Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ONE: 1-5 February 2010

Items of Interest:

Interesting videos -- Several one to two-minute videos display interesting facets of nature:
A two minute video that shows a drop of water falling into a puddle at 2000 frames a second. You will see something totally unexpected.
http://www.flixxy.com/water-drop.htm
A super cooled water video where supercooled water at a temperature of -6 degrees Fahrenheit is poured into a bowl as a liquid, but forms a slush with ropelike peaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSPzMva9_CE
Dolphins blowing bubble rings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q
[Editor's note: Special thanks are extended to Rusty Kapela, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Forecast Office at Milwaukee-Sullivan. EJH]
Visualization of scientific data gets a boost -- NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the computer search engine company Google have signed a cooperative research and development agreement that outlines the procedures to be taken for their collaboration in creating state-of-the-art visualizations of scientific data designed to illustrate how planetary processes to both the scientific community and the public. [NOAA News]
"Climate Kids" website launched -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently unveiled a new "Climate Kids" Web site designed to help youngsters, especially in grades 4 through 6, understand climate change. This new website is meant to complement NASA's award-winning "Global Climate Change" and the "Space Place" websites designed for adults. [NASA JPL]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, several tropical cyclones (low-pressure system that forms over a tropical ocean basin) were detected over the tropical Pacific and South Indian Oceans:
In the South Indian Ocean basin, the eleventh tropical depression of the season, Tropical Depression 11S, formed over the waters east of La Reunion at midweek. This system, which reached tropical storm strength, moved southward before loosing its tropical characteristics and becoming a midlatitude storm. For more information and satellite images of Tropical Depression 11S, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the South Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Nisha, the tenth tropical cyclone of the season, formed at midweek to the west-southwest of American Samoa. This tropical storm moved westward before dissipating. Satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Nisha can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Tropical Cyclone Olga, which had formed at the end of the previous week over the South Pacific east of northeastern Australia, traveled westward and made three landfalls along the Australian continent. Olga finally dissipated as it traveled southward into the continent's interior. Additional information on Tropical Cyclone Olga, along with satellite images are on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Community efforts to protect Pacific coral reefs gets monetary support -- NOAA recently awarded a nearly $200,000 grant to the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa for the first year of a 5-year project designed to consider the effects of land-based pollution sources that would affect the coral reefs in the Pacific. [NOAA News]
Collaboration taken for monkfish migration research -- Researchers at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center laboratory in Woods Hole, MA and commercial fishers are placing electronic tags on hundreds of monkfish that frequent the waters of the Gulf of Maine and off the coast of southern New England so as to track the travels of these fish during their lifetimes so as to gain a better understanding of the population dynamics. [NOAA News]
Complications arise in finding new site for NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific -- NOAA recently notified the US Government Accountability Office by letter that an assessment will be made to see if a practicable alternative can be made to awarding a lease to Oregon's Port of Newport for the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Pacific. [NOAA News]
Arctic melt season lengthens -- Scientists from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center have assembled several images from data collected from several US satellites that document the lengthening of the continuous Arctic sea ice melt season by nearly one week between 1979 and 2007. across described another way Arctic sea ice is changing: the summer melt season is getting significantly longer. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Satellite view of a hurricane formation region -- An image made from data collected by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite shows the Cape Verde Islands in the tropical Atlantic Ocean off the western African coast, a region known for the development of those Atlantic Ocean hurricanes known as "Cape Verde hurricanes." Scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have participated in the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities (NAMMA) experiment in 2006 to study the dynamics involved with the formation of these hurricanes. [NASA GSFC]
Increases in maximum wave height seen along the Pacific Northwest coast -- Researchers at Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries have seen a significant increase in the maximum ocean wave heights in coastal waters along the Pacific Northwest during the last several decades. These researchers attribute potential reasons for the increased maximum wave heights to changes in climate that would cause changes in storm, tracks, more intense winter storms, as well as to climate fluctuations such as El Niño events and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. [Oregon State University]
Results of forensic analysis of Katrina's impacts released -- A recent special edition of the journal Ocean Engineering has articles written by researchers including those who served on an Interagency Performance Evaluation Task force that provide a detailed forensic analysis of the impact that the 2005 Hurricane Katrina had upon the Gulf Coast, along with an overview of the lessons learned from this disaster, the most destructive natural disaster in US history. [EurekAlert!]
Link between iron and algae blooms studied -- Scientists from Australia's Queensland University of Technology have studied how iron compounds, such as that found in the sediments of iron-rich soils that runoff into the coastal waters of the South Pacific, are linked to the occurrence of large scale blue-green algae blooms that affect these waters. [Queensland University of Technology]
Algal bloom seen in South Atlantic waters -- An image made from data collected earlier in January by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows a large area of the South Atlantic near surface waters off southern South America experiencing what is known as a "phytoplankton bloom," a high density of microscopic organisms resulting from an abundance of nutrients. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Biodiversity seen in the Magellanic Strait's seabed -- Based upon the sediments obtained from an oceanographic cruise in the waters off southern Chile, researchers from the United Kingdom's University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton have found a wide variety of marine organisms in the "macrobenthos" on the seabed of the Straits of Magellan and the Drake Passage that result in a large biodiversity in this environment. [EurekAlert!]
Charting sea level fluctuations for 2500 years -- Researchers at Israel's University of Haifa who studied the fluctuations in sea level in waters of Israel over the last 2500 years report that these changes can be attributed to a global cause due to changes in the volume of ocean water associated with climate-driven changes in ice sheets; to regional causes associated with vertical movements related to pressure associated with ice loading and to local causes associated with tectonic activity. [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, drought, floods, 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, to include drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Touring the DataStreme Ocean Website

