WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

3-7 December 2012

DataStreme Ocean will return for Spring 2013 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 14 January 2013. All the current online website products, including updated issues of Weekly Ocean News, will continue to be available throughout the winter break period.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- With the end of the official 2012 hurricane seasons for the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins last week, no organized tropical cyclone activity was found in either basin. However, a region of low pressure located approximately 1000 miles to the southwest of the Azores on Sunday appeared to have a medium chance of becoming a subtropical cyclone early this current week.
In the western North Pacific Ocean basin, a tropical depression formed over the waters in Micronesia to the east of the Philippines at the start of last week. This tropical depression organized to become Tropical Storm Bopha, the twenty-sixth tropical cyclone of 2012 in the western North Pacific basin. By late last week, this tropical storm had intensified to a typhoon by late in the week as it traveled westward across the Philippine Sea. As of this past weekend, Typhoon Bopha had strengthened to become a category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Ultimately, Bopha became a super typhoon as maximum sustained surface winds reached approximately 155 mph. Super typhoon Bopha was forecast to gradually turn toward the west-northwest and reach the southern Philippines by early this week, accompanied by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain. For additional information and satellite images on Super typhoon Bopha, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
Review of Atlantic hurricane season -- As the official 2012 North Atlantic hurricane season ended, NOAA forecasters assessed this season. They noted that the 2012 Atlantic season continued a decade long period of activity, as 19 named tropical cyclones and seven hurricanes, including three major hurricanes, matched their earlier predictions. [Note: A short-lived, unnamed tropical storm that formed in early September between Bermuda and Nova Scotia was recently added to the list.] The 19 named tropical cyclones represent the third highest total (tied with 1887, 1995, and 2010) over the last 161 years. While only one hurricane (Irene) hit the United States, NOAA officials feel that it helped break "hurricane amnesia" that appeared to develop by the public especially in the Northeast because of the length of time since the last land-falling hurricane. [NOAA News]
The TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has recently assembled an animation displaying the rainfall from the 19 tropical cyclones that traversed the western Atlantic basin using data collected by sensors onboard the TRMM satellite. This animation commences in May with Tropical Storm Alberto and ends in late October with Hurricane Sandy. [NASA GSFC]
Lidar used to assess coastal changes and vulnerability due to Sandy -- Researchers from the US Geological Survey have used recently collected lidar (light detection and ranging) data from airborne surveys along sections of the Atlantic coast struck by Hurricane Sandy to construct high resolution three-dimensional maps of conditions before and after the storm. The surveys help assess the coastal changes due to the storm and provide information on future coastal vulnerability. [USGS Newsroom ]
Improved hurricane strength forecasts on the way -- Scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of California, Los Angles and the University of Hawaii at Manoa claim their analysis of relative humidity levels in the large-scale environment of tropical cyclones could help improve the forecasts of hurricane intensity. They analyzed the relative humidity data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite and wind data from NOAA's National Hurricane Center for nearly 200 North Atlantic hurricanes between 2002 and 2010. [NASA JPL]
More intense North Atlantic tropical cyclones predicted -- Researchers at the University of Iowa and at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory predict that tropical cyclones developing in the North Atlantic basin could become more intense during the remainder of the 21st century. They base their prediction upon the projected changes in the "North Atlantic Power Dissipation Index (PDI)" computed for three different potential scenarios using 17 global climate models. The PDI represents an index of storm intensity, duration, and frequency. The three different scenarios involved varying amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide and aerosol loadings that would affect the radiation received or emitted by the planet. [University of Iowa Now]
Japanese government gifts NOAA to address tsunami marine debris -- Late last week the Government of Japan announced that it would provide a gift of $5 million to support our nation's response efforts to the marine debris that have been washing ashore along the United States following the NOAA's March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This gift is being directed through NOAA's Marine Debris Program. [NOAA News]
