On Record
Professors Investigate Georgia’s Hurricane History
Two Georgia Southern University professors have begun research that will extend the record of Georgia’s hurricane history, after receiving a grant of $129,664 from the Georgia Sea Grant, which receives funding support from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Collaborators Brian Bossak in the University’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH) and Mark Welford from the Department of Geography and Geology say NOAA’s current database on tropical storms in Georgia only goes back to 1851 and expanding the history to 1750 may help explain why the number of hurricanes along the Georgia coast has decreased since 1850. Their research will also generate information on the potential risks to Georgia’s coast from major tropical storms in the future.
According to official data, in the 50-year period between 1951 and 2000, hurricanes were rare in Georgia with only Hurricane David of 1979 (a Category 2 storm) making landfall along the Georgia coast.
“Based on historical records, Georgia frequently got struck by hurricanes in the 1800s, especially in the late 1800s, and then over time we see a pretty dramatic decrease in the number of hurricanes striking Georgia, as well as the intensity of the storms,” said primary researcher Bossak. “What we don’t understand, because we don’t have earlier records, is whether that was an anomaly – whether it was unusual to have so many storms in the late 1800s – or whether that was the norm. Is it normal that we have a lot of storms and right now is abnormal?” he questioned.
Key researcher Welford is contributing to the project by creating a database of tropical storm activity and is gathering information from archives such as newspapers, books, people’s diaries, professional articles, encyclopedias and even the records of British and Spanish ships that sailed the seas at the time. Welford said by providing that information on storms, “We will be able to identify when they hit, the nature of the impact, the wind velocity, the structural damage to houses and storm surge.” The data, he explained, may help them determine the intensity of the storms based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale that classifies storms into five categories, with five being the most powerful.
The ultimate goal of the research is to compile hurricane risk information that government agencies, coastal cities, insurers and all coastal Georgia residents can use to plan for evacuations, and develop public health and safety measures in the event a significant hurricane approaches the coast.
The two professors believe their two-year project will add to the research profile of Georgia Southern, and that it will be the first in a planned sequence of grants to grow in scope, size and impact, potentially leading to more research that could one day turn the University into the premier institution focusing on Georgia’s coastal hazards, particularly hurricane hazards. Another underlying goal is to determine if climate change has a link to hurricanes. “The risk may actually be increasing over time and not necessarily fading,” Bossak said. “We’re hoping our research may shed light on whether that is the case and spur people to prepare.”
Sandra Bennett
Make Your Own Hurricane
Things you will need:
- Two empty 2-liter bottles
- Water
- Vegetable Oil
- Drill
- Glue
- Duct Tape
Instructions
- Fill one bottle almost to the top with water.
- Add 2 ounces of oil and affix the cap.
- Hold the cap of the second 2-liter bottle against the other (smooth surfaces touching). Drill a hole through the center of both caps.
- Attach the second cap to the other bottle with glue. When the glue is set, use duct tape to attach the bottles and complete the seal. (The holes should be lined up with each other.)
- Turn the bottles upside down, so that the bottle with the water and oil is on top. Move the bottles in a circular fashion to create a swirl. Notice the oil swirl in the center of the bottle. This is your hurricane!
For more information visit eHow.com.