WEEKLY WATER NEWS

30 June-4 July 2008

Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2008 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 25 August 2008. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Water in the News:

• Welcome to the weather and ocean educators attending the 2008 DataStreme LIT Leader Workshop that is being held at Silver Spring, MD from 29 June to 2 July 2008.

• Way out there! The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun early Friday morning (officially at 08Z on Friday, 4 July 2008, which is equivalent to 3 AM EDT or 2 AM CDT). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year on the early evening of 2 January.

• National Clean Beaches Week -- The Clean Beaches Council has declared this week (1-5 July 2008) as National Clean Beaches Week, which is meant to focus public attention on the role of sustainable beaches in American life. Four themes deemed to be important to people going to the beach will be emphasized: healthy environment, sustainable travel, clean recreation and fitness, and healthy food choices [Clean Beaches Council]
• Eye on the tropics-- In the western North Pacific, Typhoon Fengshen made landfall in southern China near Hong Kong early last week, after it had weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. This typhoon, which had earlier reached category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, had moved northward across the South China Sea following an initial landfall on Luzon in the Philippines, where the winds and heavy rain were responsible for hundreds of deaths. An image from the NOAA-17 satellite shows the clouds of Tropical Storm Fengshen as it made landfall in southern China last week. [NOAA OSEI] Another image generated from data obtained by NASA's TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite shows the heavy rain that fell along the track of Typhoon Fengshen; rainfall totals were as much as 15 inches. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional information on this typhoon is available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
  In the eastern North Pacific Basin, Tropical Storm Boris formed late last week several hundred miles off the coast of Central America. This tropical storm was the second named tropical cyclone of the 2008 season for the eastern North Pacific. A satellite image of Boris and additional information concerning this tropical storm are available on the NASA Hurricane Page. As of Saturday, this system was expected to continue moving toward the west-northwest.
  Over the weekend, a tropical depression intensified to become Tropical Storm Cristina. This system, which was well away from the Central American coast, was moving westward away from land.
• Mississippi River flooding continues -- A high resolution image obtained from the commercial satellite Ikonos shows the floodwater from the Mississippi River that spread across west central Illinois including the community of Gulfport following the breaching of two levees. Torrential rain across sections of the upper Midwest in early June that followed record winter snow resulted in rapid rises in the river levels along the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Decisions ruled on state appeals to coastal projects -- Last week, the US Department of Commerce issued decisions on appeals made by the states of Maryland and Massachusetts in their objections to the construction and operation of liquefied natural gas terminals in these two states, as part of the Coastal Zone Management Act. The Department overrode Maryland's objection to a facility near Baltimore, but upheld Massachusetts' objection to a facility near Fall River. [NOAA News]
• Another Gulf port gets a new environmental observing system -- NOAA in partnership with the Mississippi State Port Authority has installed the NOAA Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) at Gulfport, MS that will provide free real-time meteorological and oceanographic information to mariners using this port on the Gulf Coast. [NOAA News]
• New research ship christened -- NOAA recently christened the Research Vessel Manta, a 83-ft vessel with state of the art research equipment that will operate from the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the waters of Gulf of Mexico off Galveston, TX. [NOAA News]
• NOAA scientists honored -- The federal government's Partnership for Public Service selected two NOAA scientists as finalists for the 2008 Service to America Medal because of their life-saving and educational inventions. One of the finalists was the Director of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Dr. Eddie Bernard, for his creation of a tsunami detection system. The other NOAA finalist was Dr. Alexander MacDonald, Director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory for his invention of Science on a Sphere®, a three-dimensional teaching tool. [NOAA News]
• Martian atmosphere could have had moisture -- Geoscientists analyzing Martian soil data collected by NASA's Opportunity Rover at the Meridiani Planum site on the Red Planet conclude that sufficient water in the Martian atmosphere could have produced a light drizzle or dew to hit the soil surface, resulting in tell-tale signs. [EurekAlert!]
• Monitoring air may help anticipate potential Panhandle ecosystem changes -- Researchers at Texas AgriLife Research at Amarillo, TX are working with the US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine how air pollutants can have an effect on ecosystems across the high Plains. They are taking air samples and precipitation data in the Texas Panhandle for wet deposition measurements as part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program as well as dry deposition measurements for the Clean Air Status and Trends Network. [EurekAlert!]
• Tiny rods significantly increase boiling efficiency -- Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that tiny copper rods, called nanorods, place on a vessel surface can boost the creation of bubbles in water, resulting in enhanced efficiency of boiling. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]
• A warning that climate change could challenge national security -- A new classified report compiled by the National Intelligence Council for the House Intelligence Committee has determined that within the next 20 years, projected changes in global climate could threaten US security because the changes could cause political instability, mass movements of refugees, terrorism, or conflicts over water and other resources in specific countries. [EurekAlert!]
• International humanitarian aid continues in wake of tropical cyclone -- Officials with the United Nations plans to have the World Health Organization and UNICEF launch a massive anti-dengue campaign across sections of Myanmar (Burma) that have been hit by the deadly tropical cyclone in May. [US Water News Online]
• Ancient submerged oaks found to sequester carbon -- Researchers at the University of Missouri's Tree Ring Laboratory have found that oak trees that were submerged in freshwater aquatic systems for up to 14,000 years across northern Missouri appear to be able to sequester carbon for approximately 2000 years, rather than having it released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide within 20 years following the fall of an oak in a forest. [University of Missouri News]
• Studying glacier movement -- Glaciologists, geologists and other materials experts gathered at a recent workshop organized by the European Science Foundation to discuss research into the more detailed modeling of ice sheet and glacier flow so as to improve the accuracy of climate modeling and forecasting especially to provide better predictions of global ice cover. [EurekAlert!]
• Evidence of volcanic eruptions found in the Arctic Ocean -- Researchers from the US, Germany and several other countries who conducted a scientific expedition to the Gakkel Ridge, a mid oceanic ridge in the Arctic Ocean, have found extensive layers of volcanic ash on the seafloor, which provides evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions within the Arctic basin. [EurekAlert!] [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.

