Profile:

Vargas holds a BS Environmental Earth System Science from The City College of New York. Before joining NOAA CESSRST, she was a Hydrologic Trainee at the US Geological Survey. In that role, she sampled numerous water bodies across for microbial bacteria, and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOAs). Her career interests involve studying the impacts of climate change on the water cycle, specifically, how it impacts riverine ecosystems and society.

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NERTO Research Project Title:

BRIDGING THE GAP” BETWEEN ENGINEERING AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT

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NERTO Project Details :

Engineers across all disciplines: civil, environmental, etc., play a critical role in helping our communities become more resilient to current and future coastal hazards. However, the highly specialized and technical nature of their work means that they are often not as engaged as they could or should be in coastal management decisions. The goal was to identify and explore opportunities to increase this engagement, with a focus on a new coastal decision-making product from NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management.

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NERTO Outcomes:

I learned how to use StoryMaps and also how to create ArcGIS maps using NOAA components such as sea level rise layers from NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer

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Value of NERTO to the Line Office:

The project provided NOAA with better directions on future engagement opportunities with the engineering community. This report also provided the office of coastal management information that helps partners and constituents a better understand of NOAA’s Adapting Stormwater Management for Coastal Floods product.

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NERTO Skills:

MATLAB, ArcGIS, OSHA 10-hour Safety, Communication, Leadership