Weekly Ocean News

11-15 November 2019

For Your Information

Free admission into the National Parks -- The National Park Service has designated Veterans Day (Monday, 11 November 2019) as being a part of its fee-free days program, which in this case is to honor the nation's veterans. This fee waiver will cover entrance and commercial tour fees in many of the national parks and monuments administered by the Park Service. [National Park Service Fee Free Days] Special observances for veterans will be held at several military parks, battlefields and historic sites. [National Park Service Military Honor]
Teachers invited to join the 2020 NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project Stewardship Community -- Educators across the United States working with elementary through university-age students are invited to apply to the NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project that allows the students to learn more about climate change and climate resilience. They will apply to become part of the NOAA Climate Stewards Education Project (CSEP) Stewardship Community for the 2020/21 academic year. Selected educators who meet project requirements will be eligible for: mini-grants up to $2500 to support a climate stewardship action project; travel reimbursements to attend select workshops and/or national conferences; special professional development opportunities; and additional monetary and educational resources. Applications are due by midnight, Sunday 1 December 2019. For more information, go to the NOAA Climate Stewards Education Project Web Site and then to the Stewardship Community Applications Page.
Celebrate Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day -- This week (10-16 November 2019) has been identified as Geography Awareness Week. National Geography Awareness Week, launched by presidential proclamation in 1987, is designed to draw attention to geo-literacy and "the importance of geographic understanding in ensuring our nation's economic competitiveness, national security, environmental sustainability, and the livability of our communities in the 21st century." This year's Geography Awareness Week theme is “Igniting the Spirit of Exploration”
In conjunction with Geography Awareness Week, this Wednesday (13 November 2019) has been designated the 20th annual GIS Day, which commenced in 1999 and "provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society." [ GIS Day] The National Geodetic Survey (NGS), which is a part of NOAA's National Ocean Service, is celebrating GIS Day 2019. NGS is providing information of how GIS is used as the digital link between maps and information. Several features are described: building strong, more resilient coastal communities; preparing for and recovering from environmental and natural disasters; making ocean observations and providing coastal and marine weather information available to mariners; and improving data and location precision.
National Weather Service kicks off its Heritage Project -- The Director of the National Weather Service (NWS), Dr. Louis Uccellini, recently unveiled the "NWS Heritage Website" at vlab.ncep.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage#NWS150 that is designed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the predecessor to NWS and the 50th anniversary of NOAA, the parent agency, in the year 2020. One of the themes of this project is "150 to 150", where over a span of 150 days, NWS is recognizing the events, advances and people that have helped shape NWS and its predecessors since 9 February 1870, the date when the U.S. Congress authorized the War Department's U.S. Army Signal Service to take weather observations at key marine ports. The events appear on a timeline, entitled "Protecting Life and Property for 150 Years", while “Our Stories” page contains stories about the people involved in collecting weather information over the last 150 years. Access can be made from NWS Twitter. [National Weather Service Heritage]
Watching a meteor shower -- This year's Leonid meteor showers should peak during the predawn hours of next Monday morning (18 November 2019). However, some meteors should be seen this coming Sunday night. The Leonid meteor showers, which appear to emanate from the constellation Leo, occur in November as Earth passes through the debris trail from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. As many as 10 to 15 meteors per hour are expected this year. A waning gibbous moon could interfer with viewing during these hours of the night. Try to find a time when the sky should be sufficiently dark for viewing, unless city lights or clouds block the sky. The shower's radiant, or originating point, will be in the eastern sky after sunset and then will shift to the west after local midnight. [EarthSky]
Hydrothermal vent organisms -- You are invited to read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth that describes how geoscientists have investigated the deep-sea environment in the vicinity of hydrothermal vents that form along the oceanic ridges nearly 3000 meters below the ocean surface. Interestingly, a diverse and abundant community of marine organisms has been found to live in these extreme oceanic conditions.

