WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

THANKSGIVING WEEK: 23-27 November 2009

This is Thanksgiving Break for the Fall 2009 offering of the DataStreme Ocean course. This Weekly Ocean News contains new information items and historical data, but the Concept of the Week is repeated from Week 11.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving Week from the AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Ed Hopkins!

Ocean in the News:

• Eye on the tropics -- With less than two weeks remaining in the official hurricane seasons in the North Atlantic (including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea) and the eastern North Pacific, no tropical cyclone activity was detected in either basin during this past week. However, some activity was found in the western North Pacific and in the South Indian Ocean:
  • In the western North Pacific basin, a tropical disturbance, identified as "System 92W" developed late last week near Kwajalein. For more information and satellite images on this disturbance, see the NASA Hurricane Page. Over this past weekend, Tropical Depression 26W formed southeast of Guam and began moving to the northwest.
  • In the southern Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Anja became a major category-4 cyclone (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) early last week as it moved southwestward east of La Reunion Island before dissipating by midweek. Development of a tropical cyclone over the waters of the South Indian Ocean is somewhat unusual as the Southern Hemisphere is currently experiencing spring. For satellite images and additional information on Cyclone Anja, please consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
• Assessing the impact of former Hurricane Ida -- An updated report is available on the NASA Hurricane Page with satellite images and photographs of flooding and other damage that of occurred along the Middle Atlantic coast due to a storm that contained the remnants of former Hurricane Ida.
• Announcing a NASA Hurricane Twitter site Officials at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center recently announced that a companion "Twitter" page to the NASA Hurricane Page has become available. NASA Hurricane Page
• Improved marine weather observation system installed in Washington State -- The NOAA Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) was recently installed near the Cherry Point Refinery along the Strait of Georgia in northwestern Washington State to provide current meteorological and oceanographic observations of tides, currents, water and air temperature, barometric pressure and winds so as to improve safety and efficiency of the marine traffic in the state's inland waters. These data will be made available on a free and real-time basis to ship captains and pleasure boaters. [NOAA News]
• A global review of October 2009 temperatures -- Preliminary analysis of worldwide combined ocean and land temperatures by scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center indicates that the recently completed month of October 2009 had the sixth highest global October surface temperature since a sufficiently dense and reliable network began in 1880. They also found that the globally averaged land surface temperature for October 2009 was the sixth highest on record for October, while that month's global ocean surface temperature was the fifth highest. [NOAA News]
• Expanded ocean climatology database released -- NOAA’s National Oceanographic Data Center recently released World Ocean Database 2009, the largest and most comprehensive collection of scientific data about the global oceans, including records of ocean temperature and salinity profiles that may extend back through the entire 19th century. This database represents one part of the climate services provided by NOAA and is part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). [NOAA News]
• Debriefing of international meeting on tuna conservation -- Early last week, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, released a statement concerning the outcome of the recent annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas held in Brazil. [NOAA News]
• Role of bacteria in formation of "red tides" uncovered -- Scientists at NOAA’s Beaufort Laboratory, along with colleagues at other institutions, have discovered that bacteria and marine microalgae appear to form a symbiotic relationship which plays a key role in the formation of harmful algal blooms, which are often called "red tides." The researchers also believe that their discovery may have implications for climate modeling in that the bacteria release dimethylsulfide, a chemical that is not only a nutrient for photosynthesis but one that can affect cloud formation. [NOAA News]
• Toxic algae threatens razor clams and coastal economy in Washington State - A recent report prepared by NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the University of Washington indicates that up to $22 million in revenue from recreational razor clam digging could be lost to Washington State's coastal counties because of the year-long shutdown in the razor clam fishery due to harmful algal blooms. [NOAA News]
• A warmer and windier Lake Superior detected -- A research team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota-Duluth reports that higher surface water temperatures and less winter ice on North America's Lake Superior during the last several decades has also resulted in stronger winds across the world's largest freshwater lake, which can also affect lake currents, biological cycles and pollution. [University of Wisconsin-Madison News]
• New European environmental satellite passes early tests -- Engineers with the European Space Agency recently reported that the MIRAS (Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis) instrument onboard the recently launched SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite has been successfully activated and tested. This instrument is designed map soil moisture and ocean salinity, as part of effort designed to understand the role that these variables play in regulating the planetary hydrologic cycle. [ESA]
• Post-tsunami field reports made from American Samoa -- A team from the US Geological Survey that was dispatched to American Samoa shortly after the recent deadly tsunami has interviewed survivors, deployed seismometers and assembled podcasts designed to help interpret the tsunami and find ways to improve forecasts. [USGS Newsroom]
• Open oceans had higher extinction rates during mass extinctions -- Paleontologists at the Universities of Cincinnati and Chicago report that during the five major world-wide mass extinctions that appear to have occurred in Earth history, those species in the open-ocean experienced extinction rates that were greater than experienced by their counterparts in the shallow epicontinental seas or on land. [University of Cincinnati News]
• Rwandan lake could experience a volatile explosion -- A group of scientists from the US and Africa are concerned that carbon dioxide and methane gas could accumulate at the bottom of Lake Kivu, a freshwater lake system bordering Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in an explosion that could be disastrous for the two million people that live close to the lake. [Rochester Institute of Technology News]
• An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, marine weather, tsunamis, rip currents, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and coral bleaching. [NOAAWatch]
• 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.

