Documenting Storm Damage & DIY Interactive Web Mapping. Guest speaker: Gregory A. Berman, Woods Hole Sea Grant

Date: Friday, September 27, 2013 Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm Room: E38-300 (292 Main St., Cambridge) Open to the public. Abstract This talk will cover rapid assessments of storm damage performed during Hurricane Sandy and subsequent winter storms. These recent storms have revealed ancient landscapes to a degree rarely seen and create the opportunity to teach about barrier beach migration and sea level rise. An addition to the typical outreach was the incorporation of an interactive web map. Users can navigate and zoom around Cape Cod looking at various stratigraphic layers exposed by storm erosion, and even submit their own images for incorporation into the web map (http://www.mappingcoastalma.com). The methodology of this relatively simple web map application will be discussed and additional uses explored. About Gregory A. Berman Gregory A. Berman, PG, GISP is a coastal processes specialist for Woods Hole Sea Grant (WHSG) and the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension (CCCE) where he provides technical assistance on coastal geology topics: shoreline change, erosion control alternatives, potential effects of various human activities on coastal landforms, coastal flood plains, coastal hazards, hazard mitigation analyses, and dune restoration techniques. On-site visits typically address site-specific coastal processes/hazards, which are followed with unbiased, written technical alternatives analyses. He joined WHSG and CCCE after five years with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) where he worked on a variety of government projects focusing on environmental assessments and shoreline stabilization. This was preceded by six years with United States Geological Survey (USGS) offices in Florida and Hawaii where he performed analysis of coastal geology, habitat, and hydrology. He has over fifteen years of diverse experience with surveying, interpreting, and reporting on coastal geology. He has also regularly provided assistance in local coastal restoration projects organized by environmental non-profit organizations and worked with a wide spectrum of volunteers.