Weekly Water News

WES PREVIEW WEEK: 28 August-1 September 2006

Water in the News:

(Thur.) Ernesto heads north -- Tropical Storm Ernesto crossed Florida and headed north along the Atlantic coast on the way to the Carolinas. Although a moderate storm, the area is bracing for heavy rains and beach erosion. [USA Today]
(Thur.) A satellite view of a "rock glacier" -- A false-color image produced from data collected by the ASTER instrument (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) on board NASA's Terra satellite captures a rare "rock glacier", a mixture of rock and ice, on the 12,660- foot Mount Sopris in the Elk Mountains of western Colorado. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thur.) Changes in mountain climate important for predicting water resources -- Scientists at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have found the glaciers have been growing in the western Himalayas and adjacent mountains that form the Upper Indus Basin, an important finding as more than 50 million Pakistanis depend upon the meltwater from recent snows and the glaciers for irrigation. Unlike the receding glaciers in the eastern Himalayas, those in the Upper Indus Basin appear to be responding to increased precipitation along with falling summer temperatures. [Newcastle University]
(Thur.) Wetlands burning due to climatic change could release mercury -- Researchers at Michigan State University and the US Geological Survey report that large scale changes in climate could make the northern wetlands of North America more susceptible to more frequent and larger wildfires that would release sequestered mercury compounds into the environment. [Michigan State University]
(Thur.) Lake and ocean sediments could give newer view of atmospheric oxygen history -- Scientists from the US, Canada and Japan have analyzed the sulfur isotope ratios from ancient sediments extracted from lake beds and ocean floors, concluding that significant levels of atmospheric oxygen could have existed more three billion years ago, earlier than what was previously thought. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Water is now scarce for one-third of world's population -- A report released last week by an international partnership called "Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture" states that currently, one in three people experiences some type of water scarcity, a situation that most forecasts thought would only arrive in 2025. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Breaching a dam restores coastal wetlands --Portions of a century-old earthen dam were removed last week and ocean water flowed into wetlands in the Bolsa Chica area of southern California as part of the restoration efforts. [ENN]
(Tues.) New buoys are deployed for tsunami warning -- The National Weather Service announced that the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Research Vessel Blue Fin has deployed four new DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) buoys and upgraded to existing DART stations in Alaskan waters. Currently the DART system, which now includes 19 stations, provides real-time detection and warning of tsunami waves traveling across open waters. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Nitrogen may be a major factor in Gulf's "dead zone" -- A scientist at Louisiana State University claims that the results of his model indicates that nitrogen compounds washed down the Mississippi River appear to be the major factor in development of a large "dead-zone" with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast that result in diminished marine life. [US Water News Online]
(Tues.) Another view of the oil spill along the Lebanese coast -- Images made by a sensor onboard the IKONOS commercial polar-orbiting satellite in early August and in late December 2001 to capture different sun angles can be used to see the oil spill into the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Beirut caused by the damage to a power plant during the recent military conflict between Israel and Lebanon. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Eye on the tropics --- As of Sunday afternoon several named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical waters and attain tropical storm or hurricane intensity) were being tracked:
- In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Depression Debby, the fourth named tropical system of the 2006 North Atlantic hurricane season had begun curving toward the north after earlier moving to the west-northwest. As of early Sunday evening (local time), this system was weakening and it was located 1300 miles to the west-southwest of the Azores. This system had formed last Monday, intensified to a tropical storm before weakening on Saturday.
  The fifth tropical low-pressure system, Tropical Storm Ernesto, was moving northwestward across the Caribbean south of Hispaniola. This system formed last Thursday and briefly became the season's first hurricane on Sunday before weakening. A visible image obtained from sensors on NOAA's GOES-12 satellite at the end of last week shows Tropical Depression 5 in the eastern Caribbean before intensifying into Tropical Storm Ernesto. [NOAA OSEI]
- In the eastern North Pacific basin, a tropical depression that had been former Hurricane Ileana, the ninth named tropical cyclone of the season in that basin, was moving northwestward off Mexico's Baja California. This system formed early last week and intensified to become a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity Scale on Thursday before weakening. A visible image from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite shows Hurricane Ileana late last week with a characteristic spiral structure and center eye. [NASA Earth Observatory]
- In the western North Pacific basin, just to the west of the International Dateline, Supertyphoon Ioke, was moving westward as system of intensity equivalent to a category 5 hurricane. This system had formed early last weekend south of the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific basin (between 140 degrees west longitude and the Dateline), where it was named as the first hurricane of the season in that basin.
Flood relief efforts hampered by weather in Ethiopia -- More heavy rain along with floodwaters and mud impeded relief and rescue efforts in southern Ethiopia, where thousands of residents were marooned by the floodwaters due to recent excessive rainfall totals. As many as 626 people have died during August because of the flooding across the African nation. [USA Today] Dams were opened on Ethiopian rivers in hope of preventing dam failures due to high water. [USA Today]
Active typhoon season leaves millions of Chinese homeless -- The official Chinese news agency recently reported that four major typhoons (counterparts of hurricanes in the western North Pacific) caused heavy damage to southeastern China and forced more than 15 million residents to relocate. [USA Today]
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.

