Special Issue
Editor Talia Jurgens
June 20, 2006

The Texas Coast and Hurricanes: Immediate Dangers and Long Term Threats

4th Annual Austin Earth Science Week Summer Lecture Series Presents
"The Texas Coast and Hurricanes: Immediate Dangers and Long Term Threats"

Guest Lecturers: Drs. Gordon Wells, U.T. Center for Space Research and Roberto Gutierrez, U.T. Bureau of Economic Geology

Audience: the general public
Cost: free, seating limited to 200
Date: Thursday, June 22, 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Location: Texas Department of Transportation Auditorium, 200 E. Riverside Dr. (across the street from Thundercloud Subs and approximately 1/4 mile east of Congress)

Sponsored by the U.T. Bureau of Economic Geology, Texas Space Grant Consortium, Texas Department of Transportation, and the Austin Earth Science Week Consortium

Using satellite data and advanced computing, Dr. Gordon Wells, and his team at the U.T. Center for Space Research (CSR), generate computer models that show approaching storms that help determine evacuation routes and how first responders will have to deal with an impending disaster. Dr. Wells will discuss his team's work that begins at the start of the hurricane season with the development of 3-D models based on generic storms and databases. State and local officials can use the models to plan their responses. Dr. Wells will then discuss how his team follows a storm as it enters the Gulf. If a hurricane hits land in Texas, the team then plays a very significant role in saving lives by using satellite imagery and GPS coordinates that is relayed to first responders to find survivors who have dialed 911. More than 25,000 lives have been saved as a result of this system. For more information about this program, visit this link http://www.utexas.edu/features/2006/hurricanes/.

Dr. Roberto Gutierrez, a researcher at the U.T. Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), is an expert in the application of satellite geodetic techniques to geologic problems including beach erosion and coastal processes. He will discuss coastal erosion, wetlands loss, land subsidence, and sea level rise that have been studied by the BEG and CSR. Find out why long-term coastal trends for those who live and vacation on the coast are becoming more vulnerable to major storms.

For more information, contact Sigrid Clift at sigrid.clift@beg.utexas.edu.

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