Weekly Ocean News

Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK THREE: 10-14 February 2014

For Your Information

Aspects of ocean water chemistry and marine life considered -- If you would like more background information concerning how marine organisms evolved in the ocean with a relatively narrow range of chemical and physical characteristics, please read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth.

Ocean in the News

Eye on the tropics --- As Southern Hemisphere summer continues, organized tropical cyclone (low pressure systems such as tropical storms and hurricanes that form over tropical oceans) activity continued in the South Indian and South Pacific Basins last week:

In the south Indian Ocean, Tropical Storm Edilson formed at midweek
to the northeast of the islands of Mauritius and La Reunion. Traveling to the south-southwest, Tropical Storm Edilson passed near Mauritius. By this past weekend, Edilson had dissipated. Additional information and satellite imagery for Edilson can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
A second tropical storm formed over the waters of the South Indian Ocean late last week. This system, which was identified as Tropical Storm Fobane (also known as Tropical Cyclone 14S), formed approximately 940 miles to the east-northeast Port Louis, Mauritius. This tropical storm traveled toward the south and then south-southeast. By late Sunday (local time), Fobane was located approximately 820 miles to the south-southeast of Diego Garcia. Forecasts indicated that Fobane could intensify to become a category one tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale before weakening and dissipating during this week. See the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite imagery and additional information on Tropical Storm Fobane.
In western South Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Edna developed early last week approximately 450 miles to the northwest of New Caledonia. This tropical storm traveled toward the south-southeast, but weakened and dissipated within 48 hours after formation. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite imagery and additional information on Tropical Cyclone Edna.

National Hurricane Center to receive key satellite data in near real-time from Japanese partner -- When the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season commences in June, forecasters at NOAA's National Hurricane Center will be able to use data obtained from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) instrument onboard the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) GCOM-W1 polar-orbiting satellite. These data, which will be available on a near real-time basis, should improve the forecasters' ability to monitor the development, location, and structure of tropical cyclones. [NOAA NESDIS News]
New Habitat Focus Areas to receive targeted conservation efforts -- During the last week, NOAA Fisheries officials announced that two sites in the Pacific Islands region had been selected as the next "Habitat Focus Areas" under the agency's Habitat Blueprint, a strategy designed to integrate habitat conservation throughout NOAA. A watershed on the southern part of Guam and a section on the western side of Hawaii's Big Island have been identified as places where NOAA can maximize its habitat conservation investments to benefit to marine resources and coastal communities. [NOAA Fisheries News]
State shark fin laws in California, Maryland and Washington found to be consistent with national Shark Conservation Act -- Following an exchange of letters, officials with NOAA Fisheries have found that the individual state shark fin laws in California, Maryland and Washington are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which includes the Shark Conservation Act attached as an amendment in 2010. [NOAA Fisheries News]
High pollutant levels found in a bay along coastal Puerto Rico represent toxic threat to corals and fish -- In research conducted by the NOAA National Ocean Service's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the pollutants measured in the sediments of Guánica Bay, Puerto Rico, were among the highest concentrations of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), chlordane, chromium and nickel ever measured in the history of NOAA's National Status & Trends, a nationwide contaminant monitoring program that began in 1986. The scientists warned that these levels of pollutant concentrations represent "serious toxic threats" to the coral, fish and other plant and animal life dwelling at the bottom of this Bay. [NOAA News]
Letters exchanged on China's bivalve ban in Northeast Pacific -- NOAA's Office of Seafood Inspection received a letter from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) stating that China's ban on geoduck and other bivalve shellfish from FAO area 67 Northeast Pacific, which includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon and northern California, remains in effect with no change. [NOAA Fisheries News]
Computer tool can help track spill oil -- Scientists with the US Geological Survey have developed a computer model that is intended to help other scientists track the movement of sand and oil found along the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and predict where oil will go after a spill. The new tool can help guide clean-up efforts, and be used to aid the response to future oil spills. [USGS Newsroom]
Link between salmon migration and magnetic field confirmed -- A team of scientists from Oregon State University has confirmed the connection between migration patterns of ocean salmon and the Earth's magnetic field, which could help explain how these fish can navigate across several thousand miles of open ocean to find their river of origin. This link was confirmed based upon a series of experiments conducted on juvenile Chinook salmon at a fish hatchery research center on a western Oregon watershed. [Oregon State University News]
Evolution and structure of moisture-laden atmospheric rivers studied -- During the past week scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and Scripps Institute for Oceanography have been flying onboard the NOAA Gulfstream IV aircraft and taking measurements of atmospheric temperature, humidity, pressure and wind speed/direction over the North Pacific Ocean off the California coast. They are collecting these data to better understand the evolution and structure of "atmospheric rivers" or narrow corridors of humid air that travel for thousands of miles across the North Pacific and bring abundant quantities of water vapor to the US West Coast that can replenish water supplies, build snowpack on the western mountain ranges and even cause flooding rain events. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Past and future climate of Greenland investigated -- Physical oceanographers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently produced a review paper that describes what scientists have learned from their research on and around Greenland over the past two decades in attempting to assess changes in the climate of Greenland. During this time span, the rate of ice loss from Greenland's Ice Sheet had increased four-fold and has served as a significant contributor to global sea level rise. An explanation is made of the mechanisms that cause the melting of the ice sheet especially along its margin along the ocean. The paper also describes the measurements and technology that was used. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution News Release]
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]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Sea Water Salinity and Carbon Dioxide

In view of the contemporary concern regarding global climate change, scientists are studying the various factors that govern the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are on the rise primarily because of the burning of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil, natural gas). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (an atmospheric gas that absorbs and radiates infrared radiation) so that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be contributing to global warming. The ocean's role in regulating the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on the temperature, salinity, and biological components of surface waters.

As noted in Chapter 3 of your textbook, gases are more soluble in cold seawater than warm seawater. Hence, changes in sea surface temperature affect the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide. As noted in Chapter 1 of your textbook, photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen. And through cellular respiration, all organisms release carbon dioxide. What about the effects of changes in salinity on the ocean's uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide? Research from the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii provides some insight on this question.

Since the late 1980s, scientists have been recording ocean conditions at a site (dubbed ALOHA) about 100 km (62 mi) north of Oahu. In 2003, David M. Karl, a biogeochemist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, reported a decline in the rate at which surface ocean waters were absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, in 2001, the rate of CO₂ uptake was only about 15% of what it was in 1989. Why the change in CO₂ uptake? In this region of the Pacific north of Hawaii, sea surface temperatures showed no significant change during the period of observation but precipitation decreased and evaporation increased. Less precipitation coupled with higher rates of evaporation caused the surface water salinity at ALOHA to increase by about 1%. Increasing salinity inhibits water's ability to absorb gases including carbon dioxide. Karl and his colleagues attribute 40% of the decline in the ocean's CO₂ uptake to the saltier waters. The balance of the decline may be due to changes in biological productivity or ocean mixing.

Concept of the Week: Questions

With rising sea surface temperatures, the rate of evaporation of sea water [(increases)(decreases)].
With increasing salinity and constant temperature, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is taken up by ocean water [(increases)(decreases)].

Historical Events

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 crew members 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)
16 February 1832...The HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin onboard reached St-Pauls (1 degrees N, 29 degrees W).
16 February 1993...The Haitian passenger ferry Neptune sank, sending 1,215 Haitians to their deaths. Coast Guard units participated in the search and rescue operation but found no survivors. They then assisted in recovering the bodies of the victims. (USCG Historian's Office)