Weekly Ocean News

WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

WEEK FOUR: 26-30 September 2011

Ocean in the News

Eye on the tropics --- Active weather was reported across the tropical North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans this past week:

In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Ophelia, the fifteenth named tropical cyclone of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, formed early last week nearly 1600 miles to the east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. During the rest of the week, Ophelia traveled to the west-northwest toward the Leeward Islands. By Sunday, this minimal tropical storm was near the northern Leeward Islands and could pass to the north of these islands, as it was expected to curve toward the north early this week. For additional information on Tropical Storm Ophelia, together with satellite images, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
Over this past weekend, Tropical Storm Philippe formed over the eastern tropical Atlantic south of the Cape Verde Islands. This tropical storm was traveling toward the west-northwest, well away from any land masses.
In eastern North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Hilary formed at the midpoint of last week off the southwestern coast of Mexico. By the end of the week, Hilary rapidly became the seventh hurricane of the 2011 eastern Pacific hurricane season as it traveled to the west-northwest paralleling the Mexican coast. Over the weekend, Hillary became a major category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. This hurricane was expected to begin curving toward the northwest, with southern sections of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula experiencing tropical storm-force winds from Hillary. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information on Hurricane Hillary, including satellite images. Became. http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/ep201109.asp
In the western North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Roke approached Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands northeast of Taiwan last weekend. At the start of the week, Roke intensified as it traveled to the north-northeast toward Japan, becoming a super-typhoon (category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) early in the week as maximum sustained surface winds reached at least 135 mph. As midweek, Typhoon Roke slammed into Japan, accompanied by high winds and torrential rains that caused flooding. One of the regions that experienced was impacted by this powerful typhoon was in northeastern Japan, which had been devastated by the major earthquake and tsunami last March. As of late in the week, as many as 13 people were either killed or remained missing on account of Roke. [USA Today] The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Roke.
Farther to the east, Typhoon Sonca, which had become a category 2 typhoon last weekend, passed to the east of Honshu, Japan's main island, early last week. At that time, this typhoon lost its tropical characteristics and became a powerful midlatitude storm as it continued to travel to the northeast. Additional information on Typhoon Sonca can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
A tropical depression formed over the waters of the western North Pacific between the Northern Marianas and the Philippines late last week became Typhoon Nesat as it traveled westward across the Philippine Sea toward Luzon. As of late Sunday (local time) this typhoon was a category 1 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
At the start of the weekend, Tropical Depression Haitang formed over the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands between the Philippines and Vietnam. This depression strengthened to a weak tropical storm as it meandered over the South China Sea on Sunday.

A sign of a busy Atlantic hurricane season -- Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center provided a glimpse of the relatively active hurricane season that has been occurring in the North Atlantic with a GOES-13 satellite image made on Sunday 8 September 2011 showing four tropical systems (Hurricane Katia and Tropical Storms Lee, Maria and Nate). [NASA GSFC]

Listing of loggerhead sea turtles revised -- Officials with NOAA Fisheries and the US Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that their agencies have issued a final rule that changes the listing of loggerhead sea turtles under the Endangered Species Act from a single threatened species to nine distinct population segments listed as either threatened or endangered. The change is meant to help guide conservation efforts. [NOAA News]

New GIS tool available for safe navigation -- NOAA's National Geodetic Survey , Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, and Office of Coast Survey recently completed the first edition of the Vertical Datum Transformation tool, known as VDatum, designed to allow users the ability to combine and transform geospatial data from different sources onto a single vertical reference surface. This tool will be especially useful for those users along the coasts, where differences between the vertical reference systems of land- and water-based data have been removed. [NOAA News]

NOAA study on emissions from BP/Deepwater Horizon controlled burns released -- A new study on emissions from the controlled burns of oil from last year's BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill was released last week by NOAA and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) was released this past week. This study found that the controlled burns released more than one million pounds of sooty black carbon into the atmosphere, which is roughly equivalent to the total black carbon emissions normally released by all ships traveling the Gulf of Mexico during a 9-week period. [NOAA News]