Concept of the Week: Touring the WES website

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 DataStreme WES website 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 DataStreme WES website.

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 DataStreme WES website to access and download the second part of weekly Investigations A & B (plus supporting images) that begin in your DataStreme WES Investigations Manual. 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 DataStreme WES website 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 website.

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 DataStreme WES website.

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 DataStreme WES website.

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 DataStreme WES website.

Extras include color photographs arranged by week (chapter) to supplement your study of the DataStreme 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 DataStreme WES website. 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

28-30 August 1839...A hurricane moved from Cape Hatteras, NC to offshore New England. An unusual feature of the hurricane was the snow it helped produce, which whitened the Catskill Mountains of New York State. Considerable snow was also reported at Salem, NY. (The Weather Channel)
28 August 1898...Torrents of rain accompanied by a furious wind upset the rain gage at Fort Mohave, AZ. However, water in a wash tub set out on the mesa, clear of everything, measured eight inches after the 45-minute storm. (The Weather Channel)
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 August 1966...As much as 3.78 in of rain fell in one hour at Porcupine Mountain, Manitoba. (The Weather Doctor)
28 August 1971...Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Doria caused devastating floods in central and northeast New Jersey resulting in 138 million dollars damage. Newark set an all-time 24-hour record of 7.84 inches. The Princeton area had 11 inches in 36 hours. In southeastern Pennsylvania, high winds downed trees and power lines, and in New York City, heavy rains flooded streets and subways. Doria made landfall on western Long Island with wind gusts of 75 mph in southern New England. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
28 August 1988...Tropical Storm Chris spawned a tornado near Manning, SC, which killed one person, and spawned three tornadoes in North Carolina. Chris produced one to two foot tides, and three to six inch rains, over coastal South Carolina. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
29 August 1583...The Delight was wrecked on Sable Island, Nova Scotia during a heavy gale, blinding rain and thick fog. This was Canada's first recorded marine disaster, taking 85 lives. (The Weather Doctor)
29 August 1979…Winds associated with Hurricane David reached 145 mph as the hurricane crossed the island of Dominica. The capital city, Roseau, was devastated, with 56 fatalities and 60,000 out of a population of 80,000 left homeless. About three-quarters of the coconut and banana crops were destroyed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29 August 1988...The remnants of Tropical Storm Chris drenched eastern Pennsylvania with up to five and a half inches of rain, and produced high winds that gusted to 90 mph, severely damaging a hundred boats in Anne Arundel County, MD. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
29 August 2005…Hurricane Katrina, the costliest and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in US history, made landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast southeast of New Orleans as a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale after reaching category 5 status. Massive destruction was reported in coastal Mississippi and in New Orleans. As many as 1833 people reportedly died from Katrina in the US. (National Hurricane Center)
30 August 1942…A hurricane weakened in moving 160 miles across south Texas from landfall at Matagorda to San Antonio, winds still gusting from 50 to 70 mph at San Antonio for more than five hours. Seventy of 75 planes were damaged at the city airport. Many trees were destroyed, but the famed Alamo's walls withstood the storm. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
