Weekly Ocean News

WEEK SEVEN: 17-21 October 2016

For Your Information

The Great Washington ShakeOut -- Residents of the state of Washington are encouraged to participate in the The Great Washington Shake Out on Thursday morning (20 October 2016) in order to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes along with tsunamis that could be generated along the coast by the earthquakes.
Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2016 Campaign resumes -- The tenth in a series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2016 will commence on Friday (21 October) and continue through Sunday, 31 October. GLOBE at Night is a worldwide, hands-on science and education program designed to encourage citizen-scientists worldwide to record the brightness of their night sky by matching the appearance of a constellation (Pegasus in the Northern Hemisphere and Grus in the Southern Hemisphere) with the seven magnitude/star charts of progressively fainter stars. Activity guides are also available. The GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The next series in the 2016 campaign is scheduled for 20-30 November 2016. [GLOBE at Night]
Oceanographic expeditions that made an impact -- This week's Supplemental Information ... In Greater Depth provides a historical perspective of some of the oceanographic expeditions that made an impact upon science, especially in terms of oceanography.

Ocean in the News

Eye on the Tropics -- During the last week, tropical cyclone activity was confined to the North Atlantic and western North Pacific basins:

In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Nicole, which was the sixth Atlantic hurricane of 2016 for less than one day late in the previous week, continued traveling toward the northwest and then to the north at the start of last week. As of Tuesday afternoon Nicole intensified to become a hurricane for the second time as it was approximately 355 miles to the south-southwest of Bermuda. On Wednesday and Thursday Hurricane Nicole began to curve toward the north-northeast and strengthen to a category 4 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) as its central eye passed over Bermuda during the midday hours of Thursday. At that time, maximum sustained surface winds were determined to be 120 mph. After bringing as much as eight inches of rain, strong winds that reached 115 mph and a storm surge of six to eight feet to Bermuda, Nicole traveled toward the northeast during the remainder of the week. As of late Sunday afternoon, Hurricane Nicole had weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it was continuing to travel to the northeast, approximately 615 miles to the southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. Current forecasts indicate little weakening in the intensity of Nicole as it would continue to take a path toward the northeast on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite imagery on Hurricane Nicole.
In the western North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Aere traveled to the west-northwest across the South China Sea toward the southeastern China coast near Hong Kong at the beginning of last week before taking a turn to the west-southwest and weakening to a tropical depression. However, Aere re-intensified by midweek and approached the Vietnam coast near Da Nang before dissipating late last week. For additional information and satellite images on Tropical Storm Aere, refer to the NASA Hurricane Page.
Tropical Storm Songda was located to the east of Iwo To, Japan (also known as Iwo Jima) at the start of last week. Over the next several days, Songda traveled toward the northwest and then curved to the north and northeast as it intensified to a typhoon and then a super typhoon as maximum sustained surface wind speeds reached 150 mph (which would be equivalent to a category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). By last Wednesday Typhoon Songda had lost its tropical characteristics and became an extratropical cyclone (midlatitude storm) as it was traveling nearly 900 miles to the southeast of Misawa, Japan. Remnants of this former super typhoon traveled eastward across the North Pacific and brought strong winds and heavy rain to the Oregon coast in the Pacific Northwest of the US over this past weekend. See the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite images and additional information on Super Typhoon Songda.
As of midweek Tropical Storm Sarika formed from a tropical depression over the waters of Philippine Sea approximately 600 miles to the east of Manila, Philippines. Traveling toward the west-northwest, Sarika intensified to become a category 4 typhoon as it approached Luzon Island. Typhoon Sarika made landfall and traveled across Luzon Island and then out over the South China Sea over this past weekend. As of late Monday (local time) Sarika was located approximately 370 miles to the south-southeast of Hong Kong. Forecasts project Sarika to travel toward the west-northwest and cross China's Hainan Island and then the Gulf of Tonkin before making landfall along the northeastern coast of Vietnam near Hanoi by this coming Thursday. Refer to the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite imagery and further information on Typhoon Sarika.
A tropical storm formed over the western North Pacific over this past weekend that quickly became Typhoon Haima. By late Monday (local time) Haima was located approximately 190 miles to the north of Yap in the Caroline Islands of the Federated States of Micronesia. Typhoon Haima was forecast to strengthen and become a super typhoon as it would continue traveling toward the west-northwest over the next several days. The northern Philippines, Taiwan and southeastern China could receive torrential rain, strong winds and storm surge from this potential super typhoon.

