scholarly journals Hurricane Katrina (2005). Part I: Complex Life Cycle of an Intense Tropical Cyclone

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (12) ◽  
pp. 3905-3926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron McTaggart-Cowan ◽  
Lance F. Bosart ◽  
John R. Gyakum ◽  
Eyad H. Atallah
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina (2005) on the Gulf Coast of the United States are without compare for natural disasters in recent times in North America. With over 1800 dead and insured losses near $40 billion (U.S. dollars), Katrina ranks as the costliest and one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in history. This study documents the complex life cycle of Katrina, a storm that was initiated by a tropical transition event in the Bahamas. Katrina intensified to a category-1 hurricane shortly before striking Miami, Florida; however, little weakening was observed as the system crossed the Florida peninsula. An analog climatology is used to show that this behavior is consistent with the historical record for storms crossing the southern extremity of the peninsula. Over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Katrina underwent two periods of rapid intensification associated with a warm core ring shed by the Loop Current. Between these spinup stages, the storm doubled in size, leading to a monotonic increase in power dissipation until Katrina reached a superintense state on 28 September. A pair of extremely destructive landfalls in Louisiana followed the weakening of the system over shelf waters. Despite its strength as a hurricane, Katrina did not reintensify following extratropical transition. The evolution of the storm’s outflow anticyclone, however, led to a perturbation of the midlatitude flow that is shown in a companion study to influence the Northern Hemisphere over a period of 2 weeks. An understanding of the varied components of Katrina’s complex evolution is necessary for further developing analysis and forecasting techniques as they apply to storms that form near the North American continent and rapidly intensify over the Gulf of Mexico. Given the observed overall increase in Atlantic hurricane activity since the mid-1990s, an enhanced appreciation for the forcings involved in such events could help to mitigate the impact of similar severe hurricanes in the future.

Characteristics of Physician Relocation Following Hurricane Katrina

2009 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Kusuma Madamala ◽  
Claudia R. Campbell ◽  
Edbert B. Hsu ◽  
Yu-Hsiang Hsieh ◽  
James James
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Fisher Exact Test ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Introduction: On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, resulting in the evacuation of more than 1.5 million people, including nearly 6000 physicians. This article examines the relocation patterns of physicians following the storm, determines the impact that the disaster had on their lives and practices, and identifies lessons learned. Methods: An Internet-based survey was conducted among licensed physicians reporting addresses within Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated disaster zones in Louisiana and Mississippi. Descriptive data analysis was used to describe respondent characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with physician nonreturn to original practice. For those remaining relocated out of state, bivariate analysis with x2 or Fisher exact test was used to determine factors associated with plans to return to original practice. Results: A total of 312 eligible responses were collected. Among disaster zone respondents, 85.6 percent lived in Louisiana and 14.4 percent resided in Mississippi before the hurricane struck. By spring 2006, 75.6 percent (n = 236) of the respondents had returned to their original homes, whereas 24.4 percent (n = 76) remained displaced. Factors associated with nonreturn to original employment included family or general medicine practice (OR 0.42, 95 percent CI 0.17–1.04; P = .059) and severe or complete damage to the workplace (OR 0.24, 95 percent CI 0.13–0.42; P < .001). Conclusions: A sizeable proportion of physicians remain displaced after Hurricane Katrina, along with a lasting decrease in the number of physicians serving in the areas affected by the disaster. Programs designed to address identified physician needs in the aftermath of the storm may give confidence to displaced physicians to return.

Hospitalization Rates Among Dialysis Patients During Hurricane Katrina

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Howard ◽  
Rebecca Zhang ◽  
Yijian Huang ◽  
Nancy Kutner
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Dialysis Patients ◽  
Hospitalization Rates ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroductionDialysis centers struggled to maintain continuity of care for dialysis patients during and immediately following Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the US Gulf Coast in August 2005. However, the impact on patient health and service use is unclear.ProblemThe impact of Hurricane Katrina on hospitalization rates among dialysis patients was estimated.MethodsData from the United States Renal Data System were used to identify patients receiving dialysis from January 1, 2001 through August 29, 2005 at clinics that experienced service disruptions during Hurricane Katrina. A repeated events duration model was used with a time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator to estimate trends in hospitalization rates. Trends were estimated separately by cause: surgical hospitalizations, medical, non-renal-related hospitalizations, and renal-related hospitalizations.ResultsThe rate ratio for all-cause hospitalization associated with the time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator was 1.16 (95% CI, 1.05-1.29; P = .004). The ratios for cause-specific hospitalization were: surgery, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.68-1.04; P = .11); renal-related admissions, 2.53 (95% CI, 2.09-3.06); P < .001), and medical non-renal related, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.89-1.20; P = .63). The estimated number of excess renal-related hospital admissions attributable to Katrina was 140, representing approximately three percent of dialysis patients at the affected clinics.ConclusionsHospitalization rates among dialysis patients increased in the month following the Hurricane Katrina landfall, suggesting that providers and patients were not adequately prepared for large-scale disasters.Howard D, Zhang R, Huang Y, Kutner N. Hospitalization rates among dialysis patients during Hurricane Katrina. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(4):1-5.

