Mapping the seafloor aids tsunami, coastal ecosystem monitoring
“DEMs can also be used for ecosystem modeling, to predict storm surges associated with hurricanes, to understand coastal upwelling, and to characterize fish habitat,” Eakins said. To produce the technical models, Eakins, Taylor, and colleagues use every source of elevation data available—recent data from sophisticated remote-sensing instrumentation on satellites, airplanes, or boats; or from historic maps produced by federal, state, and local institutions. DEMs are used operationally, in NOAA’s Tsunami Forecast and Warning System, and they’re beginning to reach ecosystem managers.
CIRES graduate student Jason Caldwell is using DEMs for his Ph.D. research on salmon in the Central Valley Project of California. Caldwell, whose advisor is CIRES Fellow Balaji Rajagopalan, said the project’s overall goal is to improve the decision-making tools relied on by water resource and fisheries managers in the Sacramento River Basin, to reduce fish mortality from higher stream temperatures in summer months. 
For map lovers, digital elevation models (DEMs) are the perfect virtual exploration tool. Zoom in to Alaska's King Cove to see how the sea floor drops off just south of the island. Pan over to the Gulf of Mexico to check out the shallows west of Florida. These maps don't just allow for detailed tours. For a couple of years, researchers have used DEMs to monitor tsunami impacts. Now, they're also helping scientists keep an eye on the health of ecosystems.
CIRES researchers and colleagues with NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center have spent the last few years producing 10-meter resolution DEMs of dozens of coastal areas around the country, from Hawaii to Maine.
"These are primarily for tsunami mitigation, to serve forecast and warning programs," said CIRES' Barry Eakins, science lead of the Coastal Science Team producing the models. NOAA's Lisa Taylor directs the team. Emergency managers trying to plan for potential tsunami inundation events need precise elevation information, she said.