"Early warning" coral reef observing network expanded -- A new coral observing station at Lao Lao Bay, Saipan in the Northern Marianas was recently added to NOAA's network of Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS) stations that had been previously been deployed to the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic. This new station, the first for the Pacific region, will help scientists and public officials conserve, protect and manage reef ecosystems. [NOAA News]

First national bycatch report is released -- The "NOAA National Bycatch Report" was released last week that compiled a national summary on bycatch, the non-target fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds caught incidentally in fishing. This report, obtained from regional data, established a methodology and baseline for future studies into reducing bycatch. [NOAA News]

US-Mexican partnership designed to save endangered sea turtles -- Late last week, officials from NOAA's Fisheries Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Mexican environmental agencies released an updated Bi-National Recovery Plan designed to guide and strengthen the conservation and recovery of the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle. [NOAA News]

Sea floor surveys begun to support safe navigation in Alaskan waters -- The 231-foot hydrographic survey vessel NOAA Ship Rainier recently returned to Alaska to begin a month-long survey of the sea floor near Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska's Panhandle that is intended to update nautical charts for the area. The Rainier will also support marine ecosystem studies and improve inundation models for areas vulnerable to tsunamis. [NOAA News]

First global map of ocean salinity generated from new satellite -- Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently released a global map of the ocean salinity of the ocean surface from data collected over a nearly 18 day span by the new NASA Aquarius instrument onboard the Aquarius/SAC-D (Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas) observatory spacecraft. These surface salinity variations represent a key component in the Earth's climate, since they affect the global water cycle and influence the oceanic circulation. [NASA JPL]

Northwest Passage opens for whales -- A team of researchers from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources reported that the bowhead whales they tagged with satellite tags are now migrating through the unfrozen Northwest Passage in the Arctic. Because of the near record low expanse of sea ice, these whales have found an easy route in their travels from Greenland to the North Pacific. [BBC News]

Indian Ocean probed for clues to worldwide weather patterns -- A six-month field campaign named DYNAMO or Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation will commence in October that is designed to help improve long-range weather forecasts and seasonal outlooks, as well as to further refine global climate computer models. An international team of researchers will participate in DYNAMO, using aircraft, ships, moored buoys and radar to study weather disturbances known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation that move eastward across the equatorial Indian Ocean. [NCAR/UCAR]

Future mitigation efforts examined as Earth's acidity rises -- A joint study, "Acidification of Earth: An Assessment across Mechanisms and Scales," by the US Geological Survey and the University of Virginia has found that human use of the Earth's natural resources has made the planet's oceans, freshwater and soils more acidic as chemical oxidation processes involved with burning of fossil fuels, the smelting of metal ores and the use of nitrogen fertilizers generate acids in the environment. A series of world maps was developed to examine the global impact of acidification and which could be used to help in mitigation efforts. [USGS Newsroom]

Nitrate levels on the rise in northwest Pacific -- Researchers from Penn State University and several Korean universities have found that changes in the ratio of nitrate to phosphorus in the waters of the North Pacific off the coasts of Korea and Japan that have been caused by atmospheric and riverine pollutants may influence marine ecology and the characteristics of marine plants. [Penn State Live]

Contract to construct National Water Center is awarded --NOAA officials announced this past week that a contract has been awarded to a Texas company to build a new NOAA National Water Center on the campus of the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa that will improve river and flood forecasting. Some of NOAA's capabilities in water resource research and water supply forecasting will be integrated in the new center that will cost over $18 million. [NOAA News]

Successful seasonal forecasts made for fate of Arctic sea ice -- Researchers at the University of Washington and at National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed a seasonal forecast model that they ran on NCAR's Community Climate System Model to successfully simulate the current rate of Arctic sea ice decline. The researchers found that measurements of ice thickness and area made in September could provide a good estimate for minimal ice expanse during the following summer season of July through September. [University of Washington News]

El Niño and annual cycle in tropical Pacific are beating in unison -- Researchers at the University of Hawaii report that two climate modes dominate the temperature variability in the eastern equatorial Pacific, with the rhythmic El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the annual cycle in the temperatures appearing to be synchronized. [University of Hawaii] (NOTE: This link is to a pdf file. See below)

Global warming can be masked for decade-long periods by deep oceans -- A new analysis led by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and based on computer simulations of global climate indicates that deep ocean layers at depths below 1000 feet may absorb sufficient heat at times to create a hiatus in the rate of global warming for periods as long as a decade, even during a longer period with a trend for increased temperatures. [NCAR/UCAR]

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.

