Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ONE: 27-31 January 2014

Items of Interest:

"ClimateChangeLive" distance learning adventure webinar scheduled for this week -- The sixth in a series of seven webinars will be available between 7:30 and 9:00 PM this coming Wednesday, 29 January 2014. The series of webinars is designed to raise awareness and understanding of climate change science and is aligned to national science education standards. The collection of science-based, climate education resources and programs have been gathered from at least 19 federal agency and NGO partners that include the US Forest Service, NOAA, the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The fifth webinar scheduled for this Wednesday is "Professional Development Programs for Climate Change Education." Check http://climatechangelive.org/ for registration details.
Ocean charts, units, location and time -- Please read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth for a description of a several types of oceanographic charts along with the definitions of some units commonly used in ocean science to locate positions on the Earth's surface and to identify time.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- During the last week, essentially no organized tropical cyclone (low pressure systems such as tropical storms and hurricanes that form over tropical oceans) activity was found across the tropical ocean basins of the either the Southern or Northern Hemispheres. However, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lingling (also known as Agaton in the Philippines) continued to travel across the Philippine Sea of the western North Pacific basin between the Republic of Palau and the southern Philippine island of Mindanao at the start of last week. As many as 64 fatalities in the Philippines were attributed to the mudslides that were produced by the torrential rains accompanying Lingling. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on Lingling.
Global weather and climate for 2013 reviewed -- Scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that based upon their preliminary analysis of worldwide land and ocean surface temperature data, the annual worldwide combined land and ocean surface temperature for 2013 was approximately 0.62 Celsius degrees (or 1.12 Fahrenheit degrees) above the 20th century (1901-2000) average, tying 2003 for the planet's fourth warmest calendar year since sufficiently detailed world-wide climate records began in 1880. Separately, the globally averaged land surface temperature for 2013 was 0.99 Celsius degrees above the 20th century average, or the fourth highest annual land temperature on record, while the globally averaged ocean surface temperature for the year was 0.48 Celsius degrees above the 20th century average, or the sixth highest on record, or tied with 2006. The scientists indicated that a ENSO-neutral conditions (standing for El Niño/Southern Oscillation) were found throughout the the year. ENSO-neutral conditions refer to lack of either an El Niño or La Niña event that are anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime favoring warm or cool waters in the equatorial Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The scientists also note that the preliminary global precipitation data indicate 2013 was slightly above long-term averages across the land areas. Although some areas of the planet were exceptionally wet, others experienced drought conditions. [NOAA/NCDC State of the Climate]
Using a slightly different methodology for averaging global surface temperatures, scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) reported that the global average temperature for 2013 tied 2006 and 2009 for the seventh highest reading since 1880. [NASA GISS]
NCDC also provides a map showing the Global Significant Weather and Climate Events map for 2013.
Misconceptions dispelled about evaporation on Great Lakes -- A team of US and Canadian scientists recently reported that while ice cover affects evaporation, the reverse is true as well in that evaporation rates in the autumn help determine the extent of winter ice cover. The commonly held concept is that a lack of winter ice cover tends to cause more evaporation and a drop in lake levels. The new research indicates that years with high evaporation rates in autumn and early winter cool the lake water to form ice, meaning that extensive ice cover would be an indicator of high evaporation rates prior to a high-ice winter. The water levels of the Great Lakes rose slightly in 2013. [University of Michigan News]
During the last week, Environment Canada reported that the ice coverage on the Great Lakes this January is more than double the median value of ice cover since 1980. [Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI National Weather Service Forecast Office]
Nation's newest environmental satellite made to help improve hurricane forecasts -- NOAA scientists are developing methods to incorporate data from several sensors, such as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS sensor), onboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite to help improve hurricane and other tropical storm forecasts. (NOTE: The Suomi NPP satellite is named for the late Verner Suomi, a meteorology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is widely considered to be the "father of satellite meteorology.") [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
Five NASA Earth Science missions planned for 2014 -- NASA officials recently announced that five NASA Earth science missions will be launched into space in order to provide improved monitoring of the Earth's changing environment. Two of the launches will send sensors to the International Space Station designed to measure ocean winds, clouds and aerosols. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory is to be launched in February that is a joint satellite project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to make global observations of rainfall and snowfall, ultimately providing additional information on the planet's water cycle. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2 is scheduled to be launched July that is designed to make precise global measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide in an effort to monitor the natural and human-induced sources of carbon dioxide and to improve understanding of the role this greenhouse gas has on climate change. The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission should be launched in November in an effort to map Earth's soil moisture and provide precise indications of the soil's freeze-thaw state, to improve understanding of the cycling of water, energy and carbon. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
Exploring role played by dust on changing Earth's climate -- Scientists from Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute and their colleagues from Germany and the US have been analyzing ocean sediments obtained from the Southern Ocean by the Institute's research icebreaker Polarstern. From these ocean sediments, the researchers have found an archive of the climate history of the polar regions that indicates airborne dust particles have played a major role in the oscillations between warm and cold periods in the Southern Hemisphere. They were able to prove that dust that dust infiltrations were as much as three times higher during all the ice ages in the last million years than in the warm phases. [Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research]
Explanation made for increased sized life forms in Earth's early oceans -- An international team of scientists from multiple disciplines using sophisticated modeling techniques claim that the increase in the size of multicellular life forms in Earth's early oceans approximately 580 million years ago just prior to the "Cambrian explosion" appears to have been due to increased access to nutrient carrying ocean flow afforded by increased size. [UCLA Newsroom]
More science need for how human-made sounds may impact marine mammals -- NOAA marine biologists from Alaska have encouraging the pubic to make comment on guidelines designed to update help minimize the effects of human-produced sounds upon marine mammals in Alaskan waters. [Alaska Public Media]
Coral reefs in western Pacific found resistant to naturally acidified sea water -- Oceanographers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and researchers from the Palau International Coral Reef Center report that coral reefs in the waters of the western North Pacific Ocean around the islands of Palau were fount to be unexpectedly diverse and healthy although the seawater has become increasingly acidic. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution News]
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] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some ocean-related experience that you would like to share with other DataStreme Ocean participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document for possible inclusion in a News file. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Touring the DataStreme Ocean Website