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics -- During the last week, tropical cyclone activity was reported across:
- In the western North Pacific basin (extending from the International Dateline westward to the Asian continent) --
- In the Northern Indian Ocean basin --
  - Tropical Cyclone Maha was heading to the northwest over the waters of the Arabian Sea at the start of last week as a category 3 tropical cyclone (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) with maximum sustained surface winds of 120 mph. At the time, the central eye was approximately 435 miles to the east-southeast of Masirah Island. Maha curved initially toward the north and then toward the east on Tuesday. As it headed east toward the coast of India, Cyclone Maha began weakening. By Thursday, Maha had weakened to a tropical storm as it made landfall along the coast approximately 345 miles to the south of Karachi, Pakistan. Consult the NASA Hurricane Blog. for satellite images and additional information on Cyclone Maha.
  - The remnants of former Tropical Storm Matmo, which had traveled over the waters of the South China Sea of the western North Pacific basin before making landfall along the central coast of Vietnam during the previous week, crossed the Indochina Peninsula to emerge over the Andaman Sea in the North Indian basin last Wednesday. The remnants of this system quickly intensified to become a tropical storm, which was also known locally as Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Bulbul. After turning toward the north, it then strengthened to become a category 2 tropical cyclone as it moved across the Bay of Bengal late last week. Matmo is only the fourth named tropical cyclone on record to cross the Indochina Peninsula and redevelop over the Andaman Sea, and only the second to reach at least a category 1 tropical cyclone status. On Sunday, Matmo weakened to a minimal tropical cyclone as it approached southwestern Bangladesh. As of early Monday, Cyclone Matmo had made landfall along the coast and was traveling toward the northeast along the coast. At that time, the center of Matmo was approximately 55 miles to the south-southeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The NASA Hurricane Blog has more information on Cyclone Matmo.
Arabian Sea has had an unusual number of tropical cyclones in 2019 -- As of last week, the Arabian Sea, a region of the northern Indian Ocean situated between India, the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, has experienced four named tropical cyclones that formed to the west of India in 2019. This number is unusual, as most of the tropical cyclone formation during a typical year occurs to the east of India, over the waters of the Bay of Bengal. The Arabian Sea to the west of India usually has an average of 4.8 named tropical cyclones that form during the entire season, with only 1.5 tropical cyclones reaching at least category 1 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Most of the activity usually occurs either before or after the southwest Indian monsoon season. Furthermore, six named tropical cyclones formed in 2019 across the entire North Indian Ocean (including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal), with five exceeding a category 1 status. The large number of relatively strong tropical cyclones in the western sections of the North Indian Ocean this year appears to the associated with the positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a climatic phenomenon involving winds and ocean circulation that causes shifts temperatures in the Indian Ocean affecting seasonal weather patterns. This positive phase of the IOD causes warmer than average waters to be located in the basin’s west side and cooler than usual waters to the east, resulting in a convection pattern with more rain and storms over the Arabian Sea. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Satellite view of sediment from Susquehanna River entering Chesapeake Bay -- A natural-color image generated from data collected by the MODIS sensor onboard NASA's Terra satellite last Wednesday shows earthen-colored sediment flowing out of the mouth of the Susquehanna River and into the northern Chesapeake Bay. This sediment had been carried as runoff from farmland in Pennsylvania following torrential rainfall from strong thunderstorms the previous Thursday (Halloween) that created flooding. The influx of sediment can pose concerns for the ecosystems in Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary research vessel gets new life -- The Research Vessel (R/V) Shark Cat, which is part of NOAA's Small Fleet, is now being employed by staff from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary to transport the team from Santa Barbara, CA out to the waters surrounding the Channel Islands off the Southern California Coast. There, the Shark Cat is used as a research and dive platform. Previously, this 28-foot twinhull power cruiser, had served as a patrol boat. [NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries News]
Ways suggested to lessen effects of harmful algal bloom events. -- NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) is helping empower communities to act on harmful algal blooms (HAB) issues by developing detection tools and forecasts. These blooms, which can form in both marine and freshwater environments, appear to be increasing in frequency and intensity in modern times due to environmental changes caused by humans. NOAA is supporting HAB research efforts. [NOAA National Ocean Service Ocean Facts]
Reports released from collaborative regional oil spill preparedness workshops -- The Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program and the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a series of five regional workshops in Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, and Virginia between December 2018 and May 2019. These workshops were designed to bring regional priorities to emphasize community oil spill preparation and resiliency planning. Five regional workshop reports and one summary report are available online. [NOAA Sea Grant News]
Sustaining fresh water for a Pacific Island during drought conditions -- The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit has a case study that shows how the American Samoa Power Authority successfully prepared for the drought caused by El Niño in 1998. American Samoa is an U.S. territory covering seven South Pacific islands and atolls. The Authority's best practices have ensured the archipelago's freshwater resources are monitored and effectively managed. [U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit]
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: Solving the Mystery of Seamount Ecosystems