Concept of the Week: Variations in Marine Sediment Thickness

Sediments are particles of organic or inorganic origin that accumulate in loose form in depositional environments such as lake or ocean bottoms. Marine sediments, the central focus of this week's investigations, have a variety of sources and exhibit a wide range of composition, size, and shape. Marine sediments settle to the ocean floor as unconsolidated accumulations but ultimately may be converted to solid sedimentary rock via compaction and cementation. The pattern of variations in marine sediment thickness on the ocean floor confirms some basic understandings regarding marine geological processes.

Go to the DataStreme Ocean Website and under "Geological," click on "Sediment Thickness." This map of marine sediment thickness in the ocean basins was compiled by the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), Marine Geology and Geophysics Division primarily based on existing maps, ocean drilling, and seismic reflection profiles. Sediment thickness is color-coded in meters from violet (thinnest) to red (thickest). Many factors account for the variation in the thickness of marine sediment deposits including type and location of sediment sources, sediment transport mechanisms, and the age of the underlying crust.

According to the map, sediment thickness generally increases with distance from near the central portion of an ocean basin to the continental margin. This pattern may be explained by the principal sediment source and/or the age of the underlying crust. Rivers and streams that empty into the ocean slow and diverge, releasing the bulk of their suspended sediment load in coastal environments (e.g., bays, estuaries, deltas) and onto the continental shelf. Ocean currents transport sediment along the coast. In some areas of the continental shelf, massive amounts of sediment accumulate, become unstable, and flow down the continental slope to the base of the continental rise and beyond. However, only the finer fraction of river-borne sediment is swept into the deep ocean waters. Thickening of marine sediments in the direction of the continental margin may also reflect the aging of oceanic crust with distance away from divergent (spreading) plate boundaries where new oceanic crust forms. The older the crust the longer is the period that sediment rains down on the ocean bottom and the thicker is the blanket of accumulated sediment.

The map indicates that the thickness of marine sediment deposits is greater in the continental margin along the Atlantic coast of North America than along the Pacific coast. The Atlantic coast of North America is a passive margin; that is, the continental margin is not affected significantly by tectonic processes (no plate boundary) and the principal geological processes consist of sedimentation along with erosion by ocean waves and currents. In fact, passive margins and relatively thick marine sediment deposits occur on both sides of the Atlantic. (Passive margins also occur around the Arctic Ocean and surrounding Antarctica.) On the other hand, the Pacific coast of North America is an active margin; that is, the continental margin is associated with plate boundaries and is subject to deformation by tectonic stresses. Active continental margins are relatively narrow so that sediment delivered to the coast by rivers and streams flows directly into deeper water or trenches--preventing thick accumulations of marine sediments from building in the continental margin.

Concept of the Week: Questions

The thickness of marine sediment deposits is greater in the [(continental margins)(deep-ocean basins)].
The thickness of marine sediment deposits generally is greater in [(active)(passive)]continental margins.

