WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Eight: 20-24 March 2006

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Arctic expedition to help test snow thickness -- Researchers are conducting a month-long Arctic field experiment funded by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in which a new airborne radar is used to determine the accuracy of the snow thickness on top of polar ice made by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer onboard NASA's Aqua satellite. [NASA GSFC]
(Thurs.) Africa has huge water needs -- A World Water Forum report estimated that Africa needs $20 billion to develop adequate water supplies for its population. [BBC News]
(Thurs.) Private funding for safe water appears to be lagging -- Delegates at last week's World Water Forum in Mexico City were told that many companies are more reluctant to provide funding to help provide safe drinking water to the one billion people who lack the water. [ENN]
(Thurs.) Regional cloud-seeding efforts explored -- The states that form the Colorado River basin, including Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada, are considering launching a regional cloud-seeding program that would attempt to create a lager snowpack across the Rockies in the headwaters of the Colorado River as a means of increasing the amount of available water. However, some experts remain skeptical. [ENN]
(Thurs.) Pharmaceutical metabolites detected in wastewater -- The metabolites, or small molecules that are intermediates or products of metabolism, from antibiotics and other pharmaceutical compounds have been found in treated wastewater by University of Buffalo chemists. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Large quantity of water ice may be found on Mars -- Scientists using a radar instrument package called MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) onboard the European Mars Express spacecraft believe that a large reservoir of water ice may be located under the surface of Mars. [The New Scientist]
(Wed.) National Flood Awareness Week is observed -- The National Weather Service has announced that this coming week (20-26 March 2006) has been declared Flood Safety Week across the nation in an attempt to raise the public's attention to the dangers of flooding, as well as the suggested means to protect life and property. A website for flood safety has also been posted. In addition, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia, along with Puerto Rico, have also identified this coming week as Flood Awareness Week in their respective states and commonwealth. [National Weather Service]
(Tues.) Thursday is World Meteorological Day, designated to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 23 March 1950. The WMO is an agency within the United Nations. The theme of this year's World Meteorological Day for 2006 is "Preventing and Mitigating Natural Disasters" [WMO]
(Tues.) World Water Day and World Meteorology Day -- Wednesday, 22 March 2006, has been designated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the annual World Day for Water, with this year's theme "Water and Culture". Observance of World Water Day around the world arose from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. [UNESCO]
(Tues.) Dog sled teams to help space agency track arctic snow -- Several dog sled teams are traveling northward across interior Alaska to the Arctic Ocean as part of a NASA-funded project to collect snow samples at five communities in the Alaska Arctic in order to provide ground-truth verification of snowpack observations made by NASA's Aqua satellite. More than 3000 classrooms around the world are monitoring the progress of this project as part of the "GoNorth!" K-12 distance learning program. [NASA GSFC]
(Tues.) A national estuarine research preserve is featured -- A recent NOAA Magazine article features the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve located along the coast of northeast Florida near St. Augustine. This preserve, one of 26 in the NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System, uses research and education to help manage the diverse estuarine and coastal habitats of a region of Florida's Atlantic coast that features estuarine lagoons formed by three rivers that give the preserve its name. [NOAA Magazine]
(Tues.) Hydroelectric plants could flood Amazon basin rivers -- The Brazilian government is planning to build several hydroelectric plants that would require the building of dams along two rivers in the Amazon basin in order to meet increased electricity demands. However, the plans are counter to advice provided by experts with the World Commission on Dams, who are concerned that the dams could threaten the numerous plant and animal species with the basin. [ENN]
(Tues.) Unique radar investigates snowfall -- A unique polarimetric weather radar unit is being employed by scientists at the University of Helsinki to study snowfall and ice pellets (also known as sleet), utilizing the unit's ability to distinguish between ice and water based upon the perpendicularly polarized microwave signals emitted and received back from snowflake and raindrop targets. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Effects of "cargo sweeping" are to be explored -- The US Coast Guard is to begin a study of the decades old practice of "cargo sweeping" in the Great Lakes that involves dumping the residual materials and the wash water from cargo ships into the Lakes. Although this practice is prohibited by international treaty and federal laws, it remains because of exemptions and a lack of enforcement. [ENN]
(Tues.) Libya is mining fossil water -- The Great Man-Made River project is nearing completion in Libya where vast aquifers containing "fossil water", some of which may be 40,000 years old, are being extracted from the country's southern desert for use across the country. [BBC News Online]
Intense tropical cyclone hits Australia -- A tropical cyclone named Larry that was rated a category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale hit the northeast coast of Australia on Monday (local time). This cyclone, the southwestern Pacific's counterpart to a hurricane, appears to be the strongest cyclone to hit the northeastern Australian coast . Some injuries were sustained and power outages were widespread.. In ordering evacuations along sections of the Queensland coast, emergency management officials were comparing the potential destructive force associated with Tropical Cyclone Larry with that associated with Hurricane Katrina that hit the US Gulf Coast last summer. [CNN]
Satellites used to help monitor Southern drought -- Data collected by sensors onboard NASA's Tropical-Rainfall-Measuring-Mission satellite and processed at its Goddard Space Flight Center to appear as near-real-time images in the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Spring outlook raises drought and wildfire concerns -- The release of the official US Spring Outlook last week prompted NOAA and National Interagency Fire Center officials to warn that the potential exists for a significant wildfire season across the southern and central Plains, as well as portions of the Southwest as this region along with the Southeast appears to have a better than even chance for less than average precipitation for the three months running from April through June 2006. The Southwest and southern Plains were expected to have a much better than even chance of having above average temperatures, exacerbating the current drought and wildfire situation. [NOAA News]
Western snows in the news --
- Between 12 and 17 feet of new snow has fallen along the Sierras in California and Nevada since the start of March. This snowfall, which may set March snowfall records, could result in spring flooding if the snowpack melts too rapidly. [NBC11]
- Recent snow and cold weather across interior Washington State have improved the water supply outlook across the interior Northwest. [The Statesman-Examiner]
- Even though some snow fell across northern New Mexico early last week, the Natural Resources Conservation Service recently reported that the snowpack across New Mexico is the smallest in 50 years, which could result in well below average water supplies and river flow during this upcoming summer. The state, along with neighboring states across the Southwest are experiencing serious drought conditions. [Free New Mexican]
North Texas experiences rain and fire -- Although some flooding occurred as more than five inches of rain fell across north Texas near Dallas-Ft. Worth over this past weekend, the rain has helped ease the severe drought and wildfire conditions that the region has been experiencing. [USA Today] Farther to the west, rain and ice pellets from a winter storm helped firefighters extinguish wildfires across the Texas Panhandle that killed 11 people and burned 840,000 acres during the last week. [USA Today]
US troops in Iraq could be getting unsafe water -- In an internal report made last year, an expert with Halliburton claims that this contractor and a subsidiary paid to purify water for US troops in Iraq have failed to ensure that the troops are getting safe washing water. [ENN]
A century of data indicates an intensification of the global water cycle -- A scientist with the US Geological Survey has reported that based upon his review of more than 100 studies, the global water cycle appears to have intensified during the last century by changes in precipitation and evaporation rates, but with little consistent increases in the frequency of floods or tropical cyclones (such as hurricanes). [EurekAlert!]
Flood trial appears ready to commence -- A trial appears likely to be held this coming week in West Virginia in which more than 5000 plaintiffs have collectively filed suit against approximately 400 defendants, claiming that runoff from coal and timber operations contributed to the flooding that occurred across the southern sections of West Virginia in 2001. [USA Today]
Scandinavian Ice Sheet behavior could provide model for Greenland -- Based upon the analysis of the behavior of ice sheets at various global locations, scientists from Lamont-Doherty and Earth Observatory and Oregon State University have concluded that ice sheets appear to respond differently during warming events. However, they suggest that the behavior of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet that covered northwest Europe to as recently as 10,000 years ago may serve as a model for what they suspect could happen to the ice sheet on Greenland. [The Earth Institute at Columbia University]
A surge in an Alaska glacier is monitored -- A researcher with the University of Alaska recently documented the surge of McGinnis Glacier in the Alaska Range of central Alaska. [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.

