Storm Surge Viewer was created at Western Carolina University (WCU) as part of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) Storm Surge Database project. This web page utilizes the storm surge database to locate, describe and map storm surge and high water mark data. Storm track data was obtained from NOAA NCDC’s IBTrACS (International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship) database.

This national storm surge database itself was formed using relational tools and geographic information systems (GIS) and will eventually provide one central location for coastal scientists and engineers to access storm surge and high water mark data. This large database is being built in Microsoft Access and ArcGIS at WCU, but will ultimately be maintained and archived at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Storm surge data are being obtained from multiple sources including federal agencies, state agencies, academic studies, and the private sector.

The Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) is a research and policy outreach center serving the global coastal community. The primary mission of PSDS is to conduct scientific research into coastal processes and to translate that science into management and policy recommendations through a variety of professional and public outreach mechanisms. The Program specializes in evaluating the design and implementation of coastal engineering projects.








Dr. Robert Young -Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, a joint Duke University/Western Carolina University venture. He is also a Professor of Coastal Geology at Western Carolina University and a licensed professional geologist in three states (FL, NC, SC).

Katie McDowell Peek -Coastal Research Scientist at the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines who is currently developing and maintaining the storm surge database at Western Carolina University.

About the Storm Surge Viewer Developers


Chris Blades - Recent Computer Science graduate of Western Carolina University and one of the original database and web developers for the Storm Surge Database project.

Russell Gaskey - Senior Computer Science major at Western Carolina University, one of the original database and web developers for the Storm Surge Database project, and current member of the database and web development team for the Storm Surge Database project.

Cristina Korb - Senior Mathematics major and Computer Science minor at Western Carolina University and current member of the database and web development team for the Storm Surge Database project.

Brian Lenau - Senior Computer Science major at Western Carolina University and current member of the database and web development team for the Storm Surge Database project.

Brad Proctor - Senior Computer Science major and one of the original database and web developers for the Storm Surge Database project.

Dr. Mark Holliday - Computer science professor at Western Carolina University and supervisor of database and web development for the Storm Surge Project.

Acknowledgments


We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for this project.