Weekly Ocean News

WEEK NINE: 3 - 7 November 2014

For Your Information

• "Falling back" this past weekend -- Early this past Sunday morning most of the nation reverted back to Standard time after nearly 8 months of observing Daylight Saving Time. Since Arizona, Hawaii and Puerto Rico do not observe Daylight Saving Time, no time change will be needed in those parts of the country. The U.S. Congress has mandated time changes. Following the old adage of "spring ahead, fall behind", you will need to turn your clocks back by one hour to conform with the local time observance. Note: A recent Energy Policy Act has extended Daylight Saving Time, with the start on the second Sunday in March (9 March 2014) and the end on the first Sunday in November (2 November 2014). Next spring, Daylight Saving Time will start on Sunday morning, 8 March 2015.
  A change from Daylight Saving to Standard Time does not deduct an extra hour of daylight from the day nor does it affect weather and climate patterns. The daily climate data collected at those automatic weather stations operated by the National Weather Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, together with all the cooperative weather observing stations around the nation are always made according to local standard time. NOTE: You may check the correct current official time at http://www.time.gov/
• Asteroids, climate change and mass extinctions -- You are invited to read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth that describes how geoscientists have gathered evidence of five major mass extinctions over the last 550 million years from fossil records. These records also help in reconstructing past climates and help in the understanding of climate change.

• Eye on the Tropics --Several named tropical cyclones were tracked across the ocean basins of the Northern Hemisphere during the last week:
  • In the North Atlantic basin, Tropical Storm Hanna formed from the remnants of former Tropical Depression 9 at the start of last week over the western Caribbean approximately 50 miles east of the Honduras-Nicaragua border. This weak tropical storm was relatively short-lived as it traveled westward and made landfall along the Central American coast. Satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Hanna can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
  • In the eastern North Pacific basin Tropical Storm Vance developed late last week over the waters off the southwestern coast of Mexico. This 21st named tropical cyclone of the 2014 eastern Pacific hurricane season headed generally westward and became a hurricane on Sunday as it began curving toward the northeast. Hurricane Vance, a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, could strengthen slightly early this week as it would travel to the north and north-northeast toward the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Locally heavy rains were expected along the coast from Vance. For more information on Hurricane Vance, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
  • In the central North Pacific basin (to the west of 140 degrees west longitude), former Hurricane Ana weakened to a tropical storm at the beginning of last week as it traveled to the northeast toward the western coast of British Columbia. By early in the week, Ana lost its tropical characteristics and became a post-tropical cyclone or remnant low that eventually reached the coast near Vancouver Island, accompanied by heavy rain and gusty winds. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite images on former Hurricane Ana.
    
