Weekly Ocean News

WEEK TEN: 9-13 November 2009

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Applications for a prestigious scholarship invited -- NOAA is accepting applications from qualified college undergraduate students interested in pursuing degrees in ocean and atmospheric sciences and education to the Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. As many as 100 undergraduates could each receive up to $29,050 for their academic studies related to NOAA science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities. Applications will be accepted through 30 January 2009. [NOAA News]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- During the last week several tropical cyclones were found across the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans:
- In the North Atlantic basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, a tropical depression became Tropical Storm Ida at mid week over the far southwestern Caribbean Sea of the Nicaragua coast. This storm intensified into a minimal category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale just before making landfall along the coast, making it only the third hurricane of 2009 in that basin. While over Nicaragua and Honduras near the end of the week, Hurricane Ida weakened first to a tropical storm and then a tropical depression. After reemerging over the Caribbean, Ida intensified to become a hurricane again, reaching category 2 status as it moved through the Yucatan Channel, brushing Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Hurricane Ida was moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite information on Hurricane Ida.
- In the western North Pacific, a tropical depression developed east of the Marianas over the weekend and intensified to Tropical Storm 25 as it moved westward.
  A tropical depression, identified as Tropical Depression 24, formed early in the week east of Luzon in the Philippines and moved northward. This depression was identified as Tropical Depression 97W on the NASA Hurricane Page.
  Early in the week, Tropical Storm Mirinae moved over the South China Sea and intensified into a category 1 typhoon before making landfall along the central coast of Viet Nam. Satellite images and additional information concerning Typhoon Mirinae can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
New fisheries survey ship commissioned and service building dedicated -- Last Friday, senior NOAA officials commissioned NOAA Ship Pisces, a 208-ft fisheries research vessel, and dedicated NOAA's new Southeast Fisheries Science Center, a new fisheries laboratory in Pascagoula, MI. Both the vessel and the NOAA laboratory will support fisheries research in the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States and the Caribbean. [NOAA News]
Recently launched environmental satellite becomes a "star" -- Last week, the European Space Agency successfully launched a new environmental satellite called SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) that will collect microwave radiation from the earth that should provide data on soil moisture and ocean salinity across the planet. A large antenna array was deployed for the Microwave Imaging Radiometer with Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) instrument, forming what appears as a large three-pointed "star in the sky" to earthbound observers. [ESA] [Discovery Channel] [EurekAlert!]
Lives saved through pre-tsunami education and planning -- Researchers from the University of Southern California and Georgia Tech who interviewed survivors of the tsunami that hit Samoa in late September have found that community tsunami education, awareness and evacuation planning prior to the disaster helped save lives as the tsunami hit. [EurekAlert!]
Saving Hawaiian coral reefs is a popular sentiment -- Polls taken by researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Hawaii of tourists and recreational enthusiasts visiting Hawaii's coral reef ecosystems indicate that most respondents favored whatever amount of management would be needed to protect these fragile ecosystems. [EurekAlert!]
Fish populations shift as North Atlantic warms -- Researchers at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center have found that nearly half of three dozen North Atlantic fish species have shifted northward during the last four decades as the waters off the coast of the Northeastern States have warmed. [Northeast Fisheries Science Center]
Climate change affect deep-sea ecosystems -- Based upon their analysis of deep-sea sediments in the Pacific off the Central California coast and the Atlantic off Ireland, a marine ecologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and colleagues have found that changes in the Earth's climate appear to have caused unexpectedly large changes in deep-sea ecosystems over a variety of time scales ranging from weeks to decades. [Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute]
Great white sharks developed neighborhoods in North Pacific -- A research team working with Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) program have found that the great white sharks that they tagged appear to maintain a consistent pattern of migration across the northeastern Pacific Ocean for more than 10,000 years, making this shark population genetically distinct from all other shark species. [EurekAlert!]
"Robot" fish could monitor quality of aquatic environments -- Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a device they call a "robot fish" to monitor aquatic environments, as these devices use advanced electro-active polymer materials that maneuver underwater and swim like fish. [EurekAlert!] (Editor's note: Special thanks go to Terri Kirby Hathaway, Oceans LIT Leader and Marine Education Specialist at the North Carolina Sea Grant in Manteo, NC. EJH)
Nutrient distributions mapped across Atlantic Ocean -- For the first time, the large-scale distributions of dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus, two important nutrient pools, across the Atlantic Ocean by researchers from the United Kingdom. This mapping should assist in understanding the nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles and the biological carbon pump in the Atlantic Ocean. [EurekAlert!]
Iron plays role in nitrogen fixation in Atlantic Ocean -- Researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and South Africa who conducted a research cruise from the North to South Atlantic Oceans onboard the Royal Research Ship Discovery have determined that windborne iron particles falling into the Atlantic along with oceanic circulation appear to control the patterns of nitrogen fixation in these ocean waters. [EurekAlert!]
Tracking atmospheric water vapor -- A climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his colleagues have a map showing the movement of water vapor through the atmosphere, obtained by measuring the ratio of the "heavy water" isotope to the normal isotope using data from the European Space Agency's Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) to follow the "age" of water as it travels through the atmosphere. [Scripps Explorations]
An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, marine weather, tsunamis, rip currents, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and coral bleaching. [NOAAWatch]
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.

