Scientists from the three institutions will begin field operations on July 20 at Purchase Knob in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. For 10 days, they will measure rainfall levels and how rainfall varies in size, velocity and intensity depending on elevation. The study, called the “NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) Hydrometeorological Observations in the Southern Appalachians, NC,” should help researchers, government agencies, mountain communities and emergency workers understand how rainfall amounts—and water related problems such as floods—vary greatly due to the size, height and surface characteristics of the mountains.

“The highest rainfall accumulations in the eastern US after hurricane landfalls have been registered in the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina,” said Ana Barros, a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and lead researcher on the project. “How the terrain modifies the microphysical and dynamical processes that govern precipitation processes as tropical storms approach and pass over the mountains is not yet understood. This is also the case for convective storms generally, and it hampers our ability to forecast severe weather and anticipate and prepare for natural hazards.”

According to Barros, the field experiment in the Smokey Mountains is just one element of a comprehensive project that includes the development of high-resolution models for simulating summertime interaction between orography, or the average height of the land, and severe storms in western North Carolina.

“We plan to use the observations collected during the intense field observing period to evaluate the fidelity of existing models of mountain rain events and to test new ways to represent what happens with precipitation in the atmosphere and near the ground during major rainstorms in mountainous regions,” she said.

Central to the project will be RENCI’s Micro Rain Radar, a compact, vertically pointed radar that calculates and provides the rain rate, liquid water content, reflectivity and vertical fall velocity of precipitation in real time. The radar also predicts rain rates during severe storms. RENCI’s MRR, which has been used to determine at what level precipitation freezes during winter storms in order to help predict icing events, will be transported to the western mountains to measure how rain changes as it falls through the atmosphere. A high-speed camera will be attached to the MRR to provide visual observations of warm-weather precipitation.

The MRR system is particularly important to the experiment because it can provide detailed information on the size of raindrops at various heights above the ground surface, explained Barros. Other sensors, such as disdrometers and the high-speed camera can only provide observations at the point of measurement.  The additional information from the MRR will be critical to understanding how rainfall changes from the point where it is produced in clouds to where it hits the land surface, she said.

To study atmospheric conditions, the field study will use a data collection system called a tethersonde system, consisting of meteorological sensor packages, which will be launched from the ground up to a maximum altitude of around 500 meters (1,640 feet). The system will record the vertical profile of air pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction. The launches will be scheduled hourly throughout the two weeks, except under rainy or high wind conditions. The researchers will also take 50 radiosonde soundings using a balloon-borne instrument platform with radio transmitting capabilities to obtain a profile of the atmospheric boundary layer. Microphysical investigation of warm season precipitation will rely on a high-speed camera capable of recording 1,000 frames per second.

“This project was underway between Duke and UNC Asheville and RENCI was able to join the collaboration and bring the added observing tool of the MRR,” said Ken Galluppi, head of disaster research projects at RENCI. “This is a perfect example of how RENCI likes to work—collaborate with research teams to add value to their work.”

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together computer and discipline scientists, artists, humanists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, state leaders and educators for collaborations designed to reshape science, the economy, the state of North Carolina and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, networking and data technologies to ignite innovation and find solutions to previously intractable problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.

Emergency managers and researchers from across the state attended the conference, held March 2 -5 at Sunset Beach. RENCI, in collaboration with emergency management partners at the state and county levels, conducted two sessions about deploying Web-based tools and prototypes of new technologies for disaster planning and response. RENCI also set up an exhibitor’s booth to showcase and demonstrate its various disaster management tools.

“It was an outstanding informational conference,” said Ken Gallupi, RENCI director for emergency management. “The sessions and booth were both well attended with conference attendees, including state officials, interested in our desktop conferencing, NC-FIRST, weather information portal, projects on storm surges and flooding, and ideas for new prototype ideas for emergency management.”

For its first conference presentation, RENCI researchers and representatives from the NCEMA Technology Committee and NCEM Geospatial and Technology Management, presented plans for integrating and deploying electronic tools for the emergency management community. RENCI demonstrated its Web-based workspace for emergency managers that pulls together a number of RENCI-developed products and services, including NC-FIRST, the RENCI weather information portal, and desktop conferencing software.

