Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ELEVEN: 7-11 April 2008

Ocean in the News:

(Thurs.) Hawaiian fragile marine ecosystem to receive additional protection -- The International Maritime Organization recently declared the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands within the boundaries of the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument as a "Particularly Sensitive Sea Area", providing additional internationally recognized protection to the fragile and unique marine ecosystems within this region. [NOAA News]
(Thurs.) Microbes could also affect health of coral reefs -- Scientists from Newcastle University recently reported that coral reefs could be dying because of changes to the microorganisms that reside on the reefs, in addition to the rise in water temperature associated with global climatic change. [EurekAlert!]
(Thurs.) Water quality could be protected during ethanol production -- A group of scientists recently provided a list of recommendations for advanced conservation measures that would minimize the losses of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients from corn being grown for ethanol production across the nation, thereby reducing the negative effects upon water quality, including the development of "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico. [Soils Science Society of America]
(Thurs.) Geological features may not be effective earthquake barriers -- Geoscientists from the University of Texas and other institutions who studied last year's deadly magnitude 8.1 earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands conclude that certain geological features may not be as effective barriers to earthquakes as previously thought. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Another humpback whale count in Hawaii -- The third and final scheduled survey of the annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count was held on the last weekend in March as more than 500 volunteers counted their sightings of humpback whales from 58 sites on four of the Hawaiian Islands. [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Report card on Chesapeake Bay remains poor -- Researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and their colleagues from other institutions recently gave the ecosystem health of Chesapeake Bay a grade of C-minus in 2007, which was slightly better than the D+ in 2006, but well below what was deemed necessary for a healthy estuary. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Study of ocean noise starts in a marine sanctuary -- Researchers have deployed listening devices in the waters of NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts to record the variety of sounds from whales, fish and human activity in an effort to develop a global monitoring network designed to protect marine mammals and fish from increased sound levels from anthropogenic sources. [Northeast Fisheries Science Center]
(Tues.) African fisheries observers receive training -- A team of NOAA Fisheries Service scientists, together with support from the US Navy, traveled to the African nation of Ghana to teach 40 government officials and university students to become trained marine resource officials. govern [NOAA News]
(Tues.) Study links West Coast faults -- A group of scientists who analyzed marine sediment cores claim that during the last 3000 years seismic activity along the southern end of the Cascadia Subduction fault off the Pacific Northwest may have triggered major earthquakes along northern sections of California's San Andreas Fault. [EurekAlert!]
(Tues.) Viruses appear to be essential for survival of life -- A scientist from the University of Warwick recently reported that a form of viruses attacking marine phytoplankton may actually help spread useful genes for photosynthesis between strains of the phytoplankton, making the viruses an important to key in production of oxygen for the maintenance of planetary life. [EurekAlert!]
Sea Grant review panel members appointed -- The Secretary of the US Department of Commerce recently appointed three new members to 15-member NOAA’s National Sea Grant Review Panel, which is responsible for advising the Commerce Secretary, the NOAA Administrator and the Director of the National Sea Grant College Program on policies pertinent to the operation of the Sea Grant Program. [NOAA News]
Public comment invited on loggerhead sea turtle classification -- The NOAA’s Fisheries Service has recently invited the public to make comment before 5 May 2008 on a petition that would reclassify loggerhead turtles in the western North Atlantic Ocean as a distinct population segment with endangered status. [NOAA News]
Sediment swirls seen in Gulf of Alaska -- An image obtained from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite in mid-March shows a swirl of tan and turquoise colors in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, indicating the sediment that was brought to the surface by strong winds associated with storms along the coast of south central Alaska. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Vessel sewage discharge regulation comments are invited -- The NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is seeking public input before the end of May 2008 on a proposal to regulate the discharge of sewage and graywater from cruise ships and container ships into sanctuary waters offshore of southern California. [NOAA News]
Predicting cholera outbreaks from space -- A professor from the University of Maryland recently reported that the outbreak of cholera epidemics around the world could be predicted using satellite-based sensors because of the relationship that has been determined between the epidemics and geophysical factors that include sea surface temperature and sea surface height. [EurekAlert!]
Improved climate simulations run for 400 years -- Climate scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory claim that they have obtained substantially improved high-resolution simulations of the global ocean-atmosphere circulation regimes over a 400-year time span using the Community Climate System Model. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]
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: 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 El 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 Coral Reef Conservation Program 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:

8-10 April 1958...A global 48-hr precipitation record was established at Aurere, La Reunion Island, when 97.1 in. of rain from a tropical cyclone fell on the Indian Ocean island. (The Weather Doctor)
8-14 April 1984...Intense Tropical Cyclone Kaimsy crossed and re-crossed the northern portion of Madagascar. Winds exceeding 112 mph destroyed 80 percent of Antseranana and Mahajanga. Rainfall from this system totaled 27.99 in. Eighty-two people were killed and 100,000 were made homeless. Damage was greater than 150 million US dollars. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (The Weather Doctor)
9 April 1770...The English explorer Captain James Cook discovered Botany Bay on the Australian continent.
10 April 1877...The first of two great coastal storms struck the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. The Oregon Inlet was widened by three-quarters of a mile. The "entire topography of country is materially altered," according to a description of the altering of sand dunes at Cape Hatteras, NC. (Intellicast)
10 April 1998...Northeast winds at 40 mph on the 9^th and 10^th combined with high levels of Lake Erie produced waves to 14 ft along the lakeshore in Ottawa and Sandusky Counties in Ohio. Much damage resulted, along with the destruction of 10 houses. Bulldozers were needed to clear the debris from roads. Downtown Port Clinton streets were flooded. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
11 April 1803...A twin-screw propeller steamboat was patented by John Stevens of Hoboken, NJ. (Today in Science History)
11 April 1900...The U.S. Navy acquired its first submarine, a 53-foot craft designed by Irish immigrant John P. Holland that was propelled by gasoline while on the surface and by electricity when submerged. (Today in Science History)
13 April 1960...The Navy's first navigation satellite, Transit-1B, was placed into orbit from Cape Canaveral, FL and demonstrated the ability to launch another satellite. The Transit system was designed to meet Navy's need for accurately locating ballistic missile submarines and other ships. (Naval Historical Center) (Today in Science History)