28 June-2 July 2010

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2010 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 30 August 2010. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Items of Interest:

• Welcome to the weather, climate and ocean educators attending the 2010 DataStreme LIT Leader Workshop that is being held at Norman, OK from 28 June to 1 July 2010.

Ocean in the News:

• Eye on the Tropics -- Tropical cyclone activity was found across the eastern North Pacific and the western North Atlantic this past week:
• In the eastern North Pacific, Tropical Storm Celia, the third named tropical cyclone of 2010 in that basin, continued to travel generally westward as it became a hurricane at the start of the week. By late in the week, Hurricane Celia became a major category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. As of Sunday, Hurricane Celia had weakened sufficiently and was downgraded to a tropical storm. For more information and satellite imagery on Hurricane Celia, consult the NASA Hurricane Page . Another tropical cyclone formed last week off the southwestern coast of Mexico and intensified to become Hurricane Darby by late last week as it traveled to the west-northwest over the eastern North Pacific. Near the end of the week, Hurricane Darby had intensified to a category 3 hurricane before weakening over the weekend. As of Sunday, Darby had been downgraded to a tropical storm. Additional information and satellite imagery on Hurricane Darby are found on the NASA Hurricane Page .
• The first named tropical cyclone of the 2010 hurricane season in the North Atlantic formed over the waters of the western Caribbean late last week and was named Tropical Storm Alex. This tropical storm moved to the west-northwest and made landfall along the coast of Belize late Saturday and moved across the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday. As it traveled across the Yucatan, it weakened to a tropical depression. Current forecasts indicate that Tropical Depression Alex could intensify after it moves out over the waters of the western Gulf of Mexico and affect northeastern Mexico and even south Texas later this upcoming week. [USA Today]
. A satellite image and additional information on Alex can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page .
• Satellite indicates a La Niña is replacing an El Niño-- Scientists at NASA's JPL recently confirmed that the sea surface data collected by the NASA/European Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 oceanography satellite indicates the waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific have cooled during the last several months, suggesting that the warm phase El Niño event is being replaced by a cold phase La Niña event. This evidence confirms the findings of other scientists. [ NASA JPL ]
• "State of the Coasts" website unveiled -- NOAA's Ocean Service recently unveiled its "State of the Coast" website (http://stateofthecoast.noaa.gov/) that is intended to provide current tabular and graphical information to the public along with coastal managers and officials at local, state and federal levels on the ecological and economical health of the nation's 95,000 miles of coastline. A section on this webpage addresses the potential impacts that projected changes in climate could have upon the human and natural assets found along the nation's coasts, due especially to potential rises in sea level. [NOAA News ]
• Gulf oil spill updates --Oil continued to spew from the Deepwater Horizon BP well into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast:

• NOAA ship deployed to collect samples for spill study—The NOAA ship Delaware II left Key West, FL last week on a two-week mission to collect water samples and fish (tuna, swordfish and sharks) in the Gulf waters near the BP spill site. [ NOAA News ]
• New methods used to track underwater movement of oil mapping tool unveiled to track Gulf response -- NOAA scientists are studying the scientific data obtained by a variety of high-tech equipment on the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, which returned to Galveston, TX, the week before last following an eight-day research mission to investigate the presence and distribution of subsurface oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill. This mission collected water samples for chemical analysis and tested the feasibility of using acoustic and flourometric scanning to help find potential pockets of subsurface oil clouds. [NOAA News]
• Changes made in the closed fishing area -- During the last week, NOAA initially expanded the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the spread of the oil slick. [NOAA News] Later in the week, parts of the closed area were reopened, as the oil had not been found in these regions. At this time, approximately two-thirds of the Gulf were open to fishing. [NOAA News]
• First joint agency assessment report on unsea oil monitoring released -- Last week, NOAA,  the US Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released the first peer reviewed, analytical summary report about the subsea monitoring done by the Research Vessel Brooks McCall near the Deepwater Horizon wellhead.  [NOAA News]
• Economic benefits of the NOAA PORTS® system shown in the Pacific Northwest-- A recent study prepared by NOAA and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution estimates that the installation of NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System, (PORTS®) along the lower Columbia River provided the region that included Portland, OR with $6.4 million per year in savings and direct income, primarily among maritime interests.  This system was installed along the Lower Columbia from its mouth up to Vancouver, WA and makes observations and predictions of water levels, currents, salinity, and meteorological parameters (e.g., winds, atmospheric pressure, air and water temperatures), which can be used as a decision support tool by mariners and the public.
• Teachers head for the sea as part of the "Teacher at Sea" program – Several teachers who had been selected as part of the 2010 NOAA "Teacher at Sea" Program recently departed on research cruises aboard NOAA research vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. These teachers will participate alongside scientists in collecting data and gaining experience that they can use in their classrooms. The teachers include: Nicolle von der Heyde, an eighth-grade science teacher from Florrisant, MO, onboard the NOAA Ship Pisces. [ NOAA News ] Melinda Storey, a teacher at Mountain Brook Elementary School in Birmingham, AL on the NOAA Ship Pisces . [ NOAA News ] Mechelle Shoemake, a 4th grade teacher at South Jones Elementary School in Ellisville, MS on the NOAA Ship Oregon II. [ NOAA News ]
• 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, drought, floods, 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, to include drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

• 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 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)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2010, The American Meteorological Society.