Weekly Ocean News

WEEK TWO: 5-9 September 2016

Items of Interest:

Presidents from the US and China ratify climate agreements -- This past weekend, US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping submitted their nations' plans to reduce carbon emissions to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in Hangzhou, China, the host city of this year's Group of 20 meetings. By submitting their nations' plans, they were officially ratifying an agreement forged last year in Paris meant to curb climate change. [CNN News]
A fact sheet on the US-China Cooperation on Climate Change is also available [The White House Press Office]
September is National Preparedness Month -- Last Thursday, President Obama issued a presidential proclamation declaring this month of September as National Preparedness Month (NPM), which is aims to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies, including natural disasters. [The White House Press Office]
NPM is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), which has provided a toolkit of marketing materials to help promote the month, is the lead on this campaign that was originally launched in 2004. The theme for 2016 NPM is "Don't Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today," with an emphasis on preparedness for youth, older adults, and people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.
During Week 2 (4-10 September), the weekly hazard-focused theme is "Preparing Family & Friends." [FEMA's Ready.gov]
NOAA's National Weather Service is working with FEMA to communicate the importance of emergency preparedness as a key component of its Weather-Ready Nation campaign. [NOAA Weather Ready Nation]
Five NOAA programs available to K-12 teachers that bring Earth science #BacktoSchool -- NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is offering five programs to K-12 teachers across the nation that can be explored online and on social media with the goal of bringing NOAA science into the classroom. The five programs involve: a redesigned NOAA Education Portal website; the #Teach4Climate social media initiative for climate change education; the #Back2School with Owlie Skywarn on social media that features weather and safety information for students, schools and communities; the "Trash Talk" video from NOAA's Marine Debris Program that is designed to tackle marine debris during this school year in an effort to keep the nation's coasts clean; and the NOAA's "Digital Coast" website that encourages the use of digital data and #BacktoSchool" coastal training resources in the classroom. [NOAA News]
Approaching the peak in the Atlantic hurricane season -- The historic or statistical annual peak in the Atlantic hurricane season will occur near the end of this week (8-12 September), as determined as the date during the entire season with most frequent number of named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes), based upon over 100 years of record. This date corresponds closely with the time of peak sea-surface temperatures across those sections of the North Atlantic considered hurricane-breeding areas. [NWS National Hurricane Center]
Remote sensing of the oceans by satellites -- Please read this week's Supplemental Information…In Greater Depth for a description of how oceanographers have employed orbiting satellites as observation platforms to make remote observations of the world's oceans.
Four minority serving institutions receive grants to train next generation of scientists -- Early last week NOAA's Office of Education announced that $11.9 million in grants were being awarded to four of the nation's minority serving institutions in order to educate and graduate students who pursue degree programs with applied research in NOAA mission-related scientific fields. These institutions that received awards were Florida A&M University, Howard University, City College of New York and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. They represent lead institutions that will be partnered with 24 other institutions to establish four cooperative science centers where students will be trained in earth system sciences and remote sensing technology, coastal and marine ecosystems, living marine resources and atmospheric sciences and meteorology. [NOAA News]
A "double eclipse" is witnessed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory -- The annular solar eclipse that was observed by residents of Africa on 1 September 2016 when the new moon passed in front of the Sun was also detected by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Since the SDO spacecraft is in geosynchronous orbit around Earth at an altitude of approximately 22,400 miles, the sensor onboard the spacecraft also witnessed an eclipse of the Sun by Earth in addition to the eclipse made by the moon. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Feature]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the Tropics -- The weather across the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins of the Northern Hemisphere remained active last week with several named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical ocean waters, with near surface maximum sustained winds that intensify to tropical storm or hurricane force status):

