Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES PREVIEW WEEK: 15-19 January 2007

Water in the News:

(Thurs.)Water and waxy surface almost mix -- University of Illinois and Argonne Laboratory scientists have determined that water molecules form a single molecule-thick layer on hydrophobic (water repelling) surfaces when water evaporates. This confirms long speculated behavior in water bonding as opposed to suggestions on nanobubbles in the layer. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Brazilian dam failure dumps mine waster into river -- The earthen dam at a bauxite mine in southeastern Brazil broke letting toxic mine wastes into the rivers supplying drinking water to Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states. [US Water News]
(Tues.) Utah and Nevada need to get along -- Utah and Nevada are negotiating for rights to draw on a Snake Valley aquifer for growing Las Vegas water needs. [US Water News Online]
Submarine earthquake does not generate major tsunami -- A major 8.2 magnitude earthquake occurred below the floor of the western North Pacific to the east of the Japanese archipelago on Saturday (local time) and produced a tsunami of four inches in Japan and one foot in the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Following the detection of the earthquake, tsunami warnings had been issued for many coastal locales along the rim of the Pacific. [CNN]
Ice storm cripples nation's midsection -- Cold air moving southward across the Plains at the start of this past weekend was responsible for the development of an ice storm, as ice from freezing rain accumulated on roads, trees and power lines. At least 14 people were killed by this storm, 12 due to a traffic accident on an icy highway in Oklahoma. The rain falling along the cold front passed into a shallow layer of cold air near the earth's surface and froze on contact with cold exposed surfaces, producing the freezing rain event. [USA Today] A visible image obtained by sensors onboard NOAA's GOES-12 satellite shows the clouds accompanying the cold front that stretched across the central and southern Plains, along with the Mississippi Valley. [NOAA OSEI]
Where is the snow? A map of snow cover generated by the NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center at the end of last week indicates many areas of the country that typically would have snow cover at this time of year are essentially bare of snow, while the western mountains, especially in Colorado and northern New Mexico, have above average snow cover from recent storms. [NOAA News] A visible image generated from data collected from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite one week ago shows the snow cover across Colorado, western Kansas, western Nebraska and southern Wyoming following the third major snowstorm in three weeks, just prior to more snowfall during this past week. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Skiing in Utah could become a memory -- Although the ski slopes in Utah have benefited from the recent winter storms, researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Boulder environment and energy research firm warn that by 2075 much of the precipitation could fall as rain and the noted dry and fluffy powder snow could become a hard and wet pack due to projected increased global temperatures. [USA Today]
Record Texas drought could ease -- In 2006, Texas ranchers and farmers experienced the worst single-year loss in livestock and crops, as a nearly two-year long drought continued across the Lone Star State. However, some forecasters are expecting relief with more precipitation anticipated during the upcoming year. [US Water News Online]
More tracking of the collapsed ice shelf -- Images were released that were made by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite before and after the 13 August 2005 collapse of the Ayles Ice Shelf on Canada's Ellesmere Island. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Monitoring vegetation and rainfall across the Sahel from space -- High resolution images of the vegetation and the rainfall across Africa's Sahel made by NASA satellites over nearly one quarter century are being used by researchers in the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies group at the Goddard Space Flight Center to assess the impact that variations of rainfall have had on this region south of the Sahara Desert. [NASA Earth Observatory]
You can touch it, but do not drink it -- Researchers from Dowling College, Cornell University and New York's Polytechnic University have developed a method to eliminate 100 percent of the microbes in water from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina using a simple water purification technique. While the treated water is clean, it is not drinkable at this time. [EurekAlert!]
Environmental impacts of aircraft deicers to be examined -- The US Geological Survey has been examining various formulations of chemicals used to deice aircraft in order to ascertain the relative the toxicity that these formulations have upon aquatic life. [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: Touring the DataStreme 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 warmer to colder regions. 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 National Streamflow for the recent status of streamflow monitored at various US Geological Survey gauging stations around the nation. Note that in the Map Legend, the current streamflow is compared to the percentiles of daily streamflow for the given day of the year based upon a historic data set for the station stretching back at least 30 years. 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

15 January 1932...Up to two inches of snow whitened the Los Angeles basin of California. The Los Angeles Civic Center reported an inch of snow, and even the beaches of Santa Monica were whitened with snow, in what proved to be a record snowstorm for Los Angeles. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
15 January 1952...A six-day snowstorm was in progress in the western U.S. The storm produced 44 inches of snow at Marlette Lake, NV, 52 inches at Sun Valley, ID and 149 inches at Tahoe CA, establishing single storm records for each of those three states. In addition, 24-hour snowfall totals of 22 inches at the University of Nevada and 26 inches at Arco, ID established records for those two states. The streamliner, 'City of San Francisco' was snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Range, near Donner Summit. (David Ludlum)
15 January 1988...A small storm over the Atlantic Ocean produced heavy snow along the coast of North Carolina. The five inch total at Wilmington NC was their third highest for any storm in January in 117 years of records. (National Weather Summary)
16 January 1831...A great snowstorm raged from Georgia to Maine. Snowfall totals greater than 30 inches were reported from Pennsylvania across southern New England. (David Ludlum)
16-17 January 1987...A winter storm spread snow from the Southern Rockies into the Middle Mississippi Valley and southwestern sections of the Great Lakes Region. A total of 61 inches of snow was reported at Rye CO and wind gusts to 100 mph in Utah. As the storm moved across the southern Plains, Tulia, TX received 16 inches of snow, up to 14 inches were reported in western Oklahoma and 12 inches fell at Wellington, KS. The storm also produced freezing rain across Texas and Oklahoma. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
16 January 1988...A small storm in the western U.S. produced a foot of snow and wind gusts to 70 mph in the Lake Tahoe Basin of Nevada. Showers and thunderstorms produced 2.28 inches of rain at Brownsville TX, their third highest total for any day in January. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
16 January 1990...Heavy snow fell across the Prince Williams Sound area and the Susitna Valley of southern Alaska. Valdez was buried under 64.9 inches of snow in less than two days, including a record 47.5 inches in 24 hours. Up to 44 inches of snow was reported in the Susitna Valley. The heavy snow blocked roads, closed schools, and sank half a dozen vessels in the harbor. (Storm Data)
17 January 1972...A single storm unloaded 77.5 inches of snow at Summit, MT to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)
18-22 January 1978...The Atlantic's first-ever January subtropical storm with tropical characteristics since records began in 1871 organized 1500 miles east-northeast of Puerto Rico. The storm finally dissipated on the 22nd approximately 200 miles north of Puerto Rico. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
19 January 1996...The tug Scandia and its barge, the North Cape, ran aground on the shore of Rhode Island, spilling 828,000 gallons of oil, resulting in the worst spill in that state's history. The Coast Guard rescued the entire crew, pumped off 1.5 million gallons of oil and conducted skimming operations. (USCG Historian's Office)
20 January 1493...Streets in Florence, Italy were blocked by snow and violent winds as a blizzard struck the city. (The Weather Doctor)
20 January 1606...As many as 2000 people died around the Severn Estuary in England as the result of severe flooding. (The Weather Doctor)
21 January 1863...A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rain on the Fredericksburg area of Virginia. It disrupted a Union Army offensive in an ill famed "mud march." (David Ludlum)
21 January 1880...Memphis, TN began construction of the first independent municipal sewage system in the U.S. (Today in Science History)