Weekly Ocean News

WEEK TWO: 8-12 September 2014

Items of Interest:

Approaching the peak in the Atlantic hurricane season -- The historic or statistical annual peak in the Atlantic hurricane season will occur this week (8-12 September), as determined as the date during the entire season with most frequent number of named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes), based upon over 100 years of record. This date corresponds closely with the time of peak sea-surface temperatures across those sections of the North Atlantic considered hurricane-breeding areas. [NWS National Hurricane Center]
Perigean spring tide early this week with a supermoon -- The moon will reach full moon phase on Monday evening at 9:38 PM EDT and 8:38 PM CDT or officially at 0138 Z on 8 September 2014. Since the moon will come within 221,765 miles of Earth, it is called a "supermoon," as its closeness would make the moon appear larger than usual. The closeness of the moon and increased gravitational pull will cause an increase in the height of ocean tides, resulting in what is called a "perigean spring tide."
Remote sensing of the oceans by satellites -- Please read this week's Supplemental Information…In Greater Depth for a description of how oceanographers have employed orbiting satellites as observation platforms to make remote observations of the world's oceans.
Online tool displays more than 150 years of hurricane tracks -- NOAA's Coastal Services Center in partnership with NOAA's National Hurricane Center and National Climatic Data Center has developed a free online tool called "Historical Hurricane Tracks" that allows users to generate maps showing the track of any tropical cyclone (tropical storms and hurricanes) from a search of the database using a place name, storm name or year, or latitude and longitude points. Links have been made to detailed reports on the life histories and effects of US tropical cyclones since 1958, with additional US storm paths traced as far back as 1851. Global hurricane data extend as far back as 1842. Data and information on coastal county hurricane strikes are available through 2013. [NOAA Coastal Services Center]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- Several named tropical cyclones (low pressure systems that form over tropical ocean waters, with near surface maximum sustained winds that intensify to tropical storm or hurricane force status) were detected last week:

In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Dolly developed from a tropical depression that had formed over the Bay of Campeche in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. This fourth named tropical cyclone of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season traveled to the west-northwest and then west, making landfall along the eastern coast of Mexico near the city of Tampico by midweek. After making landfall, Tropical Storm Dolly quickly weakened to a tropical depression and then dissipated over the mountainous terrain of Mexico. Locally heavy rain associated with Dolly spread across northeastern Mexico. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite imagery on Tropical Storm Dolly.
In the eastern North Pacific basin, the fourteenth named tropical cyclone of 2014 formed early last week approximately 200 miles to the southwest of Manzanillo along the southwestern Mexican coast as Tropical Storm Norbert. During the week Norbert intensified to become a hurricane as it traveled to the northwest, paralleling the Mexican coast. By early this past weekend, Hurricane Norbert became a major category 3 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) as it was off the coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Norbert was weakening on Sunday and could become a tropical storm on Monday and a tropical depression by Tuesday as it curves toward the north and then northeast as it heads toward the northwestern coast of Mexico. Consult the NASA Hurricane Page for more information and satellite images on Hurricane Norbert.
In the western North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Fengshen formed to the southwest of Japan early in the weekend. This tropical storm was moving toward the east-northeast and become a typhoon early this coming week as it remains well to the south of the main Japanese islands.
A tropical depression identified as Tropical Depression 14 developed over the weekend over the South China Sea to the east of China's Hainan Island. Traveling to the northwest, Tropical Depression 14 was expected to make landfall in southeastern China early this week.

