WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

19-23 May 2014

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2014 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 25 August 2014. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Items of Interest:

North American Safe Boating Week -- This week of 18-24 May has been declared 2013 National Safe Boating Week, to help kick off the 2013 North American Safe Boating Campaign. Check the Safe Boating Week site maintained by the Safe Boating Council.
National Maritime Day will be observed -- Next Thursday, 22 May 2014, has been declared National Maritime Day, a day created to recognize the maritime industry. The holiday was created by the United States Congress on 20 May 1933. The date of 22 May was selected because on 22 May 1819, that the American steamship Savannah set sail from Savannah, GA on the first ever transoceanic voyage under steam power.
The annual European Maritime Day Conference will be held in Bremen, Germany on 19 and 20 May. The theme of this year's conference is "Innovation driving Blue Growth" with a focus on innovation and maritime technologies. [Editor's Note: This conference will be held in conjunction with European Maritime Day 2014, which is celebrated annually 20 May with the aim to raise awareness of the importance of the sea among the European citizens. The European Maritime Day was established jointly by the European Council, the European Parliament and European Commission in 2008 as part of the European Union's (EU) maritime policy. EJH]
Zenithal Sun -- The end of this upcoming week marks one of the two times during the year when the noontime sun is directly overhead to residents on the Big Island at the start of this week (on 19 May) at Hilo; those on Oahu (Honolulu metropolitan area) will experience the noon sun at the zenith in approximately one more week (25-27 May). The sun will again be over the Big Island during the last week of July. [US Naval Observatory, Data Services]
National Hurricane Awareness Week -- NOAA has declared the week of 25 -31 May 2014 to be Hurricane Awareness Week across the nation.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- No organized tropical cyclones were found across any of the globe's ocean basins during the last week.
Poleward migration of regions where tropical cyclones reach maximum intensity is seen -- A researcher from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center and colleagues at the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that the average latitude where tropical cyclones achieve maximum intensity has been shifting poleward in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres since 1980. The average poleward migration of these latitudes is at a rate of approximately 35 miles (or one-half a degree of latitude) per decade, however the rate varies by region with the greatest migration occurring in the Pacific basin and in the South Indian Ocean. Apparently, the peak intensity of hurricanes in the North Atlantic does not appear to have migrated in the last 30 years. The study also notes that some regions closer to the Equator may experience less risk of tropical cyclones, while coastal regions located at in midlatitudes may experience greater risk. [NOAA News]
Famous Civil War-era steamer's remains may have been located -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recently released announced that the probable location of the remains of the Civil War-era side wheel steamer Planter has been determined off the South Carolina coast. This steamer became famous when a group of enslaved African Americans commandeered the Confederate Navy transport ship in 1862 in a daring escape to freedom. The Planter sank in 1876. [NOAA News]
Monitoring potential development of an El Niño event from space -- Scientists who have been monitoring data collected from ocean observing satellites are finding that conditions across the equatorial Pacific Ocean appear similar to those in May 1997 as the most potent El Niño event of the 20th century was beginning to unfold. Images of sea surface height anomalies (or differences in the height of sea-level from normal) made from data collected by the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite in May 1997 can be compared with a corresponding image made in May 2014 by the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite. [NASA Earth Observatory]
The NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory has produced an animation of the monthly sea surface temperature patterns across the tropical Pacific Ocean between 1997 and 2000 that includes the 1997-98 El Niño event that was followed by a La Niña event. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Payload for new "wind watcher" satellite is readied for launch -- During the last week, the International Space Station (ISS)-RapidScat scatterometer instrument arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after being built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. After final tests, this instrument will be launched by late summer and will measure near-surface ocean winds from the outside of the International Space Station. Data collected over a scheduled two-year mission should support weather and marine forecasting as well as for climate studies. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
Coral reefs seen as critical for coastal risk reduction and adaptation -- A new study produced by the US Geological Survey in partnership with the Nature Conservancy and the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that coral reefs provide risk reduction benefits as many as 200 million coastal inhabitants in more than 80 nations around the world. The report claims that coral reefs reduce the wave energy associated with stronger storms and rising seas by 97 percent. Without these offshore coral reefs, these waves would impact coastlines. [USGS Newsroom]
West Antarctic glaciers decline does not appear reversible -- Two studies by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at the University of Washington conclude that a section of the West Antarctic ice sheet had reached a point of inevitable collapse, which would result in a global sea level by at least three feet. One of the studies was based upon glacial retreat data collected by NASA satellites and airborne observations, while the other involved simulations run on a computer model to compare observations of recent melting with projected melt scenarios. Both studies conclude that the Amundsen Sea segment of the ice sheet has begun an irreversible decline that would result in its loss, possibly within the next several hundred years.[NASA Earth Observatory]
New version of online Storm Events Database unveiled -- NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) recently announced the release of version 3.0 of its online "Storm Events Database" that contains archived National Weather Service storm data and unusual weather phenomenon reports. With more than 1.2 million records, the Storm Events Database contains data and information for the United States, its territories and possessions beginning in 1950 and continuing to the present. These data include the occurrence of storms and other significant weather phenomena having sufficient intensity to cause loss of life, injuries, significant property damage or disruption to commerce. Rare and unusual weather phenomena that generate media attention are also included in the Database. [NOAA National Climatic Data Center News]
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.

