WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

17-21 June 2019

Items of Interest:

Celebrating National Ocean Month -- The month of June is National Ocean Month. NOAA's National Ocean Service has a web portal that provides links to a variety of websites containing facts, images and video designed to highlight both the beauty and importance of the nation's oceans and marine environment. The public is encouraged to follow along throughout the month on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and look for #30daysofocean. The focus during Week 4 "Ocean Life." [NOAA National Ocean Service]
Happy Summer Solstice! The summer solstice will occur Friday morning (officially, 21 June 2019 at 1554 Z, or 11:54 AM EDT on the 21st, 10:54 AM CDT, etc.). At that time, the earth's spin axis is oriented such that the sun appears to be the farthest north in the local sky of most earth-bound observers. While most of us consider this event to be the start of astronomical summer, the British call the day the "Midsummer Day", as the apparent sun will begin its southward descent again. For essentially all locations in the Northern Hemisphere, daylight on Thursday will be the longest and the night will be the shortest of the year. Starting Saturday, the length of darkness will begin to increase as we head toward the winter solstice on 22 December 2019 at 0419Z. However, because the sun is not as perfect a time-keeper as a clock, the latest sunsets of the year at many mid-latitude locations will continue through about the first week of July -- a consequence of the earth being near aphelion (on 4 July 2019) and the apparent sun moving across the sky well to the north of the celestial equator.
World Hydrography Day celebration -- The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) will celebrate its annual World Hydrography Day on Friday, 21 June 2019, the 98th-anniversary date on which the IHO was created in 1921. The theme for this year's celebration is "Hydrographic information driving marine knowledge," which is intended to focus the public's awareness the hydrographic work and services provided by national hydrographic offices, the scientific community, industry stakeholders and expert contributors. This year also represents the centennial of the first Hydrographic Conference in London in 1919. Currently, IHO has 89 member states. [International Hydrographic Organization]
Watching for high ocean tides along nation's coasts this summer -- The NOAA National Ocean Service recently released its High Tide Bulletin for Summer 2019, which provides information on when higher than average astronomical tides can be expected along the nation's Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts during the three months of June through August that constitute the Northern Hemisphere's meteorological summer. During the next three months, several of the coasts were expected to have high ocean tides during the first week of July; the last week of July and early August; and at the end of August and early September. These times correspond to the occurrence of a new moon within several days of lunar perigee (when the Moon is closest to Earth), which would result in perigean spring tides. [NOAA National Ocean Service News]

Ocean in the News:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone_basins
http://weather.unisys.com/hurricanes/search
SEE http://weather.unisys.com/hurricanes/search

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Atlantic_hurricane_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Pacific_hurricane_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Pacific_typhoon_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone_basins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_North_Indian_Ocean_cyclone_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018%E2%80%9319_South-West_Indian_Ocean_cyclone_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018%E2%80%9319_South_Pacific_cyclone_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018%E2%80%9319_Australian_region_cyclone_season
And http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/
http://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/jtwc.html

