Weekly Ocean News

WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK FOUR: 25-29 September 2006

Ocean in the News

(Thurs.) Typhoon hits Philippines -- Typhoon Xangsane slammed the northern and central Philippines causing 3 deaths and extensive flooding with up to 5 feet of water. [USA Today]
(Thurs.) Public awareness campaign launched to help protect the Pacific Ocean -- The California Resources Agency and NOAA have launched a statewide public awareness and information outreach effort called "Thank You Ocean" that is meant to involve citizens in helping protect the health and resources of the Pacific Ocean. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) A nine-year average of global ocean chlorophyll data released -- The ninth anniversary of the commencement of the satellite based measurement of phytoplankton distribution and density in the world's ocean was marked by NASA scientists by the release of a global image that depicts the nine-year oceanic chlorophyll average obtained by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS). [NASA Earth Observatory]
(Thurs.) Possibility of a killer tsunami in Canary Islands is downplayed -- Dutch scientists working at TU Delft report that the volcanic island of La Palma in the Canary Islands appears to sufficiently stable and that the possibility of a volcanic eruption on the island producing a major killer tsunami across the North Atlantic basin is not highly likely in the next 10,000 years. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Dinosaurs also faced major climate change -- Scientists from Indiana University-Bloomington and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research have been analyzing ancient shale collected from the floor of the Pacific Ocean as part of the Ocean Drilling Project that provides new evidence that ocean surface temperatures underwent significant temperature changes by as much as 11 Fahrenheit degrees (6 Celsius degrees) during the Cretaceous Period approximately 120 million years ago, which was dominated by dinosaurs and the proliferation of flowering plants. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) A "speed bump" in the warming of the ocean noted -- Analysis of temperatures in the upper 2500 feet of ocean in the global basins by a variety of ocean moorings, floats, shipboard sensors, and satellite observations have led scientists at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Hawaii to note that although temperatures in the surface layer have increased in five decades, significant cooling occurred in the upper ocean since 2003. One of the researchers called this recent reverse a "speed bump" in the long-term temperature trend. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Students from Pacific Northwest to name newest NOAA ship -- Students in grades 6 through 12 from Washington, Oregon and California are eligible to name the newest NOAA fisheries survey ship currently being built and which will be stationed along the West Coast. The deadline for submission of ship names is 15 December 2006. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Propane producing bacteria discovered off Galapagos -- An international team of ocean scientists participating in an expedition off the South American coast have found a reservoir of ethane and propane gases in deeply buried sediments on the Pacific ocean floor near the Galapagos Islands. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Krill help generate oceanic turbulence -- Scientists at British Columbia's University of Victoria suggest that krill, marine crustaceans, migrate nightly and contribute significantly to the daily turbulent mixing of deep and shallow ocean waters, especially in coastal regions, thereby helping pump nutrients from the deep ocean up to the surface. [National Geographic News]
(Tues.) NOAA responds to international oil spills -- Working with the US Coast Guard and the US State Department, the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration has been providing scientific support in response to several recent international oil spills in waters of Lebanon and the Philippines. [NOAA News]
Eye on the tropics --
- In the eastern North Atlantic, Hurricane Helene weakened to a tropical storm late in the weekend as it moved to the northeast over open waters, well away from land. This system had become a major hurricane, reaching category 3 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Earlier, Hurricane Gordon, which had also become a category 3 hurricane at the end of the previous week, passed by the Azores Islands as it traveled eastward during the middle part of last week. An image made by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows Hurricane Gordon as it approached Azores. The feeder bands around a central eye, which are characteristics of hurricanes, are apparent on this image. [NASA Earth Observatory]
- In the western Pacific, a typhoon identified as Yagi intensified to supertyphoon status with maximum sustained winds in excess of 140 mph as it moved initially to the northwest before curving to the north and then northeast. [CNN] A visible image made by the Japanese geosynchronous satellite MTSAT shows Supertyphoon Yagi within 80 miles of Iwo Jima late last week. [NOAA OSEI] In the China Sea, Tropical Depression 17W moved toward Viet Nam on Monday (local time).
- In the Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Mukda was located in the Arabian Sea south of Pakistan at the beginning of the new week.
- Where are the hurricanes? As the climatological peak in the North Atlantic hurricane season passed two weeks ago, hurricane experts have been attempting to explain why no hurricanes have made landfall on the US mainland following a historic 2005 season and various earlier predictions for another active season this year. These experts point to the position of the Bermuda high pressure system displaced to the east and a trough of low pressure offshore of the East Coast that have combined to steer most of the eight named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes) to the north across the open waters of the North Atlantic. They also cite development of an El Niño event that has produced sufficient wind shear (variation of wind speed and/or direction) with height to inhibit hurricane development. [USA Today]
- Satellites track this hurricane season's rainfall -- Hurricane experts at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and their NOAA colleagues have been studying sequences of three-hourly precipitation totals around the globe collected by NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Aqua satellites, along with the NOAA fleet of polar orbiting and geosynchronous satellites to obtain precipitation totals from individual hurricanes and typhoons in the various ocean basins during 2006. [NASA]
Stranding Network puzzled by behavior of hooded seals -- Personnel with the NOAA Fisheries Service Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program are puzzled by the appearance and stranding of hooded or ice seals (Cystophora cristata) along the entire East Coast of the US and even in the US Virgin Islands, far from their typical habitat along the ice sheets farther north. [NOAA News]
A polynya in the Beaufort Sea detected by satellites -- A new polynya, or large irregularly shaped area of open water in sea ice, was detected this past summer in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska by sensors such as MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The size of this polynya, which continued to grow into September 2006, is somewhat unusual for the Beaufort Sea. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Openings found in Arctic sea ice -- Images made from data collected by the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite and the NASA Aqua satellite revealed major openings in the Arctic ice pack north of Svalbard and extending into the Russian Arctic to as far as the North Pole. [ESA]
Quicker pollution warning system developed for beach users -- Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new technique that would allow public health officials to analyze temperature and salinity data obtained by sensors in the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System located in the waters offshore of Southern California beaches and then issue warnings or close beaches within minutes when oceanic pollutants move toward the beaches. [University of California, Irvine]
New tool helps unravel climate secrets -- Researchers at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science have developed a new tool to analyze deep sea sediments using a new tool called the XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) Core Scanner, which will allow them to study changes in climate and past geological events quickly and without physical damage to the samples. [EurekAlert!]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

