DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK THREE: 7-11 February 2005

• Icebreakers reach McMurdo -- Icebreakers finally broke a 94-mile path through the 10-foot thick sea ice so that an oil tanker and cargo ship could reach the McMurdo Station, the large US station on the coast of Antarctica. [USA Today]
• Satellites detect the calving of a new iceberg -- Satellite imagery obtained from polar orbiting satellites shows that a new iceberg named A-53 broke off Antarctica's Larsen Ice Sheet at the end of January. [NOAA News]
• Satellites help in rescue efforts -- The NOAA Administrator recently announced that NOAA satellites, as part of the sophisticated, international Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (COSPAS-SARSAT), played a significant role in the rescue of more than 200 people from potentially life-threatening situations at sea offshore of the US during 2004. [NOAA News]
• Global Earth Observation System of Systems Summit -- An international summit will convene in Brussels, Belgium in mid February to discuss and promote development of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) that is intended to create a comprehensive linked system of environmental systems and data sets, which will be available for information and research on the global ocean and water cycle. [NOAA Magazine]
• Deep ocean organisms found --Japanese scientists have discovered tiny single-celled organisms dwelling in the deepest part of the ocean in a sample of sediment collected from a depth of nearly seven miles below the surface in the Challenger Deep in the Pacific southwest of Guam. [ENN]
• Red tides unhealthy for manatees -- Scientists are concerned that an unusual winter outbreak of red tide in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida's Tampa Bay could spell trouble for manatees migrating through area waters. [ENN]
• Ocean wave energy explored -- Engineers at Oregon State University are developing new technologies designed to harness the power generated by ocean waves and turn it into a clean, affordable and renewable electric power resource. [EurekAlert!]
• Oiled birds prompt concern -- Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara are concerned that the larger number of seabirds that are coated with oil indicate increased oil seepage into the Pacific Ocean from the Coal Oil Point seep field offshore of the campus. [EurekAlert!]
• Working to save coastal wetlands -- Current research efforts aimed at investigating the rapid deterioration of the Louisiana coastal wetlands, along with efforts at restoring this ecosystem are being documented and made available to participating school systems by the JASON Expedition. [Jason Foundation]
• 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.

In view of the contemporary concern regarding global climate change, scientists are studying the various factors that govern the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are on the rise primarily because of the burning of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil, natural gas). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (an atmospheric gas that absorbs and radiates infrared radiation) so that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide could lead to global warming. The ocean's role in regulating the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on the temperature, salinity, and biological components of surface waters.

As noted in Chapter 3 of your DataStreme Ocean textbook, gases are more soluble in cold seawater than warm seawater. Hence, changes in sea surface temperature affect the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide. As noted in Chapter 1 of your textbook, photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Moreover, through cellular respiration, all organisms release carbon dioxide. What about the effects of changes in salinity on the ocean's uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide? Recent research from the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii provides some insight.

Since the late 1980s, scientists have been recording ocean conditions at a site (dubbed ALOHA) about 100 km (62 mi) north of Oahu. In 2003, David M. Karl, a biogeochemist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, reported a decline in the rate at which surface ocean waters were absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, in 2001, the rate of CO₂ uptake was only about 15% of what it was in 1989. Why the change in CO₂ uptake? In this region of the Pacific north of Hawaii, sea surface temperatures showed no significant change during the period of observation but precipitation decreased and evaporation increased. Less precipitation coupled with higher rates of evaporation caused the surface water salinity at ALOHA to increase by about 1%. Increasing salinity inhibits water's ability to absorb gases including carbon dioxide. Karl and his colleagues attribute 40% of the decline in the ocean's CO₂ uptake to the saltier waters. The balance of the decline may be due to changes in biological productivity or ocean mixing

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. With rising sea surface temperatures, the rate of evaporation of sea water [(increases)(decreases)].
2. With increasing salinity and constant temperature, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is taken up by ocean water [(increases)(decreases)].

