Weekly Ocean News

WEEK TWO: 16-20 September 2013

Items of Interest:

The Autumnal Equinox -- The Autumnal Equinox will occur early this coming Sunday afternoon (officially at 2044Z on 22 September 2013 or 4:44 PM EDT or 3:44 PM CDT, etc.). At that time the noontime sun will appear directly above the equator, representing one of the two times during the year for such an occurrence, with the other being at the vernal equinox in March. The term "equinox" arises from the fact that this time of year represents "equal night" and equal day essentially everywhere. Within the subsequent several days, the length of daylight will become noticeably shorter. This decrease in daylight will continue for another three months to the winter solstice during the midday hours of Saturday, 21 December 2013.
Editor's note: John White, a meteorologist from North Carolina involved with the AMS Education program, reported that the geosynchronous (or geostationary) satellites make an "satellite eclipse" of the sun near the spring and autumnal equinoxes because of their equatorial orbit, such that these satellites pass through the earth's shadow and the satellite is powered down when the solar array does not receive sufficient sunlight. [For more information, consult NWS Southern Region GOES Satellite FAQ] EJH.
Remote sensing of the oceans by satellites -- Please read this week's Supplemental Information…In Greater Depth for a description of how oceanographers have employed orbiting satellites as observation platforms to make remote observations of the world's oceans.
Online tool displays more than 150 years of hurricane tracks -- NOAA's Coastal Services Center in partnership with NOAA's National Hurricane Center and National Climatic Data Center has developed a free online tool called "Historical Hurricane Tracks" that allows users to generate maps showing the track of any tropical cyclone (tropical storms and hurricanes) from a search of the database using a place name, storm name or year, or latitude and longitude points. Links have been made to detailed reports on the life histories and effects of US tropical cyclones since 1958, with additional US storm paths traced as far back as 1851. Global hurricane data extend as far back as 1842. Data and information on coastal county hurricane strikes are available through 2012. [NOAA National Ocean Service News]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, several named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical ocean waters, with near surface maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph that intensify to tropical storm- or hurricane-force status) developed and traveled across the tropical ocean basins in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific:

In the North Atlantic basin, the low pressure area containing the remnants of Tropical Storm Gabrielle strengthened over the waters of the western North Atlantic to the northeast of the Bahama Islands, strengthening to a tropical storm during the early part of last week. This newly regenerated Tropical Storm Gabrielle traveled northward before turning toward the northwest to pass within 40 miles of Bermuda by midweek. After passing Bermuda, Gabrielle curved toward the north and headed toward the southern coast of Nova Scotia. However, Gabrielle, weakened to a tropical depression and then dissipated late Friday afternoon over the relatively cold waters of the North Atlantic approximately 400 miles to the south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information on Tropical Storm Gabrielle along with satellite images.
At midweek, the first hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season formed from Tropical Storm Humberto over the far eastern tropical Atlantic approximately 300 miles to the west northwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands. Interestingly, this first hurricane formed on the date that is at the peak of hurricane season (11 September) according to a long-term Atlantic hurricane climatology and it was within hours of being the latest first hurricane to form in the basin. Humberto traveled northward as a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale during the late week, before curving toward the west as a tropical storm. On Saturday, Humberto became a post-tropical system nearly 1000 miles to the northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. However, Humberto could redevelop into a tropical depression or a tropical storm as of this Monday. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite images on Hurricane Humberto.
Near the end of last week, Tropical Storm Ingrid, the ninth named tropical cyclone of the Atlantic hurricane season formed from a tropical depression that had moved westward across the southern Gulf of Mexico. Over the weekend, Ingrid abruptly turned to take a track toward the northeast before curving toward the northwest. Late Saturday afternoon became the second hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic season as it was located approximately 200 miles off the eastern Gulf coast of Mexico. Hurricane Ingrid continued to approach the Mexican coast early Sunday evening, with an anticipated landfall on Monday. Heavy rain was expected to fall across eastern Mexico. For more information on Hurricane Ingrid, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the eastern North Pacific,Tropical Storm Manuel, the thirteenth named tropical cyclone of the 2013 eastern Pacific hurricane season, formed on Friday the 13th from a tropical depression approximately 140 miles south of Zihuatanejo on the west coast of Mexico. Initially, Manuel traveled westward before turning toward the north and then to the north-northwest over this past weekend. By Sunday afternoon this strong tropical storm made landfall along the coast approximately 15 miles to the north of Manzanillo, Mexico. Locally heavy rain accompanying Tropical Storm Manuel was producing a threat of flash flooding and mudslides along the Mexican coast. The circulation surrounding Manuel and its forward track were being influenced to a degree by the presence of Hurricane Ingrid approaching southeastern Mexico from the southern Gulf of Mexico. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite imagery on Tropical Storm Manuel, which was the former Tropical Depression 13E.
In the western North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Man-yi formed late last week from a tropical depression that was south of the Japanese island of Iwo To. After initially heading westward, this slowly intensifying tropical storm began to curve toward the northwest and then north. As of Sunday afternoon (local time), Man-yi had gradually curved toward the north-northwest as it approached the main Japanese islands. Although this tropical storm was beginning to lose its tropical characterstics and become a midlatitude storm, heavy rain accompanying Man-yi was expected over sections of Japan early this coming week. A satellite image and additional information on Tropical Storm Man-yi
are available from the NASA Hurricane Page.

