WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

31 July-4 August 2006

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2006 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 28 August 2006. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Ocean in the News:

• Eye on the tropics ---
  • In the Western North Pacific, former Typhoon Kaemi (a Western Pacific counterpart to a hurricane) made landfall in southeastern China early last week. Before making landfall, Kaemi had intensified to become a category 2 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. As of late last week, at least 25 people had died and more than 50 were missing in China due to former Typhoon Kaemi. [BBC] A visible image generated by Japan's satellite shows Typhoon Kaemi as it made landfall in China. [NOAA OSEI]
  • In the Central North Pacific, the former Hurricane Daniel moved toward the Hawaiian Islands, but was weakening in strength and in forward speed as it moved from the eastern to central sections of the Pacific. Earlier, this hurricane had reached a major Category-4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. [USA Today] A satellite image made from NOAA's GOES-11 satellite shows Tropical Depression Daniel 800 miles to the east-southeast of Hilo, HI late last week. [NOAA OSEI]
  • In the Eastern North Pacific, Tropical Storm Emilia moved to the northwest paralleling the Mexican coast last week before weakening to a tropical depression off Baja California. Tropical Depression Emilia is shown in this satellite image from sensors onboard NOAA's GOES-11 satellite late last week. [NOAA OSEI]
• New fisheries survey vessel delivered -- One of the new class of fisheries survey vessels, the Henry B. Bigelow, was recently delivered to NOAA officials by the ship builders in Pascagoula, MS. This ship will be used in support of NOAA fisheries and marine research efforts in US waters off the Northeastern States. [NOAA News]
• Non-native fish in Gulf of Mexico -- According to a report issued by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences, a non-native aquarium fish called Red Sea Bannerfish has been found on a reef offshore of Palm Beach FL. Officials are concerned that although this fish does not pose a hazard to humans, they could interfere with the food web and affect native marine species. [NOAA News]
• Large "dead zone" is forecast for northern Gulf -- Scientists from the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Louisiana State University are predicting that the "Dead Zone", an area in the northern Gulf of Mexico devoid of sufficient amounts of dissolved oxygen to support most marine life, will be larger than the average size of the annually occurring hypoxia-affected area since 1990. They base their forecasts on the nitrate loads that have been in rivers that flow into the Gulf this past spring, along with loads from last year. [NOAA News]
• Active hurricane season contributed to a red tide -- Scientists suggest that the very active 2004 hurricane season in the Southeast may have contributed to an extensive and long-lasting algae bloom (also known as red tide) in the coastal waters of Florida. [Story with images NASA GSFC or news item without images NASA Earth Observatory]
• Origins and development of hurricanes investigated -- A one-month field campaign called NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses 2006 will begin shortly and consist of scientists from NASA, NOAA and a variety of universities and international agencies using data collected from satellites, aircraft and conventional surface weather stations to study how winds and airborne dust from Africa can influence the birth of hurricanes over the Atlantic Ocean. [Story with images NASA GSFC or news item without images NASA Earth Observatory]
• Indonesian earthquake does not generate tsunami -- An earthquake with an intensity of 6.0 on the Richter Scale was reported off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra last week. However, no tsunami was generated. During the previous week, an undersea earthquake off Java produced a tsunami that killed 668 people and forced 74,000 people to fee their homes. [CNN]
• Global coral reef survey helped by view from space -- Researchers from several nations are collaborating in a NASA-funded effort called the Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project where they use data obtained from sensors located onboard orbiting NASA satellites to compile an updated inventory of coral reefs, which can be used to assess the status of efforts designed to protect the fragile coral reef ecosystems. [Story with images NASA or news item without images NASA Earth Observatory]
• Island evolution illustrated -- The NASA Earth Observatory Science Team has posted a three-part series with images obtained from the Advanced Land Imager instruments on NASA’s EO-1 satellite that illustrates an evolutionary process where tropical islands become atolls, following a theory initially theorized in the early 19th century by Charles Darwin.
  • Part I - Volcanic Island -- This image of famous Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific represents a volcanic island that represents the initial stage in the evolutionary process for forming atolls. Volcanic islands, which typically form near tectonic plate boundaries where magma can reach the surface, can subside overt time with the formation of fringed reefs marking the next step of the atoll formation process. [NASA Earth Observatory]
  • Part II -- Fringing Reefs -- This image of Oeno Island located approximately 175 miles northwest of Pitcairn Island shows an example of a tropical island that has reached the middle stage development of an atoll, as a subsiding volcanic island has developed a coral reef fringe that developed on the submerged coastline surrounding the island. This fringed stage is before the final coral atoll stage. [NASA Earth Observatory]
  • Part III -- Coral Atoll -- The image provided for the third or final stage in atoll development is of Tureia Atoll in French Polynesia, approximately 575 miles northwest of Oeno Island. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• "Dead zone" expands off the Pacific Northwest coast -- Researchers at Oregon State University and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary report that a hypoxic "dead zone" has formed once again in coastal waters off Oregon and expanded northward along the Washington coast. They suggest that the oxygen-deficient waters may be associated with the development of a new regime in atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns in the Pacific Northwest and neighboring waters. [EurekAlert!]
• Slippery stretching could explain ocean floor formation -- Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Leeds and the Marine Geosciences Group of France suggest that new ocean floor can develop along inclined detachment faults where regions of the earth's crust is stretching apart. [EurekAlert!]
• Research vessel acquired -- Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ has recently acquired a research vessel, the R/V Savitsky, for use in research of New York Harbor and the lower Hudson River. [EurekAlert!]
• Alternative marine management strategies have success -- Researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society, James Cook University and Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa have found that certain factors contribute to effective strategies that can be employed successfully to reef conservation. Some of these strategies may include ones not necessarily employed in traditionally managed marine reserves. [EurekAlert!]
• 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:

