WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Eight: 19-23 March 2007

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Impact from two tropical cyclones seen from space -- Two images made a week apart by the MODIS sensor onboard NASA's Terra satellite of the northern coast of Western Australia graphically shows some of the impact that land-falling Tropical Cyclones George and Jacob had on the region. Torrential rains from these cyclones (equivalent to hurricanes) flooded the DeGrey River, which can be distinguished easily on the later image. The semi-arid region also experienced rapid and widespread plant growth that can also be seen. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Study is conducted to minimize effects of catastrophic urban floods -- Researchers with the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, along with National Weather Service hydrologists and forecasters, have been conducting a study called the "Hydrometeorology Testbed" that involves the monitoring of the atmospheric and hydrologic conditions along the American River basin from Reno, NV to Sacramento. CA in an attempt to improve prediction of heavy winter precipitation events and allow water resource managers to avert catastrophic urban flooding of the river near California's capital city. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) An improved CryoSat-2 satellite is under development -- The European Space Agency is building a new satellite, CryoSat-2, that will replace the original CryoSat satellite lost during launch in 2005. This new satellite, with some significant improvements, is to be built in three years and will be used to assess the changes in sea ice cover in polar regions. [ESA]
(Thurs.) Recycled water to help satisfy Singapore's water demand -- Governmental officials in Singapore attending the opening of the country's fourth water recycling plant claim that water recycled from sewage should meet one third of its water needs by 2011, with the aim to reduce the dependency upon neighboring Malaysia. [ENN]
(Thurs.) Major earthquake did not create a large tsunami for a reason -- Seismologists at Washington University in St. Louis and in Australia, Japan and Tonga explained that a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Tonga on 3 May 2006 generated a minimal tsunami because the nature of the slab-tear earthquake is different from the shallow-thrust earthquakes that usually produce the larger tsunamis. [Washington University in St. Louis]
(Thurs.) Long-term climate record found -- An international team of scientists are beginning to analyze a pollen and sediment cores extracted from Turkey's Lake Van that could provide a year-by-year record of the climate extending back 500,000 years. The researchers think that they can find where the climate may have changed dramatically over as quickly as two decades. [EurekAlert!]
(Wed.) World Water Day to be celebrated -- Thursday, 22 March 2007, has been designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as the annual World Water Day, with this year's theme "Coping with Water Scarcity", highlighting the increased significance concerning scarcity of water worldwide and the need for increased cooperation for effective water management on all levels from local through international. Observance of World Water Day around the world arose from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. [UN-Water]
(Tues.) Tropical rainforests studied from space -- A professor at Boston University and colleagues have been using imagery from NASA satellites to study the Amazon rainforests. They found that the green leaf area in the forests increases during the dry season, due to more sunlight and is not completely evergreen. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) A review of winter 2006-2007 -- Scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center recently announced that based upon their preliminary analysis of the weather data collected to date on the just concluded meteorological winter season (the three months extending from December 2006 through February 2007) the national average winter temperature (33.6 degrees Fahrenheit) was slightly above the 20th century average national winter temperature (33.0 degrees Fahrenheit). Those states along the Eastern Seaboard and along the US-Canadian border had above average winter temperatures, while the southern Plains and southern Rockies had below average temperatures for the three-month meteorological winter of 2006-2007. States in the central Plains and the Midwest had above average winter precipitation, with Kansas and Nebraska experiencing their second wettest December-February period since 1895. Those states across the Southeast, the Eastern Seaboard and to the west of the Rockies experienced a dry winter, with Tennessee and Alabama experiencing much below average precipitation. The global average temperature was the highest on record for this three-month interval. The scientists noted that recent El Niño conditions appear to have contributed to these record temperatures. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Floridians have water restrictions -- A drought that has caused the level of Lake Okeechobee to fall to near record low levels has forced the South Florida Water Management District to impose mandatory water restrictions on the 16 counties over which it governs. [Miami Herald]
(Tues.) Pollution from Eurasia dirties the Arctic -- French researchers report that air pollution from Europe and Russia has spread across the Arctic basin in the form of a brown haze that has contributed to the documented warming of the region. [ENN] In a separate study, researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography have found that soot and other particulates from Asia comprise approximately three-quarters of the black carbon transported to polar latitudes. These researchers claim that this black carbon is a significant factor in Pacific Ocean climate. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography]
(Tues.) Amount of water near Martian south pole estimated -- According to scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Rome "La Sapienza," data collected by the radar instrument on the Mars Express mission indicate that the amount of water contained in frozen layers near Mar's south pole would be equivalent to a liquid layer of approximately 11 meters depth covering the planet. [EurekAlert!]
