Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES PREVIEW WEEK: 14-18 January 2008

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Improvement in the Sierra snowpack -- Recent winter storms traveling across the Pacific Ocean and reaching the California coast have brought significant amounts of humid air in the Golden State, resulting in large amounts of snow along the Sierras. This snowpack appears to help ease the drought conditions across the West. [USA Today] Images obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites document the snowpack that was developing across California's high Sierras and adjacent sections of Nevada. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) A potential "drought buster" Down Under -- An image of the rainfall across coastal sections of eastern Australia's Queensland made from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite shows the localized nature of the heavy rain that fell during the first week of the year across the parched region that had been experiencing a multi-year drought. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Tracking Indonesian rains -- An image generated by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Precipitation Analysis using data collected from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite shows the locally heavy rainfall totals across Indonesia during the last week of December 2007. These torrential rains produced flooding and landslides that were responsible for over 110 fatalities. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Tues.) Thin new ice replaces older Arctic sea ice -- Using satellite data that commenced in 1982, researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that during the record summer of 2007, thin sea ice has replaced the thicker multi seasonal ice cover. Thin ice could cause a more rapid summer melt across the basin. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Race to study melting tropical glaciers -- The noted glaciologist Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University and his wife Ellen Mosley-Thompson, a climatologist, have been attempting to obtain ice cores from rapidly melting tropical glaciers at many far-flung locations, such as on New Guinea, Tibet and in east Africa, in an effort to determine the climate history from these ice cores. They are hoping to document the history of El Niño events associated with anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regimes. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Ancient glaciers could have existed on a warm early planet -- A group of scientists from the US and Europe claim that they found evidence supporting relatively large ice sheets approximately 91 million years ago during the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, an otherwise warm period when alligators lived in the Arctic. [EurekAlert!] [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) La Niña is expected to continue -- Forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center recently claimed that the atmospheric and oceanic conditions associated with what is called a La Niña event should continue into spring, resulting in the possibility of above average precipitation across the northern Rockies, but dry conditions across the Southeast. A La Niña event typically includes sufficiently strong winds from the east across the equatorial Pacific to result in below average sea surface temperatures. [USA Today]
(Tues.) Could forest productivity efforts affect water quality -- Hydrologists at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas have voiced concern that increased fertilization of forests across the southeastern United States during the last decade of the 20th century to increase the forest productivity could degrade the water quality unless improved management practices are used. [EurekAlert!]
Eye on the Tropics -- A tropical cyclone (low pressure system that forms over a tropical ocean basin) developed late last week over the South Pacific near Fiji. This system, identified as Tropical Cyclone Elisa, moved to the southeast and weakened after one day, with maximum sustained surface winds reaching 45 mph. An image from the sensors on the Japanese MTSAT satellite shows the clouds surrounding this storm system. [NOAA OSEI] [Editor's note: Since this cyclone is in the southern hemisphere, the swirl of clouds that serve as tracers of the winds appears to be clockwise, which is opposite the cloud swirls and winds surrounding northern hemisphere systems. EJH]
In the western North Pacific basin, the first tropical depression of the year formed over the South China Sea west of the Philippines on Sunday (local time). This low pressure system was identified as Tropical Depression-1W and was moving westward.
Tropical Cyclone Helen traveled across the Gulf of Carpentaria last weekend and brought torrential rain to northern Australia. An image generated by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Multi- satellite Precipitation Analysis from data collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite shows the rainfall pattern across the coastal region from Western Australia to the York Peninsula. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Snow in Iraq's capital -- Light snow fell across Baghdad late last week, which marked the first time snow fell in Iraq's capital city in nearly 100 years. Below average temperatures were also reported across the region. [USA Today] A MODIS sensor on one of the NASA satellites captured an image of the historic snow that covered the ground across sections of Iraq and Syria. [NOAA OSEI]
Early floods detected across southern Africa -- Comparison of MODIS images gathered sensors aboard NASA's Aqua satellite in late November 2007 and early January 2008 shows how rivers, lakes and reservoirs flooded across southern Africa due to heavy austral summer rains that came earlier than usual. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Caution should be exercised in iron fertilization efforts -- Scientists from the US, Japan, New Zealand, India and Europe warned that more additional experiments were needed to assess the effectiveness of iron fertilization of ocean waters as a means of reducing the release of carbon compounds in the atmosphere. Uncertainty remains in how this carbon offset effort could affect the marine ecosystem. [EurekAlert!]
Mercury and arsenic levels in Chinese aquatic ecosystem is alarming -- Researchers from Dartmouth College have found levels of mercury and arsenic that could be dangerously high in the waters of Lake Baiyangdian, one of China's large lakes that provides drinking water and food for residents of the North China Plain. [Dartmouth College News]
New concerns voiced over new dam in China -- Experts are concerned that a combination of landslides, pollution and migration could cause problems at China's new Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, putting millions of residents that live around the project. [US Water News Online]
Historic image made of a Brazilian reservoir -- NASA recently released a photograph taken by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station that marked the 300,000th image of Earth taken from that orbiting spacecraft. This image was of region surrounding Brazil's São Simão Reservoir and shows a mosaic of agricultural and recreational activities that surround this reservoir. [NASA Earth Observatory]
New theories developed for vent dynamics below ocean floor -- Seismologists have been collecting data from below the floor of the North Pacific Ocean off the Mexican coast to create a new model of the hydrothermal-vent system that helps produce "black smoker " vents. [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: Touring the DataStreme WES website

