Coastal Letters
Newsletter of the coastal and marine geography specialty group of the association of American geographers
Vol. 12, No. 2 Website: http://aag_coma.homestead.com August, 2000
Table of Contents
Specialty Group Officers
Richard Daniels, ChairMichael Craghan, Member of the Board of Directors
Department of Geography
Rutgers University
mcraghan@macges.org
Membership Renewal Reminder
Don't forget to renew your membership in the Coastal and Marine Geography Specialty Group when you renew your membership with the AAG. Our numbers have decreased over the years – remind your colleagues as well!
Editor’s Comments and Election Results
10) The Ground Penetrating Radar Conference (Eighth International) held May 23-26 was a success. Several papers covered coastal applications were presented at the conference. The setting was in a classic coastal location – the beautiful Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. I also had a chance to visit several coastal sites both north and south of the conference location and upon Diane Horn’s advice spent several days out on the Great Barrier Reef! A conference proceedings volume is available at: http://www.cssip.uq.edu.au/~gpr2000/
Harry Jol, Secretary-Treasurer, Editor (jolhm@uwec.edu)
R.J. Russel Award Presented in Pittsburgh, PA
The R. J. Russell Award is presented in recognition of an individual’s contributions to the field of coastal or marine geography. These contributions may be in research, teaching, public service, and/or to the specialty group. The citation for the 2000 award is as follows:
Robin Davidson-Arnott of the University of Guelph is the winner of the R.J. Russell Award for 2000. Robin's research contributions over the past nearly 30 years have had a significant impact on a wide range of topics in coastal geomorphology. He has published extensively in edited volumes, the Journal of Coastal Research, and Marine Geology. His early work on nearshore bars has become required reading for several generations of students and his concept of source width constraints on coastal dunes has sharpened our thinking on aeolian processes. Recent work has emphasized tidal creek dynamics. In the past five years, he has garnered some $200,000 in grants to support his research. And, providing a lasting impact on the field, he has guided 26 M. A. and 3 Ph. D. students. Previous winners of the R. J. Russell Award have noted that he gives more than he gets from collaborative efforts and that he is a "true class act."
Response:
"I would like to thank COMA and all my colleagues working in the coastal environment for choosing me to receive the R. J. Russell Award for 2000. I am indeed honoured by the award though I know that it is as much a reflection of the work of the many graduate students and other colleagues that I have been associated with over the years, as my own work. I must admit that I had not realised that I had been doing this for nearly 30 years until I read the citation ... but time flies when you are having fun, and I expect to keep doing things in the water and on the beach for a while yet. I look forward to meeting in New York next year."
Robin Davidson-Arnott
Professor and Acting Chair
Department of Geography
University of Guelph
Student Paper Merit Award for 2000
To our contestants,
Thank you for participating in the AAG'2000 Coastal & Marine Specialty Group Competition! Please consider applying for next years awards. Note that at AAG'2001 in New York an additional Merit Award has been added that includes Illustrated Papers (more to come in the next newsletter and at our Web Page).
But onto the results,
The Coastal and Marine Specialty Group student paper competition was held at the AAG 2000 annual meeting in Pittsburgh. The Student Paper Merit Award consists of a $100.00 check used to defray AAG and Coastal and Marine Specialty Group membership dues as well as an award certificate.
For best paper on human interactions with the coastal or marine environment or on physical processes in a coastal or marine environment the Student Paper Merit Award goes to Kamron M. Barron, University of Southern California, Los Angeles for her presentation titled Inland Sand Entrapment in Los Angeles County that may decrease beach sand resources. The prize this year includes a certificate, enshrinement on our page of fame (at our web site), and a $100 prize.
Congratulations Kamron!
The special interest group would like to thank all the students for their efforts as well as the following reviewers for assisting in the judging process: Diane Horn, Wayne Engstrom, Harry Jol, and Richard Daniels.
