WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Seven: 12-16 March 2007

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Investigating hurricanes -- Using aircraft and satellites, scientists from several countries participated in the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses off the African west coast last year to study the environment where Atlantic hurricanes often develop. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) "Co-evolutionary engineering design" involves international cooperation to obtain clean water -- An engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has described how she and her students have been collaborating with people in Nepal and Ghana to help design and build systems that would provide clean water to these countries. Several other countries will be added to her list in the next year. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology]
(Thurs.) Air pollution found to reduce rainfall in some locales -- A research team from Israel and China reports that atmospheric pollution generated by human activity can significantly reduce the amount of precipitation falling over hilly terrain in semi-arid areas, such as the Middle East and in central China. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide could pose additional threats to marine life -- Scientists at the University of Illinois and the Carnegie Institution claim that increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide would adversely affect marine life because of not only projected higher global temperatures, but also increased acidification of the ocean, which would cause the hard shells of many marine organisms to dissolve. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Changes in chemical processes in ocean could affect climate -- Scientists at New Mexico Tech, the University of Bergen, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Kiel, and University of California at Irvine have conducted a month-long field experiment that indicates increased levels of ocean acidity and carbon dioxide concentrations result in changes in phytoplankton and marked changes in oceanic chemical processes, which could lead to an increased understanding of how these marine chemical processes could help regulate Earth's climate. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Mapping Antarctic -- One of the most detailed high-resolution maps of Antarctica, Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica, has been produced by researchers from NASA and the US Geological Survey who assembled the mosaic from more than 1000 images obtained from the Landsat 7 satellite. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Hidden Antarctic glacial lakes -- Using satellite data obtained from NASA's ICESat mission and the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT-1 satellite, a team of scientists from NASA, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the University of New Hampshire, Durham, and the University of Washington, Seattle have discovered four large lakes under the Antarctic ice sheet that supply a fast moving ice stream [NASA]
(Tues.) Plants could be modified to reduce acid rain effects -- A biologist at Duke University reported that a recent understanding of how plants manage internal calcium levels could lead to the modification of plants to reduce the damage caused by acid rain. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) New federal research plan for hurricane forecasting outlined -- The Federal agencies involved with hurricane research, including NOAA, have outlined their view of the future of hurricane forecasting capabilities in a publication drafted by the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research entitled "Interagency Strategic Research Plan for Tropical Cyclones: The Way Ahead." [NOAA News]
(Tues.) French scientists identify climate - ocean feedback -- Scientists at the CEREGE research center has noted the positive feedback loop between the water cycle in Central America and the salinity of the Atlantic Basin. Climate changes are predicted to affect this water vapor cycle. [EurekAlert!]
Did you remember NOAA Weather Radio during time change? -- The Director of the National Weather Service encourages the public to place fresh batteries in their smoke detectors and NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards receivers when they change their clocks to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday morning, 11 March 2007. [NOAA News]
Tropical cyclones hit Australia -- Two tropical cyclones, the Indian Ocean counterparts of hurricanes in the North Atlantic, developed over the Indian Ocean off the northwest coast of Australia last week. One low-pressure system, Tropical Cyclone George, which became at least a category 3 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity Scale, hit along the coast causing damage and killing at least one person and injuring 20 others. [USA Today] Another system, Tropical Cyclone Jacob, a category 1 cyclone, was approaching the coast as of Sunday. An image of Tropical Cyclone George taken late last week by the Japanese MTSAT satellite shows the tropical cyclone after it made landfall near Port Hedland, Australia. Tropical Cyclone Jacob is also seen farther to the northwest over the Indian Ocean. [NOAA OSEI]
A research aircraft serves as a learning experience -- A meteorology professor at the University of Utah who was participating in the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis field campaign was able to teach his graduate-level tropical meteorology course using a high tech package called the "Real Time Mission Monitor" that allowed the students to participate in the monitoring of data collection onboard NASA's DC-8 Airborne Laboratory. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Celebrating 200 years of national science, service and stewardship -- The NOAA Magazine has highlighted NOAA's 200th Celebration currently underway in NOAA that commemorates the creation of one of its predecessors, the United States Survey of the Coast in 1807. [NOAA Magazine]
Missouri River communities could run out of water -- With many communities along the Missouri River worried that they could run out of water, a senator from North Dakota wants to rewrite rules that define how the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation handle emergency water shortages. [US Water News Online]
Astronomers surprised by apparent lack of water on distant planets -- Astronomers from the California Institute of Technology and Goddard Space Flight Center using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have been studying the composition of the atmospheres of over 200 planets outside our solar system, but were surprised to find negligible amounts of water, which contains the relatively common constituents of hydrogen and oxygen. [US Water News Online]
Lab ice spikes used to study glacial processes -- A physics professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been studying tiny laboratory ice spikes that are similar to the 12-foot tall spike-shaped penitents found in the high altitude glaciers of the Andes to see how these spike like features can influence the local energy budget and affect the change in the tropical glaciers. [EurekAlert!]
A call is made for a worldwide public warning of mercury contaminated fish -- Scientists who attended the Eighth International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant in Madison, WI last August have released a set of findings that appears in "The Madison Declaration on Mercury Pollution," which calls for a worldwide general warning to the public concerning the health risks posed by mercury contaminated fish, especially for children and women of childbearing age. [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 -- Marsha Rich, a DataStreme LIT Leader from New Hampshire, reported that the cold and windy weather on top of Mount Washington last week forced the cancellation of a trip to the observatory at the summit that she was to conduct with teachers. She said that the temperature at the observatory fell to 37 degrees below zero and a peak wind gust of 117 mph was recorded. However, those observers that remain on the mountain demonstrated a little experiment with turning boiling water to snow, which they posted to the Internet.

