Weekly Ocean News

Weekly Ocean News

WEEK SEVEN: 20-24 March 2017

Items of Interest:

AMS Education and the President's Budget Blueprint -- It is through NOAA funding that AMS Education is able to provide the DataStreme program and Project ATMOSPHERE. We are monitoring the process associated with the President's 2018 budget request to Congress NOAA News and the proposed budget cuts to NOAA, especially in the area of external grants and education. The exact wording related to NOAA, "Zeroes out over $250 million in targeted National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grants and programs supporting coastal and marine management, research, and education including Sea Grant, which primarily benefit industry and State and local stakeholders. These programs are a lower priority than core functions maintained in the Budget such as surveys, charting, and fisheries management."
The document proposes similar funding cuts to NASA, and would impact science education activities for that agency, too. If you are inclined to do so, we certainly support you engaging with your local congressional representatives to share your thoughts on the matter.
Longing for an ocean voyage? -- Applications are now being accepted to sail as a teacher/onboard education outreach officer on one of two upcoming expeditions on the scientific ocean drilling vessel, JOIDES Resolution! Creative, enthusiastic, flexible educators (both classroom and informal) and outreach/science communication types – including artists, videographers, writers and more are wanted. Information and links to the application are available here: joidesresolution.org/node/453. Application deadline is 17 April.
Notice the Equinox -- The vernal equinox, which marks the commencement of astronomical spring, occurred early Monday morning (officially at 1029Z on 20 March 2017, or 6:29 AM EDT or 5:29 AM CDT, etc.). If you have already checked the sunrise and sunset times in your local newspaper or from the climate page at your local National Weather Service Office, you would have found that by late last week, the sun should have been above the horizon for at least 12 hours at most locations. The effects of atmospheric refraction (bending of light rays by the varying density of the atmosphere) along with a relatively large diameter of the sun contribute to several additional minutes that the sun appears above the horizon at sunrise and sunset.
Tsunami Awareness in the Caribbean -- Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands will be observing Tsunami Preparedness Week this week (19-25 March) as part of the annual Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Tsunami Exercise called CARIBE WAVE 2017 on Tuesday (21 March) that will involve 48 Member States and Territories of the UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS).
Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2017 Campaign commences -- The third in a series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2017 will commence this Monday (20 March) and continue through Wednesday, 29 March. GLOBE at Night is a worldwide, hands-on science and education program designed to encourage citizen-scientists worldwide to record the brightness of their night sky by matching the appearance of a constellation (Leo in the Northern Hemisphere and Canis Major in the Southern Hemisphere) with the seven magnitude/star charts of progressively fainter stars. Activity guides are also available. The GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The next series in the 2017 campaign is scheduled for 18-27 April 2017. [GLOBE at Night]
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" -- Wednesday, 22 March 2017, has been designated by the United Nations (UN) as the annual World Water Day in order to focus on taking action to tackle the water crisis around the world. The theme for this year's World Water Day 2017 is "Why waste water?" that is intended to improve water quality as well as to reduce, treat and reuse wastewater. [UN-Water] check
"World Meteorology Day" -- A celebration will be held on Thursday, 23 March 2017, for 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. This year's theme for World Meteorological Day 2017 is "Understanding Clouds,"which has been chosen "to highlight the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water."

