Science and the storms: The USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005

Mark D. Myers, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2007

One of the primary missions of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information, thereby minimizing loss of life and property from natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes. A recent test of that mission was the need for scientific response to the destructive hurricanes of 2005, especially Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

As employees of the Nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, USGS scientists have been studying hurricanes and hurricane-related impacts for decades. They have measured and studied flooding and water quality. They have used the latest technology—from satellite imagery and geographic information systems to lidar (light detection and ranging)—to view and analyze damage to the barrier islands and coastal wetlands that protect people and property. They have examined the effects of hurricanes on land, water, vegetation, and wildlife.

With this background, USGS scientists were positioned to immediately begin applying their scientific and technological knowledge and skills to the devastating hurricanes of 2005. And they did so with great vigor. They examined the cycles of hurricanes and their relation to sea water surface temperature. They looked at oil slicks and chemicals in the flood waters and the sediments in and around New Orleans and studied the flood protection systems there. They recorded the effects of the hurricanes on manatees off the coast of Florida and on birds whose fall migration was disrupted by these ferocious storms. They analyzed the destruction of bridges, and they measured debris. They looked at the landscape of the Gulf Coast and measured enormous changes due to hurricane winds and flooding. Overall, USGS scientists performed dozens and dozens of other studies that hurricane season, many of them documented in this volume.

As USGS scientists performed their research, they also provided volunteer humanitarian assistance by boat rescues after Katrina. They also used their technology to map 911 callers seeking rescue. Meanwhile, other USGS staff donated water, food, and blood and made their offices and homes available to evacuees. For performing these activities, USGS received the Service to America Medal, described in this report.

This volume is but a snapshot of the work that USGS biologists, geologists, geographers, and hydrologists, working together, provided during these natural disasters. And our scientists will continue to be engaged in hurricane research.

This collection of articles is for the American people, to illustrate how science can make a real difference in their lives. Many decisions are being made about the future of coastal areas, and our citizens deserve well-thought-out decisions based on a sound foundation of unbiased science. It is this kind of impartial science that USGS, working with many other agencies, intends to continue to bring to the American people on a daily basis and when disasters strike.

Mark D. Myers Director

Science and the Storms: the USGS Response to the Hurricanes of 2005 is designed to give a view of the immediate response of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to four major hurricanes of 2005: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Some of this response took place days after the hurricanes; other responses included fieldwork and analysis through the spring. While hurricane science continues within the USGS, this overview of work following these hurricanes reveals how a Department of the Interior bureau quickly brought together a diverse array of its scientists and technologies to assess and analyze many hurricane effects. Topics vary from flooding and water quality to landscape and ecosystem impacts, from geotechnical reconnaissance to analyzing the collapse of bridges and estimating the volume of debris. Thus, the purpose of this report is to inform the American people of the USGS science that is available and ongoing in regard to hurricanes. It is the hope that such science will help inform the decisions of those citizens and officials tasked with coastal restoration and planning for future hurricanes.

Chapter 1 is an essay establishing the need for science in building a resilient coast. The second chapter includes some hurricane facts that provide hurricane terminology, history, and maps of the four hurricanes’ paths. Chapters that follow give the scientific response of USGS to the storms. Both English and metric measurements are used in the articles in anticipation of both general and scientific audiences in the United States and elsewhere. Chapter 8 is a compilation of relevant ongoing and future hurricane work. The epilogue marks the 2-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. An index of authors follows the report to aid in finding articles that are crossreferenced within the report. This report will be available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov.

In addition to performing the science needed to understand the effects of hurricanes, USGS employees helped in the rescue of citizens by boat and through technology by “geoaddressing” 911 calls after Katrina and Rita so that other rescuers could find persons trapped in attics and porches. They also delivered food and water to residents stranded along the lower Mississippi River for several days. That work is reported in chapter 3 of this volume.

A great number of scientists contributed to this peer-reviewed report designed for a general audience. Because they work for USGS—an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology, geospatial information, and water—they are dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the landscape and natural resources of the Nation, as well as natural hazards, like hurricanes, that threaten the Nation. To learn more about their work, visit the USGS Web site (www.usgs.gov).

We are grateful to the many people who contributed to this report. Our deepest gratitude goes to the more than 100 scientists who wrote the articles that describe how the U.S. Geological Survey used its science to respond to the Nation’s needs after the significant hurricanes of 2005: Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

We also wish to acknowledge the dozens and dozens of independent peer reviewers who read and commented on these articles to improve them and check for accuracy. Along that line, we are aware of the important work of the USGS scientists who performed the final review of these articles: Jim D. Petty and Elisabeth M. Brouwers, biology; Keith J. Lucey, water; Jeffrey D. Spooner, geography; and Kathie Rankin and Vito F. Nuccio, geology.

Deep gratitude is owed to the USGS Lafayette Publishing Service Center (PSC), headed by Beth A. Vairin. Editors Jarita Davis and Victoria Jenkins, IAP World Services (IAPWS), Inc., contractors at the service center, were tireless in improving each article and fact checking all items, large and small. The design of this report was the creative work of graphic artist Ann Gaygan, who was assisted by Christina Boudreaux; both are IAPWS contractors. Laura Coplin, who works for the PSC in Austin, Tex., also provided assistance with figures.

