Weekly Water News

Weekly Water News

WES WEEK ONE: 26-30 January 2003

Water in the News:

Lakers beset by ice at the Soo Locks -- Several ships that ply the Great Lakes have been nearly stranded by the ice that has formed along the St. Marys River and the Soo Locks (between the Michigan and Ontario communities of Sault Ste. Marie). The 2003 Soo Locks season had been extended and was closed on Sunday. [The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News]

Water detected on Mars -- The European Space Agency reported at the end of last week that the European orbiter Mars Express detected water ice near the south pole of the Red Planet. [CNN]

Montana lakes and streams have contaminated water -- A recently released report from the state of Montana states that approximately one half of all streams in the state and 80 percent of the lakes still considered contaminated. [US Water News]

Water-saving standards put on hold -- Rules mandating water-efficient washing machines in California have been removed from consideration by the California Energy Commission. Some estimates suggest that billions of gallons of water would have been saved annually in the water-starved state if these rules would have been enacted. [ENN]

Illegal dumping admitted -- A Connecticut based tanker ship operating company pleaded guilty last week to charges that it concealed illegal dumping of sludge and waste oil at sea and agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine. [ENN]

Antifreeze in high clouds? In a report co-authored by a scientist from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, increased concentrations of nitric oxide along with higher relative humidity have been measured in high clouds found at altitudes of approximately nine miles above the earth's surface. The scientists believe that the nitric oxide from jet exhaust and other sources may produce nitric oxide, which can serve as an antifreeze agent in these high-level ice crystal (or cirrus) clouds. [ENN]

Everglades conservation group to aid in Iraqi marsh restoration -- At the recently held annual Everglades Coalition conference, environmental groups that have been working to restore the Florida Everglades turned their attention to restoring the larger Mesopotamian marshes in Iraq that were almost completely drained under Saddam Hussein's regime. [ENN]

A perspective on long-line fishing -- An author from South Africa describes the toll that long-line fishing has had on the populations of various marine birds to include the albatross. [ENN]

Lack of adequate snow worries Denver water managers -- While many areas of Colorado have been receiving near average snowfall this winter, snow accumulations have been only half of normal in the South Platte watershed that supplies the Denver metropolitan area with approximately half of its water. Atmospheric scientists and water managers have been anxiously monitoring the weather patterns and snow pack, hoping that much needed snow will fall before the beginning of snowmelt in spring. [USA Today]

Aid provided to lobstermen -- The US Small Business Administration announced last week that a "nor'easter" storm that moved along the New England coast and devastated Massachusetts lobstermen in December was declared a disaster, making the lobstermen eligible for low-rate federal loans. [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.http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Concept of the Week: Touring the WES Homepage

Welcome to 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 using the WES Homepage to access 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 characteristics of the global water cycle. 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 have been 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!

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

26 January 1983...The California coast was battered by a storm, which produced record high tides, thirty-two foot waves, and mudslides, causing millions of dollars damage. The storm then moved east and dumped four feet of snow on Lake Tahoe. (22^nd-29^th) (The Weather Channel)
27 January 1966...Oswego NY was in the midst of a five-day lake effect storm that left the town buried under 102 inches of snow. (David Ludlum)
28 January 1883...Snowflakes "larger than milkpans" reportedly fell at Fort Keogh near Miles City, MT. The snowflakes, measuring 15 inches across and 8 inches in thickness, made patches of white on the fields within an area of several square miles. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
28 January 1969...A series of storms that battered Southern California from the 18^th to the 28^th led to $125 million damage in the Los Angeles Basin, along with approximately 9 storm and traffic-related deaths in California. Twenty feet of water covered Sherman Island, a region that contains more than 10,000 dike-protected agricultural acres, when a dike failed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29-30 January 1966... A hurricane that struck Samoa was responsible for 50 deaths, destroyed more than one-third of the homes and damaged the remainder. As many as 50,000 people were left homeless. Swains Island was leveled by the hurricane. Winds gusted to 100 mph at Pago Pago.(Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29 January 1983...A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the anomalous ocean-atmosphere phenomenon, "El Niño", produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high that ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movie stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony. (The Weather Channel)
29 January 1993...Africa's worst weather-related disaster during 1993 occurred as rains produced floods across the southeast lowlands of Kenya. A railroad bridge across the swollen Ngai Nedithya River collapsed as a train crossed, causing 104 deaths. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
30 January 1996...A snowfall of 6.4 inches on this day pushed the seasonal snowfall to 180 inches at Sault Ste Marie, MI. This set a new seasonal snowfall record for the city. The old record was 178.6 inches set in 1976-77. (Intellicast)
30 January 1997...Surf up to 12 feet, with sets to 15 feet, pounded the north and west shores of Hawaii. A wave swept 8 people into the ocean at Keane Point on Maui. Four tourists who were taking pictures of the waves drowned. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
31 January to 4 February 1814...Floes of ice in England's Thames River backed ice up behind the London Bridge, then froze together. The ice was sufficiently strong to support refreshment and entertainment stands for 5 days. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
31 January 1911...Tamarack, CA was without snow the first eight days of the month, but by the end of January had been buried under 390 inches of snow, a record monthly snowfall total for the U.S. (The Weather Channel)
31 January to 9 February 1947...A memorable blizzard crippled Saskatchewan. All highways into Regina were blocked. Railway officials declared this blizzard as producing the worst conditions in Canadian rail history. A train was buried in a snowdrift 0.6 mile long and 37 feet deep. (The Weather Doctor)
31 January 1963...Heavy rains fell across the Sierra. The Mt. Rose Highway Station near Reno, NV reported 7.13 inches of precipitation, which set a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for Nevada. This rain, combined with snowmelt, produced 3 to 4 feet of water that covered 30 blocks of downtown Reno. (NCDC) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

31 January 1988...Barge sank near Anacortes WA, spilling 70,000 gallons of oil.

1 February 1936...A rainfall of three inches in several minutes was followed by a hailstorm of jagged pieces of ice that killed 19 people in the Northern Transvaal area of South Africa. Hail was reported to accumulate to a depth of 3 feet. Some of those killed had to be dug out of the hail. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
1 February 1953...An intense low-pressure system 966 millibars (29.52 inches of mercury) swept across the North Sea. Wind speeds at Aberdeen, Scotland exceeded 125 mph. A storm surge of 13 feet, aided by a high spring tide, breached the dams in as many as 100 places along the Zuider Zee in The Netherlands, flooding 3.95 million acres or one-sixth of the country. More than 1800 deaths were attributed to drowning and 50,000 people were evacuated. In addition, this storm was responsible for the loss of 100,000 poultry, 25,00 pigs and 35,000 cattle. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
2 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida. It produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd) (The Weather Channel)
2 February 1976...Groundhog Day Storm, one of the fiercest Maritimes storms ever battered Bay of Fundy region around Saint John, New Brunswick with winds clocked at 118 mph, generating 39 foot waves with swells of 32.5 feet. (The Weather Doctor)