Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES WEEK ONE: 23-27 January 2006

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) New software to may help protect drinking water -- A computer program called ICWater developed at the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station is designed to help incident commanders from various federal agencies to access information from a variety of sources and make decisions meant to protect the nation's drinking water from chemical or biological contaminants following accidental or intentional acts. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Seeking help advised in water crises -- The editors of a book to be published by the United Nations University Press argue that water management could be improved if governments got their citizens more involved in the problem-solving and decision-making aspects of the management process. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Changes documented in African lakes -- NASA has released a pair of satellite images taken of the wetlands of Tunisia nearly four years apart that show changes in the lake level and the aquatic vegetation of Ichkeul National Park, a World Heritage site, due to the construction of dams on the lake's tributaries. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Monitoring glaciers from space -- Sensors onboard several of NASA's orbiting satellites have provided detailed data on glaciers to permit assessment:
- A sequence of images obtained from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer onboard NASA's Terra satellite over a two-year span shows the retreat of the Helheim Glacier in Greenland. [NASA Earth Observatory]
- Two images made with different contrasts of the Byrd Glacier in Antarctica shows crevasses on the glacier's surface. These images are part of the 260 detailed images of Antarctica made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors onboard NASA's orbiting Terra and Aqua satellites that have been archived in The MODIS Mosaic of Antarctica. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Too little ice for fishing -- The unseasonably warm stretch of weather across much of the nation during the last month has meant that the ice has either not formed or is too thin on northern-tier states. Not all of Lake Champlain, located between Vermont and New York State, has frozen over, meaning businesses that count on ice fishing and other cold weather sports could be hurt financially. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Hazard mitigation could be cost-effective -- A researcher at Pennsylvania State University who led a team for the National Institute of Building Sciences claims that for every dollar spent to mitigate the effects associated with such natural hazards such as hurricanes and flooding, four dollars would not be needed in the future to repair the damages or compensate for losses from subsequent disasters. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Desert conditions continue across the Southwest -- The current persistent weather pattern has brought meager amounts of precipitation to the Southwest. Flagstaff, AZ has only recently received the first measurable snow (0.1 inches or greater) of the season, marking the latest date of such an occurrence on record. In Phoenix, no measurable rain (0.01 inches or greater) has fallen since 18 October 2005, resulting in a stretch of 95 days without measurable precipitation, exceeded only by a 101-day record in 1999. [USA Today]
Sea surface height changes could signal La Niña conditions -- Measurements of the sea surface height to within centimeters obtained from the US-French Jason satellite have shown a gradual cooling of the eastern equatorial Pacific late last year, consistent with the development of a weak La Niña episode. A La Niña is an anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime that can affect the weather around the planet. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Geosynchronous satellite to be moved -- Last week, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Argentina Comisión Nacional de Activades Espaciales and the World Meteorological Organization announced that NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-10 will be repositioned in October pending the launch of GOES-N in order to provide satellite coverage over South America. [NOAA News]
Wilma was a record setter -- Scientists with the National Hurricane Center released their report of Hurricane Wilma early last week, which adjusted the strength of last fall's Hurricane Wilma. Although Wilma appears to have made landfall slightly weaker than previously thought, the scientists determined that it was the most powerful hurricane that has been recorded in the North Atlantic basin in over 150 years, based on the lowest minimum central pressure (882 millibars or 26.04 inches of mercury) and strongest maximum sustained wind speeds (185 mph). [USA Today] The complete Wilma report from the National Hurricane Center is available in pdf format.
Oregon is becoming soggy -- A persistent weather pattern has brought a series of storms to the Pacific Northwest, with Oregon receiving flooding rain, high winds and high surf. Oregon's governor has declared disaster in 24 counties of his state because of floods, mudslides and strong winds. The exact cause for the weather pattern has been the source of debate. [USA Today]
A review of December -- Scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reviewed the temperature and precipitation patterns across the nation and the world during the recently concluded month of December 2005. They report that since much of the nation experienced a month that had extremes, ranging from a record cold start to record warmth at the end of the month, the nationwide average temperature for the month was nearly identical to the long-term average temperature, spanning a 111-year period of record. California and Nevada experienced much above average statewide December temperatures, while the Pacific Northwest and the southeastern quadrant of the nation reported below average temperatures for the month. While precipitation for the month was close to the 1895-2004 average when averaged nationwide, the West Coast states, the northern Plains and some of the states along the Eastern Seaboard experienced precipitation amounts that were above to much above average. However, the southern Plains and the interior Southwest had below average precipitation totals, with Arizona and Arkansas having their driest December on record. Expanding to a global view, the scientists determined that December 2005 appears to be the ninth warmest on record for global average temperatures that extends back to 1880. [NOAA News]
Balloons to help study clouds -- A scientists from 10 countries participating in the Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment in Darwin, Australia will release 1000 weather balloons during the next month in an effort to study the generation and dissipation of cirrus-type clouds in the tropics that form at altitudes higher than 20,000 ft. [ENN]
TIGER Innovators Project fosters water management -- Five international partnerships have been developed as part of the European Space Agency's TIGER Innovators Project that would use data obtained by the agency's satellites to help water resource management in Africa. [ESA]
Project begins to restore river water -- A $29 million project has commenced to send water into California's Owens River and surrounding wetlands that had essentially dried up during the last century when an aqueduct was built to divert river water for use by the Los Angeles metropolitan area. [US Water News Online]
Future impact of landslides studied -- In a meeting last week, scientists from the International Consortium on Landslides, United Nations University, Kyoto University and UNESCO warned that increased rainfall intensity associated with increased numbers and intensities of storms due to climate change could contribute to more and deadlier landslides. [EurekAlert!]
Anthropogenic haze affects the water cycle -- Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who have been studying the 50-year cloud record in China report that while the number of cloudy days appears to have declined, the increased amount of haze generated by human activity has reduced the sunshine. The reduced sunshine due to the haze appears to have contributed to lower evaporation rates at the Earth's surface. [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: Touring the WES Homepage

