WEEKLY WATER NEWS

DataStreme WES Week Five: 29 September-3 October 2008

Water in the News

Eye on the tropics --- During the past week:
- A large low pressure area of low pressure formed near Puerto Rico early last week and traveled across the Dominican Republic before organizing into Tropical Storm Kyle, the eleventh named tropical cyclone of the 2008 North Atlantic hurricane season in midweek. By late Saturday, this system intensified into a hurricane as it traveled northward across the western North Atlantic well offshore of the North Carolina coast. By Sunday, this category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale was moving rapidly to the north-northeast toward the southern coast of Nova Scotia. Additional information and satellite images for Hurricane Kyle can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
- In the western North Pacific, Typhoon Jangmi formed early last week over the Philippine Sea and traveled toward the northwest, intensifying to a category 4 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. On Monday (local time), this typhoon made landfall on northern Taiwan. Additional information and satellite images are available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
  Earlier last week, Typhoon Hagupit, which had become a category 4 typhoon earlier, made landfall along the southern China coast. An image obtained from the scatterometer on NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite shows the speed and direction of the near surface winds surrounding the central eye of Typhoon Hagupit before it made landfall along the coast of mainland China. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional images and information on Typhoon Hagupit can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page .
Flooding seen from space -- Recent images obtained from several NASA satellites show the magnitude of flooding in several locations around the world:
- Images made of the Rio Grande River near the Big Bend area of West Texas by the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite in early September and early last week revealed the magnitude of the flooding on the Rio Grande and its tributaries from torrential rains across the region in mid September.[NASA Earth Observatory]
- An image of northeastern Haiti obtained from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite in mid-September 2008 shows the massive flooding following torrential rains from three named tropical cyclones (Gustav, Hanna, and Ike); comparison can be made with an image of the region from the same sensor made in August 2001 when the region was dry. [NASA Earth Observatory]
- A map of precipitation accumulated over a seven-day span in mid September over India and Southeast Asia generated from data collected by NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite shows the heavy rain from summer monsoon rain and a tropical cyclone that moved from over the Bay of Bengal onto the coast of northeast India, resulting in the worst flooding in over 50 years. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Marine debris strategies addressed -- NOAA, the US Environmental Protection Agency along with nine other federal agencies recently completed an interagency report that provides guidance for strategies to be used by these agencies and the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee in the prevention and reduction of marine debris [NOAA News]
Another "smart buoy" is deployed -- The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, in partnership with the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, VA, recently deploy a "smart buoy" in the Elizabeth River near downtown Norfolk along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail to observe the river's changing conditions. This moored buoy, which makes meteorological, oceanographic and water-quality observations and transmits these data wirelessly in near-real time, is the sixth in NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System and fittingly coincides with the 400th anniversary of Captain John Smith's exploration of the Elizabeth River in September 1608.[NOAA News]
The Ocean reaches the Mall -- NOAA has collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution to produce the recently opened exhibit in the Sant Ocean Hall that explores the wonders and mysteries of the global oceans in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Science On A Sphere™ and the Ocean Today Kiosk are two major components of the exhibit. [NOAA News]
Monitoring the seasonal changes in Arctic sea ice extent -- Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center have produced a plot of the seasonal variation of the extent of Arctic sea ice showing that as of mid September 2008, the ice had shrunk to its minimum summer size, which is the second smallest areal extent since the beginning of satellite surveillance of the Arctic ice in 1979. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Company bottles and sells New York City tap water -- A bottled water company is bottling water from the New York City municipal water system and selling it, but with a "local twist" in that the company purifies the water using a reverse osmosis process. [US Water News Online]
Wetlands restoration will not solve all Gulf Coast problems -- A researcher from Western Carolina University claims that relying upon wetlands restoration projects along the Louisiana Gulf Coast to serve as protection of the region's infrastructure from coastal storm systems such as hurricanes may provide "false hope" and prevent proper planning in the affected communities. [GSA]
An inundation early warning system strengthened -- The Center for Maritime Systems at New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology has begun a project designed to strengthen the Early Warning System for Inundations in the Dominican Republic, which would involve the use of modern equipment designed to improve the accuracy of hurricane detection and prevent flooding of the island. [EurekAlert!]
Flooding seen in Haiti -- An image of northeastern Haiti obtained from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite in mid-September 2008 shows the massive flooding following torrential rains from three named tropical cyclones (Gustav, Hanna, and Ike); comparison can be made with an image of the region from the same sensor made in August 2001 when the region was dry. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Global climate change could significantly impact coastal Florida -- Studies by researchers at Florida State University and Florida Atlantic University indicate that the projected changes in climate could have significant impacts upon Florida's coastline and its economy because of rises in sea level, and hurricane storm surges. One of the reports recommends the adoption of a series of policy programs by the Sunshine State that would address these impacts. [EurekAlert!]
Climate may have contributed to a lack of oxygen in Eastern Mediterranean bottom-water --Researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands have found an organic-rich sediment bed on the floor of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, which indicates a 4000-year period when the bottom-water lacked oxygen between 9800 and 5700 years ago, due possibly to a wet climate interval. [Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research]
Seawater warmed by ocean floor geysers -- An international team of American, Canadian and German scientists report that the movement of warmed seawater from cracks and crevices along the floor of the Pacific Ocean off the Costa Rican coast is greater than off the mid-ocean volcanic ridges. [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, 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, including drought, floods, and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
Global Water News Watch -- Other water news sources can be obtained through the SAHRA Project at the University of Arizona [SAHRA Project]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Artificial Snow

