Weekly Ocean News

4-8 September 2017

Items of Interest:

September is National Preparedness Month -- The month of September has been declared National Preparedness Month (NPM), which aims to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies, including natural disasters. NPM is managed and sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Administration's (FEMA) Ready Campaign in conjunction with the Ad Council, A toolkit of marketing materials is provided to help promote the month and represents the lead on this campaign that was originally launched in 2004. The overarching theme for 2017 NPM is "Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can.," with an emphasis on preparedness for youth, older adults, and people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.
Week 1 of the 2017 NPM ends this Saturday 9 September with the theme of "Make a Plan for Yourself, Family and Friends."
Week 2 of the 2017 NPM (10-16 September) has the theme "Plan to Help Your Neighbor and Community."
[FEMA's Ready.gov]
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]
Teachers: Get real-time atmospheric and ocean sciences data for your classroom -- NOAA's Data in the Classroom Program is providing K-12 educators with great real-time data for students to better understand atmospheric and ocean sciences. The real-time ocean data can be used to explore current environmental issues, as well as to help students develop problem-solving skills employed by scientists. Accompanying curricula materials are available on El Nino, Coral Bleaching and Sea Level variations, while additional materials will be coming soon on Ocean Acidification and Water Quality. [NOAA Satellite and Information Service]
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.

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 (that also includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico), Tropical Storm Harvey traveled slowly toward the east-southeast across coastal areas of Texas at the start of last week after it had come onshore as a major category 4 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) near Port Aransas and Port O'Connor on Friday evening of the previous week. By late Monday, the center of Harvey had moved off the Texas Coast and over the Gulf of Mexico. On Tuesday, Tropical Storm Harvey took a somewhat erratic course toward the east and northeast, making a second landfall along the southwestern Louisiana coast near Cameron, LA during the predawn hours of Wednesday. The slow movement of Tropical Storm Harvey resulted in torrential rains that fell along the Texas Coast from near the Houston and Galveston metropolitan areas on the upper Texas Gulf Coast and over the southwestern western Louisiana coast. Moving toward the northeast, Tropical Storm Harvey weakened to a tropical depression over central Louisiana near Alexandria on Tuesday evening. By later in the evening, Tropical Depression Harvey became a remnant low as it headed to the northeast toward west-central Mississippi and eventually, middle Tennessee. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite images for Hurricane Harvey.
Tropical Storm Irma developed last Wednesday afternoon over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean approximately 400 miles to the west of the Cabo Verde (formerly Cape Verde) Islands. Traveling generally westward, Irma had strengthened to become the fourth Atlantic hurricane of 2017 by Thursday afternoon. Hurricane Irma strengthened to become a major category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as maximum sustained surface winds were estimated to have reached 120 mph by Friday evening while it was located approximately 1500 miles to the east of the Leeward Islands. Over the course of this past weekend, Hurricane Irma continued traveling toward the west and west-southwest, with some changes in intensity. As of Sunday evening, Irma was located approximately 790 miles to the east of the Leeward Islands. Current forecasts indicate that Irma could intensify slightly as it would continue traveling toward the west-southwest and then to the west, reaching the northern Leeward Islands by late Tuesday. Eventually, Irma could pass close to the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by midweek. More information and satellite imagery on Hurricane Irma is available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the eastern North Pacific basin (east of the 140 degree West meridian of longitude), Tropical Storm Lidia formed last Wednesday evening from a low pressure disturbance that was located approximately 180 miles to the south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Over the next three days, Lidia traveled toward the north-northwest, with the center of Lidia making landfall on the coast of Baja California Sur approximately 45 miles to the west of La Plaz, Mexico by early Friday morning. Lidia continued to hug the Baja California Sur coast, as it continued northward on Friday and then over northern sections of the Baja Peninsula on Saturday. Locally heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Lidia spread across Baja California and western sections of mainland Mexico. As of early Sunday morning, Lidia had degenerated into a remnant low pressure system that was situated approximately 40 miles to the southwest of Punta Baja, Mexico. However, tropical moisture from Lidia was expected to spread northward, resulting in an increase in scattered showers and thunderstorms across parts of the desert regions of southern Nevada, western Arizona and into southern California by Labor Day. Additional information and satellite imagery are available on Tropical Storm Lidia on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the western North Pacific basin (to the west of the International Dateline), Tropical Storm Sanvu developed during the middle part of last week from a tropical depression that had been situated nearly 100 miles to the north-northeast of Agrihan, an uninhabited island in the Northern Mariana Islands. This minimal tropical storm traveled generally northward before curving toward the west. Making a relatively abrupt turn toward the northeast, Sanvu intensified into a typhoon. By the start of this past weekend, Sanvu had strengthened into a category 2 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as maximum sustained surface winds reached an estimated 100 mph. Typhoon Sanvu continued its travels to the northeast over the western North Pacific through the past weekend, remaining well to the east of the main Japanese islands. By late Sunday, Sanvu had lost its tropical characteristics. Additional information along with satellite images can be seen on the NASA Hurricane Page for Typhoon Sanvu.
A tropical depression located over the waters of the South China Sea to the northwest of the Philippines intensified to become Tropical Storm Mawar late last week at it traveled generally toward the north. At that time, Mawar was situated approximately 300 miles to the north-northwest of Manila, Philippines. Over this past weekend, Tropical Storm Mawar took a turn and moved toward the west and then to the northwest, heading toward the southeast coast of China. As of late Sunday night (local time), the center of Tropical Storm Mawar was heading to the northwest and was located approximately miles to the east of Hong Kong. Mawar was forecast to make landfall along the China coast on Monday and continue its path toward the northwest, weakening rapidly as it moves inland. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite imagery and additional information for Mawar.

