Susan Meredith Howell

Kilmarnock, Virginia, United States Contact Info
1K followers 500+ connections

Join to view profile

About

Executive leader with 15+ years experience managing/mentoring interdisciplinary staff…

Activity

Join now to see all activity

Experience & Education

  • Vanderbilt University

View Susan Meredith’s full experience

By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.

Volunteer Experience

  • Board, Secretary

    Virginia Main Street Program, Warsaw Richmond County

    - Present 6 years

    Economic Empowerment

  • Board of Trustees, Treasurer

    Church at Clarendon Child Development Center

    - 3 years 1 month

    Education

Publications

  • Chapter 29: The Social and Economic Impacts of Moderate and Severe Space Weather

    Elsevier Book. Extreme Events in Geospace

    Although space weather is known to interrupt and damage technologies critical to modern society, there have been a limited number of studies on the social and economic impacts. A better understanding of the impacts is challenging but essential for enhancing our preparedness and strategically reducing our risks. This chapter provides a brief overview of an ongoing effort to advance research on this topic by identifying, describing, and quantifying the social and economic impacts of space weather…

    Although space weather is known to interrupt and damage technologies critical to modern society, there have been a limited number of studies on the social and economic impacts. A better understanding of the impacts is challenging but essential for enhancing our preparedness and strategically reducing our risks. This chapter provides a brief overview of an ongoing effort to advance research on this topic by identifying, describing, and quantifying the social and economic impacts of space weather in the United States. The study examines impacts resulting from both moderate and severe space weather events across four technological sectors: Electric power, commercial aviation, satellites, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) users. It considers the full range of impacts identified during an extensive literature review and from additional conversations with more than 30 sector stakeholders of diverse expertise from engineering to operations to end users. We organize and discuss our findings in terms of five broad but interrelated impact categories including defensive investments, mitigating actions, asset damages, service interruptions, and health effects. Our team is currently developing simple, tractable models in close collaboration with stakeholders to quantify impacts for each sector that are apt to be largest and also most plausible during moderate and more severe space weather scenarios. The systematic approach we develop can be easily modified as new scientific knowledge is acquired and as our technological infrastructure changes; it can also be readily applied to other impacted sectors (e.g., railway and pipelines). We hope that our systematic exploration of the social and economic impacts stimulates important discussions and provides a foundation for the future work that is necessary and critical for designing technologies and implementing policies that can effectively reduce our known and evolving vulnerabilities to this natural hazard.

    See publication

  • Floods and Non-Stationarity Annotated Bibliography

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

    This report provides a detailed analysis and literature review of work in the field. Specifically, the authors seek to better bound the definitions of stationarities and nonstationarities while exploring the relationships between weather patterns and flooding, simultaneously highlighting the mechanisms that drive nonstationarity variation over time. This allows for a deeper discussion of trend and long-term persistence (LTP) detection techniques and how these techniques can be incorporated into…

    This report provides a detailed analysis and literature review of work in the field. Specifically, the authors seek to better bound the definitions of stationarities and nonstationarities while exploring the relationships between weather patterns and flooding, simultaneously highlighting the mechanisms that drive nonstationarity variation over time. This allows for a deeper discussion of trend and long-term persistence (LTP) detection techniques and how these techniques can be incorporated into flood frequency analysis, better accounting for nonstationarities in hydrological data. Through a multi-factored discussion on the impact of future changes on future floods, the authors extend basic concepts of frequency, risk, and reliability under nonstationarity conditions, summarizing how such approaches can be applied in a risk-based framework. For USACE, as well as planners and engineers more broadly, this allows for better informed engineering design to minimize flood risk in light of changing behaviors in hydrological processes and the mechanisms driving these changes.

    See publication

  • Modeling the Influence of Sea Level Rise on Future Storm Surge Elevations Considering Landscape Evolution

    World Scientific

    Projected increases in sea level will result in higher flood elevations in the coastal environment. Efforts to assess future flood conditions associated with sea level rise (SLR) commonly apply a linear superposition technique to simply add the projected increase to the existing condition. Past modeling efforts have sought to address changes to flood dynamics due to SLR, but retained a static landscape. Future conditions, including SLR, should be evaluated using a system approach, considering…

    Projected increases in sea level will result in higher flood elevations in the coastal environment. Efforts to assess future flood conditions associated with sea level rise (SLR) commonly apply a linear superposition technique to simply add the projected increase to the existing condition. Past modeling efforts have sought to address changes to flood dynamics due to SLR, but retained a static landscape. Future conditions, including SLR, should be evaluated using a system approach, considering potential changes to the coastal landscape that may alter flood propagation. Through the North Carolina Sea Level Rise Impact Study, flood elevations were analyzed through a robust hydrodynamic and statistical modeling framework for six SLR scenarios ranging from 0 to 1.0m in a framework that incorporated changes to marshes and barrier island features. This effort found that flood elevations to increase linearly with SLR for scenarios up to 0.4m, but become increasingly non-linear for higher scenarios.