The second presentation introduced new RENCI prototypes of technologies for emergency managers and discussed how these tools enhance communications and capabilities when used with other tools, such as WebEOC, Web-based software designed to communicate real-time emergency information to emergency operations centers. The new prototypes are:

• Portable GIS. The deployment of portable geographic information systems (GIS) available on flash drives the size of a thumb will enable emergency managers and responders to take critical data and GIS functions to the field. The flash drives with portable GIS data can be used on any computer with no licensing fees for mapping, identifying and using critical information. The portable information will also free up GIS experts to work on more critical tasks, since basic GIS information will be available to anyone.
• GPS tracking. This prototype global positioning system uses wireless cards communicating over cell phone networks to track vehicles in the field and identify what is happening at specific sites during an emergency. The device can be used with a laptop or PDA and is intended to be a low-cost entry into Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems.
• Lightning detection network. RENCI introduced a prototype of a device that is designed to detect lightening strikes in real time and display the data visually in a Web portal environment. Commercial lightening detection devices are available; however, they are usually too expensive for county or even state government.
• Micro Rain Radar. This device provides advanced warning of icing events and other localized weather. Data acquired during several winter rain and ice storms was displayed to illustrate how the MRR can be used.

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together computer and discipline scientists, artists, humanists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, state leaders and educators for collaborations designed to reshape science, the economy, the state of North Carolina and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, networking and data technologies to ignite innovation and find solutions to previously intractable problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.

The project, called RENCI Weather Web, targets counties in North Carolina that lack detailed information about weather patterns and weather history because no research-grade weather stations are located nearby. RENCI is sending out a challenge to schools in the targeted areas to develop curricula in meteorology and atmospheric sciences that would use a weather station and the data it produces. Area students are also being asked to research and write essays on the local benefits of weather stations. Individual schools, a partnership of schools in targeted counties or teachers within schools can submit proposals that detail their plans for using the weather station. The application and guidelines for submitting proposals will be on the RENCI website by Feb. 4.

Proposals are due March 17 and will be evaluated this spring by RENCI professionals in education and meteorology and by representatives of the State Climate Office of North Carolina. Two winners will be chosen by the end of the school year. Each winning county will receive a research and operational grade weather station paid for by RENCI and installed and maintained by the State Climate Office.

“This project gives teachers the chance to use research grade equipment to teach atmospheric science through hands-on activities,” said Ken Galluppi, who heads RENCI’s disaster research programs. “We foresee many opportunities for hands-on projects for science classes and science fairs, and we hope to bring science to life for kids in a way that excites them and makes them want to learn more.”

The Weather Web project has a two-fold purpose: to improve education related to weather and climatology through hands-on activities and the use of real data; and to provide the state with weather data in areas where data is severely lacking.

“This project will give us new weather stations and many new data points from areas where we haven’t been able to record data,” said Ryan Boyles, state climatologist and director of the State Climate Office at North Carolina State University. “Better data means an increased ability to build forecasts, disaster plans and scientific models that show the effects of severe storms and floods, drought and even climate change.”

The State Climate Office will install the weather stations this fall at sites determined most suitable. Another competition is planned for 2009 and two additional stations will be installed in underserved counties.

More information: http://www.renci.org/focusareas/eduoutreach/weatherweb.php

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together computer and discipline scientists, artists, humanists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, state leaders and educators for collaborations designed to reshape science, the economy, the state of North Carolina and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, networking and data technologies to ignite innovation and find solutions to previously intractable problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.

Emergency managers and responders from across the state attended the three-day conference, held Nov. 28-31, in Atlantic Beach. The conference provided a forum for current trends and topics, information about the latest tools and technology in emergency management, and encouraged stakeholders in all levels of government, the private sector and related professions to collaborate and exchange ideas about disaster management.

“Communication and collaboration are key components of successful emergency management,” said Ken Galluppi, RENCI director for emergency management. “The fall NCEMA meeting provided an excellent opportunity for RENCI to introduce and share our current innovation in disaster research, our Collaborative Workspace Environment. The workspace is designed to facilitate communications between agencies and managers.”

RENCI experts introduced the new program to over 50 participants in two training sessions and held demonstrations at its exhibitor’s booth. Over 130 people visited the booth and registered for passwords for the Collaborative Workspace Environment. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington), a keynote speaker at the conference, commended RENCI for its efforts to improve North Carolina emergency management technology and facilitate communications across groups.

“We are very pleased with the turnout and feedback to our program,” said Galluppi. “We look forward to attending the next NCEMA meeting in March and planning more training sessions across the state. Our goals are to get more people comfortable using our tools, evaluate their effectiveness, and strategize on integrating the program at the state level.”