Welcome to DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES)! You are embarking on a unique teacher-enhancement experience that focuses on water and energy flow in the global water cycle from an Earth system perspective. Throughout this learning experience, you will be accessing the DataStreme WES website frequently to obtain and interpret a variety of environmental information, including the latest observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DataStreme WES website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Water News that includes Water in the News(a summary listing of current events related to water), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to water in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past hydrologic events such as major floods). When appropriate, Supplemental Information will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DataStreme WES website to access and download the second part of weekly Investigations A & B (plus supporting images) that begin in your DataStreme WES Investigations Manual. These materials should be available by noon (Eastern Time) on Tuesday and Thursday. Click the appropriate buttons to download and print these electronic components of the investigations as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the DataStreme WES website provides links to the Earth System, Atmospheric, Oceanic (and Inland Seas), and Terrestrial Information, and extras--glossaries of terms, maps, educational links, and WES information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let's take a quick tour to become more familiar with the WES website.

Under Atmospheric Information, click on Water vapor (WV) Satellite. This is the latest satellite depiction of atmospheric water vapor at altitudes generally between 3000 and 7000 m (10,000 to 24,000 ft). Press your "back" button and then click on Latest WV Animation to view the movement of water vapor and clouds in the atmosphere. Although water vapor is an invisible gas, satellite technology makes it possible for us to "see" and follow the flow of water vapor in the atmosphere as part of the global water cycle. Bright white blotches are clouds; black indicates areas of very little or no water vapor and, at the other extreme, milky white signals a relatively high concentration of water vapor. Use the "back" button on your viewer to return to the DataStreme WES website.

The flow and transformations of energy are fundamental aspects of the global water cycle. Heat flows within the Earth system from where it is warmer to where it is colder. In this regard, it is useful to monitor temperatures remotely, by satellite. For a global view of the satellite-derived pattern of sea-surface temperatures, click on Sea Surface Temperatures under Oceanic (and Inland Seas) Information. Note that the color scale at the bottom is in degrees Celsius and temperatures are averaged over a 7-day period. (Depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Return to the DataStreme WES website.

As part of the global water cycle, precipitation that reaches the ground vaporizes back into the atmosphere, runs off into rivers and streams, seeps into the ground, or is stored in lakes or glaciers. Under Terrestrial Information, click on River Flood Conditions for the recent status of river levels monitored at various gauging stations around the nation. Note that in the Map Legend, river stages are rated from "no flooding" to "major flooding" using a color code. Now return to the DataStreme WES website.

Extras include color photographs arranged by week (chapter) to supplement your study of the DataStreme WES textbook. For example, click on Chapter 1 and then click on the first thumbnail for an enlarged image with the caption, "Water in Three Phases."

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the DataStreme WES website. You may want to "bookmark" this page on your computer. Return frequently to get into the flow of DataStreme WES!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest WV Animation indicates that clouds and water vapor generally move from [(west to east)(east to west)] across the nation.
In the tropical Pacific, the highest sea-surface temperatures occur in the [(western)(eastern)] portion of the ocean basin.

