DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ELEVEN: 15-19 November 2004

• Fish sing with Charley -- Oceanographers at the University of South Florida report that as Hurricane Charley approached and moved across southwest Florida, fish in Charlotte Harbor increased their production of spawning sounds that were detected by the scientists' hydrophones. [Science Daily]
• Arctic ice cap melt could have some advantages -- While many scientists foresee grave environmental problems associated with the melting of the arctic ice cap, some experts feel that the opening of the Arctic would be advantageous by permitting development of a new shipping route that would be reasonably safe from terrorism. [TerraDaily]
• Recovery of an anchor -- The US Coast Guard along with the NOAA Navigational Response Team 2 recently recovered the anchor from the US Coast Guard Cutter Barque Eagle that was lost in the St. Johns River during a maneuver at Jacksonville, FL. [NOAA News]
• Honors for NOAA aviation -- The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in Tampa, FL was recently honored by top NOAA officials in recognition of the center's surveillance of this season's large number of hurricanes using "hurricane-hunter" aircraft. [NOAA News]
• Killer whales in danger -- A group of concerned scientists and tour boat operators have been discussing how to implement a recovery plan in an attempt to save a species of orca (or killer) whales in Alaska's Prince William Sound that have declined in number since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. [ENN]
• Award to aid in study of marine phytoplankton -- A marine microbiologist at the University of Washington has recently received a $4.1 million award to study marine phytoplankton at the DNA level using new molecular tools. [EurekAlert!]
• Symposium to feature plate tectonics -- A four-day symposium at the University of Houston this weekend will honor an early pioneer in plate tectonics, Professor Kevin Burke, and provide a forum for presentations on the subject. [EurekAlert!]
• Impacts of rises in sea level studied -- An earth science professor at Rice University has been studying seafloor cores extracted from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to assess the effects that rising seas can have upon the US Gulf Coast. [EurekAlert!]
• Extinction of benthic species studied -- An international group of scientists have been studying the loss of marine organisms in the mud on the floors of the world's ocean and pondering the consequences of this decline in global biological diversity. [EurekAlert!]
• Ancient marine invasion studied -- Geology professors at Penn State University and the University of Georgia report that their study of fossils from a 450 million year old fossil bed near Cincinnati, OH reveals a relationship between local and global diversity of species. [EurekAlert!]
• International marine survey targets coral death -- Researchers are conducting the Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building project, the largest international assessment of ocean disease, to understand coral reef ecosystems and the ocean borne diseases that threaten them. [Cornell University]
• Blame placed on demise of a tuna species-- The World Wildlife Foundation has responded to a report to be issued by the Advanced Tuna Ranching Technologies that blames the vulnerable Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks are being depleted because of illegal fishing and farming methods to produce tuna for the greater consumer demands in the United States and eastern Asia. [World Wildlife Foundation]
• Computer models assist in power restoration-- Computer models developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are aiding various organizations to include the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Assurance and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to plan for electric power restoration in areas hit by hurricanes that have made landfall. [Los Alamos National Laboratory]
• Another legacy of Florida's hurricanes -- Agricultural officials in Florida report that this season's hurricanes that hit Florida have resulted in one of the largest outbreaks of citrus canker to hit the Sunshine State. The hurricane-force winds blew the contagious bacteria onto at least 11,000 citrus trees in one southwest Florida county, and affected trees in five other counties. [ENN]
• Focusing on the Columbia River Estuary -- A group of scientists and environmental science professionals will convene next week in Portland, OR to discuss the environmental and biological aspects of the Columbia River and its estuary. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory]
• 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]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Living Coral and El Niño

El Niño episodes of 1982-83 and 1997-1998, the most intense of the century, confirmed the connection between higher than average ocean temperatures and bleaching of hermatypic corals. (Hermatypic corals live in warm shallow water and build large reefs.) Water temperatures higher than 29 °C (the normal maximum sea surface temperature in the equatorial eastern Pacific) can trigger expulsion of zooxanthellae, microscopic dinoflagellates whose symbiotic relationship with coral polyps is essential for the long-term survival of coral. Without zooxanthellae, coral polyps have little pigmentation and appear nearly transparent on the coral's white skeleton, a condition known as coral bleaching. If maximum temperatures are not too high for too long, corals can recover, but prolonged warming associated with an intense El Niño (that may persist for 12 to 18 months) can be lethal to coral. Most hermatypic corals thrive when the water temperature is 27 °C, but do not grow when the water becomes too cold. Although the ideal temperature varies with species and from one location to another, the temperature range for optimal growth is quite narrow-only a few Celsius degrees. This sensitivity to relatively small changes in water temperature is an important source of information on past climates as fossil coral is a significant component of many limestones. Evidence of bleaching episodes in fossil corals may yield important clues to past changes in the world's tropical ocean.

