The City of Atlanta is susceptible to flooding from Chattahoochee River. The magnitude of damages caused by past floods has motivated re-assessment of current flood infrastructure and policies for emergency preparedness and response. Therefore, it is important to provide flood hazard information to the public, city planners and emergency managers. The aim of this study is to support emergency response in Peachtree, Utoy and Proctor Creek watersheds in Atlanta by producing comprehensive inundation maps for flood events of different return periods (10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year floods). A hybrid approach will be used to identify flood risk zones and assess hazard impact by integrating HEC-RAS, GIS and HAZUS technologies. The objectives of this study are: (1) simulation of floods of different return periods using a hydraulic model (HEC-RAS), (2) production of estimated flood-inundation maps at various stream stages using the HEC–GeoRAS computer program and geographic information systems (GIS); (3) modeling social, physical, and economic effects of floods on critical infrastructure and surrounding communities using HAZUS software; and (4) combining the results into a single map. Our results can assist the decision-making authorities to stay informed of possible higher magnitude flood risks while developing flood policies for emergency preparedness.

Cities are growing in area and population as urbanization is happening at record rates. Known as urbanization, this brings about the clearance of urban forest ecosystems to accommodate development. Urbanization affects ecological functions, structures, and systems by impacting the distribution of very important ecosystem services. For the natural environment and urban populations, the removal of urban forest ecosystems presents serious implications. Ecosystem services and ecologies are disrupted as urban forests are in a current state of decline. For this research, urban ecology and ecosystem services are studied based on a context which quantifies urban forest presence or absence. Specifically, the ecosystem service of particulate matter (PM2.5) removal by tree cover and the human ecology service of park walkability is measured. Assessing the urban tree canopy metrics of two American cities will provide information on urbanization’s effect on urban forests, ecosystem services, and human ecology. Furthermore, underlying social factors such as the history of the area, culture, and demographics provide a framework to interpret why there is inequity in urban forest distribution. The cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New York, New York will serve as backdrops to answer the following question: In urban settings, how does the presence or lack of urban forest ecosystems affect human ecology and the distribution of ecosystem services, in turn affecting surrounding populations?

This study examines the spatial and temporal distribution of tropospheric ozone column trends in India over the past decade, 2004-2016. Tropospheric ozone is an indicator of environmental health as a major air pollutant; its long-time exposure and air quality deterioration can threaten public health. As more manufacturing, power plants and transportation systems were introduced to the country during this time, its regional and global predominance is also indicative of socio-economic developments. This research uses NASA’s Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), temporal and spatial oversampling techniques, and a change point detection model. Data analysis and similar studies show that socioeconomic influences such as the rising use of biomass burning for springtime farming preparation influx the amount of ozone in India. India’s natural climate also changes the amount of ozone spatially such as how its seasonal monsoon winds displace the tropospheric ozone. The results of this research can qualitatively assess ozone pollution dispersal in India in relation to significant social events and give more resources to evaluate the outcomes of global air quality regulations. This study includes the further progression of research presented last year.

Previous studies have indicated Atlanta has been experiencing more heat waves due to the climate change and city heat island. The increasing extreme heat waves are significant threats to people living in Atlanta GA, especially for sensitive ones including pregnant women. The purpose of this research project is to investigate the relationship between the increase in heat waves in the metro Atlanta area and pregnancy outcomes. Specifically, the pregnancy outcomes that will be investigated are birth weight and preterm birth rates. It is hypothesized that the frequency of the heat waves in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia has a negative impact on pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weights and preterm births. Daily weather summaries and records of climatological observations were gathered from the United States Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. This research was an exploratory analysis. The data was inconclusive and did not provide enough information to prove that the heat index is related to negative pregnancy outcomes.