WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

21-25 August 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:

• An important indicator of coastal ecological health is found -- Scientists with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science recently announced that grass shrimp appears to be an important biological indicator of human impacts on the ecological environment of US coastal systems, including estuaries, coastal wetlands and coral reefs. [NOAA News]
• NOAA scientists receive Presidential Early Career Awards -- Kathi Lefebvre, a research biologist studying pollutants in the ocean at the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center (Seattle, WA) and Arlene Fiore, a research physical scientist at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (Princeton, NJ), who studies atmospheric chemistry and ozone pollution, were at the White House along with 56 others to receive Presidential Early Career Awards in Science and Engineering, the nation’s highest honor for scientists early in their careers. [NOAA News]
• Action is considered for Mediterranean oil spill -- A meeting was held last week with UN officials and representatives from the European Union, Lebanon, Syria, Greece and Turkey in an attempt to form a strategy to clean up the oil that had spread out into the Mediterranean Sea following the bombing of a Lebanese power plant during the recent hostilities between Lebanon and Israel. [BBC News] An image from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite shows the oil slick on the surface of the Mediterranean Sea off the Lebanon coast in mid August, the result of an oil spill from a power station during the military conflict between Lebanon and Israel. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Tropical waters warm as peak hurricane season approaches -- Images obtained from Japan’s Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite taken in early and mid August document the two-week increase in sea-surface temperatures to at least 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) across the tropical North Atlantic, the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, reaching the threshold needed for hurricane formation across that oceanic basin. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• A space-age view of the Channel and the White Cliffs of Dover -- An image made from data collected by the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite shows variations in color of the water from white to royal blue in the narrow portion of the English Channel called the Strait of Dover and the white outline of the famed White Cliffs of Dover. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Eye on the tropics --
  • In the eastern North Pacific, the eighth named tropical cyclone (low-pressure system that becomes a tropical storm or hurricane) of the 2006 hurricane season in that basin formed last week off the Mexican coast and became Hurricane Hector. This hurricane, which intensified to a category 2 system on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity Scale, moved to the west-northwest and weakened to a tropical storm at the end of the weekend. An image of Hurricane Hector was made at the end of last week from data obtained from NOAA's GOES-11 geosynchronous satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
  • In the central Pacific, Hurricane Ioke formed late in the weekend and traveled westward, passing to the south of the Hawaiian Islands over the weekend.
• Complaints of no typhoon warnings are made -- Residents of southern China have accused the Chinese government of not providing adequate warning before the powerful Typhoon Saomai made landfall earlier this month. They also claimed that the death toll is at least three times higher than the 319 people that the official report indicates. [USA Today]
• Hurricane relief mapping is undertaken -- A geography professor at Florida State University had receiver a grant to develop new spatial models for hurricane disaster relief. [EurekAlert!]
• Erosion of Alps could have been due to climate change -- Scientists at the University of Washington, the University of Bern and the University of Bologna have proposed that the erosion of the Alps from their highest elevations resulted from major erosion due to a sudden drop in the level of the Mediterranean Sea along with a warmer and wetter climate. A blockage of the Mediterranean from the other world oceans and evaporation were responsible for the drop in sea level, which then allowed for increased riverine erosion due to a steeper gradient. [EurekAlert!]
• Using bacteria to predict ocean change -- Scientists from the University of Southern California and Columbia University claim that studying microbial bacteria behavior could help create accurate models that describe ocean change. [EurekAlert!]
• Hurricane intensity related to warming sea surfaces? A scientist at Florida State University claims that his analysis of data indicates a link between more intense hurricane activity and the 50-year increase in near surface air temperatures along with Atlantic sea surface temperatures during the hurricane season (June through November). [EurekAlert!]
• An increase in ocean noise has been noted -- Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography report that they have found a considerable increase in the amount of underwater noise in the ocean in the last 40 years, with increases in global shipping and noisier ships being a significant contributor to this noise pollution. The researchers are unsure as to the impacts of this noise has upon marine life. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography]
• Shells used to help oysters return -- Volunteers have been dumping donated oyster shells into sections of San Francisco Bay as part of a restoration effort with hopes that these shells could provide the necessary calcite substrate for new oysters, thereby aid in the return of native oysters to the Bay. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• "Toxic ship" reaches its final port -- The ocean liner formerly known as the SS France recently docked in the port of Alang in western India where the asbestos-lined ship will be scrapped within a month. However, the scraping of the ship has created controversy with environmentalists protesting that carcinogenic asbestos and toxic wastes would be released, while others would like to restore this once-famous ship. [BBC News]
• Norway may have large fossil fuel reserves -- Norwegian and Russian officials report that a large area containing oil and gas reserves could be developed found under the Barents Sea off of northern Norway and adjoining sections of Russia. However, environmentalists have voiced concern that exploration could cause possible damage to the Arctic environment. [BBC News]
• 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:

• 21 August 1997...High winds and torrential rains from one of the worst typhoons to batter China in a decade caused the death of at least 140 at Zhejiang and Jiangsu. (The Weather Doctor)
• 22 August 1770...James Cook's expedition landed on the east coast of Australia. (Wikipedia)
• 22 August 1787...Inventor John Fitch demonstrated his steamboat on the Delaware River to delegates of the Continental Congress. Its top speed was 3 mph. These tests were completed years before Fulton built his steamboat. (Today in Science History)
• 22 August 1780...HMS Resolution, Captain James Cook's ship, returned to England; Cook had been killed on Hawaii during the voyage. (Wikipedia)
• 22 August 1962...The 506-ft long NS Savannah, the world's first civilian nuclear-powered ship, completed its maiden voyage from Yorktown, VA to Savannah, GA; the ship was named for the SS Savannah, the first steam-powered ship to cross the Atlantic in 1819. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
• 22 August 1994...Hurricane John while about 390 miles south of Hilo, HI was found to have winds at 170 mph and pressure down to 920 mb, making it the strongest hurricane ever in the Central Pacific. It was the third category 5 storm in this area in a month, unprecedented since records began. (Intellicast)
  The USCG icebreaker Polar Sea and the CCCS Louis S. Ste Laurent became the first "North American surface ships" to reach the North Pole. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 23 August 1540...The French explorer Jacques Cartier landed near Quebec in his voyage to Canada. (Wikipedia)
• 23 August 1889...The first wireless message from a ship to the shore "Sherman is sighted", was received in the US. The US Lightship No. 70, San Francisco, announced the arrival of the U.S. Army troopship Sherman to the crowd assembled at the Cliff House. Reporters from the San Francisco Call relayed this information to a city awaiting the return of its hometown regiment from the battlefields of the Spanish-American War. The lightship, miles out at sea in deep fog, relayed this message via wireless telegraphy (later known as radio) through the fog to the Cliff House. This was the first 19th-century working use of wireless telegraphy outside of England. The method was still primitive, using sparks to emit intermittent radio waves and code messages. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
• 23 August 1933...The Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane made landfall over Nag's Head, NC and moved over Norfolk, VA, Chesapeake Bay and Washington, DC. Winds gusted to 88 mph at Norfolk, VA. A tide seven feet above normal flooded businesses in Norfolk, and damage in Maryland was estimated at seventeen million dollars. Sixty percent of Atlantic City, NJ was flooded as was 10 square miles of southwest Philadelphia, PA. Forty seven people were killed and damage was estimated at $47 million (in depression-era dollars) (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 23-24 August 1992...Hurricane Andrew on its way to Florida with winds of 150 mph, struck northern Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. The storm surge reached 23 feet. Total damage on the islands topped $250 million. At about 5 AM on the 24^th, Andrew made landfall near Homestead, FL with a central pressure of 922 millibars (27.22 inches). Fowey Rocks coastal marine buoy recorded maximum sustained winds of 141 mph and a peak gust of 169 mph and the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables had sustained winds of 115 mph with a peak gust of 164 mph. A record storm surge of 16.7 feet occurred in Biscayne Bay. Homestead AFB was practically wiped out. More than 120,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, leaving 250,000 homeless. Forty one died and damage exceeded $25 billion, making Andrew by far the most costly hurricane in U.S. history. Andrew was the third most intense hurricane to strike the mainland behind Camille (1969) and the Labor Day Hurricane (1935) (Intellicast)
• 23-24 August 1998...Almost 18 inches of rain deluged Del Rio, TX between 8 AM on the 23^rd and 6 AM on the 24^th because of stalled remnants of Tropical Storm Charley. Violent flash flooding from San Felipe Creek left residential lots swept bare of homes, with asphalt streets gone. Nine people were killed and 150 injured. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 24 August 1912... The US Congress gave effect to the convention between United States, Great Britain, Japan and Russia prohibiting taking of fur seals and sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea by authorizing the President "to cause a guard or patrol to be maintained in the waters frequented by the seal herd or herds of seal otter." (USCG Historian's Office)
• 24 August 1988...A tropical depression drenched the Cabo Rojo area of southwestern Puerto Rico with up to ten inches of rain. San Juan received 5.35 inches of rain. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 24-29 August 1785...Hurricane ravaged the Eastern Caribbean Sea from St. Croix, Virgin Islands to Cuba during the last week of August. Over 142 people were reported dead from the storm's impact. (The Weather Doctor)