The 2006 New Orleans Mayoral Election: The Political Ramifications of a Large-Scale Natural Disaster

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (04) ◽  
pp. 795-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Vanderleeuw ◽  
Baodong Liu ◽  
Erica Williams
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Mayoral Election ◽  
The City

On Monday, August 29, 2005, the Gulf Coast of the United States was hit by the sixth most destructive Atlantic hurricane on record, Hurricane Katrina. Katrina formed in the Bahamas on August 23 and entered the Gulf of Mexico two days later, on the twenty-fifth (Knabb 2005). Twelve hours after entering the gulf, Katrina grew from a Category 3 to a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds up to 160 miles per hour. Katrina made landfall on the twenty-ninth as a powerful Category 3 storm with winds up to 145 miles per hour. However, once Katrina made landfall she maintained a storm surge equivalent to a Category 5 storm. For the city of New Orleans, the greatest threat without question was to be from the storm surge. Lake Pontchartrain—which normally sits at one foot above sea level—was elevated to eight and a half feet above sea level. On Tuesday, August 30, the city's levees broke in three places—along the Industrial Canal, the 17thStreet Canal, and the London Street Canal (Mihelich 2005). As a result, 80% of the city was flooded, in some places with water as high as 20 feet above sea level (Knabb 2005).

scholarly journals Assessment of Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on Net Primary Productivity in Mississippi

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shrinidhi Ambinakudige ◽  
Sami Khanal
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
The United States

Abstract Southern forests contribute significantly to the carbon sink for the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with the anthropogenic activities in the United States. Natural disasters like hurricanes are constantly threatening these forests. Hurricane winds can have a destructive impact on natural vegetation and can adversely impact net primary productivity (NPP). Hurricane Katrina (23–30 August 2005), one of the most destructive natural disasters in history, has affected the ecological balance of the Gulf Coast. This study analyzed the impacts of different categories of sustained winds of Hurricane Katrina on NPP in Mississippi. The study used the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) model to estimate NPP by using remote sensing data. The results indicated that NPP decreased by 14% in the areas hard hit by category 3 winds and by 1% in the areas hit by category 2 winds. However, there was an overall increase in NPP, from 2005 to 2006 by 0.60 Tg of carbon, in Mississippi. The authors found that Pearl River, Stone, Hancock, Jackson, and Harrison counties in Mississippi faced significant depletion of NPP because of Hurricane Katrina.

Shark Nursery Grounds of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast Waters of the United States

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Carcharhinus Plumbeus ◽  
Nursery Areas ◽  
Pesticide Metabolites

<em>Abstract.</em>—Because of their tendency to accumulate in estuaries and coastal regions, organochlorine (OC) contaminants such as pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) represent potential threats to the quality of essential fish habitat for many shark species. These compounds pose special risks to immature sharks in particular because of their ability to impair growth and sexual maturation in juvenile fish at environmentally relevant levels of exposure. In order to assess the extent of these risks in shark populations on the East Coast of the United States, the present study examined concentrations of 30 OC pesticides/pesticide metabolites and total PCBs in juvenile sandbar <em>Carcharhinus plumbeus </em>and blacktip <em>C. limbatus </em>sharks from seven major nursery areas in the western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico. Quantifiable levels of PCBs and 13 OC pesticides/ pesticide metabolites were detected via gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in liver of 25 young-of-the-year blacktip sharks from the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast and three regions on Florida’s gulf coast: Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte Harbor. Similarly, quantifiable levels of PCBs and 14 OC pesticides/metabolites were detected in 23 juvenile <em>C. plumbeus </em>from three sites on the northeastern U.S. coast: middle Delaware Bay, lower Chesapeake Bay, and Virginia’s eastern shore. Liver OC concentrations in Atlantic sandbar and blacktip sharks were higher than expected and, in some cases, comparable with elevated levels observed in deep-sea and pelagic sharks. Although significantly lower than those observed in Atlantic sharks, pesticide and PCB levels in Florida blacktip sharks were similar to, if not greater than, OC concentrations reported in adults of other coastal shark species. Based on these data, OC contamination appears to pose significant threats to habitat quality in sandbar and blacktip shark nursery areas on the U.S. Atlantic coast.

Hurricane Katrina: an environmental perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 364 (1845) ◽  
pp. 2099-2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewen McCallum ◽  
Julian Heming
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
The Us ◽  
Hurricane Season ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
National Hurricane Center

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the USA to become one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history. The forecasts and official warnings of the event issued by the US National Hurricane Center up to 60 h ahead were excellent and largely based on an ‘ensemble’ of model and statistical guidance. The Met Office Global Model is highlighted as one of the best performers for Hurricane Katrina. The active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season has fuelled the debate on the impact of climate change on tropical cyclones. Some recent publications have suggested that this impact is already apparent, while others are more cautious. Inconsistencies remain among many of the theoretical, modelling and observational studies. Despite the excellent warnings, there was a tragic loss of life as a result of Hurricane Katrina which has led to political questions concerning complex socio-economic issues, the state of flood defences and how to coordinate the reaction to and mitigate the impact of such monumental natural hazards.

