Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN PREVIEW WEEK:

27-31 August 2007

Ocean in the News:

(Thurs.) A new seal recovery plan is established -- The NOAA Fisheries Service recently announced that it had signed and implemented a new version of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Plan, which is designed to help save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Seawater suggested as solution to Florida's water shortage -- Water managers in South Florida, including the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale metropolitan areas, are considering building desalination plants to produce usable freshwater for the region that is experiencing an extended drought. Currently, the Florida Keys relies partially on desalinated water for its water supply. [US Water News Online]
(Tues.) No large ice sheets covered ancient globe 41 million years ago -- Researchers who have been participating in the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Expedition 207 report that their analysis of sediments from ocean cores collected in tropical waters indicates that large continental ice sheets did not exist in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres approximately 41 million years ago. [Joint Oceanographic Institutions]
(Tues.) New laboratory to look at coral response to ocean acidity and higher temperatures -- A new laboratory has opened at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science that will study how corals respond to the stress of ocean acidification and higher water temperatures associated with global climatic change. [Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science]
Eye on the tropics --- As of Sunday afternoon no organized tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical waters and attain tropical storm or hurricane intensity) were reported in any of the world's ocean basins, even though late August often has considerable activity as sea surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere are approaching their annual maximum values. Clouds and rainshowers associated with a broad and disorganized area of low pressure were detected over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, but forecasters with the National Hurricane Center do not expect this area to remain disorganized for the start of this week.
However, earlier last week in the North Atlantic basin, the first hurricane of the 2007 North Atlantic Hurricane season, Hurricane Dean, made an initial landfall in Mexico along the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Earlier, an image made by a sensor on NOAA's GOES-12 satellite shows Dean as a category 4 hurricane moving across the western Caribbean toward landfall along the eastern coast of the Yucatan. A distinct eye and spiral bands of clouds, trademarks of organized hurricanes, can be detected. [NOAA OSEI] A display of the near-surface wind field generated by data collected from the scatterometer instrument on NASA's QuickSCAT satellite shows the low level counterclockwise inflow toward the central eye of Dean as it was approaching the Yucatan. [N ASA Earth Observatory]
After crossing the Yucatan Peninsula, Dean had weakened but began to intensify again as it moved across the Bay of Campeche. An image from NOAA's GOES-12 satellite shows Dean as it crossed the Yucatan Peninsula. [NOAA OSEI]
Dean then made a second landfall along Mexico's Gulf coast before finally dissipating in the mountainous areas of northern Mexico. This second landfall can be seen on image from NOAA's GOES-12 satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
In addition to the monitoring of Hurricane Dean by NOAA and NASA satellites operated by the US, the Envisat and ERS-2 satellites operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) also tracked the hurricane from its formation over the eastern equatorial Atlantic. [ESA]
An update on rain from former Tropical Storm Erin -- An image generated by the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis that uses data collected by NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite shows the expansion of a large area of rain associated with remnants of former Tropical Storm Erin northward across the southern Plains through the start of last week. As many as seven people were reported to have been killed due to the flooding in Texas and Oklahoma. [NASA Earth Observatory] Comparison with the precipitation map for the week of 10-17 August 2007 reveals this northward expansion of the rain from the Texas Gulf Coast into central Oklahoma. [NASA Earth Observatory]
A new seal recovery plan is established -- The NOAA Fisheries Service recently announced that it had signed and implemented a new version of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Plan, which is designed to help save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction. [NOAA News]
Sea ice seen to retreat off Siberian coast -- Images obtained six weeks apart (15 June and 27 July 2007) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite shows the rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice in the East Siberian Sea, away from Russia's Siberian coast. The National Snow and Ice Data Center has recently noted that the Arctic sea ice has been melting at a record rate during the summer of 2007, based upon nearly 30 years of satellite date. [NASA Earth Observatory]
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: Touring the DataStreme Ocean website