In the North Atlantic basin, Hurricane Gaston had become a major category 3 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) one week ago Sunday as it traveled toward the northwest approximately 580 miles to the east of Bermuda. Over the course of the next several days, Gaston slowly weakened as it curved toward the north and then to the northeast. By Friday morning Hurricane Gaston had weakened to a tropical storm as it was approximately 320 miles to the west of the central Azores. As of early Saturday morning Tropical Storm Gaston was downgraded to a tropical depression, which became a remnant low a few hours later approximately 160 miles to the northeast of the Azores. More information and satellite imagery on Hurricane Gaston is available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Tropical Depression 9 (TD 9) moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico approximately 150 miles to the west-southwest of Key West, FL at the start of last week. During the next two days this system traveled toward the west-northwest across the southern Gulf of Mexico before making an abrupt turn toward the north and then north-northeast. On Wednesday afternoon, NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft determined that TD 9 had become Tropical Storm Hermine, the eighth named tropical cyclone of 2016 in the Atlantic basin. By Thursday afternoon an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft found that Hermine had strengthened sufficiently to become the fourth Atlantic hurricane of the season approximately 115 miles to the south-southwest of Apalachicola on the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane Hermine made landfall along the Florida Big Bend coast early Saturday morning approximately 25 miles to the south-southeast of the capital city of Tallahassee, FL. Traveling to the northeast across the Florida Panhandle, southern Georgia and the coastal sections of the Carolinas on Friday and early Saturday, Hermine weakened to a tropical storm. Hermine lost its tropical characteristics and became a post-tropical cyclone as it moved over the northeastern coast of North Carolina and out over the western North Atlantic Ocean. On Saturday, Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine intensified slightly as it traveled toward the east-northeast. As of early Sunday evening, this relatively active cyclone was located approximately 370 miles to the east of Ocean City, MD or 325 miles tot he southeast of the eastern tip of New York's Long Island. Current forecasts indicate that the remnants of Hermine would turn northward by early Monday morning and then to the north-northeast, approaching the Middle Atlantic and New England coasts during the early part of the week. Winds could reach near hurricane-strength on Monday. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on Hurricane Hermine.
A description is provided of the flights made by the NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft that showed the development of Tropical Storm Hermine over the Gulf of Mexico early last week. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
In the eastern and central North Pacific basins, Hurricane Lester intensified to a major category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale early Monday morning as it moving westward approximately 1200 miles to the west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Continuing toward the west, Lester crossed the 140 degree west longitude meridian from the eastern into the central North Pacific basin early Wednesday afternoon as a category 4 hurricane. During the second half of last week Hurricane Lester began to slowly curve toward the west-northwest, passing to the north of the main Hawaiian Islands on Saturday. By Saturday evening, Lester had weakened to a tropical storm as it passed approximately 140 miles to the north of Honolulu, HI. As of Sunday afternoon Tropical Storm Lester had turned to a direction toward northwest as it was located 330 miles to the north-northwest of Honolulu. Forecasts indicate that Lester should weaken slightly, but still remain a tropical storm on Monday as it continues curving toward the north. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on former Hurricane Lester.
Tropical Storm Madeline, which had passed from the eastern to central Pacific basins over the previous weekend, strengthened to a hurricane by late Sunday evening (local time) as it continued traveling to the west-northwest approximately 760 miles to the east of Hilo, HI. By midweek, Hurricane Madeline began curving toward the west and then west-southwest, passing to the south of Hawaii's Big Island late last week. As of Wednesday afternoon, Madeline has weakened to tropical storm as it was approximately 100 miles to the south-southeast of Hilo. Late Thursday evening Tropical Storm Madeline weakened to a tropical depression as it was located approximately 380 miles to the south-southwest of Honolulu, HI. By Friday, Tropical Depression Madeline was slowly turning into a remnant low slightly more than 300 miles to the east of Johnston Island. Additional information and satellite images for Hurricane Madeline can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
A visible satellite image from the Suomi-NPP satellite earlier last week shows Hurricanes Lester and Madeline approaching the Hawaiian Islands. Click on the image to see a larger view of the two well-formed mature hurricanes. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
In the western North Pacific basin, Typhoon Lionrock, which had become a major category 4 typhoon (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) near the end of the previous week, weakened to a tropical storm as it passed across Japan's big island of Honshu and then across Hokkaido, the nation's northernmost large island by the midpoint of last week before dissipating. Reports indicate that Typhoon Lionrock was responsible for the deaths of 17 Japanese citizens. Consult the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite images and additional information on Typhoon Lionrock
At the midpoint of last week, a tropical depression formed slightly more than 300 miles to the south-southwest of Okinawa, Japan. This system quickly became a tropical storm and then Typhoon Namtheun within two days as it traveled to the north across the waters of the western Pacific. Near the end of the week Typhoon Namtheun had intensified to a major category 3 typhoon as it was approximately 370 miles south of Sasebo, Japan. Over this past weekend Typhoon Namtheun weakened to a tropical storm as it approached close to the western coast of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, accompanied by torrential rain. As of Monday (local time), Tropical Storm Namtheun was located offshore of Sasebo, which is near Nagasaki, Japan. Current forecasts indicate that this tropical cyclone could become an extratropical storm early this week. Satellite imagery and information concerning Typhoon Namtheun is available from the NASA Hurricane Page .