This Concept of the Week is repeated from Week 11.

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.

Historical Events:

• 23 November 1869...The clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, was launched at Dumbarton, Scotland. This three-masted and 212-foot long ship was one of the last clipper ships to be built and is the only one surviving to the present day, residing in a dry dock at Greenwich, England. (Wikipedia)
• 23-24 November 1981...Typhoon Irma, the worst in 10 years, struck north central Philippines (mostly Luzon) with winds to 139 mph and a storm surge of 16 feet. More than 236 people died, while 600,000 were made homeless. Entire provinces were left without power or communication. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 24 November 1982...Hurricane Iwa lashed the Hawaiian Islands of Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu with high winds and surf. Winds gusting to 120 mph caused extensive shoreline damage. Winds at Honolulu gusted to 81 mph. Damage totaled 150 million dollars on Kauai, and fifty million dollars on Oahu. The peak storm surge on the south shore was six to eight feet. It marked the first time in 25 years that Hawaii had been affected by a hurricane. (The Weather Channel)
• 26 November 1703...Bristol England was damaged by a hurricane. The Royal Navy lost 15 warships.
• 26 November 1778...Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy became the first European to discover Maui in the Sandwich Islands (later renamed the Hawaiian Islands). (Wikipedia)
• 26 November 1847...LT William Lynch, USN, sailed from New York to Haifa on USS Supply for an expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. His group charted the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea and compiled reports of the flora and fauna of the area. (Naval Historical Center)
• 26 November 1888...A late season hurricane brushed the East Coast with heavy rain and gale force winds. The hurricane passed inside Nantucket and over Cape Cod, then crossed Nova Scotia. (David Ludlum)
• 26 November 1966...The world's first tidal power station was opened at Rance estuary in the French province of Brittany. This power plant, fitted with reversible turbines, generates 500 million kilowatt-hours annually. (Today in Science History)
• 26-28 November 1898...The "Portland" storm raged across New England producing gale force winds along the coast and heavy snow inland. A foot of snow blanketed Boston, MA, and 27 inches fell at New London, CT. Winds at Boston gusted to 72 mph, and wind gusts to 98 mph were estimated at Block Island, RI. A passenger ship, the S.S. Portland, sank off Cape Cod with the loss of all 191 persons aboard, and Boston Harbor was filled with wrecked ships. The storm wrecked 56 vessels resulting in a total of 456 casualties. (26^th- 28^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 27 November 1703...The first Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Devon, England (approximately 14 miles southwest of Plymouth) was destroyed in the "Great Storm," and killed its builder Henry Winstanley. This first light was in an octagonal wooden structure built in 1698. The "Great Storm" is reported to have killed more than 8000 people. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
• 27-28 November 1905...Heavy snow and wind blasted the western Great Lakes with as much as seven inches of snow in northwestern Wisconsin and sustained winds of 42 mph recorded at Duluth, MN for 29 straight hours and 65 mph winds for 13 continuous hours. Severe drifting resulted. Eighteen ships were destroyed or disabled on Lake Superior. The ship Mataafa was grounded and broke in two in Duluth harbor. Nine of the fifteen crew of the Mataafa froze to death despite running aground within 100 yards of the shore. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 28 November 1520...Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the treacherous South American strait that now bears his name in a 38-day passage. He was the first European to sail into the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic to the east. (The History Channel)
• 28 November 1960...A severe storm produced waves 20 to 40 feet high on Lake Superior. Duluth, MN was buried under a foot of snow, and clocked wind gusts to 73 mph. The northern shore of Lake Superior was flooded, and property along the shore was battered. Thousands of cords of pulpwood were washed into Lake Superior, and up to three feet of water flooded the main street of Grand Marais. Thunder accompanied the "nor'easter". (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., emailhopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2009, The American Meteorological Society.