Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK FIVE: 18-22 February 2008

Ocean in the News

(Thurs.) Enhanced oceans observations project launched in the Gulf -- A cooperative agreement was recently signed by NOAA and Shell Oil Company that would place meteorological and oceanographic sensors on seven Shell oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico that would become a part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Airborne dust could result in quieter Atlantic hurricane seasons -- Using satellite and weather data for a 25-year span, atmospheric scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison claim that large amounts of airborne dust from Africa can reduce the sea surface temperature of the nearby North Atlantic, resulting in few hurricanes in that basin. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Low oxygen seawater studied off Pacific Northwest coast -- Scientists from the NOAA Fisheries Service, Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have been studying the increased areas of seawater in the California Current offshore of the Washington and Oregon coasts that have little or no dissolved oxygen. These anoxia conditions could result in major problems for the region's marine ecosystem. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) New approaches need to resolve conflict in the Gulf of Maine -- A NOAA biologist warns that new methods must be considered in formulating an ecosystem-based fishery management plan that would more effectively manage the marine resources of the Gulf of Maine and the Georges Bank [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Searching the Arctic depths -- Several ocean mapping expeditions to the Arctic basin by researchers from the University of New Hampshire and NOAA have resulted in a new data set of the Arctic sea floor that repositions the foot of the continental slope off Alaska more than 100 nautical miles farther to the north than previously thought. This discovery could expand US rights to natural resources found on the sea floor. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Effects of bottom trawling seen from space -- Using satellite imagery, scientists have detected billowing plumes of sediment from shallow seafloors stirred up into the water by the industrial fishing method of bottom trawling [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Fossil fuels could be hazardous to health of fish and people -- A group of scientists from the US and Canada report that a type of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, a compound found in burnt and un-burnt petroleum products, appears to be toxic to fish and humans, based upon evidence collected in Pacific herring and salmon after the Exxon Valdez (AK) spill of 1989. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) "Hurricane hunter" aircraft used in Pacific winter storms -- The NOAA "hurricane hunter" aircraft has been used to gather atmospheric data in potent winter storms over the eastern North Pacific as pat of NOAA’s Winter Storms Reconnaissance program designed to help improve short-term weather forecasts along the Pacific coast prior to the arrival of winter storms. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Antarctic life was threatened by ice ages -- A team of researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the German Alfred Wegener Institute claim that animals in Antarctica experienced more serious life-threatening conditions during the ice ages than currently, due in part to the expanded sea ice that surrounded the continent. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Analog warming events studied -- Researchers from California, Texas and Hawaii studying the deep sea sediment cores collected by the International Ocean Drilling Program have been focusing upon the rapid increases in carbon and global temperatures approximately 55 million years ago that culminated in the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), with the intent to see if changes in ocean chemistry would be analogous to the potential due acidification of the oceans to projected anthropogenic- related increases in carbon dioxide during this century. [EurekAlert!]
Awards given for coastal preservation and management projects -- The Coastal America Partnership, which involves numerous Cabinet-level federal partners working protect, preserve and restore coastal watersheds, has recently presented national awards recognizing the contributions of several organizations to:
- The California Resources Agency and NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program for their joint efforts in the "Thank You Ocean" campaign designed to encourage Californians to become more familiar with and respect the ocean and the marine ecosystem. [NOAA News]
- NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for its Coral Protection and Restoration Program. [NOAA News]
World's largest marine protected area is created -- The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati has established the Phoenix Islands Protected Area south of Hawaii, which has a size equivalent to that of California, making it the world's largest marine protected area. [EurekAlert!]
Eye on the tropics -- The south Indian Ocean remained active as two tropical cyclones were found. Tropical Cyclone Ivan moved to the west-southwest across the western section of the basin, reaching a major Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity scale. As of late Sunday (local time) Ivan was about to make landfall along the northeast coast of Madagascar. Near the end of last week, a satellite image obtained from the European METEOSAT-7 satellite showed the clouds surrounding Tropical Cyclone Ivan. [NOAA OSEI] Farther to the east, Tropical Cyclone Nicholas formed off the northwest coast of Australia at the midpoint of last week and traveled to the west-southwest, paralleling the coast. This tropical cyclone remained a category 1 system on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. As of late Sunday Nicholas was to the northeast of Learmonth, Australia. An image from the Japanese MTSAT satellite shows the clouds associated with this tropical cyclone. [NOAA OSEI]
Extent of harmful human influences on global marine ecosystems shown -- A report, along with a global map, produced by a team of researchers including those from the University of California, Santa Barbara and NOAA’s National Oceanographic Data Center indicates that more than 40 percent of the world's oceans have been significantly and adversely affected by human activity that have included human-induced climate changes in sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification and UV radiation. [NOAA News]
A map of the ocean temperature data is also available. [EurekAlert!]
A review of January 2008 weather and climate patterns across the US and the globe -- Scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center recently reported that based upon preliminary data, the January 2008 average temperature across the coterminous United States was close to the long-term average. The Northeast was warmer than average, while much of the West was cooler than average. Precipitation totals for January nationally quite close to average, with the West Coast and sections of the Midwest experiencing greater than average precipitation totals, while of the Plains, the Southeast and the Atlantic Seaboard having a drier than average January. La Niña, the cold phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation episode, continued as indicated by lower than average sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Across the planet, the month was the 31st warmest on record. [NOAA News]
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.

