27 June -1 July 2005

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2005 with new Ocean News and Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 29 August 2005. All the current online homepage products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

• Welcome to the weather and ocean educators attending the 2005 Project Atmosphere-DataStreme Workshop that is being held in Silver Spring, MD from 27 June to 1 July 2005.
• Protection of whales sought -- Officials with NOAA Fisheries Service have been working to help protect whales in the North Atlantic by publishing:
• Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for developing a strategy aimed at reducing the collisions between the endangered North Atlantic right whales and ocean-going ships along the East Coast of the US. [NOAA News]
• Proposed rule that would revise the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan to reduce accidental entanglement of large whales in commercial fishing gear. [NOAA News]
• Sea turtle research recognized -- Two NOAA Fisheries Service researchers at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Hawaii were recently honored for their sea turtle research work and recovery efforts [NOAA Magazine]
• Monitoring a historic estuary -- Scientists have been using the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve located on the Hudson River upstream from the New York City metropolitan area to monitor the impact of nearly a quarter century of restoration has had upon this tidal estuary that has experienced more than two centuries of human impingement. [NOAA Magazine]
• Changes in phytoplankton monitored from space -- Scientists at the University of Maryland have been analyzing seven-years of photosynthetic productivity data in the oceans obtained from the SeaWiFS instrument onboard a NASA satellite along with a computer model to study the variations of the population of marine phytoplankton due to El Niño and La Niña episodes. [NASA]
• The birth of tropical cyclones to be studied -- NASA researchers along with others from NOAA and the Costa Rican Centro Nacional de Alta Tecnologia are preparing for a month-long Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes mission to Costa Rica aimed at investigating the processes involved with the formation of tropical cyclones, including tropical storms and hurricanes. Data will be collected from instruments onboard a variety of aircraft, balloon-borne instrument probes and satellites [NASA]
• National standards for ocean aquaculture to be developed -- The Marine Aquaculture Task Force is being established by Pew Charitable Trusts and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to develop a set of national standards for aquaculture in the oceans. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]
• A persistent El Niño-like condition could have dominated the Pliocene -- Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz report that their analysis of sediment cores from the tropical Pacific indicates a relatively persistent pattern could have existed during the warm Pliocene epoch (5 to 1.7 million years ago) that is similar to conditions during current El Niño events. [EurekAlert!]
• Sea algae studied for ancient climate clues -- A professor at Yale University along with colleagues have been using ancient algae collected from deep sea drill cores to produce a detailed history of atmospheric carbon dioxide between 45 and 25 million years ago. [EurekAlert!]
• Photosynthesis appears possible in deep ocean -- Researchers at the Arizona State University believe that photosynthesis takes place in the deep Pacific Ocean after they discovered green sulfur bacteria near hydrothermal vents more than 7800 feet below the ocean surface. [EurekAlert!]
• More mangrove forests may have saved lives -- An international team of scientists from Belgium, Sri Lanka, Kenya and India suggests that more and better maintained mangrove greenbelts may have helped protect coastal areas from the effects of the deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean last December. [EurekAlert!]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes-- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• 26 June-7 July 1989...Tropical Storm Allison formed in the Gulf of Mexico from remnants of Hurricane Cosme in the eastern North Pacific. Periods of heavy rain caused flooding across parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. Winnfield, LA reported a six-day total of 29.52 inches of rain. This system was responsible for eleven deaths and approximately 500 million dollars in damage. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 27 June 1898...The first solo circumnavigation of the globe was completed in slightly more than three years by the Canadian seaman and adventurer Joshua Slocum of Briar Island, NS when he returned to Newport, RI after sailing the 37-foot Spray a distance of 46,000 miles. After completing this voyage Slocum wrote the classic book, Sailing Alone Around the World describing his adventure. (Wikipedia)
• 27-29 June 1954...Excessive rains from remnants of Hurricane Alice led to the Rio Grande River's worst flood. Up to 27.1 inches of rain fell at Pandale, TX. As many as 55 people died from the flooding. The river crest at Laredo, TX broke the previous highest record by 12.6 feet. The roadway on the US. 90 bridge over the Pecos River was covered by 30 feet of water on the 27^th. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (David Ludlum)