Status review of Puget Sound killer whales begins -- NOAA's National Fisheries Service was ready to begin a review of the status of a population of killer whale (or orcas) that resides for part of the year in Washington State's Puget Sound and is listed currently under the Endangered Species Act. This review was prompted by a petition from a California legal foundation seeking to remove the existing protection for these whales. [Northwest Regional Office/NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service]
Proposed rule on turtle excluder devices withdrawn -- NOAA Fisheries announced that based upon data collected during this past summer, the agency was withdrawing the yet-to-be enacted rule that would require turtle excluder devices in certain shrimp trawls used in the Southeast shrimp fisheries. [Southeast Regional Office/NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service]
Listing of coral species as endangered proposed -- NOAA Fisheries recently proposed that it is proposing listing of 66 reef-building coral species as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, including 59 species in the Pacific Ocean and seven in the Caribbean Sea. This proposal is in compliance with a deadline ordered by a federal court. [NOAA News]
Cleanup after Gulf oil spill increased toxicity to ecosystems -- Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Mexico's Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes claim that the two million gallons of dispersant used to clean up the 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deep Water Horizon disaster may have made conditions worse as the dispersant appears to have been 52-times more toxic. [Georgia Tech]
Global temperature datasets indicate warmth of 2012 -- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently noted that the calendar year of 2012 is currently headed to be the ninth warmest since 1850 when a widespread comprehensive global climate was established. The WMO based their projection based upon the analysis of three global datasets that ran through October 2012. These data sets include one from the United Kingdom's Meteorological Office, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center and from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The projection of the year's global surface temperature also included a range of uncertainty that would make 2012 range from fourth to fourteenth warmest. Currently, the year's global average surface temperature is 14.45 degrees Celsius or 0.45 Celsius degrees above the 1961-1990 average. Since a La Niña event ran through the early part of the year, the annual temperature would be slightly below the average for the last decade. [UK Met Office]
Increasing loss of polar ice documented in both hemispheres -- An international team of 47 researchers from the US and Europe recently completed the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE), a comprehensive and accurate assessment of losses in the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica and the contribution of these ice sheet losses to the rise in global sea level. The researchers, supported by NASA and the European Space Agency, combined data from multiple satellites and space craft to determine that the combined rate of melting for the ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica has increased during the last 20 years. About two-thirds of the loss is coming from Greenland, with the rest from Antarctica. [NASA JPL]
Nation's next generation geosynchronous satellite program undergoes successful review -- An external team of aerospace experts recently gave the NASA/NOAA GOES-R Series program a favorable appraisal; GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. This next generation of satellites will replace and upgrade NOAA's current fleet of geosynchronous satellites beginning in late 2015. NOAA's current fleet of GOES satellites not only monitor weather patterns across a large section of the Western Hemisphere, but also monitor solar activity and relay environmental data. [NOAA 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, 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.

Historical Events:

3 December 1952...A remarkable display of sea smoke was seen in Hong Kong harbor. The sea-smoke, induced by a strong surge of arctic air, poured from the water of Kowloon Bay from 8 AM to 9:30 AM. The air temperature near the sea wall was 44 degrees F. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
3 December 1992...The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea carrying 80,000 tons of crude oil ran aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña, Spain, spilling much of its cargo. (Wikipedia)
3 December 1999...After rowing for 81 days and 2962 miles, Tori Murden became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by rowboat alone when she reached Guadeloupe after departing from the Canary Islands. (Wikipedia)
4 December 1786...The first of two great early December storms began. The storm produced high seas at Nantucket that did great damage. (David Ludlum)
