Weekly Ocean News

WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

WEEK THREE: 12-16 September 2016

For Your Information

Observing International Coastal Cleanup -- This coming Saturday, 17 September 2016, has been designated as International Coastal Cleanup, which represents the largest global volunteer effort to clean up local shorelines, coastal areas, parks and neighborhoods. The NOAA Marine Debris Program and Ocean Conservancy are partners in the International Coastal Cleanup. International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in September. [Ocean Conservancy]
September is National Preparedness Month -- The upcoming 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. NPM is sponsored by 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. The theme for 2016 NPM is "Don't Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today," with an emphasis on preparedness for youth, older adults, and people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. During Week 3 (11-17 September), the weekly hazard-focused theme is "Preparing Through Service." [FEMA's Ready.gov]
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]
Aspects of ocean water chemistry and marine life considered -- If you would like more background information concerning how marine organisms evolved in the ocean with a relatively narrow range of chemical and physical characteristics, please read this week's Supplemental Information…In Greater Depth.

Ocean in the News

Eye on the Tropics -- Several named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical ocean waters, with near surface maximum sustained winds of tropical storm or hurricane force status) were reported across the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins of the Northern Hemisphere last week:

In the North Atlantic basin, Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine continued to meander several hundred miles off the Middle Atlantic coast at the start of last week. This remnant low continued to drift to the north and then west, as the National Hurricane Center made its last advisory for it on Tuesday afternoon when the system was located approximately 120 miles to the south of the eastern tip of New York's Long Island. Satellite images and additional information on Hurricane Hermine are available from the NASA Hurricane Page and from the NASA Earth Observatory.
In the eastern North Pacific basin, a tropical depression formed near the coast of southwestern Mexico one week ago Sunday. By late evening this system had strengthened to Tropical Storm Newton approximately 160 miles to the southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Traveling to the north-northwest, Newton intensified to become the seventh hurricane of 2016 in the eastern Pacific last Monday afternoon as it was approximately 215 miles to the southeast of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. By early Tuesday morning the central eye passed over Baja California Sur, accompanied by hurricane-force winds and heavy rain. Continuing to travel toward the north-northwest and then north, Hurricane Newton moved out over the Gulf of California and made a second landfall as a tropical storm along the coast of mainland Mexico near Bahia Kino in the Mexican State of Sonora early Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon, Newton had weakened into a remnant low as it crossed into southern Arizona approximately 25 miles to the west-northwest of Nogales or 40 miles to the south-southwest of Tucson. See the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite images and additional information on Hurricane Newton.
A tropical depression formed this past Saturday evening approximately 700 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. During the predawn hours of Sunday this system intensified to become Tropical Storm Orlene as it traveled toward the northwest. As of Sunday afternoon Tropical Storm Orlene was strengthening as it was located approximately 680 miles to the southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Current forecasts indicate that Orlene could become a hurricane on Monday as it would curve toward the north-northwest.
In the central North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Lester weaken at the start of last week as it traveled rapidly toward the northwest away from the Hawaiian Islands. Curving toward the north, Lester weakened and became a remnant low on Wednesday morning when it was located approximately 1290 miles to the north-northwest of Honolulu, HI. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on former Hurricane Lester.
In the western North Pacific basin, former Typhoon Namtheun had weakened to a tropical storm as it brushed the coast of Japan's Kyushu Island at the start of last week. This former category 3 typhoon (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) then dissipated over the Sea of Japan. See the NASA Hurricane Page for information and satellite images concerning former Typhoon Namtheun.
A tropical depression (16 W) formed near the end of last week near the island of Guam. Over this past weekend, this system intensified initially into Tropical Storm Meranti and eventually into a typhoon as it traveled toward the west-northwest. As of Monday (local time) Typhoon Meranti was located approximately 650 miles to the south-southeast of Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan. Current forecasts indicate Meranti would continue traveling toward the west-northwest during the early part of this week. The NASA Hurricane Page as additional information on Tropical Depression 16 W.
Tropical Depression 17W formed near the end of this past weekend in the western North Pacific. Traveling to the east-northeast, it remained a tropical depression and as of Monday (local time) TD 17W was decaying as it was located approximately 1000 miles to the north-northeast of Minami Tori Shima (Marcus Island), a Japanese coral atoll.
Tropical Depression 18W formed near Guam on Monday (local time). Travel was toward the west-northwest.

