news02

Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK TWO: 8-12 February 2010

Ocean in the News

Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, several tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical oceans) were found over the waters of the South Indian and the South Pacific Oceans:
In the South Indian Ocean basin, Tropical Storm Fami made landfall along the coast of Madagascar early last week. For additional information and satellite imagery on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the South Pacific basin, Tropical Cyclone Oli developed at the beginning of last week near the Fiji Islands and reached major category 4 cyclone status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale near Bora Bora and Tahiti as near surface winds reached 130 mph. This cyclone was moving to the south-southeast at the start of the weekend. A striking true-color image obtained from MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite shows the characteristic swirl of clouds associated with tropical cyclones that appeared around Tropical Cyclone Oli. [NASA Earth Observatory] [Editor's note: Since this tropical cyclone is in the Southern Hemisphere, the cloud pattern is reversed from that normally seen by Northern Hemisphere counterparts, such as hurricanes. EJH] Additional satellite imagery and information about Oli can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
New fisheries survey vessel is delivered -- NOAA's Fisheries Service recently took delivery of the 208-ft. Bell M. Shimada, the agency's newest high-tech fisheries survey vessel that will support marine research along the waters off the West Coast. [NOAA News]
Action taken on fisheries enforcement report -- Last week, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco instructed the agency's head attorney and its top fisheries manager to take immediate and long-term actions to improve NOAA's enforcement and legal operations in response to recent recommendations made by the US Commerce Department's Inspector General. She also instructed her agency to enhance its relationship with the fishing community. [NOAA News]
Eight "climate engagement" mini-grants awarded -- Eight NOAA National Sea Grant College Program grants were recently awarded as worth $25,000 "climate engagement" mini-grants to local university Sea Grant programs and NOAA Regional Collaboration Teams in eight regions including Alaska, the Pacific Islands and the coasts of the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Great Lakes in the continental United States. [NOAA News]
Oceans sensitive to factors involved with climate change -- A famous renowned Antarctic marine biologist from the University of Alabama at Birmingham claims that the research he and colleagues conducted indicates that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are not only causing climate change, but is also increasing the acidity of the world's oceans, which poses an increasing threat to the marine environment. He also notes that the Southern Oceans are especially vulnerable. [University of Alabama-Birmingham]
Mediterranean dolphins threatened by fishing activity -- Researchers at Israel's University of Haifa warn that extensive commercial fishing activity in the Mediterranean Sea is endangering the dolphin populations especially off the coast of Israel. [University of Haifa]
Documenting intentional changes to river flow and sedimentation -- Comparison of images made by sensors onboard NASA's Landsat satellites taken in 1989 and 2009 of China's Huang He (Yellow River) shows the effects upon the distribution of sediments at the river's mouth into the Bohai Sea due to intentional efforts by engineers to regulate the river flow for flood control and coastal development protection. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Chemistry of ancient seawater deciphered from carbonates -- A team of scientists from the United Kingdom's University of Southampton and the Imperial College of London and from the University of Michigan have demonstrated a method of reconstructing the variations in the chemical composition of ocean water over geological time from the samples of calcium carbonate veins in the upper ocean crust that were obtained from the Ocean Drilling Program and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. [EurekAlert!]
New geosynchronous environmental satellite readied for launch -- Scientists and engineers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Boeing Company are readying the new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-P for launch on 1 March 2010. This new generation geosynchronous weather satellite will have improved image resolution from its spatial "imager" instrument, as well as improvements in image navigation. In addition to monitoring weather, sensors on this satellite will monitor ocean surface temperatures, snow and ice cover, crop conditions and "space weather" that includes monitoring solar radiation reaching the satellite. [NASA GOES-P Mission]
Explaining the global-average temperature records -- Recent controversy has developed concerning the differences between three widely quoted data sets that portray the year by year global temperature trends beginning in the mid to late nineteenth century. These independent data sets were generated from essentially the same surface temperature observations by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office's Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia (HadCRUT3) using slightly different averaging techniques. Dr. Peter Stott from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office explains the three independent primary temperature data sets used to calculate global temperature trends. [UK Met Office] [Editor's note: Additional information and access to the HadCRUT3 can be obtained from the UK Met Office site. EJH]
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.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some ocean-related experience that you would like to share with other DataStreme Ocean participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document for possible inclusion in a News file. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: The Birth of Surtsey, A Volcanic Island

