Sunday, October 27, 2013

How to manage nature's runaway freight trains

How to manage nature's runaway freight trains


[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

27-Oct-2013



[


| E-mail

]


Share Share

Contact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America






Boulder, CO, USA Last month's torrential rains and flooding in Colorado made headlines, but there's another, far more common and growing weather-related threat western states are facing in the wake of longer and worsening fire seasons: flash floods and debris flows. These runaway freight trains made of rock, mud, and water can barrel down mountain channels with little or no warning and take out roads, homes, and anything else in their path.


Denuded, flame-dried soils of recently burned landscapes are especially prone to more runoff and greater danger of these destructive events.


The good news is that as the frequency of fires and subsequent debris flows and flash floods has increased, progress has also been made in figuring out how these sudden events are created and what can be done to safeguard life and property.


Understanding how a burned landscape responds to rainfall after a wildfire is a big step forward.


"There has been a great deal of improvement in our understanding of debris flows, erosion and flash flooding coming-out of burned areas," says Jerry DeGraff, a 36-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service in California. "This is even more important considering the number of large fires that are occurring and recurring in the U.S. and other parts of the world."


DeGraff is one of the organizers of a session on flash floods and debris flows at the meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, Colorado. The session, Geomorphology and Hydrology Impacts from Wildfires: Advances in Our Understanding over the Last 50 Years, features a range of talks covering flash floods and debris flows in a variety of landscapes -- from forests to scrubby chaparral that cover just about every kind of flammable landscape in the Western U.S.


"Structures -- meaning homes and other buildings -- have become a growing concern over the years as more people move into undeveloped areas whether nearer chaparral in Southern California or forests in the Intermountain West,:" says DeGraff. "The talks in the session reflect natural responses to wildfires and runoff that create hazards that may not even occur to the folks moving there."


One of the big science advances has been in the U.S. Geological Survey's debris flow models. These models have helped explain, for instance, where these potentially deadly flows are most likely to happen and how large they might be.


"We've learned that debris flows are likely from burned area for the first two years after a wildfire." says DeGraff. "But the chance of flash floods lasts a little longer." This kind of information helps determine what kinds of treatments might be done to mitigate damage.


"The more we can do to eliminate immediate hazards and longer-term impacts the better it is for emergency responders, residents, and government agencies." DeGraff says. "It's important to understand all the relative aspects: not only for immediate floods but also for the long term. It makes a difference to things like downstream municipal water supplies and road networks."


The session of brief talks makes up only half of the presentations. The talks focused on specific processes and what we have learned, and some also look at ecosystem effects. The other half of the presentations will take place at a poster session, where ongoing research will be presented.


###



Session No. 13

Sunday, 27 October, 8 a.m. to noon

Colorado Convention Center Room 402

T81. Geomorphology and Hydrology Impacts from Wildfires: Advances in Our Understanding over the Last 50 Years

URL: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session33206.html


Session No. 51

Sunday, 27 Oct. 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Colorado Convention Center Hall D

T81. Geomorphology and Hydrology Impacts from Wildfires: Advances in Our Understanding over the Last 50 Years (Posters)

URL: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session34227.html



CONTACT:
Jerry DeGraff, jdegraff@fs.fed.us


ON-SITE NEWSROOM

Contact: Kea Giles

Colorado Convention Center, Room 608

+1-303-228-8431


The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with more than 25,000 members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.


http://www.geosociety.org





[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

[


| E-mail


Share Share

]

 


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.




How to manage nature's runaway freight trains


[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

27-Oct-2013



[


| E-mail

]


Share Share

Contact: Kea Giles
kgiles@geosociety.org
Geological Society of America






Boulder, CO, USA Last month's torrential rains and flooding in Colorado made headlines, but there's another, far more common and growing weather-related threat western states are facing in the wake of longer and worsening fire seasons: flash floods and debris flows. These runaway freight trains made of rock, mud, and water can barrel down mountain channels with little or no warning and take out roads, homes, and anything else in their path.


Denuded, flame-dried soils of recently burned landscapes are especially prone to more runoff and greater danger of these destructive events.


The good news is that as the frequency of fires and subsequent debris flows and flash floods has increased, progress has also been made in figuring out how these sudden events are created and what can be done to safeguard life and property.


Understanding how a burned landscape responds to rainfall after a wildfire is a big step forward.


"There has been a great deal of improvement in our understanding of debris flows, erosion and flash flooding coming-out of burned areas," says Jerry DeGraff, a 36-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service in California. "This is even more important considering the number of large fires that are occurring and recurring in the U.S. and other parts of the world."


DeGraff is one of the organizers of a session on flash floods and debris flows at the meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, Colorado. The session, Geomorphology and Hydrology Impacts from Wildfires: Advances in Our Understanding over the Last 50 Years, features a range of talks covering flash floods and debris flows in a variety of landscapes -- from forests to scrubby chaparral that cover just about every kind of flammable landscape in the Western U.S.


"Structures -- meaning homes and other buildings -- have become a growing concern over the years as more people move into undeveloped areas whether nearer chaparral in Southern California or forests in the Intermountain West,:" says DeGraff. "The talks in the session reflect natural responses to wildfires and runoff that create hazards that may not even occur to the folks moving there."


One of the big science advances has been in the U.S. Geological Survey's debris flow models. These models have helped explain, for instance, where these potentially deadly flows are most likely to happen and how large they might be.


"We've learned that debris flows are likely from burned area for the first two years after a wildfire." says DeGraff. "But the chance of flash floods lasts a little longer." This kind of information helps determine what kinds of treatments might be done to mitigate damage.


"The more we can do to eliminate immediate hazards and longer-term impacts the better it is for emergency responders, residents, and government agencies." DeGraff says. "It's important to understand all the relative aspects: not only for immediate floods but also for the long term. It makes a difference to things like downstream municipal water supplies and road networks."


The session of brief talks makes up only half of the presentations. The talks focused on specific processes and what we have learned, and some also look at ecosystem effects. The other half of the presentations will take place at a poster session, where ongoing research will be presented.


###



Session No. 13

Sunday, 27 October, 8 a.m. to noon

Colorado Convention Center Room 402

T81. Geomorphology and Hydrology Impacts from Wildfires: Advances in Our Understanding over the Last 50 Years

URL: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session33206.html


Session No. 51

Sunday, 27 Oct. 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Colorado Convention Center Hall D

T81. Geomorphology and Hydrology Impacts from Wildfires: Advances in Our Understanding over the Last 50 Years (Posters)

URL: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Session34227.html



CONTACT:
Jerry DeGraff, jdegraff@fs.fed.us


ON-SITE NEWSROOM

Contact: Kea Giles

Colorado Convention Center, Room 608

+1-303-228-8431


The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with more than 25,000 members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.


http://www.geosociety.org





[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

[


| E-mail


Share Share

]

 


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.




Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/gsoa-htm102213.php
Tags: Revolt TV   tom hanks   Donatella Versace   Dancing With the Stars 2013   thursday night football  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.