  • In the western North Pacific a tropical depression formed late last week well to the east of the Philippine Islands. Traveling to the west and then to the north, this depression intensified quickly to become a tropical storm and then a typhoon that was identified as Nuri. By Sunday (local time), Nuri became a super typhoon with a strength equivalent to a category 5 typhoon as maximum sustained winds reached at least 175 mph as it was approximately 600 miles to the south-southeast of Okinawa. This super typhoon was forecast to curve slowly to the north-northeast and remain away from the main Japanese Islands. See the NASA Hurricane Page for additional information on Super Typhoon Nuri.
  • In the northern Indian basin, Tropical Storm Nilofar (also known as Tropical Cyclone 4A) intensified to become a category 4 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as it traveled northward over the Arabian Sea early last week. Near the end of the week, Nilofar weakened to a tropical storm and then disintegrated before making landfall along the northwestern Indian coast. However, this system brought high seas, moderate rains and gusty brisk winds to coastal regions between Karachi, Pakistan and Jamnagark, India. Additional information on Cyclone Nilofar along with satellite imagery can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
• A look back two years at Hurricane Sandy -- With last week's second anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Sandy upon the New Jersey coast, NASA assembled a variety of satellite images obtain from its fleet of environmental satellites showing the life of this hurricane that became a powerful extratropical cyclone (or midlatitude storm), resulting in 159 fatalities and $70 billion in damages. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center] In addition, NOAA Research also produced a program overview of the "Sandy Supplemental," officially known as the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (DRA) that provided supplemental appropriations to NOAA to improve and streamline disaster assistance associated with Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy, and for other purposes. [NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research]
• Annual national fisheries report released -- During the last week, NOAA Fisheries released their annual Fisheries of the United States 2013 (FUS2013) report indicating US seafood landings at the nation's fishing ports in the calendar year 2013 was above the levels reported from 2012. Commercial fishers landed 9.9 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2013 that was valued at $5.5 billion, while nearly 9.5 million recreational saltwater anglers took more than 71 million marine fishing trips during the year. The report reveals that Dutch Harbor, AK and New Bedford, MA remained the top fishing ports for another year, running their dominance to at least 15 years. Americans consumed 4.5 billion pounds of seafood. [NOAA News] Additional FUS 2013 outreach materials are available [NOAA Office of Science and Technology]
• Over 50 tons of marine debris removed from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands -- The operations manager for NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division recently announced that a team of 17 NOAA divers have returned from a 33-day mission that removed approximately 57 tons of derelict fishing nets and plastic litter from the tiny islands and atolls that are part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This monument is a World Heritage Site. [NOAA News]
• Public asked to comment on NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program plan -- During the last week NOAA officials announced that they will be seeking public comments by mid-December on the draft science plan that they released for the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program designed to support research on the health of the Gulf of Mexico involving long-term sustainability of its ecosystem and fisheries. The draft plan outlines 10 long-term research priorities devised to guide how the program will invest its funds and explains how these priorities were determined. [NOAA News]
• Days of first precipitation measuring satellite appear numbered -- Mission operations for the NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has predicted that this first satellite launched 17 years ago to monitor precipitation totals from around the globe should cease science operations in about April 2015. During this past summer, TRMM was running low on its fuel supply that was used to maintain an operating orbital altitude of nearly 250 miles. The TRMM mission was originally launched for a three-year mission that has provided invaluable data for the study of precipitation and climate processes in the tropics, as well as for tropical cyclone research and operations. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center News]
• Improving ice forecasts in polar waters discussed -- An international group of sea ice and iceberg experts who are members of the International Ice Charting Working Group (IICWG) met in late October in Punta Arenas, Chile, to discuss improving the accurate, timely analysis and forecasts of ice conditions in the polar waters. The focus of this meeting was on the waters of the oceans surrounding Antarctica, where the number of commercial tour vessels are operating has increased. [NOAA/NESDIS News]
• Tracking the ammonium source in the open ocean -- Scientists from Brown University and their colleagues from South Africa and Bermuda have traced the sources for the chemical compound ammonium found in the oceans. The research was based upon two years of rainwater samples taken in Bermuda, together with air mass history data obtained from NOAA. The sources in the open oceans were from primarily from natural processes occurring in the oceans, more than what was previously thought to have come from human-generated pollution sources such as emissions and runoff from the United States. [Brown University News]
• Three abrupt pulses of carbon dioxide found during last deglaciation -- Scientists at Oregon State University have found that three abrupt "pulses" in the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide occurred more than 10,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age, rather than a gradual increase. During each of these abrupt increases, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide rose between 10 and 15 parts per million over an interval of one to two centuries. The researchers based their findings on an ice core from West Antarctica that spans the last 68,000 years. The scientists suggest a combination of factors could have been responsible for these abrupt pulses, including ocean circulation, changing wind patterns, and terrestrial processes. [Oregon State University News]
• Appearance of animals on Earth delayed by lack of oxygen -- Researchers from Yale University and other research institutions claim that their analysis of analyzing chromium (Cr) isotopes in ancient sediments indicates atmospheric oxygen levels were only 0.1 percent of current levels during the one billion-year time span prior to the first major appearance of animal life on Earth at the end of the Proterozoic period (approximately 800 million years ago). These sediments were obtained from China, Australia, Canada and the United States that had been deposited in ancient shallow, iron-rich ocean areas near the shore.. Based upon their analysis, these scientists believe that animal species did not flourish earlier as the atmospheric oxygen was insufficient for animal life. [Yale University News]
• Oceans formed early in planet Earth's history -- Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and their colleagues from other research institutions assert that water from carbonaceous chondrites, or primitive meteorites formed from a large swirl of dust, grit, ice and gasses some 4.6 billion years ago that became the Sun and the planets in the Solar System, may have been an important source of the water that eventually formed the oceans on planet Earth. This discovery pushed back the timing of the first evidence of water on Earth and in the inner solar system. The researchers base their conclusions on their measurement of the isotopic ratio between deuterium and hydrogen in meteorites. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 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] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Controlling Nutrient Input into Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay is the nation's largest estuary; it is more than 300 km (185 mi) long, 65 km (40 mi) at its broadest, and averages about 20 m (66 ft) deep. The estuary was formed by the post-glacial rise in sea level that flooded the valley of the ancient Susquehanna River. The Bay receives about half its water from the Atlantic Ocean and the other half from the more than 150 rivers and streams draining a 166,000 square kilometer land area encompassing parts of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Major rivers that empty into Chesapeake Bay include the Potomac, Susquehanna, York, and James.

As described in more detail on pages 227-229 of your DataStreme Ocean textbook, an estuary is a complex and highly productive ecosystem where seawater and freshwater runoff meet and mix to some degree. In Chesapeake Bay, more-dense seawater creeps northward along the bottom of the estuary, moving under the less-dense fresh water flowing in the opposite direction. This circulation combined with wind-driven and tidal water motions causes salinity to decrease upstream in the Bay, from values typical of the open ocean at its mouth to freshwater values at its northern margin.

