DATASTREME WES WEEK SIX: 1-5 March 2004

• Avalanche is deadly -- A man who was snowshoeing near Park City, UT last Thursday was killed by an avalanche that buried him under six feet of snow. The region had received up to 2 feet of new snow along with high winds in a late-week storm. [USA Today]
• Some relief expected -- Climate forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center released their spring forecast last week for meteorological spring (March, April and May). Their forecast indicates that above average precipitation could provide some relief for the drought-stricken Western states, to include the Rockies and the western Plains. [USA Today]
• Groundwater decline slowed -- The Kansas Geological Survey reported that the drop in groundwater levels has slowed across western and central sections of the Sunflower State during the last year as the drought began to ease. [US Water News Online]
• Goal may not be reached-- The chairman of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development recently said that the goal of supplying fresh water to more than 0.5 billion people in developing countries by 2015 will not be attained. [US Water News Online]
• Smoke could reduce rainfall, but strengthen storms -- A multinational group of scientists reported that the smoke produced by forest fires in the Amazon Basin would not only reduce the rainfall in many areas across the globe, but also increase the development of more violent thunderstorms with hail and locally heavy flood-producing rains. [ENN]
• Large quantities of organic aerosols found over South American tropical rainforests -- An international team of scientists have found that natural aerosols from the Amazonian rain forest contain two previously unknown compounds, which are photooxidation products of isoprene. These compounds are hygroscopic and could impact cloud formation, rainfall and climate. [Max Planck Society]
• Aquatic ecosystems may cause faster carbon turnover than terrestrial counterparts -- A scientist suggests that aquatic ecosystems may play an important role in global carbon cycling and climatic change since they turn over carbon through the basal levels of the food chain at a more than ten times faster rate than do terrestrial ecosystems. [EurekAlert!]
• Atmospheric water clusters may play role in global warming -- Researchers at Hamilton College suggest that groups of two or more water molecules form clusters in the atmosphere could absorb upwelling infrared radiation from the earth's surface, thereby enhancing a warming of the atmosphere. [EurekAlert!]
• Electricity from domestic wastewater? Penn State environmental engineers have demonstrated a microbial fuel cell that can generate about 5 percent of the electricity needed to run one mini-Christmas tree light while simultaneously cleaning the wastewater that enters a toilet or drain. [EurekAlert!]
• A new manual on coastal management released --NOAA officials recently released a manual that offers coastal resource managers, the public and others a consolidated set of science-based tools for planning and conducting monitoring associated with restoration in habitats throughout U.S. coastal waters habitats. This manual is entitled "Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats, Volume One: A Framework for Monitoring Plans Under the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 160-457)" [NOAA News]
• Some soils may filter pathogens from entering groundwater reserves -- Research at Cornell University has shown that some types of soils can filter out cryptosporidium pathogens in the groundwater. [EurekAlert!]
• A cool picture -- The NOAA Photo Library has more than 30,000 photos taken by scientists and others affiliated with the various agencies in NOAA of the earth's oceans and atmosphere, including this photo of a drifting iceberg in the Ross Sea off Antarctica. [NOAA Photo Library]
• Proposed changes used to lessen fishing impacts -- Following a three-year experiment, NOAA Fisheries officials have proposed mandatory changes in fishing practice to reduce the inadvertent catching of sea turtles so that U.S. fishermen would regain access to prime swordfish fishing grounds in the Grand Banks. [NOAA News] However, Duke University researchers report that the incidental catch of approximately 250,000 loggerhead and leatherback turtles in the global pelagic longline fishery in 2000. [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.

Concept of the Week: Bottled Water

During the 1990s, bottled water soared in popularity among Americans. Today, they spend more than $7 billion a year on bottled water. Although 120 to 7500 times more costly per gallon than tap water, the demand for bottled water (especially in individualized containers) continues to climb for several reasons including convenience, health concerns, and dissatisfaction with the quality and taste of municipal tap water. Furthermore, clever ad campaigns have been very successful at persuading consumers of the advantages of drinking bottled water.

Although enamored by bottled water, the U.S. consumer is confronted by a variety of different brands (more than 900), and a potentially confusing terminology on labels mostly having to do with the source of the water. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), bottled water is defined as drinking water that is sugar-free, calorie-free, and contains no sweeteners or chemical additives other than small amounts of flavors or extracts. Bottled water may also have trace amounts of sodium. Beverages containing 1% or more by weight of flavors or extracts are classified as soft drinks. Soda water, seltzer water, and tonic water are considered soft drinks not bottled water because they may contain sugar and are not calorie-free.

