WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

27 June- 1 July 2016

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2016 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 22 August 2016. 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 2016 AMS DataStreme LIT Leader Summer Training Workshop that is being held in Gulfport, MS from 28 June to 2 July 2016.
• Shark Week 2016 continues --The Discovery Channel's Shark Week 2016, a week-long series of feature television programs dedicated to sharks, started this past Sunday, 26 June, and will continue through next Sunday. New technology involving an interactive 360-degree video will be featured. The week is also promoted on social media networks. Shark Week was first run in July 1987 in an effort to raise public awareness and respect for sharks. [The Discovery Channel]
• Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2016 Campaign resumes -- The seventh in a series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2016 will commence on Monday (27 June) and continue through 6 July. GLOBE at Night is a worldwide, hands-on science and education program designed to encourage citizen-scientists worldwide to record the brightness of their night sky by matching the appearance of a constellation (Hercules in the Northern Hemisphere and Scropius in the Southern Hemisphere) with the seven magnitude/star charts of progressively fainter stars. Activity guides are also available. The GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The next series in the 2016 campaign is scheduled for 28 July-6 August 2016. [GLOBE at Night]
• Change in seasons -- The beginning of July marks the beginning of the new heating season. Traditionally, meteorologists and climatologists define the heating season to run from 1 July to 30 June of the following year. Heating degree day units are accumulated commencing on 1 July. Likewise, the snow season runs from 1 July through 30 June. Seasonal snowfall totals for next season will be summed from Monday.
• The half-way point -- Midpoint of calendar year 2016 will occur at midnight local standard time on Saturday, 2 July 2016.
• "Warmest day of the year" approaches -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (formerly National Climatic Data Center) has created a "Warmest Day of the Year" map for the contiguous United States based upon the highest daily maximum temperatures of the year as calculated from the 1981-2010 climate normals. Additional maps are available for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Many places across the nation will experience their highest daily temperatures within the next two to three weeks. However, some locations in Arizona and New Mexico affected by the Southwest Monsoon reach their maximum temperatures during the last two weeks of June. On the other hand, coastal locations along the Pacific Ocean and in Hawaii would have the highest temperatures in September because of the thermal lag due to proximity of the ocean. [NOAA National Climatic Data Center News]

Ocean in the News:

• Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, tropical cyclone activity was limited to the North Atlantic basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. As the week started, a tropical depression formed late Sunday afternoon over the waters of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico almost 200 miles to the east-southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico. By early Monday morning, this tropical depression had intensified into Tropical Storm Danielle, the fourth named tropical cyclone of 2016 in the Atlantic basin, as it moved generally west toward the Mexican coast. Spreading locally heavy rain across east central Mexico, Danielle made landfall early Monday evening as a weak tropical storm. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Danielle.
• Track historical hurricanes using a map viewer -- An interactive website is available to emergency managers and the public that permits tracking the development and movement of more than 6000 tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, extending back to 1851 in the Atlantic basin using a Geographic Information System (GIS) map viewer. [NOAA Climate.gov Maps] or [NOAA National Ocean Service]
• Demise of the recent El Niño event is chronicled -- An ENSO blog was written by a NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) researcher describes the life cycle the 2015-16 El Niño event, detailing its recent demise, which the writer called the "discharging" period as warm surface waters in the equatorial waters of the Pacific travel poleward. A block diagram showing the waters of the Pacific in three-dimensions is animated to demonstrate the cooling of the subsurface ocean and then the near surface waters over a several month span as the El Niño event ends. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
• Viewing algae bloom and glacial flour in Gulf of Alaska from space -- An image obtained from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the NOAA-NASA Suomi-NPP satellite early this month shows several large swirls which represent phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Alaska, along with the glacial flour that has been washed from Alaska and suspended in the coastal waters of the Gulf. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Increased bleaching of US coral reefs in Pacific as ocean water temperatures rise -- A recently released NOAA Coral Reef Watch reveals that a 90 percent chance of widespread coral bleaching should occur in the Pacific Island nations of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia with the anticipated transition into a La Niña event in the next several months. La Niña conditions can create relatively high ocean temperatures in the western Pacific. Currently, NOAA forecasters are predicting a 75 percent chance of La Niña development before the end of this year. Officials with the NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program also report that a global coral bleaching event, which began in 2014 is ongoing. Global warming, coupled with an intense El Niño, continues to make this current coral bleaching event the longest and most widespread on record. Since its onset, all U.S. coral reefs have experienced above normal temperatures and more than 70 percent of them have been exposed to the prolonged high temperatures that can cause bleaching. [NOAA News]
• Monetary grants awarded for ocean observing -- NOAA's US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) has recently awarded over $31 million in grants to support ocean, coastal and Great Lakes observing efforts throughout the United States, Caribbean and Pacific. Five-year cooperative agreements have been made with a variety of federal and local agencies for eleven projects, with the focus on increasing the availability and accessibility of data, and on maintaining and expanding the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing capabilities throughout the country. [NOAA News]
• Improvements being made to estimating Earth's planetary energy budget -- A team of researchers with NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the University of Hawaii's Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research and NASA's Langley Research Center have found that a strong agreement in between two independent measurement schemes of the Earth's energy imbalance made by the Argo Profiling Floats and the CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) satellite. The former method is an in-situ measurement of the near-surface ocean heating rates and the latter technique involves monitoring of the "top of the atmosphere" annual energy flux. The Earth's annual energy imbalance, which amounts to approximately 0.7 Watts per square meter, is a consequence of planet Earth gaining energy due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and to the large thermal inertia of the oceans. [NOAA Climate Office News]
• Examining the influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on global weather -- A scientist with NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Dr. Tom Delworth, was recently interviewed on the research he and colleagues conducted involving the examination of how the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) modifies the ocean currents in the North Atlantic Ocean and the role that the NAO has upon affecting the weather, including melting Arctic sea ice and affecting the formation of tropical cyclones (especially hurricanes) in the tropical regions of this ocean basin. Apparently, the NAO can drive multidecadal climate variability in the basin through its influence on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). A positive phase of the NAO results in stronger westerly winds that extract heat from the Labrador Sea and subpolar gyre, reducing Arctic sea ice and warming the Northern Hemisphere, which could result in more tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
• Monitoring global sea level for climate change -- A feature article was written for NOAA's Climate.gov News that describes the observed changes in global sea level that have taken place over the last century, with rises in sea level becoming more rapid in more recent decades because of a combination of melting glaciers and ice sheets, and thermal expansion of seawater as it warms. An interactive graph of observed sea level change from 1880 to 2016 has been produced that permits the reader to display different parts of the graph. Attention in this article is also directed to how these measurements have been made over the last 130 years, why the rise in global sea level is important and why the rise has been the result of a changing climate. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
• An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA's National Weather Service, FAA and FEMA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAA/NWS Daily Briefing]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

• 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 oil rigs 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 Harbor to warn ships of rocks that had claimed many vessels. The first granite block was laid for the new lighthouse on 9 July 1857. The lantern room and second order Fresnel lens were put into place and illuminated on 22 August 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)
• 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 rouge 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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Prepared by DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.,
email hopkins@aos.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2016, The American Meteorological Society.