Weekly Ocean News

29 January - 2 February 2018

Items of Interest:

A "super blue blood" moon and a total lunar eclipse --A full moon will occur on this morning, as the moon will reach the full phase, officially at 1327Z on 31 January (8:27 AM EST, 7:27 AM CST, etc.). This moon is called a "super moon" as the moon appears to be larger than usual because the Moon is closer to the Earth, as perigee (the closest Earth-Moon distance) would have been slightly more than one day earlier on Tuesday morning (30 January). Since this full moon is the second one during the same calendar month, it is often called a "blue moon," a term used to indicate its rarity rather than its color. (The first full moon of this month was on the evening of 1 January 2018.) Finally, it is called a "blood moon" when the Moon is in total eclipse and the lunar surface takes on a dark reddish or copper appearance during the eclipse as some light passing around the Earth would reach the Moon. Otherwise, the January full moon is often called the "Old Moon" or "Wolf Moon."
As the Moon reaches full phase, it will pass completely through the Earth's shadow, resulting in a total lunar eclipse. The entire eclipse should be visible across the central and western Pacific Ocean, along with western North America (Alaska and the Canadian Arctic), eastern Asia and most of Australia. Residents of North America should see the beginning of the eclipse before moonset, while those living in central and western Asia, along with eastern sections of Europe and Africa should see the end of the eclipse after local moonrise. The start of the eclipse is at 1051Z (5:51 AM EST), with the main part of the eclipse occurring at 1331Z (8:31 AM EST), and the end of the eclipse at 1608Z (11:08 AM EST) The particulars of this eclipse are provided on the [NASA Eclipse Page].
Perigean spring tide to occur this week with the "supermoon" -- The Moon will be at perigee on at 0955Z on Tuesday, 30 January (4:55 AM EST), when the Moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, coming within 222,577 miles of Earth. Furthermore, the Moon will attain full phase on Wednesday morning (31 January at 1327 Z). The closeness of the full moon would make it appear larger than usual, resulting in it being called a "supermoon." 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" (or King Tide) during the first several days of this week. [NOAA National Ocean Service Facts]
Higher than normal tides will be found during the first several days of this week along the Pacific Coast from California north to Alaska; around Hawaii and the Pacific Islands; and along the Middle Atlantic Coast, from Virginia northward to New Jersey. The remainder of the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast will not be affected by these higher than average tides. [NOAA High Tide Bulletin for Winter 2017]
Ten commonly used phrases have a nautical origin -- NOAA's National Ocean Service recently assembled a list of ten phrases that people often use in modern-day English that have a nautical origin. For each of these phrases, an explanation of their origin in an earlier maritime culture is provided. [NOAA National Ocean Service]
Understanding geodesy, the study of the Earth's shape for navigation -- A 15-minute NOAA Ocean Podcast was recently produced in which Galen Scott of the Geosciences Research Division of NOAA's National Geodetic Survey describes what geodesy is and its importance to navigation on land and sea as well as Earth system science. Geodesy is the science of accurately measuring and understanding the Earth's geometric shape, orientation in space, and gravity field. [NOAA National Ocean Service]
Climatology of Super Bowls updated -- Next Sunday (4 February 2018) is "Super Suday," when the Philadelphia Eagles (National Football Conference Champions) will play the New England Patriots (American Football Conference Champions) in the National Football League's Super Bowl LII (or 52) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, a new indoor stadium. The service climatologist for the Southeast Regional Climate Center has provided an updated listing of the Super Bowl Weather & Climate 1967-2017. This annotated list contains the "climatology" for game day that includes the daily maximum and minimum temperatures, the 24-hour precipitation and the 24-hour snowfall along with comments on the weather observed in the host city on "Super Sunday" for each of the previous 51 Super Bowl games.
During the last 51 years the Super Bowl has been played in at least 16 different major metropolitan areas and in 23 different stadiums. Furthermore, more than one-third (18) of these games have been played indoors. After years of restricting the selected site to relatively warm cities (where temperatures need to be at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit) or at domed stadiums, NFL officials scheduled the 2014 Super Bowl for the outdoor MetLife Stadium at East Rutherford, NJ, the home of the New York Giants and Jets that is a cold weather site. That game was played before wintry weather reached northern New Jersey.
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 --- Two named tropical cyclones (atmospheric low pressure systems such as tropical storms or hurricanes that form over tropical oceans) developed last week across the tropical ocean basins of the Southern Hemisphere:

In the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Storm Cebile (or Tropical Storm 7) formed this past Saturday (local time) from a tropical depression that was over 800 miles to the east-southeast of Diego Garcia. Over this past weekend, Cebile traveled generally toward the south, intensifying to become a category 2 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale on Sunday, as maximum sustained surface winds were estimated to have reached over 100 mph. As of late Sunday, Cyclone Cebile had become a category 4 tropical cyclone with maximum sustained surface winds of 130 mph as it was traveling toward the southwest approximately 850 miles to the southeast of Diego Garcia. Current forecasts suggest that Cebile could intensify slightly as it heads toward the west-southwest during the first several days of this week.
In the South Pacific basin, Tropical Fehi formed this past Sunday morning (local time) over the waters of the Coral Sea to the northwest of Noumea, the capital city of New Caledonia. During the day, this tropical storm traveled toward the south-southeast, taking it on a path taking it to the west of New Caledonia. As of late Monday morning, Fehi was located approximately 300 miles to the northwest of Noumea. Current forecasts indicate Fehi should continue to track toward the south-southeast over the first several days of the week, with some intensification.

Official National Hurricane Center report on Hurricane Harvey is issued -- During the past week, NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) released its official 76-page [Tropical Cyclone Report on Hurricane Harvey] describing in detail the atmospheric and oceanic conditions that led to the development, travels and demise of Hurricane Harvey, a major hurricane that made landfall along the Texas Gulf Coast, where it caused major flooding, deaths and significant devastation. Harvey, a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, had formed on 17 August 2017 and finally dissipated on 1 September. With more than 60 inches of rain falling over southeastern Texas, Harvey set a continental U.S. record for rainfall from a single storm. The report also describes the causality statistics and economic impact that Hurricane Harvey had upon the states of Texas and Louisiana. At least 68 fatalities in Texas were attributed directly Harvey, the largest number of direct hurricane deaths in the Lone Star State since 1919. Total losses were estimated to be as much as $75 billion, which represents the second-most costly hurricane in U.S. history. A critique was also provided of the forecasting and warning efforts made by NHC and the National Weather Service for Hurricane Harvey. [CNN News]
Funding is made available to increase coastal resiliency and improve habitat -- During the last week NOAA Fisheries announced $15 million will be awarded to fund projects that will benefit coastal ecosystems and communities under the 2018 NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program. Pre-proposals must be submitted by the end of the first week of March. [NOAA Fisheries and Habitat Conservation]
Satellite observes Saharan dust blanketing the Cape Verde Islands -- Images obtained last week from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite show somewhat turbid conditions over the Cape Verde Islands, the set of islands in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean located approximately 400 miles off the coast of Africa. The turbid conditions were the result of airborne dust and sand from the Sahara Desert being carried westward over the islands by strong harmattan winds from the east and northeast. In addition to serving as a sunscreen to reduce the intensity of the incoming sunlight, the dust fertilizes the ocean with nutrients that can promote plankton growth, as well as carrying fungus and disease-causing microorganisms that damage coral reefs. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Oceanic plastic trash serves as "marine motorhome for microbes" to spread disease to coral reefs -- An international group of researchers claim that plastic trash floating across the world's oceans "acts like a marine motorhome for microbes," that could trigger disease if they came in contact with corals. The report indicates the likelihood of disease increases 20-fold, from 4 to 89 percent. The scientists estimate that about 11.1 billion plastic items are entangled on reefs across the Asia-Pacific region, with a likely increase of 40 percent over the next seven years. [Cornell University Media Relations]
Water levels on the Great Lakes expected to keep rising this spring -- The Detroit Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently released its extended forecast for the water levels on the North American Great Lakes running through June in which it foresaw the water levels on all five of the lakes to rise again during this spring. This spring would mark the fifth straight year in which increases would occur following the record-low levels in 2013. [Detroit News]
A new satellite begins assessing the Earth's energy budget -- Beginning during the first week of January, the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Flight Model 6 (CERES FM6)instrument onboard the new NOAA-20 satellite. has begun taking observations of the short-wave solar radiation that is reflected from the clouds, atmosphere and the surface of planet Earth, along with the long-wave radiation emitted from the upper levels of Earth's atmosphere. These measurements of the reflected solar radiation can be used to calculate the amount of solar energy absorbed by the Earth-atmosphere system, while the emitted long-wave radiation determines the energy lost from the system. From these observations, the total energy budget of Earth can be assessed, continuing the tracking begun more than three decades ago. The NOAA-20 satellite was launched into a polar orbit as the NASA-NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System 1 (JPSS-1) in November 2017. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Earth experienced 29 weather-related natural disasters that each reached $1 billion in 2017 -- Aon Benfield Analytics, a global reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisory firm, recently released its 2017 annual report entitled "Weather, Climate & Catastrophe Insight" in which it noted that 2017 was the costliest year on record for weather-related disasters around the world, amounting to $344 billion, based upon preliminary insurance reports. A total of 29 weather-related disasters were recorded worldwide in 2017. The year was the second-costliest on record in terms of the all natural disasters, totaling $353 billion, based upon 31 individual billion-dollar disaster events. [Weather Underground] (Editor's note: Recently, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information had issued its Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Overview in which it reported 16 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each occurred across the United States in 2017. EJH)
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]

