WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Twelve: 16-20 April 2007

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Monitoring the South African drought -- An image of the vegetation anomaly for March 2007 across southern Africa generated from data obtained from the SPOT satellite shows the extensive crop damage due to the drought and high temperatures across the region. The 2007 vegetation anomaly compares the vegetation conditions for last month with the average conditions between 1999 and 2006. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) A major wildfire season foreseen for Nevada -- State and federal fire officials recently warned that a combination of a dry winter and the outlook for a hot summer could result in an extreme wildfire season in Nevada. [USA Today]
(Thurs.) Rivers in Southeast Asia are fouled -- Environmental experts report that economic development across Viet Nam has produced sufficient pollution to make several rivers near Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) near unsuited for agricultural or domestic use. [ENN]
(Thurs.) Surveying arctic ice with a zeppelin -- A French physician has proposed a project to be developed by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research that would have a zeppelin airship equipped with sensors designed to measure ice thickness make a crossing of the Arctic Ocean from northern Canada over the North Pole to Siberia. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Floods in Argentina -- Two images made from data collected from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite made in January and April 2007 show the effects of the flooding in Argentina due to torrential rain during the last three months. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Satellite coverage of South America increased -- NOAA's GOES-10 satellite was repositioned in its geosynchronous orbit of the Earth to a new equatorial position over South America to provide residents of that continent with improved satellite coverage that would lessen the effects of natural disasters as part of the cooperation between NOAA in the US and counterpart agencies and organizations across the Americas as part of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Madagascar receives a soaking -- Recent images obtained from sensors on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite show the precipitation accumulated between 1 December 2006 and 5 April 2007 and the precipitation anomaly (difference between observed and average precipitation for the corresponding 1996 to 2006 interval) across Madagascar. Excessive precipitation across this region was the result of four tropical cyclones that drenched the island, the most recent making landfall in early April 2007. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Portrait of a potent midlatitude storm -- A visible image obtained from NOAA's GOES-11 satellite shows a major extratropical cyclone moving from the North Pacific toward the Gulf of Alaska and the Alaska coast late last week. This storm ultimately brought heavy precipitation and windy weather to the Pacific coast, from Alaska southward to Oregon. [NOAA OSEI]
(Tues.) Venice's future could be at mercy of high tides and climate change -- High tides and rising sea level caused by increased global temperatures could flood Venice, Italy and doom its future unless the complex system of floodgates called MOSE that are scheduled to become operational by 2012 can hold back waters from the Adriatic Sea. [Smithsonian Magazine]
(Tues.) Helping India prepare for sea level rise -- An international team of scientists that includes a coastal sciences professor from Louisiana State University are attempting to help India develop an environmental observation network and policies for coastal sections of that country that would mitigate the problems associated with projected rises in sea level. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Ancient mega-lake discovered in Africa -- Using images from the Landsat and radar data collected by one of the Space Shuttle missions, scientists from Boston University were able to discover a large ancient lake that was located in northwestern Sudan during a time of significantly more precipitation that currently falls across the eastern Sahara section of Africa. [EurekAlert!]
High astronomical tides -- A combination of perigee (closest point in the lunar orbit of the Earth) and syzygy (the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth in a straight line at the time of new moon) on Tuesday should produce very high astronomical tides in most coastal locales.
The 2006 hurricane season reviewed -- The relatively benign 2006 hurricane season in the North Atlantic is reviewed and compared to the historic 2005 season when numerous long-standing records were broken during the most active hurricane season in the North Atlantic in over 150 years of record keeping. In addition to a review of this season in this basin, a review of the eastern North Pacific hurricane season was also made. [AMS DataStreme Atmosphere]
Hurricane awareness tour to commence -- With the approach of the 2007 hurricane season, the Director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center and a senior hurricane specialist will make a six-day and six-city tour of the Caribbean region onboard a US Air Force Reserve "Hurricane Hunter" aircraft to help raise public awareness of the threats associated with hurricanes. [NOAA News]
National Guard inventory not up to strength for hurricane season -- As the 2007 hurricane season approaches, state government officials in Florida are concerned that the inventory of National Guard equipment has been depleted by deployment to southwest Asia, thereby hampering a response to a potential natural disaster in the Sunshine State. [USA Today]
Hurricane forecaster critical of Gore's documentary -- Hurricane expert, Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University, recently criticized former Vice President Al Gore for being "a gross alarmist" in the production of documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Dr. Gray believes that the recent increase in the number of strong hurricanes is part of a long-term cyclic variation in ocean circulation patterns. [US Water News Online]
High altitude polar ice clouds to be studied -- NASA is planning to launch its Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft in one week, which is designed to study noctilucent ice clouds that are found in the mesosphere (between 50 and 85 km altitude) over the polar regions. Since these noctilucent clouds appear to have grown brighter and their occurrence more frequent, some scientists suggest that this change may be related to global climate change. [NASA Earth Observatory] Two of the instruments carried on this satellite have been created by scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder. [EurekAlert!]
San Francisco Bay area residents asked to cut water consumption -- Water managers in communities surrounding central California's San Francisco Bay are requesting residents to cut water consumption by ten percent or otherwise face mandatory water restrictions and rationing this summer because of the low reservoir levels that resulted from one of the driest winter seasons on record. [USA Today]
Coastal disasters due to hurricanes and tsunamis studied -- A research project funded by the National Science Foundation that has been focusing on the coastal erosion caused by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005 has found certain surprising similarities. [EurekAlert!]
Water debate tests Great Lakes compact -- A proposed regional compact that would protect Great Lakes water from being pumped to the water-starved Southwest is undergoing debate in the eight states surrounding the Lakes. [US Water News Online]
Soil erosion in Kenya documented by ancient coral reefs -- A scientist from Stanford University and his colleagues has found that coral reefs in the Indian Ocean can be used a proxy paleoclimatic record since these coral reefs can be used to detect 300 years of soil erosion from Kenya. [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: Change in the Earth System

In 1881, Henri Louis Le Chátelier (1850-1936) formulated a general law of chemistry: "If a system at equilibrium is subjected to a stress, the equilibrium will shift in an attempt to reduce the stress." This reasoning provides insight into the behavior of systems. The interaction of subsystems within the Earth system involves the transfer of mass and energy. A stress or disturbance of a subsystem will thus affect the other subsystems to varying degrees.

