• What Drives Sea Level Rise? U.S. Report Warns of 1-Foot Rise within Three Decades and More Frequent Flooding

    By Jianjun Yin

    Sea levels are rising, and that will bring profound flood risks to large parts of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts over the next three decades. A new report led by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that the U.S. should prepare for 10-12 inches of relative sea level rise on average in the next 30 years. That much sea level rise means cities like Miami that see nuisance flooding during high tides today will experience more damaging floods by midcentury.

  • U.S. Coastline to See Up to a Foot of Sea Level Rise by 2050

    The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. That’s according to a NOAA-led report updating sea level rise decision-support information for the U.S. The report also finds that the sea level rise expected by 2050 will create a profound increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, even in the absence of storms or heavy rainfall.

  • Identifying “Double-Hazard” Zones for Wildfire in the West

    Rapidly growing communities in the American West’s forests and shrublands are nestled in zones where local soil and plant traits amplify the effect of climate change on wildfire hazards and lead to bigger burns.

  • NSA Releases 2021 Cybersecurity Year in Review

    The NSA last week released its 2021 NSA Cybersecurity Year in Review which highlights how the agency continues to address threats to the U.S. most critical systems.

  • Cyberattacks on Belgian Energy Companies

    Oil facilities at Belgian ports have been hit with a cyberattack. The news comes a day after Germany launched an investigation into a similar incident.

  • When Water Is Coming from All Sides

    When hurricanes hit, it is not solely the storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean that led to flooding. Inland sources, like rain-swollen rivers, lakes and suburban culverts, also contributed significantly. Researchers have developed and tested the world’s first 3D operational storm surge model, which takes these factors, which were missed by many computer models at the time, into account.

  • Losing a Hectare of Wetlands Could Cost $8,000 Per Year in Flood Damages

    A new study finds that the loss of a hectare of wetlands — an area of land roughly the size of two football fields — costs society an average of $1,900 in flood damages per year. In developed areas, that figure jumps to more than $8,000.

  • Germany needs to invest in nature to defend against floods

    By Jane Madgwick

    Wednesday, 2 February, is the first international World Wetlands Day. It should prompt action to restore these vital ecosystems to protect communities, biodiversity, and prevent future disasters

  • Functionally Graded Material Resistant to Blasts, Fire in buildings

    When a bomb goes off or fire breaks out, a building constructed or retrofitted with an engineered composite currently confined to special applications could buy the surviving occupants extra time to get out. Functionally graded material (FGM), a recently developed composite characterized by the gradual variation of material properties across its thickness, is an effective bomb-resistant material in structural uses.

  • Assessing Bridge Support Repairs After Earthquakes

    Steel-reinforced concrete columns that support many of the world’s bridges are designed to withstand earthquakes, but always require inspection and often repair once the shaking is over. Engineers simulate restoration strategies for reinforced concrete columns.

  • $3.5 Million NSF Grant to Fund Cybersecurity Scholarships

    A $3.5 million grant will fund new scholarships at Binghamton University over the next five years for two dozen students who plan to join the workforce as cybersecurity professionals. The NSF’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program trains the next generation of information technology experts and security managers.

  • Russia Could Unleash Disruptive Cyberattacks Against the U.S. – but Efforts to Sow Confusion and Division Are More Likely

    By Justin Pelletier

    As tensions mount between Russia and the West over Ukraine, the threat of Russian cyberattacks against the U.S. increases. Cybersecurity experts are concerned that in the wake of recent cyberattacks by hackers affiliated with Russia, the Russian government has the capability to carry out disruptive and destructive attacks against targets in the U.S. the Russian government is likely to think twice before unleashing highly disruptive attacks against the U.S., because the U.S. government could interpret such attacks, particularly those targeting critical infrastructure, as acts of war.

  • Expanding America’s Marine Highways 

    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $12.6 million in grants to nine marine highway projects across the United States, saying the  under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). DOT says that the funding will help address supply chain disruptions, enhance the movement of goods along the U.S. navigable waterways, and expand existing waterborne freight services.

  • Enhancing Earthquake Resilience by Updating Steel Building Standard

    Since the mid-1990s, a type of steel column that commonly features slender cross-sectional elements has become more prevalent in buildings along the West Coast of the United States and in other seismically active regions. Although these columns have complied with modern design standards, expert say that our understanding of how they would perform during an earthquake has been limited by a lack of full-scale testing.

  • Cities Boosted Rain, Sent Storms to the Suburbs During Europe’s Deadly Summer Floods

    When it comes to extreme weather, climate change usually gets all the attention. But according to a new study, the unique effects of cities – which can intensify storms and influence where rain falls – need to be accounted for as well.