18-22 December 2006

DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES) Water in the Earth System will return for Spring 2007 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 15 January 2007. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the winter break period.

• Detailed structure of hurricanes studied -- Scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory and Florida State University flew on NASA's ER-2 and NOAA's P-3 aircraft above a category 4 hurricane and collected atmospheric data using sophisticated instruments to measure atmospheric data as part of the Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes mission in Costa Rica. Their analysis of the data has focused on the detailed wind and temperature structure inside the hurricane. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Freshwater distribution on earth is inventoried from space -- Scientists from the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine have been analyzing five years of data obtained from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) to determine the distribution of freshwater in over 50 river basins around the entire globe. Several river basins in Africa have lost water during the last five years, while the Mississippi and Colorado Basins in the US have shown increased storage. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Deadly mudslides detected from space -- Images obtained from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer onboard NASA’s Terra satellite last week shows the mudslides on the flank of the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines that developed because of torrential rain and resulted in the deaths of approximately 1000 Filipinos at the end of November. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Satellite imagery of ice pack aid in study of walrus habitats -- NASA scientists have been collaborating with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska to determine if satellite imagery of the arctic ice pack is useful in studying the effect of recent large scale changes in climate has upon the habitat of the Pacific walrus in the Bering and Chukchi Seas along the western and northern coasts of the 49th State. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Changes in ice sheets are documented --- Polar researchers have been given the opportunity to monitor accurately the year-to-year changes in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets using a variety of highly sensitive remote sensing instruments that are flown onboard satellites and aircraft. The data allows the scientists to determine the mass budgets of the ice sheets. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Student applicants sought for undergraduate scholarship program -- NOAA officials recently announced the agency is accepting applications for the 2007 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program from students interested in pursuing degrees ocean and atmospheric sciences and education. Applications may be accepted through 9 February 2007. [NOAA News]
• Initial review of the weather and climate of 2006 -- In a recent press release, climatologists at the National Climatic Data Center issued their initial assessments of the weather across the nation during the nearly-concluded calendar year of 2006. They note that this year appears to be headed to become the third warmest for the coterminous US since 1895, when extensive nationwide climate records began. (Preliminary statistics point to an annual global temperature that would be the sixth highest since 1880.) These climatologists also indicate that this year was marked by a July heat wave that resulted in all-time record-breaking temperatures in the central and western half of the nation. They also noted that many areas of the country, especially across the Plains and West, experienced widespread drought for much of 2006, the result of below average precipitation, along with above average temperatures. However, above average rain from late summer through fall reduced the drought. The lack of early summer precipitation also resulted in a record year for wildfires. [NOAA News]
• Student submit their plans on fixing ocean and coastal problems -- Several groups of selected high school students recently met in Washington, DC at National Student Summit on Oceans & Coasts to present their plans to fix ocean and coastal problems in their communities. These students also received advice from NOAA scientists, ocean explorers, Congressional members and celebrities. [NOAA News]
• Drought information bill heads to the President -- The US Senate and House of Representatives have passed a bill that was sent to the President for his signature which would establish a National Integrated Drought Information System within NOAA aimed at improving drought monitoring and forecasting capabilities. [The Library of Congress Thomas]
• Water rights case argued in Idaho -- The Idaho Supreme Court recently heard arguments between canal companies and groundwater pumping irrigators in one of the most important water rights cases in two decades. [Idaho Statesman]
• Overconfidence in climate change projects could bias actions -- An international team of climate researchers cautions that apparent overconfidence in estimations of climate change may lead officials in governments and industries to inappropriate actions to respond to the potential future changes in climate. [EurekAlert!]
• Creeping desertification to be addressed -- A UN-sponsored Joint International Conference is being held this week in Algiers, Algeria that will have experts from 25 nations providing advice on how world policies can be developed to cope with the causes and the increasing consequences of creeping desertification. The UN had declared 2006 as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. [EurekAlert!]
• Australian rainfall could be affected by "Asian haze" -- A researcher with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) reports that the increased amounts of aerosols emitted due to increased economic activity in Asia appears to have increased tropical rainfall across northwestern and central Australia during the last half century because the haze cools the Asian continent and surrounding oceans, altering the flow of winds over the equatorial region between Asia and Australia. [CSIRO]
• Regional response to climatic change to involve an interdisciplinary view -- Environmental and computer scientists at the University of California, Davis are collaborating on a recently-funded Coast to Mountain Environmental Transect (COMET) project that will study the environment and the response of living organisms across central California running from the Pacific Ocean off Bodega Bay along the coast north of San Francisco eastward to Lake Tahoe in the Sierras. One of the goals of the interdisciplinary project is to determine the response of the region to climatic change. [University of California, Davis]
• Alpine ski resorts and regional economy affected by warm weather -- The warm fall and early winter along with the lack of snow have had an adverse affect upon the ski resorts and regional economy in the Alp according to a report prepared by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. [USA Today]
• Another look at snowflakes -- A researcher at Ritsumeikan University in Japan discusses some of his findings from 15 years of studying snowflakes. [EurekAlert!]
• Forecaster receives award for hail forecasts -- A weather forecaster at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Des Moines, IA received the regional Isaac M. Cline Award for developing and testing a comprehensive warning technique for identifying severe-sized hail. [USA Today]
• New studies of water properties has important applications -- A scientist at the University of Helsinki has been studying the properties of droplets containing a mixture of sulfuric acid and water at extremely low temperatures. Ice crystals did not form, even at these temperatures, which could have important implications in cloud physics and in cryopreservation. -- [EurekAlert!]

• Venus Express views the Venusian surface -- Data collected from the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) onboard the European Space Agency's Venus Express has provided scientists with a map of the surface temperature of the southern hemisphere of the planet Venus. This instrument used spectral windows that could penetrate the clouds and obtain data from the surface. [ESA]

• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes-- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, to include 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.

• 19 December 1967...The second heavy snow in a week brought a total of 86 inches of snow to Flagstaff, AZ with a record snow depth of 83 inches. Many homes, farm buildings and business structures collapsed from the weight of the snow. The snows inflicted great hardship on the Indian reservations. (Intellicast) (David Ludlum)
• 20 December 1990...Snow fell at Santa Maria, CA for the first time since records were kept. (Intellicast)
• 21 December 1892...Portland, OR was buried under an all-time record 27.5 inches of snow. (21^st-24^th) (The Weather Channel)
• 23 December 1811...A cold storm hit Long Island Sound with a foot of snow, gale force winds, and temperatures near zero. During the storm many ships were wrecked, and in some cases, entire crews perished. (David Ludlum)

Return to DataStreme WES Website

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2006, The American Meteorological Society.