Welcome to DataStreme Ocean! You are embarking on a study of the world ocean and the role of the ocean in the Earth system. This unique teacher enhancement course focuses on the flow and transformations of energy and water into and out of the ocean, the internal properties and circulation of the ocean, interactions between the ocean and the other components of the Earth system, and the human/societal impacts on and responses to those interactions. Throughout this learning experience, you will be using the DataStreme Ocean website to access and interpret a variety of environmental information, including recent observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DS Ocean website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Ocean News that includes Ocean in the News (a summary listing of recent events related to the ocean), Concept of the Week(an in-depth analysis of some topic related to the ocean in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past events such as tsunamis or specific advances in the understanding of oceanography). When appropriate, Supplemental Information will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DS Ocean website to access and download the second part of weekly Investigations "Current Ocean Studies" (plus supporting images) that begin in your Online Ocean Studies Investigations Manual. These materials should be available by noon (Eastern Time) on Tuesday and Thursday. Click the appropriate links to download and print these electronic components of the investigations as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the DS Ocean website provides links to the Earth System, information on Physical & Chemical, Geological, and Biological aspects of the ocean, Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, the Great Lakes, and extras–a glossary of terms, maps, educational links, and DataStreme Ocean 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 DS Ocean website.

Under Physical & Chemical, click on Sea Surface Temperatures. This image uses a color scale to depict the global pattern of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) (in degrees Celsius) averaged over a recent 7-day period and based on measurements by infrared sensors onboard Earth-orbiting satellites. (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.) Compare SSTs in the Northern Hemisphere with those in the Southern Hemisphere. Return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Geological, click on Current Earthquake Activity. The USGS Current World Seismicity page provides a global map of the locations of seismic (earthquake) events color-coded for the past seven days. The size of the squares represents the magnitude of an earthquake. Note how earthquakes are concentrated along the margin of the Pacific Ocean. Details of recent earthquakes can be found by clicking on their map squares. Return to the DS Ocean website.

The ocean is home to a wide variety of habitats and organisms. Under Biological, click on Ocean "Color" (Productivity). This is a satellite-derived (SeaWiFS) color-coded map of biological productivity in the surface waters of the world ocean averaged from the year 1978 to date. Orange and red indicates the highest productivity and dark blue and violet indicate the lowest productivity. Note the vast areas of relatively low productivity over the central regions of the subtropical ocean basins. Individual months within this period may be chosen for viewing. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, click on TRMM Tropical Rainfall. The TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) page includes color-coded maps of the Monthly Mean Rainrate (in mm per day) across the tropics for the last 30 days ending on the present date. Changes in rainfall are linked to large-scale shifts in the atmosphere/ocean circulation in the tropics. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the DS Ocean website. You should "bookmark" ("favorites") this page on your computer. Return frequently to learn more about the many resources on the ocean in the Earth system. Bon voyage!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest global sea surface temperature map indicates that SSTs are generally higher over the [(western)(eastern)] tropical Pacific Ocean.
The USGS map of Current Earthquake Activity indicates that earthquakes appear to be more common along the [(east)(west)] coast of North America.

