Citizen Science in the Wake of Natural Disasters

The news stories in this installment of The Citizen Scientist (TCS) are devoted to Hurricane Katrina, possibly the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. George E. Hrabovsky, president of MAST and a long time contributor to TCS, sent the most concise summary of Hurricane Katrina that I have seen so far: "It was bad enough that what amounted to a thirty mile wide F3 tornado came ashore; the flooding is absolutely horrible."

Several days after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, a friend reminded me that I have advocated rapid response measurements and observations of major environmental events by student and amateur scientists. He was right. I have often stated that students and citizen scientists can monitor major environmental events like dust storms, volcano eruptions, forest fires, hurricanes and so forth.

Then my friend asked how amateur scientists can respond to a massive disaster on the scale of Katrina. I had no answer. The question never came to mind while the television and the web were displaying endless scenes of utter devastation, destruction and horror. It certainly didn't enter the minds of tens of thousands of people begging for water and food and to be rescued from chaos and looting.

Then there was a video report about an unnamed storm chaser who was on the Mississippi coast with a video camera when Katrina arrived. His video captured the arrival of the storm surge, which flooded the building where he was deployed. One can only wonder if all the storm chasers survived the storm.

Next, there was this notice on America On Line: "Citizen Journalists: Send Us Your Photos, Comments." This call for photos linked to dozens of dramatic images of storm damage. CNN posted a similar request: "CITIZEN JOURNALIST: Send ideas for helping and photos if you're on the scene."

Citizens provided both sites with photos and commentary. Others established blogs to report on their experiences. In short, citizens who survive a major disaster can provide videos and photographs about the event. Here are a few other ideas:

People with home weather stations can make scientifically useful measurements of pressure and temperature during hurricanes, assuming the weather instruments and the observer's residence survive the storm. Wind speed, of course, is highly desirable, but hurricanes and tornadoes often destroy wind speed instruments.

Hurricanes are known for producing increases in the mosquito population. Citizen scientists who are relatively unaffected by a hurricane can sample and identify mosquito larvae, thereby serving as mosquito sentinels. One simple way to implement this is to place a small tray of rain water outdoors every day. After the third day, the water in the first tray should be inspected for mosquito larvae. The second tray would be inspected on the fourth day and so forth. If no larvae are observed, the trays should be checked on successive days. Various web sites provide excellent photos of mosquito larvae that will aid in identification. For example, the NSW Arbovirus Surveillance & Vector Monitoring Program features dozens of nice images of mosquitoes and their larvae. Mosquito larvae pass through several stages known as instars. It may not be possible to identify larvae until they are in the fourth instar prior to pupating.

Serious amateur meteorologists who reside well away from hurricane strikes can study storm track predictions issued by the National Hurricane Center and various private weather forecasting services. How well do the forecasts agree? How did various meteorological factors influence the path of the storm?

While these objectives might provide important data about the circumstances and consequences of hurricanes, properly equipped citizen scientists can also provide data about other kinds of disasters, both natural and otherwise. Citizen scientists equipped with Geiger counters can provide an especially important service should the unthinkable happen.

What do you think? Can you suggest roles for citizen scientists before, during and after disasters? If so, please send your comments in an e-mail to "Backscatter." Place "Disaster" in the subject line to let us know that your e-mail can be published in TCS.

Forrest M. Mims III