WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

1-5 May 2017

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2017 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 21 August 2017. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Items of Interest:

Between equinox and solstice -- Monday (1 May 2017) is May Day, which had its origins as a great Celtic festival Beltane. This date is close to the traditional "cross quarter" day, roughly halfway between the vernal equinox (20 March 2017) and the summer solstice (21 June 2017). (Note that Friday 5 May 2017 is closer to the halfway point between the equinox and solstice. EJH)

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- Tropical cyclone activity during the last week was found in the South Indian and western North Pacific basins:

In the Southern Indian Ocean basin, Tropical Cyclone Frances formed last Thursday north of Melville Island, Australia. Over this past weekend, Frances traveled toward the west-southwest across the Timor Sea well off the northern coast of Australia. As it traveled, Frances initially intensified to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale (or a category 3 on the Australian scale) before weakening. On Sunday (local time), Cyclone Frances was located approximately 310 miles to the north of Broome a coastal community in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Frances was expected to weaken and dissipate on Monday. Check the NASA Hurricane Page for additional information and satellite images on Cyclone Frances.
Tropical Cyclone Greg formed over this past weekend to the east-northeast of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands or to the west of Christmas Islands. Greg had become a category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale.
In the western North Pacific a tropical depression formed approximately 230 miles north-northwest of Yap at the beginning of last week. During the week, this tropical depression had intensified to become Tropical Storm Muifa.
During the next several days, Muifa remained a relatively weak tropical storm as it traveled toward the north-northwest. As of late in the week, Muifa had weakened to a tropical depression due to sufficiently strong vertical wind shear. At the time, Tropical Depression Muifa was located approximately 560 miles to the north-northwest of Yap. Satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Muifa are found on the NASA Hurricane Page.

Nation's ocean and Great Lakes economy continues to grow -- According to a recently released NOAA report, the nation's ocean and Great Lakes economy that involves business dependent upon the natural resources involving the oceans and Great Lakes has grown at nearly three times the amount reported for the entire nation since the pre-recession levels of 2007. Based upon the latest data, inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) from the ocean economy grew 15.6 percent from 2007 to 2014, outpacing the 5.8 percent experienced by the overall U.S. economy. [NOAA News]
More information available on citizen science involving community engagement in the national marine sanctuaries -- The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recently posted a second-part to a feature that describes community engagement in the national marine sanctuary system, focusing in this part upon citizen science, a major component in the volunteer programs running at many of the sanctuaries. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Ocean exploration expedition begins to explore seamounts in the central Pacific basin -- Beginning last Thursday (28 April 2017) in Pago Pago, American Samoa and running through the next three weeks ending Friday, 19 May in Honolulu, HI, NOAA and partners will be conducting an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer designed to collect baseline information on the deepwater areas of the Pacific. They will use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to make dives. This expedition is part of the three-year "Campaign to Address the Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean Needs" (CAPSTONE). Daily updates of this expedition are to be made available to the public. [NOAA Okeanos Explorer News]
New type of drifter will measure directional properties of water waves -- Recently, researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography have begun releasing the "Directional Wave Spectra (DWS) Drifter", a new type of drifter that will measure the directional properties of ocean waves using the Global Positioning System (GPS). Measurements of the waves should improve the forecasting of surface waves associated with tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These new drifters, which will be a part of the Global Drifter Program (GDP), will also measure sea surface temperature (SST) and sea-level atmospheric pressure that are used to validate satellites and in models for weather prediction. [NOAA Climate Program Office News]
"Hero" recognized for brining killer whales science to thousands of students -- Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales, a non-profit organization designed to bring the science of killer whales to classrooms along the West Coast (California to Washington), was recently recognized by NOAA Fisheries with a special "Hero" award for his contributions to the conservation of Southern Resident killer whales. Southern Residents are one of eight species that NOAA Fisheries have designated nationally as part of its "Species in the Spotlight" initiative to reflect their high risk of extinction and focus attention on their recovery. [NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region Stories]
"Mystery" right whale and her calf seen in Cape Cod Bay -- Nearly two weeks ago, researchers from NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the New England Aquarium obtained biopsy samples from a right whale mother and her calf in Cape Cod Bay off the coast of eastern Massachusetts. They were able to identify the mother as being #1412 according to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog. This whale was last seen in the North Atlantic waters off Iceland in 2003. [NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center News]
Recent deaths of 41 humpback whales along East Coast declared an "unusual mortality event" -- NOAA Fisheries officials conducted a press conference late last week in which they declared the recent deaths of 41 humpback whales from 2016 through present along the East Coast to be an unusual mortality event. Since the deaths were considered to be an unusual mortality event, a focused, expert investigation into the cause has been triggered. The stranding deaths of the humpback whales occurred along the coast from North Carolina northward to Maine. [NOAA News]
Forecasting persistent US droughts years in advance may be possible -- Two recent studies conducted by researchers at the University Texas, the University of Hawaii, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University indicate the possibility of predicting the duration of La Niña events, the cool phase of an alternating climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean that tends to be linked to dry winters in California. The researchers found that the amount of heat discharged in the tropical Pacific and the magnitude of the peak of El Niño prior to La Niña events are related to the likelihood of multiyear La Niña events. Because these factors can be predicted 18 to 24 months in advance, the authors suggest that forecasters may be able to predict future episodes of lingering La Niña and associated drought conditions. [NOAA Climate Program Office News]
Space telescope detects gamma-ray flashes from tropical cyclones -- NASA's low-orbit Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has recorded more than 4000 terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) emanating from the tops of thunderstorm clouds since this spacecraft was launched in 2008. These TGFs emit gamma rays that generate more energy than regular visible light. The scientists believe that studying these TGFs will provide a better understanding of lightning activity, storm strength and the life cycle of tropical and extratropical cyclones. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Feature]
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] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

