DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK EIGHT: 21-25 March 2011

Items of Interest:

• NASA Accepting Applications From "Inspired" high school students --
US high school students interested in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) are invited to participate in NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research Experience, or INSPIRE, through an online learning community. INSPIRE is designed to encourage students in ninth through 12th grades to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. For more information, check http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/INSPIRE_Project.html
• International observances --
Several days during this upcoming week have been designated as special days that are intended to focus public attention on the environment and earth science:
• "World Water Day" --
Monday, 22 March 2011, has been designated by the United Nations (UN) as the annual World Water Day, with this year's theme identified as "Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge," which reflects the importance of water in every-growing urban populations around the world. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) is the lead UN agency for this year’s World Water Day 2011. Observance of World Water Day around the world arose from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. [UN-Water]
• "World Meteorology Day" --
Tuesday, 23 March 2011 is World Meteorology Day. This day is designated to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 23 March 1950. The WMO is an agency within the United Nations. The theme of this year's World Meteorological Day for 2010 is "Climate for you."
• Tsunami Awareness Week --
NOAA and the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (http://nthmp.tsunami.gov/taw/tsunami-awareness-week.html) have designated this upcoming week (20-26 March 2011) as the Tsunami Awareness Week. Tsunami awareness training exercises will be conducted for the states and territories along the Pacific that is called PACIFEX 11 and for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands called CARBIEWAVE 11. Open houses will be held at the National Weather Service's tsunami warning centers in Alaska and Hawaii, along with various community activities in coastal states. The Governor of Alaska has proclaimed this coming week as Tsunami Awareness Week in Alaska. This week coincides with the 47th anniversary of the series of devastating tsunamis that struck southeastern Alaska following several earthquakes. [Governor's Office for State of Alaska]
• "Super perigee moon" over our nation's capital city --
An image was captured of last Saturday evening's full moon rising over the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Since the moon was within hours of perigee (closest approach to Earth), this full moon appeared nearly 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than most, giving it the title "super perigee moon." Such an event occurs only once in every 18 years. The occurrence of perigee near the full moon resulted in slightly higher astronomical ocean tides. [NASA] (Editor's notes: The dark red color of the moon in this image is due to the attenuation of most of the colors of the visible light with the exception of red light as the light from the moon travels along a long path through the atmosphere at moonrise. The slightly fluted and oval appearance of the lunar disk is due to atmospheric refraction as the light rays passing through atmospheric layers with varying air density. EJH)

Ocean in the News:

• Eye on the Tropics --
In the last week, two weather systems were found over tropical waters:
• A relatively rare named subtropical storm identified as Arani formed over South Atlantic Ocean waters off the coast of Brazil at the start of last week. Although this storm had the visual appearance of a tropical cyclone, the structure of Arani had certain characteristics making it a subtropical system. Due to water temperatures and basin configuration, tropical and subtropical cyclones are rare across the South Atlantic basin, with Arani being only the third such named cyclone since 2004. Near the end of the week, Arani merged with a midlatitude frontal boundary and dissipated off the coast of Brazil. Additional information and satellite images on Subtropical Storm Arani can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
• In the South Indian Ocean basin, a low-pressure system developed west of the Cocos Islands and became Tropical Cyclone Cherono by late last week. Over the weekend, Cherono traveled to the west-southwest toward La Reunion. This system had the strength of a tropical storm, as maximum sustained winds reached 50 mph. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on this system.
• Two Atlantic hurricanes added to the retired list --
The hurricane committee of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that the names of Igor and Tomas would be removed from the list of named tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin. This removal, which is equivalent to "retiring their number", was based upon the damage that these two hurricanes caused during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. The names Ian and Tobias were chosen as replacement names on the list that will be used in 2016. [NOAA News]
• Updates on last week's Tohoku earthquake and tsunami --
During the last week, several items were made available concerning the massive earthquake and tsunami that developed off northern Honshu, Japan last Friday (11 March 2011).
• Magnitude of Tohoku earthquake updated --
Based upon further analysis of seismological records, the US Geological Society updated the magnitude of the Tohoku earthquake that resulted in a major tsunami from a preliminary magnitude of 8.9 to a magnitude 9.0. This new magnitude ranks last week's earthquake as the fourth largest globally since 1900 and the largest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings began 130 years ago. [USGS Newsroom]
• Earthquake shifted Earth's axis and shortened the day --
A research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory applied a complex model that according to preliminary estimates appeared to change the distribution of the Earth's mass resulting in a shift in the Earth's figure axis (about which the Earth's mass is balanced) by 6.5 inches and an increase in the planetary rotation rate, which would shorten the length of the day by approximately 1.8 microseconds. [NASA JPL]
• Impact of tsunami on Japan seen from satellites --
Before and after images made of the section of Japan's northeastern coast by instruments on NASA's Terra satellite provide an indication of the magnitude of the destruction by the tsunami. These images obtained from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument [NASA JPL] and the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument. [NASA JPL]
• Airborne chemistry measurements used to assess fate of Gulf oil spill products --
NOAA scientists and their academic partners recently detailed the methods they developed in which their air chemistry measurements taken hundreds of feet above last April's BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill could be used to estimate the rate that gases and oil were leaking from the underwater reservoir and how these were being dissipated. [NOAA News]
• Additional reforms to overhaul NOAA's Law Enforcement System announced --
Last week, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco announced additional reforms designed to overhaul NOAA's Law Enforcement System in response to reviews of the program by the Inspector General. Some of the new reforms would permit individuals and businesses involved with the fishing industry to submit complaints about potentially excessive enforcement penalties to the Special Master for review, as well as request stays of their penalties as part of the complaint process. [NOAA News]
• Increase in spiny dogfish quota is proposed --
Last week, the Northeast Region of NOAA's Fisheries Service proposed a 33 percent increase in the 2011 catch limit for spiny dogfish over the 2010 quota. This proposal was based upon a recent updated assessment that indicated the stock of these fish, which are found in the waters of the western North Atlantic between Labrador and Florida, was healthy. [NOAA Northeast Regional Office News]
• Butterfish catch limit is raised --
Citing the need to help prevent premature closure of the squid fishery in the Northeast, NOAA's Fisheries Service recently employed emergency measures that would increase the catch limit of butterfish in the waters off the Middle Atlantic and southern New England coasts during the 2011 fishing year. [NOAA News]
• Increased management measures for Southeast Alaska fisheries are implemented --
NOAA's Fisheries Service recently announced that increased regulations were being implemented that would regulate the size and number of halibut caught by charter anglers in the waters off southeastern Alaska. These regulations were based on recommendations from the International Pacific Halibut Commission due to concerns over declining halibut stocks. [NOAA News]
• Lionfish spreading across Southeastern waters at unprecedented speeds --
Based upon recent studies by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a biologist with the USGS Southeast Ecological Science Center warns that lionfish are spreading across the waters of the western North Atlantic off the US coast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean at a rapid rate. This unprecedented spread within three years represents the first documented case where a non-native marine fish species established a self-sustaining population in the region. [USGS Newsroom]
• Sonar linked to whale strandings --
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and their colleagues from other research institutions claim that their tracking of beaked whales indicates a behavioral response of the whales to sonar exercises conducted by the US Navy. Some of the whales have become stranded as they move away from the region where sonar is being used. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]
• White shark census off California coast indicates surprising low numbers --
Researchers including those from Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station who conducted a recent census of the population of white sharks off the central California coast were surprised by the far fewer number of sharks than previously expected. [Stanford University News]
• New tool developed to monitor "vital signs" of coral reefs --
Scientists from the University of Miami, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the US Geological Survey and the University of Puerto Rico have developed a new tool to monitor coral reef vital signs that involve measuring dissolved oxygen production and consumption rates in the reef ecosystem. They believe that their method can improve assessment of how climate change impacts coral reef health worldwide. [University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science]
• NOAA's Arctic Plan is unveiled --
During a keynote speech delivered last week to the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC, the NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, announced her agency's strategic plan to study the Arctic sea ice. As part of the NOAA Arctic Vision and Strategy, six goals were listed to improve weather ocean and sea ice forecasting in the Arctic, advocate for better stewardship of the region's resources and to help advance the resilience of healthy Arctic communities. [NOAA News]
• Review of global weather and climate for February 2011 and boreal winter --
Using preliminary data collected from the global network of surface weather stations, scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center have determined that the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for February 2011 ranked the seventeenth highest for any February since global climate records began in 1880. They also noted that the combined land-ocean temperature for the three months of December 2010, January and February 2011 was also the sixteenth highest for this three-month Northern Hemisphere winter-Southern Hemisphere summer season. Furthermore, the average global ocean surface temperatures for both February and the three-month season were the tenth highest on record. The global land surface temperature for February 2011 was 28th highest, while that of the December 2010-February 2011 was the 26th highest. The results indicate that the La Niña event continued to be a significant factor.
The areal coverage of Arctic sea ice during February 2011 tied 2005 for the smallest February extent since satellite surveillance began in 1979.
The snow cover across both the Northern Hemisphere and North America for the three-month winter season was the third largest for the record that started in the late 1960s. [NOAA News]
• Ancient "hyperthermals" could serve as guide for future climate change --
A team of researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the United Kingdom's National Oceanography Centre and Germany's University of Bremen who have studied marine sediment samples obtained by the Ocean Drilling Program have found that bursts of intense warming events called "hyperthermals" lasting tens of thousands of years have taken place more frequently throughout history than previously believed. The researchers assume that releases of carbon dioxide sequestered in the deep oceans were the most likely trigger of these ancient "hyperthermal" events, which occurred approximately every 400,000 years approximately 50 million years ago and included the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. They believe that these events could serve as a model for study of the effects of projected increases in global temperatures due to anthropogenic activity. [Scripps News]
• 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: Loss of Louisiana's Coast

