts with a large range of higher
interior. They created different sulfur concentrations, above 13%. Because
mixtures with varying sulfur con- such a wide range of possible mixtures led to
centrations that are all possible bottom-u p crystallization, it’s the most likely
representations of Mars’s interior. process to occur when Mars’s core eventually
They altered the amount of sulfur does firm up, he said.
in each alloy sample because sul- On the basis of their experiments, the
fur is thought to have the most researchers propose a third scenario that had
impact on melting temperature. not been previously discussed, Gilfoy added. If
A
AS In an experiment called the sulfur concentration stands at exactly 13%,
N
quenching, the scientists brought bottom- up growth and sulfur- rich iron alloy
Mars with polar ice.
the pressure of the molten blend snowfall processes would take place simulta-
up to that of the outer core of neously, he said.
Scientists know that it snows on Mars. Mars, 20 gigapascals, which is
Researchers years ago detected evidence 200 times greater than the pressure of the Mars’s Interior Still Hot Liquid
of frozen carbon dioxide sprinkling deepest part of the ocean on Earth. After Past studies determined only a few melting
from Martian skies. Now a group of research- melting each sample, the researchers rapidly temperatures associated with different con-
ers are conducting experiments to learn which dropped its temperature. Multiple quenching centrations of sulfur, according to Gilfoy,
conditions may make “snow” of a different experiments revealed the melting points of which was not enough to predict solidifying
sort fall someday inside the Red Planet—in the range of alloy samples they had created. behavior (see http:// bit . ly/ Breuer - et - al - 2015).
this case, flakes of either iron or an i ron- The team then compared its melting curve From the new experimental results involv-
sulfur compound tumbling through molten to the calculated temperatures of the Martian ing many more samples, he computed the
regions of Mars’s core. core—with the hottest being near the center temperatures at which alloys would melt at
Most Mars interior experts suspect that much various pressures. Given that these tempera-
of the planet’s core remains molten. However, tures were all below the most widely accepted
They created different
they are unsure to what degree; some argue that interior temperatures of Mars, the results add
it is fully molten. “Right now, there’s a lot of mixtures with varying further evidence that Mars’s core is not solidi-
speculation about the state of Mars’s core,” said fying yet, Gilfoy said.
sulfur concentrations
Forrest Gilfoy, a graduate student in Earth sci- “Sulfur changes the melting temperatures,
ences at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor so solidification will depend on how much sul-
that are all possible
and lead researcher on the experiments. fur there is,” said Christian Liebske, a mineral-
Mars researchers agree, however, that the representations of Mars’s ogist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technol-
planet’s core will eventually solidify as the ogy in Zurich, who was not part of the study.
planet cools, and some researchers have been interior. “There is evidence that Mars’s core is molten,
investigating what kinds of freezing processes but to what extent, we still don’t know.”
the molten core will undergo at that time. In 2018, NASA plans to install a measure-
A study published in 2007 by Swiss research- ment station on the surface of Mars to better
ers proposed two scenarios for this core solidi- of the core and the coldest being near the understand Mars’s interior.
fication in Mars: one in which flakes of “iron core- mantle boundary—to determine the
snow” form in the outer reaches of the core and depth at which different alloys would solidify.
descend toward the center and another in Alloys that solidify at lesser depths become By Yasemin Saplakoglu (email: ysaplako@ ucsc
which a wave of crystallization begins in the snow, whereas those that solidify at greater . edu; @ yasemin _ sap), Science Communication
liquid core near the center of the planet and depths become part of the b ottom-u p crystal Program Graduate Student, University of Califor-
propagates outward (see http:// bit . ly/ Science6 formation, Gilfoy explained. He presented the nia, Santa Cruz
6 // Eos February 2017
NEWS
A Quest to Put Sea Level Rise Data For example, a user who wants to know
where sea level is changing right now can
in Your Pocket choose to display a map showing tide stations
around the world, regional trends in sea level,
or regions vulnerable to future coastal flooding.