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Eye on the tropics --
Eye on the tropics -- In North Indian Ocean basin, a tropical depression formed from an area of low pressure at the start of last week over the waters of the Arabian Sea to the north of the Maldives. Over the next several days, this tropical depression, which was the second tropical cyclone of 2019 in the Arabian Sea, rapidly intensified to become Cyclone Vayu as it traveled generally toward the north by late Monday. At the time, Vayu had tropical-storm-force winds. By Tuesday afternoon, Vayu had become a category 1 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as it headed toward India’s Gujarat coast. Further intensification occurred as Vayu began to curve toward the north-northwest late Wednesday. Maximum sustained surface winds reached an estimated 104 mph, making Vayu a category 2 tropical cyclone. On Thursday, Vayu gradually slowed and turned toward the west as it approached the coastline of the state of Gujarat in northwestern India. By Friday, Vayu began to weaken, as it tracked slowly westward, away from the Gujarat coastline. Ultimately, Cyclone Vayu passed approximately 300 miles to the south-southeast of Karachi, Pakistan. Vayu began weakening. As of Sunday, Vayu was
Current forecasts call for Vayu to curve toward the northeast and head for the northwestern coast of India, making landfall as a tropical storm by late Monday or early Tuesday.
Additional information and satellite images associated with Cyclone Vayu can be found on the NASA Hurricane Blog. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/powerful-cyclone-vayu-to-pass-dangerously-close-to-gujarat-india/70008502
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Vayu
A very large "dead zone" in northern Gulf of Mexico is predicted for this summer -- Scientists with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocran Science (NCCOS), the US Geological Survey (USGS) and their partners at several university research centers have recently forecast the size of this year's hypoxic or "dead zone" in the northern Gulf of Mexico should be close to the record areal extent set in 2017 and larger than the 5-year average size. This so-called dead zone is a hypoxia region in the waters of the Gulf with either low or no dissolved oxygen, which is caused by excess nutrient pollution, primarily from urbanization and agriculture in the watershed. The Gulf outlook is based on models developed by NOAA-sponsored researchers at the University of Michigan, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Virginia Institute of Marine Studies, Texas A&M University and North Carolina State University that is based upon USGS river flow and nutrient data. These models rely upon nutrient loading estimates from USGS. The widespread, persistent and heavy spring rainfall across the Mississippi River's watershed has led to high river discharge into Gulf. In May, discharge from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers was about 67% above the long-term (1980 and 2018) average. USGS estimates that the nitrate loads in May were about 18% above the long-term average, and phosphorus loads were about 49% above the long-term average. These factors are major contributors to the anticipated large size of the dead zone. NOAA will assess the accuracy of this forecast in August. [NOAA News]
New research focuses on tropical cyclone behavior -- Teo new research studies have been conducted by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and its research partners that focus on the behavior of tropical cyclones. This new research could contribute to greater preparedness, improved forecasts, and resiliency efforts especially involving hurricanes that can cause fatalities and billions of dollars in damage. One of these studies was conducted by researchers at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and NCEI that involved development of a method to explore the trend in the slowing translation speed of hurricanes along the North American coast that can have detrimental effects due to increases in torrential rainfall leading to flooding. The other recent research study was conducted by researchers at NCEI and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory that found increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases may allow future hurricanes to become stronger on the U.S. East Coast. [NOAA NCEI News]
U.S. global weather forecast model has been upgraded -- The "Global Forecast System (GFS)," NOAA's flagship global numerical weather prediction model, underwent a major upgrade last Wednesday (12 June 2019) that is designed to improve forecasts of severe weather, winter storms, and tropical cyclone intensity and tracks. The GFS model, which is run by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) has global coverage and is run four times daily, with forecasts produced out to 16 days in advance. This past week’s upgrade involved the inclusion of a dynamical core called the Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere (FV3) that was created at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and tested by several sections of NCEP. This FV3 dynamic core is a key model component that computes wind and air pressure for successful numerical weather prediction. [NOAA News] Additional information on FV3 and how it evolved from use in climate models is available. [NOAA Research News]
