L​os Angeles County in California is a densely populated area vulnerable to natural hazards such as flooding and wildfires. Our staff ​modified and applied the Integrated Vulnerability Assessment Framework developed by NOAA’s ​National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to assess the county’s climate vulnerability. Through partner and stakeholder engagement, the team used a series of maps to ​identify areas at risk of wildfires, projected ​coastal flooding, ​and other selected risks. The team then explored how those risks align with social​, structural, and environmental vulnerability. These maps and information are already supporting development of local climate action ​and sustainability plans. This work was supported by several staff on contract with two NOAA offices: the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and the Office for Coastal Management.

Map of Los Angeles Metro Area with purple, blue, and green coloring. A square shows low to high risk and vulnerability associated with those colors.
This map depicts areas where high vulnerability intersects with high risk in the Los Angeles Metro Area.

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Global map shows colors of red around the equator which slowly change to dark greens near north and south poles.

Advancing Severe Weather Predictions with Artificial Intelligence 

As artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies evolve in Earth sciences, CSS employee owners (formerly Riverside staff) are growing our expertise in this field. CSS employee owners are advancing technologies for our client, NOAA’s Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR). Our staff have developed a framework, exploiting modern AI/ML techniques, to rapidly…

A humpback whale swims along the water surface with blow spray hovering just above

Training Marine Mammal Programs to Use Drones to Collect Dolphin and Whale Respiratory Health Data

CSS employee owner and Marine Mammal Drone Specialist supports NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Marine Mammal Health Assessment team with collecting respiratory health data from marine mammals in local waterways. Using specialized drones equipped with petri dishes provides a non-invasive method to collect exhaled breath (i.e. blow) samples from dolphins and whales.…

Swirls of blue, green, and orange on a global map

Evaluating the Use of Earth Observations Digital Twin Technologies 

Earth Observations Digital Twin technologies are data analytics, artificial intelligence, and advanced modeling technologies that provide an estimate of the true state of the Earth. An Earth Systems Digital Twin is observations-based and grid-flexible with multiple components and high-resolution data over space and time to capture all available observations and feed a variety of direct…