Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ELEVEN: 9-13 April 2007

Ocean in the News:

(Thurs.) Discarded munitions site off coast of Hawaii is surveyed -- A report was recently released of the survey made of an underwater site off Hawaii's Oahu Island that contained discarded military munitions by a team that included personnel from NOAA, the University of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Arctic sea ice replacement was small in 2005 -- A study by NASA researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that satellite surveillance of the Arctic perennial ice by such instruments as NASA's QuikScat scatterometer indicates that very little replenishment of this sea ice occurred during 2005. The small annual replenishment of the perennial sea ice could have consequences as to the maintenance of the summer ice cover. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Arctic sea ice extent misses record in winter 2007 -- Researchers with the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder report their analysis of satellite data in March 2007 indicates that the maximum extent of Arctic sea ice in winter 2007 was the second lowest in the satellite period of record beginning in 1979, only slightly greater than the 2006 record minimum. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Baltic area snowmelt monitored by satellite -- As a part of the European Space Agency's Polar View program, the Finnish Environment Institute is using data obtained from the Agency's orbiting satellites to generate snow maps of the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea this spring to monitor the snowpack and assess the snow melting process, thereby helping local authorities manage water supplies and prepare for potential spring floods. [ESA]
(Thurs.) New deep-sea observatory becomes connected -- A 32-mile long submarine cable is being laid along the floor of California's Monterey Bay to power and communicate with a new deep-sea instrumented observatory that the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is building to obtain oceanographic data. [Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute]
(Tues.) Hurricane forecasts -- Hurricane expert, Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University, recently released a forecast that the upcoming 2006 hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin should be more active than normal, with 17 named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that develop over tropical waters and reach tropical storm or hurricane strength). Of these systems, nine could become hurricanes, with five possibly reaching major hurricane status (Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). [USA Today] The National Hurricane Center director, Bill Proenza, also noted that the upcoming hurricane season in the Atlantic could be more active that normal. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Tsunami warning system capability expanded -- NOAA officials recently announced the deployment of three new DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys that are to be deployed off the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean as part of an effort to increase the US tsunami warning capability. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) New technology intended to increase effectiveness of tsunami warning systems -- Scientists at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno have been compiling data on seismological events around the world in an attempt to develop a means for assessing nearly-real time data collected from the Global Positioning System so as to improve the tsunami warning system. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Submarine sand movement monitored -- Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography recently reported on an underwater survey of California's continental shelf off San Diego that revealed details of how sand moves and accumulates along the shelf. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography]
(Tues.) New Michigan ballast-water law is challenged -- A coalition of shipping and industrial interests from the US, Canada and Barbados is suing the State of Michigan in Federal Court, claiming that the new ballast-water law imposed by the state on ocean going freighters on the Great Lakes is unconstitutional. [US Water News Online]
Second part of IPCC Report released -- Amidst controversy between scientists and governments, the second part of the four-part report entitled "Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released last Friday. This part of the IPCC report, which follows the first part issued in early February, explains what the effects of the projected increases in global temperatures during the rest of the century would have upon societies and ecosystems, as well as upon the hydrologic cycle. Adaptation and vulnerability of these systems to climatic change are also addressed.
- The distilled version of this portion of the IPCC report, a 21-page summary for policymakers, is available in pdf format. [IPCC]
- The controversy between scientists and governmental officials to sections of this report are detailed. [USA Today]
- Scientists and researchers with NOAA, along with colleagues at a variety of institutions that received NOAA-funding have contributed environmental data, research results and expertise to this just-released section of the IPCC report. [NOAA News]
- Environmental scientists associated with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme urge the development and use of new evaluation to help humans adapt to the impacts associated with global climate change outlined in the second part of the IPCC report. [EurekAlert!]
Tropical cyclone update -- While the official hurricane seasons in the eastern North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans are more than six weeks away, tropical cyclones have been detected last week in other ocean basins:
- In the western North Pacific, Typhoon Kong-Rey, a Category 2 typhoon (North Pacific equivalent to a hurricane) on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, was detected moving to the northwest near Saipan early last week by the MODIS instrument on a NASA satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
- In the western South Pacific, at least one person was killed in northeast Fiji by Tropical Cyclone Cliff (equivalent to a tropical storm). [USA Today]
- In the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Jaya, a Category 3 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, was observed to be moving westward near Madagascar by the MODIS instrument on a NASA satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
Currents blamed for cruise ship sinking -- The captain of the Greek cruise ship Sea Diamond that sank in the Aegean Sea off a Greek island last week blamed sea currents for the sinking of the vessel, which had run aground on the rocks along the island. He and five other crewmembers have been charged with negligence. Nearly 1600 passengers and crew had to be evacuated from the ship. As of Sunday, two French passengers were missing. [CNN]
Update on deadly tsunami in the Solomon Islands -- The tsunami that radiated outward across the western Pacific Ocean following a magnitude 8 earthquake near the Solomon Islands over one week ago caused death and extensive destruction to these islands.
- Reports nearly one week after the disaster indicate that as many as 34 people were killed and 7000 people remained homeless. As many as 30,000 children could be affected by potentially fatal cases of diarrhea and dysentery due to the lack of potable water. [CNN]
- Additional maps and detailed information concerning the earthquake and ensuing tsunami can be found on the Earthquake Hazards Program website maintained by the US Geological Survey. [USGS]
- An image from the Landsat-7 satellite shows the Solomon Islands where the tsunami-producing earthquake occurred. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Expedition to study motion of Arctic sea ice -- Researchers, including a woman from the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, are spending two weeks at the U.S. Navy ice camp in the Beaufort Sea monitoring the movement of sea ice, along with other sea ice properties, in an attempt to improve climate models. [University of Alaska Fairbanks] This expedition also permits K-12 students to participate and gain field research experience through the National Science Foundation’s PolarTREC program; a high school teacher from Vermont will join the researchers on the expedition and will relay the events and experiences at www.polartrec.com/sedna-ice-camp/overview.
Penguins could help monitor climate change -- Scientists at the United Kingdom's University of Birmingham are studying the behavior of king penguins, which would serve as an alternative bio-indicator of the effects of climate change, since these penguins depend upon the availability of certain types of fish in the ocean waters surrounding Antarctica. [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: 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 Coral Reef Conservation Program website http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Most hermatypic corals thrive at an ocean water temperature of [(10) (27)] °C.
Corals [(can) (cannot)] recover from bleaching if high ocean water temperatures are not long lasting.