According to the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force, Louisiana has been losing its coastal wetlands (bayous, marshes, and swamps) to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate of about 65 to 100 square km (25 to 38 square mi) per year for the past several decades. This loss adversely affects fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and makes the coastal zone more vulnerable to storm surges such as that produced by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Since the early 1930s, the state's coastal wetlands have shrunk by an area equivalent to the state of Delaware. According to USGS estimates, an additional 1800 square km (700 square mi) could be lost by mid-century. The price tag for reversing this trend, restoring some marshes, and protecting the remaining 15,000 square km (5800 square mi) of wetlands could top $14 billion and take decades to complete. Many people argue that the value of Louisiana's coastal wetlands is well worth the expense.

As much as 75% of the fish and other marine life in the northern Gulf of Mexico depend on Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The wetlands are a nursery for commercially important catches of shrimp, crawfish, blue crab, and oysters. It is a food source for larger fish including yellow fin tuna, red snapper, and swordfish. In 2003, about three-quarters of the nation's fish and shellfish catch by weight came from Louisiana's waters. In addition, the wetlands are a stopover for millions of birds migrating between North and Central/South America. Furthermore, wetlands and associated barrier islands protect the ports, buildings, and other coastal zone structures from storm surges. Wetlands are particularly important in buffering the levees surrounding New Orleans, much of which is below sea level.

Many factors contribute to the loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. Thousands of kilometers of pipelines transporting oil and natural gas through the marshes plus the extensive network of navigation channels allow saltwater to intrude the wetlands. Increased salinity of the originally fresh or brackish waters kill wetland grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation that anchor soil in place. The canals also allow tidal currents to flow farther inland, accelerating erosion of wetland soils. The most important factor, however, is the consequence of flood control structures (levees) constructed along the banks of the Mississippi River. Levees constrict the flow of the river so that waters and suspended sediment discharge rapidly into the Gulf. Deprived of a continuous input of sediments and vegetation-supporting nutrients, existing sediments compact, wetlands subside and Gulf waters invade the wetlands. With the anticipated continued rise in sea level due to global climate change (discussed in Chapter 12 of your textbook), erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetland may accelerate in the future.

Plans to reverse the loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands (the Coast 2005 plan and the Louisiana Coastal Area plan) seek to restore the structure and function of coastal wetlands. One proposal is to breach some levees along the lower Mississippi. This partial diversion of the Mississippi would increase the supply of sediments to the wetlands. Closing or installing locks on some navigation canals would reduce saltwater intrusion. In addition, dredged sediment would be used to re-build wetlands and restore barrier islands.

