Weekly Ocean News

WEEK ONE: 9-13 September 2013

Items of Interest:

Approaching the peak in the Atlantic hurricane season -- The historic or statistical annual peak in the Atlantic hurricane season will occur this week (9-13 September), as determined as the date during the entire season with most frequent number of named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes), based upon over 100 years of record. This date corresponds closely with the time of peak sea-surface temperatures across those sections of the North Atlantic considered hurricane-breeding areas. [NWS National Hurricane Center] [Note: So far this Atlantic hurricane season, which commenced on 1 June 2013, no hurricanes have formed from any of the seven named tropical cyclones that reached tropical storm status. If no Atlantic hurricane forms before Wednesday, 11 September, a record would be reached for the latest occurring hurricane in the Atlantic. EJH]
Ocean charts, units, location and time -- Please read this week's Supplemental Information…In Greater Depth for a description of a several types of oceanographic charts along with the definitions of some units commonly used in ocean science to locate positions on the Earth's surface and to identify time.
September is National Preparedness Month -- The month of September has been declared National Preparedness Month (NPM), which is aims to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies, including natural disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), which has provided a toolkit of marketing materials to help promote the month, is the lead on this campaign that was originally launched in 2004. NOAA's National Weather Service is working with FEMA to communicate the importance of emergency preparedness as a key component of its Weather-Ready Nation campaign. [NOAA Weather Ready Nation]
Evidence of human-caused climate change may have been in half of extreme weather and climate events in 2012 -- A report titled "Explaining Extreme Events of 2012 from a Climate Perspective" was released this week by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society that indicates human influences as having had an impact on 12 extreme weather and climate events during 2012. As many as 18 different research teams from around the world contributed to this peer-reviewed report that examined the causes of these 12 extreme events that occurred on five continents and in the Arctic during 2012. While the report shows that the effects of natural weather and climate fluctuations played a key role in the intensity and evolution of the 2012 extreme events, the analyses revealed compelling evidence that human-caused climate change also contributed to the extreme event through the emission of heat-trapping gases. [NOAA News]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- A few named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical ocean waters, with near surface maximum sustained winds that intensify to tropical storm or hurricane force status) were detected across the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean basins were were relatively warm during the past week:

In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Gabrielle, the seventh named tropical cyclone of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, developed from a tropical depression that had formed at midweek over the northeast Caribbean Sea to the south of Puerto Rico. Gabrielle traveled to the northwest and made landfall along the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic after little more than a day after formation. For additional information on Tropical Storm Gabrielle along with satellite images, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
A tropical depression, identified as Tropical Depression 8, formed at the end of last week formed over the the southwestern Gulf of Mexico just off the Mexican coast near Tampico. Due to the proximity to the coast, Tropical Depression 8 was short-lived as it moved onshore within 24 hours. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information on Tropical Depression 8.
In the eastern North Pacific,Tropical Storm Lorena formed from a tropical depression that developed to the southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Lorena, the twelfth named tropical cyclone of the 2013 eastern Pacific hurricane season, traveled to the northwest during the late week, passing to just off Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. This tropical storm dissipated on Saturday along the central sections of Baja's Pacific coast. where several inches of rain fell. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite imagery on Tropical Storm Lorena.
In the western North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Toraji formed during the previous weekend over the East China Sea to the west of Okinawa This tropical storm traveled to the northeast early last week, before making landfall along the southern coast of the Japanese island of Shikoku.