The final week of the course is an appropriate occasion for us to revisit and reflect on the paradigm that guided our investigation of water in the Earth system and to consider how this system will react to stresses resulting from both natural and human disturbances.

The global water cycle encompasses the flow of water, energy, and water-borne materials, as well as their interactions with organisms in the Earth system. Water's unique combination of physical and chemical properties, its co-existence as vapor, liquid, and solid within the temperature and pressure ranges found on Earth, and its role as an essential ingredient of life, places it center stage in the interactive functioning of the planet's sub-systems. As the principal atmospheric greenhouse gas, water vapor brings temperatures into the range required for life on Earth. Powered by the sun, the water cycle couples the living and non-living components of Earth into an evolving system. Human activity is an integral and inseparable part of the water cycle, impacting and impacted by both the quantity and quality of water.

The burning of fossil fuels appears to be a major contributor to the increased amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Le Chátelier would describe this anthropogenic increase as a stress on the system. By altering the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activity may be modifying climate on a global scale. The Earth system and its various interdependent subsystems may respond to this disturbance by shifting to a new climate state. The interdependency of Earth's various subsystems and biogeochemical cycles implies that such a shift will have implications for the distribution of water within the global water cycle and for fresh water resources (e.g., changes in glacial ice cover, sea level, drought frequency).

Concept of the Week: Questions

After completing DataStreme WES, I now understand the global water cycle as a flow of [(mass) (energy) (both mass and energy)].
After completing DataStreme WES, I now understand that human activity [(may) (may not)] impact the Earth system with implications for the water cycle and water resources.

Historical Events:

16 April 1851...The famous "Lighthouse Storm" (a "nor'easter") raged near Boston Harbor. Whole gales and gigantic waves destroyed the 116-ft Minot Ledge Light at Cohasset, MA with the loss of its two keepers still inside. The lighthouse was the first one built in the United States that was exposed to the full force of the ocean. The storm coupled with a spring tide resulted in massive flooding, great shipping losses and coastal erosion. Streets in Boston were flooded to the Custom House. (David Ludlum) (US Coast Guard Historians Office) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
16 April 1854...A furious storm that produced two feet of snow at New Brunswick, NJ also caused approximately 18 shipwrecks along the New Jersey coast. The immigrant ship Powhattan beached 100 yards from the shore. With rescue impossible, 340 people onboard lost their lives. "The shrieks of the drowning creatures were melancholy indeed." (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
16 April 1987...A slow moving storm system produced heavy rain over North Carolina and the Middle Atlantic Coastal States. More than six inches of rain drenched parts of Virginia, and flooding in Virginia claimed three lives. Floodwaters along the James River inundated parts of Richmond, VA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
17 April 1942...A deluge of 8.35 in. of rain in only two hours dampened West Palm Beach, FL. (Intellicast)
17 April 1953...One of the few severe hailstorms accompanied by snow, sleet, glaze, and rain, pelted parts of Kay, Osage, Creek, Tulsa, Washington, and Rogers Counties in northeastern Oklahoma late in the day. Nearly 10,000 insurance claims were filed. (The Weather Channel)
17 April 1965...The Mississippi River reached a flood crest at Saint Paul, MN four feet higher than any previous mark. During the next two weeks record levels were reached along the upper Mississippi between Saint Paul and Hannibal, MO. Flooding caused more than $100 million in damage, but timely warnings kept the death toll down to just twelve persons. (David Ludlum)
17 April 1997...The Red River of the North crested at Fargo, ND, with a record crest of 39.6 ft, which is 22.6 ft above flood stage. This record flood, produced by several major winter storms, heavy spring rain, rapid snow melt, and ice jams, was responsible for at least 11 deaths (7 in North Dakota and 4 in Minnesota) and tremendous property damage along with large scale evacuations of residents from the Grand Forks metropolitan area. Dikes along the river gave way. Overall damage and cleanup costs have been estimated to range from $1 to $2 billion in Grand Forks, where a portion of the downtown burned as firefighters had a difficult time reaching the buildings due to the flood. [NCDC]
Editor's Note: "History repeats!" During the second week of April 2001, the Red River at Grand Forks reached a river stage of 45 ft, or approximately 17 ft above flood stage and about 7 ft below the top of the levee. In 1997 this gauge measured a record 54.35 ft. EJH
18 April 2004...A record 182 consecutive days of no measurable precipitation began in San Diego, CA on this date, which ended on 17 October 2004 with 0.09 inches of rain. This new record broke the 181-day record set the previous year. Interestingly, the rain that followed the more recent dry spell resulted in October 2004 becoming San Diego's wettest month on record (4.98 inches). (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
20 April 1952...The tankers Esso Suez and Esso Greensboro crashed in thick fog off the coast of Morgan City, LA. Only five of the Greensboro's crew survived after the ship burst into flame. (David Ludlum)