Concept of the Week: Dams and Ecological Integrity

Although there are many positive aspects to dams (e.g., flood control, recreation, hydropower generation), dams also can disrupt the natural seasonal fluctuations in the flow of rivers and streams with potentially serious consequences for the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. For one, dams interfere with the upstream and downstream migration of fish. Storage of water in reservoirs behind dams reduces the downstream discharge of water, sediment, and nutrients. These and other alterations of fluvial habitats threaten or endanger more than 20% of all freshwater species.

The ecological impact of dams is extensive because these structures affect so much runoff. Worldwide, almost 3000 dams have a reservoir storage capacity exceeding 25 billion gallons—a combined volume of water roughly equivalent to that in Lakes Michigan and Ontario. The more than 70,000 dams in the U.S. can store half of the annual flow of all the nation's rivers and streams.

The continuity of the global water cycle implies that disruption of river and stream flow by dams can also impact marine and lacustrine (lake) ecosystems. In the Pacific Northwest, for example, only about 5% of juvenile salmon survive passage through dams and reservoirs on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Salmon are anadromous, that is, they spawn in freshwater streams, but spend most of their adult life in the ocean. After hatching, young salmon (smolts) swim downstream to the Pacific Ocean, where they mature and then return to the same streams to spawn. But the 56 major dams in the Columbia River watershed are formidable obstacles to salmon migration. Largely ineffective are fish ladders designed to help the salmon move upstream and other structures that guide them downstream and around hydroelectric turbines. (These turbines have been likened to giant food processors for smolt attempting to swim through them.) Furthermore, smolts on their downstream passage are held up in reservoirs where they are exposed to predators, pathogens (disease-producing organisms), and water that is too warm. Atlantic salmon have a similar fate. More than 900 dams on New England and European rivers prevent most Atlantic salmon from reaching their freshwater spawning grounds. Consequently, their population has declined to less than 1% of historical levels.

Traditionally, dam operators regulate stream and river flow for flood control and to supply water for electric power generation and irrigation. But recently, in response to greater awareness of the adverse impacts of dams on aquatic ecosystems, has come a growing interest in operating dams in ways that recreate the river's natural seasonal flow pattern and habitats. For example, this type of management is employed on the Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River in Utah to protect sensitive habitats for endangered species including chubs and squawfish. The dam operator simulates spring floods of the pre-dam era by releasing a surge of water in May that facilitates fish spawning.

Controlled flooding has been used on the segment of the Colorado River that flows through the Grand Canyon in an attempt to help restore landforms and aquatic habitats downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam. Before the dam first came into operation in 1956, natural floods regularly delivered sediment from the tributaries of the Colorado River. Sand and silt built sandbars and created backwaters that provided habitat for a variety of native plant and fish species such as the humpback chub and razor sucker. The humpback chub, for example, prefers the warmer and murkier waters associated with sandbars. With the dam in full operation, sand and silt was trapped in the reservoir upstream from the dam and the sandbars and backwater habitats were gradually destroyed. The number of humpback chub in the Grand Canyon declined from about 8300 in 1993 to about 2000 today and the species is close to extinction. In an attempt to restore downstream habitats, in March 1996 a huge gusher of water was released from the Glen Canyon Dam and a fresh influx of sediment built new beaches and sandbars. But these landforms and habitats disappeared within a few months. Now the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is proposing a new flood plan based on lessons learned from the 1996 flood. The plan is to release floodwaters from the Glen Canyon Dam for a shorter period of time (2.5 days instead of the 7-day 1996 flood) and only after a sufficient buildup of sediment so that floodwaters construct sandbars and beaches rather than washing them away.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Alteration of aquatic habitats by dams [(is)(is not)] a reason why some fish species become threatened or endangered.
Anadromous species of fish spawn in [(the ocean)(freshwater rivers and streams)].