Design Drivers of Hybrid Riser Towers

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franc¸ois Thie´baud ◽  
Ste´phane Luteyn ◽  
Dominique Pe´rinet
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
Distant Future ◽  
Flexible Pipes ◽  
Steel Catenary Risers ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Northern North Sea ◽  
Flexible Jumper ◽  
The Impact

DORIS Engineering and Stolt Offshore have jointly designed the three Girassol hybrid riser towers installed offshore Angola. They were the first riser towers designed to provide very efficient insulation properties in very deepwater conditions. Some towers are under development or construction for other fields but in similar design conditions. Based on the experience of Girassol, DORIS engineering and Stolt Offshore have developed the concept to adapt to much deeper waters (around 2500 m) and more severe environments such as the Gulf of Mexico loop current or hurricane waves. This paper will present the key drivers for design of riser towers in these environments addressing for example the impact on the bundle cross section, buoyancy requirements, top tank size, flexible jumper lengths. Limitations will be defined and explained both in terms of design, fabrication and installation. As FPSO units are likely to be part of the development of the Gulf of Mexico deepwater areas in the not-so-distant future, the benefit of riser towers will become obvious, given the existing facilities for fabrication along the coast and spreads for installation. Other areas such as the Mediterranean sea, or even the Northern North Sea are potential candidates for this type of riser arrangement which provides multiple benefits over steel catenary risers and flexible pipes.

The Impact of Hurricane Andrew on the Near-Surface Marine Environment in the Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico

1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 542-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Breaker ◽  
L. D. Burroughs ◽  
Y. Y. Chao ◽  
J. F. Culp ◽  
N. L. Guinasso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Hurricane Andrew ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Assessing the Recovery Aftermaths of Selected Disasters in the Gulf of Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Adrian Doss ◽  
David Mcelreath ◽  
Rebecca Goza ◽  
Raymond Tesiero ◽  
Balakrishna Gokaraju ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
British Petroleum ◽  
River Flood ◽  
British Petroleum Oil Spill ◽  
Petroleum Oil

AbstractThis research examined quantitatively in-port grain loading levels during the periods preceding and succeeding selected human-made and natural disasters among U.S. Gulf Coast ports. The array of selected disasters consisted of the 2010 British Petroleum oil spill, the 2011 Mississippi River flood, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Gustav, and Hurricane Isaac. The outcomes of the analyses showed that the examined in-port Gulf Coast grain loading activities have not fully recovered and achieved the level of normalcy that existed before the examined cataclysms.

scholarly journals Cysts of the Snow Alga Chloromonas krienitzii (Chlorophyceae) Show Increased Tolerance to Ultraviolet Radiation and Elevated Visible Light

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Procházková ◽  
Daniel Remias ◽  
Wolfgang Bilger ◽  
Heda Křížková ◽  
Tomáš Řezanka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Capacity ◽  
Green Light ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Snow Alga ◽  
The Impact

Melting mountainous snowfields are populated by extremophilic microorganisms. An alga causing orange snow above timberline in the High Tatra Mountains (Poland) was characterised using multiple methods examining its ultrastructure, genetics, life cycle, photosynthesis and ecophysiology. Based on light and electron microscopy and ITS2 rDNA, the species was identified as Chloromonas krienitzii (Chlorophyceae). Recently, the taxon was described from Japan. However, cellular adaptations to its harsh environment and details about the life cycle were so far unknown. In this study, the snow surface population consisted of egg-shaped cysts containing large numbers of lipid bodies filled presumably with the secondary carotenoid astaxanthin. The outer, spiked cell wall was shed during cell maturation. Before this developmental step, the cysts resembled a different snow alga, Chloromonas brevispina. The remaining, long-lasting smooth cell wall showed a striking UV-induced blue autofluorescence, indicating the presence of short wavelengths absorbing, protective compounds, potentially sporopollenin containing polyphenolic components. Applying a chlorophyll fluorescence assay on intact cells, a significant UV-A and UV-B screening capability of about 30 and 50%, respectively, was measured. Moreover, intracellular secondary carotenoids were responsible for a reduction of blue-green light absorbed by chloroplasts by about 50%. These results revealed the high capacity of cysts to reduce the impact of harmful UV and high visible irradiation to the chloroplast and nucleus when exposed at alpine snow surfaces during melting. Consistently, the observed photosynthetic performance of photosystem II (evaluated by fluorometry) showed no decline up to 2100 μmol photons m–2 s–1. Cysts accumulated high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids (about 60% of fatty acids), which are advantageous at low temperatures. In the course of this study, C. krienitzii was found also in Slovakia, Italy, Greece and the United States, indicating a widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere.

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