HOLIDAY SNOWFLAKE STAMPS -- The following is from the AMS Public Relations Officer:

Dear AMS Educators,

On 6 October 2006, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the 39-cent Holiday Snowflakes commemorative postage stamps. The stamps feature photographs by Caltech Physics Professor Kenneth Libbrecht of two types of stellar snowflakes -- three are stellar dendrites, which have tree-like branches, and one (lower left) is a sectored plate, which has broad branches divided by ridges. The lower left crystals were photographed in Michigan, upper right crystals in Alaska, and the remaining two crystals in northern Ontario. To take the photographs, Libbrecht used a small paintbrush to move each crystal from a cardboard collection board to a glass slide. He then snapped the photos using a digital camera attached to a high-resolution microscope.

The stamps provide a great educational opportunity for classrooms and kids all ages. It is a unique way to introduce kids to the art and science of snowflakes. Attached is an image of the Holiday Snowflakes stamps along with a black and white and color activity page. These are great for classroom, science fairs, and school science Web site. You can find an image of the stamps online and you can also link to Professor Libbrecht website. We hope you can use these stamps as an educational tool. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Kenitzer, AMS Public Relations Officer at (425) 432-2192 or kenitzer@ametsoc.org

Concept of the Week: Variations in Marine Sediment Thickness

Sediments are particles of organic or inorganic origin that accumulate in loose form in depositional environments such as lake or ocean bottoms. Marine sediments, the central focus of this week's investigations, have a variety of sources and exhibit a wide range of composition, size, and shape. Marine sediments settle to the ocean floor as unconsolidated accumulations but ultimately may be converted to solid sedimentary rock via compaction and cementation. The pattern of variations in marine sediment thickness on the ocean floor confirms some basic understandings regarding marine geological processes.

Go to the DataStreme Ocean Website and under "Geological," click on "Sediment Thickness." This map of marine sediment thickness in the ocean basins was compiled by the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), Marine Geology and Geophysics Division primarily based on existing maps, ocean drilling, and seismic reflection profiles. Sediment thickness is color-coded in meters from violet (thinnest) to red (thickest). Many factors account for the variation in the thickness of marine sediment deposits including type and location of sediment sources, sediment transport mechanisms, and the age of the underlying crust.

According to the map, sediment thickness generally increases with distance from near the central portion of an ocean basin to the continental margin. This pattern may be explained by the principal sediment source and/or the age of the underlying crust. Rivers and streams that empty into the ocean slow and diverge, releasing the bulk of their suspended sediment load in coastal environments (e.g., bays, estuaries, deltas) and onto the continental shelf. Ocean currents transport sediment along the coast. In some areas of the continental shelf, massive amounts of sediment accumulate, become unstable, and flow down the continental slope to the base of the continental rise and beyond. However, only the finer fraction of river-borne sediment is swept into the deep ocean waters. Thickening of marine sediments in the direction of the continental margin may also reflect the aging of oceanic crust with distance away from divergent (spreading) plate boundaries where new oceanic crust forms. The older the crust the longer is the period that sediment rains down on the ocean bottom and the thicker is the blanket of accumulated sediment.

The map indicates that the thickness of marine sediment deposits is greater in the continental margin along the Atlantic coast of North America than along the Pacific coast. The Atlantic coast of North America is a passive margin; that is, the continental margin is not affected significantly by tectonic processes (no plate boundary) and the principal geological processes consist of sedimentation along with erosion by ocean waves and currents. In fact, passive margins and relatively thick marine sediment deposits occur on both sides of the Atlantic. (Passive margins also occur around the Arctic Ocean and surrounding Antarctica.) On the other hand, the Pacific coast of North America is an active margin; that is, the continental margin is associated with plate boundaries and is subject to deformation by tectonic stresses. Active continental margins are relatively narrow so that sediment delivered to the coast by rivers and streams flows directly into deeper water or trenches--preventing thick accumulations of marine sediments from building in the continental margin.