Elusive beaked whales tracked off the West Coast -- Researchers from NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) are beginning a research expedition on board the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada in search of beaked whales (family Ziphiidae), which are the deepest diving whales in the Pacific waters off the West Coast. A network of approximately 20 drifting acoustic spar buoy recorders will be deployed during the first part of the mission in order to detect the activity of the beaked whales. This expedition is part of SWFSC's PASCAL (Passive Acoustic Survey of Cetacean Abundance Levels) survey, a dedicated acoustic survey for cetaceans (marine mammals including whales) throughout the California Current that is located off the US West Coast. [NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center News]
NOAA's Habitat Restoration Center celebrates 25th anniversary -- A 3:45-minute video entitled "Habitat Restoration at NOAA: 25 Years" has been produced that highlights a variety of restoration projects around the nation during the last 25 years by NOAA's Habitat Restoration Center since its formation in 1991 following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound. [NOAA Fisheries Feature Stories]
Grants made to aid nation's marine mammal rescue and stranding programs -- During the last week NOAA Fisheries awarded nearly $3 million in 32 grants to partner organizations in 17 states through the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program in order to support conservation and recovery of protected marine species through stranding response and marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation. The grants were made to nonprofit organizations, aquariums, universities, and coastal state, local and tribal governments. [NOAA News]
Partnerships being built to provide technical solutions to bycatch reduction -- During the last week NOAA Fisheries announced that more than $2.4 million were being awarded to 17 partner organizations around the nation in an effort to support innovative bycatch reduction research projects through its Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP). [NOAA News]
Marine monument in Northwestern Hawaiian Islands threatened by ocean warming, sea-level rise and ocean acidification -- A new NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series report warns that the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands faces a looming threat of global climate change associated with sea-level rise, ocean acidification, ocean warming will affect the monument's land and marine ecosystems, as well as its cultural resources. [NOAA News]
Slightly more than one week ago, President Obama expanded the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii by more than four times to bring the total protected area to 582,578 square miles, thereby creating the world's largest marine protected area. This presidential action will permanently protect pristine coral reefs, deep sea marine habitats, and important ecological resources in the waters of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. [NOAA News] [The White House Press Office]
NOAA Sentinel Site Program in Hawaii is featured -- The Hawaiian Islands Sentinel Site Cooperative is featured in a article by NOAA's National Ocean Service. This cooperative on the Hawaiian Islands represents one of the five regions around the nation with sensitive habitats and unique ecosystems. The Sentinel Site Cooperatives are locally focused groups consisting of scientists and managers from a wide variety of disciplines who use their expertise to answer pressing questions of coastal resilience. The other four regions currently having Sentinel Site Cooperatives are Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina on the East Coast, the Northern Gulf of Mexico and San Francisco Bay on the West Coast. [NOAA National Ocean Service]
Studying the impacts of harmful algal blooms along Florida and California coasts -- Scientists from NOAA and their colleagues in partner organizations have generated outlooks for the impact of harmful algal blooms (HAB), which are also known popularly as "red tides":

Researchers from the University of South Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife have conducted three separate studies and have identified the reasons for why the blooms of toxic Karenia brevis off the west coast of Florida are worse in some years than in others. They also predicted that no major red tide outbreaks would occur along Florida's west coast in 2016. [NOAA NCCOS News]
A researcher at the University of California Santa Cruz recently testified to a committee of the California Legislature on HAB and domoic acid, citing the massive 2015 toxic Pseudo-nitzchia bloom along the US West Coast as an example of how elevated ocean temperatures could be linked to massive HAB events. He predicted an increased chance of more large-scale toxic HAB events in the future. [NOAA NCCOS News]

