Weekly Water News

Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES WEEK ONE: 6-10 September 2004

Water in the News:

Frances smashes into Florida -- A powerful and slow moving Hurricane Frances made landfall along Florida's Atlantic coast early Sunday morning. While the hurricane had lost considerable intensity from its peak earlier last week (falling from a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph to a Category 2 with winds of 105 mph), winds caused damage along the coast. Wind driven waves on top of a storm surge also caused some damage to coastal structures. In addition to the winds, Frances was also accompanied by heavy rain that produced localized flooding. [CNN] Earlier on Friday and Saturday, Hurricane Frances crossed the Bahamas, accompanied by winds in excess of 105 mph. At least two fatalities were reported as a result of the hurricane, along with one missing person. [CNN]

Analyzing Frances from space -- A variety of sophisticated sensors onboard the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite have been obtaining a three dimensional picture of Hurricane Frances as it moved toward the Florida coast. [ESA]

More fierce hurricanes foreseen -- A meteorologist with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center recently stated that an increasing trend is apparent in the Atlantic Basin toward more powerful and larger hurricanes and tropical storms. He attributes some of this trend to a combination of natural cycles and to rising ocean temperatures. [CNN]

Satellites detect red glow from plankton -- Oceanographers from the University of South Florida reported that they have been able to detect the early stages of a phytoplankton bloom by interpreting the fluorescence data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) mounted onboard two of NASA's polar orbiting satellites. [NASA GSFC]

Monitoring lake levels from satellites -- Analysts at the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service have been using data obtained from sensors onboard NASA's satellites to monitor water levels of the world's large inland lakes and reservoirs, with the ultimate goal of managing irrigation and improved forecasting of crop production. The satellite-based sensors were originally designed to track the heights of the ocean surfaces. [NASA GSFC]

Conservationists sue over endangered fish habitat -- Several conservation groups have sued the US. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Secretary of the Department of Interior with failure to designate critical habit in the Southeastern States as required by the Endangered Species Act for protection of two endangered fish species [ENN]

Causes of desertification studied -- Researchers with the University of Louvain and the Land Use and Cover Change International Project recently reported that a limited group of variables appears to drive dryland degradation (or desertification), to include climatic factors leading to reduced precipitation along with institutional, policy and economic factors. [American Institute of Biological Sciences]

Asian farmers could be sucking continent dry -- The head of one of the International Water Management Institute's groundwater stations in India claimed that the unregulated expansion of deep wells and improved pumps in Asia could suck the underground water reservoirs dry, leading to dire consequences. [ENN]

Better flood forecasts through nonlinear math -- An environmental engineer at Temple University has been employing new mathematical techniques to produce analytical solutions of nonlinear equations that describe the flow of water through soil in an attempt to improve flood forecasting. [EurekAlert!]

Catalysts to neutralize groundwater contaminants -- Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new type of molecule that appears to serve as a catalyst that could stimulate a variety of chemical reactions which would modify the chemical structure of organohalides, a variety of pollutants in groundwater. [EurekAlert!]

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]

Global Water News Watch -- Other water news sources can be obtained through the SAHRA Project at the University of Arizona [SAHRA Project]

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some water-related experience that you would like to share with other WES participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Touring the WES Homepage

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

Welcome to DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES)! You are embarking on a unique teacher-enhancement experience that focuses on water and energy flow in the global water cycle from an Earth system perspective. Throughout this learning experience, you will be accessing the WES Homepage frequently to obtain and interpret a variety of environmental information, including the latest observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the WES Homepage.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Water News that includes Water in the News(a summary listing of current events related to water), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to water in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past hydrologic events such as major floods). When appropriate, Supplemental Information will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the WES Homepage to access and download the second part of weekly Investigations A & B (plus supporting images) that begin in your WES Study Guide. These materials should be available by noon (Eastern Time) on Tuesday and Thursday. Click the appropriate buttons to download and print these electronic components of the investigations as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the WES Homepage provides links to the Earth System, Atmospheric, Oceanic (Inland Seas), and Terrestrial Information, and extras--glossaries of terms, maps, educational links, and WES information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let's take a quick tour to become more familiar with the WES Homepage.

