Soon after Hurricane Rita came fast-moving to the Louisiana coast, in late September, a team of hydrologists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Ruston came up with a novel idea of how they could track the level of wind tides that occurred in a hurricane.
The idea is to logger salt water/deep water level logger U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti, KIT-S-U20 -01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04 deploy water level data, typically used for groundwater monitoring, in coastal areas Louisiana and Texas that may be flooded with surges.
"Since the USGS has existed in Louisiana, we've been trying to document the impact of hurricanes on the Louisiana coast," said Ben McKee, monitoring hydrology specialist with USGS. “So far, the storm surge has been data generated after the storm. We basically go into the area and look for high water marks that indicate a storm surge. After Katrina, a group of us in Ruston lamented the fact that we couldn’t collect data Be more aggressive in the face of big hurricanes. We kicked a lot of ideas and started thinking about going to recording equipment."
Many federal and private agencies are interested in storm surge level data for a variety of reasons. For example, FEMA is interested in storm surge elevation data for use in flood zone identification and building codes. The USGS is interested in the data for scientific purposes, such as understanding the impact of water quality on storm surges and their impact on ecosystems. , affected states and cities are interested in the data as it relates to funding, and making decisions about reconstruction.
The group's concept quickly became a reality. Within 72 hours, McKee and his team received approval to propose a monitoring project and funding from USGS, purchased and received 46 HOBO® Water Level Data Loggers Saltwater/Deep Water Level Loggers U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001 -02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti, KIT-S-U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04 from Massachusetts Onset, who rushed 250 miles off the coast of Louisiana, put his plan into action.
The team spent stormy and dark nights placing the loggers on non-metallic stakes for saltwater/deep water level loggers U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0- 4-Ti, KIT-S-U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04, bridges and other structures on the Louisiana coast, survived the hurricane.
"Once we identified the instruments we needed, we needed to act quickly," McKee said. "It was September 20th, a few days after the hurricane should have made landfall. We ordered the data loggers salt water/deep water level loggers U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti, KIT-S-U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04 on September 21st, we know it will give them a day off. Also, We Build Protective Enclosure Logger Saltwater/Deep Sea Level Logger U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti, KIT-S -U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04, let's get our sampling plan together, just put everything together in a hurry. We went to the local UPS office and basically got the logger truck Leaving our Ruston office for an afternoon on the coast on the morning of the 22nd."
To determine monitoring coverage, the team analyzed digital elevation models to map where the hurricane is expected to make landfall. The area covered is approximately 4,000 square miles, from the Beaumont/Port Arthur area in Texas to Lafayette in Louisiana. According to McKee, the size of the monitoring area forced the team to seek an economical data recording solution that would enable the maximum number of monitoring points for a given budget.
Although Mackie's HOBO logger saltwater/deep water level logger U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti, KIT-S -U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04 are not meant to be endorsed by the USGS, who described the decision to use the equipment in this way: "To obtain adequate insurance, we believe We need about 50 monitoring stations. HOBO logger salt water/deep water level logger U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti , KIT-S-U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04 are half the cost of other units we checked. They don't have some of the bells and sirens of some of the others, but these features We don't need to get the job done. More expensive solutions won't give us the coverage we feel we need."
Logger Salt water/deep water level logger U20-001-01-Ti, U20-001-02-Ti, U20-001-03-Ti, U20-001-0-4-Ti, KIT-S-U20-01, KIT-S-U20-02, KIT-S-U20-04 are set to run HOBOware® software on a laptop, set the water level measurement and record every 30 seconds. The 1.25" protective housing is constructed of steel pipe.
After the Recorders were being prepared for deployment, McKee and others worked overnight to secure the Recorder structure.
"I remember midnight on Lake Sabine, with Hurricane Rita a few miles offshore," McKee said. "The standing waves of the water were being pushed into the lake at 4 to 6 feet per second. It was a dark night and we had to use headlights. It was quite a sight."
Once all the loggers were deployed, the team abandoned the area and drove back to Ruston on Friday afternoon. Hurricane Rita hit the coast Saturday morning.
"We're basically done with Nick all the time," McKee said. "It's very strong."
A week later, efforts to restore the loggers began. About 80 percent of the loggers U20L-02 have recovered, and the team is currently in the process of unloading, analyzing the data.
"The database that's being built houses all the data we've collected, and by displaying the data in a time-series fashion, the USGS scientists will flood the visual reports of the Recorders," McKee said.