Additional information on Hurricane Matthew

Satellite tracks deadly rainfall totals -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center produced a rainfall analysis map for Hurricane Matthew during the two-week span (28 September through 10 October) from data collected the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft, a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Some locations in North Carolina received 20 inches of rain. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Feature]
More than one dozen stream gauge peak records exceeded in North Carolina -- A hydrologist from the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that peak streamflow records were broken for at least 14 USGS rain gauge sites in North Carolina as a result of the torrential rains that accompanied Hurricane Matthew. [USGS News]
Damage assessment using aerial imagery available -- NOAA's National Geodetic Survey has collected and posted damage assessment imagery for more than 1,200 square miles of the coastal Carolinas identified by FEMA and the National Weather Service in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. These images were obtained using specialized remote-sensing cameras mounted on NOAA's King Air aircraft that flew at an altitude between 500 and 1500 meters. [NOAA National Ocean Service News]

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion & La Niña watch -- NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society recently released their El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion that showed ENSO-neutral conditions were observed to continue through September, indicating neither El Niño or La Niña conditions, as cooler than average surface waters expanded across the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. After dropping their La Niña watch in September, the CPC forecasters have reissued a La Niña watch that indicates a 70 percent chance that a La Niña event will develop during this Northern Hemisphere fall and conditions would indicate a slightly favorable chance (55 percent) of a continuation of the La Niña during the boreal winter of 2016-17. An ENSO blog written by CPC staff describes how the atmospheric circulation and the sea surface temperature patterns have shown some increased activity beginning in mid-September that would suggest a transition from the ENSO-neutral conditions to a La Niña event during the late fall and early winter 2016-17 (in the Northern Hemisphere). The blog also has accompanying graphics. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
A detailed El Niño/Southern Oscillation Diagnostic Discussion with supporting maps and charts is available from CPC.
Coral die-off in Gulf marine sanctuary being investigated -- Researchers from NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary along with colleagues from six academic research institutions have been attempting to explain the reasons for the mass mortality event of coral in July at the East Flower Garden Bank, which is within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary located in the waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana and upper Texas Gulf Coasts. Possible reasons may include environmental conditions and human activities. A new unrelated coral bleaching event is currently ongoing, which may be attributed to stress placed upon the corals by warmer waters. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Final revisions to federal fishery management guidelines are announced -- Late last week officials with NOAA Fisheries announced that final revisions had been made to the National Standard 1 guidelines of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that federal managers will use as they update the nation's marine fisheries plans. [NOAA News]
Rebuilding of the 40th nation's fish stock is celebrated -- The recognition of National Seafood Month and the 40th anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Act(MSA), NOAA Fisheries is celebrating the announcement that the barndoor skate represents the 40th marine fish in national fisheries management to be rebuilt in large part to the success of MSA. [NOAA National Marine Fisheries Feature Stories]
Offshore aquaculture in California is addressed -- During the last week of September, a report was issued and a workshop held in Long Beach, CA featuring proposed fish farming operations in the offshore waters along the Southern California coast and current operations in U.S. marine waters. NOAA, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and California Sea Grant collaborated in this report and workshop. [NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science News]
Status of Arctic sea ice extent at end of September -- Scientists at the National Snow & Ice Center recently reported that the Arctic sea ice extent at the end of its melt season was at the second lowest in the daily average and fifth lowest in the monthly average since records of sea ice extent commenced in 1979. [National Snow & Ice Center News]
Climate change could be eroding our national security according to the military -- The US military has been studying climate change for years from a perspective that it could pose a national security threat. US military leaders and defense planners agree that climate change does pose serious risks especially through climate-related disruptions. These climate-related disruptions are perceived to cause stresses such as water shortages and crop failures, which can exacerbate or inflame existing tensions within or between states, potentially leading to state failure, uncontrolled migration and ungoverned spaces. In addition, climate-related disruptions is putting US military bases and associated domestic infrastructure under growing pressure from rising sea levels, "nuisance flooding," increasingly destructive storm surges, intense rainfalls and droughts, and indirect impacts from wildfires. [United Press International 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: Seiche Model

A seiche (pronounced "say-sh") is a rhythmic oscillation of water in an enclosed basin (e.g., bathtub, lake, or reservoir) or a partially enclosed coastal inlet (e.g., bay, harbor, or estuary). With this oscillation, the water level rises at one end of a basin while simultaneously dropping at the other end. A seiche episode may last from a few minutes to a few days. (Refer to your textbook for more on seiches.)

With a typical seiche in an enclosed basin, the water level near the center does not change at all but that is where the water exhibits its greatest horizontal movement; this is the location of a node. At either end of an enclosed basin, vertical motion of the water surface is greatest (with minimal horizontal movement of water); these are locations of antinodes. The motion of the water surface during a seiche is somewhat like that of a seesaw: The balance point of the seesaw does not move up or down (analogous to a node) while people seated at either end of the seesaw move up and down (analogous to an antinode).

Go to the University of Delaware's Seiche Calculator at http://www.coastal.udel.edu/faculty/rad/seiche.html. Set the "Modal Number" to 1 and then press "Calculate" for a graphical simulation of a seiche in an enclosed basin.

Partially enclosed basins usually have a node located at the mouth (rather than near the center) and an antinode at the landward end. Go to the Seiche Calculator, set the "Modal Number" to 0.5 and then press "Calculate" for a simulation of a seiche in a basin open to the right. Furthermore, some basins are complex and have multiple nodes and antinodes; these can be simulated on the Seiche Calculator by selecting different values of "Modal Number" greater than one.