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion -- NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) recently released their El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion that showed ENSO-neutral conditions were observed during the month of August 2016, meaning meaning that neither an El Niño or La Niña event was underway as near -average sea surface temperatures (SST) were found across most of the central equatorial Pacific during this past month.
Forecast models indicate that borderline ENSO-La Niña conditions were slightly favored (between 55 and 60%) during the meteorological fall and winter seasons of 2016-17 across the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, forecasters at CPC have dropped their La Niña watch that they had posted over this past summer. An ENSO blog written by a CPC contractor describes the ENSO-neutral conditions that continue into early September and the borderline La Niña conditions that are envisioned for the upcoming autumn and winter months. [NOAA Climate.gov News] A detailed and more technical El Niño/Southern Oscillation Diagnostic Discussion with supporting maps and charts is available from CPC.
Humpback whales seen as Endangered Species Act success story -- Following years of research, scientists at NOAA Fisheries have determined that nine of fourteen distinct population segments of humpback whales do not warrant listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The remaining five segments sill appear vulnerable to extinction and will require continued protection afforded by ESA. The increase in the numbers of humpback whales is being viewed as an ESA success story. [NOAA Fisheries Feature Story] Additional information on the humpback whale species is available [NOAA Fisheries Protected Species]
NOAA Fisheries maintains that observer safety is a top priority -- Sam Rouch, the NOAA Fisheries Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, recently discussed the safety of human observers and at-sea monitors as well as the ongoing comprehensive safety review of the agency's observer program. [NOAA Fisheries]
Satellites detect crack advancing across Antarctic Ice Shelf -- With the end of continuous darkness across the Antarctic Peninsula, natural-color satellite images of the Antarctic Ice Shelf are available once again. Images made from data collected by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer onboard NASA's Terra satellite in late August show a considerable lengthening in the rift along Larsen C, Antarctica's fourth-largest ice shelf. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Increased ocean acidification due to human activities is found -- Oceanographers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution report that the near-surface ocean waters of the northeast Pacific Ocean are absorbing an increasing amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last decade at a rate that mirrors the increase of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The researchers report an increased acidification with the regional average pH decreasing by approximately 0.002 pH units per year over the past 10 years. Increased ocean acidification in the northeast Pacific would result in weaker shells for many marine species. [MIT News]
Sensitivity of different California Current species to ocean acidification is examined -- Researchers at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center and colleagues have estimated the sensitivity of different marine species groups to ocean acidification within the California Current ecosystem found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean off the West Coast of North America. Ocean acidification results from increased amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide being absorbed in ocean waters; increased ocean acidification has been expected to increase with projected changing climate conditions. In the study, marine species were grouped into 34 groups based on similar functions in the ecosystem. Most functional groups of species (26 of 34) responded negatively to increasing acidification, but when uncertainty in sensitivity was considered, the negative correlations dropped to 11 of 34. [NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science News]
Harmful algae identification is being offered -- NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) is now providing taxonomic training for US managers, scientists and technicians who study harmful algal blooms (HABs). Identification of the phytoplankton species responsible for HABs is needed for effective monitoring and management of these blooms. [NOAA NCCOS News]
New deep-reef butterflyfish species found in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands -- Scientists from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, HI and NOAA have published a description of a new species of butterflyfish, Prognathodes basabei, discovered in the deep reefs located at depths between 150 and 500 feet in the waters Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Landfalling typhoons in east and southeast Asia are becoming more frequent and more intense -- Using 37 years of data collected by the US Navy/US Air Force Joint Typhoon Center and the Japan Meteorological Agency, researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill typhoons (tropical cyclones with hurricane intensity) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean basin have intensified over the four decades by an average of 12 to 15 percent, with the proportion of major category 4 and 5 typhoons (on the Saffir-Simpson Scales) having doubled or even tripled in some regions. A warming of the coastal waters could be contributing to the increase in intensity of typhoons striking eastern mainland China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. [International Business Times]
Linking African drought with the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation -- A senior scientist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, who is focusing upon fire, drought and famine across the Sahel and other neighboring sections of West and Central Africa, has been investigating the alternating wet and dry periods of years to decades that are occur across the region. A possible reason for these alternating occurrences may be found in the cyclic shifting of ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic in what is called the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO), which has an estimated periodicity ranging from 60 to 80 years. When the North Atlantic is warm, large-scale weather patterns shift and bring more rain to the Sahel, such as since 1990, but when the North Atlantic is in a cool phase, the rains remain just to the south of the Sahel, leading to drought conditions, such as between 1960 and 1980. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Determining the amount of geoengineering needed to limit global temperature rise -- Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research conducted a study designed to assess how much sulfate particulate matter would have to be injected into the atmosphere in a "geoengineering" approach to keep the global average temperature from exceeding the 2-Celsius degree increase by the end of the 21st century; this target was proposed by representatives from 195 countries at last year's Paris Agreement. The research team ran computer simulations of climate conditions with different levels of greenhouse gases as well as stratospheric sulfates using the NCAR-based Community Earth System Model and the Integrated Science Assessment Model at the University of Illinois. The amount needed to maintain this 2-degree target would require a peak rate of 18 megatons of sulfur dioxide being injected into the atmosphere per year, or about 1.5 times the amount emitted by the massive eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1992. [UCAR/NCAR AtmosNews]
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]