The components of the Collaborative Workspace Environment enhance the kinds of communication and collaboration necessary in emergency management.

• The NCEMA Web portal uses Microsoft’s SharePoint technology and provides a variety of capabilities to emergency managers, such as Web conferencing, video conferencing and virtual classroom software.

• The desktop conferencing tool allows users to share applications, such as storm surge data and presentations, with other professionals around the state. 

• The NC-FIRST weather information portal helps emergency managers interpret weather data, understand weather threats and choose actions that minimize the threats to lives and property caused by extreme weather.

NC-FIRST, first introduced last March, also includes new modules on winter weather, thunderstorms, fire, heat and drought.

Chapel Hill, NC, September 5, 2007 – A hybrid network of flood and weather sensors to be installed over the next two months will give Brunswick County emergency managers advance warning about how fast water is rising along critical flood-prone roads in the county.

The system, a prototype developed by the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), will make use of a network of water level sensors and new weather stations to give emergency personnel in this coastal county crucial information about advancing storms and flood waters. The system could reduce the impacts of floods by providing earlier and more detailed information about critical evacuation routes across the county. The data collected by the sensors and weather stations will give people more time to evacuate and allow emergency workers to see the progress of floodwaters in order to re-route evacuations and rescue efforts.

“Each sensor location is a combination of weather and hydrology sensors that give us a real-time depiction of rising waters,” said Ken Galluppi, a senior researcher and meteorologist who heads RENCI’s disaster research efforts. “They will be placed at flood-prone sites along roadways and will transmit data back to a central computer at RENCI for processing and dissemination to the county’s Emergency Operations Center and the National Weather Service in Wilmington. The result will be a better ability to forecast road closures and more up-to-date information on changing conditions in order to conduct evacuations or rescues.”

Brunswick County, in the southeastern corner of North Carolina, is extremely flat and prone to flooding, especially when tropical storms strike, bringing many inches of rain well before the  storm reaches land. In addition, the county has only a few routes for evacuating coastal residents when hurricanes threaten the area. Main evacuation routes often flood, and currently, the only way to monitor the roadways is to send out state troopers or emergency workers to monitor floodwaters and report back.

“RENCI’s flood sensor systems will help us to prepare better for flood disasters. With our increasing population, there are fewer evacuation routes, which presents a challenge  for evacuating people, especially those with medical or other special needs,” said Randy Thompson, emergency services director for Brunswick County. “Many of the low-lying roads become impassible and there is insufficient monitoring information available on the rainfall or water movement. A lot of our flood monitoring has depended on someone to observe the water level and report their findings by radio.”

Fourteen points along evacuation routes in Brunswick County have been identified as flood-prone areas and will be equipped with sensors. Eight of those sites were identified as high-priority areas. Each site will be equipped with one or more flood sensors calibrated to the road surface and a base station installed on higher ground containing a battery, microcomputer and communications equipment. 
In addition, RENCI installed seven weather stations around the county for the hurricane season, which will gather atmospheric data from areas not covered by existing stations. These stations will compliment the flood sensors by providing information on wind speed, precipitation, barometric pressure and other conditions. The sensors will relay water level data to county officials via the base stations and will be able to operate even when they are submerged. The flood sensor sites are:

• U.S. Route 17, Beaver Dam (0.25 miles south of MM37, Route 17)
• NC 133 near Funston Road
• NC 133, Long Beach Road (near the Chamber of Commerce building)
• NC 87, at the BSL Bridge
• U.S. 17, MM17, (Ford Dealership)
• U.S. 17, Omni Storage (near Shallotte)
• NC 211Lockwood’s Folly Bridge on
• Ocean Isle Beach Road in Shallotte

Highway 17 is the main artery crossing the county from South Carolina to the main inland evacuation routes of U.S. 74 and 76, which crosses into New Hanover County and connects to Interstate 40. The main evacuation routes from the beaches to U.S. 17 include state highways 133, 211, 87 and several local roads, all of which are prone to flooding from heavy rains.

After several months of testing, data will be disseminated to the National Weather Service and through RENCI’s NC-FIRST program, a Web-based tool designed to help emergency managers decipher weather data, understand weather threats and choose actions that minimize the threats to lives and property caused by extreme weather. RENCI plans to leave the flood sensor network system in Brunswick County for county officials to maintain.

