Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES WEEK TWO: 12-16 September 2005

Water in the News

(Thur.) Ophelia batters coastal North Carolina -- Although a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Hurricane Ophelia was creating havoc along the Outer Banks of North Carolina late Wednesday evening and into early Thursday as the eyewall of the system moved along the coast. High winds, torrential rain and wind-driven ocean surf accompanied the storm [CNN]
(Thur.) Mississippi River is rolling along -- NASA researchers using MODIS images have determined that 23% of the river's water has circulated through the Gulf and around to the Atlantic Ocean off Georgia. The satellite sensors could track phytoplankton from the waters. [NASA Visions]
(Thur.) UN leaders urge clean water for millions without -- UN officials at the summit urged providing safe drinking water and sanitation to combat world health and poverty problems. [ENN]
(Thur.) The sponges are the key -- A Dutch researcher suggests that sponges hidden in caves and recesses of coral reefs are the main player in the nutrient cycles. Their filtering capacity outweighs all other organisms on the reef in devouring plankton. [Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research]
(Tues.) New solar underwater robot technology displayed -- A research team that includes engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will display new solar-powered underwater robot technology developed for undersea observation and water monitoring at a National Science Foundation sponsored workshop in Arlington, VA later this week. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]
(Tues.) Spain experiences record drought -- The National Institute of Meteorology in Spain announced that Spain has experienced the driest 12 months on record, resulting in low water supply levels. Little relief is anticipated during this upcoming autumn season. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Interstate water fight lands in federal court -- A disagreement over Atlanta's use of Lake Lanier has brought Alabama, Florida and Georgia into an US appeals court in Miami concerning the effects of this water withdrawal upon the flow of the Chattahoochee River that flows through the three states. [US Water News Online]
(Tues.) The "Manchester Bobber" device developed -- The University of Manchester and several partners have teamed to develop and patent a new wave energy device, called "The Manchester Bobber" that bobs on a large water surface and can extract energy from the water movement to drive a generator that produces electricity. [University of Manchester]
(Tues.) Desalination of water addressed -- Researchers from Sandia National Laboratory will be joining Colleagues from the WaterReuse Foundation, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the American Water Works Association Research Foundation in looking for ways to desalinize and make potable water from sea water and wastewater for water-starved California. [Sandia National Laboratory]
(Tues.) Reducing byproducts in disinfecting drinking water studied -- A researcher at the University of Basque Country has studied the feasibility of reducing the byproducts generated when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter in water during the disinfecting process. [Basque Research]
More Katrina coverage -- Two weeks have elapsed since Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the central Gulf Coast.
- The Secretary of the US Department of Commerce announced that his department (which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has launched an official determination of the fishery failure in the Gulf of Mexico because of Hurricane Katrina. [NOAA News]
- A variety of NOAA teams continue to support efforts along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, including the taking of more than 7000 aerial photographs from a low-flying NOAA aircraft, the surveying of the coastal waterways for navigation hazards by NOAA ships and Navigational Response Teams, the monitoring of hazardous materials releases by the Ocean Service and help in search and rescue by NOAA Fisheries agents. [NOAA News]
- Cornell University has launched a website that permits people involved with the reconstruction on the Gulf Coast and researchers detailed information of the infrastructure of communities in coastal Mississippi as obtained by the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, a consortium of universities that study ways of mitigating the effects on structures caused by earthquakes. [Cornell University]
- The secretary for Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fishers recently warned that an inventory of the wildlife habitats and the state's fishing industry following Katrina will show major destruction [ENN]
- The chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency defended the decision to pump contaminated floodwaters from New Orleans streets into Lake Pontchartrain, a major tidal estuary rather than diverting the highly polluted water into the Mississippi River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. [ENN]
- Electric power supply experts with IEEE warn that electrical engineers will face "extreme challenges" when they attempt to restore power to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina because of the extensive damage to the regional power grids. . [EurekAlert!]
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has also launched a website that is intended to provide information to public health and safety officials on the environmental hazards caused by Hurricane Katrina, especially those from contaminants in flood waters. [EurekAlert!]
China bracing for typhoon -- In anticipation of Typhoon Khanun striking eastern China, the Chinese government on Sunday evacuated several hundred thousand people that live along the projected path of this typhoon, which is the western North Pacific equivalent of a hurricane. [USA Today]
Death toll from a typhoon rises in Japan -- Near the end of last week, officials on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido reported that the death toll from Typhoon Nabi that struck Japan had reached at least 18, with as many of 9 people missing. [USA Today]
An ironic forecast -- Planners attending a workshop in Washington, DC at the time when Hurricane Katrina first entered the Gulf of Mexico were studying the details of a report detailing the effects of a fictitious Category 3 (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) Hurricane Pam hitting New Orleans, which would leave more than 61,000 deaths along Gulf Coast. [USA Today]
Warnings of increased chances of disaster -- Experts warned that more Americans are becoming vulnerable to major disasters similar to Hurricane Katrina as they migrate to hazard-prone coastal areas such as along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and California. [USA Today]
Thousands taken ill at a water park -- Health officials in New York State have closed a popular water park after confirming that as many as 3000 people had a gastrointestinal illness most likely contracted at the Upstate park. [US Water News Online]
Resolution of water crisis in Gaza Strip proposed -- An international group of scientists from Israel, Palestine and France have propose a plan that would help solve the potable water crisis that is looming in the Gaza Strip. [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]
Global Water News Watch -- Other water news sources can be obtained through the SAHRA Project at the University of Arizona [SAHRA Project]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some water-related experience that you would like to share with other DataStreme WES participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document for possible inclusion in a News file. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Water Chill