University and federal researchers receive funding for advancing hurricane forecasting -- NOAA's Office of Weather and Air Quality recently announced that it has funded seven multi-year proposals this year for university and federal scientists to more rapidly and smoothly transfer new technology, research results, and observational advances to operational hurricane forecasting through NOAA's Joint Hurricane Testbed. This investment, which totals $1.3 million, is designed to further NOAA's commitment to create a "Weather-Ready Nation." [NOAA News]
Awards made to organizations in 10 states for the rescue of stranded marine mammals -- Last week NOAA's Fisheries Service announced that 12 awards worth $1 million were being made to partner organizations in 10 states to respond to and rehabilitate stranded marine mammals and collect data on their health. [NOAA Fisheries News]
Awards made to eleven marine debris removal projects -- During the last week NOAA's Marine Debris Program announced that it has awarded $967,000 to support eleven community-based marine debris prevention and removal projects across the nation that would remove derelict fishing nets, litter, lumber, tires and other harmful marine debris from shorelines and coastal waters. [NOAA News]
Updated nautical chart made for waters off Downeast Maine -- NOAA recently published an updated nautical chart for the waters of Cobscook Bay off the coast of Maine just to the south of the community of Eastport. This updated chart, which includes new information from recent depth measurements made by NOAA's Coast Survey around Falls Island, is intended to improve navigation safety for northern Maine fishing vessels and recreational boaters in what is considered dangerous area waters. [NOAA News]
The seasonal "whiting event" on Lake Ontario seen from space -- A digital photograph made by an astronaut on the International Space Station in August captures a late-summer phenomenon called a "whiting event" across much of Lake Ontario. This event commonly occurs in late summer and is caused by changes in water temperature, which allows fine particles of calcium carbonate to form in the water column and cause the characteristic lightening ("whiting") of the water color. Increased photosynthesis by phytoplankton and other microscopic marine life can also reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the water column, changing the acidity and allowing calcium carbonate to form. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Help is extended to make California more tsunami resilient -- The US Geological Survey (USGS) recently released a new report entitled, Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) Tsunami Scenario. This report was prepared in partnership with the California Geological Survey and California Governor´s Office of Emergency Services. Scientists developed new tools that should provide more accurate insight into the likely impacts when tsunami would occur, which would help officials and the public in California to reduce the risk of the future tsunamis that will impact the Golden State. In partnership with: [USGS Newsroom]
Study made of historical earthquake and early East Coast seismicity that could produce Delaware River tsunamis -- Scientists with the US Geological Survey (USGS) have determined that a modest tsunami-like event was generated along the East Coast by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on 8 January 1817 off the coast of the Carolinas, which resulted in an abrupt observed rise in the tide on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, PA. [USGS Newsroom]
First buoy deployed in polar regions of North Atlantic to monitor ocean acidification -- In early August, the first high-latitude ocean acidification monitoring buoy was deployed in the North Atlantic Ocean by NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in partnership with Iceland's Marine Research Institute. This new NOAA ocean acidification monitoring buoy, which is moored in the North Atlantic north of Iceland, is designed to determine the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide being absorbed by the ocean waters using a MAPCO₂ monitoring sensor. This type of carbon dioxide monitoring sensor, which was designed by PMEL to measure surface water and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations every 90 minutes, has been deployed on other moored buoys in tropical and midlatitude oceans as part of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network. [NOAA Research News]
Carbon sinks found in the deep ocean -- A researcher at the University of Iowa and colleagues from other academic research institutions have found that microbes living in the "dark ocean" at depths below where light does not penetrate may absorb sufficient amounts of carbon, estimating that the resident organisms and the dark ocean could hold between 300 million and 1.3 billion tons of carbon. The researchers were impressed by the significant amount of carbon fixation that occurs within the dark ocean, which appears to occur with reduced chemical energy sources such as sulfur, methane, and ferrous iron rather than sunlight. Hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor are hot spots generating plumes rich in chemical energy sources that stimulate the growth of microorganisms. [University of Iowa Now]
World's largest single volcano discovered -- A scientist from the University of Houston and colleagues report discovering Earth's largest volcano that has been documented so far to date. This volcano, dubbed "Tamu Massif," is a massive underwater shield volcano found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean approximately 1000 miles east of Japan along the Shatsky Rise, an underwater mountain range formed 130 to 145 million years ago by the eruption of several underwater volcanoes. Tamu Massif, which is the largest feature of this mountain range, has an area approximately the size of New Mexico, or nearly equivalent the size of the giant volcanoes on Mars. [University of Houston News]
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, drought, floods, marine weather, tsunamis, rip currents, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and coral bleaching. [NOAAWatch]

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet

[earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some ocean-related experience that you would like to share with other DataStreme Ocean participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document for possible inclusion in a News file. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Touring the DataStreme Ocean Website

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

Welcome to DataStreme Ocean! You are embarking on a study of the world ocean and the role of the ocean in the Earth system. This unique teacher enhancement course focuses on the flow and transformations of energy and water into and out of the ocean, the internal properties and circulation of the ocean, interactions between the ocean and the other components of the Earth system, and the human/societal impacts on and responses to those interactions. Throughout this learning experience, you will be using the DataStreme Ocean website to access and interpret a variety of environmental information, including recent observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DS Ocean website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Ocean News that includes Ocean in the News (a summary listing of recent events related to the ocean), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to the ocean in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past events such as tsunamis or specific advances in the understanding of oceanography). When appropriate, a feature called Supplemental Information-In Greater Depth will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DS Ocean website to access and download the weekly "Current Ocean Studies" (plus supporting images) that complement Investigations found in your Ocean Studies Investigations Manual. These materials should be available Monday morning. Click the appropriate links to download and print these electronic Current Ocean Studies and answer forms as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the DS Ocean website provides links to the Earth System, information on Physical & Chemical, Geological, and Biological aspects of the ocean, Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, the Great Lakes, and extras-a glossary of terms, maps, educational links, and DataStreme Ocean 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 DS Ocean website.

Under Physical & Chemical, click on Sea Surface Temperatures. This image uses a color scale to depict the global pattern of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) (in degrees Celsius) averaged over a recent 7-day period and based on measurements by infrared sensors onboard Earth-orbiting satellites. (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.) Compare SSTs in the Northern Hemisphere with those in the Southern Hemisphere. Return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Geological, click on Current Earthquake Activity. The USGS Current World Seismicity page provides a global map of the locations of seismic (earthquake) events color-coded for the past seven days. The size of the squares represents the magnitude of recent earthquakes. Note how earthquakes are concentrated along the margin of the Pacific Ocean. Details of recent earthquakes can be found by clicking on their map squares. Return to the DS Ocean website.

