WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

1-5 February 2010

ITEMS OF INTEREST

"Climate Kids" website launched -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently unveiled a new "Climate Kids" Web site designed to help youngsters, especially in grades 4 through 6, understand climate change. This new website is meant to complement NASA's award-winning "Global Climate Change" and the "Space Place" websites designed for adults. [NASA JPL]
Visualization of scientific data gets a boost -- NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the computer search engine company Google have signed a cooperative research and development agreement that outlines the procedures to be taken for their collaboration in creating state-of-the-art visualizations of scientific data designed to illustrate how planetary processes to both the scientific community and the public. [NOAA News]
New agricultural land cover data products released -- The US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service recently announced that a series of new satellite images, identified as "cropland data layers" had been released that depicted the agricultural land cover across much of the nation during 2009. These data sets are of use to geoscientists for assessing land use changes, water resources and carbon emissions. [USDA]
Interesting videos -- Several one to two-minute videos display interesting facets of nature:
A two minute video that shows a drop of water falling into a puddle at 2000 frames a second. You will see something totally unexpected.
http://www.flixxy.com/water-drop.htm
A super cooled water video where supercooled water at a temperature of -6 degrees Fahrenheit is poured into a bowl as a liquid, but forms a slush with ropelike peaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSPzMva9_CE
Dolphins blowing bubble rings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q
[Editor's note: Special thanks are extended to Rusty Kapela, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Forecast Office at Milwaukee-Sullivan. EJH]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

New world's fastest wind record -- Officials with the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Commission for Climatology recently ruled that a wind gust that was measured at 253 mph on Australia's Barrow Island on 10 April 1996 during Tropical Cyclone Olivia has gained the distinction of being the world's fastest measured wind gust outside of a tornado. This new record eclipses the record of 234 mph measured at the Mt. Washington Observatory atop New Hampshire's 6288-foot Mt. Washington set on 12 April 1934. [AMS Blog] [Mount Washington Observatory] [Arizona State University/WMO World Weather/Climate Extremes Archive]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Arctic melt season lengthens -- Scientists from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center have assembled several images from data collected from several US satellites that document the lengthening of the continuous Arctic sea ice melt season by nearly one week between 1979 and 2007. across described another way Arctic sea ice is changing: the summer melt season is getting significantly longer. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Satellite view of a hurricane formation region -- An image made from data collected by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite shows the Cape Verde Islands in the tropical Atlantic Ocean off the western African coast, a region known for the development of those Atlantic Ocean hurricanes known as "Cape Verde hurricanes." Scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have participated in the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities (NAMMA) experiment in 2006 to study the dynamics involved with the formation of these hurricanes. [NASA GSFC]
Updates on the nation's new environmental satellites:
- NASA officials have announced that the next geosynchronous satellite to be launched for environmental monitoring, designated as GOES-P (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) has been scheduled for launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, 1 March 2010. Once tests have been successfully run on the orbiting satellite, operations of the satellite will be turned over to NOAA. [EurekAlert!]
- Part of the instrument package, called the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), is being developed for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project spacecraft. [NASA GSFC]
An All-Hazards Monitor-- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]

CLIMATE FORCING

Changes in stratospheric water vapor plays major role in global warming -- Scientists from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, the University of Colorado and Switzerland's University of Bern report that based upon their analysis of data collected from satellites and balloon-borne instruments, the amount of water vapor in the Earth's stratosphere (at altitudes of approximately 10 miles about the surface) have decreased by approximately ten percent over the last decade after a rise in the 1980s and 1990s. They claim that this decrease in water vapor, the most important greenhouse gas, could be responsible for a slower increase in surface temperatures than originally predicted. [NOAA News]
Despite reduction efforts, potent greenhouse gas emissions increased -- A collaborative study involving NOAA and university scientists was recently released that reports an increase in the atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas HFC-23 (or trifluoromethane) during the last several years, even though international efforts have been made to reduce the emissions of the gas, which is more than three orders of magnitude more efficient at trapping heat within the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. [NOAA News]
Healing of the "ozone hole" could enhance climate warming -- Scientists at the United Kingdom's University of Leeds claim that efforts made to repair the "ozone hole", or the reduced levels of stratospheric ozone, could actually result in increased warming across the Southern Hemisphere. [EurekAlert!]
Study considers chemical reaction rates of greenhouse gases in upper atmosphere -- Georgia Tech researchers recently reported on their study of the reaction rates associated with the destruction of three greenhouse gas species in the upper atmosphere. These three gases, sulfuryl fluoride (SO₂F₂), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (SF₅CF₃), are reported to have high global warming potentials. [EurekAlert!]
Space age method developed to monitor peat lands -- Researchers at the United Kingdom's University of Exeter have developed a new technique for monitoring the condition of peat lands using a combination of images from satellites and aircraft laser scanners to measure spatial patterning in peat land surfaces. The disruption of the world's peat lands appears to be contributing to increased global temperatures because of the release of carbon compounds to the atmosphere. [American Society of Agronomy]
Increases in maximum wave height seen along the Pacific Northwest coast -- Researchers at Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries have seen a significant increase in the maximum ocean wave heights in coastal waters along the Pacific Northwest during the last several decades. These researchers attribute potential reasons for the increased maximum wave heights to changes in climate that would cause changes in storm, tracks, more intense winter storms, as well as to climate fluctuations such as El Niño events and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. [Oregon State University]

