Weekly Ocean News

Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK FOUR: 15-19 February 2016

For Your Information

Report finds "Climate Confusion among U.S. Teachers" -- A team of researchers from Penn State University, Wright State University and the National Center for Science Education recently reported on the results of a November 2014 survey on whether and how US secondary science educators teach climate change in their classrooms. The researchers found the results of this survey with responses from fifteen hundred middle and high school science teachers from all 50 states contained both good news and bad news: "… most U.S. science teachers include climate science in their courses, their insufficient grasp of the science may hinder effective teaching."[AAAS Science Magazine]
Reconstructing past oceanic conditions from marine sediment cores -- If you would like information on how scientists can reconstruct past environmental conditions in the oceans from the analysis of the physical, chemical and geological data in deep-sea sediment cores, please read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth.

Ocean in the News

Eye on the tropics --- Organized tropical cyclone (low pressure systems such as tropical storms and hurricanes that form over tropical oceans) activity was limited to the South Indian and western South Pacific basins last week:

In the South Indian Ocean Basin, Tropical Storm Daya formed early last week between La Reunion Island and Madagascar. Traveling to the southeast, this tropical storm weakened and dissipated within two days of formation south of La Reunion Island. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite images on Tropical Storm Daya.
Near the end of last week, Tropical Storm Uriah formed over the waters of the South Indian Ocean to the west-northwest of Australia. This tropical storm traveled toward the southwest. As of late Sunday (local time), Uriah was located approximately 500 miles to the west-southwest of Cocos Island, Australia. Uriah could intensify into a strong tropical cyclone by Wednesday of this week.

In the western South Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Tatiana developed in the Coral Sea to the east of Queensland, Australia early last week. Tatiana initially traveled eastward before turning toward the south, before weakening over this past weekend to the east of Queensland. Additional information and satellite imagery on Tropical Storm Tatiana are available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
A second tropical cyclone formed in the South Pacific between Vanuatu and Fiji early last week, becoming Tropical Storm Winston. Traveling southward and then eastward, Winston intensifying to become a category 3 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale bay late in the week as maximum sustained surface winds reached 120 mph. As of early Monday (local time) Cyclone Winston was traveling to the east-northeast as it was located approximately 500 miles to the south of Suva, Fiji. Winston was expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it continues its travel toward the east-northeast during the first half of this week. Consult the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite images and additional information on Cyclone Winston.