Under Atmospheric Information, click on Water vapor (WV) Satellite. This is the latest satellite depiction of atmospheric water vapor at altitudes generally between 3000 and 7000 m (10,000 to 24,000 ft). Press your "back" button and then click on Latest WV Animation to view the movement of water vapor and clouds in the atmosphere. Although water vapor is an invisible gas, satellite technology makes it possible for us to "see" and follow the flow of water vapor in the atmosphere as part of the global water cycle. Bright white blotches are clouds; black indicates areas of very little or no water vapor and, at the other extreme, milky white signals a relatively high concentration of water vapor. Use the "back" button on your viewer to return to the WES Homepage.

The flow and transformations of energy are fundamental aspects of the global water cycle. Heat flows within the Earth system from where it is warmer to where it is colder. In this regard, it is useful to monitor temperatures remotely, by satellite. For a global view of the satellite-derived pattern of sea-surface temperatures, click on Sea Surface Temperatures under Oceanic (and Inland Seas) Information. Note that the color scale at the bottom is in degrees Celsius and temperatures are averaged over a 7-day period. (Depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Return to the WES Homepage.

As part of the global water cycle, precipitation that reaches the ground vaporizes back into the atmosphere, runs off into rivers and streams, seeps into the ground, or is stored in lakes or glaciers. Under Terrestrial Information, click on River Flood Conditions for the recent status of river levels monitored at various gauging stations around the nation. Note that in the Map Legend, river stage heights are compared to flood stage values. Now return to the WES Homepage.

Extras include color photographs arranged by week (chapter) to supplement your study of the WES textbook. For example, click on Chapter 1 and then click on the first thumbnail for an enlarged image with the caption, "Water in Three Phases."

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the WES Homepage. You may want to "bookmark" this page on your computer. Return frequently to get into the flow of DataStreme WES!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest WV Animation indicates that clouds and water vapor generally move from [(west to east)(east to west)] across the nation.
In the tropical Pacific, the highest sea-surface temperatures occur in the [(western)(eastern)] portion of the ocean basin.