The Titanic disaster dramatically portrayed how immersion in cold water can be deadly. After abandoning ship, passengers and crew who were floating in relatively calm seas perished within a short time. Residents of cold climates are warned of the dangers posed by a combination of low air temperature and strong winds (the wind-chill). Because of the special thermal properties of water, immersion in cold water can be even more hazardous. A boating accident or a plunge through thin ice on a lake can have deadly consequences.

One of the principal hazards of cold water immersion is a lowering of body temperature due to excess heat loss. (Perhaps half of all drowning victims actually die from this effect of cold water rather than water-filled lungs.) Heat is energy that is transferred between two objects at different temperatures, always flowing from the warmer to the colder object. The human body can regulate its core temperature so that it normally varies by no more than about 2 Celsius degrees (3.6 Fahrenheit degrees) above or below 37 °C (98.6 °F). Hence, heat usually flows from the human body to its cooler surroundings. Core temperature refers to the temperature of vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys.

When immersed in cold water, a body may lose heat at such a high rate that thermoregulatory processes cannot prevent a steady drop in core temperature and the victim may exhibit symptoms of hypothermia. These symptoms set in when a person's core temperature falls below 36 °C (96.8 °F). Shivering (a natural thermoregulatory process) becomes violent and uncontrollable and the victim has difficulty speaking and becomes lethargic. If the core temperature drops below 32 °C (90 °F), shivering ceases, muscles become rigid, and coordination deteriorates. At a core temperature of 30 °C (86 °F), a person may drift into unconsciousness and death may ensue at a core temperature below 24 °C (75 °F).

A person runs a greater risk of developing hypothermia when immersed in water than air at the same temperature. Water conducts heat at a rate that is more than 20 times greater than still air and water's specific heat is almost 6 times that of dry air. Whereas the risk of hypothermia due to low air temperature primarily occurs in winter, cold water immersion is possible any time of year in many locations. Ocean or lake temperatures may remain relatively low throughout the summer months because of water's relatively great thermal inertia.

For more information on hypothermia, including expected survival time for various water temperatures, got to: http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/tourism/hypothermia.html.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Water is a [(much better)(poorer)] conductor of heat than still air.
Hypothermia is a potentially lethal [(rise)(fall)] in the temperature of the human body's vital organs.

