WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

4-8 August 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:

• National Lighthouse Day is celebrated -- Thursday, 7 August 2008, is designated National Lighthouse Day, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Act of Congress on 7 August 1789 when the Federal Government assumed responsibility for building and operating the nation's lighthouses. [American Lighthouse Foundation]
• Eye on the tropics ---
  • In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Edouard, the fifth named tropical cyclone (low pressure system with tropical storm or hurricane intensity) of the 2008 North Atlantic hurricane season, formed late Sunday afternoon over the Gulf of Mexico south of Alabama's Mobile Bay. As of Sunday evening, this tropical storm was expected to travel westward and make landfall along the Texas coast
  • In the Western North Pacific, Typhoon Fung-Wong, which had reached Category 2 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, made landfall in Taiwan and then mainland China early last week, accompanied by major flooding. An image from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite shows the clouds surrounding Typhoon Fung-Wong in the Taiwan Strait after passing over Taiwan. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional information and images of Fung-Wong can be seen on the NASA Hurricane Page.
• Texas floods are a reminder of Dolly -- Images made by the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite on 21 and 26 July 2008 over the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas show the magnitude of the flooding produced by the torrential rain that accompanied Hurricane Dolly as it made landfall near Brownsville during the third week of July. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional information and images of Hurricane Dolly can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
• Marine sanctuaries seek advisory council applicants -- NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, which is located in the coastal waters of Massachusetts, is currently seeking two applicants for its advisory council, a group that assures public participation in the sanctuary's management. [NOAA News] NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary located off the upper Texas Gulf Coast is seeking up to eight applications for its advisory council. [NOAA News]
• Nation's economy could benefit from offshore aquaculture -- A report entitled " Offshore Aquaculture in the United States: Economic Considerations, Implications & Opportunities" recently released by NOAA shows that domestic offshore aquaculture shows significant economic potential and could be successful, benefiting the nation's economy within the next two decades. [NOAA News]
• Cracking down on sea turtle poaching -- NOAA’s Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement has announced that it is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of persons poaching endangered sea turtles in the Territory of Guam and in the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands. [NOAA News]
• A near record "dead zone" found in the Gulf of Mexico -- Researchers from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium who have conducted a research cruise have found that the size of the oxygen-depleted waters or the "dead zone" of the Gulf of Mexico is the second largest since they began taking measurements in 1985. Several of the scientists believe the reason that the actual size of this year's zone being less than predicted is due to Hurricane Dolly. [NOAA News]
• High carbon dioxide levels could cause ocean reefs to become "unglued" -- Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and their colleagues at other institutions warn that increased levels of carbon dioxide could dissolve the cements that bind the individual coral skeletons with larger coral reefs, resulting in the disintegration of these reefs. [NOAA News]
• Chesapeake blue crab population remains below long-term average -- The NOAA-chaired Fisheries Steering Committee has reported that the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population in 2007 remained below the long-term average. [NOAA News]
• Marine observing efforts funded -- As part of its Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) program, NOAA has recently provided funding to several regional organizations to support their marine observing efforts. The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, coordinated from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego will receive $853,785 to support ocean observing efforts in Southern California. [NOAA News] The Great Lakes Observing System, under the supervision of the Great Lakes Commission, will receive a $750,000 award to support marine observing efforts in the Great Lakes region. [NOAA News]
• Mussels serve as indicator of port pollution-- Researchers at the University of the Basque Country report that they use mussels in ocean ports along the northern Spanish coast as a means of monitoring the contamination of the waters of the ports. [Basque Research]
• Leatherback turtles tagged in New England waters -- Researchers at the University of New Hampshire tagged several leatherback turtles in the waters off Cape Cod, a feat that they claim as being the first free-swimming leatherbacks ever to be tagged as far north as New England. [University of New Hampshire]
• Oceanic acidification could impact nascent marine life -- Researchers from Sweden and Australia have Studied the changes in the fertilization rate of sea urchins when the pH of the ocean water has been lowered and they have found decreases in the rate of development of healthy larvae when the water is acidified by the same amount projected to occur in the oceans by the end of this century. [EurekAlert!] These researchers warn of the implications that this ocean acidification would have on marine life. [EurekAlert!]
• An All-Hazards Monitor--This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, marine weather, tsunamis, rip currents, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and coral bleaching. [NOAAWatch]
• 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:

