WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

30 June-4 July 2008

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2008 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 25 August 2008. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Ocean in the News:

• Welcome to the weather and ocean educators attending the 2008 DataStreme LIT Leader Workshop that is being held at Silver Spring, MD from 29 June to 2 July 2008.

• Way out there! The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun early Friday morning (officially at 08Z on Friday, 4 July 2008, which is equivalent to 3 AM EDT or 2 AM CDT). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year on the early evening of 2 January.

• Eye on the tropics-- In the western North Pacific, Typhoon Fengshen made landfall in southern China near Hong Kong early last week, after it had weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. This typhoon, which had earlier reached category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, had moved northward across the South China Sea following an initial landfall on Luzon in the Philippines, where the winds and heavy rain were responsible for hundreds of deaths. An image from the NOAA-17 satellite shows the clouds of Tropical Storm Fengshen as it made landfall in southern China last week. [NOAA OSEI] Another image generated from data obtained by NASA's TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite shows the heavy rain that fell along the track of Typhoon Fengshen; rainfall totals were as much as 15 inches. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional information on this typhoon is available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
  In the eastern North Pacific Basin, Tropical Storm Boris formed late last week several hundred miles off the coast of Central America. This tropical storm was the second named tropical cyclone of the 2008 season for the eastern North Pacific. A satellite image of Boris and additional information concerning this tropical storm are available on the NASA Hurricane Page. As of Saturday, this system was expected to continue moving toward the west-northwest.
  Over the weekend, a tropical depression intensified to become Tropical Storm Cristina. This system, which was well away from the Central American coast, was moving westward away from land.
• National Clean Beaches Week -- The Clean Beaches Council has declared this week (1-5 July 2008) as National Clean Beaches Week, which is meant to focus public attention on the role of sustainable beaches in American life. Four themes deemed to be important to people going to the beach will be emphasized: healthy environment, sustainable travel, clean recreation and fitness, and healthy food choices [Clean Beaches Council]
• Decisions ruled on state appeals to coastal projects -- Last week, the US Department of Commerce issued decisions on appeals made by the states of Maryland and Massachusetts in their objections to the construction and operation of liquefied natural gas terminals in these two states, as part of the Coastal Zone Management Act. The Department overrode Maryland's objection to a facility near Baltimore, but upheld Massachusetts' objection to a facility near Fall River. [NOAA News]
• Members of fisheries council announced -- The US Department of Commerce has announced the appointment of 21 members to the eight regional fishery management councils for 2008. [NOAA News]
• Public comment desired for protecting marine mammals off Hawaii -- The NOAA Fisheries Service is seeking public comments concerning its proposed authorization for sonar operations to be conducted the US Navy off the Hawaiian Islands. This proposal also includes protective measures designed to minimize the impacts that sonar could have upon marine animals. [NOAA News]
• Fisheries status report released -- The NOAA Fisheries Service in their annual report to Congress on the status of US fisheries for 2007 proclaimed that seven stocks had been removed from the overfishing list, while no new stocks were added to that list. [NOAA News]
• New research ship christened -- NOAA recently christened the Research Vessel Manta, a 83-ft vessel with state of the art research equipment that will operate from the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the waters of Gulf of Mexico off Galveston, TX. [NOAA News]
• Information on marine sanctuary goes high tech -- NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary has recently installed four modern touch screen NOAA kiosks along the southern California coast designed to provide the public with educational information concerning the marine life and habitat within this marine sanctuary "without getting their feet wet." [NOAA News]
• Another Gulf port gets a new environmental observing system -- NOAA in partnership with the Mississippi State Port Authority has installed the NOAA Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) at Gulfport, MS that will provide free real-time meteorological and oceanographic information to mariners using this port on the Gulf Coast. [NOAA News]
• NOAA scientists honored -- The federal government's Partnership for Public Service selected two NOAA scientists as finalists for the 2008 Service to America Medal because of their life-saving and educational inventions. One of the finalists was the Director of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Dr. Eddie Bernard, for his creation of a tsunami detection system. The other NOAA finalist was Dr. Alexander MacDonald, Director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory for his invention of Science on a Sphere®, a three-dimensional teaching tool. [NOAA News]
• Ecosystem health in the Dry Tortugas improving -- Research divers from the University of Miami, NOAA Fisheries Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, the Reef Educational and Environmental Foundation, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who conducted a census in the waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Tortugas Ecological Reserve and Dry Tortugas National Park's Research Natural Area have found that some of the endangered marine species have been increasing, meaning that the protection of the Dry Tortugas near Key West has been a success. [EurekAlert!]
• Destruction of low-level greenhouse gases found over tropical Atlantic -- Samples of ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, halocarbons and particles collected from the lowest 100 meters of the atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic by scientists associated with the Cape Verde Observatory have found that large quantities of ozone appear to have been destroyed in this layer. They attribute the loss of ozone, which also contributes to a removal of methane, to bromine and iodine oxide entering the atmosphere from sea spray and emissions from phytoplankton. [EurekAlert!]
• International humanitarian aid continues in wake of tropical cyclone -- Officials with the United Nations plans to have the World Health Organization and UNICEF launch a massive anti-dengue campaign across sections of Myanmar (Burma) that have been hit by the deadly tropical cyclone in May. [US Water News Online]
• Evidence of volcanic eruptions found in the Arctic Ocean -- Researchers from the US, Germany and several other countries who conducted a scientific expedition to the Gakkel Ridge, a mid oceanic ridge in the Arctic Ocean, have found extensive layers of volcanic ash on the seafloor, which provides evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions within the Arctic basin. [EurekAlert!] [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.

Historical Events:

• 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 because 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)
• 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)
• 4 July 1687...An early experience of a tropical revolving storm was made by Captain William Dampier, whose ship survived what he called a "tuffoon" off the coast of China. In New Voyage Round the World, (published in 1697) Dampier wrote that this violent whirlwind storm had a calm central eye, and its winds moved from opposite directions as the storm moved passed. This was one of the earliest known European descriptions of a typhoon, which also presented a new understanding that storms somehow move, rather than remain stationary. During his ocean travels, he kept a detailed journal, noting native cultures, and made careful descriptions of natural history which in effect made him an early contributor to scientific exploration. (Today in Science History)
• 4 July 1840...The Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddlewheel steamer, RMS Britannia, departed from Liverpool, England bound for Halifax, NS on its first transatlantic passenger cruise. (Wikipedia)
• 4 July 1903...President Theodore Roosevelt sent the first official message over the new cable across the Pacific Ocean between Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila. (Today in Science History)
• 5 July 1805...Robert FitzRoy, British naval officer, hydrographer and meteorologist, was born. He was also commanded the voyage of HMS Beagle aboard which Charles Darwin sailed around the world as the ship's naturalist. That voyage provided Darwin with much of the material on which he based his theory of evolution. FitzRoy retired from active duty in 1850 and from 1854 devoted himself to meteorology. He devised a storm warning system that was the prototype of the daily weather forecast, invented a barometer, and published The Weather Book (1863). His death on 30 April 1865 was by suicide, during a bout of depression. (Today in Science History)
• 5 July 1916...An early season hurricane produced 82-mph winds, an 11.6-foot tide, and a barometric pressure of 28.92 inches at Mobile, AL. (David Ludlum)
• 5 July 1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• 6 July 1484...Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão located the mouth of the Congo River. (Wikipedia)
• 6 July 1988...The world's worst offshore accident occurred when 167 oil workers were killed by explosions and fires that destroyed the Piper Alpha drilling platform in the British sector of the North Sea.

Return to DataStreme Ocean website

Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2008, The American Meteorological Society.