The natural period of a seiche depends on the length and depth of the basin and generally ranges from minutes to hours. The period is directly proportional to basin length. For example, the natural period of a seiche in a small pond is considerably less than its period in a large coastal inlet. Also, for the same basin, the natural period is inversely proportional to water depth; that is, the period shortens as water deepens. Using the Seiche Calculator, you may wish to experiment with different basin lengths and depths. Conversely, one can determine the average depth of a lake by determining the period of the seiche and the length of the lake.

Concept of the Week: Questions

In an enclosed basin the node of a seiche is located [(at either end) (near the center)] of the basin.
The natural period of a seiche [(depends on) (is independent of)] the size of an enclosed basin.

Historical Events:

17 October 1997...Late on October 17, Super Typhoon Ivan attained its peak intensity with winds of 185 mph and an official barometric pressure of 905 millibars (26.72 inches of mercury) as it was traveling to the west-northwest toward Luzon in the Philippines. On the same day, while near peak intensity, Typhoon Joan was located about 1300 miles east of Typhoon Ivan. (National Weather Service files)
18 October 1910...Northeasterly winds as high as 70 mph (from a hurricane moving northward up the Florida peninsula) carried water out of Tampa Bay and the Hillsboro River. The water level lowered to nine feet below mean low water. Forty ships were grounded. (The Weather Channel)
18-19 October 2005...Hurricane Wilma developed a tiny, well-defined eye and began intensifying rapidly, reaching Category 5 strength with a record-setting pressure of 882 millibars (26.04 inches of mercury) by 19 October. The rapid intensification from tropical storm to Category 5 hurricane in 24 hours was the fastest ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, and the second-fastest worldwide, after Super Typhoon Forrest. (National Weather Service files)
19 October 1843...Captain Robert Stockton of the Princeton, the first screw propelled naval steamer, challenged the British merchant ship Great Western to a race off New York, which Princeton won easily. (Naval Historical Center)
20 October 1892...After ten years of difficult and costly construction, the St. George Reef Lighthouse, built on a rock lying six miles off the northern coast of California, midway between Capes Mendocino and Blanco, was first lighted. (USCG Historian's Office)
20 October 1956...A German physician, Dr. Hannes Lindemann, began a voyage on which he would become the first person to cross the Atlantic in the smallest craft. Using a double-seat folding kayak that was 17 feet in length and outfitted with an outrigger and sail, he made the trip from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in 72 days. He had made a prior crossing in a 23-foot African dugout canoe. He later wrote a book, Alone at Sea, describing his experiences. (Today in Science History)
20 October 1984...The Monterey Bay Aquarium opened on Cannery Row in Monterey, CA as the largest artificial environment for marine life, housing 500 marine animals from at least 525 species. The aquarium also supports active research and conservation programs. (Today in Science History)
20 October 2004...Typhoon Tokage became the tenth typhoon to strike Japan that year. Rain accompanying this typhoon triggered flash floods that washed away entire hillsides, killing 55 people and leaving at least 24 people missing. (National Weather Service files)
21 October 1797...The USS Constitution was launched at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, MA. The ship, nicknamed "Old Ironsides," is now the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy. (Naval Historical Center)
21 October 1580...Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan on his famous circumnavigation voyage of the globe reached Cape Virgenes and the strait at the tip of South America that now bears his name. Only three ships entered the 373-mile long passage separating Tierra del Fuego (land of fire) and the continental mainland. Navigating the treacherous strait in 38 days, the expedition entered the South Pacific Ocean, which Magellan named "Mar Pacifico" for the relatively tranquil seas that he found. However, one ship had been wrecked and another deserted. (The History Channel)
21-26 October 1998...Hurricane Mitch, a category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale), developed as a tropical depression over the southwestern Caribbean Sea about 360 mi south of Kingston, Jamaica on the 21^st. It would intensify over the next few days to become the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, on the 24^th. By the 26^th, Mitch finally dissipated after remaining a category 5 hurricane for 33 hours. Estimated rainfall totals of up to 75 in. caused devastating flooding and mudslides in Honduras and Nicaragua for days. Estimated death toll from this hurricane was more than 11,000, the worst since 1780. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord Weather Calendar)
22 October 1988...A "nor'easter" swept across the coast of New England. Winds gusted to 75 mph, and large waves and high tides caused extensive shoreline flooding. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
22 October 2005...Isla Mujeres, Mexico set the Northern Hemisphere's and Western Hemisphere's 24-hour rainfall record with 64.33 inches thanks to Hurricane Wilma. (National Weather Service files)
23 October 1761...A violent hurricane struck New England, causing tremendous damage in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. (National Weather Service files)
23-24 October 1918...The Canadian steamship Princess Sophia carrying miners from the Yukon and Alaska became stranded on Vanderbilt Reef along coastal British Columbia. A strong northerly gale hampered rescue attempts, and the next day, the ship sank with the loss of the 268 passengers and 75 crewmen onboard. (The Weather Doctor)