WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

2-6 July 2012

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2012 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 27 August 2012. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Items of Interest:

Insertion of extra "leap" second explained -- By international agreement, one second was added to last Saturday (30 June 2012) at 23:59:00 UTC to account for the slowing of the Earth's rotation because of tidal forces between Earth and the Moon. A member of NASA's Space Geodesy Project at the Goddard Space Flight Center described the extremely precise technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) used daily by an international network of stations to conduct observations of the Earth's rotation rate at the same time. [NASA GSFC]
The half-way point -- Midpoint of calendar year 2012 will occur at midnight local standard time on Monday morning, 2 July 2012.
Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun late Wednesday night (officially at 04Z on Thursday, 5 July 2012, which is equivalent to midnight EDT or 11 PM CDT on Wednesday, the 4th). 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 late evening of 2 January 2013.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the Tropics -- Although temperatures continue to increase across the Northern Hemisphere following the summer solstice the previous week, the weather across the tropical ocean basins remained relatively quiet last week.
In the North Atlantic Basin, Tropical Storm Debby, the fourth named tropical cyclone of 2012 Atlantic hurricane season developed over the central Gulf of Mexico over the previous weekend. Initially, this weak tropical storm moved northward and then northeastward, reaching the coast of the northern Florida Peninsula by midweek. Weakening upon landfall, Tropical Depression Debby moved slowly across northern Florida over the next day, producing torrential rainfall across sections of the Sunshine State. Nearly 24 inches of rain were recorded in some locations. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory] Satellite images and additional information associated with Tropical Storm Debby can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the western North Pacific, Tropical Storm Doksuri formed early last week over the waters of the Philippine Sea east of Luzon. This weak tropical storm traveled to the west-northwest and after skirting the northern Philippine Islands, made landfall along the southeastern coast of China last Saturday (local time). Additional information and satellite imagery on Tropical Storm Doksuri can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Robot boats sent into tropical cyclones could improve forecasts -- NOAA officials announced that two different robot boats, or aquatic drones would be deployed ahead of hurricanes or tropical storms during the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season to collect atmospheric and oceanic data that would be used to improve hurricane forecasts. The data collected by these aquatic drones would be relayed to the National Hurricane Center by satellites. [Seacoastonline]
Eight hurricane tracking satellites to be built in Texas -- NASA recently announced that it selected the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Texas to build eight hurricane-tracking satellites that are scheduled to be launched in early 2016 to for the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System. These eight "nanosatellites," each of which will be the size of a four-loaf bread box, will be used to determine wind strength from the sea state from signals bounced off the ocean surface from other satellites. [My San Antonio]
New ocean observation sensor designed to benefit abalone industry -- A new network of water sensors have been deployed in the waters of California's Monterey Bay to monitor dissolved oxygen, ocean acidification levels, and oceanographic conditions for harmful algal blooms and other potential hazards for the abalone industry. This network is part of the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System, a NOAA-led US Integrated Ocean Observing System that has partners with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and the Monterey Abalone Company. [NOAA News]
Regional fishery council appointments announced for 2012 -- During the last week the US Department of Commerce announced the appointment of 30 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA's Fisheries Service to manage ocean fish stock. These new and reappointed council members will begin their three-year terms in mid August. [NOAA News]
Awards for coastal and ocean management excellence announced -- NOAA officials recently announced the 2012 Walter B. Jones and NOAA Excellence in Coastal and Ocean Management award winners. These awards, which are named for the late 11-term congressman Walter B. Jones of North Carolina who was the chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, are given every two years and recognize individuals and organizations for their dedication and outstanding contributions in helping the nation maintain healthy coastal and ocean resources. [NOAA News]
Rise in sea level accelerates along US East Coast -- A newly released US Geological Survey report indicates that since approximately 1990, the rates of sea level rise along sections of the US Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to New England are increasing three-to-four times faster than globally. The report also warns that if global temperatures increase as projected, rates of sea level rise for this section of the coast called a "hotspot" should also continue to increase. [USGS Newsroom]
Joint oceanographic research program in Southeast Asia is underway -- During the last week, the Research Vessel Roger Revelle , a general purpose oceanographic research vessel owned by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), made a nine-day port call in the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang as part of a five-year research endeavor, the Joint Vietnam-U.S. Research Program on the Oceanography of the Vietnamese East Sea and Land-Ocean Interaction. This research partnership between ONR and the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology will study the complex ocean dynamics of the Vietnamese East Sea and its interactions with the Mekong River. [US Navy News]
Pollutants add health risks to five endangered sea turtle species -- Researchers from the Hollings Marine Laboratory that includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NOAA, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina have determined that the concentrations of 13 perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) in five different endangered species of sea turtles have approached levels that are known to cause adverse health effects in other animals. [NIST Material Measurement Laboratory]
New methods for predicting wave power could increase marine energy -- Researchers at the United Kingdom's University of Exeter and Israel's Tel Aviv University claim that the use of new methods for predicting ocean wave power could double the amount of energy that could generated by oceans. [University of Exeter]
Efforts to save the Baltic Sea proposed -- Researchers at Sweden's Lund University propose that nations around the Baltic Sea should take steps to reduce the nutrients entering the Baltic Sea to help improve the state of the Baltic Sea. They warn that some of the proposals involving geoengineering efforts to mix oxygen into the Deep Baltic would serve only as a short-term fix that could become potentially dangerous. They note that human activities have changed nutrient inputs into the Baltic Sea and the responses of marine ecosystems to changes in human impact and climate. [Lund University]
Experimental watershed yields new insights into water and climate --An outdoor experimental watershed laboratory established six years ago by University of Delaware scientists at Fair Hill, MD to investigate water hydrology and biogeochemistry has produced data into how water and chemicals move through forest canopies, soils and watersheds. These studies could be used to understand how future climate change may impact or alter the response of water and the watersheds. [University of Delaware]
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:

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.
7 July 1901...First three-day weather forecast issued for the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic. (Northern Indiana NWSFO)
7 July 1952...The liner SS United States made the fastest-ever eastbound crossing of the Atlantic of 3 days, 17 hours and 48 minutes on her maiden voyage from Nantucket Light Ship off New York's Long Island to Bishop Rock Lighthouse in western England.
8 July 1497...The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, set sail from Lisbon, Portugal with four ships on the first direct European voyage to India, first rounding Africa's Cape of Good Hope and reaching Calicut on India's southwest coast on 20 May 1498. (Wikipedia)
8 July 1879...The first ship to use electric lights departed from San Francisco, CA.