We thank librarians Linda Broussard, USGS National Wetlands Research Center, and Judith Haydel, IAPWS, for help in checking facts and bibliographies when needed. We also appreciate the work of Rhonda Davis, program assistant at the center, for helping with correspondence and keeping track of the various versions and peer reviews of the articles, as well as more than 300 illustrations.

Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................iii Preface ...........................................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................................................v

Chapter 1. The Need for Science in Restoring Resilience to the Northern Gulf of Mexico .....

Restoring Resilience to the Gulf of Mexico Coast ...........................................................................1

Chapter 2. The Storms of 2005 ..........................................................................................................6 Cycles of Hurricane Landfalls on the Eastern United States Linked to

The Major Hurricanes of 2005: a Few Facts ...................................................................................12

Chapter 3. Rescue and Response ..................................................................................................16 USGS Humanitarian and Geospatial Response for Search and Rescue After

Using Geospatial Technology To Process 911 Calls After Hurricanes Katrina

Geotechnical Reconnaissance of the Mississippi River Delta Flood-protection

Analysis of the Interstate 10 Twin Bridge’s Collapse During Hurricane Katrina .....................35 Estimation of Post-Katrina Debris Volume: an Example from Coastal Mississippi ..................43 Hurricane Katrina Flooding and Oil Slicks Mapped with Satellite Imagery .............................49 Topography-based Analysis of Hurricane Katrina Inundation of New Orleans ......................53 Temporal Analysis of Floodwater Volumes in New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina ............57

Chapter 4. How Technology Helps .................................................................................................62 USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center’s 2005 Hurricane Response and

Data Access and Dissemination for Emergency Response and Long-term Recovery

GIS for the Gulf: a Reference Database for Hurricane-affected Areas ....................................75 ASTER and USGS EROS Emergency Imaging for Hurricane Disasters ....................................79

Chapter 5. Landscape Changes ......................................................................................................86 Aerial Rapid Assessment of Hurricane Damages to Northern Gulf Coastal Habitats ............87 Land Area Changes in Coastal Louisiana After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ..........................97 Extreme Changes to Barrier Islands Along the Central Gulf of Mexico Coast

Impacts of Hurricane Rita on the Beaches of Western Louisiana ...........................................119

Chapter 6. Ecological Impacts ......................................................................................................124 Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on Floodplain Forests of the Pearl River ..................................125 Broad-scale Response of Landbird Migration to the Immediate Effects of

Potential Consequences of Saltwater Intrusion Associated with Hurricanes

Cheniere Forest as Stopover Habitat for Migrant Landbirds: Immediate Effects of Changes in Atlantic Sea-surface Temperatures ................................................................7

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ................................................................................................17

System After Hurricane Katrina ..........................................................................................27

Efforts Related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ................................................................71

During Hurricane Katrina ...................................................................................................113

Katrina and Rita ...................................................................................................................137

Hurricane Rita ......................................................................................................................147 Sediment Deposition from Hurricane Rita on Hackberry Beach Chenier in

Wind Damage and Salinity Effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Coastal

A Tale of Two Storms: Surges and Sediment Deposition from Hurricanes

Predicting Mangrove Forest Recovery on the Southwest Coast of Florida

Estuarine Response in Northeastern Florida Bay to Major Hurricanes in 2005 .....................183 Research on the Impacts of Past and Future Hurricanes on the Endangered

Chapter 7. Aquatic Environments .................................................................................................196 Examining Offshore Sediment-hosted Contaminant Transport from Hurricane

Selected Chemical Composition of Deposited Sediments in the Flooded

Soil and Sediment Chemistry in the Mississippi River Delta Following

Effects of Hurricane Katrina’s Storm Surge on the Quality of Shallow Aquifers

Water Quality of Lake Pontchartrain and Outlets to the Gulf of Mexico

Effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Chemistry of Bottom Sediments

Environmental Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Lake Pontchartrain ........................................231 Bacteriological Water Quality in and Around Lake Pontchartrain Following

Characterization of Flood Sediments from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Potential

Monitoring Hurricane Rita Inland Storm Surge ..........................................................................257

Chapter 8. Science and the Storms: the Science Continues ...................................................264 Current and Future Science Plans for Restoring a Resilient Coast..........................................265 Epilogue .......................................................................................................................................................270 Author Index ...............................................................................................................................................272 vii

Baldcypress Forests of Louisiana ....................................................................................163

Andrew and Wilma in Florida’s Southwest Coast Mangrove Forests ........................169

Following the Impact of Hurricane Wilma, October 2005 .............................................175

Areas of New Orleans Following Hurricane Katrina ....................................................201

near the Northern Shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain, Southeastern Louisiana ....................................................................................................213

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ............................................................................221

in Lake Pontchartrain, La. .................................................................................................225

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita .............................................................................................239

Implications for Human Health and the Environment ...................................................245

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