DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK EIGHT: 25-29 October 2004

• Typhoon death toll continues to rise in Japan -- As of Sunday, officials in Japan report the deaths of at least 77 people as a result of the passage of Typhoon Tokage across western Japan last week. This typhoon (counterpart of a hurricane in the western North Pacific) was the deadliest tropical system in more than a decade. It produced torrential rains, strong winds and high waves. Most of the fatalities were the result of mudslides caused by the rain. [USA Today]
• A new satellite to improve coastal management -- A new sensing instrument to be used onboard the next generation of geosynchronous satellites are intended to track red tides, oil spills, upwelling and other coastal water management issues in the US more effectively. The new instrument is called the Hyperspectral Environment Suite and will be placed on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) scheduled to be launched in 2012. [NOAA News]
• New NOAA research vessel makes maiden voyage -- The NOAA research vessel Hi'ialakai, which was commissioned in early September, completed a five-week mission that surveyed the marine ecosystems in the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve that encompasses a 1200 mile string of tiny islands, atolls and shoals to the northwest of Kauai and the other major Hawaiian islands. [NOAA News]
• Earthquakes could be triggered by strong tidal forces -- Scientists at UCLA recently reported that the strong gravitational pull exerted on the earth by the sun and moon not only generate large tides in the oceans, but also produce earth tides that could trigger earthquakes. [EurekAlert!]
• Better hurricane wind damage models could help insurers -- A statistics professor from the University of Central Florida professor and a Georgia colleague claim that if insurance companies would use more accurate models of storm winds and the resulting damage, they could better estimate storm losses and adjust the premiums charged their policyholders. [University of Central Florida]
• Ancient sea life discovered -- A geology professor at Yale University recently reported discovering fossils of an ancient sea spider that was encased in volcanic ash. These fossils of arthropods from the Silurian age (ca. 425 million years ago) were found in England. [EurekAlert!]
• Control of Great Lakes water diversion urged -- A planning committee in Ashland, a city in northern Wisconsin along the shores of Lake Superior, has urged officials in Wisconsin and the other seven states bordering the Great Lakes to implement a water compact that would protect the water resources of the Lakes by placing tighter controls on the diversion of lake water to other locations outside the basin. [US Water News]
• 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]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Loss of Louisiana's Coast

Louisiana is losing its coastal wetlands (bayous, marshes, and swamps) to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate of about 65 square km (25 square mi) per year. Since the early 1930s, the state's coastal wetlands have shrunk by an area equivalent to the state of Delaware. According to USGS estimates, an additional 1800 square km (700 square mi) could be lost by mid-century. The price tag for reversing this trend, restoring some marshes, and protecting the remaining 15,000 square km (5800 square mi) of wetlands could top $14 billion and take decades to complete. Many people argue that the value of Louisiana's coastal wetlands is well worth the expense.

As much as 75% of the fish and other marine life in the northern Gulf of Mexico depend on Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetlands are a nursery for commercially important shellfish such as shrimp, crawfish, blue crab, and oysters. It is a food source for larger fish including yellow fin tuna, red snapper, and swordfish. In 2003, about three-quarters of the nation's fish and shellfish catch by weight came from Louisiana's waters. In addition, the wetlands are a stopover for millions of birds migrating between North and Central/South America. Furthermore, wetlands and associated barrier islands protect the ports, buildings, and other coastal zone structures from storm surges. (Wetlands are particularly important in buffering the levees surrounding the low-lying city of New Orleans.)

Many factors contribute to the erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. Thousands of kilometers of pipelines transporting oil and natural gas through the marshes plus the extensive network of navigation channels allow saltwater to intrude the wetlands. Increased salinity of the originally fresh or brackish waters kill wetland grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation that anchor soil in place. The canals also allow tidal currents to flow farther inland, accelerating erosion of wetland soils. The most important factor, however, is the consequence of flood control structures (levees) constructed along the banks of the Mississippi River. Levees constrict the flow of the river so that waters and suspended sediment discharge rapidly into the Gulf. Deprived of sediments and vegetation-supporting nutrients, wetlands subside and Gulf waters invade the wetlands. With the anticipated continued rise in sea level due to global climate change (discussed in Chapter 12 of your DataStreme Ocean textbook), erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetland may accelerate in the future.