Concept of the Week: The Ocean and the Global Radiation Budget

The ocean is an important player in the radiational heating and cooling of Planet Earth. For one, covering about 71% of Earth's surface, the ocean is a primary control of how much solar radiation is absorbed (converted to heat) at the Earth's surface. Also, the ocean is the main source of the most important greenhouse gas (water vapor) and is a major regulator of the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), another greenhouse gas.

On an annual average, the ocean absorbs about 92% of the solar radiation striking its surface; the balance is reflected to space. Most of this absorption takes place within about 200 m (650 ft) of the surface with the depth of penetration of sunlight limited by the amount of suspended particles and discoloration caused by dissolved substances. On the other hand, at high latitudes multi-year pack ice greatly reduces the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the ocean. The snow-covered surface of sea ice absorbs only about 15% of incident solar radiation and reflects away the rest. At present, multi-year pack ice covers about 7% of the ocean surface with greater coverage in the Arctic Ocean than the Southern Ocean (mostly in Antarctica's Weddell Sea).

The atmosphere is nearly transparent to incoming solar radiation but much less transparent to outgoing infrared (heat) radiation. This differential transparency with wavelength is the basis of the greenhouse effect. Certain trace gases in the atmosphere absorb outgoing infrared and radiate some of this energy to Earth's surface, thereby significantly elevating the planet's surface temperature. Most water vapor, the principal greenhouse gas, enters the atmosphere via evaporation of seawater. Carbon dioxide, a lesser greenhouse gas, cycles into and out of the ocean depending on the sea surface temperature and photosynthesis/respiration by marine organisms in surface waters. Cold water can dissolve more carbon dioxide than warm water so that carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere where surface waters are chilled (at high latitudes and upwelling zones) and released to the atmosphere where surface waters are heated (at low latitudes). Photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide and all organisms release carbon dioxide via cellular respiration.

Concept of the Week: Questions

If the ocean's pack ice cover were to shrink, the ocean would absorb [(more) (less)] solar radiation.
All other factors being equal, if sea surface temperatures were to rise, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolved in surface ocean waters would likely [(increase) (decrease)].

Historical Events

18 February 1828...More than 100 vessels were destroyed in a storm at Gibraltar.
18 February 1846...A General Order was issued by the Secretary of the US Department of Navy "on Port and Starboard," in which the term "port" replaced "larboard." (Naval Historical Center)
19 February 1473...Nicolaus Copernicus, the father of modern astronomy, was born in Torun in north central Poland. He was the first modern European scientist to propose that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. (The History Channel)
19 February 1845...The Lighthouse Establishment was transferred to the Revenue Marine Bureau. Metal buoys were first put into service. They were riveted iron barrels that replaced the older wooden stave construction. (USCG Historian's Office)
19 February 1972...A vicious coastal storm dumped 10 to 20 inches of snow over interior sections of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states and caused some of the worst coastal damage of the century in New England. Storm surges up to 4.5 ft and winds gusting over 80 mph along coastal Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine resulted in extensive property damage and tremendous beach erosion. Twenty-seven houses were destroyed and 3000 damaged in Massachusetts alone. (Intellicast)
19 February 1977...Using the research submersible Alvin, deep-ocean researchers John B. Corliss and John M. Elmond found an extraordinary oasis of life on the Pacific Ocean floor off the Galapagos Islands, including new types of worms, clams and crabs around geothermal hot water vents. These organisms appeared to depend upon bacteria oxidizing hydrogen sulfide contained in the volcanic gases spewing out of the hot springs. (Today in Science History)
20 February 1823...English Captain James Weddell and the brig Jane reached 74º 15' S, or 940 mi (1520 km) from the South Pole. His voyage reached farther south than anyone had ventured until the 1850s, as it was 214 mi south of the latitude that Captain James Cook had sailed.
20 February 1835...While in Chile, Charles Darwin experienced a strong earthquake and shortly thereafter saw evidence of uplift in the region. From measurements, he determined that the land rose several feet, and later hypothesized that coral reefs in the Pacific could develop along margins of subsiding landmasses. (Today in Science History)
20 February 1856...The John Rutledge, an American steamer that sailed from Liverpool, England for New York, hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Most of the 155 people onboard were lost.
21 February 1835...The HMS Beagle, along with Charles Darwin left Valdivia, Chile.
21 February 1907...During an exceptionally heavy gale, the British-owned mail ship Berlin hit dangerous shoals and broke up while attempting to navigate around the Hook of Holland in the English Channel. Only 14 on board survived, while 127 were killed or drowned.
22-26 February 1995...Cyclone Bobby slammed into the Western Australia coast causing widespread flooding. Some areas reported up to 12 in. of rain from the storm. (The Weather Doctor)
23 February 1802...A great snowstorm raged along the New England coast producing 48 inches of snow north of Boston and 54 inches of snow at Epping, NH. Three large (indiamen) ships from Salem were wrecked along Cape Cod by strong winds. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
24 February 1881...De Lesseps' Company began work on the Panamá Canal