4-13 December 1991...Tropical Cyclone Val with gusts to 150 mph caused $700 million damage. Seventeen deaths were reported in American and Western Samoa, with 95 percent of the houses in Savaii either destroyed or badly damaged. Savaii was essentially hit twice by Val as the system completed a loop on the 8^th. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
4 December 2003...A tropical depression became Tropical Storm Odette in the Caribbean well south of Kingston, Jamaica, becoming the first December tropical storm of record to form in the Caribbean Sea. Odette made landfall on near Cabo Falso, Dominican Republic on 6 December, causing eight deaths and destroying 35 percent of the banana crop. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
5 December 1872...A British brigantine, the DeGratia, discovered the American ship Mary Celeste derelict and boarded her. The Mary Celeste, a brigantine had set sail from New York harbor for Genoa, Italy, on 5 November 1872. Everyone aboard the Mary Celeste had vanished-her captain, his family, and its 14-man crew. The ship, which appeared to have been abandoned for approximately nine days, was in perfect order with ample supplies and there was no sign of violence or trouble. The fate of the crew remains unknown. (Infoplease.com) (Wikipedia)
5 December 1492...The explorer Christopher Columbus became the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola, which now contains the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. (Wikipedia)
5 December 1949...A typhoon struck fishing fleet off Korea; several thousand men reported dead. (Infoplease.com)
6 December 1830...The US Naval Observatory, the first U.S. national observatory, established as the Depot of Charts and Instruments in Washington, DC, under commander of Lieutenant Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough. Its primary mission was to care for the U.S. Navy's chronometers, charts and other navigational equipment. (Naval Historical Center)
7-8 December 1703...A monstrous storm raked southern England and adjacent waters with winds in excess of 100 mph. Approximately 8000 deaths were the result of this storm, mostly at sea. Many naval and supply ships were anchored in harbors or in the English Channel. The Eddystone Lighthouse disappeared. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
7 December 1872...An expedition put to sea from Sheerness aboard the corvette H.M.S. Challenger under the command of Captain George Nares on a 3 1/2-year world oceanographic cruise. During the 68,890 nautical mile cruise that ended on 24 May 1876, the ship traversed the North and South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, traveled north of the limits of drift ice in the North Atlantic polar seas and south of the Antarctic Circle. The scientists onboard the Challenger sounded the ocean bottom to a depth of 26,850-ft, found many new species, and provided collections for scores of biologists. (Today in Science History)
7 December 1932...The first gyro-stabilized vessel to cross the Atlantic, the Conte di Savoia of the Italian Line, arrived in New York City. The ship had 48,502 gross tons, an overall length 814.6 ft by beam 96.1 ft, two funnels, two masts, four screws and a speed of 27 knots. As one of the first ships to be fitted with gyrostabilizers, it was claimed that rolling was limited to a maximum of three degrees. The maiden voyage began from Genoa to Villefranche and New York on 30 November 1932. (Today in Science History)
8 December 1777...Captain James Cook left the Society Islands (French Polynesia).
8 December 1866...The first transpacific side-wheeler steamship launched in the U.S. was the Celestial Empire (later named China) with capacity for 1,300 passengers. The builder, William H. Webb of New York, introduced many features of naval architecture in this liner, since in common use. (Today in Science History)
8 December 1993...The U.S. Secretary of Defense declared that the Global Positioning System (GPS), accurate within 100 meters, had 24 GPS satellites operating in their assigned orbits, available for navigation use at Standard Positioning Service (SPS) levels for civil users. This worldwide satellite-based radionavigation system used as the Defense Department's primary radionavigation system provided authorized users encrypted Precise Positioning Service accurate to at least 22 meters. (Today in Science History)
8 December 2002...Super-typhoon Pongsona hit Guam with sustained winds of 144 mph and gusts to 173 mph, along with a storm surge to 20 feet. The 40-mile wide diameter eye was over Anderson AFB for 2 hours. One indirect death and 193 injuries were attributed to the typhoon. Some bridge pavement was "scrapped off" by wind and wave action. Damage was estimated at $700 million. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
9 December1938...A prototype shipboard radar designed and built by the Naval Research Laboratory was installed on the battleship, USS New York (BB-34). (Naval Historian Center)
9 December 2003...A subtropical storm became Tropical Storm Peter approximately 700 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. With Tropical Storm Odette having formed in the Caribbean on the 4th, the development of Peter marked the first time since 1887 that two tropical storms formed in the Atlantic Basin in December. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)