DATASTREME WES WEEK SIX: 28 February-4 March 2005

• Another tropical cyclone threatens the South Pacific islands -- With maximum sustained surface winds of up to 130 mph, Tropical Cyclone Percy was moving across the South Pacific along a track that took it by American Samoa and possibly to within 300 miles of the Cook Islands. This tropical cyclone, the South Pacific's equivalent of a hurricane, follows by a week Tropical Cyclone Otto, which caused damage on the Cook Islands. [USA Today]
• Heightened Great Salt Lake mercury levels a concern -- Scientists with the US Geological Survey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service have found record levels of methylmercury in the waters of Utah's Great Salt Lake, causing concern that this chemical could affect the migratory birds that feed on the lake's brine shrimp. [ENN]
• Water rights weighed-- Justices on the US Supreme Court are indicating that attempts by several dozen farmers from California's San Joaquin Valley to sue the federal government for undelivered irrigation water could cause an administrative and legal mess. [ENN]
• Agreement reached on definitions -- Representatives of NOAA's National Weather Service and their counterparts in the Meteorological Service of Canada and the National Meteorological Service of Mexico have recently reached a consensus on the definitions and an index that identify El Niño and La Niña episodes, anomalous circulation regimes in the ocean and atmosphere. [NOAA News]
• Wet weather across the Southwest linked to a weak El Niño event-- Scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center point to weak El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific as being partially responsible for the recent storms that brought record-setting rain to California and other Southwestern States during the last month. [NOAA News]
• Science and international law are allies on the Blue Danube -- A study by the United Nations University notes that the combination of international environmental law and scientific methods could help resolve water disputes between countries. The dispute between Hungary and Slovakia over a dam on the Danube was used as an example. [EurekAlert!]
• Building water supplies to be protected -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Environmental Protection Agency's National Homeland Security Research Center are collaborating to develop guidelines that would cut the risk of the contamination of a building's water supply from either unintentional mishaps or terrorist acts. [EurekAlert!]
• Recent dry spell could provide a view of the future -- Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory caution that the current drought conditions experienced across the Yakima River Valley and other areas in the Pacific Northwest could become more common in the future because of possible large scale global climate change. [EurekAlert!]
• Reasons given for a frozen North Pole -- Researchers in Spain and Germany recently announced their theory as to the development of ice sheets across the Arctic during the last 2.7 million years. They suggest that an increased stratification of ocean water by increases in freshwater could have helped increase the differences between summer and winter temperatures that ultimately caused increased snowfall across the region along with the freeze over of the Arctic Ocean. [EurekAlert!]
• Previous ice sheet retreat discovered-- Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey and universities in the British Isles report that the an extensive retreat in the George VI Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula occurred approximately 9500 years ago that coincided with a shift in ocean currents. [EurekAlert!]
• Potential problems with hydroelectric power -- Scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Brazil's National Institute for Research in the Amazon caution that the perception that hydroelectric power is a suitable alternative to fossil fuels is not correct, since they argue that the hydroelectric dams have been found to produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, released when the water from the reservoirs passes through the turbines. [New Scientist]
• Indicators of a frozen Martian sea -- Scientists from England and Germany studying images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera onboard Europe's Mars Express spacecraft indicate that the plate-like formations near the Martian equator could suggest a frozen body of water below the Martian surface, far beyond the planet's frozen ice caps. [University College London] [New Scientist] Other scientists using the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer that measures atmospheric composition have claimed that elevated concentrations of methane appear in the atmosphere above the region that could contain a frozen sea, suggesting the possibility of primitive microorganisms. [New Scientist]
• Recent rain is viewed as a mixed blessing-- The unusually heavy precipitation across southern New Mexico during recent weeks has been received with mixed reactions by farmers near Carlsbad, NM in the Pecos River Valley. The rain has been beneficial to a region that has experienced dry conditions, but it also has prevented the farmers to get into their fields to prepare for spring planting. [Carlsbad Current-Argus]
• California rains hit the dairy industry--The recent record setting rain in California has cost the dairy industry in the southern sections of Golden State at least $38 million in lost milk production, sick or dead cattle and damage to holding ponds and flood control structures. [ENN]
• Water conservation efforts urged in Cuba -- The Cuban government is requesting its citizens to reduce their consumption of water in the wake of an extended dry spell that appears to show little signs of abating. [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: 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.

• 28 February 1959...An accumulation of heavy snow on the roof of a Listowel, ON arena caused it to collapse during a hockey game. Several people inside were killed. (The Weather Doctor)
• 28 February 1964...A world 12-hour rainfall record was set at Belouve, La Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean when 52.76 inches of rain fell. World records for 9 hours and 18.5 hours were also set with 42.79 and 66.49 inches, respectively. (Accord's Weather Calendar) (The Weather Doctor)
• 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)

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Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2005, The American Meteorological Society.