    See publication

  • Impact of dynamic feedbacks between sedimentation, sea-level rise, and biomass production on near-surface marsh stratigraphy and carbon accumulation

    Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

    Here we present analytical and numerical models of salt marsh sedimentation that, in addition to capturing inorganic processes, explicitly account for above- and belowground organic processes including root growth and decay of organic carbon. The analytical model is used to examine the bias introduced by organic processes into proxy records of sedimentation. We find that accretion rates estimated using 210 Pb will be less than accretion rates estimated using the 137 Cs peak in steadily accreting…

    Here we present analytical and numerical models of salt marsh sedimentation that, in addition to capturing inorganic processes, explicitly account for above- and belowground organic processes including root growth and decay of organic carbon. The analytical model is used to examine the bias introduced by organic processes into proxy records of sedimentation. We find that accretion rates estimated using 210 Pb will be less than accretion rates estimated using the 137 Cs peak in steadily accreting marshes if (1) carbon decay is significant and (2) data for 210 Pb extend below the 137 Cs peak. The numerical model expands upon the analytical model by including belowground processes, and by explicitly tracking the evolution of aboveground biomass and its effect on sedimentation rates. Using the numerical model we explore how marsh stratigraphy responds to sediment supply and the rate of sealevel rise. It is calibrated and tested using an extensive data set of both marsh stratigraphy and measurements of vegetation dynamics in a Spartina alterniflora marsh. We find that carbon accumulation in marshes is nonlinearly related to both the supply of inorganic sediment and the rate of sea-level rise; carbon accumulation increases with sea-level rise until sea-level rise reaches a critical rate that drowns the marsh vegetation and halts carbon accumulation. The model predicts that changes in carbon storage resulting from changing sediment supply or sea-level rise are strongly dependent on the background sediment supply: if inorganic sediment supply is reduced in an already sediment poor marsh the storage of organic carbon will increase to a far greater extent than in a sediment-rich marsh, provided that the rate of sea-level rise does not exceed a threshold. These results imply that altering sediment supply to estuaries (e.g., by damming upstream rivers or altering littoral sediment transport) could lead to significant changes in the carbon budgets of coastal salt marshes.

    See publication

Projects

  • Synthesis of State Coastal Program Assessment and Strategies

    Developed an approach to efficiently synthesize State coastal programs Section 309 strategy and assessment documents for the 2016–2020 enhancement cycle. The product provides NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management with a better understanding of State priority management issues and their planned strategies.

  • Hydrodynamics of Marsh Platform Flow and Implications of Barrier Design

    Research focused on understanding the physical and ecological responses to inundation and engineered barriers on marsh platform. This includes tidal cycle to annual scale processes, including the influence of marsh platform length-scale and biomass on the flow regime. Using analytical and numerical techniques, I also simulate the effects of engineering an estuarine shoreline. This research is structured to provide tools to simulate marsh platform flow dynamics that are sufficiently general that…

    Research focused on understanding the physical and ecological responses to inundation and engineered barriers on marsh platform. This includes tidal cycle to annual scale processes, including the influence of marsh platform length-scale and biomass on the flow regime. Using analytical and numerical techniques, I also simulate the effects of engineering an estuarine shoreline. This research is structured to provide tools to simulate marsh platform flow dynamics that are sufficiently general that they may be applied to many locales. The third component of this research is a description of the astronomical and wind driven signals and the separation of these two constituents. Harmonic analysis reveals that low-frequency variations in the water level constitute a significant part of the observed record, the effect of which is to set the average water level about which the astronomical signal fluctuates. This work also examines the astronomical and wind-driven components of the tidal signal within frequency domains in order to explore the response time of the movement of water into and out the estuary. The hydrodynamic analysis of this work is related to macrophyte

  • NOAA Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise

    Participant in the 2005-2009 work focused on North Carolina and 2010-2014 study for the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Served as lead hydrodynamic modeler for NC study and as technical adviser for the present Gulf study.