Member of the Board of Directors Profile – Michael Craghan
Michael has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering, and then worked for a few years doing consulting work for municipalities before returning to graduate school. His graduate degrees are in Geography. His Ph.D. research at Rutgers University involved investigations of sediment presence, delivery, and accumulation during tidal flooding and storm surges on a developed estuarine shoreline. He spent the last year working in the Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department at City College of New York (CCNY in the CUNY system). Currently, he is working for the Rutgers Geography Department. His research interests involve all aspects of coastal flooding from tides and surges, as well as human-environmental interactions in coastal areas.
Minutes of the 2000 Business Meeting - Pittsburgh
MINUTES OF THE 2000 SPECIALTY GROUP BUSINESS MEETING--by Harry Jol
Rich Daniels opened the meeting at 6:05 p.m., April 6, 2000, David L. Lawrence Convention Center with 22 members present.
REPORTS:
Secretary. (Harry Jol) The minutes of the last business meeting (Honolulu 1999), which appeared in July 1999 in v. 11(2) of Coastal Letters, were approved.
Treasurer. Secretary-Treasurer Harry Jol reported on financial transactions since the last business meeting in March of 1999. We began 1999 with $1480.97, spent $581.10, and received $377.34 in income. The balance at the end of 1999 was $1277.21. Several items were noted the need to cover plagues that were not made over the past several years as well as extra income from the CD-ROM Project. Decreased membership has also had an influence on income...
OLD BUSINESS:
Newsletter: Harry Jol reported on the last newsletters. Rich Daniels discussed the newsletter is on the COMA website as well. There was discussion of how to send out future editions of the newsletter - hard copy or e-mail/web only. It was decided to continue sending out a hard copy to the members with current addresses. It is the responsibility of the member to update the AAG (and hopefully COMA as well) of their address change.
Geography in America: Since the last business meeting, Dawn Wright, Phil Steinberg, and Norb Psuty have submitted the chapter representing the COMA section in the Geography in America--the 21st Century publication. They reported the chapter is in review – no galley proofs have been received as of yet.
CD-ROM Project: Rich Daniels reported on the CD-ROM project. He showed the completed version COMA CD-ROM. The product was impressive and was well received. Expenses of the project were discussed and have already been covered by sales pre and at the meeting.. Please see order form on page 7 of the newsletter. A session will be held Saturday morning with several of the slide sets described. Other ideas (Volume 2?) for future CD-ROM’s are being solicited..
NEW BUSINESS:
Report on Specialty Group Chair Meeting - Richard Daniels reported on the main points covered in the specialty group chairs' luncheon. Several of the items discussed were:
By-law Changes to allow for non –AAG members to join COMA – the following as it appears would be the new text (text within brackets would be taken out). Rich Daniels will discuss with AAG head office on the legality of this type of membership. Moved/Seconded – Passed Unanimously (upon approval from AAG).
Article 3. Membership. Any member of the AAG can become a member of the Coastal and Marine Geography Specialty Grouip upon payment of dues. As of 1995, dues were $3 for regular membership and $1 for student membership. There are three (two) classes of membership, regular, (and), student and associate. Both - regular and student members – (classes of members) can vote at the specialty group meeting.
Persons who are not members of the AAG, but are affiliated with similar organizations, may join the Coastal and Marine Geography Specialty Group as associate members upon payment of dues. Dues for non-voting members are equivalent to regular membership dues and will be submitted directly to the Treasurer. Associate members are ineligible to vote and cannot hold office.
Student Paper Award – Should Illustrated Papers and/or Research Poster be included in the Student Paper Award? There was an extensive discussion on the idea of including illustrated papers and research posters for the student paper award. It was moved/seconded to include both for the student paper award. Motion was not carried. It was moved/seconded that there would be an illustrated paper category. Passed (1 noted against).
AWARDS
Student Paper Merit Award went to Kamron M. Barron, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, for her presentation titled Inland Sand Entrapment in Los Angeles County that may decrease beach sand resources. Further details can be found on page 3.
R.J. Russell Award was presented to Dr. Robin Davidson-Arnott, University of Guelph. Full citation response can be found on page 2.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
Michael Craghan was elected by acclamation to a two-year term on the board of directors to fill the vacancy created by the completion of Dawn Wright’s term. Dawn Wright was thanked for her dedication to the specialty group.