The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), at the request of the state of North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) , is modernizing the floodplain maps by computing a series of worst-case scenario flood models for coastal North Carolina using Ocracoke, RENCI’s IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer. Over 500,000 Ocracoke computing hours will be needed to complete the research. Computing of the models began in July and should be completed in November.

“RENCI is currently testing the new high-resolution floodplain models with over 1,000 theoretical storms, trying to capture information about their intensity, speed and direction,” said Ken Galluppi, senior researcher and meteorologist who heads RENCI’s disaster research efforts. “In collaboration with experts from the private sector, the Army Corp of Engineers, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and the state Floodplain Mapping Program, our team will be able to determine the probability of a storm hitting North Carolina and how much storm surge there could be along the coast.”

A modeling project of this magnitude could have been very costly for the state if private companies were contracted, according to Galluppi, but RENCI was able to incorporate the work into its larger disaster research efforts, which include developing high resolution atmospheric, hydrological and storm surge models.

The new floodplain models will replace outdated, lower resolution models that do not account for extensive coastal elevation and land use datasets developed over the last seven years.  Better representation of the physical world will also account for the rapid growth over the last 15 years of housing, commercial and tourist developments. The new models will provide federal and state emergency response agencies with a more accurate, reliable and available source of floodplain information. For homeowners, the new models will reveal much information about their year-to-year flood risks, including the likelihood of experiencing a 100-year, or base, flood in any given year. The 100-year flood is a regulatory standard used by federal agencies and most states to administer floodplain management programs. The 100-year flood is also used by the National Flood Insurance Program as the basis for insurance requirements nationwide.

“It is our hope that every county and municipality in North Carolina will adopt the maps resulting from this modeling into their ordinance,” said John Dorman, chief of the Floodplain Mapping Program for the state of North Carolina. “The new floodplain models will provide more meaningful and accurate information, including what a homeowner’s risk is from year to year. It is a great value to the state of North Caroling to utilize RENCI and its resources. RENCI technology will help us educate the public about their flood risks and ensure that North Carolina is safer and better prepared for the next storm surge.” 

The floodplain models will be put to use in computing theoretical storms in October. Eventually the resulting maps will aid in developing emergency response plans and in determining where storm surges will take place and who will be at risk. In addition to FEMA workers and state emergency managers, the maps will be used by surveyors, insurance companies, realtors, mortgage companies and municipal and county planning offices. RENCI will also provide the same models to the National Weather Service to help forecast storms and floods in North Carolina.

The public can learn more about the floodplain mapping program at www.ncfloodmaps.com.

Many of the audience members, including members of the governor’s cabinet, department heads within state government, and leaders of the North Carolina National Guard, listened from their desktop and laptop computers. Hoell delivered his address from the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh and the talk was broadcast to more than 30 receiving sites using a collaboration tool called SmileTiger.

As part of its disaster research efforts, RENCI is implementing SmileTiger, a product of Charlotte-based SmileTiger Software Corporation, as a collaboration and communication tool among employees of the state EMA and other county and state emergency management officials.

“During disasters, the main problem is communication and in everyday situations, meetings among emergency managers require a lot of time and travel,” said Ken Galluppi, who leads RENCI’s disaster research efforts. “Implementing SmileTiger within the EMA lets these managers not only talk to each other, but also share data and visuals, including maps and models.”

In the case of a real emergency, the software would allow emergency managers across the state to collaborate at a time when phone lines are likely to be down and travel might be dangerous, he added.

On April 30, Hoell put the software to use for the first time by delivering his “state of emergency management” address via SmileTiger. The address focused on the state’s preparedness for the upcoming hurricane season. In past years, this address has been made available to members of the statewide emergency management and response community through a phone bridge, a communications solution that did not allow for showing weather models or sharing datasets.

The SmileTiger software runs off a server at RENCI’s main office in Chapel Hill and is accessible to EMA staff and collaborators through a password protected website. Using the software requires nothing more than an Internet connection, a desktop PC and standard multimedia peripherals.

Over the summer, EMA will continue to test SmileTiger’s usefulness as a general collaboration tool. If a hurricane, flood, or other emergency occurs, they also will have the chance to test the software’s usefulness as an emergency communication and collaboration tool. RENCI will evaluate how much server capacity is needed to support EMA’s remote collaborations and will work to integrate SmileTiger into its custom tools that merge atmospheric and hydrological data models with storm surge models. These tools, designed to help emergency workers as well as planners and researchers, will be enhanced by the remote collaboration capabilities made possible by SmileTiger, according to Galluppi.