Concept of the Week: Touring the AMS Ocean Studies RealTime Ocean Portal

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

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 RealTime Ocean Portal 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 RealTime Ocean Portal 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 RealTime Ocean Portal to access and download the weekly "Current Ocean Studies" 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 RealTime Ocean Portal 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 and educational links. 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 RealTime Ocean Portal.

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 RealTime Ocean Portal.

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 RealTime Ocean Portal.

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 RealTime Ocean Portal.

Under Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, click on TRMM/GPM Tropical Rainfall. The TRMM/GPM (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 RealTime Ocean Portal.

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the RealTime Ocean Portal. Return frequently to learn more about the many resources on the ocean in the Earth system. Bon voyage!

Historical Events

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 USS 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 February 1898...The naming of hurricane after women was always the center of controversy. In the Southern Hemisphere near Australia, tropical cyclones were once called Willy-Willies. An Australian Meteorologist, Clement Wragge is credited for giving female names to tropical cyclones by the end of the 19th Century. On this date, Wragge's weather journal showed a Willy-Willy named "Eline". (National Weather Service files)
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; at the time, it also represented 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)
3 February 1488...The Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Diaz landed at Mossal Bay, Cape of Good Hope, the first European known to have landed on the southern extremity of Africa. He was also the first known European to have traveled this far south and round the Cape. (Wikipedia)
3 February 1880...Date of a terrific gale on the New Jersey coast. Six vessels came ashore with 47 persons on board--all but two survived. Nineteen USLSS crewmen won Gold Life-Saving Medals during the wreck of the George Taulane. (USCG Historian's Office)
3 February 1943...The torpedoing of the transport Dorchester saw USCGC Comanche and Escanaba respond. The crew of the Escanaba used a new rescue technique when pulling survivors from the water. This "retriever" technique used swimmers clad in wet suits to swim to victims in the water and secure a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. Although Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97, over 600 men were lost, including the Four Chaplains. (USCG Historian's Office)
3 February 1953...The French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau published his most famous and lasting work, The Silent World, which was made into a film three years later. (The History Channel)