NOTE: This Concept for the Week is a repeat of that which appeared in last week's Weekly Ocean News.

Welcome to DataStreme Ocean! You are embarking on a study of the world ocean and the role of the ocean in the Earth system. This unique teacher enhancement course focuses on the flow and transformations of energy and water into and out of the ocean, the internal properties and circulation of the ocean, interactions between the ocean and the other components of the Earth system, and the human/societal impacts on and responses to those interactions. Throughout this learning experience, you will be using the DataStreme Ocean website to access and interpret a variety of environmental information, including recent observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DS Ocean website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Ocean News that includes Ocean in the News (a summary listing of recent events related to the ocean), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to the ocean in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past events such as tsunamis or specific advances in the understanding of oceanography). When appropriate, Supplemental Information will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DS Ocean Studies website to access and download the "Current Ocean Studies" (plus supporting images) that complement your Ocean Studies Investigations Manual. These materials should also be available by noon (Eastern Time) on Monday. Click the appropriate links to download and print these electronic components of the investigations as well as your Chapter, Investigations and Current Ocean Studies Response forms.

The body of the DS Ocean website provides links to the Earth System, information on Physical & Chemical, Geological, and Biological aspects of the ocean, Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, the Great Lakes, and extras—a glossary of terms, maps, educational links, and DataStreme Ocean information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let's take a quick tour to become more familiar with the DS Ocean website.

Under Physical & Chemical, click on Sea Surface Temperatures. This image uses a color scale to depict the global pattern of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) (in degrees Celsius) averaged over a recent 7-day period and based on measurements by infrared sensors onboard Earth-orbiting satellites. (Depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Compare SSTs in the Northern Hemisphere with those in the Southern Hemisphere. Return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Geological, click on Current Earthquake Activity. The USGS Current World Seismicity page provides a global map of the locations of seismic (earthquake) events color-coded for the past seven days. The size of the squares represents the magnitude of recent earthquakes. Note how earthquakes are concentrated along the margin of the Pacific Ocean. Details of recent earthquakes can be found by clicking on their map squares. Return to the DS Ocean website.

The ocean is home to a wide variety of habitats and organisms. Under Biological, click on Ocean "Color" (Productivity). This is a satellite-derived (SeaWiFS) color-coded map of biological productivity in the surface waters of the world ocean is averaged from October 1978 to date. Orange and red indicates the highest productivity, while dark blue and violet indicate the lowest productivity. Note the vast areas of relatively low productivity over the central regions of the subtropical ocean basins. Individual months within this period may be chosen for viewing. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, click on TRMM Tropical Rainfall. The TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) page includes color-coded maps of the Monthly Mean Rainrate (in mm per day) across the tropics for the last 30 days ending on the present date. Changes in rainfall are linked to large-scale shifts in the atmosphere/ocean circulation in the tropics. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the DS Ocean website. You should "bookmark" ("favorites") this page on your computer. Return frequently to learn more about the many resources on the ocean in the Earth system. Bon voyage!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest global sea surface temperature map indicates that SSTs are generally higher over the [(western)(eastern)] tropical Pacific Ocean.
The USGS map of Current Earthquake Activity indicates that earthquakes appear to be more common along the [(east)(west)] coast of North America.