Putting the August lull in Atlantic hurricane activity in context -- NOAA's lead seasonal hurricane forecaster, Dr. Gerry Bell, was recently interviewed and asked about the possible significance of the lack of Atlantic hurricanes in August 2013 to the hurricane season. He did not feel that the lack of hurricanes would affect the earlier NOAA Climate Prediction Center's forecast of an active hurricane season. He stated that the early part of the hurricane season is a good predictor of the second half of the season when the majority of hurricanes occur. The first hurricane of the season did not occur until the first week of September. [NOAA Climate.gov News] A composite satellite image made from natural color images collected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite onboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite on 8 September shows essentially no organized tropical cyclones at a time of the year when tropical cyclone activity usually hits a peak over the oceans of the Northern Hemisphere. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Underwater robots deployed to improve hurricane science -- A fleet of 12 to 16 autonomous underwater robotic vehicles, or "gliders," will be deployed by NOAA scientists from several locations in the North Atlantic waters off the East Coast beginning this month to collect environmental data that could help improve storm intensity forecasts during future hurricane seasons. This deployment is part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®). Each of the deployed gliders will collect data for the following three to eight weeks running into October, which will be sent to NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and then to users including the National Weather Service and the US Navy. [NOAA News]
Waterspouts seen on Lake Michigan -- Several people along lakeshore communities in southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois provided video and still images of waterspouts over the near shore waters of Lake Michigan last Thursday. These videos and still images were assembled by the Milwaukee/Sullivan National Weather Service Forecast Office along with radar images from the office's WSR-88D Doppler radar and the FAA's Terminal Doppler Weather Radar for Milwaukee. A storm moving southward over Lake Michigan spawned these waterspouts. [Milwaukee/Sullivan National Weather Service Forecast Office]
New online mapping tool for Great Lakes region launched -- NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration recently launched a new online mapping tool called "Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®)" for the Great Lakes that will give the regional decision makers, resource managers, and environmental responders better information as they clean up hazardous materials and restore the coastal and estuarine environments. This tool contains a comprehensive collection of environmental contaminant data in the region, as well as information on natural resources, habitats, weather, water levels, and currents. [NOAA News]
New website launched that has comprehensive dataset of Deepwater Horizon oil spill analyses -- During the last week NOAA announced that the agency released a comprehensive, quality-controlled dataset that gives ready access to more than two million chemical analyses and other data on the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Data on the underwater hydrocarbon plume and dispersants that were used are also included. A companion dataset including ocean temperature, salinity and currents data were also made available. [NOAA News]
New business advisory council established for National Marine Sanctuaries -- During the last week NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries established a new business advisory council designed to give its director the views of industry leaders as they work with corporate partners in marine resource protection. [NOAA News]
Satellite data indicates that the "La Nada" climate pattern lingers in the Pacific -- New sea-surface height data collected from over the Pacific Ocean by NASA's Jason-2 satellite indicate that the equatorial Pacific Ocean is currently in its 16th month since spring 2012 of being locked into a neutral, or "La Nada" state that is neither an El Niño nor La Niña event. A climatologist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggests that the in-between neutral "La Nada" events would make long-range climate forecasting more difficult due to their less predictability especially in fall, winter and summer seasons. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center indicates that ENSO neutral (El Niño –Southern Oscillation) conditions could continue in spring 2014, without a strong El Niño or La Niña event. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
Ocean acidification in Arctic progresses at an unprecedented rate and scale -- Researchers with the University of South Florida and their colleagues with other academic institutions and federal agencies, such as the US Geological Survey, have found that their investigations of seawater chemistry from samples collected during three years of research cruises in the Arctic Ocean indicate that the waters of this ocean basin are becoming more acidified at a rate faster than projected. This acidification is due to the absorption of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the near surface waters. Melting multi-year sea ice is diluting the seawater and leaving the surface water more exposed to the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Their ocean acidification models indicate that with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, the Arctic Ocean will have crucially low concentrations of dissolved carbonate minerals, such as aragonite, within the next decade. [USGS Newsroom]
Complex physical oceanography in East China Sea studied -- Typhoon Morakot that slammed Taiwan in 2009 afforded a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and National Taiwan University who were about to commence on a hydrographic study on the East China Sea the opportunity to study the alterations in the flow of water on the continental shelf off Taiwan due to the typhoon. They were able to study the flow of freshwater runoff from Taiwan, the upwelling that occurred over the continental shelf following the typhoon and the effects that the typhoon had on the biogeochemistry and nutrient dynamics of the continental shelf. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution News Release]
Higher global temperatures could change El Niño strength -- Researchers with Australia's Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science who analyzed coral records claim that increased global temperatures have impacted the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) cycle, thereby affecting the strength and timing of El Niño events over the last 4300 years. (El Niño events are recurring anomalous changes in worldwide atmospheric and oceanic circulation regimes that are characterized by a warming in the waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.) Currently, El Niño events have started earlier in the year and are stronger than in the past. [Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science]
Antarctic Ice Sheet melting from below by warm ocean -- An international team of scientists including those from NASA have finally obtained data from instruments they finally deployed on Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier ice shelf intended to measure how fast the seawater underneath the ice sheet was melting the 37-mile long ice tongue. After several unsuccessful tries, they deployed the instruments in December 2012 and since then they have found that the melt rate at one of the sites halfway down the ice shelf was as high as 6 centimeters (or 2.36 inches) per day [NASA's Earth Science News Team]
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