In response to a selection, the app presents
data at three levels: a brief introduction box,
an audio recording that tells a short story, and
an interactive map showing the data around
the world. At every stage, the app offers an
option to redirect to a summary of the data
and their source.
Bruce Moravchik, an education specialist at
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), believes that the
Polar Explorer: Sea Level app is a powerful
tool. Moravchik was not part of the app’s
development but has collaborated with Turrin
on using the app for educational events.
ersity set“sT ahree pnrootb alcecmes issi bthlea tt oa elodtu ocaf tcolirms aanted dsatuta-
Univ dents in a manner they can easily query and
mbia understand,” said Moravchik. This app “has a
olu tremendous interface that pulls on real data
C
EO/ from NOAA and NASA and puts it in a frame-
D
S, L work of telling a story; it is really compelling.”
D
G
M
m, Explorer Quests
Tea Turrin and her team developed a series of
er
or parallel “quests” to accompany the app.
pl
Ex These quests prompt users to use the app to
olar answer questions like “You move to the
P
The Polar Explorer: Sea Level app shows sea level fluctuations at tide stations around the globe. The user can select a Swedish coast and are puzzled to find the
specific location, and the app generates a brief report with the name of the station and the sea level trend. This example people there are not worried about sea level
shows Grand Isle, La., on the Gulf Coast, where sea levels are rising at a rate of nearly 3 feet (around 1 meter) per century. rise. … Why not?”
Although the app was originally developed
for a general adult population, Turrin suspects
Want to know where sea level is “Just getting people to go and interact with that undergraduate students may be the per-
changing right now, or what places it and realize, ‘Oh! It’s actually data,’ is a fect audience for it and its quests.
around the world are at risk from pretty important thing,” Turrin told Eos on “In a college class…you could put the app in
storm surge? Don’t worry; there’s an app for 13 December. their hands and let them pull up a data set and
that. have them try and generate questions around
Polar Explorer: Sea Level is a new climate Asking Big Questions what they are seeing,” Turrin said.
change education app that focuses on sea level Polar Explorer: Sea Level is structured around
rise and its consequences (see http://b it. l y/ seven “big question” categories, including Positive Responses
polar - explorer - sea - lvl). It aims to remove “What is sea level?” and “What are future So far, the response to the app has been over-
barriers between the public and often inacces- predictions for the U.S. coast?” Each category whelmingly positive, although Turrin would
sible climate data. Developed by researchers at like future updates to simplify some of the
Columbia University’s Lamont- Doherty Earth app’s scientific language that may be overly
The app aims to remove
Observatory, this novel app allows iPhone and complex.
iPad users to navigate clickable, d ata-b ased barriers between the With an eye toward future improvements,
map layers to explore questions about climate Turrin’s team is investigating users’ responses
change. public and often to Polar Explorer: Sea Level. The team com-
In the graphics regularly displayed by news pleted a pilot study in September with 150
inaccessible climate data.
media or elsewhere on the Internet, “people participants and plans this month to start a
see data visualizations all day long, but they full study of which features users took advan-
don’t realize it’s data—they think it’s a pic- tage of, the questions they explored, and how
ture somebody made,” said Margie Turrin, an the interactive app compares to a paper atlas.
education coordinator at L amont-D oherty and functions like a book chapter, and upon delv-
the project lead for the app. Turrin presented ing into the chapter, users can choose from a
the findings at the 2016 AGU Fall Meeting in selection of map layers that will help them By Aaron Sidder (email: aaron . sidder@ gmail . com;
San Francisco, Calif. better understand their topic. @sidquan), Freelance Science Writer
Earth & Space Science News Eos.org // 7
MEETING REPORT
Flood Response Using Earth sions, programs, initiatives, and research
funding to provide f lood-m onitoring and
Observation Data and Products response services, as well as image and com-
puter simulation products, during an event.