NOTE: This Concept for the Week is a repeat of that which appeared in last week's Weekly Water News.

Welcome to DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES)! You are embarking on a unique teacher-enhancement experience that focuses on water and energy flow in the global water cycle from an Earth system perspective. Throughout this learning experience, you will be accessing the DataStreme WES website frequently to obtain and interpret a variety of environmental information, including the latest observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DataStreme WES website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Water News that includes Water in the News (a summary listing of current events related to water), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to water in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past hydrologic events such as major floods). When appropriate, Supplemental Information will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DataStreme WES website to access and download the second part of weekly Investigations A & B (plus supporting images) that begin in your DataStreme WES Investigations Manual. These materials should be available by noon (Eastern Time) on Tuesday and Thursday. Click the appropriate buttons to download and print these electronic components of the investigations as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the DataStreme WES website provides links to the Earth System, Atmospheric, Oceanic (Inland Seas), and Terrestrial Information, and extras--glossaries of terms, maps, educational links, and WES information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let's take a quick tour to become more familiar with the WES website.

Under Atmospheric Information, click on Water vapor (WV) Satellite. This is the latest satellite depiction of atmospheric water vapor at altitudes generally between 3000 and 7000 m (10,000 to 24,000 ft). Press your "back" button and then click on Latest WV Animation to view the movement of water vapor and clouds in the atmosphere. Although water vapor is an invisible gas, satellite technology makes it possible for us to "see" and follow the flow of water vapor in the atmosphere as part of the global water cycle. Bright white blotches are clouds; black indicates areas of very little or no water vapor and, at the other extreme, milky white signals a relatively high concentration of water vapor. Use the "back" button on your viewer to return to the DataStreme WES website.

The flow and transformations of energy are fundamental aspects of the global water cycle. Heat flows within the Earth system from where it is warmer to where it is colder. In this regard, it is useful to monitor temperatures remotely, by satellite. For a global view of the satellite-derived pattern of sea-surface temperatures, click on Sea Surface Temperatures under Oceanic (and Inland Seas) Information. Note that the color scale at the bottom is in degrees Celsius and temperatures are averaged over a 7-day period. (Depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Return to the DataStreme WES website.

