Weekly Water News

DATASTREME WES WEEK ONE: 21-25 January 2008

Water in the News:

(Thurs.) Tsunami research highlighted -- Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory studying tsunamis have discovered a new method involving the use of NASA's network of global positioning system (GPS) stations that they claim will significantly improve existing tsunami warning systems. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Martian ice clouds affect the Red Planet's surface -- Scientists studying the data collected by the OMEGA Visible and Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer and SPICAM Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer instruments on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express have shown that clouds composed of water ice and carbon dioxide ice in the Martian atmosphere are sufficiently dense to cast a shadow upon the surface, thereby affecting the surface energy budget. [ESA]
(Thurs.) Water demands in Tarheel State studied -- State environmental leaders in North Carolina have been studying the increased demands placed upon the states limited water resources by a rapidly expanding population. [US Water News Online]
(Tues.) Turbidity seen in Persian Gulf waters from space -- An image obtained last November from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows swirls of cloudy tan, blue and green along the coast of the Persian Gulf, which contrast with the otherwise deep blue waters of the Gulf. The cloudy water were produced by sediments that had runoff from the surrounding land or having been churned up by surface winds. [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) A space-age view of an interesting historic lake -- An image made from NASA's Landsat 7 satellite shows Mono Lake and the surrounding area in California, just to the east of the Sierras. One of the interesting features of this lake, which is located in a volcanically active region, is the tufa towers formed along the shore from chemical reactions involving calcium carbonate. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Grant applications for K-12 Environmental Literacy Project are invited -- NOAA's Office of Education is currently accepting applications for environmental literacy projects designed to promote changes in K-12 education. Required pre-proposals need to be submitted by 20 February 2008. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Lakes under Antarctic ice sheet studied -- Scientists from the United Kingdom recently described their initial efforts at exploring the lakes including Lake Ellsworth in west Antarctica that are located under Antarctica's ice sheet. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) West Antarctica ice is diminishing -- Using satellite data, researchers at the United Kingdom's University of Bristol claim that West Antarctica has been losing increasing amounts of ice mass during the last decade, as glaciers are moving faster toward the oceans.. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Greenland experiences extreme ice melt --An international team of scientists from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark and the United States using long-term meteorological and glaciological records has shown that recent summers have been warm and they have been responsible for massive melting of the Greenland ice sheet. [University of Sheffield]
(Tues.) Alaskan glacier accelerates due to internal plumbing -- A study conducted by the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates that the flow of Alaska's Kennicott Glacier has accelerated because melt water and floodwater has percolated through the glacier, affecting the glacier's interior plumbing. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Protecting salmon from sea lions-- The NOAA Fisheries Service is soliciting public comment on four alternatives that have been proposed to deter California sea lions from consuming the salmon and steelhead that congregate below the Bonneville Dam as the fish attempt to swim farther upstream to spawn. [NOAA News]
Eye on the Tropics -- In the South Pacific basin, a tropical cyclone (an organized low pressure system that forms in the tropics) developed late last week to the northeast of Australia. This system intensified to become Tropical Cyclone Funa, a category 3 tropical cyclone (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) before curving initially to the south and then to the southwest. As of late Sunday (local time) Funa was beginning to weaken as it was located to the north of Auckland, New Zealand. An image from the Japanese MTSAT satellite shows the clouds surrounding Tropical Cyclone Funa late last week This image shows the typical swirl of clouds surrounding any tropical cyclone (such as a hurricane) organized around a distinct clear eye. Note that this cloud swirl for a southern hemisphere system is in the opposite direction of the clouds found in typically seen in a northern hemisphere cyclone. [NOAA OSEI]
Small tropical cyclones can relieve a drought-- Researchers at the University of Georgia have analyzed precipitation data collected by instruments onboard NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and have concluded that even weak tropical cyclones, including tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes, can contribute a significant portion of the region's annual precipitation. They argue that the lack of tropical cyclones making landfall across the Southeast during 2006 and 2007 has been in part responsible for the current exceptional drought and that several tropical systems could alleviate the current record Southeast drought. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Snow and clouds across the Northeast --An image obtained from sensors on the NOAA-17 satellite shows the clouds and snow cover across the Northeast and adjacent waters of the North Atlantic associated with a winter storm that traveled along the coast early last week. The bands of clouds that appear to stream toward the southeast (lower right portion of the image) were clouds that developed as cold air streamed from eastern North America over the warm waters of the North Atlantic. [NOAA OSEI]
Weather satellites help rescue people --NOAA polar-orbiting and geosynchronous satellites that monitor the daily weather also serve as part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (COSPAS-SARSAT) along with Russia’s Cospas spacecraft. These satellites helped rescue over 350 people across the United States and surrounding waters during 2007. [NOAA News]
Lake Superior level may be on the rebound -- The International Lake Superior Board of Control recently reported that the level of Lake Superior dropped only two inches during December 2007, marking a lower than average December decrease, raising the possibility that lake levels on this lake could be stabilizing or even increasing after levels had dropped to record levels earlier in the year. Above average precipitation across the lake basin appears to be contributing to the reduced decrease. [US Water News Online]
Closing the books on December -- The National Climate Data Center in Asheville, NC has posted a listing of some of the notable extremes in temperature, precipitation, snowfall and other weather elements across the nation for the recently concluded month of December 2007. This site may be updated when additional information becomes available. [NOAA NCDC]
An update on the 2007 temperature records --Scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center recent reported that based upon preliminary data, the year 2007 was the tenth warmest across the coterminous United States since sufficiently dense and reliable climatic records commenced in 1895. These scientists also found that their analysis of the weather data from around the word indicates 2007 was the fifth warmest year globally since 1880. Specifically, they determined that the global land surface temperature was warmest on record while the global ocean temperature was ninth warmest of the 128-year record. [NOAA News] Using temperature data from the conventional land-based weather station network, ships and satellites, climatologists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies have used a separate averaging technique and they report that 2007 tied 1998 as being the planet's second warmest year. [NASA]
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 Homepage

