WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

THANKSGIVING WEEK: 25-29 November 2013

This week is Thanksgiving Break for the Fall 2013 offering of the DataStreme Ocean course. This Weekly Ocean News contains new information items and historical data, but the Concept of the Week is repeated from Week 11.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving Week from the AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Ed Hopkins!

Items of Interest

High tech 3-D educational tool now installed at 100 locations worldwide -- Recently, the one-hundredth NOAA's Science On a Sphere® was installed NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. For nearly a decade, the six-foot diameter Science On a Sphere® has been used at museums, aquariums, and science laboratories around the world by curators, educators and scientists, to provide inspiring 3-dimensional animations of planet Earth and help the public visualize planetary systems and processes. More than 400 annotated datasets are available to use on this sphere to highlight weather observations, climate models, ocean acidification, along with the latest solar system imagery. [NOAA News]
End of a season -- With the end of November on Saturday, 30 November 2013, the autumn meteorological season in the Northern Hemisphere will end, followed by the start of the meteorological winter season on Sunday (1 December). Recall that meteorologists have elected to use a standard three-month grouping to identify each meteorological season. Hence, September, October and November are considered the autumn or fall meteorological season, while the months of December, January and February are the winter season. You will note that the winter solstice, marking the day where the length of daylight is least in the Northern Hemisphere is still three weeks away, falling on Saturday, 21 December 2013. Since the lowest temperatures typically fall in mid to late January, the meteorological winter tends to be centered on the coldest time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
In addition, the end of November also marks the end of the official hurricane seasons in the North Atlantic, which includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, along with the eastern and central North Pacific basins.
Species dominance and ocean properties -- Discover how variations in both the physical and chemical properties of ocean waters can be accompanied by changes in the dominance of the various species of marine life in this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- Tropical cyclone activity across the world's tropical ocean basins was relatively light last week:

In the North Atlantic basin (that includes the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico), Subtropical Storm Melissa formed early last week from an area of low pressure to the east-southeast of Bermuda. By mid week, this subtropical storm (which had the characteristics of a tropical and extratropical cyclone) was reclassified as a tropical storm, based upon satellite surveillance. As the thirteenth named tropical cyclone of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Melissa traveled toward the east-northeast across the northeastern Atlantic. Late in the week, Melissa became a post-tropical cyclone to the west of the Azores. For additional information along with satellite images of Tropical Storm Melissa, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
No named tropical cyclones developed last week over the entire North Pacific basin, extending from the western coast of North America to the eastern coast of Asia.
In the North Indian Ocean basin, Tropical Storm Helen formed over the Bay of Bengal as the fourth tropical cyclone of the 2013 season in that basin. Helen traveled toward the west and west-northwest, making landfall along the coast of eastern India near Machillipatnam late in the week. The NASA Hurricane Page has more information and satellite images for Tropical Storm Helen.
Over this past weekend, Tropical Storm Lehar formed from a tropical depression that was over the Andaman Sea to the west of southern Thailand. Forecasts as of late Sunday (local time) indicate that Lehar could intensify to become a category 2 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale by late next week before making landfall along the eastern coast of India. .
In the South Indian Ocean basin, Tropical Storm Alessia formed several hundred miles off Western Australia's Kimberley coast late last week. Over the weekend, this tropical storm traveled to the east toward the coast. Alessia was made landfall along the coast of Australia's Northern Territory to the south of Darwin over the weekend. After making landfall, Alessia weakened to become a remnant low. Satellite imagery and additional information are available on the NASA Hurricane Page for Tropical Storm Alessia.

Assessing typhoon-caused damage in the Philippines from space -- Comparison of false-color images made from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) sensor onboard NASA's Terra satellite of the region around Tacloban, Philippines in April 2004 and mid-November 2013 shows the massive destruction to this city by strong winds and a large storm surge associated with Super Typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines in early November. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Report on status of wetlands in nation's coastal watersheds released -- A new report entitled "Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Conterminous United States 2004-2009" was recently released by NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report found that the coastal watersheds of the continental United States lost wetlands at an average rate of 80,000 acres per year between 2004 and 2009, which represents a 25 percent increase over the previous 6-year study period. Key factors involved in the wetland loss were stressors to the upper coastal watersheds associated with residential and infrastructure development. [NOAA Fisheries Service]
Review of October 2013 global temperatures -- Preliminary data analyzed by scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center indicated that the global combined land and ocean average surface temperature for the October 2012 was 1.13 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century average (1901-2000) for the month. Therefore, last month's global combined temperature was the seventh highest October temperature since global temperature records began in 1880. When considered separately, the monthly temperatures of the land surface for this recently concluded month tied October 2012 for the eighth highest October land surface temperature on record, while the October 2012 monthly average temperature over the global oceans also was the eighth highest October ocean temperature in 134 years.
Furthermore, when considering the combined land-ocean global temperature for the year to date, the temperature was the eight highest ten-month global temperature since 1880. [NOAA/NCDC State of the Climate]
A global map of Selected Significant Climate Anomalies and Events for October 2013 is available from NCDC.
According to satellite data collected by National Snow and Ice Data Center, the sea ice over the Arctic Ocean during October 2013 had the sixth smallest areal extent for any October since satellite-derived ice records began in 1979. However, the sea ice around Antarctica was the largest October ice extent on record. [NOAA/NCDC Global Snow & Ice]
New solar radiation measuring instrument placed in Earth orbit -- A satellite was successfully launched last Tuesday night into Earth orbit from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia that carried an instrument called the Total solar irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment (TCTE). This relatively inexpensive instrument, which is sensitive to solar radiation at all wavelengths, is designed to continue measuring the total energy output emanating from the Sun. The measurements of incident solar radiation made from orbiting space craft began in 1978 are meant to help ascertain if solar changes influence the Earth's climate. [NOAA 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.

