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Weekly Water News

WES WEEK ONE: 10-14 September 2001

Water in the News

Ocean exploration with a submersible -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced commencement of a month-long joint project with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution for studying the underwater environment along the Gulf Stream from Florida to North Carolina. A highly sophisticated submersible will be used to study the environmentally-sensitive canyons off the Eastern Seaboard. [NOAA News]
Role of underground water transport studied – Researchers at the University of Rochester (NY) have found that freshwater and dissolved chemicals flow into the oceans through subterranean systems at a much greater rate than previously suspected. Such a large contribution to the mass and chemical budgets of the oceans will require revision of some of the concepts concerning ocean chemistry and global climate. [Univ. of Rochester]
Changes in Lake Erie fish population reflect changes in water quality – A joint project from the Ohio State University, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service indicate that the increase in the population of some sport and commercial fish in Lake Erie, such as small mouth bass and lake whitefish, appear to be related to decreased levels of anthropogenic phosphorus entering the lake. Concurrently, the populations of other species, such as walleye pike, are decreasing. [Ohio State Univ.]

Earth diary -- A summary of the week's major environmental events on Planet Earth. [Pop. Sci.]

Concept of the Week: Touring the WES Homepage

Note: This week's Concept is repeated from last week's Preview Week Concept.

Welcome to WES! You are embarking on a unique teacher-enhancement experience that focuses on water and energy flow in the global water cycle from an Earth system perspective. Throughout this learning experience you will be using the WES Homepage and accessing and interpreting a variety of environmental information, including the latest observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the WES Homepage.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Water News that includes Water in the News (a summary listing of current events related to water), the Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to water in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past hydrologic events such as major floods). When appropriate, Supplemental Information will be provided on some topic related to the theme of the week. This week's Supplement is on time keeping.

You will use the WES Homepage to access and download the second part of weekly Investigations A & B (plus supporting images) that begin in your WES Study Guide. These materials should be available by noon (Eastern Time) on Tuesday and Thursday. Click the appropriate buttons to download and print these electronic components of the investigations as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the WES Homepage provides links to the Earth System, Atmospheric, Oceanic (Inland Seas), and Terrestrial Information, and extras—glossaries of terms, maps, educational links, and WES information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let’s take a quick tour to become more familiar with the WES homepage.

Under Atmospheric Information, click on Water vapor (WV) Satellite. This is the latest satellite depiction of atmospheric water vapor at altitudes generally between 3000 and 7000 m (10,000 to 24,000 ft). Click on Latest WV Animation to view the movement of water vapor and clouds in the atmosphere. Although water vapor is an invisible gas, satellite technology makes it possible for us to "see" and follow the flow of water vapor in the atmosphere as part of the global water cycle. Bright white blotches are clouds; black indicates areas of very little or no water vapor and, at the other extreme, milky white signals a relatively high concentration of water vapor.

The flow and transformations of energy are fundamental characteristics of the global water cycle. For a global view of the satellite-derived pattern of sea-surface temperatures, click on Sea Surface Temperatures under Oceanic (Inland Seas) Information. Note that the color scale at the bottom is in degrees Celsius and temperatures have been averaged over a 7-day period. (Note that depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Now return to the WES Homepage.

As part of the global water cycle, precipitation that reaches the ground vaporizes back into the atmosphere, runs off into rivers and streams, seeps into the ground, or is stored in lakes or glaciers. Under Terrestrial Information, click on River Flood Conditions for the recent status of river levels monitored at various gauging stations around the nation. Note that in the Map Legend, river stage heights are compared to flood stage values. Now return to the WES Homepage.

Extras include color photographs arranged by week (chapter) to supplement your study of the WES textbook. For example, click on Chapter 1 and then click on the first thumbnail for an enlarged image with the caption, "Water in Three Phases."

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the WES Homepage. Return frequently to get into the flow!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest WV Animation indicates that clouds and water vapor generally move from [(west to east)(east to west)] across the nation.
In the tropical Pacific, the highest sea-surface temperatures occur in the [(western)(eastern)] portion of the ocean basin.

Historical Events

10 September 1919...A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. (David Ludlum)
10-11 September 1963...A 24-hour rainfall record for the northern hemisphere was set at Paishih, Taiwan, as 49.13 inches of rain fell as the result of Typhoon Gloria. (Accord Weather Calendar)
10 September 1965...Hurricane Betsy slammed Louisiana with wind gusting to 130 mph at Houma. There were 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.
10 September 1976...Kathleen was the first tropical cyclone to hit southern California since 1939. A wall of water cut a 700 foot wide gap some 40 foot deep at the Myer Creek Bridge on I-8. The 4 to 6 foot wall of water also destroyed 70% of the homes in Ocotillo. Five people were killed and more than 160 million dollars in damage were sustained. (Accord Weather Calendar)
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 dollars 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 1976...Up to five inches of rain brought walls of water and millions of tons of debris into Bullhead City, AZ via washes from elevations above 3000 feet. Flooding caused more than three million dollars damage. Chasms up to forty feet deep were cut across some roads. (The Weather Channel)
11 September 1997...An all-day rain with 0.4 inches in 9 minutes fell over the Boise Mountains in Idaho. A 15 foot high wall of mud and debris breached six flood-control dams and washed over a golf course in the north end of Boise. Most of the damage was to roads and the golf course, with some damage to 12 homes. (Accord Weather Calendar)
12 September 1857...The S.S. Central America sank while in the midst of a hurricane off the North Carolina coast after beginning to take on water the previous day (11th). Approximately 400 people on board were lost, the greatest single loss from a commercial ship due to a hurricane. (Accord Weather Calendar)
12 September 1960...Hurricane Donna made landfall on central Long Island and then tracked across New England. Wind gusts reached 140 mph at the Blue Hills Observatory in Milton, MA and 130 mph at Block Island, RI. MacDowell Dam in New Hampshire recorded 7.25 inches of rain. Although a record tide of 6.1 feet occurred at the Battery in New York City, elsewhere fortunately the storm did not make landfall at the high tides so its effects were minimized. This was the first hurricane to affect every point along the East Coast from Key West, FL to Caribou, ME. (Intellicast)
12 September 1979...Hurricane Frederick smashed into the Mobile Bay area of Alabama packing 132 mph winds. Wind gusts to 145 mph were reported as the eye of the hurricane moved over Dauphin Island, AL, just west of Mobile. Frederick produced a fifteen foot storm surge near the mouth of Mobile Bay. Winds gusted to hurricane force at Meridian, MS even though the city is 140 miles inland. The hurricane was responsible for five fatalities and was the costliest in U.S. history causing 2.3 billion dollars damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
15 September 1752...A great hurricane produced a tide along the South Carolina coast which nearly inundated downtown Charleston. However, just before the tide reached the city, a shift in the wind caused the water level to drop five feet in ten minutes. (David Ludlum)