Historical Events:

9 April 1770...The English explorer Captain James Cook discovered Botany Bay on the Australian continent.
10 April 1877...The first of two great coastal storms struck the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. The Oregon Inlet was widened by three-quarters of a mile. The "entire topography of country is materially altered," according to a description of the altering of sand dunes at Cape Hatteras, NC. (Intellicast)
10 April 1998...Northeast winds at 40 mph on the 9^th and 10^th combined with high levels of Lake Erie produced waves to 14 ft along the lakeshore in Ottawa and Sandusky Counties in Ohio. Much damage resulted, along with the destruction of 10 houses. Bulldozers were needed to clear the debris from roads. Downtown Port Clinton streets were flooded. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
11 April 1803...A twin-screw propeller steamboat was patented by John Stevens of Hoboken, NJ. (Today in Science History)
11 April 1900...The U.S. Navy acquired its first submarine, a 53-foot craft designed by Irish immigrant John P. Holland that was propelled by gasoline while on the surface and by electricity when submerged. (Today in Science History)
13 April 1960...The Navy's first navigation satellite, Transit-1B, was placed into orbit from Cape Canaveral, FL and demonstrated the ability to launch another satellite. The Transit system was designed to meet Navy's need for accurately locating ballistic missile submarines and other ships. (Naval Historical Center) (Today in Science History)
14 April 1543...Bartolomé Ferrelo returned to Spain after assuming command of the ill-fated expedition of the Spanish navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (who died on San Miguel Island in California's Channel Islands). The expedition was the first known entry by Europeans into San Francisco Bay in the New World.
14-15 April 1912...The British steamer RMS Titanic sank following its collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland on its maiden voyage from South Hampton to New York. The collision occurred at about 11:45 PM on 14 April and the ship, which was considered unsinkable, sank in 2.5 hours during the early morning hours of the 15^th. Reports showed 1517 people out of 2207 onboard lost their lives in this accident. As a result of this disaster, certification and life saving devices were improved and an International Ice Patrol was established to monitor the iceberg hazards in the North Atlantic. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to conduct much of the effort. (US Coast Guard Historian's Office) A 21-year old telegraph operator at the Marconi radio station in New York City, David Sarnoff who became a pioneer in radio and television broadcasting, received and transmitted the distress calls from the Titanic. (Today in Science History)