NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher visited New Orleans last month to announce a joint NOAA-Louisiana State University study warning that parts of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi are sinking, and will face increased dangers from storm surge and flooding. The announcement, at the National Hurricane Conference, said the affected areas may lose up to one foot of elevation over the next decade.

“We have diagnosed a problem, and NOAA is uniquely capable to recommend and implement a remedy,” said Lautenbacher. “We are taking long-term and near-term steps that will save lives during dangerous storms, prevent further subsidence, and closely monitor the situation so that we are always working with the most current data.”

In cooperation with state and local agencies, NOAA is taking a two-stage approach to address the problem of increased vulnerability to flooding and tidal surges made increasingly worse by coastal subsidence. In the near-term, NOAA National Weather Service has installed monitoring systems that will give more accurate forecasts of coastal water levels, and is using the new information on ground elevations in the forecasting of coastal storms. The long-term strategy involves drastic coastal reclamation that is intended to halt the coastal subsidence.

NOAA Administrator Lautenbacher at a press conference announces a study showing that portions of the Gulf Coast are sinking at a rate of one foot over the next decade.

NOAA held its semi-annual award ceremony in Silver Spring earlier this month, honoring 212 NOAA employees for their accomplishments in all facets of the agency’s work, from rescuing an orphaned orca whale from Puget Sound, to the new voice of NOAA Weather Radio (as well as the original editor and designer of accessNOAA). Former NOAA Science Advisory Board chairman Al Beeton was honored with the Administrator’s Special Recognition award by NOAA Administrator Lautenbacher, who called him “a loyal, dedicated public servant…who gave tirelessly of himself.” Awards were handed out by Lautenbacher and announced by the nattily attired master of ceremonies, human resources director Zane Schauer. We’ll have photos of some of the winners in the next issue.

Former NOAA Science Advisory Board chairman Al Beeton was honored with the Administrator’s Special Recognition award.

NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency marked World Asthma Day this month by announcing a partnership to jointly develop a forecasting tool which will enhance the ability to predict air quality in our communities. The new model will create a consistent national, numerical system of forecasting ozone and particular matter. This tool will provide the Air Quality Index in daily weather forecasts, and will report a more accurate warning of the days in which outdoor activities could prove to be a health risk. In a Washington, D.C., ceremony EPA Administrator Christie Whitman and Commerce Department Deputy Secretary Sam Bodman signed an agreement between the two agencies.

“This is an excellent example of how partnerships between government agencies, states and local communities can provide a valuable public service,” said Bodman. “The new air quality forecast tool will help people make better decisions to protect their health on daily activities such as working or playing outdoors, driving their cars or choosing other means of transportation. For people affected by poor air quality, an improved forecast can mean a higher quality of life.”

Commerce Deputy Secretary Bodman and EPA Administrator Whitman sign an agreement to develop an air quality forecasting tool.

Last month we asked for you to send photos from your office’s Take Your Children to Work Day events. The overwhelming response was, well, overwhelming. Here’s a sample of some of the great shots you sent in.

Daughter Madeline, 6, and her father, Jim Scarlett, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS Forecast Office in Billings, Mont.

Kindergartener Parker Keener-Chavis and Hadley Gouldman sittin' on the dock of the bay after touring the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown. Their parents, Paula Keener-Chavis and Carl Gouldman, work at the NOAA Coastal Services Center in Charleston, S.C.

JayLynn Charlie and Emma Honea on the 85-foot Antenna pad at Fairbanks, Alaska.

Pendleton, Ore., Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dennis Hull shows McKenna Miller, Connor Hull, Jane Zdrojewski, and Marcus Miller what they have to look forward to if they work for NOAA when they grow up—meetings, Powerpoint…and cookies!

New state-of-the-art radar technology designed to help future forecasters provide earlier warnings for tornadoes and other types of severe and hazardous weather was unveiled last month at the NOAA National Severe Storm Laboratory in Norman, Okla. The new National Weather Radar testbed provides the meteorological research community with the first full-time phased array radar facility. It will also allow NSSL and other meteorologists to determine if phased array radar will become the next significant technology advancement to improve our nation’s weather services. Researchers have begun the work of adapting the technology currently used to protect Navy battle groups from missile threats for the new purpose of weather detection.

“NOAA is pleased to be a partner in this endeavor that holds great promise to protect lives and property. NOAA is pleased to partner with the University of Oklahoma and the U.S. Navy on this very valuable effort,” said Scott Rayder, NOAA chief of staff.

Officials cut the ribbon for the new National Weather Radar testbed at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla. Representing the project's partners are (from left) Jeff Kimpel, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory; Kathy Taylor, Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Tourism; Mike Ozga, Lockheed Martin; Jane Alexander, Office of Naval Research; David Boren, University of Oklahoma; Rep. Tom Cole; Scott Rayder, NOAA; Paul Risser, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education; and Anne Harlan, Federal Aviation Administration.

 

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Date Last Updated: May 29, 2003 10:02 AM