WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Ten: 6-10 November 2006

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Rains prove costly and deadly -- A series of storms have produced flooding rains and beach erosion with at least two deaths in the Northwest [USA Today] while the East Coast struggled under flash floods and swollen rivers from a heavy rain producing system there. [USA Today]
(Thurs.) Earth appears a tiny "pale blue dot" -- An image recently displayed to astrobiologists was from the Cassini spacecraft and shows planet Earth as a tiny "pale blue dot", using the words of the late astronomer Carl Sagan. In order to determine if a planet is livable, the astrobiologists need to determine if the planet contains carbon dioxide and water vapor. [NASA JPL]
(Thurs.) Study of Hurricane Isabel reveals intensity clues -- Scientists with the Hurricane Research Division of the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory claim that they have a better understanding of the role that small-scale circulation regimes within a hurricane's eyewall has upon the intensity of the hurricane, based upon their analysis of data collected from Hurricane Isabel as it intensified to Category 5 status over the North Atlantic in 2003. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Expanded World Ocean Database released -- Last week, NOAA officials announced that an expanded collection of scientific information pertaining to the world ocean, such as larger ocean temperature data set, has been released on the internet by the National Oceanographic Data Center as World Database 2005. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Pessimistic view of water availability seen for western Nebraska -- The area manager for the US Bureau of Reclamation recently reported that water levels in the reservoir system of the North Platte River in southeastern Wyoming and the Nebraska Panhandle continued to decline over the last few years and he expects little improvement in the foreseeable future. [US Water News Online]
(Thurs.) Cost of watermaster program is an issue -- A battle is being raised over control of California's 82-year old watermaster program that monitors water use by ranchers and farmers primarily in the northern sections of the state. [US Water News Online]
(Thurs.) Model to predict organizational response to extreme events is developed -- Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Washington are developing a dynamic computer model of organizational processes that could be used to predict how the culture of an organization, such as FEMA or the Coast Guard, affects its response to an extreme event, such as Hurricane Katrina. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]
(Tues.) NASA snow data helps manage buffalo herd -- Scientists from California State University Monterey Bay, Montana State University and the National Park Service are using NASA satellite and computer modeling efforts, along with information obtained from the US Department of Agriculture, to help Yellowstone National Park officials better manage the park's bison herd by identifying where and when snow accumulates in the park. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Reduction of chemicals in tap water attainable with a filtering pitcher -- Researchers at the Université Laval have found that an activated-carbon filtering pitcher represents the most effective means for reducing the concentration of chemicals formed as byproducts in the disinfection process of tap water. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Learning to snowplow without snow -- The Iowa Department of Transportation is now using a snowplow simulator that allows many of its snowplow operators to become trained for snow-removal operations on the state's highways before this upcoming winter season. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Salt water could help ease drought problems in China -- Government officials in China have announced plans that would desalinate more seawater in an effort to provide more usable water for the residents of the nation, which has many areas suffering from extended drought. [ENN]
(Tues.) Partnership leads to marine debris removal -- A multi-agency effort that included personnel from NOAA, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources recently removed more than 13 tons of derelict fishing gear from the fragile coral reefs within the new Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) What goes around, comes around -- Greenpeace has found a huge, swirling vortex of plastic debris in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The plastics are thought to be mainly from land pollution but also from ship jettisons. The debris causes a threat to sea life of being eaten or carrying invasive species. [CNN News]
Eye on the tropics -- In the western Pacific, Typhoon Cimaron moved erratically across the South China Sea last week. Viet Nam was spared a hit. [USA Today] This typhoon had previously been a supertyphoon with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, prior to making landfall on Luzon in the northern Philippines, where 19 people were killed. An image from the Japanese MTSAT-1 satellite late last week showed Typhoon Cimaron moving toward the southwest over the South China Sea. [NOAA OSEI] Earlier, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite showed Supertyphoon Cimaron before it made landfall on Luzon. [NASA Earth Observatory]
One hurricane forecast appears to be holding true -- While the more well known hurricane experts at the National Hurricane Center and Colorado State were predicting an active 2006 hurricane season earlier this past summer, scientists at North Carolina State University had made a forecast of a less active season based upon a unique method for analyzing Atlantic water temperatures. This forecast, which predicted five or six hurricanes and one or two land falling hurricanes, now appears to be more accurate. [USA Today]
Historic tropical cyclone tracks are plotted -- NASA scientists, along with their NOAA colleagues are conducting research into hurricane formation and the possible relationship between global change and the number of tropical cyclones. Such research involves building a global climatology of tropical cyclones, such as a seen by a map showing the tracks of all tropical cyclones over the last 150 years. A newly updated Earth Observatory’s fact sheet, Hurricanes: The Greatest Storms on Earth, is available. [NASA Earth Observatory]
North Sea roughened by stormy weather -- An image obtained early last week from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows the white glint due to whitecaps and murky coastal waters of the North Sea off Denmark that were stirred by a storm system that traveled across the region, accompanied by hurricane-force winds (at least 74 mph). [NASA Earth Observatory] This storm sank a Swedish ship, with the loss of one life and stranded horses in the Netherlands. Rescuers were able to rescue a herd of approximately 100 horses that were marooned in flooded fields of northern Netherlands at the end of last week. Earlier, a storm surge had pushed waters of the North Sea into the fields occupied by the horses. [USA Today]
Flooding is deadly in Turkey -- Torrential rains across predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey last week claimed the lives of as many as 38 people, including seven children. [USA Today]
Return of Lake Erie dead zone to be studied -- Researchers at the University of Michigan recently received a grant from NOAA that will be used to fund a 5-year study of why dead zones, with oxygen-depleted waters, have returned to Lake Erie, which could result in distress for the fishery and tourism industries. [NOAA News] [University of Michigan]
Dead zone departs the Oregon coast -- Researchers at Oregon State University recently reported that the large "dead zone" containing low levels of oxygen in Pacific Ocean waters off the Oregon coast earlier this late summer and early fall appears to have dissipated due to a shift in wind patterns over the region from the north to the south. [Seattle Times] [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.