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. The most important factor contributing to erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands is [(saltwater intrusion)(levees along the banks of the Mississippi River)].
2. Global climate change that is accompanied by a rise in sea level is likely to [(accelerate)(have no effect on)] the rate of erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands.

Historical Events:

• 22 March 1778...Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy sighted Cape Flattery, in present day Washington State.
• 22 March 1999...Tropical Cyclone Vance produced Australia's highest measured wind speed of 166 mph at Learmonth, West Australia. Gusts reaching 185 mph were estimated in the eyewall in the Exmouth Gulf. All homes in the village of Exmouth were either damaged or destroyed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 24 March 1955...The first seagoing oil drill rig (for drilling in over 100 feet of water) was placed in service by the U.S. company C.G. Glasscock Drilling Co. The rig was able to drive piles with a force of 827 tons and pull a pile with the force of 942 tons. (Today in Science History)
• 24 March 1989...The tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on a reef in Prince William Sound, AK, spilling 10.1 million gallons of crude oil, resulting in the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Coast Guard units responded and prevented the entire cargo from spilling, cleaned up the oil which did spill, and conducted an investigation into the causes of the accident. The spill provided the impetus for the passage of the Oil Protection Act in 1990. (US Coast Guard Historians Office)
• 25 March 2000...A rouge wave near Shelter Cove, CA swept a lady from a Canadian school group into the ocean. Four members of the group tried to rescue her, but were overcome by the waves and currents. A fishing vessel and the US Coast Guard rescued two of the rescuers. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 26 March 1845...Joseph Francis of New York City patented a corrugated sheet-iron lifeboat. (Today in Science History)
• 26 March 1946...The International Ice Patrol resumed after being suspended during World War II. (US Coast Guard Historians Office)
• 26-28 March 2004…The first ever confirmed hurricane in the South Atlantic Ocean, named Catarina, struck the coast of the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul with heavy rains and winds, before dissipating over land late on the 28th. (The Weather Doctor)
• 27 March 1513...Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida (and the continent of North America) for the first time, mistaking it for another island. (Wikipedia)
• 27 March 1827...At the age of 18, Charles Darwin submitted his first report of an original scientific discovery to the Plinian Society in Edinburgh, Scotland. Darwin had made several discoveries about the biology of tiny marine organisms found along the Scottish coast. (Today in Science History)
• 27 March 1899...The first international radio transmission between England and France was achieved by the Italian inventor G. Marconi.
• 27 March 1930...The first US radio broadcast was made from a ship at sea.
• 27-28 March 1964...The most powerful earthquake in US history, the Good Friday Earthquake, rocked south central Alaska, killing 125 people and causing $311 million in property damage, especially to the city of Anchorage. The earthquake in Prince William Sound, which had a magnitude of 9.2 on the Richter scale, caused some landmasses to be thrust upward locally as high as 80 feet, while elsewhere land sank as much as 8 feet. This earthquake and submarine landslides also created a tsunami that also produced extensive coastal damage. A landslide at Valdez Inlet in Alaska generated a tsunami that reached a height of 220 feet in the inlet. A major surge wave that was approximately 100 ft above low tide caused major damage to Whittier (where 13 died) and other coastal communities in Alaska. The first wave took more than 5 hours to reach the Hawaiian Islands where a 10-foot wave was detected, while a wave that was 14.8 feet above high tide level traveled along portions of the West Coast, reaching northern California 4 hours after the earthquake. Nearly 10,000 people jammed beaches at San Francisco to view the possible tsunami, but no high-amplitude waves hit those beaches. Tsunami damage reached Crescent City in northern California. Tens of thousands of aftershocks indicated that the region of faulting extended a distance of about 600 miles. The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was established because of this disaster, with a mission to warn Alaskan communities of the threat from tsunamis. [See the 1964 Prince William Sound Tsunami page from the University of Washington.] (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (US Coast Guard Historians Office)
• 27 March 1980...Waves to 20 feet and winds to 58 mph in the North Sea southwest of Stavanger, Norway led to the collapse of an oil rig accommodation platform. The deaths of 123 of the 212 people on the platform were the world's worst drilling catastrophe. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2011, The American Meteorological Society.