As in all ecosystems, organisms living in estuaries depend on one another and their physical environment for food energy and habitat. Phytoplankton and submerged aquatic vegetation (e.g., marsh grass) are the primary producers (autotrophs) in estuarine food chains. Chesapeake Bay consumers (heterotrophs) include zooplankton, finfish, shellfish, birds, and humans.

Human activity has greatly modified Chesapeake Bay with consequences for the functioning of the ecosystem. Much of the original forests that covered its drainage basin were cleared and converted to farmland, roads, cities, and suburban developments. These modifications accelerated the influx of nutrients (i.e., compounds of phosphorus and nitrogen), sediment, pesticides, and other pollutants into the Bay. More nutrients spur growth of algal populations and when these organisms die (in mid-summer), their remains sink to the bottom. Decomposition of their remains reduces dissolved oxygen levels in the Chesapeake's bottom water. More sediment increases the turbidity of the water, reducing sunlight penetration for photosynthesis. Presently Chesapeake Bay is on the Federal list of "impaired waters" and in need of pollution abatement and remediation. States in the drainage basin have agreed to work together to clean up the Bay but there are significant obstacles including cost.

One casualty of human modification of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem was marsh grass-reduced by 90% from historical levels. Marsh grass anchors sediment and dampens wave action thereby controlling shoreline erosion and turbidity. Marsh grass is a food source for many organisms including waterfowl and small mammals and serves as a primary nursery for crabs and many species of fish. Reduction of this habitat along with over-fishing has been implicated in the decline of populations of blue crabs, a mainstay of the Bay fishery for more than a century. Over the past decade, the number of adult female blue crabs plunged by 80%. Without adequate protection by marsh grass, blue crabs are more vulnerable to predation by striped bass (i.e., rockfish). Striped bass turned to blue crabs as a food source when fishing reduced the numbers of menhaden, their preferred food. Menhaden is a marine fish in the herring family and the Bay's top fishery by weight.

Human modification of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin converted it from an essentially closed system to an open system. In the original climax forests, nutrients primarily cycled within the system with relatively little input to the Bay. Modification of the land for agriculture increased the area of the soil exposed to the elements and runoff from rain and snowmelt accelerated nutrient input into the Bay. In addition to such non-point (area) sources of nutrients are point sources including the effluent of wastewater treatment plants that discharge treated water into rivers and streams that drain into the Bay.

For decades, agriculture has successfully employed various cultivation practices that limit the runoff from cropland (e.g., contour plowing, strip cropping, and retention ponds.) However, less than one-third of the 300-wastewater treatment facilities located in the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin have the technology to remove high levels of nutrients from their effluent. Under current environmental regulations, states are not required to regulate the nutrient content of this discharge. But in late October 2003, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a private, not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization called on Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia to specify nutrient limits on permits they grant to all wastewater treatment facilities. In support of their recommendations, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation cited the many water quality problems stemming from excessive nutrient load in the Bay waters (e.g., algal blooms, spread of "dead zones.") According to the U. S. EPA, under the federal Clean Water Act, a state can control nitrogen pollution if it determines that environmental harm is taking place. However, the EPA estimates that as much as $4.4 billion would be required to install state-of-the-art nutrient removal technologies at all major plants (those treating more than 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day).

Concept of the Week: Questions

1. In terms of nutrient cycling, the climax forest that originally occupied the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin was a(n) [(open)(closed)] system.
2. Excessive input of nutrients into Chesapeake Bay [(spurs the growth of)(has little impact on)] algal populations and [(increases)(reduces)] the concentration of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters.

Historical Events:

• 3 November 1975...The North Sea pipeline, Firth of Forth, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The first oil was piped ashore from the North Sea at Peterhead, Scotland in a pipe that ran from British Petroleum's "Forties Field" for 110 miles along the seabed and then 130 miles to the oil refinery at Grangemouth. The field was discovered by the drilling rig Sea Quest in October 1970. (Today in Science History)
• 6 November 1528...Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European to set foot on Texas soil, near present-day Galveston Island. (Wikipedia)
• 9 November 1913...The "Freshwater Fury," a rapidly deepening extratropical cyclone, caused unpredicted gales on the Great Lakes. Seventeen ships, including eight large ore carriers on Lake Erie sank drowning 270 sailors. Cleveland, OH reported 17.4 in. of snow in 24 hrs, and a storm total of 22.2 in., both all-time records for that location. During the storm, winds at Cleveland averaged 50 mph, with gusts to 79 mph. The storm produced sustained winds of 62 mph at Port Huron, MI, wind gusts to 80 mph at Buffalo, NY. (9^th-11^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 9 November 1932...An unnamed hurricane struck Cuba, with winds reaching approximately 210 mph at Nuvitas. However, a storm surge was the main killer of 2500 of the 4000 residents of Santa Cruiz del Sur. Essentially no storm records exist, as the observer drowned, with records and instruments washed away. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)

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Prepared by AMS DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2014, The American Meteorological Society.