Role of how ocean drives weather and climate extremes is explored -- Research scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are studying how changes in the world's oceans cause sea surface temperatures to vary and how these temperature anomalies drive changes in atmospheric circulation to create extreme weather and climate events even on land. The researchers are analyzing more than 40 years of ocean data and the output from numerical models in order to identify the change in ocean currents and ocean-atmosphere heat transfer mechanisms. [Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory News]
An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA's National Weather Service, FAA and FEMA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAA/NWS Daily Briefing]

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet

earthweek.com

Concept of the Week: The Birth of Surtsey, A Volcanic Island
In early November 1963, cod fishers plying the waters of the North Atlantic south of Iceland observed what appeared to be smoke or steam emanating from the distant ocean surface. They were witnessing the beginnings of a volcanic eruption that ultimately would give birth to a new island later named Surtsey after Surtur, the fire giant of Norse mythology. Surtsey is located at 63.4 degrees N, 20.3 degrees W or 33 km (20 mi) south of the coast of Iceland. Volcanic activity was nothing new to the fishers who lived on the nearby volcanic Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). These islands as well as the main island of Iceland straddle the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary where hot molten lava wells up from the Earth's mantle, cools and solidifies into new oceanic crust.

Eruptions that produced Surtsey began on the ocean floor, some 130 m (427 ft) below sea level. The accumulating lava, cinders, and ash first emerged from the sea on 15 November 1963. Over the next 3.5 years, episodic eruptions built an island that eventually covered 2.5 square km (1 square mi) and attained a maximum elevation of 171 m (560 ft) above sea level. The initial eruptions were explosive as hot magma interacted with cold seawater producing dark jets of ash and steam that shot up to 200 m (656 ft) above two main volcanic vents. At this time, clouds of ash and steam rose into the atmosphere to altitudes perhaps as great as 10 km (6.2 mi). Subsequent eruptions were much more peaceful, consisting of quiescent flows of lava. When the eruptions ceased in early June 1967, a cubic kilometer of ash and lava had built up on the ocean floor with 9% of this volcanic material above sea level.

No volcanic activity has occurred on Surtsey since 1967 and geologists consider the volcanic island to be extinct with little risk of future eruptions. Nonetheless, Surtsey remains off limits to visitors except for scientists who obtain permission from the Icelandic government. The island offers scientists a unique opportunity to study not only the geology but also the establishment of plants and animals on the island, a process known as ecological succession. For example, by 1987, some 25 species of higher plants were growing on the initially barren island and 20 species of birds were nesting there.

Unless volcanic activity begins anew, the future is not bright for Surtsey. Some geologists predict that in a hundred years or so the island will be reduced to scattered stacks of rock. The island is composed of basaltic rock that is particularly vulnerable to weathering and erosion, ocean waves are eroding its shores, and the island is gradually sinking into the sea. Scientists reported a total subsidence of about 1.1 m (3.6 ft) between 1967 and 1991. Compaction of the volcanic material and the underlying sea-floor sediments are likely causes of the subsidence. For NASA topographical images of Surtsey, go to http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov/research/garvin/surtsey.html . These images were obtained using a scanning airborne laser altimeter.

Concept of the Week: Questions

The volcanism responsible for the formation of Surtsey was associated with a [(divergent)(convergent)] tectonic plate boundary.
At present on Surtsey, erosive forces [(are)(are not)] prevailing over volcanic activity.