Satellites track how Hurricane Harvey cooled the western Gulf of Mexico -- A series of maps were produced from data collected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite between Wednesday, 23 August, and Wednesday, 30 August, showing how Hurricane Harvey affected the sea surface temperature (SST) patterns in the western Gulf of Mexico. Several of the maps showed SSTs across the western Gulf that were several Celsius degrees above the long-term average temperatures, as indicated by the SST anomaly maps, before Hurricane Harvey churned across the Gulf, followed by a general cooling of the surface waters following Harvey's landfall. [NASA Earth Observatory]
An entangled humpback whale hopefully freed in Alaska waters -- Marine mammal entanglement experts from NOAA Fisheries are hopeful that their efforts have been successful in freeing a humpback whale that had been entangled at the start of last week by a cruise vessel's anchor line in Tracy Arm, a fjord in Alaska near the capital city of Juneau. [NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office News]
Posts made from NOAA scientists headed for Arctic research expedition -- The director of NOAA's Arctic Research Program made the first blog post entitled "Why We Go North" from the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy as it heads northward from Dutch Harbor, AK with more than 20 scientists who are measuring environmental change in the Arctic Ocean basin as part of NOAA's Distributed Biological Observatory-Northern Chukchi Integrated Studies project. These scientists participating in this three-week project will track sea ice decline, increasing air and water temperature and ocean acidification. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Improvement in sea ice predictions is sought -- As many as three dozen teams of scientists, including three from NASA, have been participating in the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) during this year at making the best prediction for the end-of-summer minimum sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean. Initially started in 2009, different methods are being employed, including statistical analysis, dynamic models, gut feelings and combinations of techniques. Teams could submit forecasts in June, July and August based on the current sea ice conditions at those times. Each fall, the project releases an analysis of the year's submissions, reviewing lessons learned and providing guidance to future research efforts. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Feature]
Ocean acidification in a national marine sanctuary is tackled by Pacific Northwest teachers -- A three-day workshop called “Engineering Solutions for a Changing Environment” was hosted by NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in late July in Forks, WA that allowed 12 local teachers of grades 4- 6 to better understand ocean acidification and how to integrate the subject material into their curricula. The Pacific Education Institute, a non-profit organization and a NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) grantee, collaborated in hosting the workshop. Ocean acidification is creating a problem along Washington's Olympic Peninsula as billions of oysters have died along its coast in the last decade. [NOAA News]
A Foster Scholar tracks sea otter habits off Washington's Olympic Peninsula -- Jessica Hale, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington and a Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar, has been spending this summer studying the feeding habits of the northern sea otter along the Olympic Peninsula that include NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA's Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program provides support for independent graduate-level studies in oceanography, marine biology, or maritime archaeology, particularly to women and minorities; it is administered through the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Monitoring hypoxic conditions in Pacific Ocean waters off northern California -- Marine scientists in NOAA's Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary are tracking the reduction of dissolved oxygen in the waters of the eastern North Pacific located within this marine sanctuary to understand the hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions that are threating marine life. Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is an extremely productive marine area located off northern California, just north of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and San Francisco's Golden Gate. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Fifteen new marine debris projects receive $2.2 million in grants -- During the last week NOAA officials announced that 15 new marine debris projects from around the nation have received nearly $2.2 million during Fiscal Year 2017 through the NOAA Marine Debris Program to support marine debris removal and research. [NOAA National Ocean Service News]
New toolkit designed to help teachers and their students fight marine debris -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the NOAA Marine Debris Program have released the "Marine Debris Monitoring Toolkit for Educators", a new kit designed for educators and their students in coastal and inland areas to learn more about marine debris and monitor their local waterways. A 41-page pdf file containing a compilation of teacher resources and guidelines for data collection and analysis is available for downloading, along with a 45-slide presentation. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Study should negate concerns about radioactivity in migratory seafood in Pacific -- An international research team has conducted a study of seafood taken from the North Pacific Ocean since the massive 2011 earthquake off Japan that indicates concerns of health risks associates with eating from migratory marine predators such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks can be laid to rest. The researchers found that the meat from these marine predators did not contain large amounts of two radioactive isotopes of cesium that would have been released into the ocean waters following the failure of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant after the earthquake and accompanying tsunami. [Virginia Institute of Marine Science News]
Ancient global warming event driven by carbon dioxide emissions from volcanoes -- An international team of scientists recently reported that massive emissions of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere from volcanoes during the formation of the North Atlantic Ocean were responsible for an extreme global warming event approximately 56 million years ago. Apparently, the warming of the planet by at least five Celsius degrees, which led to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), was a consequence of a rapid doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide in less than 25,000 years due to volcanoes. [University of Southampton 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.

