DATASTREME WES WEEK TWELVE: 19-23 APRIL 2004

• A busy fire season foreseen -- Fire experts warn that the continuation of severe to extreme drought conditions across the western Plains and the Rockies would indicate that the region should be at risk for another above-average wildfire season. [USA Today]
• Low water level along the Platte River -- The extended drought across the West along with meager snowpack in the Rockies have meant that flow rates along the Platte River through Nebraska are running at levels much lower than typical for the spring. Climatologists with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln foresee low water levels to continue through the summer. [US Water News Online]
• Saharan dust could affect hurricanes --Using satellite technology to track the spread of dust from Africa's Sahara Desert, a NOAA researcher recently reported that the dust laden Saharan Air Layer could affect the development and intensity of hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin. [NOAA News]
• El Niño predictable? Researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory report that they have developed a forecast method based upon the analysis of more than a century-long record of sea surface temperatures and an improved computer model that would allow them to make better predictions of an El Niño event up to two years in advance. [USA Today]
• Drought and heat took its tool in eastern Europe -- While attention was focused upon the record heat wave that caused more than 19,000 deaths across Europe last summer, a major drought in sections of central and eastern Europe have reduced water levels in lakes and tributaries to the Danube River to the lowest levels in more than a century. The low water levels have resulted in problems for transportation and industry across the Danube watershed. [ENN]
• Efforts made to recreate inviting river habitats -- In an effort to comply with the federal Endangered Species Act, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been creating more than 1200 acres of new habitat for the endangered pallid sturgeon along the Missouri River. [ENN]
• Plans to reroute a river scrapped-- The newly installed Spanish government has indicated that it will scrap the controversial plans to divert Spain's longest river, the Ebro, through pipelines to provide water for the arid southern sections of the country. [ENN]
• Polar clouds remove meteoric iron -- Scientists at the University of Illinois and the University of East Anglia have found that polar mesospheric clouds at altitudes of approximately 52 miles during the summer appear to remove meteoric iron from the Earth's mesosphere as the iron particles adhere to ice crystals at temperatures approaching -125ºC. [EurekAlert!]
• Cruise ships asked to cleanup dumping practices-- Environmentalists have been pressuring several of the large cruise lines to cleanup sewage and wastewater dumped by their cruise liners in an effort to protect marine habitats and human health. [US Water News Online]
• More desalination plants could pose a problem--Environmentalists are concerned that plans for the construction of more desalination plants near Boston, MA could result in damage to delicate aquatic ecosystems, especially along tidal estuaries. [Yahoo! News]
• 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: Change in the Earth System

In 1881, Henri Louis Le Chátelier (1850-1936) formulated a general law of chemistry: "If a system at equilibrium is subjected to a stress, the equilibrium will shift in an attempt to reduce the stress." This reasoning provides insight into the behavior of systems. The interaction of subsystems within the Earth system involves the transfer of mass and energy. A stress or disturbance of a subsystem will thus affect the other subsystems to varying degrees.

The final week of the course is an appropriate occasion for us to revisit and reflect on the paradigm that guided our investigation of water in the Earth system and to consider how this system will react to stresses resulting from both natural and human disturbances.

The burning of fossil fuels appears to be a major contributor to the increased amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Le Chátelier would describe this anthropogenic increase as a stress on the system. By altering the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activity may be modifying climate on a global scale. The Earth system and its various interdependent subsystems may respond to this disturbance by shifting to a new climate state. The interdependency of Earth's various subsystems and biogeochemical cycles implies that such a shift will have implications for the distribution of water within the global water cycle and for fresh water resources (e.g., changes in glacial ice cover, sea level, drought frequency).

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. After completing DataStreme WES, I now understand the global water cycle as a flow of [(mass) (energy) (both mass and energy)].
2. After completing DataStreme WES, I now understand that human activity [(may) (may not)] impact the Earth system with implications for the water cycle and water resources.

• 20 April 1952...The tankers Esso Suez and Esso Greensboro crashed in a thick fog off the coast of Morgan City, LA. Only five of the Greensboro's crew survived after the ship burst into flame. (David Ludlum)
• 24 April 1987...Showers and thunderstorms produced heavy rain in the Middle Atlantic Coast Region. Up to 7 in. of rain drenched Virginia in three days. Morgantown, WV received 4.27 in. in 24 hours, and flooding was reported in south central West Virginia. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 24 April 1990...The Bogan River forced many residents to the second floors of two story buildings as the river topped sandbags protecting Nyngan, New South Wales, Australia. All of Nyngan was flooded to a depth of up to 20 ft in 4 to 6 hours and all 2500 residents were evacuated by helicopter or bus on the 25^th. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 24 April 1995...Up to 6 in. of snow fell on the summits of Mauna Kea (13,796 ft elevation) and Mauna Loa (13,680 ft) on Hawaii's Big Island. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 25 April 1984...A late season snowstorm struck the Northern Rockies and the Northern Plains. The four-day storm that ended on the 28^th produced some unusually heavy snowfall totals. The town of Lead, located in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, was buried under 67 in. of snow. Red Lodge, located in the mountains of southern Montana, reported 72 in. of snow. Up to 60 in. blanketed the mountains of northern Wyoming. This storm was rated the worst late season storm of record for much of the affected area. (25^th-28^th) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)

Return to DataStreme WES Homepage

URL: DSWES/news.html

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.