Report from the Field

Lucky Greenleaf, Ocean LIT from Maine provided an update on climate change and sea level rise from a Downeast Maine perspective:

"Many coastal cities and towns along the coast of Maine are having meetings and conferences of citizens, local officials, and emergency personal concerning impending sea level rise and the effects of inundation and erosion. It no longer is a question of "if" but how much, when, and how do we prepare. The discussions recognize a changing environment and a need to adapt. The Maine Geological Survey, U of Maine Sea Grant Program, and NOAA have worked together to produce documents, maps, and a free DVD for use by officials and citizens. The DVD describes Maine's climate, coastal conditions, and effects such as storms and sea level rise, construction techniques, and strategies for safeguarding persons and property, including elevating and moving structures. Tide gauge data show a current rise rate which is expected to increase. In fact, Maine already requires any coastal development to assume a 2-foot rise in sea levels. There is also a state climate change adaptation task
force in the Legislature."

Concept of the Week: Solving the Mystery of Seamount Ecosystems

The United States Commission on Ocean Policy reports that less than 5% of the ocean floor has been explored. This is beginning to change as scientists and engineers develop and apply new technologies to investigate deep ocean waters and the sea bottom (refer to Chapter 13 in your DataStreme Ocean textbook). Consider, for example, the effort to obtain a better understanding of seamount ecosystems.

A seamount is a submarine mountain of volcanic origin (now extinct) that rises more than 1000 m (3300 ft) above the ocean floor. Usually a seamount summit is 1000 to 2000 m (3300 to 6600 ft) below sea level. They occur as isolated peaks, chains (e.g., Emperor Seamounts in the North Pacific; New England chain in the North Atlantic), or clusters. The term "seamount" was first applied in 1936 to the Davidson Seamount located off the coast of Southern California. Scientists estimate that perhaps 30,000 dot the ocean floor with as many as two-thirds located on the Pacific Ocean bottom. However, fewer than one thousand seamounts have been named and only a handful of seamounts has received detailed scientific study.

In recent years, discovery of unique life forms on seamounts has spurred scientific interest in seamount ecosystems. Many nations, including the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, are supporting scientific cruises to observe and collect specimens from seamount ecosystems. Seamount ecosystems are unusually productive and are home to unique species. Some seamount surveys have found that certain seamount species are endemic, that is, they live on only one seamount or a few nearby peaks. For example, up to one-third of all species living on some seamounts off New Caledonia are endemic while up to half of the invertebrates and fish on the Nazca seamount off Chile are endemic. In the northeast Pacific, large-scale eddies may transport larval fish from coastal environments to isolated seamounts located out at sea. Furthermore, some scientists argue that seamounts may function as stepping stones that allow for migration of species over lengthy periods--perhaps over millions of years. In addition, some seamounts may serve as aids to navigation for fish that migrate over long distances. For example, hammerhead sharks may use the magnetic field surrounding seamounts to find their way.

The recent effort to survey and explore seamount ecosystems has reached new urgency with the realization of the devastating impact of commercial fish trawlers on those ecosystems. In some cases, trawling has striped off most marine life (e.g., coral gardens) from the surface of seamounts leaving behind mostly bare rock. Typically, trawled seamounts have only half the biomass and considerably fewer species than undisturbed seamounts. Scientists anticipate that a better understanding of seamount ecosystems will help make the case for their conservation and inform the most effective strategies for their protection. Australia is one of the first nations to protect seamount ecosystems, establishing the Tasmanian Seamount Marine Reserve in 1999. The reserve covers 370 square km (140 square mi) and includes more than a dozen seamounts.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Seamounts are extinct submarine volcanoes that occur primarily in the [(Atlantic) (Pacific)(Southern)] Ocean.
Commercial fish trawling has [(little if any)(a devastating)] impact on seamount ecosystems.