Concept of the Week: Sea Water Salinity and Carbon Dioxide

In view of the contemporary concern regarding global climate change, scientists are studying the various factors that govern the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are on the rise primarily because of the burning of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil, natural gas). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (an atmospheric gas that absorbs and radiates infrared radiation) so that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be contributing to global warming. The ocean's role in regulating the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on the temperature, salinity, and biological components of surface waters.

As noted in Chapter 3 of your textbook, gases are more soluble in cold seawater than warm seawater. Hence, changes in sea surface temperature affect the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide. As noted in Chapter 1 of your textbook, photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen. And through cellular respiration, all organisms release carbon dioxide. What about the effects of changes in salinity on the ocean's uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide? Research from the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii provides some insight on this question.

Since the late 1980s, scientists have been recording ocean conditions at a site (dubbed ALOHA) about 100 km (62 mi) north of Oahu. In 2003, David M. Karl, a biogeochemist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, reported a decline in the rate at which surface ocean waters were absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, in 2001, the rate of CO₂ uptake was only about 15% of what it was in 1989. Why the change in CO₂ uptake? In this region of the Pacific north of Hawaii, sea surface temperatures showed no significant change during the period of observation but precipitation decreased and evaporation increased. Less precipitation coupled with higher rates of evaporation caused the surface water salinity at ALOHA to increase by about 1%. Increasing salinity inhibits water's ability to absorb gases including carbon dioxide. Karl and his colleagues attribute 40% of the decline in the ocean's CO₂ uptake to the saltier waters. The balance of the decline may be due to changes in biological productivity or ocean mixing.

Concept of the Week: Questions

With rising sea surface temperatures, the rate of evaporation of sea water [(increases)(decreases)].
With increasing salinity and constant temperature, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is taken up by ocean water [(increases)(decreases)].

Historical Events

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, a former Category 4 storm, 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)
12 September 1988...The island of Jamaica was given a devastating hit by Hurricane Gilbert. (National Weather Service files)
13 September 1928...The hurricane that struck Puerto Rico was called the San Felipe Hurricane because that is the saint's day on which it struck. One thousand people died. (National Weather Service files)
13 September 1988...A reconnaissance plane measured Hurricane Gilbert as the strongest Atlantic hurricane (up to that time) at 888 millibars or 26.22 inches of mercury. (National Weather Service files)
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)
16 September 1926...The Great Miami Hurricane struck that city as a Category 4. The eye of the storm crossed directly over downtown Miami and lasted for 35 minutes, prompting people to return to the streets where subsequently many were killed as the second half of the storm roared in. Very little of Miami and Miami Beach were left intact. (National Weather Service files)
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 September 1829...The Siebold Typhoon, Japan's most catastrophic typhoon, inflicted widespread damage over much of Japan. On the southern island of Kyushu, the storm surge off the Ariake Sea killed 10,000 people. (National Weather Service files)
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)
17 September 2004...Flooding and mudslides killed more than 3,000 people in Haiti in Hurricane Jeanne. (National Weather Service files)
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)