It was noted that in New York there will several vacant positions – two member positions on the Board of Directors and the Vice-Chair position. Think about people to nominate.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None
The meeting was adjourned by 7:30 p.m.
Call For COMA-Sponsored Sessions in New York
If you are planning to present a paper at the 2001 AAG Annual Conference to be held Feb 27 – March 3, in New York on coastal or marine geographer (human, physical, hazards, or techniques) please consider participating in a session sponsored or co-sponsored by the Coastal and Marine Geography Specialty Group (COMA). Special session materials (abstracts, fees, etc.) must be received by the session organizers and submitted to the AAG Office by 1 September 2000. The following is a list of the currently proposed sessions; please contact the session organizers for further information.
Coastal Geomorphology I, II, etc.
Sponsor: COMA Specialty Group
Session Organizer: Paul Gares, Department of Geography, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858
Email:
gegares@ecuvm.cis.ecu.eduTentative title: Student Paper Sessions
Sponsor: COMA Specialty Group
Session Organizer: Richard Daniels (address on page 1)
Email: : rdan461@ecy.wa.gov
GIS in Support of Marine Protected Areas, Reserves and Sanctuaries Session
(co-sponsored by COMA, GIS, and Remote Sensing Speciality Groups) -If interested, please contact: Dawn Wright (dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu, 541-754-6502) or Thomas Allen (tallen@odu.edu, 757-683-3846)
Currently more than 200 million acres of terrestrial wilderness and national parks in the U.S. have been designated as off limits to mining, logging, and vehicular traffic, whereas only 50 square miles of coastal areas enjoy similar projection. President Clinton has recently issued an executive order directing federal agencies to develop a network of "ocean conservation areas" aimed at protecting and preserving the nation's beaches, coasts and ocean resources. What role has and/or should GIS played in designating or managing such areas?
Aeolian Processes Session
At the 2000 American Association of Geographers (AAG) meeting in Pittsburgh, papers dealing with various aspects of aeolian processes were presented in a number of different sessions. Since these sessions were held over the week long conference many people were unable to attend all of the aeolian presentations. Therefore, in advance of the abstract deadline for the 2001 annual meeting in New York City, we are putting together an Aeolian Processes session. It is hoped that this organized session will allow everyone who is interested in aeolian processes to attend a unified session and to engage in greater debate about topics of common interest.
If you are interested in taking part in this session please contact us ASAP so we can send further information about abstract requirements. Since the AAG abstract deadline is September 1st, we will require that all abstracts be received by August 25th. Further information about the annual meeting and general paper requirements can be found at the web site for the AAG: www.aag.org.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in submitting a paper we would appreciate if this message was forwarded to them.
William G. Nickling
Christopher A. Houser at houser@scar.utoronto.ca
Call for Award Nominations: The R. J. Russell Award
Nominations for the R.J. Russell Award should be directed to the Vice-Chair. Nominations for the current year should be made at least 2 weeks prior to the annual AAG meeting.
This specialty group award is presented in recognition of an individual's major contributions to the field of coastal or marine geography. These contributions may be in research, teaching, public service, and/or to the specialty group. Previous awardees include Jess Walker (1991), Fillmore Earney (1992), Norb Psuty (1993), Karl Nordstrom (1996), Doug Sherman (1997), Bernard Bauer (1999) and Robin Davidson-Arnott (2000)
Nominations are accepted from Coma members, but nominees do not have to be members of either the specialty group or the AAG. Two nominations are required for consideration for the Award. At least one of the nominations must include a complete letter of nomination which will include one paragraph describing the nominees contributions to the field of coastal or marine geography and/or to the special interest group and a list of the nominees relevant publications. The R. J. Russell Award is named in honor of Richard Joel Russell (1895-1971). He was Dean of the Graduate School at Louisiana State University for 12 years, an organizer of the Coastal Studies Institute (1954), president of both the Association of American Geographers (1948) and Geological Society of America (1957), and named to the National Academy of Sciences (1959).