Snow is the essential ingredient for many winter recreational activities including downhill and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, and snowmobiling. No natural snow cover means no cross-country skiing or snowmobiling. But ski slope operators have another option if weather conditions do not provide adequate snow cover--they can generate their own snow. Artificial snow is used to build a base for skiing, to refresh snow surfaces, and to make skiing possible even during a snow drought, significantly lengthening the ski season. Some ski areas have the equipment to spread artificial snow over 80% or more of their terrain. Whereas snowmaking offers many recreational and economic advantages, some drawbacks stem from altering the local water budget.

Artificial snow actually consists of tiny particles of ice. Snowmakers use specially designed snow guns into which flexible hoses feed compressed air and water separately. A jet of compressed air breaks the stream of water into a fine mist of tiny droplets, which if conditions are favorable, freezes into ice crystals. Expansional cooling of the compressed air as it is emitted through the nozzle of the snow gun and into the atmosphere chills the water droplets. Artificial "snowflakes" settle onto the slopes and mechanized snow groomers then till and spread the accumulated artificial snow evenly over the ski slopes.

Many snowmakers add a special protein (commercially known as Snowmax) to the air/water mix to improve both the quality and quantity of artificial snow. A non-toxic and non-pathogenic strain of a bacterium produces the protein that attracts water and promotes ice crystal formation. Snowmax increases the amount of artificial snow produced at higher temperatures and snowflakes tend to be drier and lighter than other artificial snowflakes.

Ideal weather for snowmaking consists of low air temperature, light winds, and low humidity. Snowmaking is possible even when the air temperature is above 0ºC provided that the relative humidity is sufficiently low that the wet-bulb temperature is below 0ºC. Recall from pages 65-66 in your DataStreme WES Textbook that the wet-bulb temperature is the reading obtained through evaporative cooling when water vaporizes from the wetted bulb of a liquid-in-glass thermometer. Some droplets in the fine water spray (produced by the snow gun) evaporate, tapping latent heat from the air. With sufficient evaporative cooling, the air temperature drops to the wet-bulb reading, that is, to freezing or below, and subsequent water droplets freeze to ice crystals.

The water demand for snowmaking may impact the local water budget. In Vermont, for example, snowmaking uses about 2 billion gallons of water per year—equivalent to about one-seventh of the volume of the public water supply. To cover an area measuring 500 m by 60 m with 20 cm (8 in.) of artificial snow requires about 2500 cubic meters (658,000 gallons) of water. Streams are the usual source of water for snowmaking but ski areas are typically located high on hill or mountain slopes where stream flow is normally low, especially in winter. In some cases, dams or holding ponds are constructed to ensure an adequate water supply for snowmaking. Diversion of water for snowmaking may cut the supply of water for users downstream. Water that is stored in the winter snowpack on the ski trails runs off to streams during the spring snowmelt, adding to the normally high spring stream discharge and perhaps increasing the potential for downstream flooding.

Concept of the Week: Questions

If the air temperature were above 0ºC, artificial snow can be made if the wet-bulb temperature were [(above) (below)] the freezing point of water.
When water droplets evaporate while falling through a layer of relatively dry air, the temperature of the surrounding air [(falls) (rises)].