National marine sanctuary on Lake Huron expanded -- During the last week NOAA officials released a final rule and environmental impact statement that expands the size of the agency's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in northern Lake Huron by approximately nine times. Expansion of this sanctuary, which has some of the best-preserved shipwrecks, would include an additional 100 known and suspected historic shipwreck sites. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Public comment sought on the "Aquaculture Plan" in Gulf of Mexico -- NOAA Fisheries is currently seeking public comment on a proposed rule for the "Aquaculture Plan" (officially, Fishery Management Plan for Regulating Offshore Marine Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico) that was developed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. These public comments are to be made before the end of October. [NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fishery Bulletin]
Marine mammal conservation in the Arctic gets international push -- The International Whaling Commission (IWC) will consider a report made by its workshop on the impact of increased marine activities on Arctic marine mammals at the biennial meeting of IWC next week in Slovenia. The workshop that made the report was held in early March in Anchorage, AK included participants from industry, academia and various governmental and non-governmental organizations in from the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Greenland, Denmark, Russia and Japan. [NOAA Fisheries News]
"Brown tide" algae thrive on nutrient-rich coastlines -- Researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Stony Brook University have discovered that a species of "brown tide" algae have been thriving in the murky nutrient-rich coastal waters of the Middle Atlantic States. The "brown tide" usually appears in those estuaries that have been depleted of inorganic nutrients following the spring diatom bloom. The researchers found that Aureococcus anophagefferens has genes that permit this algae to survive in dark and murky nutrient-rich waters of estuaries degraded by human activity. [Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory News]
Will anticipated El Niño develop soon? -- Forecasts with the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center have recently released their El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion for the month of September that includes an El Niño watch because they are calling for an approximately 65% chance that El Niño will develop by the Northern Hemisphere winter with a 55% chance it will start during September-October-November. (An El Niño event is an anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime that features a warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean along with other identifiable events around the globe.) The question remains that this forecast appears to be continuing for several months with less than the anticipated warming having occurred. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Monitoring sea ice over four decades from space -- A description of the early history of this nation's efforts at monitoring the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is presented, starting earlier than with a microwave sensor launched onboard the NIMBUS 5 satellite in 1972. In addition, an animated timeline provides an historical overview of the early explorations of sea ice in the Arctic by land, sea and air from early Greek exploration to the start of the Space Age. [NASA's Earth Science News Team] A second part of this series describes more recent history of the sea ice monitoring program, including a discussion of the decline in Arctic sea ice observed by the satellites over the last four decades. [NASA's Earth Science News Team]
Videos illustrate how math is used to calculate sea ice changes -- A series of three educational videos were released by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center that illustrate how data collected by NASA satellites is used to calculate the extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover and how mathematics is used to determine long-term trends in these satellite data that commence in the late 1970s. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
Data from new Global Precipitation Measurement satellite are now public -- During the last week NASA announced that is making precipitation data available to the public that were obtained from sensors on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory spacecraft. This GPM Core Observatory, a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was launched in late February. Two advanced instruments measure rainfall, snowfall, ice and other precipitation. These data are freely available through NASA's Precipitation Processing System at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. [NASA]
A description is provided on how the data obtained from the GPM Mission are processed to make global precipitation maps. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
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]

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet

earthweek.com

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Concept of the Week: The Birth of Surtsey, A Volcanic Island
In early November 1963, cod fishers plying the waters of the North Atlantic south of Iceland observed what appeared to be smoke or steam emanating from the distant ocean surface. They were witnessing the beginnings of a volcanic eruption that ultimately would give birth to a new island later named Surtsey after Surtur, the fire giant of Norse mythology. Surtsey is located at 63.4 degrees N, 20.3 degrees W or 33 km (20 mi) south of the coast of Iceland. Volcanic activity was nothing new to the fishers who lived on the nearby volcanic Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar). These islands as well as the main island of Iceland straddle the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary where hot molten lava wells up from the Earth's mantle, cools and solidifies into new oceanic crust.

Eruptions that produced Surtsey began on the ocean floor, some 130 m (427 ft) below sea level. The accumulating lava, cinders, and ash first emerged from the sea on 15 November 1963. Over the next 3.5 years, episodic eruptions built an island that eventually covered 2.5 square km (1 square mi) and attained a maximum elevation of 171 m (560 ft) above sea level. The initial eruptions were explosive as hot magma interacted with cold seawater producing dark jets of ash and steam that shot up to 200 m (656 ft) above two main volcanic vents. At this time, clouds of ash and steam rose into the atmosphere to altitudes perhaps as great as 10 km (6.2 mi). Subsequent eruptions were much more peaceful, consisting of quiescent flows of lava. When the eruptions ceased in early June 1967, a cubic kilometer of ash and lava had built up on the ocean floor with 9% of this volcanic material above sea level.

No volcanic activity has occurred on Surtsey since 1967 and geologists consider the volcanic island to be extinct with little risk of future eruptions. Nonetheless, Surtsey remains off limits to visitors except for scientists who obtain permission from the Icelandic government. The island offers scientists a unique opportunity to study not only the geology but also the establishment of plants and animals on the island, a process known as ecological succession. For example, by 1987, some 25 species of higher plants were growing on the initially barren island and 20 species of birds were nesting there.

Unless volcanic activity begins anew, the future is not bright for Surtsey. Some geologists predict that in a hundred years or so the island will be reduced to scattered stacks of rock. The island is composed of basaltic rock that is particularly vulnerable to weathering and erosion, ocean waves are eroding its shores, and the island is gradually sinking into the sea. Scientists reported a total subsidence of about 1.1 m (3.6 ft) between 1967 and 1991. Compaction of the volcanic material and the underlying sea-floor sediments are likely causes of the subsidence. For NASA topographical images of Surtsey, go to http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov/research/garvin/surtsey.html . These images were obtained using a scanning airborne laser altimeter.