Historical Events

6 September 1667...A "Dreadful hurricane" hit Virginia with 12 inches of rain. It overturned houses, stripped the fields of crops and pushed tides 12 feet above normal. (Intellicast)
6 September 1992 (date approximate)...A downpour of rain near Bombay, India caused stampede of worshippers at a temple dedicated to Varuna, god of rain. Eleven people died. (Accord Weather Calendar)
7 September 1970...A lightning bolt struck a group of football players at Gibbs High School in Saint Petersburg, FL, killing two persons and injuring 22 others. All the thirty-eight players and four coaches on the field were knocked off their feet by the lightning discharge. (The Weather Channel)
8 September 1900...The greatest weather disaster in U.S. records occurred when a hurricane struck Galveston, TX. Waves fifteen feet high washed over the island demolishing or carrying away buildings, and drowning more than 6000 persons. The hurricane destroyed more than 3600 houses, and total damage was more than thirty million dollars. Winds to 120 mph, and a twenty-foot storm surge accompanied the hurricane. Following the storm, the surf was three hundred feet inland from the former water line. The hurricane claimed another 1200 lives outside of the Galveston area. (8^th-9^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
Editor's note: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posted a webpage commemorating the Galveston, TX hurricane of 1900. This page contains links to historic photos and excerpts of an eyewitness description of storm by the chief forecaster of the Galveston U.S. Weather Bureau Office.
9 September 1921...A dying tropical depression unloaded 38.20 inches of rain upon the town of Thrall in southeastern Texas killing 224 persons. The 36.40 inches that fell in 18 hours represents a record for the United States. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
10 September 1900...Elk Point, SD received 8.00 inches of rain that set a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the state. (NCDC)
10 September 1919...A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. (David Ludlum)
10-11 September 1963...A 24-hour rainfall record for the northern hemisphere was set at Paishih, Taiwan, as 49.13 inches of rain fell as the result of Typhoon Gloria. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
10 September 1965...Hurricane Betsy slammed Louisiana with wind gusting to 130 mph at Houma, resulting in 58 deaths and over 17,500 injured. The storm surge and flooding from torrential rains made Betsy the first billion-dollar hurricane with losses exceeding $1.4 billion.
10 September 1976...Kathleen was the first tropical cyclone to hit southern California since 1939. A wall of water cut a 700-foot wide gap some 40-foot deep at the Myer Creek Bridge on I-8. The 4 to 6 foot wall of water also destroyed 70% of the homes in Ocotillo. Five people were killed and more than 160 million dollars in damage were sustained. (Accord Weather Calendar)
11 September 1900...The remnants of the Great Galveston Hurricane move across southern Ontario. In the Niagara Peninsula and along the Lake Erie shore, apples, pears and peaches ready for harvest are ripped from the trees; half the crop, about $1,000,000 in value, is destroyed. (The Weather Doctor)
11 September 1961...Very large and slow moving Hurricane Carla made landfall near Port Lavaca, TX. Carla battered the central Texas coast with wind gusts to 175 mph, and up to 16 inches of rain, and spawned a vicious tornado (F4 on the Fujita tornado intensity scale) which swept across Galveston Island killing eight persons and destroying 200 buildings. A storm surge of up to 18.5 feet inundated coastal areas and Bay City was deluged with 17.1 inches of rain. The hurricane claimed 45 lives, and caused 300 million dollars damage. The remnants of Carla produced heavy rain in the Lower Missouri Valley and southern sections of the Upper Great Lakes Region. (David Ludlum) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
11 September 1976...Up to five inches of rain brought walls of water and millions of tons of debris into Bullhead City, AZ via washes from elevations above 3000 feet. Flooding caused more than three million dollars damage. Chasms up to forty feet deep were cut across some roads. (The Weather Channel)
11 September 1997...An all-day rain with 0.4 inches in 9 minutes fell over the Boise Mountains in Idaho. A 15-foot high wall of mud and debris breached six flood-control dams and washed over a golf course in the north end of Boise. Most of the damage was to roads and the golf course, with some damage to 12 homes. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
11-12 September 1976...Japan's 24-hour rainfall record was set as 44.80 inches of rain fell at Hiso in Tokuhima Prefecture as a result of Typhoon Fran, which also was responsible for 167 deaths in Japan. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
12 September 1775...The Independence Hurricane caught many fishing boats on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland killing 4,000 seamen, most from Britain and Ireland. (The Weather Doctor)
12 September 1857...The S.S. Central America sank while in the midst of a hurricane off the North Carolina coast after beginning to take on water the previous day (11^th). Approximately 400 people on board were lost, the greatest single loss from a commercial ship due to a hurricane. (Accord Weather Calendar)
12 September 1960...Hurricane Donna made landfall on central Long Island and then tracked across New England. Wind gusts reached 140 mph at the Blue Hills Observatory in Milton, MA and 130 mph at Block Island, RI. MacDowell Dam in New Hampshire recorded 7.25 inches of rain. Although a record tide of 6.1 feet occurred at the Battery in New York City, elsewhere fortunately the storm did not make landfall at the high tides so its effects were minimized. This was the first hurricane to affect every point along the East Coast from Key West, FL to Caribou, ME. (Intellicast)
12 September 1979...Hurricane Frederick smashed into the Mobile Bay area of Alabama packing 132-mph winds. Wind gusts to 145 mph were reported as the eye of the hurricane moved over Dauphin Island, AL, just west of Mobile. Frederick produced a fifteen-foot storm surge near the mouth of Mobile Bay. Winds gusted to hurricane force at Meridian, MS even though the city is 140 miles inland. The hurricane was responsible for five fatalities and was the costliest in U.S. history causing 2.3 billion dollars damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)