Historical Events

26 September 1580...English seaman Francis Drake returned to Plymouth, England, in the Golden Hind, becoming the first British navigator to circumnavigate the globe. He had commenced his voyage around the world on 13 December 1577 with five ships, but returned with only one ship. During his voyage in the Pacific Ocean, he paused near San Francisco Bay and then traveled as far north as present-day Washington State. He brought back valuable information about the world's ocean to Queen Elizabeth I. (The History Channel)
26-27 September 1959...Typhoon Vera ravaged Honshu, Japan, the nation's largest island, leaving over 5000 dead, more than 40,000 injured, 1.5 million homeless and 40,000 homes destroyed. It was Japan's greatest storm disaster. (The Weather Doctor)
27 September 1854...After colliding with the French ship SS Vesta in dense fog, the American Collins Line steamship Arctic sank with more than 300 people on board near Cape Race, Newfoundland, marking the first great disaster in the Atlantic Ocean. (Wikipedia)
27 September 1922...Report on observations of experiments with short wave radio at the Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory in Anacostia, DC started US Navy development of radar. (Navy Historical Center)
27 September 1958...A typhoon caused the death of nearly 5000 people on Honshu, the main Japanese island. (Wikipedia)
28 September 1542...Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into present-day San Diego (CA) Bay during the course of his explorations of the northwest shores of Mexico on behalf of Spain. His landing at Point Loma Head apparently was the first known European encounter with California. Before dying on the Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast in January 1543, he had explored much of the California coast. (The History Channel)
28 September 1850...An Act of Congress (9 Stat. L., 500, 504) provided for the systematic coloring and numbering of all buoys for, prior to this time, they had been painted red, white, or black, without any special system. The act "prescribed that buoys should be colored and numbered so that in entering from seaward red buoys with even numbers should be on the starboard or right hand side; black buoys with odd numbers on the port or left hand side; buoys with red and black horizontal stripes should indicate shoals with channel on either side; and buoys in channel ways should be colored with black and white perpendicular stripes." (US Coast Guard Historians Office)
29 September 1959...Hurricane Gracie made landfall near Beaufort, SC with sustained winds of 97 mph and a peak gust of 138 mph. Ten people were killed in South Carolina and Georgia. As the weakening storm moved through Virginia on the 30th, the storm spawned an F3 tornado at Ivy, VA, which killed 11 people. On the same day, a storm produced 28 inches of snow in Colorado Springs, CO. (David Ludlum)
30 September 1932...Tropical cyclone rainfall of 4.38 inches at Tehachapi in southern California over 7 hours caused flash floods on Agua Caliente and Tehachapi Creeks resulting in 15 deaths. (The Weather Doctor)
30 September 1954...The USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, is commissioned by the U.S. Navy. In addition to breaking numerous submarine travel records to that time, the Nautilus made the first voyage under the Arctic sea ice at the geographic North Pole in August 1958, passing from the Pacific to Atlantic Ocean basins. The Nautilus was decommissioned on 3 March 1980 and is currently on display at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, CT. (The History Channel)
30 September 1997...Omega Navigation Station Hawaii ceased operation, coinciding with the end of worldwide Omega transmissions. (USCG Historian's Office)
1 October 1844...U.S. Naval Observatory headed by LT Matthew Fontaine Maury occupied its first permanent quarters. (Naval Historical Center)
1 October 1846...The British naturalist Charles Darwin, ten years after his voyage on the Beagle, began his study of barnacles, which was to appear in four volumes on living and fossil Cirripedes (barnacles). For his observations, he had a single lens microscope made to his own design. (Today in Science History)
1 October 1976...Hurricane Liza brought heavy rains and winds to Brazos Santiago, Mexico, causing a dam to break on the Cajoncito River, which killed 630 people as a wall of water crashed into the town of La Paz. (The Weather Doctor)
1 October 1893...The second great hurricane of the 1893 season hit the Mississippi Delta Region drowning more than 1000 people. (David Ludlum)
2 October 1836...The British naturalist Charles Darwin returned to Falmouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle, ending a five-year surveying expedition of the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, that included visits to Brazil, the Galapagos Islands, and New Zealand. The information and experience obtained from this voyage led Darwin to develop his historic work on the theory of evolution and the 1859 publication entitled, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. (The History Channel)
2 October 1867...A hurricane struck Galveston, TX with a storm tide that caused $1 million damage. (Intellicast)
2 October 1882...A major hurricane struck the Louisiana Delta with 100-mph winds and 12-ft storm tide which inundated the bayous resulting in 1500 deaths. (Intellicast)
2 October 1898...A hurricane struck the Weather Bureau (now National Weather Service) hurricane observation post at Carolina Beach, North Carolina and swept away the office's outhouse. The storm became known as the "Privy Hurricane". (Northern Indiana NWSFO)