Storm surge occurs when strong winds blow an ocean or large lake up onto the land. Its lesser-known counterpart is wind setdown, when strong winds blowing offshore cause the waterline to drop and recede. The famous parting of the Red Sea has been identified as a wind setdown event since 1879. The... Show moreStorm surge occurs when strong winds blow an ocean or large lake up onto the land. Its lesser-known counterpart is wind setdown, when strong winds blowing offshore cause the waterline to drop and recede. The famous parting of the Red Sea has been identified as a wind setdown event since 1879. The account in Exodus contains meteorological details that can be used to simulate the reported event using a modern ocean model, our bluefire supercomputer here at NCAR, and high-resolution satellite data. The first part of the talk will describe the research and formation of a temporary land bridge in the eastern Nile delta. The second part of the talk will recount the publication of this research in the Open Access journal PLoS ONE, and some lessons that can be learned from open access publishing. The Media Relations group at UCAR Communications played a large role in publicizing the study, as did the Visualization & Enabling Technologies Section (VETS) within CISL. The result was widespread international media coverage. The overall experience contains some observations and guidance about communicating science to the general public. Show less
