THANKSGIVING WEEK: 21-25 November 2011

This is Thanksgiving Break for the Fall 2011 offering of the DataStreme Ocean course. This Weekly Ocean News contains new information items and historical data, but the Concept of the Week is repeated from Week 11.

• Opportunity for Teachers: The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Teacher at Sea 2012 Field Season program is now accepting applications until 30 November 2011. Gain your "sea legs" and first-hand experience in one-week to one-month voyages. For more information, or to apply, see http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov.
• Four minority serving institutions receive awards to train next generation of scientists -- Last week, NOAA's Office of Education announced that the agency has awarded more than $10 million to four minority serving universities to train and graduate students who pursue applied research in NOAA-related scientific fields. These four universities will be the lead institutions that will partner with 20 other colleges to form four cooperative science centers where students will be trained in core scientific fields for NOAA such as remote sensing, environmental science, living marine resources, and atmospheric science. [NOAA News]

• Eye on the tropics -- In the eastern North Pacific basin, a rare November tropical depression formed well off the Central American coast late Saturday afternoon. Moving to the west-northwest, this tropical depression intensified to Tropical Storm Kenneth, the eleventh named tropical cyclone of 2011 in the eastern Pacific, by late Sunday afternoon. The NASA Hurricane Page has more information on System 90E that became the tropical depression and eventually Tropical Storm Kenneth.
• A global review of October 2011 temperatures -- Preliminary analysis of worldwide combined ocean and land surface temperatures by scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center indicates that the recently completed month of October 2011 ranked as the eighth warmest global October surface temperature since a sufficiently dense and reliable network began in 1880. They also found that the globally averaged land surface temperature for October 2011 was the second highest on record for October, while that month's global ocean surface temperature was the eleventh highest. Furthermore, the scientists reported that the combined land and ocean surface temperatures averaged over the first ten months of 2011 was the tenth highest January through October average in 132 years of record. The January-October 2011 global average land surface temperature was the sixth highest, while the corresponding global ocean surface temperature ranked twelfth highest. La Niña conditions, which strengthened during October, could represent a significant factor in the global ocean temperatures in the upcoming months as these conditions were expected to continue through the next three months. The average Arctic sea ice extent for October 2011 was the second lowest October sea ice extent since satellite surveillance began in 1979. Conversely, the October sea ice extent around Antarctica was the twelfth largest on record. [NOAA News]
  NOTE: Beginning in Oct 2011, the National Climatic Data Center will be using an upgraded data set of monthly mean temperatures in calculating global land surface temperature anomalies and trends for its Global Monthly State of the Climate Report.
• Addition to the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center network -- NOAA officials recently announced that Adventure Aquarium and New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences in Camden, NJ has been designated a Coastal America Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center and join 23 other marine facilities in this network that will be able to gain access to the scientific resources of 16 federal agencies for collaboration on research projects. [NOAA News] [NOTE: Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader -- See below.]
• More accurate tropical cyclone prediction model developed -- Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory's Marine Meteorology Division in Monterey, CA have developed the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System Tropical Cyclone model that they claim achieves a significant research milestone in predictions of tropical cyclone intensity and structure. In tests, this model produced successful predictions of the intensity of Hurricane Irene. The model will not become fully operational at the US Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center in 2013. [Naval Research Laboratory News]
• Environment and predators influence survival of Atlantic Salmon in the Gulf of Maine -- Scientists at the Narragansett Laboratory of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center and their colleagues have found that changing wind patterns, increased sea surface temperatures and new predators have affected the survival of Atlantic salmon in the Gulf of Maine, resulting in a steady decline of these stocks during the last several decades. [NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center]
• Future for San Francisco Bay marshes appears bleak -- In a study led by PRBO Conservation Science, a non-profit organization founded as Point Reyes Bird Observatory, researchers paint a bleak picture for the future of San Francisco Bay's tidal marshes especially under high-end sea-level rise scenarios that appear increasingly likely. [PRBO Conservation Service]
• 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, 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, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Living Coral and El Niño

El Niño episodes of 1982-83 and 1997-1998, the most intense of the century, confirmed the connection between higher than average ocean temperatures and bleaching of hermatypic corals. (Hermatypic corals live in warm shallow water and build large reefs.) Water temperatures higher than 29°C (the normal maximum sea surface temperature in the equatorial eastern Pacific) can trigger expulsion of zooxanthellae, microscopic dinoflagellates whose symbiotic relationship with coral polyps is essential for the long-term survival of coral. Without zooxanthellae, coral polyps have little pigmentation and appear nearly transparent on the coral's white skeleton, a condition known as coral bleaching. If maximum temperatures are not too high for too long, corals can recover, but prolonged warming associated with an intense El Niño (that may persist for 12 to 18 months) can be lethal to coral. Most hermatypic corals thrive when the water temperature is 27°C, but do not grow when the water becomes too cold. Although the ideal temperature varies with species and from one location to another, the temperature range for optimal growth is quite narrow--only a few Celsius degrees. This sensitivity to relatively small changes in water temperature is an important source of information on past climates as fossil coral is a significant component of many limestones. Evidence of bleaching episodes in fossil corals may yield important clues to past changes in the world's tropical ocean.