In the nomination letter please include one paragraph describing the nominees contributions to the field of coastal or marine geography and/or to the special interest group and a list of the nominees relevant publications.
Call for Student Papers (Oral and Illustrated)
Eligibility:
Full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate students may compete for these awards if they (1) are the first or sole author of an oral paper or illustrated paper concerning coastal or marine geography which they will be presenting at the 2000 annual AAG meeting, (2) are a member of the AAG and of the Coastal and Marine Specialty Group, and (3) have submitted to the session organizer the completed application form and accompanying materials, to be received by August 26, 2000. Poster presentations are not eligible. Papers are judged both on content and on the quality of the presentation. The award consists of a $100.00 grant to be used to defray AAG and Coastal and Marine Specialty Group membership dues and travel expenses to the annual meeting as well as an award certificate.Instructions: Follow the program participation guidelines outlined in the July 2000 Newsletter of the AAG as an individual participating in an organized paper session. By following those instructions you will have a diskette containing your abstract, one paper copy of the abstract, your participation fee, and a completed AAG program participation form. In addition, complete this application form (below) and attach a second paper copy of your abstract to it. Gather all of these materials into one package and mail it to:
Richard C. Daniels
Shorelands & Environmental Assistance Program
Department of Ecology
P.O. Box 47600
Olympia, Washington 98504-7600
Rich must receive your materials by August 26, 1999.
Name _______________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________
Email address ______________________________________________
Are you a Ph.D., M.A./M.S., or undergraduate student? ______
In what year of your program? ______________________________
Thesis/project advisor _____________________________________
Are you a member of the AAG? ______
Are you a member of the Coastal and Marine Specialty Group? ______
Is your paper primarily focused on human/social or physical geography? ____________
Are you competing in the Student Paper or Illustrated Paper competition? ____________
Attach a hard copy of your abstract.
COMA Slide Compilation Project 2000 Completed!
Credit Card Orders Click HERE
During the past three years members of the Coastal & Marine Specialty Group have participated in a successful project to collect, document, and scan over 200 slides and photographs. These digital images have been assembled into nine individual slide sets that exemplify the continuum of research that is being conducted within the coastal zone.
These digital slide sets are fully documented and have been compiled onto a CD-ROM along with all necessary files to view each slide show interactively on your computer via Microsoft Internet ExplorerTM or NetscapeTM. This CD-ROM compilation comes ready for use and may be suitable for both classroom and computer laboratory settings. In addition, individual photographs contained in the compilation may be reproduced and used for research and educational purposes. A preview of the interface for this CD is available at http://www.homestead.com/aag_coma.
To order or reserve your copy of the CD-ROM, fill out the attached order form and return to the address shown below. Price per CD-ROM is $9.00. Orders of ten or more are eligible for a $1 discount ($8.00 each).
Coastal and Marine Slide Compilation (CD-ROM) Order Form
I would like to order _______ copies of the Coastal and Marine
Slide Compilation (CD-ROM), Volume 1, at $9.00 each
($8.00 each if ordering ten or more).
International orders: please include an additional $1 for shipping.
Mailing/Shipping Address:
How would you like to receive your CD’s?
c
Mail to the address shown above c Pickup at the AAG Annual Meetingin New York
How would you like to pay for your CD’s
c
Check or money order attached c Pay on pickup at the AAG Annual(Make check payable to AAG Coastal and Marine) Meeting in New York
Return this form to:
Coastal Study Completed!!
The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment (Washington, DC) and FEMA have completed a nationwide study on the impacts of coastal erosion on coastal communities and the National Flood Insurance Program. The study was mandated by Congress in the1994 National Flood Insurance Reform Act.
The study examines the economic impacts of coastal erosion and the impact of potential policy changes on the National Flood Insurance Fund, NFIP policyholders and coastal communities.
