Research: USF, partners respond to
Photo: NOAA
coastal and climate change
The USF College of Marine Science: an anchor of research and innovation in shifting seas FLORIDA MAN’S GOT NOTHING ON THE HEADLINES about coastal and climate change in Florida. Red tides fueled by land-based nutrients can make people sick, devastate sportfish populations, and flatten economies and livelihoods. A recent report by the University of Florida documented a hit of $184 million to the southwest Florida economy from the 2018 red tide. High-tide flooding events on sunny, blue-sky days silently nibble away at your chassis. These “king tides” or “sunny day flooding” events are projected to rise significantly in the next 10 years. The flooding risks increase
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Innovation is critical as Florida and communities around the globe grapple with this suite of natural hazards and new normals.”
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
– Tom Frazer
when combined with extreme rainfall events. Flood insurance costs skyrocket because of hurricanes such as Ida that mushroom from a Category 1 to a Category 4 within a handful of hours. Ida made landfall in Louisiana and stayed fierce enough to flood subways and basements in New York City and New Jersey — even after a 1,400mile journey over energy-sapping land. We are watching scientific predictions unfold like a live action movie in the Sunshine State and adjacent waters in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. But there is good news, and reason to take a deep breath. “Innovation is critical as Florida and communities around the globe grapple with this suite of natural hazards and new normals,” says Tom Frazer, dean of the USF College of Marine Science. “Our college is now front and center in this innovation space, and we look forward to ensuring the action-based research we produce will benefit Florida communities statewide.” The college was recently designated as the home for a new state-funded Flood Hub for Applied Research & Innovation. In a recent opinion piece in the Tampa Bay Times, J.P. Booker, director of Florida Conservation for the Ocean Conservancy, wrote, “The creation of the Flood Hub is a laudable achievement and will provide a quintessentially important clearinghouse of information and data on the impacts that the rising sea will have on our state — the modeling that will be produced by the Flood Hub will be invaluable for forecasting floods, floodplain inundation