REPORT FROM THE FIELD -- Toni DeVore, a LIT member from West Virginia, reported from the beach along the Gulf of Mexico at Siesta Key, FL. She was impressed with the strong winds that increased in speed by early Tuesday, resulting in an increase in height. She said that she could hear the surf in her room two blocks from the beach. While skies had been sunny on Monday, clouds obscured the sunset on Monday and dawn on Tuesday. However, she did caution that use of a sunscreen for protection from sunburn was a must.

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 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 about 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:

20 March 2000...A large iceberg measuring approximately 170 mi by 25 mi calved off Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf near Roosevelt Island. The iceberg was approximately 2.5 times the size of New York's Long Island. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
20-21 March 1948…Juneau, AK received 31.0 inches of snow, to set a 24-hour snowfall record for Alaska's capital. This snowfall record pales compared to the state's 24-hour snowfall record of 62.0 inches set at Thompson Pass on 28-29 December 1955. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
21 March 1876...More than 40 inches of snow stopped traffic in Montreal, Quebec. Trains were delayed and mail carriers resorted to snowshoes. (The Weather Doctor)
22 March 1941...Grand Coulee Dam along the Columbia River in Washington State began to generate electricity. At the time, this dam was the largest in the world. (Wikipedia)
24 March 1888...Snowflakes measuring 3.75 in. in diameter and 0.25 in. thick reportedly fell "like plates" on Chepstow, England. The flakes fell for approximately 2 minutes and covered the ground to a depth of 2 in. The liquid content of 0.33 in. would give a liquid accumulation rate of 9.90 in. per hour. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
24 March 1989...The tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on a reef in Prince William Sound, AK, spilling 10.1 million gallons of crude oil, resulting in the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Coast Guard units responded and prevented the entire cargo from spilling, cleaned up the oil which did spill, and conducted an investigation into the causes of the accident. The spill provided the impetus for the passage of the Oil Protection Act in 1990. (US Coast Guard Historians Office)
25 March 1961...The fifth major snowstorm of the month prompted the provincial government of Prince Edward Island to declare a state of emergency. Snowdrifts of at least 33 feet reached overhead power lines. (The Weather Doctor)
25 March 2000...A rouge wave near Shelter Cove, CA swept a lady from a Canadian school group into the ocean. Four members of the group tried to rescue her, but were overcome by the waves and currents. A fishing vessel and the US Coast Guard rescued two of the rescuers. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
26 March 1913...The Ohio River Basin flood reached a peak. Ten-inch rains over a wide area of the Ohio River Basin inundated cities in Ohio, drowning 467 persons, and causing $47 million in damage. The Miami River at Dayton reached a level 8 feet higher than ever before. The flood, caused by warm weather and heavy rains, was the second mostly deadly on record for the nation. (David Ludlum)
26 March 1997...Mudslide wiped out 164 feet of Canadian National rails in Fraser Canyon, British Columbia causing an eastbound freight train to plunge from the tracks. Two crewmen died and fears of chemical spill abound. (The Weather Doctor)

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