The report finds that in the next 60 years, 25 percent of the homes within 500 feet of the shore will be destroyed by erosion. There are 87,000 structures within the 60-Year erosion hazard area. And 10,000 structures are at risk in the next 10 years. According to Heinz Center president William Merrell, "perhaps the only conclusion of our study more stunning than the scope of this problem is the scarcity of information about it."
As a result, the Heinz Center developed the most comprehensive data base ever assembled to look at the effects of coastal erosion on the four coasts of the US, including erosion hazard maps, surveys of homeowners, several empirical case studies, demographic and economic data for affected communities, and insurance information. The report makes several recommendations on how to improve the NFIP based on its findings.
The summary, full report, and sample maps are available online HERE.
Further information is available from Steve Dunn (sdunn@heinzctr.org) or Sarah Baish (baish@heinzctr.org.
Real –Time Marine Forecasts Now Available on the Web
During March and April, mariners in the Atlantic coastal waters and the Chesapeake Bay will, for the first time, have forecasts designed specifically for them. Through the Coastal Marine Demonstration Project (CMDP), high-resolution forecasts of surface winds, currents, wave heights, water levels, and ocean temperatures and salinity, are available to anyone with an Internet connection.
During the Summer 1999 demonstration period, these forecasts for the NW Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay proved very helpful to weather forecasters and mariners in the region. Using analyses and forecast models for winds, down to a 4-kilometer resolution, the CMDP was able to accurately predict local features such as bay breezes and pop-up thunderstorms. "This is an awesome site that puts numerous critical weather products at the finger tips of Search and Rescue Controllers," commented one user, Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Mark Rizzo.
The CMDP is providing high-resolution forecasts of ocean parameters and improving local atmospheric weather forecasting for the demonstration area, stretching from New England to the Carolinas. Accurate forecasts of water levels are crucial for safe passage of large commercial ships, helping them avoid grounding; and accurate surface-to-bottom temperature nowcasts and forecasts are invaluable to commercial fishing. CMDP products are also used and evaluated by National Weather Service forecasters at Sterling and Wakefield, VA, and the Marine Prediction Center at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), who find that the unique forecasts provide important input to official marine weather forecasts.
In the Winter 2000 demonstration period, CMDP has expanded and improved weather and water forecast products for the Atlantic coastal ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. New high-resolution wave models for the region and a three-dimensional finite element model to forecast currents, salinity and sea surface temperature within Chesapeake Bay have been implemented. In addition to NOAA weather forecasters and commercial, military, and recreational mariners, the products are used and evaluated by commercial fishers and commercial weather forecasters at WBOC TV, a local station in Salisbury, Maryland.
"The CMDP has brought together operational and research meteorologists and oceanographers to demonstrate the best available methods for predicting the marine environment," commented Dr. Leonard Walstad of the University of Maryland, the project leader. This broad alliance receives funding from the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) to connect government, university and industry efforts. All five line offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Coast Guard and Navy, the University of Maryland Horn Point Laboratory, Princeton University and the University of Rhode Island are working with Litton's TASC Inc. and Weather Services International (WSI). During February and March, an experimental estuary forecast center at NOAAs' Coast Survey Development Laboratory in Silver Spring, MD is monitoring daily production and providing analyses of the experimental Bay products. Bay forecasts from the National Ocean Service and coastal ocean products from the NCEP Environmental Modeling Center, will be displayed on the web site maintained by Litton-WSI at http://cmdp.wsicorp.com, during the demonstration period. Interested persons are encouraged to view and comment on the products.
The address for the permanent website for NCEP ocean products is http://polar.wwb.noaa.gov/omb/products.html.
From Dr. John Kelley (John.Kelley@noaa.gov) & Mr. Glenn Szilagyi
National Ocean Service
Silver Spring, MD
Multi-Media Critiques Wanted
Do you use any CD-ROMS or videos when teaching coastal or marine geography? (e.g. Beach: A River of Sand). On Don Ziegler's suggestion, the next time you show or view a coastal or marine video, take a moment to jot down its title, brief summary, strengths and weaknesses. Send this information to the Newsletter editors. We will include a column in upcoming newsletters as well as have it posted on the COMA web site.