Historical Events

14 January 1863...The greatest snowstorm of record for Cincinnati OH commenced, and a day later twenty inches of snow covered the ground. That total has remained far above the modern day record for Cincinnati of eleven inches of snow in one storm. (David Ludlum)
14 January 1882...Southern California's greatest snow occurred on this date. Fifteen inches blanketed San Bernardino and even San Diego reported a trace of snow. (David Ludlum)
14 January 1979...Chicago IL was in the midst of their second heaviest snow of record as, in thirty hours, the city was buried under 20.7 inches of snow. The twenty-nine inch snow cover following the storm was an all-time record for Chicago. (David Ludlum)
14 January 1989...A winter storm spread snow and sleet and freezing rain from the Middle Mississippi Valley to the northeastern U.S. Freezing rain in West Virginia caused fifteen traffic accidents in just a few minutes west of Charleston. Tennessee was deluged with up to 7.5 inches of rain. Two inches of rain near Clarksville TN left water in the streets as high as car doors.
15 January 1932...Up to two inches of snow whitened the Los Angeles basin of California. The Los Angeles Civic Center reported an inch of snow, and even the beaches of Santa Monica were whitened with snow, in what proved to be a record snowstorm for Los Angeles. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
15 January 1952...A six-day snowstorm was in progress in the western U.S. The storm produced 44 inches of snow at Marlette Lake, NV, 52 inches at Sun Valley, ID and 149 inches at Tahoe CA, establishing single storm records for each of those three states. In addition, 24-hour snowfall totals of 22 inches at the University of Nevada and 26 inches at Arco, ID established records for those two states. The streamliner, 'City of San Francisco' was snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Range, near Donner Summit. (David Ludlum)
15 January 1988...A small storm over the Atlantic Ocean produced heavy snow along the coast of North Carolina. The five inch total at Wilmington NC was their third highest for any storm in January in 117 years of records. (National Weather Summary)
16 January 1831...A great snowstorm raged from Georgia to Maine. Snowfall totals greater than 30 inches were reported from Pennsylvania across southern New England. (David Ludlum)
16-17 January 1987...A winter storm spread snow from the Southern Rockies into the Middle Mississippi Valley and southwestern sections of the Great Lakes Region. A total of 61 inches of snow was reported at Rye CO and wind gusts to 100 mph in Utah. As the storm moved across the southern Plains, Tulia, TX received 16 inches of snow, up to 14 inches were reported in western Oklahoma and 12 inches fell at Wellington, KS. The storm also produced freezing rain across Texas and Oklahoma. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
16 January 1988...A small storm in the western U.S. produced a foot of snow and wind gusts to 70 mph in the Lake Tahoe Basin of Nevada. Showers and thunderstorms produced 2.28 inches of rain at Brownsville TX, their third highest total for any day in January. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
16 January 1990...Heavy snow fell across the Prince Williams Sound area and the Susitna Valley of southern Alaska. Valdez was buried under 64.9 inches of snow in less than two days, including a record 47.5 inches in 24 hours. Up to 44 inches of snow was reported in the Susitna Valley. The heavy snow blocked roads, closed schools, and sank half a dozen vessels in the harbor. (Storm Data)
17 January 1972...A single storm unloaded 77.5 inches of snow at Summit, MT to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)
18-22 January 1978...The Atlantic's first-ever January subtropical storm with tropical characteristics since records began in 1871 organized 1500 miles east-northeast of Puerto Rico. The storm finally dissipated on the 22nd approximately 200 miles north of Puerto Rico. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
19 January 1996...The tug Scandia and its barge, the North Cape, ran aground on the shore of Rhode Island, spilling 828,000 gallons of oil, resulting in the worst spill in that state's history. The Coast Guard rescued the entire crew, pumped off 1.5 million gallons of oil and conducted skimming operations. (USCG Historian's Office)
20 January 1493...Streets in Florence, Italy were blocked by snow and violent winds as a blizzard struck the city. (The Weather Doctor)
20 January 1606...As many as 2000 people died around the Severn Estuary in England as the result of severe flooding. (The Weather Doctor)