The long-term vision of the DRAC team includes advancing this Center to be a hub for disaster-related research not only in the state of Kansas but also in the Great Plains region and beyond. We intend to maintain this research cluster as sustainable with a very high impact not only on Wichita State University and nearby areas but also on the Great Plains, with an imperative emphasis on outreach and involvement of community partners. Hence the name - creation of a Digital platform ecosystem for Great Plains Disaster resilience. We are motivated, enthusiastic, and hopeful to implement these ideas as this is perhaps the biggest collaborative effort within WSU where faculty members from various otherwise unrelated fields have come together to solve a demanding problem of national/international significance.
Increased Community Engagement and Global Outreach
The development of research and teaching infrastructure is one of the most significant contributions of the DRAC project to WSU. On one hand, the established research infrastructure will be leveraged to bring in research dollars in the newly established area of disaster management. On the other hand, parallel with that, related educational advancement and outreach to the community will significantly contribute not only to Kansas but also to neighboring states and beyond, through enhanced awareness on preparedness mechanisms to deal with disasters. STEM Education, as an integral part of this transdisciplinary endeavor is a significant component of DRAC outreach.
One of the ways we are currently reaching the local and global community is through our DRAC Presentation Series. Local, national, and international experts from related fields are sharing their research, knowledge, and understanding of topics relevant to all four phases of disaster management - mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Contribution to Scientific body of Knowledge through Dissemination
In addition, all the members involved in the consortium have track records (About us) of disseminating their research findings using various scientific journals, conference proceedings, and other avenues. In this regard, we expect to serve the scientific community by publishing our research findings in various journals including but not limited to Scientific Reports, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, IEEE Access, Weather and Climate Extremes, Review of Environmental-Economic and Policy, Sustainability, and others.
I. Kansas area Weather Warning and Watch App
What can you do with this layer?
1. Customize the display of each attribute by using the Change Style option for any layer.
2. Query the layer to display only specific types of weather watches and warnings.
3. Add to a map with other weather data layers to provide insight on hazardous weather events.
4. Use ArcGIS Online analysis tools, such as Enrich Data, to determine the potential impact of weather events on populations.
Description
This interactive web map app is designed in the Geospatial and Geodynamics Lab in the Geology department at Wichita State University using ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) product and platform. The map layer compilation is adopted from a live data feed from the National Weather Service (NWS) containing official weather warnings, watches, and advisory statements for the United States. It is easily accessible from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.
You may also access other authoritative live feeds and other content that helps you learn more about current and predicted weather conditions. For example, in the case of NWS, you can access real-time data and information related to weather warnings, watches, and advisory from the Living Atlas of the World. The average data update frequency is five minutes.
Technically, the NWS is a feature service that depicts the National Weather Service (NWS) watches, warnings, and advisories within the United States. Watches and warnings are classified into 43 categories. According to NWS, a warning means weather conditions pose a threat to life or property. People in the path of the storm need to take protective action. A watch means that hazardous weather is possible. People should have a plan of action in case a storm threatens, and they should listen for later information and possible warnings especially when planning travel or outdoor activities. An advisory is less serious conditions than warnings, that cause significant inconvenience and if caution is not exercised, could lead to situations that may threaten life or property.
Source
National Weather Service RSS-CAP Warnings and Advisories: Public Alerts
National Weather Service Boundary Overlays: AWIPS Shapefile Database
https://www.weather.gov/gis/AWIPSShapefiles
Layer Data
1. Polygon layer: Official NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) background US Public Forecast Zones, Fire Forecast Zones, US Counties, Coastal and Offshore Marine Zones and, Events Ordered by Size and Severity. Credits (Attribution): NOAA, NWS, Esri.
2. GOES Satellite Imagery Colorized Transparent Background: Official NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) background US Public Forecast Zones.
