WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DATASTREME WES WEEK SIX: 26 February-2 March 2007

REPORT FROM THE FIELD -- Dr. Hector Ibarra, the LIT Leader from Iowa City, IA, reported on this past weekend's winter weather across eastern Iowa. He said that a large section of the Hawkeye State was initially hit by an ice storm as temperatures were below freezing as the rain began on Saturday morning and continued through the late afternoon. The precipitation changed to wet, heavy snow on Saturday evening. As of Monday evening, 58 of the 99 counties in Iowa remained without power, a condition that could continue for up to a week. The local power utility has been calling in employees and contractors to deal with the outages that have caused numerous schools to close.

Water in the News

(Thurs.) High-altitude hurricane surveillance aircraft used in Pacific winter storms -- The NOAA Gulfstream-IV high-altitude jet that usually monitors hurricanes has been deployed to Honolulu, HI to collect atmospheric data from potent winter storms crossing the North Pacific Ocean as part of the 2007 Winter Storms Reconnaissance Program of the National Weather Service's National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The project is designed to help improve 24 to 96-hour forecasts of these storms that affect Hawaii, Alaska and the continental US. A middle school science and math teacher from Kona, HI will be a member of the flight crew as part of the NOAA Teacher in the Air program. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Marine food chain could be threatened by more acidic ocean waters -- Marine scientists warn that increased air temperatures due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations across the globe could cause the ocean to become more acidic, resulting in potentially catastrophic effects upon marine life, dissolving shells of marine organisms and destroying coral reefs. [National Geographic News]
(Thurs.) Searching for life on icy Europa -- A paleobiologist from the University of California, Berkeley and colleagues have been attempting to search for life on Jupiter's moon Europa, which is thought to have a large ocean under an icy surface. [University of California, Berkeley]
(Thurs.) A big wave farm is considered -- Officials in Scotland have announced that a wave energy farm that they claim to be the world's largest is being planed for the Orkney Islands. [BBC News]
(Tues.) Viewing Earth from space -- NASA officials have been posting a variety of images of the Earth along with atmospheric, oceanic and geologic data sets obtained from NASA satellites as part of the NASA Earth Observations (NEO) program. Samples of the imagery include those images obtained from the MODIS sensors on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites of the chlorophyll concentrations of near surface waters, sea surface temperatures, cloud fraction and snow cover. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) International partnership struck on tsunami warning system -- Late last week NOAA and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology signed a cooperative partnership agreement that involves the deployment of a new Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART™) buoy station in the Indian Ocean that would aid in early warning of tsunamis in that basin. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Leaking fuel tank cleanup will be costly -- The General Accounting Office recently estimated that $12 billion will be needed to clean up contamination from more that 117,000 gasoline storage tanks that are leaking underground. These leaks are contaminating underground water supplies with MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether), an additive added to gasoline to curb air pollution. [ENN]
(Tues.) A major Chinese city faces major water crisis -- A British environmental expert recently cautioned that the Chinese city of Shanghai with a population of 20 million people could experience major water shortages within the next two decades unless rapid and drastic action is taken. The water shortages are due to increased demands on the aquifer beneath the city along with changes in the climate that could affect the flow of rivers from glacial melt in southwest China. [US Water News Online] In a related issue, officials in Shanghai have been attempting to reduce the rate of subsidence within the city by reducing the amount of water withdrawn from the aquifers below the city. [US Water News Online]
(Tues.) Field experiment studies air flow around Greenland ice cap -- Scientists from Britain, Norway, Iceland and Canada, including a physicist from the University of Toronto Mississauga, are participating in the Greenland Flow Distortion experiment (GFDex), an International Polar Year research project, that is attempting to monitor the role that the land and ice mass on Greenland play in distorting the atmospheric flow and affects Eurasian weather systems. One interesting feature is a "tip jet" that travel from Greenland to Iceland at speeds of up to 40 meters per second. This jet could affect the air-sea interaction, ultimately affecting water circulation in the Labrador Sea. [EurekAlert!] Scientists from the University of East Anglia in Great Britain are also involved with this project. [EurekAlert!]