• 7 February 1969...USCGC Tern, commissioned on this date and stationed in New York, embodied an advanced concept in servicing aids to navigation. Her over-the-stern gantry system of handling buoys is unique. The automation and modernization of over-age, isolated lighthouses and light stations showed significant progress this year. A new, more effective version of the LAMP (Lighthouse Automation and Modernization Project) plan was promulgated in this year. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 7 February 1978...The worst winter storm of record struck coastal New England. The storm produced 27.5 inches of snow at Boston, and nearly 50 inches in northeastern Rhode Island. The fourteen-foot tide at Portland, ME was probably the highest of the century. Winds gusted to 79 mph at Boston, and reached 92 mph at Chatham, MA. A hurricane-size surf caused 75 deaths and 500 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
• 8 February 1987...A powerful storm produced blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes Region. North winds of 50 to 70 mph raised the water level of southern Lake Michigan two feet, and produced waves 12 to 18 feet high, causing seven million dollars damage along the Chicago area shoreline. It was the most damage caused by shoreline flooding and erosion in the history of the city of Chicago. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 8 January 2001...The log-carrying ship, Leo Forest, lost much of its cargo as over 2300 logs went overboard approximately 400 miles north of Adak, AK. The ship lost power in waves that were greater than 35 feet and the loss of the logs caused the ship to list 10 degrees to port (left) with the bow three feet down. Fortunately, the ship made safe passage to Dutch Harbor for repairs. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 9 February 1942...The French Liner Normandie, a 79,280-ton luxury ocean liner, burned and capsized in New York Harbor during its conversion to an Allied trip transport ship. (The History Channel)
• 10 February 1807...With the backing of President Thomas Jefferson, the US Coast Survey was authorized by Congress "to provide for surveying the coasts of the United States." The Coast Survey represents the oldest U.S. scientific organization to encourage commerce and to support a growing economy in a safe and efficient manner. (NOAA History)
• 10 February 1940...USCGC Bibb and Duane made the first transmissions as weather stations as part of the Atlantic Weather Patrol. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 11 February 1809...The American inventor, Robert Fulton patented his steamboat, the Clermont, for the first time, although he had made the first successful steamboat trip up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany, NY in 1807. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science)
• 11 February 1862...The Secretary of the Navy directed the formation of an organization to evaluate new inventions and technical development, which eventually led to the National Academy of Science. (Naval Historical Center)
• 11 February 1971...The US and the USSR, along with other nations, signed the multilateral Seabed Treaty outlawing the emplacement of nuclear weapons (or "weapons of mass destruction") on the ocean floor in international waters, or beyond a 12-mile coastal zone. (Wikipedia)
• 12 February 1907...A collision of the steamer Larchmont and large schooner, the Harris Knowlton, during a blizzard resulted in the deaths of 332 people. Only nine survivors were rescued. The incident occurred off Rhode Island's Block Island and was the worst disaster in New England maritime history. (RMS Titanic History)
• 12 February 1997...A combination of heavy surf and high winds contributed to the overturning of a U.S. Coast Guard motor life boat (MLB 44363) on a search and rescue mission when responding to a distress call from the sailing vessel Gale Runner in the stormy North Pacific Ocean off Washington State's Quillayute River Bar. Three of four crewmembers lost their lives in the first fatal sinking of this type of ship in its 35-year history. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (USCG Historian's Office)
• 13 February 1784...Ice floes blocked the Mississippi River at New Orleans, then passed into the Gulf of Mexico. The only other time this occurred was during the "Great Arctic Outbreak" of 1899. (David Ludlum)
• 13 February 1969...The National Transportation Safety Board issued its "Study of Recreational Boat Accidents, Boating Safety Programs, and Preventive Recommendations". (USCG Historian's Office)
• 13 February 1997...Ocean swells generated by a storm well to the northwest of the Hawaiian Islands generated surf with heights to 20 feet and some sets to 25 feet along the northern shores of the islands. A professional surfer was killed by 25-foot surf at Alligator Rock on Oahu's North Shore. Lifeguards aided more than thirty people. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

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Prepared by AMS DSOcean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2005, The American Meteorological Society.