Weekly Ocean News

Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ELEVEN: 8-12 April 2013

Items of Interest

Viewing planet Earth from space -- NASA has developed an interactive feature that provides the public with several sites to see spectacular images and visualizations of various features of planet Earth, many obtained from data collected by various sensors onboard the agency's orbiting spacecraft or output statistics obtained by simulations run on computer models at its various research centers. These interactive sites include:
- "Earth Month 2013" -- Under the theme "understanding and sustaining our home planet," a collage of NASA Earth Science highlight topics range from changes in Arctic sea ice and global temperature to the first global map of the saltiness of the surface waters of the global oceans. [NASA Earth Month]
- "Earth from Orbit in 2012" -- A 2-minute: 27-second video that provides some of the best views of Earth from space during 2012. [NASA Earth Month]
First image from a meteorological satellite was 53 years ago -- Last Monday (1 April 2013) marked the 53rd anniversary of the first images that were produced from data collected by the sensor onboard TIROS-1 (for Television Infrared Observation Satellites), the Earth's first operational weather satellite that had been launched by NASA on 1 April 1960. Comparison is invited between the first TIROS-1 images showing clouds including those from a tropical cyclone and the variety of satellite images obtained from the recently launched Suomi NPP satellite. [CIMSS Satellite Blog, University of Wisconsin-Madison]
Species dominance and ocean properties -- Discover how variations in both the physical and chemical properties of ocean waters can be accompanied by changes in the dominance of the various species of marine life in this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- The weather across the tropical ocean basins in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres was relatively quiet for most of last week. However, a low pressure system developed late in the week over the South Indian Ocean approximately 300 miles to the south-southeast of Diego Garcia. By Saturday, this system had intensified to become Tropical Storm 21S as it traveled westward. This tropical storm could intensify to a category one tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale early this current week. Additional information along with a satellite image pertaining to the low pressure system identified as System 93S that eventually became Tropical Storm 21S appears on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Public comments sought on endangered species listing for scalloped hammerhead sharks -- NOAA's Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a proposed listing of four populations of scalloped hammerhead sharks in US waters under the Endangered Species Act, with two populations listed as threatened and the two as endangered. Public comment is open through the end of May 2013. [NOAA News]
Aquaculture curriculum gets boost from Florida Sea Grant -- The Florida Sea Grant Program at the University of Florida has helped more than one dozen middle and high schools across the state of Florida implement aquaculture programs that are designed to help students learn about aquaculture, a relatively new industry that generates more than $70 million in income for the Sunshine State. [NAA Research]
New whale traffic forecast system designed to help minimize fatal ship strikes -- A team of scientists from NOAA, Oregon State University, and the University of Maryland are working on a system called "WhaleWatch" that is designed to help scientists to forecast patterns of whale traffic in the waters of the North Pacific, which would help ships avoid whales and reduce fatal ship strikes. The scientists use new technology such as satellite tags to track whales. Computer models are used to predict how atmospheric and oceanic conditions evolve and how these conditions affect biological processes that could influence whale behavior. [NOAA Fisheries Service]
Recreational fishing report for 2012 released -- During the last week, NOAA Fisheries issued its annual report entitled Recreational Fisheries Year in Review that considers the role that recreational anglers play in serving as stewards of the nation's marine resources and as contributors to the coastal communities across the nation during 2012. [NOAA Fisheries Service]
Oil platforms appear to have little influence on contaminant levels on California fish -- Two recent reports made by the US Geological Survey for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management indicate that fish residing near offshore oil and gas platforms in the coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean off southern California appear to have similar contaminant levels as fish in nearby natural sited not affected by oil platforms. [USGS Newsroom]
Cape Cod beaches get help from invasive crabs -- Researchers at Brown University have found that the invasive green crab Carcinus maenas is helping to restore the distressed salt marshes of Cape Cod, MA by driving away the Sesarma reticulatum crabs that have been depleting the marsh grasses. [Brown University]
DNA analysis shows Asian carp not widespread in the Great Lakes -- A team of scientists from the University of Notre Dame, The Nature Conservancy, and Central Michigan University recently reported that despite extensive surveys in southern Lake Michigan and parts of Lakes Erie and St Clair they found no evidence that Asian carp are widespread in the Great Lakes basin, based upon DNA analysis. [LabSpaces]
Pool of warm ocean water in ancient times brings current climate models into question -- Scientists at the United Kingdom's University College London and Yale University claim that the presence of a huge pool of warm ocean water in the Pliocene era ocean approximately four million years ago would suggest current climate models may be too conservative in forecasting tropical changes. These researchers point that this warm pool, which stretched from Indonesia to African and South America, would have dramatically altered rainfall in the tropics, possibly even removing the monsoon. Furthermore, the decay of this warm pool and the consequential drying of East Africa may have been a factor in Hominid evolution. [University College London]
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: 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 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 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)
14 April 1543...Bartolomé Ferrelo returned to Spain after assuming command of the ill-fated expedition of the Spanish navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (who died on San Miguel Island in California's Channel Islands). The expedition was the first known entry by Europeans into San Francisco Bay in the New World.
14-15 April 1912...The British steamer RMS Titanic sank following its collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland on its maiden voyage from South Hampton to New York. The collision occurred at about 11:45 PM on 14 April and the ship, which was considered unsinkable, sank in 2.5 hours during the early morning hours of the 15^th. Reports showed 1517 people out of 2207 onboard lost their lives in this accident. Because of this disaster, certification and life saving devices were improved and an International Ice Patrol was established to monitor the iceberg hazards in the North Atlantic. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to conduct much of the effort. (US Coast Guard Historian's Office) A 21-year old telegraph operator at the Marconi radio station in New York City, David Sarnoff who became a pioneer in radio and television broadcasting, received and transmitted the distress calls from the Titanic. (Today in Science History)