Steven Lazarus, Ph.D.

Professor | Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Florida Tech

  • Melbourne FL

Dr. Lazarus' research interests include data assimilation, electrical phenomena such as gigantic jets, and wind/wave interactions.

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3 min

Expert Insight: Dampening the Data Desert: A First Step Toward Improving Space Coast Climate Resilience

By Steven Lazarus Like many coastal regions, Florida’s Space Coast faces significant climate resilience challenges and risks. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Florida has over 8,000 miles of shoreline, more than any other state in the contiguous U.S. In addition, the 2020 census indicates that that there are 21 million Florida residents, 75-80% of which live in coastal counties. This makes our state particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, which are directly responsible for a host of coastal impacts, such as saltwater intrusion, sunny-day (high-tide) flooding, worsening surge, etc. There is growing evidence that storms are becoming wetter as the atmosphere warms— increasing the threat associated with compound flooding, which involves the combined effects of storm surge, rainfall, tides and river flow. Inland flooding events are also increasing due to overdevelopment, heavy precipitation and aging and/or inadequate infrastructure. The economic ramifications of these problems are quite evident, as area residents are confronted with the rising costs of their homeowners and flood insurance policies. As the principal investigator on a recently funded Department of Energy grant, Space Coast ReSCUE (Resilience Solutions for Climate, Urbanization, and Environment), I am working with Argonne National Laboratory, Florida Tech colleagues, community organizations and local government to improve our climate resilience in East Central Florida. It is remarkable that, despite its importance for risk management, urban planning and evaluating the environmental impacts of runoff, official data regarding local flooding is virtually nonexistent! Working alongside a local nonprofit, we have installed 10 automated weather stations and manual rain gauges in what was previously a “data desert” east of the Florida Tech campus: one at Stone Magnet Middle School and others at local homes. “We think that a ‘best methods’ approach is proactive, informed and cost-effective. The foundation of good decision-making, assessment and planning is built on data (model and observations), which are critical to adequately addressing the impact of climate on our communities.” – steven lazarus, meteorology professor, ocean engineering and marine sciences Data from these stations are available, in real-time, from two national networks: CoCoRaHS and Weather Underground. The citizen science initiative involving the rain gauge measurements is designed to document flooding in a neighborhood with limited resources. In addition to helping residents make informed choices, these data will also provide a means by which we can evaluate our flood models that will be used to create highly detailed flood maps of the neighborhood. We are working with two historic extreme-precipitation events: Hurricane Irma (2017) and Tropical Storm Fay (2008)—both of which produced excessive flooding in the area. What might the local flooding look like, in the future, as storms become wetter? To find out, we plan to simulate these two storms in both present-day and future climate conditions. What will heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, feel like in the future? What impact will this have on energy consumption? The station data will also be used develop and test building energy-efficiency tools designed to help the community identify affordable ways to reduce energy consumption, as well as to produce high-precision urban heat island (heat stress) maps that account for the impact of individual buildings. The heat island and building energy modeling will be complemented by a drone equipped with an infrared camera, which will provide an observation baseline. We think that a “best methods” approach is proactive, informed and cost-effective. The foundation of good decision-making, assessment and planning is built on data (model and observations), which are critical to adequately addressing the impact of climate on our communities.

Steven Lazarus, Ph.D.

Areas of Expertise

Climate Change
Hurricanes
Wind and Waves
Data Assimilation
Gigantic Jets
Coastal Meteorology

About

Dr. Steven Lazarus' research interests are varied and include data assimilation, electrical phenomena such as gigantic jets, surface layer meteorology and wind/wave interactions.

He has authored or co-authored 30 peer-review articles and has had two dozen proposals funded for more than $2 million combined. Over the past decade Dr. Lazarus has reviewed more than 30 articles and/or proposals and has served on both NASA and National Science Foundation panels.

He has graduated 8 Master's students and more recently two Ph.D. students. Dr. Lazarus is currently supervising a Ph.D. student who is funded under a NIST grant involving the impact of wind loading on residential structures.

Dr. Lazarus is principal investigator on a SECOORA grant involving the installation and operation of a coastal (wind and wave) radar system in east-central Florida.

He presently serves as an academic member representative for the University Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a consortium that includes 120 North American universities with programs in meteorology to hydrology, oceanography, atmospheric chemistry, climate science and more.

Media Assets

Media Appearances

Meteorologists: Hurricane season will wrap up quietly

Tampa Bay Times  

2021-10-17

Hurricane season started with fear-inducing fury, but there’s a chance the final six weeks close with a feeble whimper. You never want to tempt Mother Nature, especially after 2021 became the seventh consecutive year to have a named storm before the June 1 start of hurricane season.

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Wanted Weeds: Early Signs Positive for Living Docks Program

Florida Tech News  

2021-01-20

The team will also take part in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, led by principal investigators Nezamoddin Kachouie, mathematical sciences associate professor, and ocean engineering and marine sciences professor Steven Lazarus, that was awarded to Florida Tech. They will continue the work for the next three summers, where undergraduate students will examine how algal blooms and climate change may impact the filtration abilities of the biofouling organisms.

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Record-breaking arctic blast to spare South Florida; Gulf Coast freeze possible

TCPalm  

2019-11-12

Florida Institute of Technology professor Steven Lazarus gave this example: “You get cold fronts that have air behind them that originates from more of an oceanic source, like the Pacific. “That, you can imagine, is not as cold as air that originates, say, in North-Central Canada.”

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Education

University of Oklahoma

Ph.D.

Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

1996

University of Oklahoma

M.S.

1990

Florida State University

B.S.

Meteorology

1985

Social

Selected Articles

Distinguishing Characteristics of the Tropical Cyclone Gigantic Jet Environment

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

2021

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Extracting nearshore wave properties from video: A new method for coastal estuaries

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

2020

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First Observations of Gigantic Jets From Geostationary Orbit

Geophysical Research Lettters

2019

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Affiliations

  • American Meteorological Society : Member
  • American Geophysical Union : Member

Accomplishments

Russell L. DeSouza Award

2018

For service and activity in the Geoscience Community