Updated El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion & El Niño advisory outlook released -- Late last week forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) released their monthly El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion in which they still maintained their El Niño advisory as much above-average sea surface temperatures (SST) persisted across the equatorial Pacific Ocean in January 2016, a sign of the continuation of the strong El Niño event (an anomalous large-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation pattern characterized by warm waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific). SST values exceeded two Celsius degrees above normal from the central into the eastern equatorial Pacific, with only some slight decrease in values. Therefore, the CPC forecasters continued their El Niño advisory, envisioning this current strong El Niño event to gradually weaken and make a transition into ENSO-neutral conditions by late in the upcoming Northern Hemisphere spring (March through May 2016) and early summer (June through August). A further transition to La Nina conditions appeared possible during the fall of 2016. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]
A blog written by one of the scientists at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center discusses the strength of the current El Niño event, suggesting it as being one of the strongest three events since 1950, based upon the magnitude of the SSTs across the equatorial Pacific. During the recent three months running from October through December 2015, SST values across the central regions were as large as the record high SST values during the very strong El Niño in 1997-1998 (in the region identified as identified as Niño 3.4) and slightly above the earlier event in the western Pacific. However, SSTs during recent months in the eastern equatorial Pacific were lower than in 1997-98. Comparisons were made to the Super Bowl winning Denver Bronco quarterbacks of 1997 and 2015. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Turbid conditions along Atlantic coastal waters follow January blizzard -- A sequence of three satellite images of the waters of the western North Atlantic along coast of the Middle Atlantic States from mid January through early February 2016 shows an increase in the turbidity of the water as a result of the runoff of rain and snowmelt from the recent Blizzard of January 2016. These satellite images were made by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor onboard the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Proposals invited for funding of community-based habitat restoration projects -- NOAA Fisheries officials recently announced that $9 million is available in Community-based Restoration Program funding for coastal and marine habitat restoration and that proposals for these restoration projects are invited from non-federal partners. The selected habitat restoration projects are intended to improve the recovery and conservation of protected resources, as well as to help promote productive fisheries. [NOAA News]
Recovery efforts planned for eight "Species in the Spotlight' -- During the last week, NOAA Fisheries released a set of new five-year plans called "Species in the Spotlight: Survive to Thrive" for the eight marine species that have been identified as being among the most at risk of extinction. The eight endangered species highlighted in these action plans are: the Gulf of Maine population of Atlantic salmon, Central California Coast coho salmon, Cook Inlet beluga whales, Hawaiian monk seals, Pacific leatherback sea turtles, Sacramento River winter-run chinook salmon, Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound, and white abalone. NOAA Fisheries is looking to partner with local, state and tribal governments, academic institutions and the public to ensure these endangered species do not decline further. [NOAA News] More detail on this "Species in the Spotlight" project, including links is available. [NOAA Fisheries Feature Stories]
Ice cover on Great Lakes down from recent winters -- The National Weather Service Forecast Office (NWSFO) at Green Bay, WI recently noted that only six percent of the North American Great Lakes were ice covered as of early last week, well below the more substantial ice coverage on the Lakes during the two previous winters of 2013-14 and 2014-15. In March 2014, Lake Michigan had an ice cover of 94 percent. The record warm December 2015 and an El Niño-type winter has limited the ice cover this winter season. An increase in lake-effect clouds and snow downwind of the Lakes has been noted. [NWSFO Green Bay News]
Real-time tide stations provide "ground truth" for sea surface height measurements from new satellite --Sea level data collected a traditional NOAA water level station located on an oil platform offshore of Santa Barbara California and a tide station operated by European partners near the Italian Island of Corsica are being used to verify the sea level altimetry data being obtained from the recently launched Jason-3 satellite. The sensors onboard this satellite will provide detailed measurements of sea surface height that will be used to monitor anticipated global sea level rise due to a changing climate. [NOAA National Ocean Service News]
New Japanese geosynchronous satellite displays Asia-Pacific region in true color -- A true-color image was made last week of a large section of the Eastern Hemisphere covering the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean basins, eastern Asia and Australia from data collected by the Japan Meteorological Agency's new Himawari-8 satellite, which had been launched into a geosynchronous orbit in October 2014. The subsatellite point is located just to the north of Papua, New Guinea. Note the relatively high resolution, along with the cloud patterns that highlight midlatitude storm systems with counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise circulations in the Southern Hemisphere and a broad band of clouds over equatorial waters that are along the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).[NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Annual Sanctuary Ocean Count is underway in Hawaii -- More than 2000 volunteers are currently counting whales from the shores of Hawaii's Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island as part of the annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count. This Count, launched in 1996, is to increase public awareness of the sanctuary and current ocean issues, including threats to humpback whales. [ NOAA National Ocean Service News]
Beluga whales make deep dives in Arctic waters to feed -- Using data collected from 15 years of dive information on 30 beluga whales, marine scientists from the University of Washington and their colleagues in NOAA, Alaska and Canada have found that these whales frequently dive to depths of 200 to 300 meters and sometimes to 900-meter depth in the waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas north of Alaska in order to feed on Arctic cod. The data were collected from whales that had been tagged by Alaska Native communities in northwest Alaska and Aboriginal tribes in Canada. The researchers caution that changing sea ice conditions in the Arctic due to climate change could affect beluga behavior. [UW Today – University of Washington News]
Satellite data help confirm Florida's coastal lighting ordinances work for sea turtles Using data on artificial light intensity across the Florida Peninsula captured by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) from 1992 to 2012, researchers at the University of Central Florida University found that despite large increases in Florida's population during this time span, nighttime light levels decreased for more than two-thirds of the sections of beach they examined. This reduction appears to be the result of the ordinances reducing light pollution along Florida's coasts that put into effect to reduce the problems for nesting turtles. The researchers found that more nests were found where the coasts were darker. [NOAA NESDIS News]
Phytoplankton seen as oxygen factories in Southern Ocean -- A color image made from data collected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite during mid January shows extensive phytoplankton blooms in the near surface waters of the Southern Ocean, generally running from the Cape Horn at the tip of South America across to the Antarctic Peninsula. During the Southern Hemisphere summer, the floating phytoplankton generate oxygen through photosynthesis. [NASA Earth Observatory]
New Cryospheric Climate Data Record helps monitor polar caps -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information recently unveiled its Cryospheric Climate Data Record (CDR), which represents a reliable and consistent record of environmental data collected from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument aboard a series of NOAA polar orbiting satellites for the polar regions commencing in late July 1981 through the present. One of the components of the dataset contains radiances and brightness temperatures, while the other component contains surface, cloud, and clear sky properties obtained from the radiances and brightness temperatures from the first component. [NOAA NCEI News]
An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA's National Weather Service, FAA and FEMA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAA/NWS Daily Briefing]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Concept of the Week: Variations in Marine Sediment Thickness