NOTE: This Concept for the Week is a repeat of that which appeared in last week's Weekly Ocean News.

Welcome to DataStreme Ocean! You are embarking on a study of the world ocean and the role of the ocean in the Earth system. This unique teacher enhancement course focuses on the flow and transformations of energy and water into and out of the ocean, the internal properties and circulation of the ocean, interactions between the ocean and the other components of the Earth system, and the human/societal impacts on and responses to those interactions. Throughout this learning experience, you will be using the DataStreme Ocean website to access and interpret a variety of environmental information, including recent observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DS Ocean website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Ocean News that includes Ocean in the News (a summary listing of recent events related to the ocean), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to the ocean in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past events such as tsunamis or specific advances in the understanding of oceanography). When appropriate, a feature called Supplemental Information-In Greater Depth will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DS Ocean website to access and download the weekly "Current Ocean Studies" (plus supporting images) that complement Investigations found in your Ocean Studies Investigations Manual. These materials should be available Monday morning. Click the appropriate links to download and print these electronic Current Ocean Studies and answer forms as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the DS Ocean website provides links to the Earth System, information on Physical & Chemical, Geological, and Biological aspects of the ocean, Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, the Great Lakes, and extras-a glossary of terms, maps, educational links, and DataStreme Ocean information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let's take a quick tour to become more familiar with the DS Ocean website.

Under Physical & Chemical, click on Sea Surface Temperatures. This image uses a color scale to depict the global pattern of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) (in degrees Celsius) averaged over a recent 7-day period and based on measurements by infrared sensors onboard Earth-orbiting satellites. (Depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Compare SSTs in the Northern Hemisphere with those in the Southern Hemisphere. Return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Geological, click on Current Earthquake Activity. The USGS Current World Seismicity page provides a global map of the locations of seismic (earthquake) events color-coded for the past seven days. The size of the squares represents the magnitude of recent earthquakes. Note how earthquakes are concentrated along the margin of the Pacific Ocean. Details of recent earthquakes can be found by clicking on their map squares. Return to the DS Ocean website.

