This case study will contain three lines of investigation: a meterologic perspective of the storm development, evolution and dissipation, including comparisons to other recent hurricanes in the Gulf Coast; a geologic exploration of why the city was founded and how it has expanded through natural and human-made features that support life in the city; and how the storm's impact on the region was enhanced by the natural geology and geography and the failure of man-made structures to control them.
Over 1 Gb of data has been gathered ranging from historic maps of the city, its population, navigational routes, levees and other infrastructure to geologic and topographic, and the meteorological data for the storm (storm track, precipitation, wind speed, wind shear etc).
Meteorological Component: We will focus on understanding the hurricane as a meteorological phenomenon. This piece will tie in closely to the atmospheric science basics presented in the tornado case study and work previously done for the SAGUARO module on tropical cyclones. Much of that module can be used for background and animations explaining the ingredients for a tropical cyclone and how they behave. Tracking the storm's development using radar data, windspeed and precipitation will allow comparison of this storm to several other recent hurricanes that were stronger, but resulted in much less damage and loss of life.
Geology and Geography Component: New Orleans was founded in 1718 by French traders to support their business interests. It was a principal port for the growing nation and continues to be a major port for shipping up and down the Mississippi River. The areal extent of the city at its founding was limited to that part of the city above sea level and river level. Early on, levees were built to contain the flooding from the Mississippi and to drain the swamps surrounding the city. The city grew into the reclaimed areas, continually building more levees, canals and pumping systems to keep it dry. Sinking of the city has also continued through time, requiring reinforcement and raising of the levees. We will explore the precarious nature of a city surrounded by water and lying below sea level and how these factors contributed to the devastation of the hurricane.
Societal Decisions and Impacts of Them: The third element will focus on growth of the city over time, use of levees and pumping stations to keep it dry, population distributions, evacuation plans, and emergency management strategies that mitigated or enhanced the damage and death toll. We will also explore the outcome of the city and possible new approaches to mitigating a repeat of this disaster.
We have gathered historic maps of New Orleans starting from 1860 and proceeding to the present from the Harvard Map Collection. We also have coverages of the critical infrastructure in the city and surrounding area to support this component of the investigation.
Who Should Use This?
The case study is designed for undergraduate science majors in mmeteorology, geological engineering and geoscience. It could be used in an introductory or advanced course in engineering, meteorology, geology, or hazards course. It is designed for two full lab periods or a mix of homework time and one lab period to complete, depending on how and when it is used in a course. It could also be used as a semester project, with the students exploring pieces of the case study over the course of the semester or as a wrap up to the semester.
The case study, when complete, will contain instructions sufficient for students and faculty with no expertise with a GIS application to be successful with the investigation. The materials will be available for use with both ESRI's ArcGIS and MyWorld GIS software, available through PASCO. Data files for both versions are available below. A field-test ready investigation will be available in late Fall 2008.
We are seeking technical reviewers for fall 08 and field testers for the spring 09 semesters. If interested, please contact us at hall at scieds.com.
>> We ask techical reviewers and field testers to use the peer review criteria we have been implementing as part of the DLESE Panel Review Processi when giving feedback on their field testing experience. These can be found at http://www.dlese-project.org/review_criteria.html.
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Science Education Solutions is grateful for the generous funding from the National Science Foundation for this project under Grant No. 0521936. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this website or the resources created and disseminated by SES are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.