WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

24-28 August 2009

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Monitoring California's drought from space -- An image of Vegetation Anomaly made from data collected by the MODIS sensor on NASA's Terra satellite during a two-week span of July 2008 shows the impact that the three-year drought across central California has had upon the health of the Golden State's vegetation. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Satellite tracking of smoke from wildfires -- Images made by the MODIS sensor onboard NASA's Aqua satellite during the last week shows smoke emanating from wildfires across British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest [NASA Earth Observatory] and across the Magadan province of northeastern Russia. [NASA Earth Observatory]
NASA satellites contribute to hurricane research -- A feature article highlights the contributions that NASA's fleet of Earth-monitoring satellites make to the hurricane research program. This fleet includes the A-Train string of satellites, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, QuikSCAT, Terra, Jason-1 and OSTM/Jason-2. NASA also utilizes the data for hurricane research from the GOES satellites operated by NOAA. [NASA JPL] A summarization of the current North Atlantic hurricane season as seen from NASA satellites appears on the NASA Hurricane Page.
The Aqua satellite gets an orbital "tune-up" -- Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center recently conducted a correction of the orbit of the agency's polar orbiting Aqua satellite to compensate for some of the gravitational attractions that have caused the satellite to drift from its original orbit. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Improved "Eyes on the Earth 3D" on line -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently unveiled an improved and updated version of its "Eyes on the Earth 3D" that will permit users the opportunity to view the stream of data sent from NASA's fleet of orbiting satellites in essentially real-time basis, that would include data maps displaying ozone, sea level or carbon dioxide. [NASA JPL]
Finding northern India's vanishing water -- A team of hydrologists including those from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have employed data obtained from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) satellites to find that the dropping groundwater levels across northern India during the last decade appears to have been due to human activity. [NASA JPL]
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

Removing sulfur and carbon gases from power plant emissions -- Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been perfecting a new process called "reversible acid gas capture" designed to remove the climate-altering "acid gases" of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide gases from the emissions from power plants. This process also would use less energy and no water. [EurekAlert!]
Potential source of water in Earth's mantle identified -- Scientists from Oregon State University who developed a global three-dimensional map of electrical conductivity in the Earth's mantle report that the enhanced electrical conductivity in subduction zones along tectonic plates would indicate the possibility that water has been drawn downward into the mantle in these zones during the subduction zones. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

Stressed crops release unexpected amounts of methane -- Researchers at the University of Calgary have found that when crops are stressed by increased temperature, drought and ultraviolet radiation, some plant species will release more methane than previously expected, resulting in increased global warming due to the radiative properties of methane. [EurekAlert!]
Monitoring Africa's coastal mangrove forests -- An environmental scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a colleague have been using data collected by NASA's Landsat satellite, the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to measure the area, height and biomass of mangrove forests along coastal Africa in an attempt to save these valuable forests from the destructive effects of pollution, deforestation and commercial development. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

Fall outlook for nation released -- Forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center recently released their outlook for the upcoming three months of September, October and November 2009, which coincides with meteorological autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The outlook indicates that a large section of the Northeast, including New England, the Great Lakes States and a portion of the Middle Atlantic States, together with the Southwestern States and the Pacific Coast States should expect to experience a greater than average chance of above average temperatures. The rest of the 48 coterminous states could expect equal chances of below and above average autumnal temperatures. The Gulf Coast and sections of the central High Plains could have better than even chances of above average precipitation, while the interior Northwest appear to have high probability of below average precipitation for the next three months. Elsewhere across the nation, the forecasters called for equal chances of below and above average precipitation. [NOAA CPC]
More extreme rainfall anticipated -- Research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) indicates that the projected change in global climate during the 21st century would result in an increase in extreme precipitation events at various locations, especially in the tropics. [EurekAlert!]
Increased frequency of extreme summer heat anticipated -- Scientists at Climate Central, a nonprofit science and media organization, warn that their projections of future climate made by global climate models indicate an increased frequency of heat waves and extremely warm summer seasons across the nation by 2050 that would have a variety of societal impacts including heat stress mortality, crop damage and increased water demand. [Climate Central]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Global climate may have been altered by early agricultural practice -- Researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County report that massive slash-and-burn techniques conducted by early civilizations several thousand years ago to clear forests for agriculture may have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide sufficiently to alter the global climate and begin the warming trend that continues to date. [EurekAlert!]
A greenhouse gas helped make Earth habitable -- After studying sulfur isotopes in ancient rocks, researchers from Japan's Tokyo Institute of Technology and Denmark's University of Copenhagen have found that carbonyl sulfide, a product of volcanic activity, served as an excellent greenhouse gas to prevent planet Earth from becoming a massive snowball during the Archean eon (approximately 2.5 billion years ago) when solar output was approximately 30 percent less than currently. [University of Copenhagen]
Feeding mechanism for early marine organism proposed -- Geobiologists at Virginia Tech University have found that some of the oldest complex marine life forms of macroscopic size likely absorbed necessary nutrients through their outer membrane by osmosis for nourishment while living in nutrient-rich oceans more than 540 million years ago. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Economic savings could be incurred with targeted investments in climate science -- A press release jointly issued by the United Kingdom's National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the Walker Institute at University of Reading claims that targeted investments in climate science could result in economic savings of up to 20 percent in adapting to future climate for the United Kingdom and neighboring European countries. [National Centre for Atmospheric Science]
Climate change could deepen poverty in developing countries -- Researchers at Purdue University report that their study of the potential effects of extreme climate events such as drought, heat waves and heavy rain events in 16 developing countries indicates that the projected changes in climate could deepen the poverty of the world's poor populations. [EurekAlert!]
Homes are an underestimated water polluter -- In a study conducted in several counties of California, researchers found that the typical house produces approximately 50 percent more water pollution from fertilizer and pesticide runoff than previously thought, causing current runoff models to underestimate pollution. [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]
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]
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]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

