WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Eight: 24-28 October 2005

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) NASA finds rain sometimes makes it dustier -- A NASA-funded study has shown that the amount of dust kicked up by winds varies with the location and season. Sometimes heavy rains and flooding create finer particles that may more easily be picked up by winds. Atmospheric dust amounts are important to model the global precipitation processes. [NASA News]
(Thurs.) Concern voiced over rapid glacier disintegration -- Scientists from Oregon State University and four other institutions in the US and Europe warn that a rapid and greater than anticipated rise in sea level could occur if the melting of ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland cause a rapid collapse of glaciers and floating ice shelves. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) More dam controversy in China -- A plan to develop a series of hydroelectric dams on the Nu river has local residents questioning environmental impact. [ENN]
(Thurs.) Action on invasive species languishes in Congress -- Legislation that would significantly limit the discharge of ballast water from sea-going vessels in the Great Lakes as proposed in the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act has not moved in the US Congress for more than three years. However, a less restrictive bill, the Ballast Water Management Act, appears to have received some support in Congress. [ENN]
(Thurs.) Arctic lakes affected by global change -- Using an innovative technique that involves spectrometry for studying the composition of lake sediments, researchers at the University of Alberta reported that major ecological changes in remote arctic lakes have been occurring, which appear to be associated with increased global temperatures during the last several decades. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) "Milky sea" phenomena explored -- Scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory's Marine Meteorology Division in Monterey, CA, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the National Geophysical Data Center are collaborating in the documentation and exploration of the low-level light emission from the ocean commonly called the "milky sea" phenomenon, using a combination of shipboard observations and high resolution satellite imagery. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Use care drinking the water up there! -- A report by the US Environmental Protection Agency reveals that approximately 15% of the drinking water stored at US airports that is intended to be used onboard flights is contaminated by coliform bacteria. [The New Scientist]
(Tues.) Supplies being sent to aid in Amazon drought -- A military aid mission that included ships and planes was bringing much needed food and medicine last week to residents along the Amazon River who have been enduring a record setting extended drought. [ENN]
(Tues.) Saltwater fish farming to be promoted -- The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution was to host the 2nd International Sustainable Marine Fish Culture Conference in Ft. Pierce, FL this past weekend that was intended to discuss advances in the aquaculture of saltwater fish at both onshore and offshore sites in an attempt to promote this industry. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Desalination project to combat Chinese water shortages -- Government officials in China plan to develop a project that would desalinate ocean water at a rate of 250 million gallons of water per day by 2010 in an effort to supply the water requirements in dry coastal areas of China. [ENN]
(Tues.) Future of Puget Sound in troubled waters -- A report recently released by researchers at the University of Washington indicates that the region around Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific Ocean in western Washington State, was experiencing increased flooding and higher air and water temperatures due to increased global temperatures. The researchers foresee vanishing beaches, more rain, less snow, with more flooding and landslides, along with a less inviting marine environment for salmon and shellfish. [USA Today]
Wilma slams Florida -- After spending more than 24 hours along the northeast coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, a rejuvenated Hurricane Wilma crossed the Gulf of Mexico and hit the southwest Florida coast Monday morning at 6:30 am EDT south of Naples as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale packing winds of 125 mph. 2.2 million homes were without power in southwest Florida as the storm was crossing the peninsula. [CNN]
Wilma's progress -- Monitor the current progress of Hurricane Wilma as it moves across Florida and along the East Coast, including satellite images and forecast maps, using several of the links provided in the "Top Story" appearing on the NOAA Homepage.
A rogue's gallery online -- NASA officials have unveiled a Hurricane Resource Web Page where http://www.nasa.gov/hurricane hurricane images and video can be downloaded. This site includes new NASA animations that show each of the 21 named tropical cyclones of this season from Arlene to Wilma. [NASA]
Historic storm hits the Dominican Republic -- Tropical Storm Alpha, the record-breaking 22nd named tropical cyclone of the 2005 North Atlantic hurricane season and the first to start a new list of names, formed on Saturday over the Caribbean and made landfall on the coast of the Dominican Republic on Sunday morning. Alpha was expected to weaken as it moves across the mountains of that island nation. [USA Today]
Building along the North Carolina coast undeterred by hurricanes -- Although hurricanes could threaten residents along coastal North Carolina, large scale building projects continue with little respite. The availability of federal flood insurance, along with a variety of beach re-nourishment and other public works projects appears to be contributing to this surge in coastal construction. [USA Today]
New dam built to alleviate flood danger -- Work on a new rock dam was finished on Saturday, replacing the failing 173-year old wooden Whittenton Pond Dam that could have caused the flooding of Taunton, MA with an estimated 8-foot wall of water. [USA Today]
Development of water purification system requested for hurricane relief -- Researchers at the University of Central Florida have asked to quickly develop a unique water purification system that could be used to aid victims from such disasters as Hurricane Katrina. [EurekAlert!]
US Navy is sued for sonar use -- Several environmental groups are suing the US Navy for the failure to take proper precautions during its use of sonar, which the groups claim are causing mass stranding and internal bleeding of whales and dolphins due to the emitted sound.[ENN]
A typhoon is added to a new photo gallery -- Officials with the European Space Agency (ESA) announced a new "Earth Images Gallery" that provides interesting satellite images obtained from its fleet of Earth Observation Satellites. The ESA officials point to the images made of Typhoon Kirogi as it passed south of Japan as examples of the 480 images currently in the gallery. [ESA]
Climate model foresees future extreme precipitation events -- A research team at Purdue University recently reported that their numerical climate model run on the university's supercomputer indicates that in addition to more intense heat waves across the nation during the 21st century, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest and some of the Eastern US could experience more extreme precipitation events. [Purdue University News]
Global water cycle would change in on a warmer planet -- Researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have generated computer simulations of the global climate during the 20th century and conclude that cycling of water rate appears to have decreased with increased global temperatures, suggesting that many areas would be drier with a projected warmer planet. [EurekAlert!]
Greenland icecap thickening -- Experts from institutes in Norway, Russia and the US recently reported that satellite measurements of the Greenland icecap has thickened by over 20 inches in the last 11 years, despite higher global air temperatures and shrinking glaciers elsewhere. Increased snowfall appears to explain the current icecap thickening. [ENN]
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.

