WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Eleven: 9-13 April 2007

Water in the News:

• (Thurs.) Arctic sea ice replacement was small in 2005 -- A study by NASA researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that satellite surveillance of the Arctic perennial ice by such instruments as NASA's QuikScat scatterometer indicates that very little replenishment of this sea ice occurred during 2005. The small annual replenishment of the perennial sea ice could have consequences as to the maintenance of the summer ice cover. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• (Thurs.) Arctic sea ice extent misses record in winter 2007 -- Researchers with the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder report their analysis of satellite data in March 2007 indicates that the maximum extent of Arctic sea ice in winter 2007 was the second lowest in the satellite period of record beginning in 1979, only slightly greater than the 2006 record minimum. [EurekAlert!]
• (Thurs.) Expedition to study motion of Arctic sea ice -- Researchers, including a woman from the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, are spending two weeks at the U.S. Navy ice camp in the Beaufort Sea monitoring the movement of sea ice, along with other sea ice properties, in an attempt to improve climate models. [University of Alaska Fairbanks] This expedition also permits K-12 students to participate and gain field research experience through the National Science Foundation’s PolarTREC program; a high school teacher from Vermont will join the researchers on the expedition and will relay the events and experiences at www.polartrec.com/sedna-ice-camp/overview.
• (Thurs.) New deep-sea observatory becomes connected -- A 32-mile long submarine cable is being laid along the floor of California's Monterey Bay to power and communicate with a new deep-sea instrumented observatory that the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is building to obtain oceanographic data. [Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute]
• (Tues.) Tsunami warning system capability expanded -- NOAA officials recently announced the deployment of three new DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys that are to be deployed off the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean as part of an effort to increase the US tsunami warning capability. [NOAA News]
• (Tues.) New technology intended to increase effectiveness of tsunami warning systems -- Scientists at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno have been compiling data on seismological events around the world in an attempt to develop a means for assessing nearly-real time data collected from the Global Positioning System so as to improve the tsunami warning system. [EurekAlert!]
• (Tues.) Baltic area snowmelt monitored by satellite -- As a part of the European Space Agency's Polar View program, the Finnish Environment Institute is using data obtained from the Agency's orbiting satellites to generate snow maps of the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea this spring to monitor the snowpack and assess the snow melting process, thereby helping local authorities manage water supplies and prepare for potential spring floods. [ESA]
• (Tues.) New Michigan ballast-water law is challenged -- A coalition of shipping and industrial interests from the US, Canada and Barbados is suing the State of Michigan in Federal Court, claiming that the new ballast-water law imposed by the state on ocean going freighters on the Great Lakes is unconstitutional. [US Water News Online]
• Second part of IPCC Report released -- Amidst controversy between scientists and governments, the second part of the four-part report entitled "Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released last Friday. This part of the IPCC report, which follows the first part issued in early February, explains what the effects of the projected increases in global temperatures during the rest of the century would have upon societies and ecosystems, as well as upon the hydrologic cycle. Adaptation and vulnerability of these systems to climatic change are also addressed.
  • The distilled version of this portion of the IPCC report, a 21-page summary for policymakers, is available in pdf format. [IPCC]
  • The controversy between scientists and governmental officials to sections of this report are detailed. [USA Today]
  • Scientists and researchers with NOAA, along with colleagues in a variety of institutions that received NOAA-funding have contributed environmental data, research results and expertise to this just-released section of the IPCC report. [NOAA News]
  • Environmental scientists associated with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme urge the development and use of new evaluation to help humans adapt to the impacts associated with global climate change outlined in the second part of the IPCC report. [EurekAlert!]
• Tropical cyclone update -- While the official hurricane seasons in the eastern North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans are more than six weeks away, tropical cyclones have been detected last week in other ocean basins:
  • In the western North Pacific, Typhoon Kong-Rey, a Category 2 typhoon (North Pacific equivalent to a hurricane) on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, was detected moving to the northwest near Saipan early last week by the MODIS instrument on a NASA satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
  • In the western South Pacific, at least one person was killed in northeast Fiji by Tropical Cyclone Cliff (equivalent to a tropical storm). [USA Today]
  • In the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Jaya, a Category 3 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, was observed to be moving westward near Madagascar by the MODIS instrument on a NASA satellite. [NOAA OSEI]
• Hurricane forecasts -- Hurricane expert, Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University, recently released a forecast that the upcoming 2006 hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin should be more active than normal, with 17 named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that develop over tropical waters and reach tropical storm or hurricane strength). Of these systems, nine could become hurricanes, with five possibly reaching major hurricane status (Category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). [USA Today] The National Hurricane Center director, Bill Proenza, also noted that the upcoming hurricane season in the Atlantic could be more active that normal. [USA Today]
• Update on deadly tsunami in the Solomon Islands -- The tsunami that radiated outward across the western Pacific Ocean following a magnitude 8 earthquake near the Solomon Islands over one week ago caused death and extensive destruction to these islands.
  • Reports nearly one week after the disaster indicate that as many as 34 people were killed and 7000 people remained homeless. As many as 30,000 children could be affected by potentially fatal cases of diarrhea and dysentery due to the lack of potable water. [CNN]
  • Additional maps and detailed information concerning the earthquake and ensuing tsunami can be found on the Earthquake Hazards Program website maintained by the US Geological Survey. [USGS]
  • An image from the Landsat-7 satellite shows the Solomon Islands where the tsunami-producing earthquake occurred. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Iraqi children hurt by lack of safe water -- The UN reported that a shortage of drinking water in Iraq could increase the incidence of diarrhea, a major killer of children in that country. [US Water News Online]
• Proper accounting of global carbon budget requires attention to inland waters -- A team of international scientists participating with the National Center for Ecological Assessment and Synthesis reported on their analysis that inland water bodies are important carbon reservoirs and sites of terrestrial carbon transformation that deserve inclusion in global carbon cycle assessments. [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.

