Author Archives: Philip Orton

Sandy’s Flood Forecast Gets Bleaker (and Bleeker?)

Our six-hour update just came in and it’s not good news for New York City and areas of New Jersey inside NY/NJ Harbor — the model forecast for Monday night rose two feet higher at The Battery, so now it … Continue reading

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Sandy/Frankenstorm Storm Surge Forecast Interpretation

Here comes Hurricane Sandy, aka Frankenstorm — The “central forecast” for the storm is for it make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum winds of about 70-80 mph, and run a northwestward course over Southern New Jersey.  Quite … Continue reading

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Spring Tides and Perfect Storms

A storm with similarities to the Perfect Storm of 1991 is expected to come northward by early next week and may make landfall in the Northeastern U.S. or Canadian Maritimes.  Some have been mentioning that the storm would arrive near … Continue reading

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NYC’s Ultimate Locavore Food: Blue Crab

How often do you eat Tuna per month?  Well, let me introduce you to a seafood that has dramatically lower pollution levels in its flesh, and comes straight from our local waters:  The humble blue crab.  Not only is it far better … Continue reading

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Re-Awakening the American Meteorological Society’s NYC Meetings

A few of us are re-awakening the long-dormant public NYC seminar series of the NYC / Long Island chapter of the American Meteorological Society, with 1-2 evening events held per semester at Columbia University.  The first event will feature Kerry Emanuel, professor … Continue reading

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Presenting Wednesday: Impacts of Irene & Lee on the Hudson

Experts gather to outline and analyze the historic combined effect of the two storms by Craig Wen, Stevens Institute of Technology During a torrid week in 2011, cities and communities along the Hudson River were hammered by Tropical Storms Irene … Continue reading

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Birds-Eye and Fish-Eye Views of Irene’s Floodwaters

Approaching the anniversary of last year’s landfall in New York City of Tropical Storm Irene, I decided to make some animations of that storm’s flood elevations and water currents.  The model-based animations have voice-overs explaining what happened in the water during … Continue reading

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Baseline Air Quality Measurements at Asphalt Green

As summarized in a prior post, we are now collecting air pollution data at the site of the proposed marine garbage transfer station (MTS) at East 91st Street in Manhattan.  The site is next to Asphalt Green, a large community … Continue reading

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What Effect Would Stopping the Flow Have on Ironman?

Westchester County officials say that repairs on a broken pipe are almost complete and they hope to stop discharging sewage into the Hudson River by Friday afternoon.  So, what effect would shutting it down have on pathogen concentrations near George … Continue reading

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Tracing the Sewage Plume and Impact on the Iron Man Swim

There’s nothing that says summer like a raw sewage leak into one of New York City’s major rivers. There was another sewage spill in the Hudson, this time due to a broken pipe and resulting diversion into the Hudson at … Continue reading

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