Historical Events:

9 November 1913...The "Freshwater Fury," a rapidly deepening extratropical cyclone, caused unpredicted gales on the Great Lakes. Seventeen ships, including eight large ore carriers on Lake Erie sank drowning 270 sailors. Cleveland, OH reported 17.4 in. of snow in 24 hrs, and a storm total of 22.2 in., both all-time records for that location. During the storm, winds at Cleveland averaged 50 mph, with gusts to 79 mph. The storm produced sustained winds of 62 mph at Port Huron, MI, wind gusts to 80 mph at Buffalo, NY. (9^th-11^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
9 November 1932...An unnamed hurricane struck Cuba, with winds reaching approximately 210 mph at Nuvitas. However, a storm surge was the main killer of 2500 of the 4000 residents of Santa Cruiz del Sur. Essentially no storm records exist, as the observer drowned, with records and instruments washed away. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
10 November 1835...A severe storm crossed the Great Lakes and "swept the lakes clear of sail" as 19 ships were lost and 254 sailors killed on Lakes Erie, Ontario and Michigan. (Intellicast)
10 November 1975...Another "freshwater fury" hit the Great Lakes. A large ore carrier on Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald, sank near Crisp Point with the loss of its crew of 29 men. Eastern Upper Michigan and coastal Lower Michigan were hardest hit by the storm, which produced wind gusts to 71 mph at Sault Ste Marie, MI and gusts to 78 mph at Grand Rapids, MI. Severe land and road erosion occurred along the Lake Michigan shoreline. A popular song by Gordon Lightfoot was inspired by the storm. (David Ludlum) (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
Editors note: In 2000, the NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Office at Marquette, MI created a web page commemorating the 25^th anniversary of the sinking and describing the advances in marine weather forecasting over the last quarter century. EJH
10 November 1993...Violent storm over the Black Sea closed the Russian oil terminal port of Novorossisk for 20 days. "Bora" winds reported as high as 112 mph sank at least seven ships. (The Weather Doctor)
11 November 1099...Violent storm in the North Sea killed 100,000 people in England and The Netherlands. (The Weather Doctor)
12 November 1956...(date approximate) The crew on the icebreaker USCGC Glacier saw what may have been the world's largest iceberg. Observed about 150 mi west of Antarctica's Scott Island, the iceberg was about 60 mi wide by 208 mi long, or roughly the size of Maryland. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
12 November 1974...A salmon was caught in the River Thames, England - the first in more than 130 years. (Today in Science History)
13 November 1970...A cyclone swept over Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan, pushing a 49-ft storm surge against the coast at high tide. Flooding killed 500,000. Over 50 million people were affected by the storm rain, wind and surge. (The Weather Doctor)
13 November 2002...The single-hulled oil tanker Prestige sank off Spain's Galician coast, causing a huge oil spill. (Wikipedia)
14 November 1825...The Codorus, the first ship made in the U.S. with sheet iron, was tested on the Susquehanna River at York, PA. The ship weighted five tons, of which two tons was for the coal- and wood- fueled boiler which provided power for an 8 hp engine. With a keel length of 60-ft and a 9-ft beam, the ship drew about seven inches of water. (Today in Science History)
14-21 November 1991...Tropical Cyclone Tia spent most of its life near the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. However, it completely destroyed 90 percent of all dwellings on Tikopia Island. The remaining 10 percent of the buildings sustained collapsed walls or roofs that had been blown off. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
15 November 1860...The light in the massive stone Minots Ledge Lighthouse at the entrance to Boston Harbor, which was built on the original site of the one lost in 1851, was exhibited. Work on the new lighthouse commenced in 1855 and was finished in 1860. "It ranks, by the engineering difficulties surrounding its erection and by the skill and science shown in the details of its construction, among the chief of the great sea-rock lighthouses of the world." (USCG Historians Office)
15 November 1888...The Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was born on this date. He was known for his studies of the physics, chemistry, and biology of the ocean. He died in August 1957. (Today in Science History)
15 November 1854...In Egypt, a royal concession from Said was made that ultimately permitted construction of the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. (Wikipedia)