1 May 1683...A patent was awarded in England for the extraction of salt from seawater. (Today in Science History)
1 May 1883...At Cape Lookout, NC, a storm tide swept over the island drowning sheep and cattle. (Intellicast)
1 May 1921...The first radio fog signals in the United States were placed in commission on Ambrose Lightship, Fire Island Lightship, and Sea Girt Light Station, NJ. These signals installed by the US Lighthouse Service were meant to guide ships approaching New York Harbor. (USCG Historian's Office)
1 May 1936...The Whaling Treaty Act outlawed the taking of right whales or calves of any whale. This law was enforced by the Coast Guard. (USCG Historian's Office)
2 May 1775...Benjamin Franklin completed the first scientific study of the Gulf Stream. His observations began in 1769 when as deputy postmaster of the British Colonies he found ships took two weeks longer to bring mail from England than was required in the opposite direction. Thus, Franklin became the first to chart the Gulf Stream. (Today in Science History)
2 May 1880...The first U.S. steamboat to successfully employ electric lights was the Columbia, a 309-ft long vessel which operated between San Francisco, CA and Portland, OR. An "A" type dynamo was placed in operation to illuminate the passenger rooms and main salons. (Today in Science History)
2 May 1932...After a Convention with Canada, the Northern Pacific Halibut Act re-enacted the Act of 7 June 1924 and made it unlawful to catch halibut between 1 November and 15 February of each year in territorial waters of United States and Canada, as well as on the high seas, extending westerly from there, including the Bering Sea. The Coast Guard enforced this act. (USCG Historian's Office)
2-3 May 1998...Ocean swells from storms in the South Pacific caused surf heights of 7 to 9 feet, with sets to 12 feet along the southern California coast. A man fishing on rocks at Rancho Palos Verdes, CA was swept away. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
3 May 1494...The explorer Christopher Columbus sighted the island of Jamaica in the West Indies. He named the island Santa Gloria. On the following day, he landed on Jamaica. (Library of Congress)
3 May 1761...Large tornadoes swept the Charleston, SC harbor when a British Fleet of 40 sails was at anchor. It raised a wave 12 feet high, leaving many vessels on their beam-ends. Four people drowned. (Intellicast)
4 May 1869...The first U.S. patent for an offshore oil-drill rig was issued to T.F. Rowland for his "submarine drilling apparatus" (No. 89,794). (Today in Science History)
4 May 1904...Construction began on the Panama Canal. (Wikipedia)
4 May 1910...Congress required every passenger ship or other ship carrying 50 persons or more, leaving any port of United States to be equipped with radio (100-mi radius) and a qualified operator. (USCG Historian's Office)
5 May 1990...A strong Pacific cold front moving rapidly inland caused weather conditions at the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington State to quickly change from sunny and calm to westerly winds of 60 mph and ten-foot waves. Three recreational fishing boats capsized in heavy seas off Port Angeles resulting in five deaths. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
6 May 1994...The rail tunnel under the English Channel, or "Chunnel," that connects Folkestone, England, with Sangatte, France was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President Mitterrand. (The History Channel)