Concept of the Week: Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem

Chesapeake Bay is the nation's largest estuarine ecosystem; it is more than 300 km (185 mi) long, 65 km (40 mi) at its broadest, and averages about 20 m (66 ft) deep. The estuary was formed by the post-glacial rise in sea level that flooded the valley of the ancient Susquehanna River. The Bay receives about half its water input from the Atlantic Ocean and the other half from the more than 150 rivers and streams draining a 166,000 square kilometer land area encompassing parts of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Major rivers emptying into Chesapeake Bay include the Potomac, Susquehanna, York, and James.

An estuary is a complex and highly productive ecosystem formed where seawater and fresh runoff meet. In Chesapeake Bay, more-dense seawater creeps northward along the bottom of the estuary, moving under the less-dense fresh water flowing in the opposite direction. This circulation combined with wind-driven water motions causes salinity to decrease upstream in the Bay, from values typical of seawater at its mouth to freshwater values at its northern margin.

As in all ecosystems, organisms living in estuaries depend on one another and their physical environment for food energy and habitat. This interdependency is evident in food chains, pathways along which energy flows and materials cycle. Phytoplankton and submerged aquatic vegetation (e.g., marsh grass) are the primary producers in estuarine food webs. (Producers acquire energy from solar radiation through photosynthesis and are at the bottom of food chains.) Consumers in food webs are organisms that derive their energy by eating producers or other consumers. Chesapeake Bay consumers include zooplankton, finfish, shellfish, birds, and humans. Through cellular respiration, producers and consumers convert energy to a form that the organism can use for growth and reproduction.

Human activity has greatly modified Chesapeake Bay with consequences for the functioning of its ecosystem. Much of the original forests that covered its drainage basin were converted to farmland, roads, cities, and suburban developments. These modifications accelerated the influx of nutrients (i.e., compounds of phosphorous and nitrogen), sediment, pesticides, and other pollutants. More nutrients spur growth of algal populations and when these organisms die (in mid-summer), their remains sink to the bottom. Decomposition of their remains reduces dissolved oxygen levels in the Chesapeake's bottom water. More sediment makes the water cloudy, reducing sunlight penetration for photosynthesis.

