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Article: GIS saves the trees: mapping the 1998 ice storm in Maine.
- Article from:
- Point of Beginning
- Article date:
- July 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In January 1998, a devastating ice storm hit northern New England, northern New York and eastern Canada. Unprecedented in its size, duration and severity, the storm deposited up to three inches of ice during five days of rain and freezing ground-level conditions. The weight of the ice downed trees, power lines, telephone poles and transmission towers, closing roads and knocking out power for weeks. Trees--depending on their species, general health and location-- sustained the greatest injury. Ice loading levered roots out of the ground, bent and tore out limbs, broke crowns and snapped trunks or split them top to bottom. Over 25 million acres of rural and urban forests ...