About 75% of all bottled water comes from the subsurface. Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer under hydrologic pressure is artesian water or artesian well water. Mineral water is groundwater that contains at least 250 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved solids from natural sources (i.e., dissolved bedrock, and sediment). Sparkling water contains dissolved carbon dioxide undiminished in concentration from its natural source. Spring water is groundwater that flows naturally to the surface of the Earth where an aquifer intercepts the ground. Well water is bottled water withdrawn from a hole drilled or bored into an aquifer. Collectively, all bottled water from subsurface sources is called natural water.

The quality of bottled water from the subsurface benefits from natural filtration as groundwater slowly seeps through permeable Earth materials. Nonetheless, in many cases bottlers employ additional purification steps such as applying ozone and/or ultraviolet light as disinfecting agents. Bottled water producers who use municipal sources (about 25% of the supply) typically (but not in all cases) reprocess the water for improved quality and taste through distillation, reverse osmosis, deionization, filtration, and/or ozonation. Labels on their products may include the terms purified water or distilled water. These same labels may include the statement "from a community water system," or "from a municipal source" meaning tap water.

While efforts at quality control of bottled water are designed to protect public health, a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) published in March 1999 raised some questions about whether enough is being done. The NRDC tested the quality of 1000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water and found that not all the tested water was of high quality and some samples contained contaminants (http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp). Although the industry has strict standards and both federal and state governments regulate bottled water quality, the NRDC argues that existing regulations are not adequate. The NRDC recommends that the Food and Drug Administration set strict limits for contaminants in bottled water and that bottled water standards be at least as strict as those applicable to municipal (tap) water supplies.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. By convention, bottled water is drinking water that is both sugar-free and calorie-free. [(True)(False)]
2. The source of most water in bottled water is [(subsurface)(surface)] reservoirs.

• 1 March 1910...The deadliest avalanche of record in the U.S. thundered down the mountains near Wellington Station, WA sweeping three huge locomotive train engines and some passenger cars off the tracks, over the side and into a canyon, burying them under tons of snow. This train was snowbound on the grade leading to Stevens Pass. The avalanche claimed the lives of more than 100 people. The station house at Wellington was also swept away. (The Weather Channel)
• 1 March 1983...A ferocious storm battered the Pacific coast. The storm produced heavy rain and gale force winds resulting in flooding and beach erosion and in the mountains produced up to seven feet of snow in five days. An F2 tornado hit Los Angeles. Thirty people were injured and 100 homes were damaged. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 4-5 March 1899...Tropical cyclone Mahina (the Bathurst Bay Hurricane) crossed the Great Barrier Reef and generated a 48-ft storm surge across Barrow Point, Queensland, Australia. The Australian pearling fleet was destroyed, over 100 shipwrecks reported and 307 people killed. Barometric pressure fell to an unofficial reading of 915 millibars (27 inches of mercury). (Accord's Weather Calendar) (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 March 1910...An avalanche rushed down the slopes near Rogers Pass, British Columbia striking a passing train and hurtling it nearly 1700 feet into Bear Creek below. Sixty-two trainmen and laborers perished. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5-10 March 1916...Morden, MB was buried by 48 inches of snow over five-day period. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5-6 March 1962...The Great Atlantic Coast Storm of 1962 caused more than $200 million in property damage from Florida to New England. Winds along the Middle Atlantic Coast reached 70 mph raising 40-ft waves, and 42 inches of snow fell at Big Meadows, in the mountains of Virginia--a state record. The storm caused greater alteration of the coastline from Cape Hatteras, NC to Long Island than any previous storm, including hurricanes. A new inlet was cut through Hatteras Island and more than 10 miles of Outer Banks barrier dunes were obliterated. The Virginia shoreline was rearranged by historic tidal flooding caused by the combination of the long stretch of strong onshore winds and the "Spring Tides." A 3-mile long boardwalk in Ocean City, MD was wiped out. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 6 March 1898...An avalanche in the Glarnisch Mountains of Switzerland racing down a 44-degree slope reached speeds of over 200 mph. Upon reaching the valley floor, the avalanche continued part way up the opposite slope. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 7 March 1932...A severe coastal storm set barometric pressure records from Virginia to New England. Block Island, RI reported a barometric pressure reading of 955.0 millibars (28.20 inches of mercury). (David Ludlum)
• 7 March 1999...Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada's snowiest major city set a new record for a one-day snowfall of 45.7 inches, but prior to that date the winter's total had been a meager (for the city) 46 inches of snow. (The Weather Doctor)

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Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.