Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK TWO: 2-6 February 2004

• Monitoring the rise of an artificial island from space -- Radar images obtained from satellites operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) over a four year span show the development of two large artificial islands along the Dubai coastline in the United Arab Emirates. [ESA]

• Satellites monitoring ocean conditions help marine weather forecasts -- A prototype three-dimensional, three-day ocean condition forecast model was recently unveiled by scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This model uses NASA satellite data, computer models and on-site ocean measurements to forecast ocean conditions that could benefit a variety of users, to include shipping companies and coastal managers. [NASA]

• Ocean sediments reveal link between ice age and volcanic eruptions -- A team of geological oceanographers from the University of Rhode Island and Taiwan recently concluded that, based upon the analysis of volcanic debris found in the marine sediments obtained Ocean Drilling Program cores and piston cores in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean, a massive explosive volcanic eruption in western Indonesia approximately 75,000 years could have helped set the stage for the most recent ice age. [EurekAlert!]

• Existence of graphitic black carbon affects carbon cycle calculations -- A doctoral candidate in chemistry and oceanography at the University of Washington has reported that a hard form of black carbon, identified as graphitic black carbon, is found in sufficient quantities in both marine and continental metamorphosed sedimentary rocks that it seriously affects the radiocarbon dating data used to determine the details of the carbon cycle. [EurekAlert!]

• Canadian fisheries agency accused violating own rules -- The Ecology Action Centre has petitioned the Federal Court of Canada to declare that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans does not have the right to authorize dragger fishing in sensitive marine areas, and that it is violating its own fishery-habitat legislation. [The Globe and Mail]

• Shark attacks on decline -- The director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida recently reported that 55 unprovoked shark attacks on humans occurred worldwide during 2003, marking a decrease in the number of attacks for the third consecutive year. He suggests that improved public awareness and a possible decline in the shark population have contributed to the reduction in the number of attacks. [CNN]

• A search for a lost armada --A team of archaeologists have begun a search for an ancient fleet of Persian ships that was destroyed in a violent storm off Greece in 492 BC. [BBC News]
• A rare catch made -- Tanzania fishermen have caught a dugong, or sea cow, some 70 years after the last confirmed sighting of the mammal in Tanzanian waters. [BBC News]

• Efforts made to save Venice from the sea -- A team of geo-mechanical engineers from the University of Padua have recently proposed using oil-industry technology to pump fluid underneath Venice, Italy and save the city from sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. [Nature]

• Illegal dumping admitted -- A Connecticut based tanker ship operating company pleaded guilty recently to charges that it concealed illegal dumping of sludge and waste oil at sea and agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine. [ENN]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes-- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods, and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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: 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 gave 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 plate boundary where hot molten lava wells up from the Earth's mantle, cools and solidifies into new oceanic crust.

The 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 but only 9% of this volcanic material was 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 the island will be reduced to scattered stacks of rock in 100 years or so. 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 a NASA topographical image of Surtsey, go to http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov/islands/surtsey/. This image was obtained using a scanning airborne laser altimeter.

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

• 1 February 1953...An intense low-pressure system 966 millibars (29.52 inches of mercury) swept across the North Sea. Wind speeds at Aberdeen, Scotland exceeded 125 mph. A storm surge of 13 feet, aided by a high spring tide, breached the dams in as many as 100 places along the Zuider Zee in The Netherlands, flooding 3.95 million acres or one-sixth of the country. More than 1800 deaths were attributed to drowning and 50,000 people were evacuated. In addition, this storm was responsible for the loss of 100,000 poultry, 25,00 pigs and 35,000 cattle. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 2 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida. It produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2^nd-3^rd) (The Weather Channel)
• 2 February 1976...Groundhog Day Storm, one of the fiercest Maritimes storms ever battered Bay of Fundy region around Saint John, New Brunswick with winds clocked at 118 mph, generating 39 foot waves with swells of 32.5 feet. (The Weather Doctor)

• 3 February 1488...The Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Diaz landed at Mossal Bay, Cape of Good Hope, the first European known to have landed on the southern extremity of Africa. He was also the first European to have rounded the Cape.

• 3 February 1880...Date of a terrific gale on the New Jersey coast. Six vessels came ashore with 47 persons on board all but 2 survived. Nineteen USLSS crewmen won Gold Life-Saving Medals during the wreck of George Taulane. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 3 February 1943...The torpedoing of the transport Dorchester saw USCGC Comanche and Escanaba respond. The crew of Escanaba used a new rescue technique when pulling survivors from the water. This "retriever" technique used swimmers clad in wet suits to swim to victims in the water and secure a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. Although Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97, over 600 men were lost, including the Four Chaplains. (USCG Historian's Office)

• 3 February 1953...The French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau published his most famous and lasting work, The Silent World, which was made into a film three years later. (The History Channel)

• 5 February 1997...High winds pushed mountains of ice against the northern shore of Lake Erie crushing several houses and cottages in Colchester, Ontario. (The Weather Doctor)
• 6 February 1933...The highest reliably observed ocean wave was seen by crew of the US Navy oiler, USS Ramapo, in the North Pacific during the night on its way from Manila to San Diego. The wave was estimated (by triangulation) to have a height of 112 feet. Average winds at the time were 78 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (See additional discussion on highest ocean waves)

• 7 February 1969- USCGC Tern, commissioned on this date and stationed in New York, embodied an advanced concept in servicing aids to navigation. Her over-the-stern gantry system of handling buoys is unique. The automation and modernization of over-age, isolated lighthouses and light stations showed significant progress this year. A new, more effective version of the LAMP (Lighthouse Automation and Modernization Project) plan was promulgated in this year. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 7 February 1978...The worst winter storm of record struck coastal New England. The storm produced 27.5 inches of snow at Boston, and nearly 50 inches in northeastern Rhode Island. The fourteen-foot tide at Portland, ME was probably the highest of the century. Winds gusted to 79 mph at Boston, and reached 92 mph at Chatham, MA. A hurricane-size surf caused 75 deaths and 500 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
• 8 February 1987...A powerful storm produced blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes Region. Winds gusted to 86 mph at Janesville, WI and Cleveland, OH received 12 inches of snow. North winds of 50 to 70 mph raised the water level of southern Lake Michigan two feet, and produced waves 12 to 18 feet high, causing seven million dollars damage along the Chicago area shoreline. It was the most damage caused by shoreline flooding and erosion in the history of the city of Chicago. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

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URL: DataStreme Ocean/news.html
Prepared by DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.,
email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.