Surf's Up! (virtually)
Photo by Irene Fertik
International symbols indicate the availability of lifeguards, rest rooms, bike paths and boat rentals, and the suitability of a particular beach for swimming, diving, fishing and surfing.
The directions are printed in five languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese.
The cyber bay watch also provides addresses and, in some cases, telephone numbers for beaches from Point Dume in Malibu to Abalone Cove in Palos Verdes.
Beach lovers can "hang ten" - fingers, that is - on the home page for the Southern California Sea Grant, based at the university. Sea Grant is a nationwide network that conducts marine research, technology transfer and marine education with state, federal and university funding.
"You can download the information and print your own maps," said Grifman, Sea Grant's assistant director for outreach programs at USC.
Grifman conceived the project, which was assembled by graduate students in USC's Geographic Information Systems Laboratory. Part of the university's Department of Geography, the lab specializes in computerized mapping.
Plans call for expanding the beach guide by year's end to include visitors' information on beaches throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Organizers also hope to add photographs, safety tips and descriptions of geological formations and marine and plant life. The Web page already includes links to other sites with information on marine education and boating and mariner safety. But Southern California Sea Grant envisions installing links to additional Web sites of interest to ocean lovers, including reports on boating, fishing, tide and surfing conditions.
"The Southern California Sea Grant Guide to L.A. Beaches" has tidbits that may enlighten even savvy, resident beachcombers. For example, it shows entry points to beaches in the famed Malibu Colony, a star-studded strand commonly - but wrongly - believed to be private. Hiking opportunities in Palos Verdes, interpretive centers in Malibu and "pocket" beaches along Pacific Coast Highway are among the guide's other listings.
Organizers hope the beach guide will act as a teaser for other offerings on Southern California Sea Grant's home page, which includes descriptions of marine research and environmental projects.
"As one fo the largest groups of marine scientists in Southern California, we're on the cutting edge of marine research and we think the public could benefit from our work," said Douglas J. Sherman, director of Southern California Sea Grant and geography department chair. "Also, part of the Sea Grant philosophy is increasing public benefit from the coast. We believe that our Web services fulfill that mission."
The guide, which ultimately will encompass every beach from Leo Carrillo to San Clemente, replaces a popular line of printed pocket guide produced by Southern California Sea Grant. Since 1986, the project has provided tens of thousands of maps of Los Angeles and Orange County beaches to harbor masters, visitors' and convention bureaus, coastal conservancies and travel agents.
Hitting the beach? Check out the "Southern California Sea Grant Guide to L.A. Beaches" at http://www.usc.edu/dept/seagrant/seagrant.html
For more information, send email to Phyllis M. Grifman at seagrant@usc.edu
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USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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