PI-CASC UOG lead talks post-typhoon assessment at Regional Climate Conference
June 5, 2024
Natural disaster responses, typhoon aftermath assessments, and climate forecasts for Micronesia were among a series of presentations guiding this year’s Regional Climate Conference, hosted by the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Guam.
The Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center joined other organizations virtually on May 23 in highlighting key projects in the past year that focused on producing weather data and resources for Micronesian islands. PI-CASC University of Guam lead Dr. Romina King reported on the work of the UOG Drone Corps and how the program worked with NWS to assess the aftermath of Typhoon Mawar, which swept through the Mariana Islands last May.
“We had spent about 60 hours of drone flight, setup, and processing [following Typhoon Mawar],” King said in her presentation. “The mission amassed a total of 11,758 photos that were stitched together to produce high-resolution orthomosaic maps.”
The quality of these maps is clear enough to zoom in exponentially and look at specific damages to infrastructure and natural resources, she added. This resource was shared with NWS and other local agencies for their efforts in documenting typhoon impacts on Guam and determining which areas of the island are the most vulnerable.
The UOG Drone Corps is co-administered by King and funded by NASA Guam Space Grant and NASA Guam EPSCoR. PI-CASC works in tandem with the program by supporting efforts that use drones for environment- and climate-related missions, such as coconut rhinoceros beetle impacts, coral reef monitoring, and wildfire aftermath surveying. The co-production between the organizations have so far led to fruitful endeavors that produce a new generation of remote pilots using emerging technologies, as well as critical climate resources for the local government, like the Typhoon Mawar aftermath maps.
Other conference takeaways
Marcus Landon Aydlett, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NWS WFO Guam, stated in his presentation that Micronesia will likely see below-normal tropical cyclone activity for the remainder of 2024. This is a typical forecast with the expected shift from El Niño to La Niña. Micronesia is more likely to experience typhoons in the El Niño season, which was last year, but the region is now nearing the start of La Niña later this summer. For the year’s forecast, Aydlett said the Mariana Islands may see one or two typhoons this year, “but that does not mean we’re going to take one to two hits. Keep in mind that these are not landfalling forecasts.”
Climatologist and PI-CASC researcher Dr. Abby Frazier also presented at the Regional Climate Conference, reiterating the key messages of the Fifth National Climate Assessment with focus on Micronesia data. Frazier also noted that the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which produces the government-mandated assessments, is seeking nominations and scientific findings to help inform the Sixth National Climate Assessment.