Historical Events:

12 March 1888...A blizzard paralyzed southeastern New York State and western New England. The storm produced 58 inches of snow at Saratoga NY, and 50 inches at Middletown CT. Record low temperatures followed the blizzard. The combination of cold and snow claimed 400 lives. New York City received 20.9 inches of snow and Albany NY reported 46.7 inches. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
12 March 1928...The large concrete St. Francis Dam in the San Francisquito Canyon of southern California near Los Angeles failed, killing more than 400 people. (Wikipedia)
12 March 1954...A blizzard raged from eastern Wyoming into the Black Hills of western South Dakota, while a severe ice storm was in progress from northeastern Nebraska to central Iowa. The ice storm isolated 153 towns in Iowa. Dust from the Great Plains caused brown snow, and hail and muddy rain over parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. (11th-13th) (The Weather Channel)
12 March 1967...A tremendous four-day storm raged across California. Winds of 90 mph closed mountain passes, heavy rains flooded the lowlands, and in sixty hours Squaw Valley, CA was buried under 96 inches (eight feet) of snow. (David Ludlum)
12 March 1988...A violent hailstorm struck Katmandu, Nepal during a soccer game at the national stadium. About 80 fans seeking shelter were trampled to death because some of the stadium doors were locked. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
13 March 1907...A storm produced a record 5.22 inches of rain in 24 hours at Cincinnati, OH. (12^th-13^th) (The Weather Channel)
13 March 1977...Baltimore MD received an inch of rain in eight minutes. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
13-15 March 1952...The world's 5-day rainfall record was set when a tropical cyclone produced 151.73 inches of rain at Cilos, Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. The 73.62 inches that fell in a 24-hour period (15^th-16^th) set the world's 24-hour rainfall record. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
13 March 1993...The "Great Blizzard of '93" clobbered the eastern US and produced perhaps the largest swath of heavy snow ever recorded. Heavy snow was driven to the Gulf Coast with 3 inches falling at Mobile, AL and up to 5 inches reported in the Florida Panhandle, the greatest single snowfall in the state's history. Thirteen inches blanketed Birmingham, AL to set not only a new 24 hour snowfall record for any month, but also set a record for maximum snow depth, maximum snow for a single storm, and maximum snow for a single month. Tremendous snowfall amounts occurred in the Appalachians. Mount Leconte in Tennessee recorded an incredible 60 inches. Mount Mitchell in North Carolina was not far behind with 50 inches. Practically every official weather station in West Virginia set a new 24-hour record snowfall. Farther to the north, Pittsburgh, PA measured 25 inches, Albany, NY checked in with 27 inches, and Syracuse, NY was buried under 43 inches. The major population corridor from Washington, DC to Boston, MA was not spared this time as all the big cities got about a foot of snow before a changeover to rain. A rather large amount of thunderstorm activity accompanied the heavy snow. Winds to hurricane force in gusts were widespread. Boston recorded a gust to 81 mph, the highest wind gust at that location since hurricane Edna in 1954. Numerous cities in the south and mid Atlantic states recorded their lowest barometric pressure ever as the storm bottomed out at 960 millibars (28.35 inches) over Chesapeake Bay. Some 208 people were killed by the storm and total damage was estimated at $6 billion-- the costliest extratropical storm in history. (Intellicast)
14 March 1944...A single storm brought a record 21.6 inches of snow to Salt Lake City UT. (The Weather Channel)
14 March 1960...Northern Georgia was between snowstorms. Gainesville GA received 17 inches of snow during the month, and reported at least a trace of snow on the ground on 22 days in March. Snow was on roofs in Hartwell, GA from the 2nd to the 29th. (The Weather Channel)
15 March 1952...Over 72 (73.62) inches of rain fell on Cilaos, Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean, the greatest global 24-hour total rainfall. (The Weather Doctor)
15 March 1988...More than one hundred hours of continuous snow finally came to an end at Marquette MI, during which time the city was buried under 43 inches of snow. Unseasonably cold weather prevailed in the southeastern U.S., with forty-one cities reporting record low temperatures for the date. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
16 March 1889...A war between the U.S. and Germany was likely averted as a hurricane sank all three U.S. and three German warships in the harbor at Apia, Samoa. Joint U.S., German and Samoan rescue efforts led to the Treaty of Berlin (1889) that later settled the dispute. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
16 March 1975...A single storm brought 119 inches of snow to Crater Lake OR establishing a state record. (The Weather Channel)
16 March 1987...Softball-size hail caused millions of dollars damage to automobiles at Del Rio TX. Three persons were injured when hailstones crashed through a shopping mall skylight. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
16 March 1989...A winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to the southwestern U.S. Winds gusted to 60 mph at Lovelock NV, Salt Lake City UT, and Fort Carson CO. Snow fell at a rate of three inches per hour in the Lake Tahoe area of Nevada. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
17 March 1878...Late-winter thunderstorm produced thunder that boomed like cannon fire in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A lightning bolt entered a home, hurling a young woman sitting at the family piano across the room. (The Weather Doctor)
17 March 1993...A natural dam formed by a landslide three years earlier collapsed because of runoff from rainfall. A wall of water, debris and mud measuring 3 feet high by 45 feet wide crossed I-15 20 miles south of Cedar City, UT. Four injuries were sustained as several vehicles were rolled or tipped over. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
17 March 1998...Calgary, Alberta experienced its worst March snowstorm in 113 years, measuring 13 inches of snow at the airport and from 15 to 18 inches in other parts of the city. (The Weather Doctor)