The ocean is home to a wide variety of habitats and organisms. Under Biological, click on Ocean "Color" (Productivity). This is a satellite-derived (SeaWiFS) color-coded map of biological productivity in the surface waters of the world ocean is averaged from October 1978 to date. Orange and red indicates the highest productivity, while dark blue and violet indicate the lowest productivity. Note the vast areas of relatively low productivity over the central regions of the subtropical ocean basins. Individual months within this period may be chosen for viewing. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, click on TRMM Tropical Rainfall. The TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) page includes color-coded maps of the Monthly Mean Rainrate (in mm per day) across the tropics for the last 30 days ending on the present date. Changes in rainfall are linked to large-scale shifts in the atmosphere/ocean circulation in the tropics. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the DS Ocean website. You should "bookmark" ("favorites") this page on your computer. Return frequently to learn more about the many resources on the ocean in the Earth system. Bon voyage!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest global sea surface temperature map indicates that SSTs are generally higher over the [(western)(eastern)] tropical Pacific Ocean.
The USGS map of Current Earthquake Activity indicates that earthquakes appear to be more common along the [(east)(west)] coast of North America.

Historical Events

9 September 1945 - A "computer bug" is first identified and named by LT Grace Murray Hopper while she was on Navy active duty in 1945. It was found in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University. The operators affixed the moth to the computer log, where it still resides, with the entry: "First actual case of bug being found." They "debugged" the computer, first introducing the term. (Naval History Center)
10 September 1919...A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. (David Ludlum)
10 September 1965...Hurricane Betsy slammed Louisiana with wind gusting to 130 mph at Houma, resulting in 58 deaths and over 17,500 injured. The storm surge and flooding from torrential rains made Betsy the first billion-dollar hurricane with losses exceeding $1.4 billion.
11 September 1961...Very large and slow moving Hurricane Carla made landfall near Port Lavaca, TX. Carla battered the central Texas coast with wind gusts to 175 mph, and up to 16 inches of rain, and spawned a vicious tornado (F4 on the Fujita tornado intensity scale) which swept across Galveston Island killing eight persons and destroying 200 buildings. A storm surge of up to 18.5 feet inundated coastal areas and Bay City was deluged with 17.1 inches of rain. The hurricane claimed 45 lives, and caused $300 million in damage. The remnants of Carla produced heavy rain in the Lower Missouri Valley and southern sections of the Upper Great Lakes Region. (David Ludlum) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
11 September 1992...Hurricane Iniki, the third most damaging hurricane in US history, hit the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu. Six people died as a result of the hurricane.
12 September 1775...The Independence Hurricane caught many fishing boats on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland killing 4000 seamen, most from Britain and Ireland. (The Weather Doctor)
12 September 1857...The S.S. Central America sank while in the midst of a hurricane off the North Carolina coast after beginning to take on water the previous day (11^th). Approximately 400 people onboard were lost, the greatest single loss from a commercial ship due to a hurricane. (Accord Weather Calendar)
12 September 1960...Hurricane Donna made landfall on central Long Island and then tracked across New England. Wind gusts reached 140 mph at the Blue Hills Observatory in Milton, MA and 130 mph at Block Island, RI. MacDowell Dam in New Hampshire recorded 7.25 inches of rain. Although a record tide of 6.1 feet occurred at the Battery in New York City, elsewhere fortunately the storm did not make landfall at the high tides so its effects were minimized. This was the first hurricane to affect every point along the East Coast from Key West, FL to Caribou, ME. (Intellicast)
12 September 1979...Hurricane Frederick smashed into the Mobile Bay area of Alabama packing 132-mph winds. Wind gusts to 145 mph were reported as the eye of the hurricane moved over Dauphin Island, AL, just west of Mobile. Frederick produced a fifteen-foot storm surge near the mouth of Mobile Bay. Winds gusted to hurricane force at Meridian, MS although the city is 140 miles inland. The hurricane was responsible for five fatalities and was the costliest in U.S. history to date causing $2.3 billion in damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
13-16 September 2004...Hurricane Ivan affected coastal Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle, with landfall near Gulf Shores, AL early on the 16th. Before breaking loose of its mooring, a buoy just south of the Alabama coastal waters reported a peak wave height of 52 feet on the 15th. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
14 September 1716...The Boston Light, the first lighthouse in America, was first lighted just before sunset. This light was located on Little Brewster Island to mark the entrance to Boston Harbor and guide ships past treacherous rocks. This original light was blown up by the British in 1776, rebuilt in 1783, and is currently the last staffed station in the U.S. (Today in Science History)
15 September 1752...A great hurricane produced a tide (storm surge )along the South Carolina coast that nearly inundated downtown Charleston. However, just before the surge reached the city, a shift in the wind caused the water level to drop five feet in ten minutes. (David Ludlum)