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE

Explaining the larger size of high-latitude animals -- Researchers from Texas A&M University, the University of Houston and the University of British Columbia using the results from a series of experiments have provided another plausible answer to the 163-year old ecogeographic observation known as "Bergmann's Rule" that animals at high latitudes have a larger mass than their tropical counterparts. The researchers propose that more nutritious vegetation is available to the animals at high latitudes. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE MODELING

Forest fire impacts on climate may be overestimated -- In research conducted in the Oregon Cascades, scientists from Oregon State University have concluded that some of the approaches used to calculate the impacts of forest fires upon climate have overestimated the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. [Oregon State University]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Charting sea level fluctuations for 2500 years -- Researchers at Israel's University of Haifa who studied the fluctuations in sea level in waters of Israel over the last 2500 years report that these changes can be attributed to a global cause due to changes in the volume of ocean water associated with climate-driven changes in ice sheets; to regional causes associated with vertical movements related to pressure associated with ice loading and to local causes associated with tectonic activity. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Results of forensic analysis of Katrina's impacts released -- A recent special edition of the journal Ocean Engineering has articles written by researchers including those who served on an Interagency Performance Evaluation Task force that provide a detailed forensic analysis of the impact that the 2005 Hurricane Katrina had upon the Gulf Coast, along with an overview of the lessons learned from this disaster, the most destructive natural disaster in US history. [EurekAlert!]
Nation's public opinion cools to global warming issue -- The results from a national survey conducted by researchers at Yale and George Mason Universities show that the American public's concern about global warming has decreased sharply since Fall 2008, along with a trust for public officials, the media and scientists. [George Mason University]
Actions for ecosystem management in a changing climate outlined -- The Ecological Society of America recently released an outline of strategies the society recommends that would focus on restoring and maintaining natural ecosystem functions designed to mitigate and adapt to climate change. [EurekAlert!]
Website for human dimensions of climate change -- An interagency effort within the US federal government that included NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, has resulted in a website called HD.gov (for HumanDimensions.gov) that provides users, such as natural resource managers, with information on the human dimensions on a variety of topics of interest such as climate change. [HD.gov]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: An Introduction to Course Structure

NOTE: This Concept for the Week is a repeat of that which appeared in last week's Weekly Climate News.

Welcome to DataStreme ECS (Earth's Climate System)! You are embarking on a unique teacher-enhancement experience that focuses on climate and climate change from an Earth system perspective. Throughout this learning experience, you will be accessing the DataStreme ECSwebsite frequently to acquire learning files and to obtain and interpret a variety of environmental information, including the latest observational data.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Climate News that includes Climate in the News (a summary listing of current events related to climate), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to climate), and Historical Events (a listing of past events). When appropriate, a feature called Supplemental Information-In Greater Depth will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

A weekly Current Climate Studies file will be posted by Monday morning every week as the course progresses. This is to be completed by course participants each week in combination with Investigations A and B delivered via the Investigations Manual.

Course Conceptual Structure:

In this first Concept of the Week, our topic focuses on the themes underlying the AMS Education Program's approach to climate science. DataStreme ECS (Earth's Climate System) is organized conceptually along two strands (a strand being a pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole) that are carried forward concurrently as the course of study proceeds. The primary strand is a systematic study of climate, climate variability, and climate change encompassing the fundamentals of modern climate science. These fundamentals include the spatial variations in climate as a response to many interacting forcing agents or mechanisms both internal and external to the Earth system. The DataStreme ECS course textbook, printed study guide, and course website deliver primary-strand learning experiences.

The second strand focuses on climate change and impacts primarily based on findings by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. DataStreme ECS shares a common goal with these entities of relying on the latest authoritative scientific information to inform decision making as society strives to develop effective policies in response to vulnerabilities arising from climate variability and climate change.

The main vehicle DataStreme ECS uses for treating the second strand is the series of Current Climate Studies that appear weekly on the course website as the course progresses. Delivery of the series in real time allows incorporation of the latest information about climate change and impacts.

Concept of the Week: Questions

(Each week you will be asked to respond to two questions relating to that week's Concept of the Week topic. Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.)