• 31 July 1498...On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, the explorer Christopher Columbus became the first European to reach the island of Trinidad. (Wikipedia)
• 31 July 1978...A 50-yard wide waterspout came onshore at Kill Devil Hills, NC and destroyed a small house. One person died and four were hurt. Waterspouts are typically considered relatively benign. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 1 August 1498...Christopher Columbus reached Venezuela, the first known European to visit that country. (Wikipedia)
• 1-3 August 1989...Hurricane Chantal made landfall along the Upper Texas coast about sunrise on the 1^st. Chantal deluged parts of Galveston Island and southeastern Texas with 8 to 12 inches of rain. Unofficial totals ranged up to twenty inches. Winds gusted to 82 mph at Galveston, and reached 76 mph in the Houston area. Tides were 5 to 7 feet high. The hurricane claimed two lives, and caused 100 million dollars damage. The remains of Hurricane Chantal also deluged north central Texas with heavy rain. Up to 6.50 inches drenched Stephens County, and Wichita Falls reported 2.22 inches of rain in just one hour on the 2^nd. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 1 August 2002...At the Delaware Bay buoy located 26 miles southeast of Cape May, NJ, an ocean water temperature of 83.1 degrees Fahrenheit was measured--marking the highest ocean temperature recorded at that buoy since observations began there in 1984. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 2 August 1880...Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was adopted officially by the British Parliament, selected because Greenwich had been the national center for time since 1675. GMT was originally set-up to aid naval navigation, but was not was used on land until transportation improved. GMT was adopted by the U.S. at noon on 18 Nov 1883 when the telegraph lines transmitted time signals to all major cities. Subsequently, GMT was adopted worldwide on 1 Nov 1884 when the International Meridian Conference met in Washington, DC, USA and 24 time zones were created. (Today in Science History)
• 2-3 August 1922...A typhoon hit the China Coast at Swatow on the night of the 2^nd. The wind and the storm surge killed as many as 50,000 of the city's 65,000 residents. Barometric pressure at landfall had dropped to at least 932.3 millibars (27.53 inches). (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 3 August 1492...The Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, in command of three ships, embarked from the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera on a journey westward in search of a sea route to Asia. This expedition, which reached the Bahamas near North America on 12 October, was the first of four expeditions that Columbus made to the "New World". (The History Channel)
• 3 August 1958...At 11:15 EDT, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the first ship to reach the geographic North Pole submerged, traveling at a depth of approximately 500 feet from the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow, AK on 1 August to the Greenland Sea near Spitzbergen on 5 August. (Naval Historical Center) (The History Channel)
• 3 August 1970...Hurricane Celia made landfall near Port Aransas on the Texas coast, producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi, and estimated wind gusts of 180 mph at Arkansas Pass. Even at Del Rio, 250 miles inland, Celia produced wind gusts to 89 mph. The hurricane was the most destructive of record along the Texas coast causing 454 million dollars damage as 8950 homes were destroyed on the Coastal Bend. Celia also claimed eleven lives and injured 466 people. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 3-4 August 1978...The remnants of Tropical Storm Amelia produced up to 32 inches of rain on Schackelford County in Texas, an incredible amount of rain for a far-inland and non-mountainous area. A twenty-foot wall of water killed six during the evening of the 4^th in Albany, resulting in 89 percent of the city being covered by water. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4(?) August 1609...A tempest struck the western Atlantic Ocean scattering small British convoy headed to Virginia. Two vessels sank; another, the Sea Venture was presumed lost. However, a ship made landfall on Bermuda, shipwrecking the crew. After a ten-month stay to build two small rescue boats, they sailed to Jamestown (Virginia) Colony. Incident accounts may have provided William Shakespeare with background material for The Tempest. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 August 1666...A violent hurricane raked the island of Guadeloupe, destroying all boats along its coast, including a 17-ship fleet with 2000 troops. The island's batteries, with 6-foot thick walls, were destroyed and the 16-pounders (large cannons) were washed away. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 August 1858...After several unsuccessful attempts, the first trans-Atlantic cable, a 2000-mile submerged telegraph line conceived by Cyrus W. Field, was completed by USS Niagara and British ship Agamemnon. While the first messages were exchanged between President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria on 16 August, the cable ceased functioning in early September. The first permanent trans-Atlantic cable was laid in 1866. (Naval Historical Center) (The History Channel)
• 5-7 August 1997...Although far to the southwest, Hurricane Guillermo generated surf to 12-foot heights along the beaches of southern California. In Newport Beach, lifeguards made almost 300 rescues on the 5^th and 6^th. Rip currents were responsible for one death and three injuries. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5-6 August 1959...Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 103 mph and gusts to 125 mph. Over 6 inches of rain fell there and over 9 inches on the island of Hawaii. The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages. (Intellicast)
• 6 August 1986...A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast of Australia dumped a record 12.91 inches of rain in one day on Sydney. (Wikipedia)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2006, The American Meteorological Society.