WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

26-30 June 2006

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2006 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 28 August 2006. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Ocean in the News:

• Regulations proposed to reduce ship-whale collisions -- The NOAA Fisheries Service has formally proposed regulations designed to reduce the risk of collisions between ships and the endangered North Atlantic right whales. Speed restrictions would be placed upon vessels traveling along the US East Coast. [NOAA News]
• Status of Marine Fisheries given -- During the last week, the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries released the annual report on the status of the nation's fisheries during 2005. This report indicates progress in rebuilding over-fished species. [NOAA News]
• Milestones reached in construction of NOAA vessels -- Late last week, the keel was laid for the NOAA Research Vessel "Pisces" and the ceremonial cutting of a steel plate that marks the construction of a fourth new fisheries survey vessel. Both ceremonies were conducted at a Moss Point, MS shipyard. [NOAA News]
• First images from GOES-13 -- The first full disk visible image obtained by sensors onboard the newly launched GOES-13 satellite were received last week by the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This satellite, launched in May, represents the first in a new series of geosynchronous satellites to be used to monitor atmospheric and oceanic conditions from a station located approximately 23,000 miles above the Western Hemisphere. [UW SSEC]
• Intense lightning found around hurricane eye -- Using data collected from satellites and high flying ER-2 aircraft, scientists from NASA, NOAA and ten universities participating in the Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes field experiment found that intense lightning activity was found in the eyewall surrounding the central eye of several hurricanes, including Hurricane Emily. [NASA News]
• Pro-whaling nations claim early victory -- By a majority of only one vote, the International Whaling Commission backed a resolution that could eventually lead to the return of commercial whaling. The pro-whaling nations include Japan, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Russia, Morocco and Cambodia. [National Geographic News]
• Southern Ocean may hold key to atmospheric carbon levels -- -- Scientists at Princeton University and at NOAA report that the circulation pattern in the Southern Ocean that surrounds the Antarctic continent south of a latitude of 60 degrees south appears to serve as an important mechanism for regulating levels of global atmospheric carbon dioxide. [Princeton University]
• Heightened hurricane activity in 2005 may be due to increases in global temperatures -- Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research claim that the warmer waters of the tropical North Atlantic in 2005 that helped generate a record number of tropical storms and hurricanes appears to have been associated with increased global temperatures than due to other natural cycles. [NCAR/UCAR]
• Results from hurricane field experiment discussed -- A meeting will be held next week at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, VA as researchers will discuss some of the preliminary results that obtained when they flew into the eyes of Hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia and Rita as part of the NSF-funded RAINEX (the Rainband and Intensity Change Experiment). Of special interest is the vortices of rapidly rotating air within the hurricane's eyewall and feeder rain bands. [EurekAlert!]
• Coral reefs in Indian Ocean remain healthy -- Scientists from Conservation International and other organizations report that the coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the northeast coast of Madagascar appear to remain healthy and to be resisting damage associated with warming ocean waters attributed to global scale warming. [EurekAlert!]
• Use satellite data to help select a Mediterranean beach -- The European Space Agency (ESA) has helped develop a service called "Medspiration" that obtains sea surface temperature data from ESA, NOAA and NASA satellites and displays these temperatures for the Mediterranean Sea, thereby allowing the public to determine water temperatures before going on holiday. [ESA]
• Study shows decline in ecosystems in the world's coastal seas and estuaries -- A report prepared by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis along with ten additional international experts indicates that marine animal and plant species along the coastal margins of the continents have experienced a major decline due to human activity. While this news is bleak, signs of recovery are apparent, especially in areas where conservation efforts have been implemented during the last century. [EurekAlert!]
• New ice volume model developed -- Researchers at Boston University who developed a new model that determines the change in ice volume report that the ice volume in the Northern Hemisphere from 3 million to 0.8 million years ago has tended to vary with a primary periodic component with a 41,000 year cycle, corresponding to the long-term variations in the obliquity of the ecliptic (angle of the earth's spin axis with respect to any line held perpendicular to the earth's ecliptic or orbital plane). [EurekAlert!]
• Despite development of protected marine parks, world's coral reefs remain vulnerable -- A report issued by an international team of scientists indicates that while nearly one- fifth of the world's tropical coral reefs lie within "Marine Protected Areas" designated to insure protection, less than 2 percent of these reefs are currently receiving extended and complete protection through regulations involving extraction, poaching and other threats. [EurekAlert!]
• South Korea joins the deep-sea drilling program -- The Republic of Korea has become a member of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, currently the largest and most ambitious scientific ocean research program, which now consists of 21 member countries. [EurekAlert!]
• Ready for "the Big One"? -- A researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography reports that sections of the San Andreas fault, which is the boundary between the North American and Pacific plates running along the California coast through such communities as San Francisco, appears to have been stressed to the point where a major earthquake with magnitude 7 or greater could occur sooner than some researchers think. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography]
• View operation of seafloor observatory online -- British Columbia's University of Victory has unveiled an interactive portal on the Internet for the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) facility, an underwater observatory in the waters off Vancouver Island. This site will allow the public to observe sounds and images, along with data, from the underwater environment. [University of Victoria]
• 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.