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Concept of the Week: The Birth of Surtsey, A Volcanic Island
In early November 1963, cod fishers plying the waters of the North Atlantic south of Iceland observed what appeared to be smoke or steam emanating from the distant ocean surface. They were witnessing the beginnings of a volcanic eruption that ultimately would give birth to a new island later named Surtsey after Surtur, the fire giant of Norse mythology. Surtsey is located at 63.4 degrees N, 20.3 degrees W or 33 km (20 mi) south of the coast of Iceland. Volcanic activity was nothing new to the fishers who lived on the nearby volcanic Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). These islands as well as the main island of Iceland straddle the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary where hot molten lava wells up from the Earth's mantle, cools and solidifies into new oceanic crust.

Eruptions that produced Surtsey began on the ocean floor, some 130 m (427 ft) below sea level. The accumulating lava, cinders, and ash first emerged from the sea on 15 November 1963. Over the next 3.5 years, episodic eruptions built an island that eventually covered 2.5 square km (1 square mi) and attained a maximum elevation of 171 m (560 ft) above sea level. The initial eruptions were explosive as hot magma interacted with cold seawater producing dark jets of ash and steam that shot up to 200 m (656 ft) above two main volcanic vents. At this time, clouds of ash and steam rose into the atmosphere to altitudes perhaps as great as 10 km (6.2 mi). Subsequent eruptions were much more peaceful, consisting of quiescent flows of lava. When the eruptions ceased in early June 1967, a cubic kilometer of ash and lava had built up on the ocean floor with 9% of this volcanic material above sea level.

No volcanic activity has occurred on Surtsey since 1967 and geologists consider the volcanic island to be extinct with little risk of future eruptions. Nonetheless, Surtsey remains off limits to visitors except for scientists who obtain permission from the Icelandic government. The island offers scientists a unique opportunity to study not only the geology but also the establishment of plants and animals on the island, a process known as ecological succession. For example, by 1987, some 25 species of higher plants were growing on the initially barren island and 20 species of birds were nesting there.

Unless volcanic activity begins anew, the future is not bright for Surtsey. Some geologists predict that in a hundred years or so the island will be reduced to scattered stacks of rock. The island is composed of basaltic rock that is particularly vulnerable to weathering and erosion, ocean waves are eroding its shores, and the island is gradually sinking into the sea. Scientists reported a total subsidence of about 1.1 m (3.6 ft) between 1967 and 1991. Compaction of the volcanic material and the underlying sea-floor sediments are likely causes of the subsidence. For NASA topographical images of Surtsey, go to http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov/research/garvin/surtsey.html . These images were obtained using a scanning airborne laser altimeter.

Concept of the Week: Questions

The volcanism responsible for the formation of Surtsey was associated with a [(divergent)(convergent)] tectonic plate boundary.
At present on Surtsey, erosive forces [(are)(are not)] prevailing over volcanic activity.