  • North Carolina Sea Level Rise Risk Management Study

    Hazard and risk assessment lead and subject matter expert on this five year, $5 million dollar project to identify climate change related changes, quantify vulnerability, and develop flood impact management/adaptation strategies for the state of North Carolina. Responsible for leading a team of staff professionals on multiple task orders and provide technical and programmatic support to the study manager. This study is unique due to the broad scope, which includes, for example, projected…

    Hazard and risk assessment lead and subject matter expert on this five year, $5 million dollar project to identify climate change related changes, quantify vulnerability, and develop flood impact management/adaptation strategies for the state of North Carolina. Responsible for leading a team of staff professionals on multiple task orders and provide technical and programmatic support to the study manager. This study is unique due to the broad scope, which includes, for example, projected changes in land use and population and the effect on future economics; calculated losses by sector, including critical infrastructure and utilities operations; changes to storm surge due to wetland and inlet changes; and return period inundation and mapping. A key element of my strategy for this project is to collaborate, coordinate, and build upon other research programs and studies.

    See project

  • DOI & NFWF Hurricane Sandy Resilience Program Metrics, Evaluation, and Monitoring

    -

    Within a 3 month period of performance, Dr. Taylor led the successful development of a resilience framework and socio-economic metrics for measuring the community impacts of 170 resilience projects. This report contains the most comprehensive and impact oriented socioeconomic metrics available to date.
    Dr. Taylor and her team (Ms. C. Goydan and Dr. S. Worman) have continued to lead evaluation and monitoring of this important pursuit. Specifically, they lead the impact evaluation of 170…

    Within a 3 month period of performance, Dr. Taylor led the successful development of a resilience framework and socio-economic metrics for measuring the community impacts of 170 resilience projects. This report contains the most comprehensive and impact oriented socioeconomic metrics available to date.
    Dr. Taylor and her team (Ms. C. Goydan and Dr. S. Worman) have continued to lead evaluation and monitoring of this important pursuit. Specifically, they lead the impact evaluation of 170 resilience projects with the goal to measure the success of investments to increase community and ecosystem resilience, and develop techniques to scale project impacts topically and regionally. The products synthesize lessons learned, permitting challenges and accomplishments, and leading performance indicators. This study informs agencies about the collection of performance data, and provides substantial insights to ensure impactful programs. Monitoring Socio-Economic Metrics for the DOI Hurricane Sandy Resilience Investment (2017-2024). Collaborating with Federal partners collecting physical data, Abt is monitoring benefits to the economy, infrastructure, community competence, and health. This monitoring is invaluable for reporting the long-term benefits of resilience projects, to inform new engineering standards, and to streamline monitoring approaches to collect the key leading indicators of performance and benefits.

    See project

  • The Socio-Econ of SWx and User Needs

    -

    Dr. Susan Taylor and Dr. Stacey Worman have led three related projects. The first focused on socioeconomics, supporting NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) with the implementation of the Space Weather Action Plan, and specifically to assess impacts of space weather to four sectors: electric power, aviation, satellites, and GNSS/GPS. The end result is a study that synthesizes what is known about this topic and furnishes tractable quantitative estimates that are supported by…

    Dr. Susan Taylor and Dr. Stacey Worman have led three related projects. The first focused on socioeconomics, supporting NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) with the implementation of the Space Weather Action Plan, and specifically to assess impacts of space weather to four sectors: electric power, aviation, satellites, and GNSS/GPS. The end result is a study that synthesizes what is known about this topic and furnishes tractable quantitative estimates that are supported by knowledgeable industry stakeholders.

    See project

  • Systems Approach to Geomorphic Engineering (SAGE)

    -

    Advisor to IWR on natural infrastructure, policy updates, and stakeholder needs. Lead coordinator with IWR and SAGE partners to advance the program, which involves almost daily interactions and reporting.
    Numerous Colleagues:
    Pam Mason, lead, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
    Bradley Watson, CSO
    Eric Meyers, The Conservation Fund
    Sarah Murdoch, The Nature Conservancy
    Chris Hilke, National Wildlife Federation

    See project

  • Public Survey of National Hurricane Center Arrival of Tropical Storm Force Winds (ATSFW) Product

    -

    Partnering with a Virginia SB survey firm (Responsive Management), we designed and conducted an online survey of the public on an experimental version of the ATSFW graphics during the 2017 hurricane season. Our findings report on the publics’ interpretation and understanding of the GIS-based prototypes, how the public will act on this information, and their rating of the product’s potential usefulness and suggestions for improvement.

  • Green Infrastructure Literature Database Expansion and Public Search Interface

    -

    Supported review and cataloguing of over 100 literature sources focused on the efficacy of natural infrastructure for coastal resilience to flood hazards and policy relevance. Abt also designed and built an internal data loader and an external, web-based tool for NOAA’s Digital Coastal.

More activity by Susan Meredith

View Susan Meredith’s full profile

  • See who you know in common
  • Get introduced
  • Contact Susan Meredith directly
Join to view full profile

People also viewed

Explore more posts

Explore collaborative articles

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.

Explore More

Add new skills with these courses

See all courses