Title : Tip 40328 "BLOW-UP" DAMS MIGHT PROTECT CRITICAL STRUCTURES IN A FLOOD Type : News NSF Org: OD / LPA Date : March 28, 1994 File : tip40325 March 28, 1994 For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer noted at the end of each item at (703) 306- 1070. "BLOW-UP" DAMS MIGHT PROTECT CRITICAL STRUCTURES IN A FLOOD The next time the river starts to rise around power plants, water supplies, or hospitals, it might help to blow up some dams around them. That's blow up as in inflate, not explode. With a $49,932 grant from the National Science Foundation, researcher Raymond Plaut of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia, is studying the feasibility of using inflatable dams to protect critical facilities during floods. With funding from NSF's division of mechanical and structural systems, Plaut spent two and a half years directing research on the behavior of inflatable dams under varying conditions by the time last summer's floods began to devastate the Midwest. A 10-foot-high dam made of heavy nylon and reinforced rubber, he says, might have spared the Des Moines, Iowa, water plant that was forced to shut down after being hit by seven- foot-high floodwaters, interrupting the city's water supply for 12 days. There are now about 2,000 of the inflatable dams in use worldwide, although few in the U.S. Lying flat when not in use, they can be inflated with water, air or a combination of the two and deployed rapidly as levees. [Sean Kearns] POPULATION DYNAMICS OF MIGRANT BIRDS STUDIED Determining the factors that limit or regulate populations of migratory birds that breed in northern temperate forests and winter in the tropics is the focus of NSF-supported research being conducted by scientist Thomas Sherry of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sherry's research addresses whether these factors operate in summer breeding areas at temperate latitudes, in neotropical wintering grounds, or during both seasons. Through demographic and experimental studies, Sherry will attempt to determine if the limiting factors occur in both summer and winter, if habitat occupancy is determined by social dominance or other behaviors, whether individuals vary in fitness among habitats, and what ecological variables affect -more- -2- habitat quality. His emphasis is on comparing habitats in summer and winter, including second-growth forests, agricultural lands, and other human-modified habitats. The results will advance our understanding of the population dynamics of migrant bird species, says the scientist, as well as the factors affecting their abundance, and will also contribute to the development of effective conservation policies. Sherry's research is funded by NSF's division of environmental biology. [Cheryl Dybas] NSF FUNDS SPECIAL NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE STUDY The Northridge earthquake of January 17, 1994, had a serious impact on southern California. In response to the disaster, H.R. 3759 has made available a $15 million emergency supplemental appropriation to study this earthquake. The appropriation is intended to increase the scientific understanding of earthquakes so that recommendations can be made for improving seismic safety based on lessons learned from the California site. The National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) agencies, which include the National Science Foundation, are organizing this investigation. The agencies will direct much of the funding to non- government research grants supporting the goals of the appropriation. NSF will distribute a special announcement of opportunity, conduct a competitive review of proposals, and manage the grants when they are awarded. [Cheryl Dybas] UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION REFORM MOVES FORWARD The National Science Foundation's newest curriculum reform effort in undergraduate education is aimed at better preparing future scientists, engineers and mathematicians -- and, more generally, scientifically- literate citizens. NSF expects to award from 10 to 20 planning grants this fiscal year, and the first few implementation grants in 1995. This initiative,titled "Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications Throughout the Curriculum," follows on the heels of similar educational improvement programs for calculus and chemistry. It focuses on both the applications of math to other disciplines, and applications from other disciplines in math courses. Interdisciplinary planning and widespread adaptability of results are emphasized. NSF will accept proposals for the first round of planning grants until June 6, 1994. [Mary Hanson] -end- The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the federal government established in 1950 to promote and advance scientific progress in the United States. NSF accomplishes its mission primarily by competitively awarding grants to educational institutions for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.