In early November 1963, cod fishers plying the waters of the North Atlantic south of Iceland observed what appeared to be smoke or steam emanating from the distant ocean surface. They were witnessing the beginnings of a volcanic eruption that ultimately would give birth to a new island later named Surtsey after Surtur, the fire giant of Norse mythology. Surtsey is located at 63.4 degrees N, 20.3 degrees W or 33 km (20 mi) south of the coast of Iceland. Volcanic activity was nothing new to the fishers who lived on the nearby volcanic Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). These islands as well as the main island of Iceland straddle the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary where hot molten lava wells up from the Earth's mantle, cools and solidifies into new oceanic crust.

Eruptions that produced Surtsey began on the ocean floor, some 130 m (427 ft) below sea level. The accumulating lava, cinders, and ash first emerged from the sea on 15 November 1963. Over the next 3.5 years, episodic eruptions built an island that eventually covered 2.5 square km (1 square mi) and attained a maximum elevation of 171 m (560 ft) above sea level. The initial eruptions were explosive as hot magma interacted with cold seawater producing dark jets of ash and steam that shot up to 200 m (656 ft) above two main volcanic vents. At this time, clouds of ash and steam rose into the atmosphere to altitudes perhaps as great as 10 km (6.2 mi). Subsequent eruptions were much more peaceful, consisting of quiescent flows of lava. When the eruptions ceased in early June 1967, a cubic kilometer of ash and lava had built up on the ocean floor with 9% of this volcanic material above sea level.

No volcanic activity has occurred on Surtsey since 1967 and geologists consider the volcanic island to be extinct with little risk of future eruptions. Nonetheless, Surtsey remains off limits to visitors except for scientists who obtain permission from the Icelandic government. The island offers scientists a unique opportunity to study not only the geology but also the establishment of plants and animals on the island, a process known as ecological succession. For example, by 1987, some 25 species of higher plants were growing on the initially barren island and 20 species of birds were nesting there.

Unless volcanic activity begins anew, the future is not bright for Surtsey. Some geologists predict that in a hundred years or so the island will be reduced to scattered stacks of rock. The island is composed of basaltic rock that is particularly vulnerable to weathering and erosion, ocean waves are eroding its shores, and the island is gradually sinking into the sea. Scientists reported a total subsidence of about 1.1 m (3.6 ft) between 1967 and 1991. Compaction of the volcanic material and the underlying sea-floor sediments are likely causes of the subsidence. For NASA topographical images of Surtsey, go to http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov/research/garvin/surtsey.html . These images were obtained using a scanning airborne laser altimeter.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. The volcanism responsible for the formation of Surtsey was associated with a [(divergent)(convergent)] tectonic plate boundary.

2. At present on Surtsey, erosive forces [(are)(are not)] prevailing over volcanic activity.

Historical Events

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 a 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)
14 February 1779...The famous British scientific navigator, Captain James Cook, Royal Navy, was killed by natives of the Sandwich Islands on the Kona coast of what is now the state of Hawaii's Big Island. His geographic discoveries and three scientific expeditions of the Pacific made him the most famous navigator since Magellan. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
14 February 1840...Officers from the USS Vincennes made the first landing in Antarctica on floating ice. (Naval Historical Center)
14 February 1903...An Act of Congress (31 Stat. L., 826, 827) that created the Department of Commerce and Labor provided for the transfer of the Lighthouse Service from the Treasury Department. This allowed the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to succeed to the authority vested in the Secretary of the Treasury under the existing legislation. (USCG Historian's Office)
14 February 1912...The first diesel-powered submarine was commissioned in Groton, CT. (Wikipedia)
14 February 1954...A waterspout was observed two miles east of Baranof, AK, an unusual occurrence for Alaska, particularly in winter. Just prior to the formation of the waterspout, a "terrific wind from the south out of a bay inside Warm Springs Bay" lifted water 20 feet and looked "as if it were boiling". (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)