Historical Events

1 February 1788...A patent for a steamboat was issued by the state of Georgia to Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet. The patent was the only one ever to be issued by Georgia, and first in the U.S. for a steamboat. Much development had to follow before the steamboat would be commercially viable. (Today in Science History)
1 February 1838...A U.S. patent (No. 588) was issued for the screw propeller to John Ericsson, (1803-89), a Swedish American engineer, who later designed and built the Monitor for the Union Navy in the War of the Rebellion. (Today in Science History)
1 February 1811...The Bell Rock Lighthouse was lit for the first time eleven miles off the east coast of Scotland. Using 24 lanterns, it began flashing its warning light atop a 100-foot white stone tower. As the oldest sea-washed lighthouse in existence, it was built by Robert Stevenson on a treacherous sandstone reef, which, except at low tides, lies submerged just beneath the waves. In the centuries before, the dangerous Bell Rock had claimed thousands of lives, as vessels were wrecked on its razor-sharp serrated rocks. (Today in Science History)
1 February 1953...An intense low-pressure system (966 millibars or 29.52 inches of mercury) swept across the North Sea. Wind speeds at Aberdeen, Scotland exceeded 125 mph. A storm surge of 13 feet, aided by a high spring tide, breached the dams in as many as 100 places along the Zuider Zee in The Netherlands, flooding 3.95 million acres or one-sixth of the country. More than 1800 deaths were attributed to drowning and 50,000 people were evacuated. In addition, this storm was responsible for the loss of 100,000 poultry, 25,00 pigs and 35,000 cattle. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
2-3 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida on the 3rd; it also represents the earliest reported formation of a tropical storm on record in the Atlantic basin. The storm produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd) (The Weather Channel)
2 February 1976...Groundhog Day Storm, one of the fiercest Maritimes storms ever battered the Bay of Fundy region around Saint John, New Brunswick with winds clocked at 118 mph, generating 39 foot waves with swells of 32.5 feet. (The Weather Doctor)
3 February 1488...The Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Diaz landed at Mossal Bay, Cape of Good Hope, the first European known to have landed on the southern extremity of Africa. He was also the first known European to have traveled this far south and round the Cape. (Wikipedia)
3 February 1880...Date of a terrific gale on the New Jersey coast. Six vessels came ashore with 47 persons on board--all but two survived. Nineteen USLSS crewmen won Gold Life-Saving Medals during the wreck of the George Taulane. (USCG Historian's Office)
3 February 1943...The torpedoing of the transport Dorchester saw USCGC Comanche and Escanaba respond. The crew of the Escanaba used a new rescue technique when pulling survivors from the water. This "retriever" technique used swimmers clad in wet suits to swim to victims in the water and secure a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. Although Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97, over 600 men were lost, including the Four Chaplains. (USCG Historian's Office)
3 February 1953...The French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau published his most famous and lasting work, The Silent World, which was made into a film three years later. (The History Channel)
5 February 1924...Hourly time signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were broadcast for the first time. (Wikipedia)
5 February 1997...High winds pushed mountains of ice against the northern shore of Lake Erie crushing several houses and cottages in Colchester, Ontario. This phenomenon is known as ice shove. (The Weather Doctor)
5 February 2004 - Nineteen Chinese cockle-pickers from a group of 35 drowned after being trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. (Wikipedia)
6 February 1933...The highest reliably observed ocean wave was observed by crew of the US Navy oiler, USS Ramapo, in the North Pacific during the night on its way from Manila to San Diego. The wave was estimated (by triangulation) to have a height of 112 feet. Average winds at the time were 78 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (See additional discussion on highest ocean waves)
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)