NOTE: This Concept for the Week is a repeat of that which appeared in last week's Weekly Water News.

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

21 January 1863...A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rain on the Fredericksburg area of Virginia. It disrupted a Union Army offensive in an ill famed "mud march." (David Ludlum)
21 January 1880...Memphis, TN began construction of the first independent municipal sewage system in the U.S. (Today in Science History)
22-23 January 1943...Hoegees Camp, at an elevation of 2760 feet in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California, received 26.12 inches of precipitation in a 24-hour span, setting the Golden State's 24-hour precipitation record. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
24 January 1881...Freezing rain over three days coated trees, fences, telegraph wires and buildings at Pictou, Nova Scotia. Lumberjacks remained close to camp for fear of falling trees and branches. (The Weather Doctor)
24 January 1956...Thirty-eight inches of rain deluged the Kilauea Sugar Plantation of Hawaii in 24 hours, including twelve inches in just one hour. The 38.00 inches remains the Aloha State's 24-hour maximum precipitation record. (David Ludlum)
25 January 1945...Grand Rapids MI became the first US city to fluoridate its water.
25 January 1965...Alta, UT was in the midst of a storm that left the town buried under 105 inches of snow establishing a record for the state. (David Ludlum)
25 January 1987...The second major storm in three days hit the Eastern Seaboard producing up to 15 inches of snow in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Up to 30 inches of snow covered the ground in Virginia following the two storms. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
26 January 1937...Flooding occurred along the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, PA to Cairo, IL. The river was 80 feet above flood stage at Cincinnati, Ohio. (Intellicast)
26 January 1983...The California coast was battered by a storm, which produced record high tides, thirty-two foot waves, and mudslides, causing millions of dollars in damage. The storm then moved east and dumped four feet of snow on Lake Tahoe. (22^nd-29^th) (The Weather Channel)
27 January 1966...Oswego NY was in the midst of a five-day lake effect storm that left the town buried under 102 inches of snow. (David Ludlum)