Historical Events

29 September 1959...Hurricane Gracie made landfall near Beaufort, SC with sustained winds of 97 mph and a peak gust of 138 mph. Ten people were killed in South Carolina and Georgia. As the weakening storm moved through Virginia on the 30th, the storm spawned an F3 tornado at Ivy, VA, which killed 11 people. On the same day, a storm produced 28 inches of snow in Colorado Springs, CO. (David Ludlum)
29 September 1983...Heavy rains began in central and eastern Arizona that culminated in the worst flooding in that state's history. Eight to ten inch rains across the area caused severe flooding in southeastern Arizona that resulted in thirteen deaths and $178 million in damage. President Reagan declared eight counties of Arizona to be disaster areas. (The Weather Channel)
30 September 1882...The world's first hydroelectric power plant (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, WI using a 42-inch waterwheel that powered two direct current generators to provide a total of 25 kilowatts of power. (Wikipedia, Energy Quest)
30 September 1932...Tropical cyclone rainfall of 4.38 inches at Tehachapi in southern California over 7 hours caused flash floods on Agua Caliente and Tehachapi Creeks resulting in 15 deaths. (The Weather Doctor)
30 September 1935...The Boulder Dam, renamed the Hoover Dam in 1947, was dedicated at Boulder City, NV. This concrete-arch dam supplied the first U.S. hydroelectric plant to produce a million kilowatts, with much of the power serving the Los Angeles area. (Today in Science)
1 October 1976...Hurricane Liza brought heavy rains and winds to Brazos Santiago, Mexico, causing a dam to break on the Cajoncito River, which killed 630 people as a wall of water crashed into the town of La Paz. (The Weather Doctor)
1 October 1893...The second great hurricane of the 1893 season hit the Mississippi Delta Region drowning more than 1000 people. (David Ludlum)
1 October 1997...Flash flooding in Nogales, AZ resulted from 2 to 3 inches of rain. One hundred homes and 30 businesses were flooded and five vehicles floated down Western Avenue. (Accord Weather Calendar)
2 October 1867...A hurricane struck Galveston, TX with a storm tide that caused $1 million damage. (Intellicast)
2 October 1882...A major hurricane struck the Louisiana Delta with 100-mph winds and 12-foot storm tide which inundated the bayous resulting in 1500 deaths. (Intellicast)
2 October 1898...A hurricane struck the Weather Bureau (now National Weather Service) hurricane observation post at Carolina Beach, North Carolina and swept away the office's outhouse. The storm became known as the "Privy Hurricane". (Northern Indiana NWSFO)
3 October 1841...The "October Gale," the worst of record for Nantucket, MA, caught the Cape Cod fishing fleet at sea. Forty ships were driven ashore on Cape Cod, and 57 men perished from the town of Truro alone. Heavy snow fell inland, with 18 inches near Middletown, CT and 3 inches at Concord, MA. (David Ludlum)
3 October 1912...The longest dry spell of record in the U.S. commenced as Bagdad, CA went 767 days without rain, ending on 9 November 1914. (David Ludlum)
4 October 1869...A great storm struck New England. The storm reportedly was predicted twelve months in advance by a British officer named Saxby. Heavy rains and flooding plagued all of New England, with strong winds and high tides along the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. Canton, CT was deluged with 12.35 inches of rain. (David Ludlum)
4 October 1986...Excessive flooding was reported along the Mississippi River and all over the Midwest, from Ohio to the Milk River in Montana. In some places, it was the worst flooding of record. Rainfall totals for the week included 20.07 inches at Hale, KS, nearly 18 inches at Coffeyville and Walnut, KS. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) (Intellicast)
5 October 1786...The famous "Pumpkin Flood" occurred on the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. Harrisburg, PA reported a river stage of twenty-two feet. The heavy rains culminated a wet season. (David Ludlum)
5 October 1972...Heavy rains, mostly the remnants of Tropical Storm Joanne, fell across much of Arizona. It was believed to be the first time in Arizona weather history that a tropical storm entered the state with its circulation still intact. The center was over Flagstaff early on the 7th. (3rd-7th) (The Weather Channel)
5-7 October 1999...A storm southeast of New Zealand caused surf to reach heights of 12 feet along the south shores of all the Hawaiian Islands, flooding some roads and parking lots. The lobby of the Kihei Beach Resort on Maui and three ground floor units were flooded. (Accord Weather Calendar)