But with the proliferation of information, it is
NASA Flood Response Workshop difficult to coordinate systems during a single
Greenbelt, Maryland, 14–16 June 2016 event, let alone multiple simultaneous events
or successive large events. In addition, each of
those systems provides a unique capability,
and so coordination is necessary.
The NASA Applied Sciences Disasters Pro-
gram held a flood response workshop (http://g o
. nasa . gov/ 2gyVxW2) in June 2016 in Greenbelt,
Md., that brought together lead people from
NASA’s flood expert pool and emergency man-
agers from national and international organi-
zations to discuss and formalize a coordinated
domestic and global response to flood disas-
ters. The workshop participants—more than
70 total—included people from government
agencies, academia, nongovernmental organi-
zations, development and aid organizations,
and the private sector who have a common
interest in U .S .- w ide and global flood response.
The workshop enabled a unique and suc-
cessful dialogue among Earth observation (EO)
mission technology and science experts,
capacity-b uilding officials, and the flood
response community, with the goals of meet-
ing user needs and fostering better coordina-
tion in flood disaster response worldwide.
In a series of invited talks, decision makers
from federal agencies, state emergency
A departments, and the humanitarian aid sector
A
NO presented the types of EO products, if any,
This aerial photograph, taken a few kilometers east of Baton Rouge, La., on 15 August 2016, shows the devastating that they currently use in their flood response
effects of last summer’s floods (the brown areas are under water). Interstate 12 runs through the middle of the image. operations. In many cases, such products are
either not easily understood or not specifically
designed for the purpose, and often they are
Over the past decade, floods all around in the past, and they frequently surpass tra- not accessible in a timely manner.
the world have been of exceptionally ditional regional disaster response capabili- The workshop addressed current EO system
high magnitude. Rainfalls have set ties. capabilities and limitations and focused on
new records and caused unprecedented dam- Such events have demonstrated the need to ways to deliver integrated and o peration-
age in many countries, including China, develop a rapid global response to enable relief tailored solutions for decision making. The
India, Malawi, northern England, Thailand, teams, decision makers, local agencies, and various flood response communities involved
the Philippines, and the United States. Areas international organizations to deal swiftly put together a “wish list” at the end of the
in the United States that have been especially with successive big events and deliver relevant workshop (Table 1) that identifies the imme-
hard hit include the East Coast, the Midwest, geospatial data and flood imagery when and diate challenges to be addressed by EO
the Southwest, Mississippi, Virginia, West where they are needed. research investigators, scientists, and product
Virginia, and Louisiana. These events cover Many organizations, including space agen- developers as a first step.
spatial scales well beyond what we have seen cies such as NASA, already have ongoing mis- The outcomes of the workshop will inform a
near-t erm action plan to set up a new “com-
munity of practice,” which will set out to
Table 1. Challenges and First Steps for the Flood Response Community
improve EO data and products over the next
EMERGENCY MONITORING MAPPING PRODUCT CAPACITY BUILDING
1–3 years for better assisting flood disaster
MANAGEMENT AND OBSERVING AND MODELING DISSEMINATION AND END USER
AND DISTRIBUTION ENGAGEMENT response.
Push data and products One-stop shop (should Automated polygon Single access point (one- Build trust in the prod-
out in 12- to 24-hour also include future generation of flood stop shop) that allows ucts and report value to
intervals, within capa- acquisitions), where disaster location to tar- automated product community; one-stop By Guy J.-P. Schumann (email: gjpschumann@
bilities (ask for assis- communities can pull get Earth observation delivery system shop needs to have
gmail . com), Remote Sensing Solutions, Inc.,
tance with resources as rather than push data data acquisition and products that are tai-
needed and manage and products products, especially at lored to user needs and Monrovia, Calif.; and School of Geographical Sci-
expectations) the international level allow for feedback ences, University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K.
8 // Eos February 2017