Research Overview
SCIPP research is focused on improving the preparedness for and understanding of southern U.S. climate hazards as well as bridging the communication gap between climate scientists and local-level decision makers. Through new information products and a comprehensive all-climate hazards tool, SCIPP provides community planners with more readily available data to develop hazard mitigation plans which are now a requirement for obtaining Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hazard mitigation funding.
Initially, research will focus on the high impact events that frequently occur across the SCIPP region - in particular the extremes of precipitation (droughts and floods) as well as storms and hurricanes. Historical information for each of these hazards will provide decision makers with location-specific profiles for past occurrences which will lead towards better preparedness for future events. Subsequent research will investigate additional climate hazards as well as regionalized climate hazard projections for the future. In keeping with the highly successful RISA model, SCIPP research will be conducted through a combination of stakeholder engagement, workshops, applied research, and graduate student projects.
Southern Climate Impacts Planning Support System (SCIPSS)
One of the major research goals of SCIPP is in developing, testing, and refining the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Support System (SCIPSS). The tool will draw together various climate hazard data sources including drought designations, storm reports (hail, wind, and tornadoes), flood data, and hurricane information. The purpose of providing multiple hazard data sources in a single location is to provide context for each hazard and increase the awareness that each play a significant role in a particular location's climate. This approach also intends to provide increased attention for less publicized, yet equally significant hazards such as droughts.
SCIPSS is being developed by team researchers using input provided by decision-makers across the 6-state SCIPP region. The tool will provide information through an online geographic information systems based interface that will allow users to navigate to a particular area of interest and display clickable layers of information. Throughout the development of SCIPSS, stakeholder groups will have an opportunity to test, evaluate, and improve the tool to ensure its utility in real-world planning processes. Additional data, products, and functionality will be added with time and the final package will be made freely available to all users.
Stakeholder Interactions
Stakeholder groups will serve a critical role in the research plan for SCIPP. Through active engagement with decision makers, the SCIPP team will be able to determine data, information, and knowledge gaps that will guide the development of the all-hazards information tool and other research that is conducted through SCIPP. Such interaction will ensure that the information tools and products developed through the program adequately address the needs of decision makers in developing community-level hazard mitigation plans. Active stakeholder interaction also serves a critical purpose of exposing the SCIPP research team to the challenges and issues faced by decision-makers every day. Without a two-way line of communication, the development of new information tools would be far less effective and applicable.
Research Projects
A significant amount of concentrated, applied research for SCIPP is accomplished through a collection of M.S. and Ph.D. students from the University of Oklahoma and Louisiana State University. Projects tend to be focused on a particular application of southern climate hazards such as coastal vulnerabilities to storm surge, the long-term impacts of urban areas on precipitation and temperature, or the differences in state-level drought plans and decision making. Student graduate projects allow an opportunity for more application-based research in order to increase the understanding of climate hazards and variability in the southern United States.
For brief abstracts of current SCIPP student research projects, please review the following links:
- The Urban Influence in Changing Temperature Extremes Across the South Central United States Since 1950
- A Comparative Study of Drought Management in Oklahoma and Missouri
- Emergency Managers: Weather Communication and Training
- Calculating Storm Surge Return Periods Along the Gulf of Mexico
- A Comparative Study of Urban Influence on Precipitation in the South-Central United States
- Developing an Urban Drought Mitigation Plan in the South-Central United States
- Climatology of Protracted Periods of No Rain in Louisiana
Additional Research Projects
In being a part of the Regional Integrated Science Assessments (RISA) program, SCIPP has an excellent opportunity to conduct additional research projects via cross-RISA projects or side projects. Cross-RISA projects combine the expertise of two or more RISA teams in addressing a particular research problem applicable to each region. For any potential research collaborations or project suggestions please contact a SCIPP program manager (James Hocker at OU or Lynne Carter at LSU).
