Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK FIVE: 20-24 February 2006

Ocean in the News

(Thurs.) Coral reefs react to too much sugar -- A researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and colleagues report that the increase in simple sugars in tropical seawater due to runoff can serve to kill coral by stimulating excessive bacterial growth. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Marine predators serve as ocean sensors -- Marine scientists involved with the Census of Marine Life project called Tagging Of Pacific Pelagics have been placing electronic tags on a variety of top marine predators such as seals, sharks and tuna, so as to obtain information on oceanographic conditions and marine animal behavior. Some of the sensors on the predators telemetry data via satellites. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Flow of Greenland glaciers accelerating -- Using data obtained from Canadian and European satellites, researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Kansas report an acceleration of the flow of the glaciers on Greenland during the last decade, probably due to higher air temperatures. This increased flow represents a loss in the Greenland ice cap, as well as a contribution to the rise in the global sea level. [NASA JPL]
(Tues.) Humans affecting the ocean-disease link -- At a recent meeting entitled "Rising Tide of Ocean Plagues," epidemiologists, veterinarians and ecologists reported on their findings that indicate that human activity has affected the ocean in such a way as to change the dynamics of disease. [EurekAlert!] In a similar meeting titled "Marine Mammals on the Front Line: Indicators for Ocean and Human Health," marine scientists, physicians and veterinarians described new links between land-based pollution and diseases that affect marine mammals. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Atlantic could have been warmer than bath water -- A paleoclimatologist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and colleagues from other institutions report that their analysis of deep sea cores extracted from waters off the northeast coast of South America by the international Ocean Drilling Program would indicate Atlantic Ocean water temperatures of 107 degrees Fahrenheit between 84 and 100 million years ago. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]
(Tues.) Phytoplankton resilient to abrupt climatic change -- Based upon his analysis of marine sediment cores, a geoscientist at Penn State University claims that the populations of marine plankton appeared to have rebounded quickly following each of the three events associated with abrupt changes in the global climate. [EurekAlert!]
Entangled humpback whale rescued -- A humpback whale that had become entangled by several lines off the Hawaiian Island of Lanai was rescued last week from this life-threatening entanglement by a team from NOAA Fisheries, the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. [NOAA News]
Sunken Egyptian ferry located -- Experts from France and Britain located the submerged Egyptian ferry that sank in the Red Sea last month with the loss of over 1000 people. [The Boating Channel]
New maritime species discovered in the Caribbean -- Following a two-week expedition to the Saba Bank Atoll in the Caribbean Ocean southeast of Puerto Rico, scientists from Conservation International, the Netherlands Antilles government and Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History announced that they had discovered several new species of fish, seaweed and other marine life. [EurekAlert!]
Commercial whaling could resume soon -- The Australian Environmental Minister recently stated that several member countries of the International Whaling Commission could vote to resume commercial whaling at the Commission's next meeting in June, thereby ending the whaling moratorium that was initially enacted in 1986. [ENN]
Deposition of carbon compounds in the deep ocean studied -- Scientists from Germany and Britain have been studying the transport of particulate matter in the ocean off southwest Africa in an effort to gain a better understanding of how the ocean serves as a sink for carbon dioxide and how oil deposits form. [EurekAlert!]
Fewer shark attacks in 2005 -- The director of the International Shark Attack File located at the University of Florida reported that the worldwide number of shark attacks and fatalities associated with these attacks decreased in 2005. He attributed the decrease to a combination of fewer sharks in the world's ocean and the more aggressive human reaction to the shark when attacked. [ENN]
Manatee deaths in Florida set January record -- State wildlife officials in Florida recently reported that the number of manatee deaths across the Sunshine State in January 2006 increased by one-third over that of one year ago. They were uncertain as to the exact cause of the increased number of deaths. [ENN] One of the possible reasons has been the increased number of toxic algal blooms, often called the "red tide," that have occurred in state waters according to a marine pathologist from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. [EurekAlert!]
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

20 February 1823...English Captain James Weddell and the brig Jane reached 74º 15' S, or 940 mi (1520 km) from the South Pole. His voyage reached farther south than anyone had ventured until the 1850s, as it was 214 mi south of the latitude that Captain James Cook had sailed.
20 February 1835...While in Chile, Charles Darwin experienced a strong earthquake and shortly thereafter saw evidence of uplift in the region. From measurements, he determined that the land rose several feet, and later hypothesized that coral reefs in the Pacific could develop along margins of subsiding landmasses. (Today in Science)
20 February 1856...The John Rutledge, an American steamer that sailed from Liverpool, England for New York, hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Most of the 155 people onboard were lost.
21 February 1835...The HMS Beagle, along with Charles Darwin left Valdivia, Chile.
21 February 1907...During an exceptionally heavy gale, the British-owned mail ship Berlin hit dangerous shoals and broke up while attempting to navigate around the Hook of Holland in the English Channel. Only 14 on board survived; 127 were killed or drowned.
22-26 February 1995...Cyclone Bobby slammed into the Western Australia coast causing widespread flooding. Some areas reported up to 12 in. of rain from the storm. (The Weather Doctor)
23 February 1802...A great snowstorm raged along the New England coast producing 48 inches of snow north of Boston and 54 inches of snow at Epping, NH. Three large (indiamen) ships from Salem were wrecked along Cape Cod by strong winds. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
24 February 1881...De Lesseps' Company began work on the Panamá Canal
25 February 1977...An oil tanker explosion west of Honolulu spilled 31 million gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean.
26 February 1935...Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) for the first time, using the BBC shortwave radio transmitter to successfully detect the distance and direction of a flying bomber during the so-called Daventry Experiment.
26 February 1938...The passenger ship was equipped with radar.