30 August 1982...A tropical depression brought torrential rains to portions of southern Texas. Up to twelve inches fell south of Houston, and as much as eighteen inches fell southeast of Austin. The tropical depression spawned fourteen tornadoes in three days. (David Ludlum)
31 August 1885...A record 71-day dry period began at Calgary, Alberta. (The Weather Doctor)
31 August 1889...Los Angeles, CA set two rainfall records as 0.61 inches fell, the 24-hour and monthly records for August. (Intellicast)
31 August 1954...Hurricane Carol, the first of three hurricanes to affect New England that year, slammed into eastern New England. Wind gusts exceeded 120 mph on the south coast. Block Island, RI reported a gust to 130 mph. Boston, MA reported sustained winds of 86 mph with a gust to 100 mph. Tides were 10-15 feet above normal. Providence, RI was inundated by a near record high tide. Sixty lives were lost and damages totaled 450 million dollars. The severity of this storm was only topped by the 1938 Hurricane. (Intellicast) (David Ludlum)
31 August - 2 September 1967...Storm surge and winds from Hurricane Katrina partially destroyed San Felipe, Mexico leaving 2500 people homeless and sinking 60 vessels. (The Weather Doctor)
31 August 1993...Hurricane Emily lashed the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Hatteras NWS Office recorded a gust of 98 mph and was deluged with 7.51 inches of rain. Sound water levels rose to 10.5 feet above normal north of Buxton and 8.5 feet above normal in the villages of Frisco and Hatteras. Diamond Shoals coastal marine buoy recorded sustained winds of 103 mph with gusts to 148 mph after the eye passed. (Intellicast)
1 September 1923...A typhoon swept over the Tokyo, Japan metropolitan area, followed by an earthquake that evening. Typhoon winds fanned fires set by the earthquake. As many as 143,000 people died in the multi-disaster. (The Weather Doctor)
1 September 1914...The town of Bloomingdale, MI was deluged with 9.78 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record for the Wolverine State. (31^st-1^st) (The Weather Channel) (NCDC)
1 September 1988...Thunderstorms produced heavy rain in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Ely, MN was drenched with three inches of rain in two hours, and pelted with one-inch hail. The heavy rain flooded streets and basements, and the high water pressure that resulted blew the covers off manholes. (The National Weather Summary)(Storm Data)
1-2 September 1935...Perhaps the most intense hurricane ever to hit the U.S. struck the Florida Keys with sustained winds of over 155 mph with gusts exceeding 200 mph. On the 1^st, the "Labor Day Hurricane" formed rapidly over the Bahama Islands and intensified into a Category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir Simpson Scale) with sustained winds of over 155 mph and gusts exceeding 200 mph. On the next day, this hurricane generated a fifteen-foot tide and waves thirty feet high, as it became the first known Category 5 hurricane to hit the US Mainland. More than 400 persons perished in the storm on that Labor Day, including many World War I veterans building a bridge from the Keys to the mainland. The barometric pressure at Matecumbe Bay, FL hit a record low for the U.S. at 26.35 inches (or 892 millibars). (David Ludlum) (The Weather Doctor)
3 September 1821...A hurricane made landfall at Long Island, near the current J.F. Kennedy Airport, then moved through western Connecticut. The hurricane produced a record high tide at New York City. (David Ludlum)
3 September 1970...During the early evening hours, in the midst of a severe hailstorm at Coffeyville, KS, a stone 17.5 inches in circumference and 1.67 pounds in weight was recovered. At the time, it was the largest measured hailstone in U.S. weather records. Average stone size from the storm was five inches in diameter, with another stone reportedly eight inches in diameter. (David Ludlum)