Notre Dame researcher studying Hurricane Irene's storm surge
2011-08-27
(Press-News.org) While a great number of people are preparing to evacuate in the face of Hurricane Irene, Andrew Kennedy, a researcher in the University of Notre Dame Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, rushed to the outer banks of North Carolina yesterday in anticipation of its arrival.
Kennedy, a member of Notre Dame's Hydraulic Computation Research Group, is on a helicopter rapidly deploying wave and surge gauges for data collection in conjunction with Irene.
"Irene looks likely to have large impacts in North Carolina and I am at the outer banks to deploy wave/surge gauges with some local North Carolina researchers I have worked with before," Kennedy said." "Depending on landfall location and strength, there is potential for a new inlet to be created as a barrier island is cut, and strong to serve building damage. Irene is large and strong and the best hope for North Carolina is that it goes offshore. If it does, though, it will just push the problem north to New York or New England, so someone is going to get hit badly."
Kennedy's research focuses on waves, surge and currents in the coastal ocean and their effects on human activities.
Storm surge is the wall of water pushed onto land as a hurricane comes ashore. Although high winds are associated with hurricanes, storm surge is actually a greater danger and a leading cause of destruction and death.
Kennedy's colleague Joannes Westerink, the Notre Dame Chair in Computational Hydraulics, is one of the developers of the Advanced Circulation Model, or ADCIRC, an authoritative computer model for storm surge prediction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of Louisiana use the model to determine water levels due to hurricane surge as well as to design appropriate levee heights and alignments.
INFORMATION:
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-08-27
Embattled Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman formally resigned her post today in a contract settlement negotiated by the legal team at MyPhillyLawyer.
Behind the scenes over the last month, the lawyers of MyPhillyLawyer represented Ackerman throughout the process, ensuring that the terms of her employment contract and compensation were fully met and that the school system would be able to move on with new leadership in an orderly transition. Under the agreement, Ackerman will receive a $905,000 settlement to end her employment contract with the school ...
2011-08-27
A new University of Alberta study says when it comes to goal setting, your unconscious mind can be a great motivator.
Alberta School of Business researcher Sarah Moore and colleagues from Duke and Cornell universities say that unconscious feelings about objects in the environment influence the pursuit of long-term goals. Their study explores how the unconscious mind responds to objects in relation to an individual's goals—and how the unconscious continues to influence feelings about these objects once the goals are reached—whether or not the outcome has been successful. ...
2011-08-27
The same trait that makes a rare immune cell invaluable in fighting some infections also can be exploited by other diseases to cause harm, two new studies show.
In papers published online in Immunity, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveal that the cells, known as CD8 alpha+ dendritic cells (CD8a+ DCs), can help the body beat back infection by a common parasite, but the same cells can be hijacked by a bacterium to decimate the body's defenses.
The trait that makes the cells both an asset and a liability is the way they alert other ...
2011-08-27
In a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly five percent of drivers admitted that they had nodded off at the wheel at least once during the past month.
The actual number may be even higher than that. In a 2005 poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, more than a third of all adult drivers acknowledged falling asleep at the wheel in the past year. Another 13 percent reported having done so regularly -- at least once a month.
One result of all this dozing while driving is car accidents caused by fatigued driving.
The ...
2011-08-27
Names like Bernie Madoff, Lee Farkas, Jeffrey Skilling and Raj Rajaratnam have gained household recognition in the United States, held up as examples of financial excess and criminal culpability. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation have affirmed their priorities in pursuing alleged perpetrators of securities fraud, health care fraud and bank fraud in response to recent economic struggles nationwide.
On the other end of those prosecutions, federal judges are imposing harsh sentences for white collar crimes. A strong sense that the public ...
2011-08-27
August 26, 2011 -- The rising prevalence of obesity around the globe places an increasing burden on the health of populations, on healthcare systems and on overall economies. A major challenge for researchers is to quantify the effect of these burdens to inform public policies. Using a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences from rising obesity rates in the United States and the United Kingdom, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Oxford University forecast 65 million more obese adults in the U. S. and ...
2011-08-27
Europcar, the leader in car hire services in Europe for both leisure and business users, is reinforcing its commitment to the environment by being the first UK rental provider to add the new Peugeot iON to its fleet. This follows the announcement of Europcar's global partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroen last October and responds to increasing demand for access to electric vehicles to rent.
Providing travellers arriving at several of London's airports and heading into the Capital with a congestion-charge-free option, Peugeot iONs will be available for customers at Europcar's ...
2011-08-27
Northern Rock has launched three new competitive instant access savings accounts, adding further options to its flexible savings range. To make it easier to navigate to the relevant product pages on its award-winning website, Quick Response (QR) codes have also been introduced on selected new product adverts.
For those who are looking for a straightforward, instant-access savings account which can be operated in branch, by post or by phone, Everyday Access offers the interest rate of 2.05% gross* pa/AER** variable on balances over GBP1, with no bonus rate attached. (Balances ...
2011-08-27
Europcar, the leader in car hire services in Europe, is keeping businesses on the move with an innovative new service that tackles the issues that company fleets face when waiting for new vehicle delivery.
6 Advantage offers vehicle hire for a fixed period of six months, but with all the benefits of short-term business car hire, reflecting Europcar's sustained commitment to bring corporate customers services that reflect the changing needs of the marketplace, delivering flexible and cost effective car hire solutions.
"Currently there is a real gap in the solutions ...
2011-08-27
Business Monitor International (BMI) has published its latest China Mining Report, which forecasts annual average industry growth of 9.1% in real terms from 2011 to 2015, with production of bauxite, copper, tin and gold set to rise fastest. By the end of this period, the value of China's mining industry will reach US$606bn. Industry-wide energy efficiency and consolidation measures introduced by the government as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) will be the key drivers of growth.
BMI expects the industry to see further consolidation as government involvement ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Notre Dame researcher studying Hurricane Irene's storm surge