Tropical cyclone slams Mozambique -- A Southern Indian Ocean counterpart to a North Atlantic hurricane, Tropical Cyclone Favio, brought torrential rain and high winds to Mozambique late last week as it made landfall along the coast of this southeast African nation. This storm was rated a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity Scale. More than 120,000 people are now homeless from this tropical cyclone and several other earlier floods. [USA Today] An image obtained from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite shows Tropical Cyclone Favio late last week before it made landfall in Mozambique. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Another avalanche death reported in Utah -- A skier from Norway was killed last week by an avalanche in the backcountry of Utah's Wasatch Mountains, marking the fourth avalanche fatality in that state within a week. Three people had died the previous weekend due to avalanches in Montana and Idaho. Recent snow along with strong winds had increased the avalanche danger across the West. [USA Today]
Warming brought heightened flooding concerns -- Last week's warming trend across the nation's midsection resulted in the potential for significant flooding on a number of streams from the Plains of southeastern Colorado to central Indiana due to rapid snowmelt, primarily from those regions that had a snowpack. Some locations had already experienced flooding and this weekend's winter storm could add to the problems. [NOAA News]
Bolivian floods prove deadly -- Torrential rains attributed to unseasonably warm sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean associated with an El Niño event have resulted in flooding and mudslides across Bolivia's eastern lowlands that resulted in 35 deaths, cut roads, and affected approximately 69,000 families as of late last week. [USA Today]
Pennsylvania highway officials apologetic about stranded motorists -- The chief of PennDOT, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, apologized to the hundreds of motorists who were stranded on various highways in his state including Interstate 78 for as much as two days due to the Valentine's Day snowstorm. [USA Today]
Snowstorm disrupts travel in Denmark -- A winter snowstorm that swept across the Scandinavian Peninsula was accompanied by heavy snow and strong winds that disrupted surface and air travel across Denmark late last week. [USA Today]
Dangerous marine debris to be removed from Louisiana lake -- With aid from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the Calcasieu Lake Marine Debris Marking and Mapping Program is involved in an effort with the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, state and local agencies, businesses and volunteers to remove nearly 100 pieces of marine debris from a vital estuary and shipping channel in southwest Louisiana that became a settling point for debris caused by Hurricane Rita in 2005. [NOAA News]
A summer drought could occur in the Corn Belt -- The Iowa state climatologist echoed the concern of a private forecaster that a transition to a La Niña type weather pattern could signal dry weather across the Corn Belt this upcoming spring and summer. [Farm News - Iowa]
Japanese ponder fate of disabled whaling ship -- The Japanese have yet to make a decision on what to do with their whaling vessel Nisshin Maru that was disabled by a fire and adrift in the Ross Sea off Antarctica. [BBC News] The New Zealand Conservation Minister along with conservation groups are demanding that Japan moves the stricken vessel away from the Antarctic coast over a week after it caught on fire. [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 must navigate through 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

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

Historical Events

26 February 1910...Parts of Washington State were in the midst of a storm that produced 129 in. of snow at Laconia between the 24^th and the 26^th, a single storm record for the state. A series of storms, which began on the 23^rd, led to a deadly avalanche on the first of March. By late on the 28^th, the snow had changed to rain, setting the stage for disaster. (The Weather Channel)
26 February 1972...The "Buffalo Creek Disaster" occurred in the Buffalo Creek Hollow of Logan County in West Virginia. A coal slag dam on the Middle Fork of Buffalo Creek burst sending a fifty-foot wall of water down a narrow valley killing 125 persons and causing $51 million in damage. Three days of rain atop a six-inch snow cover prompted the dam break. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
27 February 1717...What was perhaps the greatest snow in New England history commenced on this date. During a ten-day period, a series of four snowstorms dumped three feet of snow on Boston, and the city was snowbound for two weeks. Up to six feet of snow was reported farther to the north, and drifts covered many one-story houses. (David Ludlum)
27 February 1988...A major rain event occurred across Saudi Arabia's Foroson Islands in the Red Sea and on the adjacent mainland around Jizon when 1.15 in. fell. The monthly average rainfall is only 0.02 in. On the following day, flash flooding south of Riyadh killed 3 children. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
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)