Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES WEEK TWO: 2-6 February 2004

• Have signs of Martian water been detected? On Friday, NASA scientists were wondering if the Opportunity rover that recently landed on Mars had spotted an iron-rich mineral, gray hematite, that typically forms in water, thereby suggesting a wetter Mars in the past. [CNN] Updates on the status of the NASA rovers were made on Saturday. [CNN] The European Space Agency reported one week ago that the European orbiter Mars Express detected water ice near the south pole of the Red Planet. [CNN]
• Satellites monitoring ocean conditions help marine weather forecasts -- A prototype three-dimensional, three-day ocean condition forecast model was recently unveiled by scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This model uses NASA satellite data, computer models and on-site ocean measurements to forecast ocean conditions that could benefit a variety of users, to include shipping companies and coastal managers. [NASA]
• Answers to a polar cloud puzzle proposed -- Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey and University of Illinois have theorized that the reason icy clouds found in the mesosphere (at altitudes of approximately 52 miles above the earth) above the South Pole during austral summer are higher than their counterparts above the North Pole is due to the slight changes in incoming sunlight due to an elliptical earth orbit around the Sun. [EurekAlert!]
• Aerial spraying could require water-pollution permit -- An environmental activist group in the Pacific Northwest has won a legal battle that would require water pollution permits be issued before aerial spraying of forests near waterways can be made to control pests. [ENN]
• Stunted growth linked to lack of clean water -- A researcher with Johns Hopkins University reported that children living in poor communities of Peru with little access to clean water and sanitation tend to experience more stunted growth and more episodes of diarrhea than those children in communities with cleaner water. [US Water News]
• Details of reactive states of water-to-air interface revealed -- Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have revealed the results of their numerical simulations of the reactive states of molecules at the water-to-air interface. These simulations could help in understanding of microphysical processes involving water in the atmosphere. [EurekAlert!]
• Perchlorate in lettuce? A researcher at the University of Arizona is investigating the possibility that high levels of perchlorate, an ingredient for solid rocket propellant, have entered the food chain as a result of a leak from a rocket fuel plant into the lower Colorado River, which is the source of both irrigation and drinking water for Arizona. [University of Arizona]
• Lack of adequate snow worries Denver water managers -- While many areas of Colorado have been receiving near average snowfall this winter, snow accumulations have been only half of normal in the South Platte watershed that supplies the Denver metropolitan area with approximately half of its water. Atmospheric scientists and water managers have been anxiously monitoring the weather patterns and snow pack, hoping that much needed snow will fall before the beginning of snowmelt in spring. [USA Today]
• 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.

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. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Water Chill

The epic movie Titanic 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. Since 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), 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 anytime 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.

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

• 1 February 1936...A rainfall of three inches in several minutes was followed by a hailstorm of jagged pieces of ice that killed 19 people in the Northern Transvaal area of South Africa. Hail was reported to accumulate to a depth of 3 feet. Some of those killed had to be dug out of the hail. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 1 February 1953...An intense low-pressure system 966 millibars (29.52 inches of mercury) swept across the North Sea. Wind speeds at Aberdeen, Scotland exceeded 125 mph. A storm surge of 13 feet, aided by a high spring tide, breached the dams in as many as 100 places along the Zuider Zee in The Netherlands, flooding 3.95 million acres or one-sixth of the country. More than 1800 deaths were attributed to drowning and 50,000 people were evacuated. In addition, this storm was responsible for the loss of 100,000 poultry, 25,00 pigs and 35,000 cattle. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 2 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida. It produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2^nd-3^rd) (The Weather Channel)
• 2 February 1976...Groundhog Day Storm, one of the fiercest Maritimes storms ever battered Bay of Fundy region around Saint John, New Brunswick with winds clocked at 118 mph, generating 39 foot waves with swells of 32.5 feet. (The Weather Doctor)
• 3 February 1997...Portions of the Thames River in England froze over for the first time since World War II. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 February 1887...San Francisco, CA experienced its greatest snowstorm of record. Nearly four (3.7) inches were reported in downtown San Francisco, and the western hills of the city received seven inches. Excited crowds went on a snowball-throwing rampage. (David Ludlum)
• 5 February 1987...Thunderstorms in the Southern Plains Region caused flooding in parts of south central Texas. Del Rio, TX was soaked with two inches of rain in two hours prior to sunrise. (The National Weather Summary)
• 5 February 1997...High winds pushed mountains of ice against the northern shore of Lake Erie crushing several houses and cottages in Colchester, Ontario. (The Weather Doctor)
• 6 February 1856...A lee shore snowburst at Oswego, NY on Lake Ontario dropped an estimated 6 feet of snow. (Intellicast)
• 6-8 February 1885...A severe blizzard buried parts of Nova Scotia under 16 inches of snow. Train traffic was disrupted as only trains with snowplows attached are able to push through. (The Weather Doctor)
• 6 February 1933...The highest reliably observed ocean wave was seen by crew of the US Navy oiler, USS Ramapo, in the North Pacific during the night on its way from Manila to San Diego. The wave was estimated (by triangulation) to have a height of 112 feet. Average winds at the time were 78 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (See additional discussion on highest ocean waves)
• 6 February 1985...The French mineral water company, Perrier, debuted its first new product in 123 years. The new items were water with a twist of lemon, lime or orange.
• 6 February 1987...Brownsville, TX was deluged with seven inches of rain in just two hours, and flooding in some parts of the city was worse than that caused by Hurricane Beulah in 1967. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 7 February 1920...A great four-day snow and sleet storm came to an end over New England and southeastern New York. Accumulations of 15 to 20 inches of ice, sleet, and snow were common, stalling traffic for weeks. (Intellicast)
• 7 February 1978...The worst winter storm of record struck coastal New England. The storm produced 27.5 inches of snow at Boston, and nearly 50 inches in northeastern Rhode Island. The fourteen-foot tide at Portland, ME was probably the highest of the century. Winds gusted to 79 mph at Boston, and reached 92 mph at Chatham, MA. A hurricane-size surf caused 75 deaths and 500 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
• 8 February 1905 A cyclone hit Tahiti and adjacent islands killing some 10,000 people.
• 8 February 1987...A powerful storm produced blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes Region. Winds gusted to 86 mph at Janesville, WI and Cleveland, OH received 12 inches of snow. North winds of 50 to 70 mph raised the water level of southern Lake Michigan two feet, and produced waves 12 to 18 feet high, causing seven million dollars damage along the Chicago area shoreline. It was the most damage caused by shoreline flooding and erosion in the history of the city of Chicago. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

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URL: DSWES/news.html
Prepared by DSWES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.,
email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.