Concept of the Week: Water in Microclimates

Water is an important component of Earth's planetary-scale climate system, playing a key role in the global radiation balance (e.g., the greenhouse effect) and large-scale transport of heat (e.g., latent heat transfer and ocean currents). The global climate system exhibits considerable spatial variability so that Earth is a mosaic of many climate types and water is often an important factor in distinguishing between individual climates. Hence, for example, the climate of a desert differs from that of a rainforest primarily because of differences in precipitation totals and potential evaporation rate.

Climate (long-term average atmospheric conditions) also varies on smaller spatial scales. Here, we consider examples of how the local water and heat energy budgets vary on the scale of microclimates, having horizontal dimensions from less than 1 m to 100 m (3.3 ft to 330 ft) and vertical dimension from Earth's surface to an altitude of 100 m (330 ft).

All other factors being equal, afternoon air temperatures tend to be lower over an irrigated farm field than over a non-irrigated field. Where soils are wet, more of the available heat is used to evaporate water (latent heating) leaving less to raise the temperature of the soil surface and overlying air (sensible heating). In the Northern Hemisphere, snow tends to persist longer and the growing season is shorter on the shaded north- and east-facing hill slopes (facing away from the sun) than on south- and west-facing slopes (facing the sun). In portions of the Rocky Mountains, the sunnier, drier, and warmer south-facing slopes are sparsely vegetated by grasses, ponderosa pine, and juniper. Meanwhile, dense stands of fir and spruce grow on the shaded, moist, and cooler north-facing slopes.

Trees, sand dunes, buildings and other obstacles slow the wind and reduce the wind's ability to transport material (including soil particles) in suspension. Farmers take advantage of this effect by constructing shelterbelts (or "windbreaks") that reduce wind erosion of soil and modify the microclimate. A shelterbelt may consist of a fence or multiple rows of trees or bushes planted upwind of an agricultural field--usually oriented perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. In the winter, snow-bearing horizontal winds slow as they encounter a shelterbelt. The wind's ability to transport snow diminishes and snow accumulates on the field immediately downwind of the shelterbelt. The air spaces within a snow cover make it a relatively poor conductor of heat so that the snow cover protects the underlying soil from deep penetration of subfreezing temperatures. In areas where winter wheat is grown, the snow cover protects the dormant plants from potentially damaging fluctuations in soil temperature. Snow trapped by shelterbelts also increases the local supply of soil moisture that becomes available during the spring thaw. Furthermore, slowing the wind reduces the evaporation of soil moisture. Significant increases in crop yields can be attributed to the microclimatic effects of shelterbelts.

Climatic contrasts are also evident between forested and non-forested areas. Wind speed diminishes considerably within a forest--as much as 60% to 80% at a distance of only 30 m (100 ft) into a deciduous forest. Weaker winds coupled with reduced solar radiation reaching the forest floor (due to the forest canopy) decreases the amount of evaporation from the forest floor. However, the relatively high rate of transpiration by forest vegetation more than compensates for the reduction in evaporation from the forest floor. Overall, the air in a forest tends to be somewhat more humid than the air over a nearby non-forested area. Even tall field crops such as corn have a similar effect on the microclimate.