Concept of the Week: Desertification

Desertification is one of the world's most pressing environmental issues, threatening the existence of more than a billion people who depend on the land for survival. In 1992, the United Nation's Conference on Environment and Development defined desertification as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climate variations and human activities." Through desertification, arable land is transformed into desert-like land, greatly reducing or eliminating the land's capacity to produce food. Desertification's impact on people dependent on subsistence farming and herding is food insecurity. Often, their only option to avoid famine is to migrate to urban areas.

According to U.N. estimates, desertification affects about 130 million hectares (320 million acres) of land worldwide, equivalent to the combined areas of France, Italy, and Spain. Portions of some 110 nations are impacted, including parts of the North American Great Plains, the Pampas of South America, the steppes of Asia, the Australia's "outback," and the edges of the Mediterranean. But by far the most widespread and severe impact is in Africa, where two-thirds of the continent's land area is desert or dry land. Almost three-quarters of Africa's dry-land agricultural area is degraded to some extent. Desertification is a very serious problem in Sub-Saharan Africa with its considerable year-to-year variability in seasonal rainfall and frequent long-term droughts (described on pages 83-84 of the DataStreme WES Textbook).

The systems approach is valuable in understanding desertification in that the process involves interactions of climate, Earth's land surface, the water cycle, and human activity. Desertification of dry lands accelerates during prolonged drought. Climate change can alter the frequency, duration, and intensity of drought and thereby contribute to soil desiccation. Although climate change may play an important role in desertification, a key factor is human mismanagement of the soil resource. Poverty and subsistence agriculture drive people to over-cultivate the land, quickly exhausting the soil's fertility. Overgrazing by livestock and deforestation exacerbate an already bad situation by removing the protective vegetative cover and exposing the topsoil to erosion by wind and running water. Winds can transport fine topsoil thousands of kilometers and sandstorms strip the leaves from plants and bury crops under dunes.