Historical Events

16 September 1928...Hurricane San Felipe, a monster hurricane, which left 600 dead in Guadeloupe and 300 dead in Puerto Rico, struck West Palm Beach, FL causing enormous damage, and then headed for Lake Okeechobee. Peak winds were near 150 mph. The high winds produced storm waves that breached the eastern dike on Lake Okeechobee, inundating flat farmland. When the storm was over, the lake covered an area the size of the state of Delaware, and beneath its waters were 1836 victims. The only survivors were those who reached large hotels for safety, and a group of fifty people who got onto a raft to take their chances out in the middle of the lake. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
16 September 1988...Hurricane Gilbert made landfall 120 miles south of Brownsville, TX in Mexico during the early evening. Winds gusted to 61 mph at Brownsville, and reached 82 mph at Padre Island. Six-foot tides eroded three to four feet of beach along the Lower Texas Coast, leaving the waterline seventy-five feet farther inland. Rainfall totals ranged up to 8.71 in. at Lamark, TX. Gilbert caused $3 million in property damage along the Lower Texas Coast, but less than a million dollars damage along the Middle Texas Coast. During its life span, Gilbert established an all-time record for the Western Hemisphere with a sea-level barometric pressure reading of 26.13 inches (888 millibars). Winds approached 200 mph, with higher gusts. Gilbert devastated Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
17-23 September 1989...Hurricane Hugo hit the Virgin Islands on the 17^th, producing wind gusts to 97 mph at Saint Croix. Hurricane Hugo passed directly over the island of Saint Croix causing complete devastation and essentially cutting off the island's communications systems. A storm surge of five to seven feet occurred at Saint Croix. The only rain gauge left operating, at Caneel Bay, indicated 9.40 in. in 24 hrs. Hurricane Hugo claimed the lives of three persons at Saint Croix, and caused more than $500 million in damage. A ship, Nightcap, in the harbor of Culebra, measured wind gusts as high as 170 mph. On the 18^th, Hugo hit Puerto Rico, producing a storm surge of four to six feet, and northeastern sections of the island were deluged with more than ten inches of rain. Hugo claimed the lives of a dozen persons in Puerto Rico, and caused $1 billion in property damage, including $100 million in crop losses. On the 21^st, Hugo slammed into the South Carolina coast at about 11 PM, making landfall near Sullivans Island. Hurricane Hugo was directly responsible for thirteen deaths, and indirectly responsible for twenty-two others. A total of 420 persons were injured in the hurricane, and damage was estimated at $8 billion including $2 billion damage to crops. Sustained winds reached 85 mph at Folly Beach SC, with wind gusts as high was 138 mph. Wind gusts reached 98 mph at Charleston, and 109 mph at Shaw AFB. The highest storm surge occurred in the McClellanville and Bulls Bay area of Charleston County, with a storm surge of 20.2 ft reported at Seewee Bay. Shrimp boats were found one half-mile inland at McClellanville. On the 22^nd, Hugo quickly lost strength over South Carolina, but still was a tropical storm as it crossed into North Carolina, just west of Charlotte, at about 7 AM. Winds around Charlotte reached 69 mph, with gusts to 99 mph. Eighty percent of the power was knocked out to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Property damage in North Carolina was $210 million and damage to crops was $97 million. The greatest storm surge occurred along the southern coast shortly after midnight, reaching nine feet above sea level at Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach. Hugo killed one person and injured fifteen others in North Carolina. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
