DataStreme ECS WEEK 8: 24-28 October 2011

• Grants awarded for regional climate research centers -- Early last week, NOAA announced that three new Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) awards had been made to climate science collaborations between scientists in government and academia in Alaska, California/Nevada, and the Carolinas. These three NOAA RISA grants, which total $11 million over five years, were designed to help regional stakeholders address the challenges climate change poses to their regions. [NOAA News]
• Cooperative institute for marine resource studies in Northwest selected -- NOAA officials have announced that Oregon State University was selected to continue the federal/academic research partnership that extends NOAA's ability to study marine resources in the Pacific Northwest by the continued funding of the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resource Studies that is located at the University. [NOAA News]

• Review of Canadian national weather and climate for summer 2011 -- Scientists at Environment Canada reported that much of Canada had a warmer than normal meteorological summer. The national average temperature for the three months of June through August 2011 was approximately 1.2 Celsius degrees above the long-term average, making it the fourth warmest summer since comprehensive nationwide records began in 1948. Most of the nation had above average temperatures, with the Arctic and sections of Manitoba experiencing the largest temperature anomalies or departures from normal. Only sections of British Columbia and Newfoundland had below average temperatures. Nationwide, Canada experienced the seventh wettest summer in the last 64 years, even though sections of the Arctic recorded precipitation totals that were below the long-term average. Many areas of southern Canada had above average summer precipitation. [Environment Canada]
• Texas drought and duststorms reminiscent of Dust Bowl era -- Recent duststorms that developed across Texas because of the ongoing exceptional drought across the southern Plains have caused local residents as well as meteorologists to make comparisons with the massive duststorms during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. More duststorms, such as the one that enveloped the west Texas city of Lubbock last Monday, may become more common across the Lone Star State in the near future as the record drought is expected to continue. [MSNBC Weather]
• September drought report -- The National Climate Data Center has posted its September 2011 drought report online. Using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, approximately 24 percent of the coterminous United States experienced severe to extreme drought conditions at the end of September, while 24 percent of the area had severely to extremely wet conditions.

• Significant Antarctic "ozone hole" remains -- NOAA and NASA scientists recently reported that according to ozone data collected from balloon-borne instruments, ground instruments, and satellites, the ozone levels in the stratosphere above the South Pole dropped to a seasonal low in early October, which was the tenth lowest in the 26-year record at that station. This annual depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctic in austral spring is dubbed the Antarctic "ozone hole" and develops because of environmental conditions and the presence of natural and human generated ozone-depleting chemicals. [NOAA News] [NASA] An animated visualization of the daily changes in the Antarctic ozone hole was prepared by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center [NASA GSFC] A view of the implications of this ozone hole is presented from a Australian perspective. [NASA GSFC]
• Visual tour of Earth's fires as seen from space -- Recently, the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center released a series of new satellite data visualizations that show tens of millions of fires detected globally by the MODIS (MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensors onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites since 2002. These animations are meant to complement NASA's research program using satellites, aircraft and ground resources to observe and analyze fires around the world in an effort to help scientists in understanding how fire affects the environment on local, regional and global scales. [NASA GSFC]
• 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, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [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]