Concept of the Week: Questions

The thickness of marine sediment deposits is greater in the [(continental margins)(deep-ocean basins)].
The thickness of marine sediment deposits generally is greater in [(active)(passive)] continental margins.

Historical Events

25 September 1513...Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a Spanish conquistador-explorer, crossed the isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean, which he christened Mar del Sur (South Sea), claiming the ocean and all adjacent lands for Spain. (Wikipedia)
25 September 1939...A West Coast hurricane moved onshore south of Los Angeles bringing unprecedented rains along the southern coast of California. Nearly 5.5 in. of rain drenched Los Angeles during a 24-hr period. The hurricane caused $2 million in damage, mostly to structures along the coast and to crops, and claimed 45 lives at sea. "El Cordonazo" produced 5.66 in. of rain at Los Angeles and 11.6 in. of rain at Mount Wilson, both records for the month of September. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
25 September 1956...The world's first transatlantic telephone cable system began operating (Clarenville, Newfoundland to Oban, Scotland). Previous cables had been limited to telegraph transmissions. (Today in Science History)
26 September 1580...English seaman Francis Drake returned to Plymouth, England, in the Golden Hind, becoming the first British navigator to circumnavigate the globe. He had commenced his voyage around the world on 13 December 1577 with five ships, but returned with only one ship. During his voyage in the Pacific Ocean, he paused near San Francisco Bay and then traveled as far north as present-day Washington State. He brought back valuable information about the world's ocean to Queen Elizabeth I. (The History Channel)
26-27 September 1959...Typhoon Vera ravaged Honshu, Japan, the nation's largest island, leaving over 5000 dead, more than 40,000 injured, 1.5 million homeless and 40,000 homes destroyed. It was Japan's greatest storm disaster. (The Weather Doctor)
27 September 1854...After colliding with the French ship SS Vesta in dense fog, the American Collins Line steamship Arctic sank with more than 300 people on board near Cape Race, Newfoundland, marking the first great disaster in the Atlantic Ocean. (Wikipedia)
27 September 1922...Report on observations of experiments with short wave radio at the Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory in Anacostia, DC started US Navy development of radar. (Navy Historical Center)
27 September 1958...A typhoon caused the death of nearly 5000 people on Honshu, the main Japanese island. (Wikipedia)
28 September 1542...Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into present-day San Diego (CA) Bay during the course of his explorations of the northwest shores of Mexico on behalf of Spain. His landing at Point Loma Head apparently was the first known European encounter with California. Before dying on the Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast in January 1543, he had explored much of the California coast. (The History Channel)
28 September 1850...An Act of Congress (9 Stat. L., 500, 504) provided for the systematic coloring and numbering of all buoys for, prior to this time, they had been painted red, white, or black, without any special system. The act "prescribed that buoys should be colored and numbered so that in entering from seaward red buoys with even numbers should be on the starboard or right hand; black buoys with odd numbers on the port or left hand; buoys with red and black horizontal stripes should indicate shoals with channel on either side; and buoys in channel ways should be colored with black and white perpendicular stripes." (US Coast Guard Historians Office)
29 September 1959...Hurricane Gracie made landfall near Beaufort, SC with sustained winds of 97 mph and a peak gust of 138 mph. Ten people were killed in South Carolina and Georgia. As the weakening storm moved through Virginia on the 30th, she spawned an F3 tornado at Ivy, VA, which killed 11 people. On the same day, a storm produced 28 inches of snow at Colorado Springs, CO. (David Ludlum)
30 September 1932...Tropical cyclone rainfall of 4.38 inches at Tehachapi in southern California over 7 hours caused flash floods on Auga Caliente and Tehachapi Creeks resulting in 15 deaths. (The Weather Doctor)
30 September 1954...The USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, is commissioned by the U.S. Navy. In addition to breaking numerous submarine travel records to that time, the Nautilus made the first voyage under the Arctic sea ice at the geographic North Pole in August 1958, passing from the Pacific to Atlantic Ocean basins. The Nautilus was decommissioned on 3 March 1980 and is currently on display at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, CT. (The History Channel)
30 September 1997...Omega Navigation Station Hawaii ceased operation, coinciding with the end of worldwide Omega transmissions. (USCG Historian's Office)
1 October 1844...U.S. Naval Observatory headed by LT Matthew Fontaine Maury occupied its first permanent quarters. (Naval Historical Center)
1 October 1846...The British naturalist Charles Darwin, ten years after his voyage on the Beagle, began his study of barnacles, which was to appear in four volumes on living and fossil Cirripedes (barnacles). For his observations, he had a single lens microscope made to his own design. (Today in Science History)
1 October 1976...Hurricane Liza brought heavy rains and winds to Brazos Santiago, Mexico, causing a dam to break on the Cajoncito River, which killed 630 people as a wall of water crashed into the town of La Paz. (The Weather Doctor)
1 October 1893...The second great hurricane of the 1893 season hit the Mississippi Delta Region drowning more than 1000 persons. (David Ludlum)