News and Views from Members
From: Michael Craghan ( mcraghan@macges.org)
In addition to all of my half-completed projects, I have something new to keep me busy: the Beach Cam Locater (http://www.macges.org/beachcam). The locater was born from two desires. First I wanted to see what was going on at the beach when I was locked away in my office. Second, I wanted to teach myself a little more html. Thus was born the Locater, which is a clickable map of all the Internet cameras in the U.S. that are pointed at beaches or open water. So if you need to see how the weather, or waves, or dunes, or crowds, or parking space situations are when you can't be at the beach-now you can take a look.
From: Klaus J. Meyer-Arendt (kjma@uwf.edu)
From: Dawn Wright (dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu)
Scads of Coastal/Marine GIS and Seafloor Mapping Links - maintains a fairly complete listing of web sites focused on seafloor mapping, as well as coastal/marine GIS (see http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/djl/links.html). The list is part of the "Davey Jones' Locker" web site and is maintained almost daily. There are currently 68 links for coastal/marine GIS and 78 links for seafloor mapping. Additions and suggestions most welcome (to dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu).
Recent (and Relieved) Master’s Graduates from Oregon State University in Coastal/Marine
- now working CH2MHill in Colorado & thesis online at: http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/djl/theses/ward_abs.html
- now working with a research group in La Jolla & defense presentation online at: http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/djl/discov.html
- now working with a conservation group in the Kingdom of Jordan & defense presentation online at: http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/djl/discov.html
- now working for OrSt as the state Ocean Science Bowl coordinator & thesis submitted to The Professional Geographer
Upcoming Conferences
Final Symposium of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(IDNDR) dealing with the contributions of geographers. It will be held in Seoul, Korea in August of 2000, with a joint field excursion involving the Commission on Coastal Environments. Further Information from: Charles Rosenfeld <rosenfec@geo.orst.edu>Monsoon Climate, Geomorphologic Processes & Human Activities - A thematic conference is being held in Nanjing, China between 25-29 August 2000 just after the International Geographical Congress in Seoul, Korea. It is sponsored by a number of organizations including the International Association of Geomorphologists. The conference will deal with a variety of topics including glaciers, mountain geomorphology, fluvial and coastal processes, karst landscapes, and natural hazards among others. Several field trips are planned. One will be to Guilin and the karst country, another will visit the Three Gorges and yet another is to the Tianshan mountains. For more information contact Dr. Zhu, X.D. at xdzhu@public1.ptt.js.cn
23rd Annual Applied Geography Conference, Tampa Bay area, October 11-14, 2000. For more information contact Mark R. Hafen, (mhafen@marine.usf.edu).
AAG'2001, Feb. 27 – March 3, New York, NY, 97th Annual Meeting, Further information: www.aag.org
If you know of any related conferences coming up in 2000/2001 or if you have announcements or newsworthy items concerning you, your department, or agency, please take a moment to send them to the newsletter co-editors: Harry Jol (jolhm@uwec.edu) Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 105 Garfield Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54702 or Rich Daniels (rdan461@ecy.wa.gov) Shorelands/Dept of Ecology, P.O. Box 47690, Olympia, WA 98504. Thanks!
Musings from the Chair - Rich Daniels
The specialty group released the Coastal and Marine Slide Compilation (CD-ROM), Volume 1 during the AAG meeting in Pittsburgh. The compilation was well received with over seventy copies being sold to date. Requests for the CD have been received from all over the world, including Australia, Brazil, and Greece. A special session dedicated to the compilation was well attended (given that it was 8:00 AM on a Friday :-) and of the thirty people in attendance, over twenty purchased a CD.
The successful nature of this project has sparked interested in the development of a second CDROM in cooperation with the Geomorphology Specialty Group. The lead for the project is currently Dr. Michael C. Slattery, Texas Christian University, with myself in a supporting role. If you are interested in contributing to this compilation you may contact Mike via phone or e-mail at (817) 257-7506 or
m.slattery@tcu.edu.Take care, and have a great summer!
Richard C. Daniels, Chair, COMA