Historical Events:

• 30 June 1886...The second destructive hurricane in nine days hit the Apalachicola-Tallahassee area of Florida. (David Ludlum)
• 30 June 1972...The entire state of Pennsylvania was declared a disaster area because of the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes, which claimed 48 lives, and caused 2.1 billion dollars damage. (The Weather Channel)
• 30 June 1988...Thunderstorms in eastern Kansas drenched Worden with 12.21 inches of rain, and a wall of water two to four feet deep swept through Lone Star, KS flooding every home in the town. The flood cut a five-mile wide path from west of Lone Star east to US Highway 59. Up to ten inches of rain was reported southeast of Callaway, NE. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 30 June 1989...The remains of tropical storm Allison dropped copious amounts of rain on Louisiana. Winnfield, LA reported 22.52 inches of rain in three days, and more than thirty inches for the month, a record for June. Shreveport received a record 17.11 inches in June, with a total for the first six months of the year of 45.55 inches. Thunderstorms also helped produce record rainfall totals for the month of June of 13.12 inches at Birmingham, AL, 14.66 inches at Oklahoma City, OK, 17.41 inches at Tallahassee, FL, 9.97 inches at Lynchburg, VA, and more than 10.25 inches at Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh had also experienced a record wet month of May. (The National Weather Summary) (Intellicast)
• Month of July 1861...The greatest one-month of precipitation ever measured globally (366 inches) was recorded at Cherrapunji, India. Total rainfall for the period 1 August 1860 to 31 July 1861 was the greatest rainfall in one year ever recorded (1,041.78 inches). (The Weather Doctor)
• Month of July 1931...The July- August 1931 flood in the Yangtze basin of China affected over 51 million people or one-quarter of China's population. As many as 3.7 million people perished from this great 20^th century disaster due to disease, starvation or drowning. (The Weather Doctor)
• 1 July 1792...A tremendous storm (a tornado or hurricane) hit Philadelphia and New York City. Many young people were drowned while out boating on that Sunday. (David Ludlum)
• 1 July 1915...Pawtucket, RI received a deluge with 5.1 inches of rain in 24 hours. (Intellicast)
• 1 July 1987...Lake Charles, LA was drenched with a month's worth of rain during the early morning. More than five inches of rain soaked the city, including 2.68 inches in one hour. (The National Weather Summary)
• 2-6 July 1994...Heavy rains from the remains of Tropical Storm Alberto produced major flooding across northern and central Georgia. Three-day rains exceeded 15 inches at Atlanta. An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA on the 6^th to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. Numerous road closures and bridge washouts. Thirty people were killed and 50,000 were forced from their homes, as 800,000 acres were flooded. Total damage exceeded $750 million... (NCDC) (Intellicast)
• 3 July 1992...At 11 PM EDT, several waves to heights of 18 feet crashed ashore at Daytona Beach, FL. Sailboats were tossed onto cars, 200 vehicles damaged and 75 minor injuries reported. While the exact cause was unknown, morning storms were moving parallel to the coast approximately 430 miles to the east. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 July 1876...Severe thunderstorms hit the Midwest and a dam failed at Rockdale, IL. Flood destroyed a railroad bridge and swept through the town. Forty-two people perished. (Intellicast)
• 4 July 1956...A world record for the most rain in one minute was set at Unionville, MD with a downpour of 1.23 inches. (The Weather Channel) (The National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
• 4 July 1969...Severe thunderstorms produced winds to over 100 mph and very heavy rains across northern Ohio. From 4 to 15 inches of rain fell from late evening into the next morning producing major flash flooding. Forty-one were killed, 559 injuries and damage exceeded $66 million. (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1916...An early season hurricane produced 82 mph winds, an 11.6 foot tide, and a barometric pressure of 28.92 inches at Mobile, AL. (David Ludlum)
• 5 July 1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1993...Heavy rains deluged the Central Plains as one of the greatest floods in U.S. history began to unfold. Twenty-four hour totals included 5.90 inches at Columbia, IA, 5.15 inches at Centralia, KS and 4.80 inches at Haddam, KS. (Intellicast)
• 6 July 1986...Thunderstorm rains during the mid morning hours, and again during the evening, produced major flash flooding at Leavenworth, KS. The official rainfall total was 10.37 inches, but unofficial totals exceeded twelve inches. At nearby Kansas City, the rainfall total of 5.08 inches was a daily record for July. (Storm Data)

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Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2008, The American Meteorological Society.