Historical Events

4 September 1954...Icebreakers, USS Burton Island (AGB-1) and USCG Northwind, completed first transit of the Northwest Passage through McClure Strait. (Naval Historical Center)
4-6 September 1970...Moisture from Pacific Tropical Storm Norma led to heavy rain and severe flooding over a three-day span. Unprecedented rains caused rivers in central Arizona to rise five to ten feet per hour, sweeping cars and buildings as far as 30 to 40 mi downstream, leading to the greatest natural disaster of record for Arizona. Flooding claimed the lives of 23 persons, mainly campers, and caused millions of dollars in property damage. Water crested 36 feet above normal near Sunflower. Workman's Creek was deluged with 11.40 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a 24-hour precipitation record for the Grand Canyon State. An estimated six inches of rain fell at Bug Point, UT, setting a 24-hour precipitation record for the Beehive State. (The Weather Channel) (NCDC)
4 September 2004...Former Category 4 Hurricane Frances made landfall in Florida as a Category 2. Over a foot of rain soaked parts of the Sunshine State.(National Weather Service files)
4 September 2007...Hurricane Felix came ashore in the pre-dawn hours as a Category 5 storm on the Miskito Coast in Nicaragua. At the time of its landfall, the maximum sustained surface winds were approximately 160 mph. Felix killed at least 130 people along the Miskito Coast, with damage in Nicaragua totaling $46.7 million dollars.(National Weather Service files)
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 beaten 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, estimated to have been a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, 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" was 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)
9 September 1960... The storm surge from Hurricane Donna submerged the Overseas Highway. The hurricane broke the pipeline that supplied fresh water to the Florida Keys. (National Weather Service files)
10 September 1919...A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. Over 700 people died along the hurricane's track from the Lesser Antilles to Corpus Christi, TX. (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.