WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

THANKSGIVING WEEK: 23-27 November 2015

This week is Thanksgiving Break for the Fall 2015 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

• NOAA's Ocean Guardian School program is highlighted -- NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recently highlighted the agency's Ocean Guardian School program, a national school- or community-based conservation project that makes a commitment to the protection and conservation of local watersheds, the world's ocean, and special ocean areas, such as national marine sanctuaries. Some examples of the current Ocean Guardian program are provided. [ NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
• Four seafaring US Weather Bureau personnel lost in World War II are honored -- Recently, four US Weather Bureau weather observers who lost their lives while serving onboard the US Coast Guard Muskeget during World War II were posthumously awarded Purple Hearts and honored in a ceremony held at the US Navy Memorial in Washington, DC. The Muskeget was presumed sunk by enemy action as it was enroute to Weather Station No. 2 in the North Atlantic from Boston, MA in August 1942. [NOAA News]
• 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.

• Eye on the Tropics -- During the last week tropical cyclones were found in the Pacific Ocean basins of the Northern Hemisphere and in the Southern Hemisphere's Indian Ocean:
• In the eastern North Pacific, a tropical depression formed during the middle part of last week approximately 450 miles off the western coast of Mexico and eventually became Tropical Storm Rick, the seventeenth named tropical cyclone of the 2015 eastern Pacific hurricane season. This minimal tropical storm traveled to the west northwest during the rest of the week. On Sunday afternoon, Rick became a remnant low roughly 680 miles to the west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Satellite imagery and additional information are available on the NASA Hurricane Page for Tropical Storm Rick.
• In western North Pacific Typhoon In-Fa formed from a tropical depression early last week near the Marianas Islands. This depression intensified to a tropical storm and then to a category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale during the week as it traveled to the west-northwest, passing southeast of Guam. By Monday (local time), In-Fa had weakened to a category 2 typhoon that was located to the southwest of Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima), Japan. The NASA Hurricane Page has information and satellite images of Typhoon In Fa.
  
• In the South Indian Ocean Basin, Tropical Cyclone 03S, or Annabelle developed near the end of last week over this past weekend near Diego Garcia. Over the weekend, this minimal tropical storm traveled toward the southeast. As of Monday (local time) this Annabelle was located 500 miles south of Diego Garcia.
• Cooperative agreement on conservation and management of marine protective areas made by US and Cuba -- During the last week NOAA and the National Park Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cuba's Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment that involves the facilitation of joint efforts concerning the science, stewardship, and management related to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). These MPAs are Cuba's Guanahacabibes National Park including its offshore Bank of San Antonio, and in Florida, the Flower Garden Banks and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuaries along with the Dry Tortugas and Biscayne National Parks. . [NOAA News] [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
• US Commissioner issued a concluding statement at Annual International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas meeting -- The U.S. Commissioner Russell F. Smith III issued concluding comments at the 24th annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) that was held last week in St. Julians, Malta. ICCAT is responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. [NOAA Fisheries Service]
• Average to above average Great Lakes water levels foreseen during next 6 months -- Late last week scientists from NOAA, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Environment Canada issued a six-month forecast for water levels to be at or above average on Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie running into to spring 2016. However, they felt that Lake Ontario water levels would remain close to monthly averages. Although lake levels on nearly all the Great Lakes have been above average as of late fall, the impacts associated with the anticipated strong El Niño that should persist through much of meteorological winter and other atmospheric anomalies on the forecast are difficult to predict. A briefing is available on the forecast. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
• A clear view of the USS Monitor is made -- During this past August, NOAA divers used still cameras to make high quality digital photographs of the sunken wreck of the Civil-War-era ironclad USS Monitor that is submerged at a depth of 230 feet in the waters of the North Atlantic off North Carolina's Outer Banks since December 1862. Using special software, scientists were able construct a 3D model from the digital photographs. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
• Regional El Niño Impacts and Outlooks Assessments released -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and its partners have produced 2-page pdf documents nine regions around the six of seven regions across the 48 contiguous United States along with Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands that are intended to help the public and decision makers understand how the current strong El Niño may impact the regions where they live. [NOAA NCEI News]
• Comparisons and contrasts drawn between 2015 and 1997 El Niño events -- Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently made comparisons between this year's major El Niño event and one of the other major El Niño events that occurred in 1997 and early 1998 using sea surface topography data collected from NASA satellites that included the NASA/CNES Topex/Poseidon mission in 1997-98 and from the current NASA/CNES/NOAA/EUMETSAT Jason-2 mission. While certain similarities between the two events are readily apparent, difference between the two are also evident, especially involving the location of the pool of warm water that has remained along the central equatorial Pacific for the last 18 months. These differences in the location of the pools of warm water indicate dissimilarities in the large scale impacts of individual El Niño events. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory News]
• Review of October 2015 global temperatures and sea ice cover -- Preliminary data analyzed by scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) indicated that the global combined land and ocean average surface temperature for the October 2015 was 1.76 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century average (1901-2000) for the month. Therefore, last month's global combined temperature not only was the record highest October temperature since global temperature records began in 1880, but also represented the greatest temperature departure from average for any month in 1630 months of record keeping. When considered separately, the monthly average temperature over the global oceans for October 2015 was 1.53 Fahrenheit degrees above average, the highest October ocean temperature departure, as well as being the greatest monthly departure for any month in in 136 years. The monthly average temperature of the land surface for this recently concluded month was 2.39 Fahrenheit degrees above average, which also represented the highest October land surface temperature departure on record. The record high global sea surface temperature was due in part to major El Niño event, a periodic large-scale warming of the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean.
  Furthermore, when considering the combined land-ocean global temperature for the year to date (January-October 2015), the temperature was the highest ten-month global temperature since 1880. [NOAA/NCEI State of the Climate]
  A global map of Selected Significant Climate Anomalies and Events for October 2015 is available from NCEI.
  According to satellite data collected by National Snow and Ice Data Center, the sea ice over the Arctic Ocean during October 2015 had the sixth smallest areal extent for any October since satellite-derived ice records began in 1979. On the other hand, the sea ice around Antarctica was the fourteenth largest October ice extent in the last 37 years. Globally, the sea ice extents in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere was the fifth smallest October global sea ice extent on record. [NOAA/NCEI Global Snow & Ice]

• An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA's National Weather Service, FAA and FEMA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAA/NWS Daily Briefing]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

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 20th 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

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

Concept of the Week: Questions

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

Historical Events:

• 23 November 1869...The clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, was launched at Dumbarton, Scotland. This three-masted and 212-foot long ship was one of the last clipper ships to be built and is the only one surviving to the present day, residing in a dry dock at Greenwich, England. (Wikipedia)
• 23-24 November 1981...Typhoon Irma, the worst in 10 years, struck north central Philippines (mostly Luzon) with winds to 139 mph and a storm surge of 16 feet. More than 236 people died, while 600,000 were made homeless. Entire provinces were left without power or communication. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 24 November 1982...Hurricane Iwa lashed the Hawaiian Islands of Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu with high winds and surf. Winds gusting to 120 mph caused extensive shoreline damage. Winds at Honolulu gusted to 81 mph. Damage totaled 150 million dollars on Kauai, and fifty million dollars on Oahu. The peak storm surge on the south shore was six to eight feet. It marked the first time in 25 years that Hawaii had been affected by a hurricane. (The Weather Channel)
• 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)

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Prepared by DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@aos.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2015, The American Meteorological Society.