Land mismanagement also impacts the local climate and water budget, speeding up desertification. Without a vegetative cover, soil surface temperatures rise, accelerating evaporation of water, depletion of soil moisture, and build up of salts in the soil. Less soil moisture means that more of the available heat is used for raising the air temperature through conduction and convection (i.e., sensible heating). In this way heat stress combines with moisture stress to cut into crop yields.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. Through desertification, crop productivity [(declines) (increases)].
2. Human mismanagement of the soil resource [(is) (is not)] a key factor in desertification.

Historical Events:

• 9 April 1977...A storm brought 15.50 in. of rain to Jolo, WV in thirty hours. (The Weather Channel)
• 9-13 April 1991...A 3-mile long ice jam on the St. Johns River in Maine broke up, resulting in a 30-foot wall of ice. The ice crushed cars and destroyed bridges and houses. In Allagash, the sight was described as "surreal" -- "like walking on the moon." (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 9 April 2000...A record April snowfall of 14.6 in. shut down Montreal, Quebec. Snow removal contracts had ended on 1 April. (The Weather Doctor)
• 10 April 1877...The first of two great coastal storms struck the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. The Oregon Inlet was widened by three-quarters of a mile. The "entire topography of country is materially altered," according to a description of the altering of sand dunes at Cape Hatteras, NC. (Intellicast)
• 10 April 1996...A strong coastal storm gave New England is second heavy snowfall in only 3 days. North Foster, RI was buried under 21.5 inches of snow, while Jaffery, NH measured 21 inches. Other heavy totals included 27.4 inches on Mount Washington, NH, 20.1 inches at Ashburnham, MA, 17 inches at Windham, CT, and 12.6 inches at Brookhaven, NY. Tree damage was extensive due the heavy, wet nature of the snow. This storm took care of the remaining seasonal snowfall records as records were exceeded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA, Worcester, MA, Concord, NH, and Bridgeport, CT. Many locations in the northeast now exceeded 120 inches for the winter season, with a few locations over 150 inches, making the winter of 1995-96 without question the snowiest winter on record for a large part of the Northeast. (Intellicast)
• 10 April 1998...Northeast winds at 40 mph on the 9^th and 10^th combined with high levels of Lake Erie produced waves to 14 feet along the lakeshore in Ottawa and Sandusky Counties in Ohio. Much damage resulted, along with the destruction of 10 houses. Bulldozers were needed to clear the debris from roads. Downtown Port Clinton streets were flooded. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 11-14 April 1984...Ice from an ice storm accumulated up to 6 inches thick on power lines in St John's, Newfoundland. Power outages left 200,000 residents of Avalon Peninsula in the dark and cold. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 April 1987...Ten days of flooding in the northeastern U.S. finally came to an end. Damage from flooding due to rain and snowmelt ran into the billions of dollars. The collapse of the New York State Thruway Bridge over Schoharie Creek claimed ten lives. (Storm Data)
• 12 April 1994...While hiking in a nearly dry creek near Laie, HI, a group of Boy Scouts was surprised by a rapid 2 to 4 foot rise in water. One boy was swept away by the flash flood. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 14-15 April 1912...The British steamer RMS Titanic sank following its collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland on its maiden voyage from South Hampton to New York. The collision occurred at about 11:45 PM on 14 April and the ship sank in 2.5 hours during the early morning hours of the 15^th. Reports showed 1517 people out of 2207 onboard lost their lives in this accident. As a result of this disaster, an International Ice Patrol was established to monitor the iceberg hazards in the North Atlantic. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to conduct much of the effort. (US Coast Guard Historian's Office)
• 14 April 1986...The world's heaviest hailstone, weighing 2.25 pounds, fell in the Gopalganj District of Bangladesh and killed 92. This hailstone could have reached speeds in excess of 90 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (Wikipedia)
• 15 April 1921...Two-mile high Silver Lake (elevation 10,220 ft) in Boulder County, Colorado received 76 in. of snow in 24 hrs, the heaviest 24-hr total of record for North America. The storm left a total of 87 in. in twenty-seven and a half hours. (David Ludlum)

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Prepared by AMS DataStreme WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2007, The American Meteorological Society.