Historical Events:

19 May 1535...French explorer Jacques Cartier set sail on his second voyage to North America with 3 ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's two sons (whom Cartier kidnapped during his first voyage). (Wikipedia)
19 May 1912...The US Navy established the North Atlantic Ice Patrol following the RMS Titanic disaster. (Naval Historical Center)
20 May 1497...John Cabot set sail from Bristol, England, on his ship The Mathew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a 2 May date). (Wikipedia)
20 May 1498...The Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama became the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrived at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut) on the Malabar Coast, after departing Lisbon, Portugal in July 1497. (The History Channel) (Wikipedia)
20 May 1570...Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issued the first modern atlas. (Wikipedia)
20 May 1845...HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sailed from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands were lost. (Wikipedia)
20 May 1964...The first U.S. atomic-powered lighthouse was put into operation in the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore Harbor, MD. Designed to supply a continuous flow of electricity for ten years without refueling, the 60-watt nuclear generator generated heat from strontium-90 in the form of strontium titinate, a safe radioisotope. The heat was converted to electricity by 120 pairs of lead telluride thermocouples. Complete with shielding, the unit was only 34.5 inches high and 22 inches in diameter. It was designed and produced by the nuclear division of Martin-Marietta Corp. (Today in Science History)
20 May 1999...A devastating cyclone, packing winds of up to 170 mph and a high storm surge, struck the Sindh Province in southern Pakistan. Some 600 villages were devastated and more than 400 people killed. (The Weather Doctor)
22 May 1819...The steamship SS Savannah left Savannah, GA on a voyage to Liverpool, England and became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It reached Liverpool on 20 June. (Wikipedia)
22 May 1849...The future President, Abraham Lincoln, received a patent for the floating dry dock described as for "buoying boats over shoals" (No. 6,469). He was the first American president to receive a patent. His idea utilized inflated cylinders to float grounded vessels through shallow water. (Today in Science History)
22-24 May 1948...A rare early season hurricane struck the island of Hispaniola, killing an estimated 80 people. (The Weather Doctor)
22 May 1960...A 8.6 magnitude earthquake off the coast of south central Chile triggered a tsunami that moved across the Pacific Ocean. Between 490 and 2290 people were estimated to have been killed by the earthquake and tsunami, and damage estimates were over one half billion dollars. Hilo, HI was devastated by the tsunami. (The University of Washington)
23 May 1850...The US Navy sent USS Advance and USS Rescue to attempt rescue of Sir John Franklin's expedition, lost in Arctic. (Naval Historical Center)
23 May 1946...Commodore Edward M. Webster, USCG, headed the U.S. Delegation to the International Meeting on Radio Aids to Marine Navigation, which was held in London, England. As a result of this meeting, the principal maritime nations of the world would make an intensive study of the World War II-developed devices of radar, LORAN, radar beacons, and other navigational aids with a view to adapt them to peacetime use. This meeting was the first time that the wartime technical secrets of radar and LORAN were generally disclosed to the public. (USCG Historian's Office)
23 May 1960...Tsunami waves from Chilean earthquakes began to affect the Alaska's coast along the Gulf of Alaska from Prince of Wales Island to Montague Island for as long as one week. The tsunami waves on the 23rd were up to 14 feet high near Yakutat. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
24 May 1500...The 13 ships in the fleet of Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral were hit by a huge ice storm that sank four ships. The rest of the ships were separated as they sailed south of the Cape of Good Hope and continued their journey to India.
24 May 1901...The relative humidity at Parkstone, Dorset in England at 4 PM was reported to be 9.5 percent. This low relative humidity is not typical of the British Islands, which are surrounded by ocean water and have no large high mountain barriers or plateaus. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
24 May 1951...Northeast gales generated waves to 15 feet high in the harbor of Newport, RI. A 50-ft. Navy launch with about 142 men on board capsized. Nineteen of the men drowned in the incident. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
24 May 1992...Winds up to 40 knots and seas to 18 feet in the northern Gulf of Alaska, approximately 30 miles southwest of Alaska's Cape Cleare, sent three waves crashing over the Cajun Mama. The 80-ft fishing boat sank, but the crew of five was rescued. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
25 May 1985...The Meghna River delta in Bangladesh was hit with a tropical cyclone with winds of over 100 mph that created a 15-to 20-foot high storm surge that flooded a 400-square-mile area, mainly islands located in the mouth of the river. More than 11,000 people and 500,000 head of cattle died and hundreds of thousands were left homeless because of this cyclone.