Historical Events:

• 26 June 1954...Eight fishermen were swept off the breakwater of the Montrose Harbor in Chicago, IL by a seiche on Lake Michigan. At the time, this killer wave rose suddenly from a serene Lake Michigan; sunny skies and calm wind conditions were reported. The seiche, produced by an earlier squall on the lake, caused the lake water to rise ten feet. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 26 June 1959...Following an opening ceremony attended by President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II, 28 naval vessels sailed from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, marking the formal opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway to seagoing ships. The Seaway consists of a navigational channel system of canals, locks, and dredged waterways, permitting travel from the Gulf of St. Lawrence nearly 2500 miles inland to Duluth, MN on Lake Superior. (Naval Historical Center) (The History Channel)
• 26 June 1986...Hurricane Bonnie made landfall on the upper Texas coast. A wind gust to 98 mph occurred at Sea Rim State Park. The town of Ace recorded 13 inches of rain. (Intellicast)
• 26 June-7 July 1989...Tropical Storm Allison formed in the Gulf of Mexico from remnants of Hurricane Cosme in the eastern North Pacific. Periods of heavy rain caused flooding across parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. Winnfield, LA reported a six-day total of 29.52 inches of rain. This system was responsible for eleven deaths and approximately $500 million in damage. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 27 June 1898...The first solo circumnavigation of the globe was completed in slightly more than three years by the Canadian seaman and adventurer Joshua Slocum of Briar Island, NS when he returned to Newport, RI after sailing the 37-foot Spray a distance of 46,000 miles. After completing this voyage Slocum wrote the classic book, Sailing Alone Around the World describing his adventure. (Wikipedia)
• 27-29 June 1954...Excessive rains from remnants of Hurricane Alice led to the Rio Grande River's worst flood. Up to 27.1 inches of rain fell at Pandale, TX. As many as 55 people died from the flooding. The river crest at Laredo, TX broke the previous highest record by 12.6 feet. The roadway on the US. 90 bridge over the Pecos River was covered by 30 feet of water on the 27^th. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (David Ludlum)
• 27 June 1957...Hurricane Audrey smashed ashore at Cameron, LA drowning 381 persons in the storm tide, and causing 150 million dollars damage in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Audrey left only a brick courthouse and a cement-block icehouse standing at Cameron, and when the waters settled in the town of Crede, only four buildings remained. The powerful winds of Audrey tossed a fishing trawler weighing 78 tons onto an offshore drilling platform. Winds along the coast gusted to 105 mph, and oilrigs off the Louisiana coast reported wind gusts to 180 mph. A storm surge greater than twelve feet inundated the Louisiana coast as much as 25 miles inland. It was the deadliest June hurricane of record for the U.S. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 27 June 1978...SEASAT, an experimental U.S. ocean surveillance satellite was launched. Each day, SEASAT made 14 orbits of the Earth, and in a period of 36 hours was able to monitor nearly 96% of the oceanic surface. The measurement equipment on board was able to penetrate cloud cover and report measurements such as wave height, water temperature, currents, winds, icebergs, and coastal characteristics. Although it operated for only 99 days before a power failure, it had already shown the viability of the use of a satellite for collecting oceanic data. The information collected was shared with scientists and was used to aid transoceanic travel by ships and aircraft. (Today in Science History)