Becoming AWARE -- The National Weather Service has announced that this coming week (19-25 March 2007) has been declared Flood Safety Week across the nation in an attempt to raise the public's awareness of the dangers of flooding, as well as the suggested means to protect life and property. A website for flood safety has also been posted at http://www.weather.gov/floodsafety/. In addition, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia have also identified this coming week as Flood Awareness Week in their respective states.
Ice cover changes rapidly on Lake Erie -- Two images made within a span of four days by the MODIS sensor onboard NASA's Aqua satellite shows the transformation from an essentially ice-covered Lake Erie to a lake that had few ice floes. Only four days prior to the first image of an ice covered lake, the lake had also been relatively open. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Another tropical cyclone hits Madagascar -- An image obtained from the MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite shows Tropical Cyclone Indlala off the coast of Madagascar late last week. This tropical cyclone, the Indian Ocean's counterpart of a hurricane, reached category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale and marks the fourth land-falling tropical cyclone in the last four months. [Editor's note: Since this low pressure system is in the Southern Hemisphere, the circulation as indicated by the clouds in the spiral bands is in a clockwise direction, opposite the circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. EJH] [NASA Earth Observatory] A wider view is also provided for perspective. [NOAA OSEI]
Official spring outlook released -- NOAA scientists at the Climate Prediction Center recently issued their official spring outlook running from April through June 2007. Of immediate concern was the above average flood risk across sections of the Midwest and the Plains where above average temperatures where causing a rapid snowmelt. These scientists consider that much of the nation west of the Mississippi River, along with the eastern Gulf Coast states, appears to have a better than even chance of experiencing above average temperatures, with the Southwest having the greatest chance. However, they indicated that the northeast quadrant of the nation, along with Pacific Coast, would have equal chances of having above or below average spring temperatures. The outlook for spring precipitation indicates that while much of the country would have approximately equal chances of above or below average precipitation, the western Gulf Coast and the Great Basin appear to stand a greater than even chance of having a dry spring. This forecast does not bode well for the Seasonal Drought Outlook that would indicate that the drought across the Southwest, along with the Southeast, would persist or intensify. Some improvement in the drought situation was foreseen across sections of the Plains and the Upper Midwest. [NOAA News]
Los Angeles headed for driest water year on record -- Meteorologists in southern California report that as of early March, the Downtown Los Angeles weather station has received only 2.42 inches of rain during the current water year that started last 1 July, which stands as a record low rainfall total since official records began in 1877. Water managers, fire officials and those involved with agriculture are concerned because current outlooks would indicate that the dry conditions should continue for much of the remainder of this water year that runs through the end of June. [US Water News Online] The National Weather Service Forecast Office at Oxnard, CA has posted two Public Information Statements (PNS) in pdf format that places the lack of precipitation during the current rainy season in historical perspective. [NWSFO Los Angeles/Oxnard PNS-1 and PNS-2] An image obtained from the polar-orbiting NOAA-18 satellite shows smoke from a wildfire near Anaheim in the Los Angeles Basin being carried out over the Pacific Ocean on northeast winds. Wildfires in the region have been caused by the record dry weather and above average temperatures and fanned by Santa Ana winds that fan out across the basin. [NOAA OSEI]
NOAA's involvement in International Polar Year is highlighted -- The NOAA Magazine has highlighted current research and support efforts made by NOAA personnel as part of the national involvement with the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2009 that officially started on 1 March and represents a two-year research effort by the international scientific community to understand the environment of polar regions and their effect upon climate. [NOAA Magazine]
Great Lakes cleanup plan may get Congressional attention -- Members of the US House of Representatives and the Senate from the Great Lakes States have outlined a proposal that would allocate $20 billion to improve water quality, restore fish and wildlife and guard against invasive species that could inflict economic pain on the region. [US Water News Online]
Antarctic glaciers have been threatened by warmer ocean -- Scientists from University of Edinburgh and University College London have identified four Antarctic glaciers that could continue to melt rapidly as global ocean temperatures rise. These researchers claim that these four glaciers could pose a threat to future sea level rises. [EurekAlert!]
A "cascade of climate change" could occur with decline of Arctic sea ice -- A study at the University of Colorado-Boulder based upon analysis of approximately 28 years of satellite observations of sea ice cover warns that within several decades, a dwindling areal extent of Arctic sea ice could read a tipping point that could trigger a "cascade of climate change" that could extending into midlatitudes. [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 -- Dr. Michael Passow, DataStreme Peer Trainer from Englewood, NJ, reported on the winter storm that moved through the New York metropolitan area and much of New England on Friday and Saturday. He said his area of northern New Jersey, received between four and six inches of snow. The ice pellets and freezing rain mixed with the snow, made for some of the most difficult shoveling in many years. Mike noted that snowblowers could not handle the dense, frozen solid snow and ice, so it had to be chopped into smaller blocks before scooping it off to the side. He finally said that only two days before the storm, area temperatures were in the upper 60s, leading an intrepid kayaker to enjoy the season's first paddle on the Hudson River.

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:

19 March 1964...Up to 39 inches of snow fell at Cape Whittle for Quebec's greatest one-day snow total. (The Weather Doctor)
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)

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