As part of the global water cycle, precipitation that reaches the ground vaporizes back into the atmosphere, runs off into rivers and streams, seeps into the ground, or is stored in lakes or glaciers. Under Terrestrial Information, click on River Flood Conditions for the recent status of river levels monitored at various gauging stations around the nation. Note that in the Map Legend, river stage heights are compared to flood stage values. Now return to the DataStreme WES website.

Extras include color photographs arranged by week (chapter) to supplement your study of the DataStreme WES textbook. For example, click on Chapter 1 and then click on the first thumbnail for an enlarged image with the caption, "Water in Three Phases."

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the WES website. You may want to "bookmark" this page on your computer. Return frequently to get into the flow of DataStreme WES!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest WV Animation indicates that clouds and water vapor generally move from [(west to east)(east to west)] across the nation.
In the tropical Pacific, the highest sea-surface temperatures occur in the [(western)(eastern)] portion of the ocean basin.

Historical Events

24 January 1881...Freezing rain over three days coated trees, fences, telegraph wires and buildings at Pictou, Nova Scotia. Lumberjacks remained close to camp for fear of falling trees and branches. (The Weather Doctor)
24 January 1956...Thirty-eight inches of rain deluged the Kilauea Sugar Plantation of Hawaii in 24 hours, including twelve inches in just one hour. The 38.00 inches remains the Aloha State's 24-hour maximum precipitation record. (David Ludlum)
25 January 1945...Grand Rapids MI became the first US city to fluoridate its water.
25 January 1965...Alta, UT was in the midst of a storm that left the town buried under 105 inches of snow establishing a record for the state. (David Ludlum)
25 January 1987...The second major storm in three days hit the Eastern Seaboard producing up to 15 inches of snow in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Up to 30 inches of snow covered the ground in Virginia following the two storms. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
26 January 1937...Flooding occurred along the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, PA to Cairo, IL. The river was 80 feet above flood stage at Cincinnati, Ohio. (Intellicast)
26 January 1983...The California coast was battered by a storm, which produced record high tides, thirty-two foot waves, and mudslides, causing millions of dollars in damage. The storm then moved east and dumped four feet of snow on Lake Tahoe. (22^nd-29^th) (The Weather Channel)
27 January 1966...Oswego NY was in the midst of a five-day lake effect storm that left the town buried under 102 inches of snow. (David Ludlum)
28 January 1883...Snowflakes "larger than milkpans" reportedly fell at Fort Keogh near Miles City, MT. The snowflakes, measuring 15 inches across and 8 inches in thickness, made patches of white on the fields within an area of several square miles. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
28 January 1969...A series of storms that battered Southern California from the 18^th to the 28^th led to $125 million damage in the Los Angeles Basin, along with approximately 9 storm and traffic-related deaths in California. Twenty feet of water covered Sherman Island, a region that contains more than 10,000 dike-protected agricultural acres, when a dike failed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
28 January 1971...A waterspout swept into Hawaii's Kailua Bay, then into the business and hotel district of Kailua-Kona, destroying or severely damaging a number of buildings including 40 apartment units and collapsing a 6-story hotel under construction. Amazingly, only four people were injured. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29-30 January 1966...A hurricane that struck Samoa was responsible for 50 deaths, destroyed more than one-third of the homes and damaged the remainder. As many as 50,000 people were left homeless. Swains Island was leveled by the hurricane. Winds gusted to 100 mph at Pago Pago. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29 January 1983...A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the anomalous ocean-atmosphere phenomenon, "El Niño," produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high that ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movie stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony. (The Weather Channel)
29 January 1993...Africa's worst weather-related disaster during 1993 occurred as rains produced floods across the southeast lowlands of Kenya. A railroad bridge across the swollen Ngai Nedithya River collapsed as a train crossed, causing 104 deaths. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)