Coral, sometimes referred to as "the rainforests of the ocean," provides a base for local ecosystems and have many benefits (e.g., fisheries, tourism) that are important in many parts of the globe. Hence, vulnerability to El Niño-associated warming is an object of considerable scientific interest. During the 1997-98 El Niño, NOAA charted significant coral bleaching from portions of the Great Barrier Reef near Australia, French Polynesia in the south Pacific, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya, and around the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Closer to home, coral bleaching was reported in the Florida Keys, the Cayman Islands, and off the Pacific coast of Panama and Baja California. Fortunately damage from the 1997-98 El Niño warming was less drastic than the 1983-84 El Niño when up to 95% of the corals in some locations died. Many of the corals damaged in the late 1990s have at least partially recovered including important reefs in the Florida Keys. For additional information on coral status go to the NOAA website http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. Most hermatypic corals thrive at an ocean water temperature of [(10) (27)] °C.
2. Corals [(can) (cannot)] recover from bleaching if high ocean water temperatures are not long lasting.

• 15 November 1860...The light in the massive stone Minots Ledge Lighthouse, which was built on the original site of the one lost in 1851, was exhibited. Work on the new lighthouse commenced in 1855 and was finished in 1860. "It ranks, by the engineering difficulties surrounding its erection and by the skill and science shown in the details of its construction, among the chief of the great sea-rock lighthouses of the world." (USCG Historians Office)
• 15 November 1888...The Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist, Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was born on this date. He was known for his studies of the physics, chemistry, and biology of the oceans. He died in August 1957. (Today in Science)
• 15 November 1854...In Egypt, a royal concession from Said was made that ultimately permitted construction of the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. (Wikipedia)
• 17 November 1820...Captain Nathaniel Palmer, USN, became the first American to see Antarctica. He saw the Palmer Peninsula, which was later named after him. (Wikipedia)
• 17 November 1869...The Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas, was officially inaugurated in Egypt with an elaborate ceremony. (Wikipedia)
• 17 November 1973...The "Largest Icebreaker in the Western World," USCGC Polar Star, was launched. (USCG Historians Office)
• 18 November 1421...Wind-driven waves from an intense storm breached Dutch dikes on the Zuider Zee, sweeping away 72 villages. At least 10,000 people died in "St. Elizabeth's flood." (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 18 November 1929...A magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake centered on the Grand Banks off the south coast of Newfoundland broke 12 transatlantic telegraph cables and triggered a tsunami that destroyed many south coast communities on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula. (Wikipedia)
• 19 November 1493...The explorer Christopher Columbus became the first European to go ashore on modern day Puerto Rico one day after seeing it for the first time. At the time, he named the island San Juan Bautista. (Wikipedia)
• 19 November 1978...A waterspout came onshore to become a tornado near Muhio Wharf in Hilo Harbor on Hawaii's Big Island. Some industrial buildings lost their roofs. The proximity of the waterspout-tornado caused an airliner to change its landing approach to Hilo's airport. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 19 November 1996...The last component of the Confederation Bridge was placed that crosses the Northumberland Strait between Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island and Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick. This two-lane eight mile long bridge, which was opened in May 1997, is the longest bridge over ice covered salt waters in the world. Ice covers the strait for five months per year. (Today in Science)
• 20 November 1820...The 238-ton American whaler Essex from Nantucket, MA was attacked by an 80-ton bull sperm whale approximately 2000 miles off the western coast of South America. Of the 20 crew members that escaped in three open boats, only five survived the 83-day journey to the coastal waters of South America. The classic novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851) was inspired in part by the story of the Essex. (The History Channel)
• 21 November 1987...Truk Island (Federated States of Micronesia at 7.4 degrees N, 151.7 degrees E) was struck by the rapidly intensifying Tropical Storm Nina, as winds gusted to 95 mph. Five died, and most buildings were destroyed. A storm of such intensity so close to the equator is somewhat unusual. (Accord Weather Calendar)

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