The [(primary)(second)] conceptual strand of this course focuses on the systematic study of climate, climate variability, and climate change.
The [(primary)(second)] conceptual strand of this course focuses on climate change and impacts primarily based on findings by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Historical Events:

1 February 1985...The temperature at Gavial, NM dropped to a state record low of 50 degrees below zero. The state record low temperature in Colorado of 60 degrees below zero was tied at Maybell. A station at Peter's Sink, UT reported a temperature of 69 degrees below zero, which set the all-time state record. (NCDC)
2 February 1951...The record low temperature for the state of Indiana was set at Greensburg when the mercury fell to 35 degrees below zero; this record was broken in January, 1994. (Intellicast)
2 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and a cross southern Florida. It produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd) (The Weather Channel)
2 February 1996...Extremely cold air covered the north-central U.S. Tower, MN dropped to 60 degrees below zero to set a new state low temperature record. International Falls, MN and Glasgow, MT both set records for the month of February with 45 and 38 below zero, respectively. Rochester, MN dipped to 34 below zero for its lowest temperature in 45 years. Green Bay, WI only reached 16 degrees below zero for the high temperature for the day, which is its lowest high temperature on record in February. Meanwhile, farther to the east, heavy snow fell across the mid-Atlantic region. Eighteen inches of snow was recorded at Rehoboth Beach, DE and 17 inches fell at Solomons, MD. Charleston, WV recorded 6.8 inches of snow for the day to bring its seasonal snowfall to 80.7 inches, the city's snowiest winter ever -- and still two months of winter to go! (Intellicast)
3 February 1917...Downtown Miami, FL reported an all-time record low of 27 degrees. Miami weather records date to 1911. (David Ludlum)
3 February 1947...The temperature at Tanacross, AK plunged to a record 75 degrees below zero. (David Ludlum) At Snag, Yukon Territory, the temperature fell to 81 degrees below zero, North America's lowest recorded official temperature (The Weather Doctor)
3 February 1996...Extremely cold weather persisted. Des Moines, IA dipped to 26 degrees below zero to tie its February low and broke its record for most consecutive hours below zero, which ended up being 132 hours. Milwaukee, WI also tied its record for lowest February temperature with 26 degrees below zero. The temperature at Tower, MN fell to 60 degrees below zero to set a new all-time state minimum temperature record for the Gopher State. The state record low was also tied in Iowa with Elkader reporting a frigid 47 below zero. Elizabeth, IL recorded 35 degrees below to tie the state lowest temperature record; this record has since been broken in January 1999. (Intellicast) (NCDC)
3 February 1997…Centralia, WA set the state record for consecutive days of measurable precipitation at 55 between 10 November 1996 and 3 February 1997. (The Weather Doctor)
4 February 1996...Frigid temperatures continued over the northern US and spread southward to the Gulf Coast. A cooperative observer near Couderay, WI reported a temperature of 55 degrees below zero, which set a new record low for the Badger State. This reading is also the lowest temperature ever recorded east of the Mississippi River. Amasa, MI checked in with 51 degrees below zero, which tied the record low for Michigan. Tulsa, OK had a morning low of 11 degrees below zero for its lowest temperature in 66 years. Muskegon, MI recorded an all-time low of 19 degrees below zero. La Crosse, WI completed it longest stretch of subzero temperatures ever (144 hours). The center of the frigid arctic high-pressure system moved over Louisiana, setting an all-time record high barometric pressure of 30.82 inches (1043.6 millibars) at Baton Rouge. (Intellicast)
5 February 1887...San Francisco, CA experienced its greatest snowstorm of record. Nearly four (3.7) inches were reported in downtown San Francisco, and the western hills of the city received seven inches. Excited crowds went on a snowball-throwing rampage. (David Ludlum)
5 February 1996...The "great arctic outbreak of '96" began to wind down, but not before one more frigid morning. Greene, RI reported a state record low temperature of 25 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
6 February 1933…The temperature at Oimekon, Russia fell to 90 degrees (Fahrenheit), tying the previous lowest recorded temperature in Asia set in 1892. (The Weather Doctor)
6 February 1933...The highest reliably observed ocean wave was seen by crew of the US Navy oiler, USS Ramapo, in the North Pacific during the night on its way from Manila to San Diego. The wave was estimated (by triangulation) to have a height of 112 feet. Average winds at the time were 78 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
6 February 1978...A massive nor'easter buried the cities of the northeastern U.S. The Boston, MA area received 25 to 30 inches in "The Great New England Blizzard of '78" By the time the storm ended late on the 7th, Boston had 27.1 inches of new snow to set an all-time single storm snowfall record. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
7 February 1892…The lowest temperature ever recorded to that time in Asia was reported from Verkhoyansk, Russia with a 90-degree below zero reading. This record was subsequently tied in 1933. (The Weather Doctor)
7 February 1989...The low of 43 degrees below zero at Boca, CA was a state record for the month of February. In Utah, lows of -32 degrees at Bryce Canyon, -27 degrees at Delta, -29 degrees at Dugway, and -38 degrees at Vernal were all-time records for those locations. (The National Weather Summary)

Return to DataStreme Earth Climate Systems website