• Official winter weather outlook released -- Late last week, forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center released their Winter Outlook for the upcoming meteorological winter (the three months of December 2011 through February 2012) across the nation. They feel that the winter weather will be influenced by La Niña conditions, an anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime that tends to favor lower than average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, along with the Arctic Oscillation that cause shorter-term changes in the temperature over the Arctic Ocean and the Canadian Archipelago. Specifically, the forecasters foresee a better than equal chance for below average winter temperatures across the northern tier of states, running from the northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley into the Great Lakes States. The Pacific Northwest and the West Coast also could expect a good chance of having below average winter temperatures. On the other hand, the south central sections of the nation extending from Arizona eastward to the lower Mississippi Valley, would have a greater than even chance of experiencing above average temperatures. The forecasters also call for better than even chances that the northern tier of states, extending from the Pacific Northwest to the eastern Great Lakes could experience above average winter precipitation, especially across the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies and the northern Plains. However, the forecasters anticipate that the southern tier of states, from Arizona eastward to the Carolina coasts would experience dry conditions, especially across sections of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Florida. Elsewhere, near equal chances that above or below average precipitation could occur this winter. [NOAA News]
• National seasonal drought outlook issued -- The forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center also issued their US Seasonal Drought Outlook that would run from late October 2011 through January 2012, covering the second half of meteorological autumn and most of meteorological winter. These forecasters foresee that the current drought conditions should persist or expand across the southern tier of states, extending from Arizona eastward to Georgia and the Carolinas, along with scattered sections of the mid-Mississippi Valley. However, improvement in the current drought conditions was anticipated across the western Great Lakes and a few other areas scattered across the Midwest. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]
• Future Great Lakes levels could experience less water loss -- Scientists at the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory claim that their modeling of future lake levels indicates a smaller drop in lake water levels than previously thought for projected future climate conditions. The researchers new modeling efforts use an "energy budget-based approach" that better reflects the energy exchange in the region that helps drive evaporation, a key consideration in ascertaining future lake levels. Less water loss in future Great Lakes levels would have a major impact on the region's economy and environmental resources, since it is one of the nation's main shipping corridors. [NOAA News]
• Future El Niño and climate change interactions during this century studied -- A research team from the University of Colorado Boulder the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have run numerical simulations on the NCAR-based Community Climate System Model to determine the effects of climate change on the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over the 21st century. These researchers found no significant changes in the extent or frequency of ENSO events for the rest of the century, even with projected changes in climate. [UCAR/NCAR Staff Notes]
• Global sea level rise could continue for 500 years -- Researchers at Denmark's University of Copenhagen have used climate models to calculate that global sea levels should rise during the next five centuries due to emission of greenhouse gases. In their modeling efforts, the researchers used four different scenarios that involve human development and greenhouse gas pollution. [University of Copenhagen News]

• First oxygen-breathing life on land may have been earlier than thought -- Researchers from the University of Alberta and their colleagues claim that aerobic-respiring (or oxygen-breathing) bacteria may have appeared on land approximately 2.48 billion years ago, or approximately 100 million years earlier than previously thought. This discovery was made during an investigation of a link between atmospheric oxygen levels and rising concentrations of chromium in the rock of ancient seabeds. [University of Alberta]

• Urban 'heat island' effect found to be a small contributor to global warming -- Researchers at Stanford University have found that the heat emitted by cities that produce localized "urban heat islands" do not provide a significant contribution to increased global temperatures. These researchers determined that the greenhouse gas contribution to global warming since the Industrial Revolution was approximately 79 percent, the black carbon contribution approximately 18 percent and the urban "heat island" effect between two and four percent. They also claim that even if all the roofs in urban areas were painted white, global temperatures would continue to increase rather than decrease. [Stanford University News]
• The "albedo effect" in forests studied -- Researchers at Oregon State University have been studying how albedo, or the reflectivity of a surface to incoming solar radiation, affects the environmental and ecological conditions of forests, especially with changing climatic conditions. The researchers have found that several types of major forest disturbances, such as wildfires, insect outbreaks and downed trees from hurricanes and other storms, can affect the albedo of the forest. Increases in forest albedo could result in cooling, while increases would produce additional warming. [Oregon State University]
• Nation's streams and rivers saturated with carbon -- Researchers from Yale University and their colleagues have calculated that streams and rivers across the United States are saturated with carbon and are releasing substantially more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than previously thought. These researchers found that a significant amount of carbon that is sequestered by plants and forests is then leaked into the streams and rivers by runoff from the land. In addition, they warn that increased global temperatures could cause an increase in precipitation that would cause additional more terrestrial carbon flowing into rivers and streams and being released into the atmosphere. [NSF News]

• Website for human dimensions of climate change -- An interagency effort within the US federal government that included NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, has resulted in a website called HD.gov (for HumanDimensions.gov) that provides users, such as natural resource managers, with information on the human dimensions on a variety of topics of interest such as climate change. [HD.gov]

• New method could determine when water was present on Mars and Earth -- Scientists at Syracuse University have been studying the mineral jarosite, a basic hydrous sulfate of potassium and iron, found by the Mars Rover in rocks on the Red Planet and as well as in rocks on Earth. Since jarosite, a byproduct of weathering, can only form in the presence of water, these scientists hope to determine the times when water was present in sufficient quantities on early Mars by studying the accumulation of argon. [Syracuse University News]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Seawater Salinity and Carbon Dioxide

The contemporary concern regarding global climate change has caused scientists to study the various factors that govern the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, are on the rise primarily because of increased burning of fossil fuels. Higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be contributing to increased global temperatures, a condition often identified as global warming. The ocean's role in regulating the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on the temperature, salinity, and biological components of surface waters.