Coral, sometimes referred to as "the rainforests of the ocean," provides a base for local ecosystems and have many benefits (e.g., fisheries, tourism) that are important in many parts of the globe. Hence, vulnerability to El Niño-associated warming is an object of considerable scientific interest. During the 1997-98 El Niño, NOAA charted significant coral bleaching from portions of the Great Barrier Reef near Australia, French Polynesia in the south Pacific, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya, and around the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Closer to home, coral bleaching was reported in the Florida Keys, the Cayman Islands, and off the Pacific coast of Panama and Baja California. Fortunately damage from the 1997-98 El Niño warming was less drastic than the 1983-84 El Niño when up to 95% of the corals in some locations died. Many of the corals damaged in the late 1990s have at least partially recovered including important reefs in the Florida Keys. For additional information on coral status, go to the NOAA website http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. Most hermatypic corals thrive at an ocean water temperature of [(10) (27)] °C.
2. Corals [(can) (cannot)] recover from bleaching if high ocean water temperatures are not long lasting.

• 21 November 1987...Truk Island (Federated States of Micronesia at 7.4 degrees N, 151.7 degrees E) was struck by the rapidly intensifying Tropical Storm Nina, as winds gusted to 95 mph. Five died, and most buildings were destroyed. A storm of such intensity so close to the equator is somewhat unusual. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 22 November 1992...Supertyphoon Gay generated gusts up to 120 mph on Guam in the western Pacific. Only one injury was sustained. Earlier, when at its peak approximately 1000 miles southeast of Guam, Supertyphoon Gay had sustained surface winds estimated to 185 mph with gusts to 225 mph. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 23 November 1869...The clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, was launched at Dumbarton, Scotland. This three-masted and 212-foot long ship was one of the last clipper ships to be built and is the only one surviving to the present day, residing in a dry dock at Greenwich, England. (Wikipedia)
• 23-24 November 1981...Typhoon Irma, the worst in 10 years, struck north central Philippines (mostly Luzon) with winds to 139 mph and a storm surge of 16 feet. More than 236 people died, while 600,000 were made homeless. Entire provinces were left without power or communication. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 24 November 1982...Hurricane Iwa lashed the Hawaiian Islands of Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu with high winds and surf. Winds gusting to 120 mph caused extensive shoreline damage. Winds at Honolulu gusted to 81 mph. Damage totaled 150 million dollars on Kauai, and fifty million dollars on Oahu. The peak storm surge on the south shore was six to eight feet. It marked the first time in 25 years that Hawaii had been affected by a hurricane. (The Weather Channel)
• 26 November 1703...Bristol England was damaged by a hurricane. The Royal Navy lost 15 warships.
• 26 November 1778...Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy became the first European to discover Maui in the Sandwich Islands (later renamed the Hawaiian Islands). (Wikipedia)
• 26 November 1847...LT William Lynch, USN, sailed from New York to Haifa on USS Supply for an expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. His group charted the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea and compiled reports of the flora and fauna of the area. (Naval Historical Center)
• 26 November 1888...A late season hurricane brushed the East Coast with heavy rain and gale force winds. The hurricane passed inside Nantucket and over Cape Cod, then crossed Nova Scotia. (David Ludlum)
• 26 November 1966...The world's first tidal power station was opened at Rance estuary in the French province of Brittany. This power plant, fitted with reversible turbines, generates 500 million kilowatt-hours annually. (Today in Science History)
• 26-28 November 1898...The "Portland" storm raged across New England producing gale force winds along the coast and heavy snow inland. A foot of snow blanketed Boston, MA, and 27 inches fell at New London, CT. Winds at Boston gusted to 72 mph, and wind gusts to 98 mph were estimated at Block Island, RI. A passenger ship, the S.S. Portland, sank off Cape Cod with the loss of all 191 persons aboard, and Boston Harbor was filled with wrecked ships. The storm wrecked 56 vessels resulting in a total of 456 casualties. (26^th- 28^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 27 November 1703...The first Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Devon, England (approximately 14 miles southwest of Plymouth) was destroyed in the "Great Storm," and killed its builder Henry Winstanley. This first light was in an octagonal wooden structure built in 1698. The "Great Storm" is reported to have killed more than 8000 people. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
• 27-28 November 1905...Heavy snow and wind blasted the western Great Lakes with as much as seven inches of snow in northwestern Wisconsin and sustained winds of 42 mph recorded at Duluth, MN for 29 straight hours and 65 mph winds for 13 continuous hours. Severe drifting resulted. Eighteen ships were destroyed or disabled on Lake Superior. The ship Mataafa was grounded and broke in two in Duluth harbor. Nine of the fifteen crew of the Mataafa froze to death despite running aground within 100 yards of the shore. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2011, The American Meteorological Society.