This Concept of the Week is repeated from Week 11.

Concept of the Week: Living Coral and El Niño

El Niño episodes of 1982-83 and 1997-1998, the most intense of the century, confirmed the connection between higher than average ocean temperatures and bleaching of hermatypic corals. (Hermatypic corals live in warm shallow water and build large reefs.) Water temperatures higher than 29°C (the normal maximum sea surface temperature in the equatorial eastern Pacific) can trigger expulsion of zooxanthellae, microscopic dinoflagellates whose symbiotic relationship with coral polyps is essential for the long-term survival of coral. Without zooxanthellae, coral polyps have little pigmentation and appear nearly transparent on the coral's white skeleton, a condition known as coral bleaching. If maximum temperatures are not too high for too long, corals can recover, but prolonged warming associated with an intense El Niño (that may persist for 12 to 18 months) can be lethal to coral. Most hermatypic corals thrive when the water temperature is 27°C, but do not grow when the water becomes too cold. Although the ideal temperature varies with species and from one location to another, the temperature range for optimal growth is quite narrow--only a few Celsius degrees. This sensitivity to relatively small changes in water temperature is an important source of information on past climates as fossil coral is a significant component of many limestones. Evidence of bleaching episodes in fossil corals may yield important clues to past changes in the world's tropical ocean.

Coral, sometimes referred to as "the rainforests of the ocean," provides a base for local ecosystems and have many benefits (e.g., fisheries, tourism) that are important in many parts of the globe. Hence, vulnerability to El Niño-associated warming is an object of considerable scientific interest. During the 1997-98 Niño, NOAA charted significant coral bleaching from portions of the Great Barrier Reef near Australia, French Polynesia in the south Pacific, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya, and around the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Closer to home, coral bleaching was reported in the Florida Keys, the Cayman Islands, and off the Pacific coast of Panama and Baja California. Fortunately damage from the 1997-98 El Niño warming was less drastic than the 1983-84 El Niño when up to 95% of the corals in some locations died. Many of the corals damaged in the late 1990s have at least partially recovered including important reefs in the Florida Keys. For additional information on coral status, go to the NOAA website http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Most hermatypic corals thrive at an ocean water temperature of [(10) (27)] °C.
Corals [(can) (cannot)] recover from bleaching if high ocean water temperatures are not long lasting.

Historical Events:

26 November 1703...Bristol England was damaged by a hurricane. The Royal Navy lost 15 warships.
26 November 1778...Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy became the first European to discover Maui in the Sandwich Islands (later renamed the Hawaiian Islands). (Wikipedia)
26 November 1847...LT William Lynch, USN, sailed from New York to Haifa on USS Supply for an expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. His group charted the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea and compiled reports of the flora and fauna of the area. (Naval Historical Center)
26 November 1888...A late season hurricane brushed the East Coast with heavy rain and gale force winds. The hurricane passed inside Nantucket and over Cape Cod, then crossed Nova Scotia. (David Ludlum)
26 November 1966...The world's first tidal power station was opened at Rance estuary in the French province of Brittany. This power plant, fitted with reversible turbines, generates 500 million kilowatt-hours annually. (Today in Science History)
26-28 November 1898...The "Portland" storm raged across New England producing gale force winds along the coast and heavy snow inland. A foot of snow blanketed Boston, MA, and 27 inches fell at New London, CT. Winds at Boston gusted to 72 mph, and wind gusts to 98 mph were estimated at Block Island, RI. A passenger ship, the S.S. Portland, sank off Cape Cod with the loss of all 191 persons aboard, and Boston Harbor was filled with wrecked ships. The storm wrecked 56 vessels resulting in a total of 456 casualties. (26^th- 28^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
27 November 1703...The first Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Devon, England (approximately 14 miles southwest of Plymouth) was destroyed in the "Great Storm," and killed its builder Henry Winstanley. This first light was in an octagonal wooden structure built in 1698. The "Great Storm" is reported to have killed more than 8000 people. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
27-28 November 1905...Heavy snow and wind blasted the western Great Lakes with as much as seven inches of snow in northwestern Wisconsin and sustained winds of 42 mph recorded at Duluth, MN for 29 straight hours and 65 mph winds for 13 continuous hours. Severe drifting resulted. Eighteen ships were destroyed or disabled on Lake Superior. The ship Mataafa was grounded and broke in two in Duluth harbor. Nine of the fifteen crew of the Mataafa froze to death despite running aground within 100 yards of the shore. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
28 November 1520...Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the treacherous South American strait that now bears his name in a 38-day passage. He was the first European to sail into the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic to the east. (The History Channel)
28 November 1960...A severe storm produced waves 20 to 40 feet high on Lake Superior. Duluth, MN was buried under a foot of snow, and clocked wind gusts to 73 mph. The northern shore of Lake Superior was flooded, and property along the shore was battered. Thousands of cords of pulpwood were washed into Lake Superior, and up to three feet of water flooded the main street of Grand Marais. Thunder accompanied the "nor'easter". (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
1 December 1969...Ocean swells generated by a storm more than 1000 miles to the north-northwest of the French Frigate Shoals produced 50-foot high surf along the outer shoals of Tern Island, submerging the 300-foot wide island under two to three feet of water. The 19-member Coast Guard contingent was evacuated, but considerable damage was done to buildings. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
1 December 1990...Workers from the United Kingdom and France on the Channel Tunnel construction project met approximately 120 feet beneath the English Channel seabed, to establish the first ground connection between the British Isles and mainland Europe since the last Ice Age. (Wikipedia)