• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Fires/Accidents/Disasters / ISU researchers look at hurricane protection

ISU researchers look at hurricane protection

April 20, 2007 By admin

A familiar sight around the Midwest is a clump of trees here and there, shelter-belts planted to break the wind as it blows across large open expanses of field and pasture. Now researchers at Iowa State University are designing a new kind of planting design, to slow down water, not wind.

Ag meteorologist Gene Takle says the international Food and Agriculture Organization heard about his research and called to ask him to add some studies of how living "bio-shields" could stall the damaging force of tidal waves and hurricanes. It’s been a natural process for protecting villages against strong tidal waves. Takle says we don’t think about it here in the Midwest, but in many tropical countries, coastal forests serve a valuable function.

Takle says big tropical storms leave the land vulnerable to damage beyond what the wind and water do during the hurricane. "It exposes the shoreline much more to the damaging effect of these storms and waves," he says. "So a bio-shield or a tropical forest is one way to suppress the damage of these types of events." In the Midwest we may use pine, oak or poplar for windbreak plantings, and Takle says local trees are also used in the tropical bio-shields.

There are 52 species of mangrove growing along those shores and they’re a particularly good choice, a they’ll actually grow out into the water. An occasional flooding of fresh water will let them flourish in salt water, so they’d be a good choice for planting on the leading edge. Up to now he’s studied how Midwest shelter-belts can be designed to control soil erosion and direct the drifting of snow from winter storms.

"The same principles apply," Takle says, whether you’re trying to slow the wind so it’ll drop its snow, or slow the wind and water coming onshore to reduce its damage. He says unfortunately, ISU researchers will not be obliged to visit tropical islands to monitor the studies in person.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With: Iowa State University

Featured Stories

Bill would limit placement of solar arrays on farm ground

Marquette casino moving to land, leaving only 2 casino boats in Iowa

Reynolds signs her ‘school choice’ bill into law

Governor Reynolds touts 2024 Iowa Caucuses in Inaugural Address

University of Iowa grad presiding over U.S. House Speaker vote

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

No coaching changes coming for Iowa football

Iowa State names new receivers coach

No. 2 Iowa visits No. 1 Penn State in wrestling dual Friday night

Iowa’s Clark brings increased exposure to women’s basketball

No. 18 Iowa State women visit TCU

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC