DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK FIVE: 1-5 March 2010

TRMM WEB PRODUCTS HAVE RETURNED

Investigation 5A may be completed as directed in the Investigations Manual.

Report From the Field - Lucky Greenleaf, the LIT Leader from Belfast, ME, reported that El Nino conditions, associated with anomalous large-scale atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns, produced unusual weather for February 2010 along the coast of Maine. He said that the region experienced rainy and windy conditoins, with very little snow. Nighttime temperatures ranged from 25 to 40 degrees F, while daytime temperatures were between 35 and 50 degrees. On Sunday (28 February), warm weather was found along the coast, with bare ground (no snow) and muddy or potholed roads.

Ocean in the News

• Major Chilean earthquake caused tsunami concern --
A magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred early Saturday morning off the coast of Chile, approximately 200 miles from the capital city of Santiago. This earthquake appears to have been the eighth most powerful earthquakes during the last century. As of late Sunday, more than 700 fatalities were reported. [CNN News] After the earthquake, fears that a large tsunami would propagate across the Pacific. NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers issued tsunami warnings and supplemental statements on the tsunami. See the list from Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. A map of the estimated travel times for the tsunami was generated the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. However, the tsunami produced waves in Hawaii, the Pacific Coast and Alaska that were much smaller than originally thought. More detailed information is available from the US Geological Survey. [USGS Natural Hazards Program]
Interestingly, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake was registered in the western North Pacific early Saturday (local time) near Okinawa approximately 1000 miles south of the Japanese archipelago. A tsunami warning had been issued for Okinawa, but later canceled as only small swell was reported.
• Eye on the tropics ---
During the last week some brief tropical cyclone activity was found in the South Pacific basin.
Tropical Storm 17P formed over the waters of the South Pacific well to the east of Pago Pago at the start of the week and traveled to the southwest before dissipating after a day. For more information and satellite imagery concerning Tropical Storm 17P, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
Tropical Storm Sarah formed over the south Pacific south of the Cook Islands and then dissipated within 24 hours during this past weekend.
• Caribbean surface current data made available to a larger community --
The NOAA’s director of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) recently announced that a new NOAA website contains a source of surface current data across the Caribbean obtained from high frequency radar systems through a partnership between NOAA, the Mid-Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the U.S. IOOS, Clarkson University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Data Buoy Center. This site will provide users, such as the US Coast Guard and state agencies, with new data in a consistent format, thereby permitting the streamlining of hazardous material cleanup operations and search and rescue efforts across the basin. [NOAA News]
• Statement issued by NOAA Fisheries on recent Capitol rally --
Eric Schwaab, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, issued a statement to attendees of last week's "United We Fish" rally at the US Capitol in Washington, DC outlining his agency's efforts to rebuild the nation's fisheries. [NOAA News]
• Measuring impacts of climate change on ocean biology --
A team of researchers from NOAA's Fisheries Service, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Old Dominion University are conducting a three-year field program called "Climate Variability on the East Coast" that is designed to measure carbon distributions and primary productivity in the western North Atlantic Ocean, with the goal of determining the impacts of changing climate upon ocean biology and biogeochemistry. [NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center]
• First images made available from European water satellite --
Last week, the European Space Agency released the first calibrated images generated from data collected by sensors onboard its Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission satellite that was launched last November. This low-orbiting satellite will provide constant surveillance of global variations in soil moisture and ocean salinity, important aspects of the global water cycle. [ESA]
• Ten years of images from Terra --
Last week marked the tenth anniversary of the flow of data from sensors onboard NASA's Terra satellite that have provided a variety of images and other visualizations of the Earth system as part of NASA's Earth Observing System. A suite of images were recently released that showed a variety of images that came from Terra's five sensors: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS); the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) sensor; the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR); the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER); and the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) sensor. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Undersea communications could be revolutionized --
Scientists and engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution claim that the underwater optical communication system they devised, when complemented by acoustics, would revolutionize undersea communications, especially in the collection and transmission of data from submersible vehicles and other underwater platforms. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]
• Outlook issued for a significant New England "red tide" --
Scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity project recently issued an outlook for a significant regional bloom of a toxic algal bloom that is often called "red tide" for this upcoming Spring and Summer 2010. They also noted that the impacts of this toxic algal bloom would depend upon weather and ocean conditions. [NOAA News]
• Mechanisms for generating giant underwater waves studied --
Scientists at the University of Rhode Island who have been studying huge internal waves between warm and cold water layers in the coastal waters of the world's oceans suggest that these large underwater waves are affected by tides and the Earth's rotation. [EurekAlert!]
• Releases of PCBs to water and air from Indiana canal studied --
Researchers from the University of Iowa recently released a report detailing their findings showing that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) accumulated in sediments in the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal running through East Chicago appear to represent a significant source for the PCBs found in the air above this northwest Indiana community and in nearby Lake Michigan. [University of Iowa News]
• Damage to Gulf of California habitats can be reversed --
A researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography recently reported that studies conducted by the Institution's Gulf of California Program show that habitat conservation appear to be capable of reversing the threats to the marine ecosystems in the Gulf of California. [Scripps Institution of Oceanography]
• Attempts made to reduce accidental capture of loggerhead turtles --
Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the University of Malaga and the Sea Classroom in Malaga are studying and testing methods that would reduce the accidental capture of loggerhead turtles by the fishing industry, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. [EurekAlert!]
• Studying regional climate patterns during global warming events --
Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa are using climate models to downscale and analyze on a regional climate scale the global-scale warming projections made by the global models of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Their focus is upon how ocean temperature patterns in the tropics and subtropics will change and possibly lead to significant changes in rainfall patterns. [EurekAlert!]
• New website helps in understanding ocean acidification --
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution recently unveiled a FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on Ocean Acidification website for the U.S. Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) program. A list of 39 FAQs concerning the impacts of ocean acidification associated climate change has been compiled by an international group of scientists associated with OCB, along with the European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) and the UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme). [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]
• Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves are disappearing --
In a recently released US Geological Survey (USGS) report entitled "Coastal-Change and Glaciological Map of the Palmer Land Area, Antarctica: 1947—2009", USGS scientists determined that every ice front on the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula has retreated during the last 62 years, which has been attributed to climate change. This retreat in the ice shelves could also result in glacier retreat and sea level rise. [USGS Newsroom]
• More tropical cyclones frequented an ancient warm period --
Researchers at Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report that approximately twice as many tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons and tropical storms) occurred during the warm Pliocene epoch (three to five million years ago) than currently, and that these systems lasted for up to three day longer than their current counterparts. Furthermore, these tropical cyclones occurred across the entire tropical Pacific Ocean. The researchers claim that these results could mean more frequent tropical cyclones in a future warmer climate. [Yale University]
• An All-Hazards Monitor --
This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, drought, floods, marine weather, tsunamis, rip currents, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and coral bleaching. [NOAAWatch]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes --
A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, to include 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