Concept of the Week: Questions

In the Northern Hemisphere, snow is likely to persist longer on the shaded [(north-) (south-)] facing slope of a hill.
The relatively high humidity in forested areas is primarily the result of relatively high [(precipitation) (evaporation) (transpiration)] occurring in forested areas.

Historical Events:

6 November 1994...Downtown San Francisco, CA was drenched with 6.19 in. of rain in 24 hrs to set an all-time record for the city.
6-13 November 1969...Severe ice storm between Quebec City and Manicouagan River power dams in Quebec caused over $1.5 million damage to transmission lines and towers. Over 30 transmission towers under construction were brought down. (The Weather Doctor)
8 November 1876...Two days of rain dumped 4.9 in. on Fredericton, New Brunswick. The rail line near Lawrence Station was washed out causing the derailment of the morning St. John-Fredericton run. (The Weather Doctor)
8 November 1914...On this date the longest "official" rain-free time span on record for the U.S. of 767 days ended in Bagdad, CA. Some meteorologists question the accuracy of this record kept by railroad employees at that time. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
9 November 1913...The "Freshwater Fury," a rapidly deepening extratropical cyclone, caused unpredicted gales on the Great Lakes. Seventeen ships, including eight large ore carriers on Lake Erie sank drowning 270 sailors. Cleveland, OH reported 17.4 in. of snow in 24 hrs, and a storm total of 22.2 in., both all-time records for that location. During the storm, winds at Cleveland averaged 50 mph, with gusts to 79 mph. The storm produced sustained winds of 62 mph at Port Huron, MI, wind gusts to 80 mph at Buffalo, NY and buried Pickens, WV under three feet of snow. (9^th-11^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
9 November 1932...An unnamed hurricane struck Cuba, with winds reaching approximately 210 mph at Nuvitas. However, a storm surge was the main killer of 2500 of the 4000 residents of Santa Cruiz del Sur. Essentially no storm records exist, as the observer drowned, with records and instruments washed away. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
9-11 November 2001...More than the average month's total (3.7 inches) of heavy rains fell on Algiers, Algeria in just a few hours. The resulting massive floods and mudslides devastated northern Algeria and killed more than 700 people causing nearly $300 million worth of damage. (The Weather Doctor)
10 November 1835...A severe storm crossed the Great Lakes with 19 ships lost and 254 sailors killed. (Intellicast)
10 November 1975...Another "freshwater fury" hit the Great Lakes. A large ore carrier on Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald, sank near Crisp Point with the loss of its crew of 29 men. Eastern Upper Michigan and coastal Lower Michigan were hardest hit by the storm, which produced wind gusts to 71 mph at Sault Ste Marie, MI and gusts to 78 mph at Grand Rapids, MI. Severe land and road erosion occurred along the Lake Michigan shoreline. A popular hit song by Gordon Lightfoot was inspired by the storm. (David Ludlum) (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
Editors note: In 2000, the National Weather Service Forecast Office at Marquette, MI created a web page commemorating the 25^th anniversary of the sinking and describing the advances in marine weather forecasting over the last quarter century. EJH
10 November 1993...Violent storm over the Black Sea closed the Russian oil terminal port of Novorossisk for 20 days. "Bora" winds reported as high as 112 mph sank at least seven ships. (The Weather Doctor)
11 November 1099...Violent storm in the North Sea killed 100,000 people in England and The Netherlands. (The Weather Doctor)
12 November 1956...(date approximate) The crew on the icebreaker USCGC Glacier saw what may have been the world's largest iceberg. Observed about 150 miles west of Antarctica's Scott Island, the iceberg was about 60 mi wide by 208 mi long, or roughly the size of Maryland. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
12 November 1968...New England was battered by the third severe coastal storm in only 5 days. An intense low crossed Long Island and produced wind gusts to 100 mph at Block Island, RI. Tides ran 5 to 10 ft above normal in some places with severe coastal flooding and property damage. Rockland, ME recorded a wind gust of 86 mph. Winds reached 90 mph in Massachusetts. Up to 10 in. of snow fell at some of the higher elevations, bringing the totals for the three storms to as much as 60 in. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
12 November 1974...A great Alaska storm in the Bering Sea caused the worst coastal flooding of memory at Nome, AK with a tide of 13.2 ft. The flooding caused $12 million damage; however, no lives were lost. (David Ludlum)
12 November 1980...A fringe rain band from Hurricane Jeannie in the Gulf of Mexico let loose a deluge of 23.38 in. of rain in 24 hrs at Key West, FL, an all-time 24-hr record. (Intellicast)

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