Concept of the Week: Questions

The volcanism responsible for the formation of Surtsey was associated with a [(divergent)(convergent)] tectonic plate boundary.
At present on Surtsey, erosive forces [(are)(are not)] prevailing over volcanic activity.

Historical Events

8 September 1900...The greatest weather disaster in U.S. records occurred when a hurricane struck Galveston, TX. Waves fifteen feet high washed over the island demolishing or carrying away buildings, and drowning more than 6000 persons. The hurricane destroyed more than 3600 houses, and total damage was more than $30 million. Winds to 120 mph, and a twenty-foot storm surge accompanied the hurricane. Following the storm, the surf was three hundred feet inland from the former water line. The hurricane claimed another 1200 lives outside of the Galveston area. (8^th-9^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
Editor's note: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posted a webpage commemorating the Galveston, TX hurricane of 1900. This page contains links to historic photos and excerpts of an eyewitness description of storm by Isaac Cline, the chief forecaster of the Galveston U.S. Weather Bureau Office.
9 September 1945 - A "computer bug" is first identified and named by LT Grace Murray Hopper while she was on Navy active duty in 1945. It was found in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard University. The operators affixed the moth to the computer log, where it still resides, with the entry: "First actual case of bug being found." They "debugged" the computer, first introducing the term. (Naval History Center)
10 September 1919...A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. (David Ludlum)
10 September 1965...Hurricane Betsy slammed Louisiana with wind gusting to 130 mph at Houma, resulting in 58 deaths and over 17,500 injured. The storm surge and flooding from torrential rains made Betsy the first billion-dollar hurricane with losses exceeding $1.4 billion.
11 September 1961...Very large and slow moving Hurricane Carla made landfall near Port Lavaca, TX. Carla battered the central Texas coast with wind gusts to 175 mph, and up to 16 inches of rain, and spawned a vicious tornado (F4 on the Fujita tornado intensity scale) which swept across Galveston Island killing eight persons and destroying 200 buildings. A storm surge of up to 18.5 feet inundated coastal areas and Bay City was deluged with 17.1 inches of rain. The hurricane claimed 45 lives, and caused $300 million in damage. The remnants of Carla produced heavy rain in the Lower Missouri Valley and southern sections of the Upper Great Lakes Region. (David Ludlum) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
11 September 1992...Hurricane Iniki, the third most damaging hurricane in US history, hit the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu. Six people died as a result of the hurricane.
12 September 1775...The Independence Hurricane caught many fishing boats on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland killing 4000 seamen, most from Britain and Ireland. (The Weather Doctor)
12 September 1857...The S.S. Central America sank while in the midst of a hurricane off the North Carolina coast after beginning to take on water the previous day (11^th). Approximately 400 people onboard were lost, the greatest single loss from a commercial ship due to a hurricane. (Accord Weather Calendar)
12 September 1960...Hurricane Donna made landfall on central Long Island and then tracked across New England. Wind gusts reached 140 mph at the Blue Hills Observatory in Milton, MA and 130 mph at Block Island, RI. MacDowell Dam in New Hampshire recorded 7.25 inches of rain. Although a record tide of 6.1 feet occurred at the Battery in New York City, elsewhere fortunately the storm did not make landfall at the high tides so its effects were minimized. This was the first hurricane to affect every point along the East Coast from Key West, FL to Caribou, ME. (Intellicast)
12 September 1979...Hurricane Frederick smashed into the Mobile Bay area of Alabama packing 132-mph winds. Wind gusts to 145 mph were reported as the eye of the hurricane moved over Dauphin Island, AL, just west of Mobile. Frederick produced a fifteen-foot storm surge near the mouth of Mobile Bay. Winds gusted to hurricane force at Meridian, MS although the city is 140 miles inland. The hurricane was responsible for five fatalities and was the costliest in U.S. history to date causing $2.3 billion in damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
13-16 September 2004...Hurricane Ivan affected coastal Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle, with landfall near Gulf Shores, AL early on the 16th. Before breaking loose of its mooring, a buoy just south of the Alabama coastal waters reported a peak wave height of 52 feet on the 15th. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
14 September 1716...The Boston Light, the first lighthouse in America, was first lighted just before sunset. This light was located on Little Brewster Island to mark the entrance to Boston Harbor and guide ships past treacherous rocks. This original light was blown up by the British in 1776, rebuilt in 1783, and is currently the last staffed station in the U.S. (Today in Science History)
15 September 1752...A great hurricane produced a tide (storm surge )along the South Carolina coast that nearly inundated downtown Charleston. However, just before the surge reached the city, a shift in the wind caused the water level to drop five feet in ten minutes. (David Ludlum)