• 25 August 1885...A severe hurricane struck South Carolina causing 1.3 million dollars damage at Charleston. (David Ludlum)
• 25 August 1927...The August Gale, a hurricane, raged across the East Coast, crossing the Cabot Strait between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland during the early morning hours. Hundreds of small boats in Newfoundland ports are among the storm's victims. (The Weather Doctor)
• 25 August -7 September 1979...Hurricane David crossed the island of Dominica on the 29^th, with winds to 145 mph. Roseau, the capital, was devastated. Fifty-six people were killed on Dominica and 60,000 of the island's 80,000 residents were made homeless. About three-quarters of the coconut and banana crop were destroyed. The central pressure in David fell to 924 millibars (27.28 inches) on the 30^th as it moved south of Puerto Rico. At that time, highest sustained winds reached 173 mph. On the 31^st, winds of 150 mph from Hurricane David brought over $1 billion in damage to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, killing over 1200. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 26 August 1883...Krakatoa Volcano exploded in the East Indies. The explosion was heard more than 2500 miles away, and every barograph around the world recorded the passage of the air wave, up to seven times. Giant waves, 125 feet high and traveling 300 mph, devastated everything in their path, hurling ashore coral blocks weighing up to 900 tons, and killing more than 36,000 persons. Volcanic ash was carried around the globe in thirteen days producing blue and green suns in the tropics, and then vivid red sunsets in higher latitudes. The temperature of the earth was lowered one degree for the next two years, finally recovering to normal by 1888. (David Ludlum)
• 26 August 1949...A hurricane made landfall at Delray Beach, FL. Winds reached 153 mph at the Jupiter Lighthouse before the anemometer failed. The hurricane caused 45 million dollars damage to crops, and also caught the Georgia and South Carolina coast resulting in another two million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
• 26 August 1992...Hurricane Andrew made its second landfall along the Louisiana coast near Burns Point, as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Morgan City recorded wind gusts of 108 mph. Hammond was deluged with nearly a foot of rain. Total additional damage was estimated at 1.8 billion dollars. Andrew, which had made its initial US landfall in South Florida on the 24^th, was the most costly natural disaster in US history, with total damage reaching up to $30 billion. Additionally, record hurricane evacuation of 2.4 million people took place in Florida and Louisiana. (Intellicast) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 27 August 1881...As many as 335 people were lost in the Georgia Hurricane, especially severe at Savannah and Charleston, SC. (Intellicast)
• 27 August 1883...The after effects caused by the Krakatau explosion in Indonesia, including large tsunami waves of up to 300 feet, killed 36,000 people. The tsunami waves were powerful enough to cross the Indian Ocean and travel beyond Cape Horn. The most powerful blast was the most violent known in human history, was loud enough to be heard in Australia, and the shock wave was registered by barometers England. The huge amount of volcanic dust thrust high into the stratosphere eventually traveled around the world. The dust blocked sunlight causing temperature drops and chaotic weather patterns for several years afterward. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
• 27 August 1893...The first of three great hurricanes that year struck South Carolina drowning more than 1000 persons in a tidal surge at Charleston. Landfall was just south of Savannah, GA where sustained winds hit 120 mph. (David Ludlum)
• 27 August 1964...Hurricane Cleo battered Miami and the South Florida area, marking the first direct hit for Miami in fourteen years. Sustained winds of 100 mph gusted to 135 mph, and the hurricane caused 125 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
• 27 August 1995...Remains of Tropical Storm Jerry unloaded 12.32 inches of rain in 24 hours in Greer, SC, a record for 24 hours, for a rain event and for August. At Antreville, 17.00 inches fell in 24 hours, setting a 24-hour rainfall record for the Palmetto State. (Intellicast)
• 28-30 August 1839...A hurricane moved from Cape Hatteras, NC to offshore New England. An unusual feature of the hurricane was the snow it helped produce, which whitened the Catskill Mountains of New York State. Considerable snow was also reported at Salem, NY. (The Weather Channel)
• 28 August 1965...CDR Scott Carpenter, USN, and nine aquanauts entered SeaLab II, 205 ft. below Southern California's waters to conduct underwater living and working tests. (Naval Historical Center)
• 28 August 1988...Tropical Storm Chris spawned a tornado near Manning, SC, which killed one person, and spawned three tornadoes in North Carolina. Chris produced one to two foot tides, and three to six inch rains, over coastal South Carolina. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

Return to DataStreme Ocean Website

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.