Historical Events

12 September 1775...The Independence Hurricane caught many fishing boats on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland killing 4000 seamen, most from Britain and Ireland. (The Weather Doctor)
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 (11^th). Approximately 400 people onboard 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 although 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 damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
14 September 1988...Pressure in the eye of Hurricane Gilbert moving across the Caribbean Sea fell to 885 millibars (26.17 inches of mercury), the lowest recorded barometric pressure in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately, 318 die in seven countries across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
15 September 1752...A great hurricane produced a tide along the South Carolina coast that 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)
16 September 1928...Hurricane San Felipe, a monster hurricane, which left 600 dead in Guadeloupe and 300 dead in Puerto Rico, struck West Palm Beach, FL causing enormous damage, and then headed for Lake Okeechobee. Peak winds were near 150 mph. The high winds and storm waves broke the eastern dike on Lake Okeechobee, inundating flat farmland. When the storm was over, the lake covered an area the size of the state of Delaware, and beneath its waters were 1836 victims. The only survivors were those who reached large hotels for safety, and a group of fifty people who got onto a raft to take their chances out in the middle of the lake. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
16 September 1988...Hurricane Gilbert made landfall 120 miles south of Brownsville, TX in Mexico during the early evening. Winds gusted to 61 mph at Brownsville, and reached 82 mph at Padre Island. Six-foot tides eroded three to four feet of beaches along the Lower Texas Coast, leaving the waterline seventy-five feet farther inland. Rainfall totals ranged up to 8.71 in. at Lamark, TX. Gilbert caused $3 million in property damage along the Lower Texas Coast, but less than a million dollars damage along the Middle Texas Coast. During its life, Gilbert established an all-time record for the Western Hemisphere with a sea-level barometric pressure reading of 26.13 inches. Winds approached 200 mph, with higher gusts. Gilbert devastated Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
17 September 1963...Nearly two and a half inches of rain fell at Yuma, AZ in 24 hrs. This rain, from Tropical Storm Katherina, was the most intense rain for Yuma during the period between 1909 and 1977. (The Weather Channel)
17-23 September 1989...Hurricane Hugo hit the Virgin Islands on the 17th, producing wind gusts to 97 mph at Saint Croix. Hurricane Hugo passed directly over the island of Saint Croix causing complete devastation and essentially cutting off the island's communications systems. A storm surge of five to seven feet occurred at Saint Croix. The only rain gauge left operating, at Caneel Bay, indicated 9.40 in. in 24 hrs. Hurricane Hugo claimed the lives of three persons at Saint Croix, and caused more than $500 million in damage. A ship, Nightcap, in the harbor of Culebra, measured wind gusts as high as 170 mph. On the 18th, Hugo hit Puerto Rico, producing a storm surge of four to six feet, and northeastern sections of the island were deluged with more than ten inches of rain. Hugo claimed the lives of a dozen persons in Puerto Rico, and caused $1 billion in property damage, including $100 million in crop losses. On the 21st, Hugo slammed into the South Carolina coast at about 11 p.m., making landfall near Sullivans Island. Hurricane Hugo was directly responsible for thirteen deaths, and indirectly responsible for twenty-two others. A total of 420 persons were injured in the hurricane, and damage was estimated at $8 billion, including $2 billion damage to crops. Sustained winds reached 85 mph at Folly Beach SC, with wind gusts as high was 138 mph. Wind gusts reached 98 mph at Charleston, and 109 mph at Shaw AFB. The highest storm surge occurred in the McClellanville and Bulls Bay area of Charleston County, with a storm surge of 20.2 ft reported at Seewee Bay. Shrimp boats were found one half-mile inland at McClellanville. On the 22nd, Hugo quickly lost strength over South Carolina, but still was a tropical storm as it crossed into North Carolina, just west of Charlotte, at about 7 a.m. Winds around Charlotte reached 69 mph, with gusts to 99 mph. Eighty percent of the power was knocked out to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Property damage in North Carolina was $210 million, and damage to crops was $97 million. The greatest storm surge occurred along the southern coast shortly after midnight, reaching nine feet above sea level at Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach. Hugo killed one person and injured fifteen others in North Carolina. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
18 September 1926...The great "Miami Hurricane" produced winds reaching 138 mph which drove ocean waters into Biscayne Bay drowning 135 persons. The eye of the hurricane passed over Miami, at which time the barometric pressure dropped to 27.61 inches. Tides up to twelve feet high accompanied the hurricane, which claimed 372 lives. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)