• 4(?) August 1609...A tempest struck the western Atlantic Ocean scattering small British convoy headed to Virginia. Two vessels sank; another, the Sea Venture was presumed lost. However, a ship made landfall on Bermuda, shipwrecking the crew. After a ten-month stay to build two small rescue boats, they sailed to Jamestown (Virginia) Colony. Incident accounts may have provided William Shakespeare with background material for The Tempest. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 August 1666...A violent hurricane raked the island of Guadeloupe, destroying all boats along its coast, including a 17-ship fleet with 2000 troops. The island's batteries, with 6-foot thick walls, were destroyed and the 16-pounders (large cannons) were washed away. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 August 1858...After several unsuccessful attempts, the first trans-Atlantic cable, a 2000-mile submerged telegraph line conceived by Cyrus W. Field, was completed by USS Niagara and British ship Agamemnon. While the first messages were exchanged between President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria on 16 August, the cable ceased functioning in early September. The first permanent trans-Atlantic cable was laid in 1866. (Naval Historical Center) (The History Channel)
• 5-6 August 1959...Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 103 mph and gusts to 125 mph. Over 6 inches of rain fell there and over 9 inches on the island of Hawaii. The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages. (Intellicast)
• 5-7 August 1997...Although far to the southwest, Hurricane Guillermo generated surf to 12-foot heights along the beaches of southern California. In Newport Beach, lifeguards made almost 300 rescues on the 5^th and 6^th. Rip currents were responsible for one death and three injuries. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 6 August 1986...A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast of Australia dumped a record 12.91 inches of rain in one day on Sydney. (Wikipedia)
• 7 August 1679...The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes. The ship disappeared on the return leg of its maiden voyage from Lake Michigan. (Wikipedia)
• 8 August 1585...The British navigator and polar explorer, John Davis, entered Cumberland Sound in quest for the North-West Passage. (Wikipedia)
• 8 August 2000...The Confederate submarine CSS H.L. Hunley was raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor. This submarine sank in the Charleston (SC) Harbor after sinking the USS Housatonic on 17 February 1864. (Wikipedia)
• 9 August 1988...Tropical Storm Beryl deluged Biloxi with 6.32 inches of rain in 24 hours, and in three days drenched Pascagoula, MS with 15.85 inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 10 August 1519...Five ships under the command of the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, set sail from the Spanish seaport Seville to Sanclucar be Barrameda, staying there until 21 September, when they departed to circumnavigate the globe. This expedition traveled westward and ultimately returned to Europe in September 1522. (Wikipedia)
• 10 August 1675...King Charles II laid the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. (Today in Science History)
• 10-11 August 1831...A violent hurricane devastated Barbados. Death toll was estimated to be from 1500 to 2500 people. (The Weather Doctor)
• 10 August 1856...The Isle Derniere (Last Island) disaster occurred off the coast of Louisiana. A storm tide drowned 140 vacationers as a five-foot wave swept over Low Island during a hurricane. (The Weather Channel) The hurricane completely devastated the fashionable hotel and pleasure resort on Last Island, 150 miles east of Cameron. Storm surge swept an estimated 400 people to their death. Today the island is just a haven for pelicans and other sea birds. (Intellicast)
• 10 August 1954...A ground breaking ceremony was held at Massena, NY for the St. Lawrence Seaway. (Wikipedia)
• 10 August 1971...President Nixon signed the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 considered to be most significant legislation in the long history of federal action in this field. The new act, which repealed most of the Federal Boating Act of 1958 and amended the Motorboat Act of 1940, shifted responsibility from boat operator to manufacturer. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 10 August 1980...Hurricane Allen came ashore north of Brownsville, TX dropping fifteen inches of rain near San Antonio, and up to 20 inches in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, ending a summer long drought. Winds at Port Mansfield gusted to 140 mph with a storm surge of 12 feet. Tidal flooding occurred along the South Texas coast. Hurricane Allen packed winds to 150 mph, and also spawned twenty-nine tornadoes. Total damage from the storm was estimated at 750 million dollars. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 10 August 1993...Three ships -- the barge Bouchard B155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255 -- collided in Florida's Tampa Bay. The Bouchard spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into Tampa Bay. (InfoPlease)

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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.