While the wood in the study was placed there by scientists, wood naturally finds its way into the ocean as dead trees fall into rivers and are swept out to sea, when storm debris is taken by surging waters and even from shipwrecks.
Mr. Sollohub says the destructive fallstorm that ravaged many parts of the state led school officials to question how the state's coastline and buildings should be reconstructed and how it could assist communities, residents and business owners as they rebuild.
After Sandy hit the Northeast last fall, New Jersey, then New York, had to begin even-odd rationing because the storm interrupted gasoline shipments for days.
While Isaac is likely to become a hurricane today, Fugate and Knabb urged those in the path of the stormto focus less on its particular classification and more on the storm's size and the potential for a storm surge that could reach 6 to 12 feet -- as well as record levels of rain fall.