Historical Events

27 August 1881...As many as 335 people were lost in the Georgia Hurricane, especially severe at Savannah and Charleston, SC. (Intellicast)
27 August 1883...The after effects caused by the Krakatau explosion in Indonesia, including large tsunami waves of up to 300 feet, killed 36,000 people. The tsunami waves were powerful enough to cross the Indian Ocean and travel beyond Cape Horn. The most powerful blast was the most violent known in human history, was loud enough to be heard in Australia, and the shock wave was registered by barometers England. The huge amount of volcanic dust thrust high into the stratosphere eventually traveled around the world. The dust blocked sunlight causing temperature drops and chaotic weather patterns for several years afterward. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
27 August 1893...The first of three great hurricanes that year struck South Carolina drowning more than 1000 persons in a storm surge at Charleston. Landfall was just south of Savannah, GA where sustained winds hit 120 mph. (David Ludlum)
27 August 1964...Hurricane Cleo battered Miami and the South Florida area, marking the first direct hit for Miami in fourteen years. Sustained winds of 100 mph gusted to 135 mph, and the hurricane caused $125 million in damage. (David Ludlum)
27 August 1995...Remains of Tropical Storm Jerry unloaded 12.32 inches of rain in 24 hours in Greer, SC, a record for 24 hours, for a rain event and for August. At Antreville, 17.00 inches fell in 24 hours, setting a 24-hour rainfall record for the Palmetto State. (Intellicast)
28 August 1965...CDR Scott Carpenter, USN, and nine aquanauts entered SeaLab II, 205 ft. below Southern California's waters to conduct underwater living and working tests. (Naval Historical Center)
28 August 1988...Tropical Storm Chris spawned a tornado near Manning, SC, which killed one person, and spawned three tornadoes in North Carolina. Chris produced one to two foot tides, and three to six inch rains, over coastal South Carolina. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
28-30 August 1839...A hurricane moved from Cape Hatteras, NC to offshore New England. An unusual feature of the hurricane was the snow it helped produce, which whitened the Catskill Mountains of New York State. Considerable snow was also reported at Salem, NY. (The Weather Channel)
28 August 1965...CDR Scott Carpenter, USN, and nine aquanauts entered SeaLab II, 205 ft. below Southern California's waters to conduct underwater living and working tests. (Naval Historical Center)
28 August 1988...Tropical Storm Chris spawned a tornado near Manning, SC, which killed one person, and spawned three tornadoes in North Carolina. Chris produced one to two foot tides, and three to six inch rains, over coastal South Carolina. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
29 August 1583...The Delight was wrecked on Sable Island, Nova Scotia during a heavy gale, blinding rain and thick fog. This was Canada's first recorded marine disaster, taking 85 lives. (The Weather Doctor)
29 August 1979…Winds associated with Hurricane David reached 145 mph as the hurricane crossed the island of Dominica. The capital city, Roseau, was devastated, with 56 fatalities and 60,000 out of a population of 80,000 left homeless. About three-quarters of the coconut and banana crops were destroyed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29 August 1988...The remnants of Tropical Storm Chris drenched eastern Pennsylvania with up to five and a half inches of rain, and produced high winds that gusted to 90 mph, severely damaging a hundred boats in Anne Arundel County, MD. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
29 August 2005…Hurricane Katrina, the costliest and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in US history, made landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast southeast of New Orleans as a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale after reaching category 5 status. Massive destruction was reported in coastal Mississippi and in New Orleans. As many as 1833 people reportedly died from Katrina in the US. (National Hurricane Center)
30 August 1913...The US Navy tested the Sperry gyroscopic stabilizer (automatic pilot). (Naval Historical Center)
30 August 1942…A hurricane weakened in moving 160 miles across south Texas from landfall at Matagorda to San Antonio, winds still gusting from 50 to 70 mph at San Antonio for more than five hours. Seventy of 75 planes were damaged at the city airport. Many trees were destroyed, but the famed Alamo's walls withstood the storm. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
31 August 1842...The U.S. Naval Observatory was authorized by an act of Congress. (Today in Science History)
1 September 1789...An act of Congress provided for the registering and clearing of vessels and the regulation of the coastwise trade, thus laying the foundation of American navigation laws which, until 1912, embodied the marine policy of the United States. (US Coast Guard Historian's Office)
1 September 1858...The first transatlantic cable failed after less than one month of service. (Today in Science History)
1-2 September 1935...Perhaps the most intense hurricane ever to hit the U.S. struck the Florida Keys with sustained winds of over 155 mph with gusts exceeding 200 mph. On the 1^st, the "Labor Day Hurricane" formed rapidly over the Bahama Islands and intensified into a Category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir Simpson Scale) with sustained winds of over 155 mph and gusts exceeding 200 mph. On the next day, this hurricane generated a 15-foot tide and waves 30-ft high, as it became the first known Category 5 hurricane to hit the U.S. Mainland. More than 400 persons perished in the storm on that Labor Day, including many World War I veterans building a bridge from the Keys to the mainland. The barometric pressure at Matecumbe Bay, FL hit a record low for the U.S. at 26.35 inches of mercury (or 892 millibars). (David Ludlum) (The Weather Doctor)
1 September 1974...Navy Lieutenant Judy Neuffer became the first woman to pilot a plane through the eye of a hurricane. (Northern Indiana NWSFO)
1 September 1985...A joint French-American expedition headed by the American explorer, Robert D. Ballard, located the wreck of the sunken liner RMS Titanic on the floor of the North Atlantic using an experimental and unmanned submersible craft Argo. The wreckage of the Titanic, which sank in April 1912 on its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg, was found at a depth of about 13,000 feet and approximately 400 miles west of Newfoundland. (The History Channel)
2 September 1752...The British Empire adopted the Gregorian Calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of western Europe (primarily 1582). To correct the imprecise leap year correction in the Julian Calendar, 11 days were dropped making the following day 14 September. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)