1. If the ocean's pack ice cover were to shrink, the ocean would absorb [(more)(less)] solar radiation.
2. 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

• 1 March 1498...The Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama, landed at what is now Mozambique on his way to India.
• 1 March 1854...The SS City of Glasgow left Liverpool harbor for Philadelphia and was never seen again with 480 people on board.
• 1 March 1902...The first regular light stations in Alaska were established at Southeast Five Finger Island and at Sentinel Island--both on the main Inside Passage between Wrangell Strait and Skagway. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 1 March 1905...The first regular light stations in Alaska were established. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 1 March 1927...A system of broadcasting weather reports by radio on four lightships on the Pacific Coast was put into effect. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 1 March 1970...US commercial whale hunting was ended.
• 1 March 1977...The United States extended its territorial waters to 200 miles.
• 1 March 1983...A ferocious storm battered the Pacific coast. The storm produced heavy rain and gale force winds resulting in flooding and beach erosion and in the mountains produced up to seven feet of snow in five days. An F2 tornado hit Los Angeles. Thirty people were injured and 100 homes were damaged. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 3 March 1873...US Army Signal Corps established storm signal service for benefit of seafaring men, at several life-saving stations and constructed telegraph lines as original means of communication. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 3 March 1960...The submarine USS Sargo returned to Hawaii from an Arctic cruise of 11,000 miles, of which 6,003 miles were under the polar ice, reaching the North Pole on 9 February. This cruise marked the first time that a submarine explored the Arctic in winter. (Naval Historical Center)
• 4-5 March 1899...Tropical Cyclone Mahina (the Bathurst Bay Hurricane) crossed the Great Barrier Reef and generated a 48-ft storm surge across Barrow Point, Queensland, Australia. The Australian pearling fleet was destroyed, over 100 shipwrecks reported and 307 people killed. Barometric pressure fell to an unofficial reading of 915 millibars (27 inches of mercury). (Accord's Weather Calendar) (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 March 1914...The Spanish ship the Principe de Asturias enroute from Barcelona to Buenos Aires sank with the loss of 445 of the 588 passengers and crew members when it struck the jagged reefs along the Brazilian coast at Ponta Boi in dense fog.
• 5-6 March 1962...The Great Atlantic Coast Storm of 1962 caused more than $200 million in property damage from Florida to New England. Winds along the Middle Atlantic Coast reached 70 mph raising 40-ft waves, and 42 inches of snow fell at Big Meadows, in the mountains of Virginia--a state record. The storm caused greater alteration of the coastline from Cape Hatteras, NC to Long Island than any previous storm, including hurricanes. A new inlet was cut through Hatteras Island and more than 10 miles of Outer Banks barrier dunes were obliterated. The Virginia shoreline was rearranged by historic tidal flooding caused by the combination of the long stretch of strong onshore winds and the spring tides. A 3-mile long boardwalk in Ocean City, MD was wiped out. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 6 March 1521...The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached Guam in his around the world voyage. (Wikipedia)
• 6 March 1987...The British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in the English Channel off the coast of Belgium with the loss of 189 people.
• 7 March 1778...Captain James Cook first sighted the Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay near present day Newport.
• 7 March 1932...A severe coastal storm set barometric pressure records from Virginia to New England. Block Island, RI reported a barometric pressure reading of 955.0 millibars (28.20 inches of mercury). (David Ludlum)

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Prepared by DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2010, The American Meteorological Society.