Historical Events

5 September 1987...A tropical storm, which formed off the South Atlantic coast, was responsible for torrential rains over coastal regions of South Carolina. Between 30 August and 8 September, Charleston, SC received 18.44 in. of rain. The heavy rains caused extensive flooding around the city of Charleston, seriously damaged cotton crops in the eastern part of the state, and resulted in an unusually high number of mosquitoes. (Storm Data)
5 September 1946...The U.S. Air-Rescue Agency, an inter-departmental group headed by the Commandant of the Coast Guard and engaged on the study of improved and standardized rescue and search methods, was renamed the Search and Rescue Agency. "Search and Rescue Units" of the Coast Guard were at the same time integrated into the peace time organization and the whole developed into a system of constantly alerted communications, coastal lookout, and patrols of institute instant and systematic search and rescue procedure in case of disasters." (USCG Historian's Office)
5 September 1950...Hurricane Easy produced the greatest 24-hour rainfall in U.S. weather records up to that time. The hurricane deluged Yankeetown, on the upper west coast of Florida, with 38.70 in. of rain. This record has since been replaced by 43 in. of rain at Alvin, TX on 25-26 July 1979. (David Ludlum)
6 September 1522...The Magellan expedition completed its historical circumnavigation of the globe as one of Ferdinand Magellan's five ships, the Vittoria, arrived at Sanlýcar de Barrameda in Spain with 17 other crew members and four Indians. Magellan, who lost his life in April 1521 in the Philippines, set sail from Spain with 270 seamen on 20 September 1519 in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. (The History Channel)
6 September 1667...The "dreadful hurricane of 1667" is considered one of the most severe hurricanes to ever strike Virginia. On the first, this same storm was reported in the Lesser Antilles. The hurricane devastated St. Christopher as no other storm had done before. The "great storm" went on to strike the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Approximately 10,000 houses were blown over. Area crops (including corn and tobacco) were beat into the ground. (National Weather Service files)
6 September 1972...The first tropical cyclone landfall in California since 1939 was Tropical Depression Hyacinth on this date, just north of San Diego. (National Weather Service files)
6 September 1996...Hurricane Fran, a Category 3 hurricane, made a direct hit on North Carolina with 115-mph winds. Six people died and up to 16 inches of rain fell. The storm caused $2.4 billion damage in North Carolina just two months after the state had been hit by Category 3 Hurricane Bertha. (National Weather Service files)
7 September 1934...US Coast Guard (USCG) vessels responded to a fire aboard the liner Morro Castle six miles off the New Jersey coast. This disaster, which resulted in the loss of 133 of the 455 passengers and crew, led to a Senate investigation and subsequent changes in maritime safety regulations. (USCG Historian's Office)
8 September 1900...The greatest weather disaster in U.S. records occurred when a hurricane struck Galveston, TX. Waves fifteen feet high washed over the island demolishing or carrying away buildings, and drowning more than 6000 persons. The hurricane destroyed more than 3600 houses, and total damage was more than $30 million. Winds to 120 mph, and a twenty-foot storm surge accompanied the hurricane. Following the storm, the surf was three hundred feet inland from the former water line. The hurricane claimed another 1200 lives outside of the Galveston area. (8^th-9^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
Editor's note: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posted a webpage commemorating the Galveston, TX hurricane of 1900. This page contains links to historic photos and excerpts of an eyewitness description of storm by Isaac Cline, the chief forecaster of the Galveston U.S. Weather Bureau Office. EJH
9 September 1945... A "computer bug" is first identified and named by LT Grace Murray Hopper while she was on Navy active duty in 1945. It was found in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University. The operators affixed the moth to the computer log, where it still resides, with the entry: "First actual case of bug being found." They "debugged" the computer, first introducing the term. (Naval History Center)
10 September 1919...A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. (David Ludlum)
10 September 1965...Hurricane Betsy slammed Louisiana with wind gusting to 130 mph at Houma, resulting in 58 deaths and over 17,500 injured. The storm surge and flooding from torrential rains made Betsy the first billion-dollar hurricane with losses exceeding $1.4 billion.
11 September 1961...Very large and slow moving Hurricane Carla made landfall near Port Lavaca, TX. Carla battered the central Texas coast with wind gusts to 175 mph, and up to 16 inches of rain, and spawned a vicious tornado (F4 on the Fujita tornado intensity scale) which swept across Galveston Island killing eight persons and destroying 200 buildings. A storm surge of up to 18.5 feet inundated coastal areas and Bay City was deluged with 17.1 inches of rain. The hurricane claimed 45 lives, and caused $300 million in damage. The remnants of Carla produced heavy rain in the Lower Missouri Valley and southern sections of the Upper Great Lakes Region. (David Ludlum) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
11 September 1992...Hurricane Iniki, the third most damaging hurricane in US history, hit the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu. Six people died as a result of the hurricane.