17 September 1996...Remnants of Hurricane Fausto that had initially formed over the eastern Pacific and moved northeastward from Mexico reformed into a powerful coastal storm in Atlantic waters off the Del-Mar-Va Peninsula, before passing Cape Cod in eastern Massachusetts. Winds gusted to 50 mph and rainfall was up to four inches. Minor coastal flooding in the New York City metropolitan area. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
18 September 1926...The great "Miami Hurricane" produced winds reaching 138 mph, which drove ocean waters into Biscayne Bay drowning 135 persons. The eye of the hurricane passed over Miami, at which time the barometric pressure dropped to 935.0 millibars (27.61 inches of mercury). Tides up to twelve feet high accompanied the hurricane, which claimed 372 lives. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
19 September 1957...Bathyscaph Trieste, in a dive sponsored by the Office of Naval Research in the Mediterranean, reached a record depth of 2 miles. (Naval Historical Center)
19 September 1967...Hurricane Beulah deluged Brownsville, TX with 12.19 in. of rain in 24 hrs, to establish a record for that location. Hurricane Beulah made landfall on the 20^th near the mouth of the Rio Grande River, where a wind gust of 135 mph was reported by a ship in the port. (19^th-20^th) (The Weather Channel)
20 September 1519...Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. In October 1520, he passed through the straits that now bear his name separating Tierra del Fuego and the South American mainland and became the first known European explorer to enter the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. In September 1522 one remaining ship from the original five that set sail returned to Spain, to become the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521. (The History Channel)
20 September 1909...A strong hurricane made landfall in southeastern Louisiana. A 15-ft storm surge flooded the Timbalier Bay area. Some 350 people perished. (Intellicast)
21 September 1938...The "Great New England Hurricane" smashed into Long Island and bisected New England from New Haven, CT across Massachusetts and Vermont, causing a massive forest blowdown and widespread flooding. Winds gusted to 186 mph at Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA, and a storm surge of nearly 30 ft caused extensive flooding along the coast of Rhode Island. The hurricane killed over 600 persons and caused $500 million damage. The hurricane, which lasted twelve days, destroyed 275 million trees. Hardest hit were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Long Island NY. The "Long Island Express" produced gargantuan waves with its 150 mph winds. Waves smashed against the New England shore with such force that earthquake-recording machines on the Pacific coast clearly showed the shock of each wave. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)