24 August 1992...Hurricane Andrew slammed into south Florida, devastating the community of Homestead with 181-mph winds. With a central pressure at landfall of 922 millibars (27.22 inches of mercury), which at the time was the third lowest ever recorded in a hurricane at landfall in the United States. Camille (1969) and the Labor Day Hurricane (1935) were more intense. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina became the third most intense landfalling hurricane with a 920-millibar pressure reading (or 27.17 in Hg) when it reached the Louisiana Gulf Coast. (The Weather Doctor)
25 August 1910...The temperature at Bowen, MT dropped to 5 degrees, the lowest ever for the 48 states in August. (Intellicast)
25 August 1940...New Jersey experienced its coldest August morning of record, with lows of 32 degrees at Layton and Charlotteburg. (The Weather Channel)
25 August 1987...A new record for monthly rainfall was set at Chicago when a storm brought the total to 15.73 inches erasing the previous record for any month, which had been 14.17 inches in September, 1961 (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
26 August 1883...Krakatoa Volcano exploded in the East Indies. The explosion was heard more than 2500 miles away, and every barograph around the world recorded the passage of the air wave, up to seven times. Giant waves, 125 feet high and traveling 300 mph, devastated everything in their path, hurling ashore coral blocks weighing up to 900 tons, and killing more than 36,000 persons. Volcanic ash sent into the stratosphere was carried around the globe in thirteen days producing blue and green suns in the tropics, and then vivid red sunsets in higher latitudes. The temperature of the earth was lowered one degree for the next two years, finally recovering to normal by 1888. (David Ludlum)
26 August 1935...San Francisco, CA had their heaviest 24-hour rainfall for August when 0.25 inches fell. (Intellicast)
26 August 1989...Anchorage, AK was soaked with a steady rain, and the 24-hour total of 4.12 inches smashed their previous 24-hour precipitation total of 2.10 inches. It also pushed their rainfall total for the month past their previous record for August. (The National Weather Summary)
27 August 1948...Buffalo, NY hit its all-time maximum temperature of 99 degrees. (Intellicast)
27 August 1970...Elko, NV was deluged with 3.66 inches of rain in just one hour, establishing a state record. (The Weather Channel)
27 August 1973...The largest documented Canadian hailstone fell at Cedoux, Saskatchewan. The stone weighed 0.55 pounds and measured 4.5 inches across. (The Weather Doctor)
27 August 1986...A mix of snow, ice pellets and rain fell on Sault Ste. Marie, MI during the evening, the first time snow was observed in August since records started in 1888. (Intellicast)
27 August 1995...Remains of Tropical Storm Jerry unloaded 12.32 inches of rain in 24 hours in Greer, SC, a record for 24 hours, for a rain event and for August. At Antreville, 17.00 inches fell in 24 hours, setting a 24-hour rainfall record for the Palmetto State. (Intellicast)
28 August 1911...Saint George, GA was deluged with 18.00 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record that was subsequently broken by the current record of 21.10 inches in July 1994. (The Weather Channel)
28-29 August 1962...Hackberry, LA was deluged with 22 inches of rain in 24 hours, establishing a state record. (The Weather Channel)
29 August 1876...A torrential downpour inundated St John's Newfoundland with 173.2 mm (6.8 inches) of rainfall, the greatest single daily accumulation ever recorded in the province. (The Weather Doctor)
29 August 1965...The observatory on top of Mount Washington NH reported a snowfall of 2.5 inches of snow, a national record for the month of August. (The Weather Doctor)
29 August 2005...As Hurricane Katrina traveled across the northern Gulf of Mexico toward the Louisiana Coast, a reconnaissance aircraft determined that Katrina's minimum central pressure was 902 millibars (or 26.64 inches of mercury), the fifth lowest pressure ever recorded in an Atlantic hurricane. Katrina was also the third most-intense landfalling hurricane in US history based on a minimum landfall pressure of 920 millibars (or 27.17 inches of mercury). (The Weather Doctor)
29 August 2007...With its high temperature pegged at 113degrees, Phoenix, AZ set a new record of 29 days with 110 degree or higher temperatures. (The Weather Doctor)
30 August 2000...The temperature rose to 111 degrees at the North Little Rock Airport, setting a new record for the hottest temperature ever observed at the location. (The Weather Doctor)

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