Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES WEEK ONE: 22-26 January 2007

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Keeping tabs on an active volcano -- An image obtained from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite reveals the heat emitted from the Karymsky volcano and associated steam plume on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in December 2006. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Mud flood displaces villagers -- A fissure in East Java has been spewing water and mud creating a flood that displaced thousands of Indonesian villagers. British scientists believe the fissure was caused by oil drilling. The Indonesian government denies that claim. [BBC News]
(Thurs.) A sobering view of the Big Easy -- A photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station shows a view of the New Orleans (LA) metropolitan area and neighboring Lake Pontchartrain that could pose a problem for the Big Easy, which is slowly subsiding below sea level. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina showed the vulnerability of this city. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Earth appears as speck from Saturn -- An image created from several sensors onboard the Cassini spacecraft that passed the Planet Saturn last fall shows Planet Earth as a mere speck. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Coordinating time with GPS and the Web -- International cooperation in time coordination across the North and South American continents has been created through the time and frequency network of the Inter-American Metrology System (Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia), which began operation in 2005 as a low cost system employing GPS satellites and the Internet. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) 2006 Atlantic hurricane season near "normal" -- NASA and NOAA meteorologists and hurricane specialists are continuing their research into explaining why the activity during the recently-concluded 2006 hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin turned out to be near the long term average after they had forecasted another above average season. These researchers are utilizing a wide variety of environmental data, such as sea surface temperatures, tropical rainfall rates, atmospheric dust loading and winds at various atmospheric levels, collected by instruments on the fleet of NASA and NOAA satellites. [NASA Earth Observatory] More images and other links appear on a separate NASA Mission site. [NASA]
(Tues.) Runoff into Big Mo reservoirs during 2006 well below average -- The US Army Corps of Engineers reported that the continued drought across the northern Plains has meant that runoff into the Corp's system of Missouri River reservoirs in Montana and the Dakotas has been less than three-quarters of what is considered normal. [US Water News Online]
(Tues.) Bombarding effect of raindrops on soil erosion studied -- A research team including scientists from Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University has been running controlled experiments involving raindrops hitting soil. These experiments include high-speed photography that captures the splattering of the soil upon impact of the raindrops. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Skin affected by winter dryness -- Dermatologists claim that many Americans suffer from dry and irritated skin during the winter because of warm and dry indoor environments along with the use of harsh soaps and even a variety of medications, such those used for hypertension or depression. They also caution that despite low sun angles and short daylight duration, sunscreens should still be used to prevent skin cancer, age spots and wrinkling. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Evidence of climatic change found in Arctic mud -- Geologists from the University at Buffalo who have reconstructed past climates from Arctic mud cores on Canada's Baffin Island have found that the temperature signal in the Arctic has a greater amplitude during the last 10,000 years than comparable records elsewhere. [University at Buffalo]
Winter storm cripples nation's midsection -- A major winter storm moved across the US last week bringing a variety of weather, including snow, ice pellets (or sleet), freezing rain and torrential rain. While warm air was brought northward ahead of the eastward moving system, unseasonably cold air was brought southward behind the storm. By the end of the week, at least 66 deaths in nine states were attributed to the storm and many customers remained without electricity. [USA Today] An image generated by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite shows the snow cover across the country along with clouds associated with the storm. [NASA Earth Observatory] A similar image was obtained early last week from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
Deadly storm hits Europe -- At least 47 people were killed last week in Europe as a powerful winter storm moved across "the Continent." [USA Today] A visible image obtained late last week from the MODIS sensor onboard NASA's Aqua satellite shows the cloud shield associated with this system across Europe, along with peak near-surface wind gust observations obtained at weather stations across the affected region. [NOAA OSEI]
Glacial sediments seen entering Gulf of Alaska -- An image obtained recently from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite reveals a variety of colors in the near surface waters of the Gulf of Alaska, including the swirling plume of glacial sediments that was carried into the Gulf from the Copper River in southeast Alaska. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Deadly Brazilian flooding monitored from space -- Researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have been collecting data from the Agency's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and analyzing the data using Goddard's Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis program to monitor the torrential rains along the coast of Brazil during the first half of January 2007 that resulted in at least 50 fatalities in southeastern Brazil due to flooding and mudslides. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Could El Niño be fading? -- The director of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction recently reported that the current atmospheric conditions that scientists have identified as an "El Niño pattern" appear to be fading and that some of its impacts upon the weather across North American may be abating. However, climate scientists caution that this assessment needs more study. [USA Today]
Selecting a homeport for nation's ocean exploration ship -- As part of an environmental assessment process, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials are evaluating Rhode Island's Quonset Point/Davisville as the homeport for the Okeanos Explorer, the nation’s first federal ship dedicated solely to ocean exploration. [NOAA News]
Fish-kill mystery unraveled -- Researchers at the NOAA Hollings Marine Laboratory have discovered that an algae species that is usually inoffensive can suddenly produce a lethal toxin which is linked to mass fish kills in coastal waters along the East Coast. [EurekAlert!] These results provide some vindication for a researcher at North Carolina State University who had earlier claimed that a toxic marine microbe was responsible for the fish kill. [US Water News Online]
Station relocation impacts a city's climate record -- A climatologist with California State University, Los Angeles and a colleague at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been assessing the discontinuity in the climate record due to the relocation of the official Downtown Los Angeles (CA) climate station from the Civic Center location to the University of Southern California in July 1999. Although the relocation covered a horizontal distance of nearly four miles and a 90-foot change in elevation, these researchers found that the move has resulted in climate records that are cooler, drier and less extreme at USC than at the previous Civic Center location. They conclude that such a move, like those in many other locales, would bias long-term climate studies. (Editor's Note: One of the study's co-authors, Dr. Steve LaDochy, is a valued and long-time associate of the AMS Education Initiative. EJH) [NASA Earth Observatory]
Offshore wind power farms supported -- A survey of Delaware residents conducted by researchers at the University of Delaware indicates that the construction of offshore wind power farms to serve as a future energy source for the state is favored by a majority of respondents. [University of Delaware]
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 DataStreme 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 warmer to colder regions. 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 National Streamflow for the recent status of streamflow monitored at various US Geological Survey gauging stations around the nation. Note that in the Map Legend, the current streamflow is compared to the percentiles of daily streamflow for the given day of the year based upon a historic data set for the station stretching back at least 30 years. 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 DataStreme 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

22-23 January 1943...Hoegees Camp, at an elevation of 2760 feet in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California, received 26.12 inches of precipitation in a 24-hour span, setting the Golden State's 24-hour precipitation record. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
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)