The plan to reverse the loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands calls for breaching some levees along the lower Mississippi. This partial diversion of the Mississippi would supply more sediment to the wetlands. Closing or installing locks on some navigation canals would reduce saltwater intrusion. In addition, dredged sediment would be used to re-build wetlands and restore barrier islands.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. The most important factor contributing to erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands is [(saltwater intrusion)(levees along the banks of the Mississippi River)].
2. Global climate change that is accompanied by a rise in sea level is likely to [(accelerate)(have no effect on)] the rate of erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands.

• 25 October 1859...The Royal Charter Storm, named after the loss of the fully rigged ship Royal Charter off the coast of Anglesey, England, drowned about 500 people, along with the loss of gold bullion. The ship was one of over 200 vessels wrecked between 21 October and 2 November, with the loss of around 800 lives. This tragedy led to the introduction of gale warnings in June 1860. (The Weather Doctor)
• 25 October 1941...South Greenland Patrol expanded to include three cutters of the Northeast Greenland Patrol and form the Greenland Patrol. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 25-26 October 1980...The combination of unusually high tides and southeasterly winds gusting to 75 mph generated waves with heights to 25 ft, resulting in serious flooding, beach erosion and sea wall damage along the Maine coast. Wind damage was considerable and as many as 100,000 homes were without power for up to 40 hrs. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 27 October 1728...Captain James Cook, the famed British naval officer who was one of the first of the scientific navigators, was born on this date. Captain Cook surveying the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland before making three expeditions into the Pacific Ocean where he became the first Englishman to explore previously uncharted locations. On his various voyages, he conducted astronomical observations and his ship's botanist studied the flora and fauna that were collected. (Today in Science)
• 28 October 1492...The famous Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, landed on Cuba. (Wikipedia)/
• 28 October 1991...Typhoon Thelma devastated the Philippines. Reports indicated that 6,000 people died by catastrophic events related to the storm including dam failure, landslides, and extensive flash flooding. The greatest number of casualties occurred on Leyte Island where an 8-ft storm surge struck Ormoc, accounting for over 3,000 fatalities. (The Weather Doctor)
• 29 October 1999...Tropical Cyclone 5B, with sustained winds of 155 mph, made landfall at Paradwip (Orissa, India). A storm surge of at least 20-ft height swept at least 12 mi inland. More than 10,000 people were killed. With 2 million homes either damaged or destroyed, 35 million people were left homeless. Damage from this tropical cyclone was $1.5 billion. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 30 October-1 November 1991...After absorbing Hurricane Grace on the 29^th, an intense ocean storm took an unusual course and moved westward along 40 degrees north latitude and battered eastern New England with high winds and tides. Winds had already been gusting over 50 mph along the coast 2 days before, so seas and tides were very high. Major coastal flooding and beach erosion occurred all along the New England, New York, and New Jersey coasts. Over 1000 homes were damaged or destroyed with tides 4 to 7 ft above normal. Wind gusts reached 78 mph at Chatham, MA and 74 mph at Gloucester, MA. A ship east of New England reported a 63-ft wave. Total damage from the storm was $200 million. On 1 November this ocean storm underwent a remarkable transformation. Convection developed and rapidly wound around the storm center and an eye became visible on satellite imagery. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft found a small but intense circulation with maximum winds of 75 mph. This evolution from a large extratropical low to a small hurricane is rare but not unprecedented. (Intellicast)
• 31 October 1876... A 10 to 50 ft storm surge ahead of the Backergunge cyclone flooded the eastern Ganges Delta in India (now Bangladesh). Over 100,000 people drowned. (The Weather Doctor)

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Prepared by AMS DSOcean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.