Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK FIVE: 2-6 October 2006

Ocean in the News

(Thurs.) Watch out for those marine creatures -- NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations presents educational information for the public concerning the health risks presented by a variety of marine creatures, such as jellyfish and stingrays, especially if accidental contact is made with them. [NOAA Magazine]
(Thurs.) Impacts of marine debris from Katrina assessed -- As part of the recovery efforts across the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of last year's disastrous Hurricane Katrina, Federal and state agencies led by NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration and Office of Coast Survey have been conducting hydrographic surveys and risk assessments of the marine debris left behind by the hurricane in an effort to restore safe navigation and commercial fishing to coastal waters. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Seafloor observatory to be expanded -- Additional funding has been provided to British Columbia's University of Victory to increase and expand the research capability of NEPTUNE Canada, the world’s first regional cabled ocean observatory located on the seafloor off the British Columbia coast. [University of Victoria]
(Thurs.) Dissolved manganese could aid in controlling toxic zones in aquatic systems -- A research team from the University of Delaware, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of Hawaii and Oregon Health and Science University found that dissolved manganese in the Black Sea and Chesapeake Bay can react with toxic hydrogen sulfide, helping control this naturally produced gas that contributes to the oxygen depleted "dead zones." [University of Delaware]
(Tues.) Alaska storm cracks iceberg in Antarctic -- Illinois researchers determined that the B15A iceberg that broke apart in the Antarctic last year was probably caused by waves from an intense Alaskan storm six days earlier. [CNN News]
(Tues.) Debris from the USS Macon is studied -- Researchers from the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the University of New Hampshire and Stanford University recently conducted a five-day underwater investigation off California's Big Sur coast in which they located and documented the debris from the US Navy's rigid airship USS Macon that was lost in a storm off the coast in 1935. A remotely operated submersible vehicle was used in the investigation. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) More hurricane research is needed -- A panel of scientists with the National Science Board released a draft report at the end of last week in which they urged more funding for hurricane research designed to protect the public and property along the nation's coasts from the devastation produced by hurricanes. [USA Today]
(Tues.) A new hurricane data portal launched by NASA -- The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center has unveiled a new website called "Hurricane Web Portal" that is designed to help scientists and educators view and study hurricanes with a variety of measurements from satellite-based NASA instruments. [NASA]
(Tues.) Well managed reefs cope better to a variety of stresses -- An international team of ecologists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Syiah Kuala University, and James Cook University visited 49 reefs off northern Indonesia roughly three months following the disastrous December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and found that those coral reefs that had been well-maintained appeared to suffer minimal damage, while those that were subjected to poisoning and detonation of explosives by humans fared much worse. [Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies]
Eye on the tropics --
- In the eastern North Atlantic, Hurricane Issac moved to the northwest across the central Atlantic Ocean over the weekend, having reached hurricane status near midday on Saturday. This category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, represents the fifth hurricane of the 2006 North Atlantic hurricane season. As of Sunday afternoon, Hurricane Issac was moving northward and could bring tropical storm conditions to Newfoundland. [USA Today] A visible image from NOAA's GOES-12 satellite shows Tropical Storm Issac at the end of last week as it passed well to the north-northeast of Puerto Rico before it became a hurricane. [NOAA OSEI]
- In the western Pacific, Typhoon Xangsane made landfall along the central coast of Viet Nam near Da Nang on Sunday (local time), resulting in two deaths and 80 injuries. Earlier, this typhoon crossed the northern Philippines and was responsible for three deaths. The typhoon at one time was equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained near surface winds reaching 145 mph. [USA Today] A visible satellite image from the Japanese satellite MTSAT shows Typhoon Xangsane late last week as it moved across the South China Sea between the Philippines and Viet Nam. [NOAA OSEI] Approximately a day earlier, an image from the MODIS sensor (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on a NASA satellite captures an image of Xangsane to the east of the Philippines. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Was hurricane report blocked ? -- The British journal Nature claims that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration intentionally blocked release of a report made by a seven-member panel that suggested global warming has contributed to the frequency and strength of hurricanes. NOAA officials dispute this claim, citing the disputed report to be an internal fact sheet that was not ready for release. [USA Today]
Massive hurricane waves are documented -- Hurricane scientists have been using the NASA Scanning Radar Altimeter flown on board a NOAA research aircraft that flew through hurricanes between 1998 and 2005 to study the behavior of hurricane generated ocean waves. A record-ocean wave of 91 feet was generated by Hurricane Ivan in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004 and a 40-foot wave accompanied Hurricane Katrina in 2005. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional information, including images, is also available. [NASA]
Reduction of the human impacts of harmful algal blooms is targeted -- Following a workshop coordinated by NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, a report titled " Harmful Algal Research and Response: A Human Dimensions Strategy" was prepared detailing a proposed implementation plan for future research that would reduce public health, economic and sociocultural impacts of harmful algal blooms. [NOAA News]
Satellite imagery shows effect on island lifted by major earthquake -- Images from ASTER sensor (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite made of North Reef Island in the Andaman Sea before and after the major earthquake of 26 December 2004 show the impact of this earthquake upon the island. The island rose following the earthquake and tsunami, causing the coral surrounding the island to become exposed and die. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Warm water found to surge into Arctic Ocean -- Scientists at the International Arctic Research Center located at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks participated in a ocean cruise as part of the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational Systems program and documented surges of warm water from the North Atlantic propagate into the Arctic Ocean and move toward the Canadian Basin and then to northern coast of Alaska. Arctic Ocean water temperatures could affect the amount of sea ice, which could play a major role in global climate change. [University of Alaska-Fairbanks]
Planet's temperature said to be reaching ancient levels… James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies recently reported that research conducted by colleagues and him indicates that the world's temperature has reached a level that would equal the highest temperature of the current interglacial period, which commenced approximately 12,000 years ago. He indicates that the global temperature has risen by 0.36 Fahrenheit degrees per decade over the last 30 years, forcing a poleward migration of some plant and animal species. These researchers also indicate that the Western Equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans could be nearly as warm as anytime during the Holocene . [NASA GSFC]
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: The Ocean and the Global Radiation Budget

