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During a special “Spotlight on Citizens” session Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Hampton, Virginia, City Council recognized NASA’s Langley Research Center and several other organizations for their key contributions to the city’s Resilient Hampton Initiative.
The initiative seeks to help the city prepare for and rebound from extreme events brought on by climate change. Along with cities such as New Orleans and Miami, the Hampton Roads area is one of the coastal communities in the U.S. most threatened by sea level rise, a problem further exacerbated by subsidence, or the gradual sinking of the ground the region is built on.
The partnership between the city and Langley, also located in Hampton, has been fruitful.
“One of the fundamental tenants of the Resilient Hampton Initiative when we started was our dedication to trying to use the best available science that we could as an underpinning to the recommendations and policies in the plan,” said Terry O’Neill, Hampton’s director of community development. “And certainly, having NASA Langley Research Center as a partner is a major coup for us that many, many other localities do not have access to.”
Langley’s Science Directorate and the NASA DEVELOP National Program conducted two recent projects with the city using satellite data.
In the fall of 2018, a DEVELOP team explored the use of satellite data to monitor Hampton’s barrier islands and coastline to improve understanding of areas vulnerable to flooding, sea level rise, and storm surge.
Then in the summer of 2019, a second DEVELOP project mapped urban tree canopy cover and impervious surfaces —surfaces that don’t allow water to seep into the ground — to understand change over time, how impervious surfaces impact local water quality and explore different land management scenarios to inform urban planning and resilience.
“I want to thank the City of Hampton, Mayor Donnie Tuck and the Hampton City Council for their long-standing partnership, collaborative efforts and support for NASA Langley,” said Langley’s Deputy Director Dave Young. “We deeply appreciate their recognition of the Langley team and their efforts to address climate issues and apply solutions for state and local issues like the resiliency efforts discussed here today.”
In addition to the applied science efforts of DEVELOP, Langley’s Center Operations Directorate and Hampton have a long-standing partnership. The directorate’s Environmental, Smart Infrastructure Planning and Technology teams have partnered with the city on efforts that include facility maintenance, and design and construction policies to mitigate sea level rise.
The Geographic Information System, or GIS, team has been instrumental in establishing long-term sea level rise and subsidence measurements and modeling for the Peninsula area and has partnered with the city in its resilience efforts.
Langley has also collaborated with the city on storm water studies in response to proposed locations for a gate relocation at Langley Air Force Base, which is adjacent to NASA Langley — in addition to other master planning initiatives.
Other organizations the city recognized during the session included the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Wetlands Watch; James River Association; Hampton University; Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Virginia Coastal Policy Center; Joint Base Langley-Eustis; Green Infrastructure Center; Old Dominion University’s Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience; and the American Flood Coalition.
Though not all were able to attend, those recognized from Langley included:
Dave Young, Deputy Director
Lindsay Rogers, Executive Officer
Lena Little, Regional Partnerships Lead
Trina Dyal, Director, Langley Science Directorate
Laura Rogers, Climate Scientist, Langley Science Directorate
John Murray, Associate Program Manager, NASA Disasters Program
Paul Stackhouse, POWER Team Lead, Langley Science Directorate
Kenton Ross, Chief Scientist, NASA DEVELOP Program
Amanda Clayton, National Project Manager, DEVELOP National Program
Lauren Childs-Gleason, Langley Project Manager, DEVELOP National Program
Loretta Kelemen, Director, NASA Langley Center Operations Directorate
Robert Gage, Lead System Architect and Developer, Center Operations Directorate GIS Team
Joe Atkinson
NASA Langley Research Center