One casualty of human modification of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem was marsh grass--reduced by 90% from historical levels. Marsh grass anchors sediment and dampens wave action thereby controlling erosion and turbidity. Marsh grass is a food source for many organisms including waterfowl and small mammals and serves as a primary nursery ground for crabs and many species of fish. Reduction of this habitat along with over-fishing has been implicated in the decline of populations of blue crabs, a mainstay of the Bay fishery for more than a century. Over the past decade, the number of adult female crabs has plunged by 80%. Without adequate protection by marsh grass, the blue crab is more vulnerable to predation by striped bass (i.e., rockfish). Striped bass turned to blue crabs as a food source when fishing reduced the numbers of menhaden, their preferred food. Menhaden is a marine fish in the herring family and the Bay's top fishery by weight.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Within the waters of Chesapeake Bay, salinity [(is relatively uniform)(varies greatly)].
Marsh grass is a [(producer)(consumer)] in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

Historical Events:

23-24 October 1918...The Canadian steamship Princess Sophia carrying miners from the Yukon and Alaska became stranded on Vanderbilt Reef along coastal British Columbia:. A strong northerly gale hampered rescue attempts, and the next day, the ship sank with the loss of the 268 passengers and 75 crewmen onboard. (The Weather Doctor)
24 October 1785...A four-day rain swelled the Merrimack River in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to the greatest height of record causing extensive damage to bridges and mills. (David Ludlum)
24 October 1933...A "high fog" settled over London, England causing "midnight at mid-day" as a temperature inversion forms over the city, trapping fog and smoke beneath it. The sun turned yellow, red and sometimes disappeared. (The Weather Doctor)
25 October 1859...The Royal Charter Storm, named after the loss of the fully rigged ship Royal Charter off the coast of Anglesey, England, drowned about 500 people, along with the loss of gold bullion. The ship was one of over 200 vessels wrecked between 21 October and 2 November, with the loss of around 800 lives, and led to the introduction of gale warnings in June 1860. (The Weather Doctor)
25-26 October 1980...The combination of unusually high tides and southeasterly winds gusting to 75 mph generated waves with heights to 25 ft, resulting in serious flooding, beach erosion and sea wall damage along the Maine coast. Wind damage was considerable and as many as 100,000 homes were without power for up to 40 hrs. (Accord Weather Calendar)
26 October 1998...Hurricane Mitch, a category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) for 33 hours, finally dissipated after becoming the strongest October hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. Estimated rainfall totals of up to 75 inches caused devastating flooding and mudslides in Honduras and Nicaragua for days. Estimated death toll from this hurricane was more than 11,000, the greatest loss of life from a tropical cyclone since 1780. (Accord Weather Calendar)
28 October 1982...A severe thunderstorm produced softball-sized hail and nearly 4 hrs of flooding rains at Al-Khafqi, Saudi Arabia. Eleven people were killed, along with the destruction of vehicles and buildings. (The Weather Doctor)
28 October 1991...Typhoon Thelma devastated the Philippines. Reports indicated that 6000 people died by catastrophic events related to the storm including dam failure, landslides, and extensive flash flooding. The greatest number of casualties occurred on Leyte Island where an 8-ft storm surge struck Ormoc, accounting for over 3000 fatalities. (The Weather Doctor)
29 October 1999...Tropical Cyclone 5B, with sustained winds of 155 mph, made landfall at Paradwip (Orissa, India). A storm surge of at least 20-ft height swept at least 12 mi inland. More than 10,000 people were killed. With 2 million homes either damaged or destroyed, 35 million people were left homeless. Damage from this tropical cyclone was $1.5 billion. (Accord Weather Calendar)
30 October-1 November 1991...After absorbing Hurricane Grace on the 29^th, an intense ocean storm took an unusual course and moved westward along 40 degrees north latitude and battered eastern New England with high winds and tides. Winds had already been gusting over 50 mph along the coast 2 days before, so seas and tides were very high. Major coastal flooding and beach erosion occurred all along the New England, New York, and New Jersey coastlines. Over 1000 homes were damaged or destroyed with tides 4 to 7 ft above normal. Wind gusts reached 78 mph at Chatham, MA and 74 mph at Gloucester, MA. One ship east of New England reported a 63-ft wave. Total damage from the storm was $200 million. On 1 November this ocean storm underwent a remarkable transformation. Convection developed and rapidly wound around the storm center and an eye became visible on satellite imagery. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft found a small but intense circulation with maximum winds of 75 mph. This evolution from a large extratropical low to a small hurricane is rare but not unprecedented. (Intellicast)

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