NOAA's Coast Survey celebrates centennial anniversary of aerial surveying and mapping -- NOAA's Office of Coast Survey is marking the 100th anniversary of the first aerial pictures taken from military aircraft of coastal areas in New Jersey and in Florida. These photographs were used to improve the surveying and mapping of areas along the coast, including hazards to navigation. In the last 100 years, advancements in technology have included Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Light Detection and Ranging (lidar), and high-resolution photography allowing aerial photographs to be taken in black-and-white or near-infrared. Since 2008, digital imagery has been the primary source for aerial photographs as NOAA continues its mission to survey nearly 95,000 miles of the nation's shoreline. [NOAA Office of Coast Survey News]
Updated El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion maintains El Niño Advisory -- Forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) released their monthly El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion this past week. They reported El Niño conditions in both the oceanic and atmospheric components of the Earth system continued through May 2019. Sea surface temperatures (SST) across the equatorial Pacific Ocean (especially in regions called Niño-3+4) were above average (a positive anomaly), with smaller positive SST departures in the eastern equatorial regions of the basin (identified as Niño-1+2). Atmospheric conditions were also consistent with continuation of El Niño conditions. The majority of the CPC and IRI models tend to favor a continuation of El Niño conditions through the remainder of Northern Hemisphere meteorological summer (June, July and August) and into boreal autumn and winter. The forecasters gave the chance for the continuation of El Niño during the summer at 66 percent, falling to an approximately 50 to 55 percent chance for continuation through Northern Hemisphere winter of 2019-20. Consequently, the CPC/IRI forecasters continued their El Niño Advisory as part of its ENSO Alert System Status. Additional information is available for this alert system involving these El Niño/La Niña watches and advisories. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]
An ENSO blog was written by a contractor with CPC describing the current state of oceanic and atmospheric conditions found across the Pacific in May as being consistent with an El Niño. She notes that the number of months that the SST anomaly in the Niño-3+4 region was at or above the El Niño threshold was somewhat unusual. She then goes on to explore the possibility of using the current situation can be used to foretell how long El Niño conditions would linger across the tropical Pacific. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Forecasters with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology recently issued their updated ENSO forecast, in which they reported that oceanic and atmospheric conditions remained close to the El Niño thresholds in the tropical Pacific during the last month. They call for a continuation of their El Niño WATCH through Southern Hemisphere winter. [Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology]
Resupply of Antarctica's McMurdo Station is done by breaking ice -- An annual mission called "Operation Deep Freeze" is conducted by the U.S. military to resupply McMurdo Station, a United States Antarctic research center on the south tip of Antarctica's Ross Island. As many as 1250 scientists and staff can reside at this base. The U.S. Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker, Polar Star, makes the trip from Sydney, Australia to Ross Island during the Southern Hemisphere's summer, to provide a passage through sea ice on the Ross Sea for cargo vessels. The U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) is tasked with briefing the ship's crew on the location of sea ice, as well as how close the ship is to different sea ice features like ridges and cracks. Operation Deep Freeze has been run by the U.S. Navy since 1955-56. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Air National Guard have also been involved. [NOAA NESDIS News]
Another carbon dioxide milestone is reached at the Mauna Loa Observatory -- Late last week scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and Scripps Institution of Oceanography announced that the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA's Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory reached an average value of 414.7 parts per million by volume (ppmv) for the month of May 2019. Typically, the monthly average carbon dioxide concentrations reach a peak in May in the annual cyclic variations of this greenhouse gas. This monthly May value was the highest monthly average ever recorded at the Observatory, which commenced nearly continuous carbon dioxide measurements in 1958. The growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been accelerating, from 1.6 ppmv per year in the 1980s to 2.2 ppmv per year during the last decade; the global carbon dioxide average increased by 3.5 ppmv between 2018 and 2019. Increasing carbon dioxide levels appear to be associated with human activity, especially with the combustion of fossil fuels. [NOAA 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:

17 June 1579...During his "Famous Voyage," Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, claimed San Francisco Bay for England, calling the region along the northern California coast "Nova Albion" (meaning, New England). (Wikipedia)
17 June 1971...Hurricane Bridget sank the flagship of the Admiral of the Mexican Navy as it passed off the coast of Mexico near Acapulco. (National Weather Service files)
18 June 1903...Alaska's first coastal lighthouse, Scotch Cap Lighthouse, was lit. This light, which was also the first major lighthouse built by the U.S. outside the 48 coterminous states, was located near the west end of Unimak Island on the Pacific side of Unimak Pass, the main passage through the Aleutian Islands into the Bering Sea. This light in an octagonal wooden tower was replaced by a concrete lighthouse in 1940, which was destroyed by a tsunami in 1946, with the loss of the five crewmen stationed there. (USCG Historian's Office)
18 June 1875...A severe coastal storm (or possible hurricane) struck the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. Eastport, ME reported wind gusts to 57 mph. (David Ludlum)
19 June 240 BC...On the summer solstice, Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the Earth using two sticks.
19 June 1588...A powerful storm heavily damaged the Spanish Armada off the northwest tip of Spain. The Armada would continue to be weakened by storms, as well as attacks from the English, and would crumble before the end of the year. (National Weather Service files)
19-26 June 1972...Hurricane Agnes (a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale) moved onshore along the Florida Panhandle near Cape San Blas and Apalachicola with wind gusts to 80 mph, and eventually exited Maine on the 26^th. This hurricane moved northeast and joined with an upper level disturbance, producing from 10 to 20 inches of rain along its path along the Eastern Seaboard. In the Middle Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania, 24-hour rainfall amounts were generally 8 to 12 inches, with up to 19 inches in extreme southwestern Schuylkill County. At Wilkes-Barre, PA the dike was breached destroying much of the town. Agnes was responsible for 125 deaths, mainly due to flooding from North Carolina to New York State, and total damage was estimated at more than $3 billion. Torrential rains from Hurricane Agnes resulted in one of the greatest natural disasters in U.S. history. Agnes caused more damage than all other tropical cyclones in the previous six years combined (which included Celia and Camille). (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
20 June 1597...Willem Barents, the Dutch explorer who tried to search for the Northeast Passage, died in the Arctic off the archipelago of Novaya Zemlya when his ship became trapped in ice. (Wikipedia)
20 June 1819...The 320-ton paddle-wheel SS Savannah arrived in Liverpool, England to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, having left the port of Savannah, GA on 22 May. (InfoPlease Daily Almanac)
20 June 1940...The first successful west to east navigation of the Northwest Passage began at Vancouver, BC. (Wikipedia)
21 June 1791...A hurricane, called El Temporal de Barreto - the storm of Barreto, generated a monster ocean wave that carried off the coffin of a rich, but hated, count as he lay in state in his mansion near Havana, Cuba. (The Weather Doctor)
21 June 1886...A destructive hurricane hit the Apalachicola-Tallahassee area of Florida on the summer solstice. Extensive damage was done in Florida and throughout the southeast by this storm, which was the first hurricane of the year. Damage was due mainly to extremely high tides. (Intellicast)
21 June 1961...The first practical plant for the conversion of seawater to drinking water at Freeport, TX was dedicated when President John Kennedy pressed a switch installed in his Washington, DC office. The plant was capable of producing about a million gallons of water a day, supplying fresh water to Freeport at a cost of about $1.25 per thousand gallons. The large-scale evaporation method used then has now been replaced by reverse osmosis as special polymers are now used as filtering membranes. (Today in Science History)
22 June 1675...The Royal Greenwich Observatory was created by Royal Warrant in England by Charles II, with its practical astronomy serving as its primary mission, including navigation, timekeeping and the determination of star positions. In 1767 the observatory began publishing The Nautical Almanac, which established the longitude of Greenwich as a baseline for time calculations. The almanac's popularity among navigators led in part to the adoption (1884) of the Greenwich meridian as the Earth's prime meridian (0 degrees longitude) and the international time zones. (Today in Science History)
22 June 1948...Congress enacted Public Law 738, which authorized the operation of floating ocean stations for the purpose of providing search and rescue communication and air-navigation facilities, and meteorological services in such ocean areas as are regularly traversed by aircraft of the United States. (USCG Historian's Office)
23 June 1501...The Portuguese navigator, Pedro Alvares Cabral, returned to Portugal after a voyage during which he claimed Brazil for Portugal and then journeyed to India in search of pepper and spices. (Wikipedia)
23 June 1611...English navigator Henry Hudson was set adrift along with his son and seven loyal crew members in an open boat in Hudson Bay by mutineers on his ship Discovery; they were never seen again. He was on his fourth voyage and he had become famous for attempting to find a route from Europe to Asia via the Arctic Ocean. (Wikipedia)
23 June 1716...The Province of Massachusetts authorized erection of first lighthouse in America on Great Brewster Island, Boston Harbor. (USCG Historian's Office)
23 June 1938...The first "oceanarium" opened at Marineland in St. Augustine, FL. (Today in Science History)