• 27 June 1957...Hurricane Audrey smashed ashore at Cameron, LA drowning 381 persons in the storm tide, and causing 150 million dollars damage in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Audrey left only a brick courthouse and a cement-block icehouse standing at Cameron, and when the waters settled in the town of Crede, only four buildings remained. The powerful winds of Audrey tossed a fishing trawler weighing 78 tons onto an offshore drilling platform. Winds along the coast gusted to 105 mph, and oilrigs off the Louisiana coast reported wind gusts to 180 mph. A storm surge greater than twelve feet inundated the Louisiana coast as much as 25 miles inland. It was the deadliest June hurricane of record for the U.S. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 27 June 1978...SEASAT, an experimental U.S. ocean surveillance satellite was launched. Each day, SEASAT made 14 orbits of the Earth, and in a period of 36 hours was able to monitor nearly 96% of the oceanic surface. The measurement equipment on board was able to penetrate cloud cover and report measurements such as wave height, water temperature, currents, winds, icebergs, and coastal characteristics. Although it operated for only 99 days before a power failure, it had already shown the viability of the use of a satellite for collecting oceanic data. The information collected was shared with scientists and was used to aid transoceanic travel by ships and aircraft. (Today in Science History)
• 27-29 June 1997...Although thousands of miles away, a strong low pressure system southeast of New Zealand produced surf up to seven feet, with occasional sets to ten feet, along Hawaii's south-facing coasts. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 28 June 1983...A waterspout was sighted over Hazin Bay on the Yukon-Kuskokwim coast of Alaska. Satellites detected thunderstorms in the area. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 28 June 1992...A slow moving tropical depression produced excessive rains across southwest Florida. Four-day totals ending on the 28^th, ranged up to 25 inches in the Venice area, with a general 8 to 14 inches over Sarasota and Manatee counties. Two deaths resulted from the flooding. (Intellicast)
• 29 June 1860...The replacement to the first iron-pile lighthouse in the U.S. was completed at Minot's Ledge, near Scituate, Massachusetts, replacing the one at the same site that was built between 1847 and 1850, lighted 1 Jan 1850 but destroyed in a storm in April 1851.. In 1860, the last stone was laid for the new Minot's Ledge lighthouse, five years minus one day after workmen first landed at the ledge. The final cost of about $300,000 made it one of the most expensive lighthouses in U.S. history. It stood off Boston's south shore, just outside Boston Harbour to warn ships of rocks that had claimed many vessels. The first granite block was laid for the new lighthouse on 9 Jul 1857. The lantern room and second order Fresnel lens were put into place and illuminated on 22 Aug 1860. This structure has withstood all storms since, and stands to this day. (Today in Science History)
• 29 June 1982...The Soviet Union launched COSPAS I, the first search and rescue satellite ever launched. In combination with later SARSAT satellites, a new multi-agency, international, search and rescue service was made operational. On 11 September 1982, it was credited with helping to save the crew of Cessna 172, a Canadian airplane. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 30 June 1886...The second destructive hurricane in nine days hit the Apalachicola-Tallahassee area of Florida. (David Ludlum)
• 30 June 1972...The entire state of Pennsylvania was declared a disaster area as a result of the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes, which claimed 48 lives, and caused 2.1 billion dollars damage. (The Weather Channel)
• 30 June 1989...The remains of tropical storm Allison dropped copious amounts of rain on Louisiana. Winnfield, LA reported 22.52 inches of rain in three days, and more than thirty inches for the month, a record for June. Shreveport received a record 17.11 inches in June, with a total for the first six months of the year of 45.55 inches. Thunderstorms also helped produce record rainfall totals for the month of June of 13.12 inches at Birmingham, AL, 14.66 inches at Oklahoma City, OK, 17.41 inches at Tallahassee, FL, 9.97 inches at Lynchburg, VA, and more than 10.25 inches at Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh had also experienced a record wet month of May. (The National Weather Summary) (Intellicast)
• 1 July 1792...A tremendous storm (a tornado or hurricane) hit Philadelphia and New York City. Many young people were drowned while out boating on that Sunday. (David Ludlum)
• 1 July 1885...The United States terminated reciprocity and a fishery agreement with Canada. (Wikipedia)
• 2 July 1578...The British seaman and explorer, Martin Frobisher sighted Baffin Island, one of Canada's Arctic islands. (Wikipedia)
• 2-6 July 1994... Heavy rains from the remains of Tropical Storm Alberto produced major flooding across northern and central Georgia. Three-day rains exceeded 15 inches at Atlanta. An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA on the 6^th to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. Numerous road closures and bridge washouts. Thirty people were killed and 50,000 were forced from their homes, as 800,000 acres were flooded. Total damage exceeded $750 million. (NCDC) (Intellicast)
• 3 July 1903...The first telegraph cable across the Pacific Ocean was spliced and completed between San Francisco on the US West Coast, Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila in the Philippines. After testing, the first official message was sent the next day. A cable between San Francisco and Hawaii had been established at the beginning of the same year, with its first official message sent on 1 Jan 1903. This technological event ended Hawaii's isolation by connecting it to the mainland U.S. and the rest of the world. The cable was a mainstay of communications into the early 1950s when newer technology rendered it obsolete. (The 1902 all-British telegraph line from Canada to Australia and New Zealand was the first line to cross the Pacific Ocean.) (Today in Science History)
• 3 July 1992...At 11 PM EDT, several waves to heights of 18 feet crashed ashore at Daytona Beach, FL. Sailboats were tossed onto cars, 200 vehicles damaged and 75 minor injuries reported. While the exact cause was unknown, morning storms were moving parallel to the coast approximately 430 miles to the east. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

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URL: DSOcean/news.html

Prepared by AMS DSOcean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2005, The American Meteorological Society.