The ocean is an important player in the radiational heating and cooling of Planet Earth. For one, covering about 71% of Earth's surface, the ocean is a primary control of how much solar radiation is absorbed (converted to heat) at the Earth's surface. Also, the ocean is the main source of the most important greenhouse gas (water vapor) and is a major regulator of the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), another greenhouse gas.

On an annual average, the ocean absorbs about 92% of the solar radiation striking its surface; the balance is reflected to space. Most of this absorption takes place within about 200 m (650 ft) of the surface with the depth of penetration of sunlight limited by the amount of suspended particles and discoloration caused by dissolved substances. On the other hand, at high latitudes multi-year pack ice greatly reduces the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the ocean. The snow-covered surface of sea ice absorbs only about 15% of incident solar radiation and reflects away the rest. At present, multi-year pack ice covers about 7% of the ocean surface with greater coverage in the Arctic Ocean than the Southern Ocean (mostly in Antarctica's Weddell Sea).

The atmosphere is nearly transparent to incoming solar radiation but much less transparent to outgoing infrared (heat) radiation. This differential transparency with wavelength is the basis of the greenhouse effect. Certain trace gases in the atmosphere absorb outgoing infrared and radiate some of this energy to Earth's surface thereby significantly elevating the planet's surface temperature. Most water vapor, the principal greenhouse gas, enters the atmosphere via evaporation of seawater. Carbon dioxide, a lesser greenhouse gas, cycles into and out of the ocean depending on the sea surface temperature and photosynthesis/respiration by marine organisms in surface waters. Cold water can dissolve more carbon dioxide than warm water so that carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere where surface waters are chilled (at high latitudes and upwelling zones) and released to the atmosphere where surface waters are heated (at low latitudes). Photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide and all organisms release carbon dioxide via cellular respiration.

Concept of the Week: Questions

If the ocean's pack ice cover were to shrink, the ocean would absorb [(more)(less)] solar radiation.
All other factors being equal, if sea surface temperatures were to rise, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolved in surface ocean waters would likely [(increase) (decrease)].

Historical Events

2 October 1836...The British naturalist Charles Darwin returned to Falmouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle, ending a five-year surveying expedition of the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, that included visits to Brazil, the Galapagos Islands, and New Zealand. The information and experience obtained from this voyage led Darwin to develop his historic work on the theory of evolution and the 1859 publication entitled, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. (The History Channel)
2 October 1867...A hurricane struck Galveston, TX with a storm tide that produced $1 million damage. (Intellicast)
2 October 1882...A major hurricane struck the Louisiana Delta with 100-mph winds and 12-ft storm tide which inundated the bayous resulting in 1500 deaths. (Intellicast)
2 October 1898...A hurricane struck the Weather Bureau (now National Weather Service) hurricane observation post at Carolina Beach, North Carolina and swept away the office's outhouse. The storm became known as the "Privy Hurricane". (Northern Indiana NWSFO)
3 October 1841...The "October Gale," the worst of record for Nantucket, MA, caught the Cape Cod fishing fleet at sea. Forty ships were driven ashore on Cape Cod, and 57 men perished from the town of Truro alone. Heavy snow fell inland, with 18 inches reported near Middletown, CT and 3 inches at Concord, MA. (David Ludlum)
4 October 1582...The Gregorian Calendar was implemented by Pope Gregory XIII to correct for an increasing discrepancy between the leap year corrections of the Julian Calendar and the actual length of the year marked by the Earth's orbit of the sun. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, 4 October of this year was followed directly by 15 October, skipping over 10 days. (Wikipedia)
4 October 1869...A great storm struck New England. The storm reportedly was predicted twelve months in advance by a British officer named Saxby. Heavy rains and flooding plagued all of New England, with strong winds and high tides along the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. Canton, CT was deluged with 12.35 inches of rain. (David Ludlum)
5 October 1972...Heavy rains, mostly the remnants of Tropical Storm Joanne, fell across much of Arizona. It was believed to be the first time in Arizona weather history that a tropical storm entered the state with its circulation still intact. The center was over Flagstaff early on the 7th. (3rd-7th) (The Weather Channel)
5-7 October 1999...A storm southeast of New Zealand caused surf to reach heights of 12 ft along the south shores of all the Hawaiian Islands, flooding some roads and parking lots. The lobby of the Kihei Beach Resort on Maui and three ground floor units were flooded. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
7 October 1737...A furious cyclone in the Bay of Bengal caused a major disaster at the mouth of the Hoogby River near Calcutta, India. As many as 300,000 people were killed, mainly as the result of the storm's forty foot high surge. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)