Studies show that the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide is primarily temperature dependent. As noted in Chapter 8 of your textbook, gases are more soluble in cold seawater than warm seawater. Hence, changes in sea surface temperature affect the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide. We also found in Chapter 1, photosynthetic organisms assimilate carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Through cellular respiration, all organisms release carbon dioxide. Therefore, biological activity affects the ocean's ability to absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

What about the effects of changes in salinity on the ocean's uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide? Research from the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii provides some insight on this question. For nearly 20 years, scientists have been collecting physical, chemical and biological data through a large column of ocean water at Station ALOHA, a sampling site about 100 km (62 mi) north of Oahu that appears representative of oceanic conditions in the central North Pacific. In 2003, David M. Karl, a biogeochemist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, reported a decline in the rate at which surface ocean waters were absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In 2001, the rate of carbon dioxide uptake was only about 15% of the rate in 1989. Why the change in carbon dioxide uptake? In this region of the Pacific north of Hawaii, sea surface temperatures showed no significant change during the period of observation but precipitation decreased and evaporation increased. Less precipitation associated with drought coupled with higher rates of evaporation caused the surface water salinity at ALOHA to increase by about 1%. Increasing salinity inhibits water's ability to absorb gases including carbon dioxide. Karl and his colleagues attribute 40% of the decline in the ocean's carbon dioxide uptake to the saltier waters. The balance of the decline may be due to changes in biological productivity or ocean mixing.

Projected changes in global climate indicate significant changes in precipitation around the globe including reduced precipitation over various large areas of the oceans, resulting in potential "drought" conditions. Since changes in oceanic salinity result from changes in precipitation, the contribution that salinity plays on future assimilation of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the ocean also becomes an important consideration.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.

1. With rising sea surface temperatures, the rate of evaporation of seawater [(increases), (decreases)].
2. With increasing salinity and constant temperature, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is taken up by ocean water [(increases), (decreases)].

• 24 October 1951...Sacramento, CA reported a barometric pressure of 29.42 inches, to establish a record low for October. (The Weather Channel)
• 25 October 1977...Dutch Harbor in Alaska reported a barometric pressure reading of 27.31 inches (925 millibars) to establish an all-time record for the state. (The Weather Channel)
• 26 October 1859...New York City had their earliest substantial snow of record as four inches blanketed the city. (David Ludlum)
• 26 October 1919...The temperature at Bismarck, ND plunged to ten degrees below zero, the earliest subzero reading of record for the city, and a record for the month of October. (The Weather Channel)
• 26 October 1926...Barrow, AK received a record fifteen inches of snow, and also established a 24-hour precipitation record of 1.00 inch, which lasted until the 21st of July in 1987. (The Weather Channel)
• 26 October 1993...The temperature at Eureka, CA soared to 87 degrees to set an all-time high temperature record for the city. (Intellicast)
• 27 October 1929...A snowstorm dumped 27 inches upon Ishpeming, MI in 24 hours to establish a state record. (David Ludlum)
• 28 October 1936...The temperature at Layton, NJ dipped to 9 degrees above zero to establish a state record for the month of October. (The Weather Channel)
• 28 October 1991...Yakima, WA recorded 2.4 inches of snow, equaling the record for October. (Intellicast)
• 29 October 1917...The temperature at Soda Butte, WY the mercury plunged to 33 degrees below zero, an U.S. record for the month of October. (David Ludlum)
• 29 October 1991...Bismarck, ND received 15.9 inches of snow on the 28^th and 29^th. This brought the October snowfall total to 23.5 inches, a new record. (Intellicast)
• 30 October 1925...Nashville, TN was blanketed with an inch of snow, their earliest measurable snow of record. (The Weather Channel)

Return to DataStreme Earth's Climate System website

Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2011, The American Meteorological Society.