Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ELEVEN: 13-17 April 2009

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the Tropics -- Tropical Cyclone Jade made landfall on Madagascar briefly as a category 1 tropical cyclone (on the Saffir-Simpson scale) at the start of last week. During the week, it traveled southward across the waters of the western South Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Madagascar last week. For more information on this cyclone, along with satellite images, please see NASA Hurricane Page
Rebuilding the groundfish fisheries in the Northeast -- NOAA officials recently announced interim fishing measures to take effect next month that are designed to protect those Northeast groundfish stocks in the most trouble, while still allowing the fishing industry to target some healthy stocks on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine as the fishery rebuilds. [NOAA News] NOAA also announced that $16 million would be allocated to assisting the Northeast fishing industry with its transition of fishery management. [NOAA News]
Proposed NOAA recovery plan designed to help job creation, communities and the habitat --- Last week, NOAA officials submitted its proposed recovery plan to the US Congress that would create new jobs, strengthen the economy, restore the environment and combat climate change. These goals are in keeping with NOAA's mission involving with weather forecasting and research, fisheries, ocean and coastal management. [NOAA News]
Commitment to science emphasized by new NOAA chief -- Dr. Jane Lubchenco, who was recently sworn in as NOAA administrator and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, called for a renewal of the nation's commitment to science. She outlined some of NOAA's science priorities that include: understanding and adapting to climate change; creating jobs through innovation especially in fishing communities; restoring ocean health and vitality; and providing critical weather information. [NOAA News]
Hurricane forecast update -- The hurricane forecast team from Colorado State University headed by Phil Klotzbach recently released their April update of their forecast of the North Atlantic hurricane season for the 2009 season that is to officially begin on 1 June 2009. The team foresees fewer Atlantic hurricanes this coming year as compared with 2008 as well as fewer than they predicted in their initial seasonal forecast made in early December 2008. Currently, they call for a season with slightly above average activity with 12 named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes), of which six could reach hurricane status. [USA Today] [The Tropical Meteorology Project]
NOAA's law enforcement seeks re-accreditation -- NOAA’s Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement soon will begin a formal review to retain its accreditation with the International Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. [NOAA News]
New satellite data shows thinner Arctic sea ice -- According to data collected from NASA satellites, researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean is not only shrinking over the last several decades, but also thinning, as younger and thinner ice has replaced the older and thicker ice during the last five years. [NASA] [NASA Earth Observatory]
An Antarctic ice bridge collapses -- Images obtained from the MODIS instruments onboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites over a one week period at the beginning of April show the collapse of the narrow ice bridge connecting two islands off the Antarctic coast that represented a remnant of that continent's Wilkins Ice Shelf. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Scientists attempt return to an Antarctic glacier -- A scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and colleagues are planning to return in the 2009-2010 field season to Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier to drill holes for ultimate deployment of instruments within the ice and cameras in the seawater below the ice shelf during the following season.[NASA Earth Science News Team]
Aerosols and Arctic warming -- A climate scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and colleagues report that the simulations run on a coupled ocean-atmosphere model indicate that nearly half (45 percent) of the atmospheric warming across the Arctic basin since 1976 could be associated with changes in aerosol levels due to human activity. [NASA Earth Science News Team]
New gravity satellite could help study ocean circulation -- The European Space Agency recently announced that the instruments on board its recently launched Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite have been activated, including accelerometers and gradiometer used to make high resolution measurements of Earth's gravity. In addition to obtaining information about the Earth's interior, these instruments should provide information in the study of ocean behavior that can be used to help forecast climate change. [BBC News]
Reduced nickel trigger seen as possible trigger for increased ancient oxygen -- Research conducted by scientists at the Carnegie Institution and the University of Alberta on banded-iron formations of sedimentary rocks prior to the 550 million years ago suggests that increases in oxygen levels beginning approximately 2.4 billion years ago during the "Great Oxidation Event" may be linked to a drop in the levels of dissolved nickel in seawater, which could have affected the methanogens (methane-producing microorganisms) in the ancient oceans. [EurekAlert!]
Recent Pacific earthquake reveals enhanced tsunami risk -- The 8.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific Ocean on 1 April 2007 in a subduction zone between several tectonic plates reveals previously unknown earthquake and tsunami risks according to researchers from Penn State University and the University of California, Santa Cruz. [EurekAlert!]
Management of nation's coastal waters could be aided by public trust doctrine -- A team of Duke University experts has published a new policy paper that argues for the establishment of a public trust doctrine for federal coastal waters that could be an effective and ethical solution to conflicts between energy developers, fisheries managers and environmentalists. [EurekAlert!]
Decoding the genome of oceanic carbon managers -- Researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have decoded genomes of two algal strains, that play a major role in managing carbon in the global oceans. [EurekAlert!]
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]
Improved climate simulations run for 400 years -- Climate scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory claim that they have obtained substantially improved high-resolution simulations of the global ocean-atmosphere circulation regimes over a 400-year time span using the Community Climate System Model. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]
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 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:

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. Because 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)
16 April 1851...The famous "Lighthouse Storm" (a "nor'easter") raged near Boston Harbor. Whole gales and gigantic waves destroyed the 116-ft Minot Ledge Light at Cohasset, MA with the loss of its two keepers still inside. The lighthouse was the first one built in the United States that was exposed to the full force of the ocean. The storm coupled with a spring tide resulted in massive flooding, great shipping losses and coastal erosion. Streets in Boston were flooded to the Custom House. (David Ludlum) (US Coast Guard Historians Office) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
16 April 1854...A furious storm that produced two feet of snow at New Brunswick, NJ also caused approximately 18 shipwrecks along the New Jersey coast. The immigrant ship Powhattan beached 100 yards from the shore. With rescue impossible, 340 people onboard lost their lives. "The shrieks of the drowning creatures were melancholy indeed." (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
16 April 1992...The Katina P ran aground off Maputo, Mozambique, causing 60,000 tons of crude oil to spill into the ocean. (Wikipedia)
17 April 1492...Spain and the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus signed a contract for him to sail to Asia to obtain spices. (Wikipedia)
17 April 1524...Giovanni Verrazano, a Florentine navigator, onboard the frigate La Dauphine "discovered" New York Bay. (Wikipedia)
18 April 1906...An early morning magnitude 7.8 earthquake along with a subsequent fire devastated much of San Francisco, CA, resulting in one of the worst natural disasters to hit a major US city. As many as 6000 people may have died because of this disaster. The earthquake was along the San Andreas Fault, with an epicenter thought to have been near Mussel Rock along the coast at suburban Daly City. [A series of articles commemorating the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake has been posted. San Francisco Chronicle]
18 April 1848...U.S. Navy expedition to explore the Dead Sea and the River Jordan, commanded by LT William F. Lynch, reached the Dead Sea. (Naval Historical Center)
19 April 1770...Captain James Cook discovered New South Wales, Australia. Cook originally named the land Point Hicks.