Oceanographic expeditions that made an impact -- This week's Supplemental Information ... In Greater Depth provides a historical perspective of some of the oceanographic expeditions that made an impact upon science, especially in terms of oceanography.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- No organized tropical cyclones were found across any of the globe's ocean basins last week.
Tangled humpback whale freed -- A team of responders were able to free a juvenile humpback that was entangled last week by a large electrical cable in the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii's island of Maui. The team that freed the whale included staff from NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries, the US Coast Guard, Maui Ocean Safety, Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, and the West Maui response team. [NOAA News]
A long lived monk seal enjoying life at Frigate Shoals in the Pacific -- NOAA Fisheries' Pacific Islands Regional Office recently posted a story featuring an adult female monk seal identified as Y377 who resides at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This seal, which had been tagged and tracked by the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, appears to be the oldest wild seal based on tagging data when she turned 32 years old in 2016. [NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office Stories]
Massive rogue waves may not be that rare -- Scientists at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute recently reported that they found new information on extreme ocean waves, which indicates that massive rogue ocean waves are not as rare as previously thought. They based their findings upon analysis of data collected from ocean sensors as one of the steepest waves ever recorded passed by North Sea Ekofisk offshore platforms in November 2007. A 100-meter wide "wall of water" traveling at 40 miles per hour may have reached heights greater than the recorded height of 49 feet above mean sea level. The researchers also found that rogue waves occur roughly twice daily at any given location in a storm. [ University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science News]
Interagency efforts designed to improve Earth system prediction -- Officials from NOAA's Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research, NOAA's National Weather Service, NASA, US Department of Energy, the US Navy, the National Science Foundation, and the University of Washington recently published a paper that describes the 60-year history of numerical weather prediction in the United States and details a five-agency strategy that is currently underway to coordinate and accelerate the nation's environmental prediction capability. The goal is improved short and long-term prediction of weather, climate, ocean and sea ice conditions.[NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide during 2016 continues at record pace -- According to the lead scientist at NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, the annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) during 2016 as measured at NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped by three parts per million (ppm). This increase in carbon dioxide during 2016 follows a slightly greater increase (3.05 ppm) in the greenhouse gas in 2015. When considered together, the 6-ppm increase of carbon dioxide during 2015 and 2016 represents the largest increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide during the 59 years of that gas measurements have been made by the observatory at Mauna Loa. [NOAA News] (Editor's Note: The concentrations of atmospheric CO₂ at Mauna Loa and other global locations can be tracked on a nearly real-time basis online at the "Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide" website maintained by NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory. EJH)
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: Seiche Model

A seiche (pronounced "say-sh") is a rhythmic oscillation of water in an enclosed basin (e.g., bathtub, lake, or reservoir) or a partially enclosed coastal inlet (e.g., bay, harbor, or estuary). With this oscillation, the water level rises at one end of a basin while simultaneously dropping at the other end. A seiche episode may last from a few minutes to a few days. (Refer to your textbook for more on seiches.)

With a typical seiche in an enclosed basin, the water level near the center does not change at all but that is where the water exhibits its greatest horizontal movement; this is the location of a node. At either end of an enclosed basin, vertical motion of the water surface is greatest (with minimal horizontal movement of water); these are locations of antinodes. The motion of the water surface during a seiche is somewhat like that of a seesaw: The balance point of the seesaw does not move up or down (analogous to a node) while people seated at either end of the seesaw move up and down (analogous to an antinode).

Go to the University of Delaware's Seiche Calculator at http://www.coastal.udel.edu/faculty/rad/seiche.html. Set the "Modal Number" to 1 and then press "Calculate" for a graphical simulation of a seiche in an enclosed basin.

Partially enclosed basins usually have a node located at the mouth (rather than near the center) and an antinode at the landward end. Go to the Seiche Calculator, set the "Modal Number" to 0.5 and then press "Calculate" for a simulation of a seiche in a basin open to the right. Furthermore, some basins are complex and have multiple nodes and antinodes; these can be simulated on the Seiche Calculator by selecting different values of "Modal Number" greater than one.

The natural period of a seiche depends on the length and depth of the basin and generally ranges from minutes to hours. The period is directly proportional to basin length. For example, the natural period of a seiche in a small pond is considerably less than its period in a large coastal inlet. Also, for the same basin, the natural period is inversely proportional to water depth; that is, the period shortens as water deepens. Using the Seiche Calculator, you may wish to experiment with different basin lengths and depths. Conversely, one can determine the average depth of a lake by determining the period of the seiche and the length of the lake.

Concept of the Week: Questions

In an enclosed basin the node of a seiche is located [(at either end) (near the center)] of the basin.
The natural period of a seiche [(depends on) (is independent of)] the size of an enclosed basin.

Historical Events:

20 March 1866...The immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas left Liverpool, England, but was never seen again. The ship with 738 people was officially declared "lost" after 130 days. A message in a bottle was found at Plymouth, supposedly sent by a passenger. In July, wreckage was found around the Dingle coast in Southern Ireland.
20 March 2000...A large iceberg measuring approximately 170 mi by 25 mi calved off Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf near Roosevelt Island. The iceberg was approximately 2.5 times the size of New York's Long Island. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
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. The storm surge was greater than 15 ft, and as much as 12" of rain fell. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (National Weather Service files)
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)