• 27-29 June 1997...Although thousands of miles away, a strong low pressure system southeast of New Zealand produced surf up to seven feet, with occasional sets to ten feet, along Hawaii's south-facing coasts. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 28 June 1983...A waterspout was sighted over Hazin Bay on the Yukon-Kuskokwim coast of Alaska. Satellites detected thunderstorms in the area. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 28 June 1992...A slow moving tropical depression produced excessive rains across southwest Florida. Four-day totals ending on the 28^th, ranged up to 25 inches in the Venice area, with a general 8 to 14 inches over Sarasota and Manatee counties. Two deaths resulted from the flooding. (Intellicast)
• 29 June 1860...The replacement to the first iron-pile lighthouse in the U.S. was completed at Minot's Ledge, near Scituate, Massachusetts, replacing the one at the same site that was built between 1847 and 1850, lighted 1 Jan 1850 but destroyed in a storm in April 1851. In 1860, the last stone was laid for the new Minot's Ledge lighthouse, five years minus one day after workmen first landed at the ledge. The final cost of about $300,000 made it one of the most expensive lighthouses in U.S. history. It stood off Boston's south shore, just outside Boston Harbour to warn ships of rocks that had claimed many vessels. The first granite block was laid for the new lighthouse on 9 Jul 1857. The lantern room and second order Fresnel lens were put into place and illuminated on 22 Aug 1860. This structure has withstood all storms since, and stands to this day. (Today in Science History)
• 29 June 1982...The Soviet Union launched COSPAS I, the first search and rescue satellite ever launched. In combination with later SARSAT satellites, a new multi-agency, international, search and rescue service was made operational. On 11 September 1982, it was credited with helping to save the crew of Cessna 172, a Canadian airplane. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 30 June 1886...The second destructive hurricane in nine days hit the Apalachicola-Tallahassee area of Florida. (David Ludlum)
• 30 June 1972...The entire state of Pennsylvania was declared a disaster area as a result of the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes, which claimed 48 lives, and caused 2.1 billion dollars damage. (The Weather Channel)
• 30 June 1989...The remains of tropical storm Allison dropped copious amounts of rain on Louisiana. Winnfield, LA reported 22.52 inches of rain in three days, and more than thirty inches for the month, a record for June. Shreveport received a record 17.11 inches in June, with a total for the first six months of the year of 45.55 inches. Thunderstorms also helped produce record rainfall totals for the month of June of 13.12 inches at Birmingham, AL, 14.66 inches at Oklahoma City, OK, 17.41 inches at Tallahassee, FL, 9.97 inches at Lynchburg, VA, and more than 10.25 inches at Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh had also experienced a record wet month of May. (The National Weather Summary) (Intellicast)
• 1 July 1792...A tremendous storm (a tornado or hurricane) hit Philadelphia and New York City. Many young people were drowned while out boating on that Sunday. (David Ludlum)
• 1 July 1885...The United States terminated reciprocity and a fishery agreement with Canada. (Wikipedia)
• 2 July 1578...The British seaman and explorer, Martin Frobisher sighted Baffin Island, one of Canada's Arctic islands. (Wikipedia)
• 2-6 July 1994... Heavy rains from the remains of Tropical Storm Alberto produced major flooding across northern and central Georgia. Three-day rains exceeded 15 inches at Atlanta. An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA on the 6^th to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. Numerous road closures and bridge washouts. Thirty people were killed and 50,000 were forced from their homes, as 800,000 acres were flooded. Total damage exceeded $750 million.. (NCDC) (Intellicast)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2006, The American Meteorological Society.