Credits (Attribution): GOES-R Calibration Working Group and GOES-R Series Program, (2017): NOAA GOES-R Series Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) Level 1b Radiances Band 13. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5BV7DSR
References
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/iso?id=gov.noaa.ncdc:C01501
https://new.nowcoast.noaa.gov/help/#section=updateschedule
3. Recent Weather Radar Imagery
Credits (Attribution): NOAA/NOS/OCS nowCOAST and NOAA/NWS/SRH
4. Recent GOES Weather Satellite Imagery
Credits (Attribution): NOAA/NOS/OCS nowCOAST and NOAA/NESDIS/OSO/OSDPD
References
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Operations/GOES/index.html
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/misc/wv/
Area Covered
The United States and Territories,
Zoomed in to Kansas as a home page.
Caution: According to ESRI live feeds, these maps are provided for informational purposes and are not monitored 24/7 for accuracy and currency. If you need to be alerted to potential issues or see when this Service will update next, please visit ESRI Live Feed Status Page.
II. Survey123: Digital Survey Form App
According to ESRI, ArcGIS Survey123 is a complete, form-centric solution for creating smart surveys and forms, collecting data via web or mobile devices, and analyzing results.
The Geospatial and Geodynamics Lab in the Geology department at Wichita State University designed this digital form to collect information from the Wichita community and its surrounding, related to the late 2020 Wichita earthquake. The data will help researchers at Wichita State University to fine-tune the information that is already interpreted from big Earth observational data.
To add a picture, you need to find your location and then click on the embedded satellite imagery. You will see the blue squares as a pin. We consider it as the damage location that you want to report.
You may also fill out the form while you are uploading a picture. The Survey123 web app is ideal to support damage assessment self-reporting methods. Self-reporting is primarily conducted by any individual as crowdsourcing and citizen-science to develop initial damage information, which is later reviewed and validated. Typically, the Survey123 digital forms are shared publicly with affected communities via local web pages, social media, etc. Here is the link for the digital form:
What can you do with this layer?
1. You can take a picture of any fracture in your front yard or back yard. The cracks might be caused by the slow creep of the stress’s buildup, and if there are many locations where evidence of creep is visible in our city.
2. Soil creep like if you noticed, the top of the soil layer moves faster than the soil beneath, causing the young trees to bend downslope; you may report it.
3. You can do field-level damage assessment methods such as Door to Door and Windshield Damage Assessments.
4. Structural damage to your house or building is like a foundational problem.
Description
Public surveys are ideal for crowdsourcing and citizen-science initiatives and an ArcGIS account is not needed to use the survey. Anyone can submit data.
In this public survey, we are granting privilege to anyone to contribute so all of those submitting data will be counted.
Yet, we will curate the data and then, recognize the work of the best contributors so that you can be recognized as a good collaborator of these studies.
III. Eldon Taskinen: KFIDNearby app
One of our primary goals is to engage WSU students in this research and in particular through DRAC-related research.
KFIDNearby app is a final project that the student Eldon Taskinen completed in Fall 2021 in the course Geol 692: SQL and SDE, under the guidance of Dr. Zelalem Demissie. The project is an App currently titled KFIDNearby. The primary data source for this project was the Kansas Fluid Injection Database, maintained by the Kansas Geologic Survey. The application contains two visible features. First, all the active injection wells in the State of Kansas are displayed by the blue points with the size being proportional to the reported deposition volume of the injection well. Secondly, the orange circles represent all the Earthquakes of magnitude two or greater from 2015 to the present. These objects also vary in size, dependent on the earthquake's recorded magnitude. Both features also have a glow effect applied to them, and this glow considers both object size and cluster density to make larger-scale trends more visible on the map. The current application of the map is to assist with the analysis of the potential correlation between wastewater disposal wells and increased seismicity.
These features can be explored through the map's active function, which allows users to select a distance between zero and ten kilometers and select a point on the map. The app will then create a query and display all disposal wells within the user's selected range, including API #, Operator Name, and injection volume. The intent is for the user to select points on the map where earthquakes have occurred to see which, if any, of the injection wells could have contributed to inducing the earthquake. In summary, this app designed and built by the student provides a cost-effective solution to query which disposal or injection well might be responsible for a specific earthquake, if it is induced by related human interventions.