The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: ornl science news

ForWarn Helene 2 Screenshot 2024 10 30 120938The ForWarn vegetation tracking tool shows areas of red where extreme disturbance to the forest canopy occurred in Western North Carolina, East Tennessee and southern Virginia as a result of Hurricane Helene in late September 2024.  Jitendra Kumar/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Information will help timber gleaning, fire-hazard mitigation

Stephanie Seay is a senior science writer and communications specialist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

OAK RIDGE — A visualization tool that tracks changes to the nation’s forests in near-real time is helping resource managers pinpoint areas with the most damage from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast.

The ForWarn visualization tool was co-developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the U.S. Forest Service. The tool captures and analyzes satellite imagery to track impacts such as storms, wildfire and pests on forests across the nation. 

When staff with the Forest Service’s Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center in Asheville, North Carolina, were unable to work in the immediate aftermath of Helene due to utility outages, the ORNL-hosted ForWarn system continued monitoring the storm’s impact and providing reports. ForWarn indicated areas of severe disturbance to the forest canopy that were later confirmed by aerial photography. 

“ForWarn helps quickly identify areas that may need remediation such as timber harvesting or prescribed burns as piles of felled trees dry out and potentially pose wildfire hazards,” said ORNL’s Jitendra Kumar.

Published in News

BryceWadeFourtoedSalamander2 Bryce WadeFour-toed salamanders were among the animals included in ORNL research to limit roadkill on the reservation and elsewhere.  Bryce Wade/ORNL

The 32,000-acre reservation serves as a vast laboratory for wildlife-protection efforts

Stephanie Seay is a senior science writer and communications specialist in the ORNL Communications Division.

OAK RIDGE — Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers developed a model framework that identifies ways to ensure wildlife can safely navigate their habitats while not unduly affecting infrastructure.

The project centered on the 32,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, home to Department of Energy facilities and several at-risk species like the four-toed salamander.

Scientists identified habitats and simulated solutions like conservation buffers and open-bottom culverts to allow safe passage for salamanders and other wildlife, which cost far less than large-scale barrier removal and similarly boost ecological connectivity.

“Development and environmental sustainability don’t have to be at odds,” said ORNL’s Evin Carter. “Our collaborative approach with project managers and engineers shows wildlife management can be an integral part of land-use planning without introducing undue cost or delays.”

ORNL doctoral student Bryce Wade said the model also benefited from 30 years of high-resolution data available because of the reservation’s history and management as a National Environmental Research Park.

Published in News

boys and girls club before and afterThis is a possible result of ORNL/KCDC energy efficiency improvements set for Knoxville public housing funded by a Department of Energy grant. The project will include the Boys & Girls Club.  © 2016 urban design association

Energy-efficiency upgrades based on ORNL walls set for Knoxville public housing

KNOXVILLE — A city public housing project almost a century old is going to receive 3-D printed energy efficiency upgrades thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will partner with Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation to retrofit eight to 12 buildings at Western Heights using 3-D printed exterior “overclad” panels equipped with heat pumps and heat recovery systems. The Boys & Girls Club building at Five Points in Morningside will receive the same treatment.

Published in News

Tree browning cicadas1 1 Here is some evidence of tree browning and “flagging” caused by the recent appearance of Brood-10 cicadas earlier this summer.  Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Tree “flagging” is a lingering sign of the 17-year cicadas’ brief time on Earth

(Alexandra DeMarco is an intern in ORNL’s media relations group.)

On the road leading to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, drivers may notice that many of the green trees lining the entrance to the lab are dappled with brown leaves. At first glance, the sight isn’t extraordinary, as deciduous tree leaves turn hues of oranges and browns before falling to the ground each autumn.

Yet, just weeks past the summer solstice, this phenomenon is out of place and is in fact evidence of another natural occurrence: cicada “flagging.”

This spring, Brood X cicadas emerged from the ground after 17 years and swarmed across the eastern United States, leaving a trail of exoskeletons and echoes of mating calls. Cicadas emerge in such large quantities to withstand predation and successfully maintain their populations, and trees actually play a key role in their life cycle.

A male cicada attracts a female through a mating call, the sound responsible for cicadas’ shrill hum. After the two mate, the female cicada uses a sharp tubular organ called an ovipositor to slit the bark and split the sapwood of young tree branches to deposit her eggs there. These incisions, however, damage a tree’s vascular system and can cause stalks beyond the incision to die and wither, leaving behind twigs with brown leaves that resemble flags dangling from the trees.

The eggs then grow into nymphs that make their way to below ground. An oft-repeated misconception is that they’ll stay dormant for 17 years. Actually, during that time, they go through 5 life stages while feeding on the xylem (tree sap) of roots. This may further weaken saplings that were heavily infested with cicadas.

Published in Earth
5BABPNUwStudents listen to a presentation from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher during National Environmental Education Week.  Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory
 

Scientists link research to students’ lives and communities

(Editor’s note: Karen Dunlap is a public information officer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory). 

Esther Parish is one of eight Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists talking to students in nine schools across East Tennessee as part of National Environmental Education Week.

On Monday, she spoke to Cathy Kimball’s fifth-grade class at Lenoir City Middle School.

The discussion covered renewable energy resources, science career paths and how climate change may affect East Tennessee.

Other ORNL scientists, including Debjani Singh, Liz Agee, Shelaine Curd, Spencer Washburn, Colleen Iversen, Keith Kline and Matthew Langholtz are participating in classroom events through April 30.

The national event is organized by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), which celebrates environmental education.

“I think it is important to reach out to young people about environmental science because the choices that our society makes regarding renewable energy resource development and climate-change mitigation will have long-term effects on their environment, health and future quality of life,” Parish said. She is a member of ORNL’s Environmental Science Division and specializes in geography and landscape ecology.

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