The ocean is home to a wide variety of habitats and organisms. Under Biological, click on Ocean "Color" (Productivity). This is a satellite-derived (SeaWiFS) color-coded map of biological productivity in the surface waters of the world ocean is averaged from October 1978 to date. Orange and red indicates the highest productivity, while dark blue and violet indicate the lowest productivity. Note the vast areas of relatively low productivity over the central regions of the subtropical ocean basins. Individual months within this period may be chosen for viewing. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, click on TRMM Tropical Rainfall. The TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) page includes color-coded maps of the Monthly Mean Rainrate (in mm per day) across the tropics for the last 30 days ending on the present date. Changes in rainfall are linked to large-scale shifts in the atmosphere/ocean circulation in the tropics. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the DS Ocean website. You should "bookmark" ("favorites") this page on your computer. Return frequently to learn more about the many resources on the ocean in the Earth system. Bon voyage!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest global sea surface temperature map indicates that SSTs are generally higher over the [(western)(eastern)] tropical Pacific Ocean.
The USGS map of Current Earthquake Activity indicates that earthquakes appear to be more common along the [(east)(west)] coast of North America.

Historical Events

28 January 1946...Canada's greatest sailing ship, Bluenose, foundered on a Haitian reef; all hands were saved. Her likeness remains on the Canadian ten-cent coin. (Wikipedia)
28 January 1969...A series of storms that battered Southern California from the 18^th to the 28^th led to $125 million damage in the Los Angeles Basin, along with approximately 9 storm and traffic-related deaths in California. Twenty feet of water covered Sherman Island, a region that contains more than 10,000 dike-protected agricultural acres, when a dike failed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
28 January 1971...A waterspout swept into Hawaii's Kailua Bay, then into the business and hotel district of Kailua-Kona, destroying or severely damaging a number of buildings including 40 apartment units and collapsing a 6-story hotel under construction. Amazingly, only four people were injured. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29-30 January 1966...A hurricane that struck Samoa was responsible for 50 deaths, destroyed more than one-third of the homes and damaged the remainder. As many as 50,000 people were left homeless. Swains Island was leveled by the hurricane. Winds gusted to 100 mph at Pago Pago. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29 January 1983...A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the anomalous ocean-atmosphere phenomenon, "El Niño," produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high that ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movie stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony. (The Weather Channel)
30 January 1790...The Original, the first boat specialized as a lifeboat to rescue people from stormy seas was tested on the River Tyne. This 30-foot long self-righting craft went out to shipwrecks for 40 years, saving hundreds of lives. William Wouldhave and Lionel Lukin both claimed to be the inventor of the first lifeboat. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
30 January 1997...Surf up to 12 feet, with sets to 15 feet, pounded the north and west shores of Hawaii. A wave swept eight people into the ocean at Keane Point on Maui. Four tourists who were taking pictures of the waves drowned. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
1 February 1788...A patent for a steamboat was issued by the state of Georgia to Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet. The patent was the only one ever to be issued by Georgia, and first in the U.S. for a steamboat. Much development had to follow before the steamboat would be commercially viable. (Today in Science History)
1 February 1838...A U.S. patent (No. 588) was issued for the screw propeller to John Ericsson, (1803-89), a Swedish American engineer, who later designed and built the Monitor for the Union Navy in the War of the Rebellion. (Today in Science History)
1 February 1811...The Bell Rock Lighthouse was lit for the first time eleven miles off the east coast of Scotland. Using 24 lanterns, it began flashing its warning light atop a 100-foot white stone tower. As the oldest sea-washed lighthouse in existence, it was built by Robert Stevenson on a treacherous sandstone reef, which, except at low tides, lies submerged just beneath the waves. In the centuries before, the dangerous Bell Rock had claimed thousands of lives, as vessels were wrecked on its razor-sharp serrated rocks. (Today in Science History)
1 February 1953...An intense low-pressure system (966 millibars or 29.52 inches of mercury) swept across the North Sea. Wind speeds at Aberdeen, Scotland exceeded 125 mph. A storm surge of 13 feet, aided by a high spring tide, breached the dams in as many as 100 places along the Zuider Zee in The Netherlands, flooding 3.95 million acres or one-sixth of the country. More than 1800 deaths were attributed to drowning and 50,000 people were evacuated. In addition, this storm was responsible for the loss of 100,000 poultry, 25,00 pigs and 35,000 cattle. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
2-3 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and across southern Florida on the 3rd; it also represents the earliest reported formation of a tropical storm on record in the Atlantic basin. The storm produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd) (The Weather Channel)
2 February 1976...Groundhog Day Storm, one of the fiercest Maritimes storms ever battered the Bay of Fundy region around Saint John, New Brunswick with winds clocked at 118 mph, generating 39 foot waves with swells of 32.5 feet. (The Weather Doctor)