Sediments are particles of organic or inorganic origin that accumulate in loose form in depositional environments such as lake or ocean bottoms. Marine sediments, the central focus of this week's investigations, have a variety of sources and exhibit a wide range of composition, size, and shape. Marine sediments settle to the ocean floor as unconsolidated accumulations but ultimately may be converted to solid sedimentary rock via compaction and cementation. The pattern of variations in marine sediment thickness on the ocean floor confirms some basic understandings regarding marine geological processes.

Go to the DataStreme Ocean Website and under "Geological," click on "Sediment Thickness." This map of marine sediment thickness in the ocean basins was compiled by the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), Marine Geology and Geophysics Division primarily based on existing maps, ocean drilling, and seismic reflection profiles. Sediment thickness is color-coded in meters from violet (thinnest) to red (thickest). Many factors account for the variation in the thickness of marine sediment deposits including type and location of sediment sources, sediment transport mechanisms, and the age of the underlying crust.

According to the map, sediment thickness generally increases with distance from near the central portion of an ocean basin to the continental margin. This pattern may be explained by the principal sediment source and/or the age of the underlying crust. Rivers and streams that empty into the ocean slow and diverge, releasing the bulk of their suspended sediment load in coastal environments (e.g., bays, estuaries, deltas) and onto the continental shelf. Ocean currents transport sediment along the coast. In some areas of the continental shelf, massive amounts of sediment accumulate, become unstable, and flow down the continental slope to the base of the continental rise and beyond. However, only the finer fraction of river-borne sediment is swept into the deep ocean waters. Thickening of marine sediments in the direction of the continental margin may also reflect the aging of oceanic crust with distance away from divergent (spreading) plate boundaries where new oceanic crust forms. The older the crust the longer is the period that sediment rains down on the ocean bottom and the thicker is the blanket of accumulated sediment.

The map indicates that the thickness of marine sediment deposits is greater in the continental margin along the Atlantic coast of North America than along the Pacific coast. The Atlantic coast of North America is a passive margin; that is, the continental margin is not affected significantly by tectonic processes (no plate boundary) and the principal geological processes consist of sedimentation along with erosion by ocean waves and currents. In fact, passive margins and relatively thick marine sediment deposits occur on both sides of the Atlantic. (Passive margins also occur around the Arctic Ocean and surrounding Antarctica.) On the other hand, the Pacific coast of North America is an active margin; that is, the continental margin is associated with plate boundaries and is subject to deformation by tectonic stresses. Active continental margins are relatively narrow so that sediment delivered to the coast by rivers and streams flows directly into deeper water or trenches--preventing thick accumulations of marine sediments from building in the continental margin.

Concept of the Week: Questions

The thickness of marine sediment deposits is greater in the [(continental margins)(deep-ocean basins)].
The thickness of marine sediment deposits generally is greater in [(active)(passive)]continental margins.

Historical Events

15 February 1982...An intense storm system off the Atlantic coast between Newfoundland and Greenland produced 80 mph winds which whipped water into waves 50 feet high. The storm capsized a drilling rig, killing 84 people, and sank a freighter killing 33. (National Weather Service files)
16 February 1832...The HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin onboard reached St-Pauls (1 degrees N, 29 degrees W).
16 February 1993...The Haitian passenger ferry Neptune sank, sending 1,215 Haitians to their deaths. Coast Guard units participated in the search and rescue operation but found no survivors. They then assisted in recovering the bodies of the victims. (USCG Historian's Office)
17 February 1836...The HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin left Tasmania.
17 February 1867...The first ship passed through the Suez Canal. (Wikipedia)
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 74 deg 15 min 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.