The United States Commission on Ocean Policy reports that less than 5% of the ocean floor has been explored. This is beginning to change as scientists and engineers develop and apply new technologies to investigate deep ocean waters and the sea bottom (refer to Chapter 13 in your Ocean Studies textbook). Consider, for example, the effort to obtain a better understanding of seamount ecosystems.

A seamount is a submarine mountain of volcanic origin (now extinct) that rises more than 1000 m (3300 ft) above the ocean floor. Usually a seamount summit is 1000 to 2000 m (3300 to 6600 ft) below sea level. They occur as isolated peaks, chains (e.g., Emperor Seamounts in the North Pacific; New England chain in the North Atlantic), or clusters. The term "seamount" was first applied in 1936 to the Davidson Seamount located off the coast of Southern California. Scientists estimate that perhaps 30,000 dot the ocean floor with as many as two-thirds located on the Pacific Ocean bottom. However, fewer than one thousand seamounts have been named and only a handful of seamounts has received detailed scientific study.

In recent years, discovery of unique life forms on seamounts has spurred scientific interest in seamount ecosystems. Many nations, including the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, are supporting scientific cruises to observe and collect specimens from seamount ecosystems. Seamount ecosystems are unusually productive and are home to unique species. Some seamount surveys have found that certain seamount species are endemic, that is, they live on only one seamount or a few nearby peaks. For example, up to one-third of all species living on some seamounts off New Caledonia are endemic while up to half of the invertebrates and fish on the Nazca seamount off Chile are endemic. In the northeast Pacific, large-scale eddies may transport larval fish from coastal environments to isolated seamounts located out at sea. Furthermore, some scientists argue that seamounts may function as stepping stones that allow for migration of species over lengthy periods--perhaps over millions of years. In addition, some seamounts may serve as aids to navigation for fish that migrate over long distances. For example, hammerhead sharks may use the magnetic field surrounding seamounts to find their way.

The recent effort to survey and explore seamount ecosystems has reached new urgency with the realization of the devastating impact of commercial fish trawlers on those ecosystems. In some cases, trawling has stripped off most marine life (e.g., coral gardens) from the surface of seamounts leaving behind mostly bare rock. Typically, trawled seamounts have only half the biomass and considerably fewer species than undisturbed seamounts. Scientists anticipate that a better understanding of seamount ecosystems will help make the case for their conservation and inform the most effective strategies for their protection. Australia is one of the first nations to protect seamount ecosystems, establishing the Tasmanian Seamount Marine Reserve in 1999. The reserve covers 370 square km (140 square mi) and includes more than a dozen seamounts.

Historical Events:

12 November 1956...(date approximate) The crew on the icebreaker USCGC Glacier saw what may have been the world's largest iceberg. Observed about 150 mi west of Antarctica's Scott Island, the iceberg was about 60 mi wide by 208 mi long, or roughly the size of Maryland. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
12 November 1974...A salmon was caught in the River Thames, England - the first in more than 130 years. (Today in Science History)
13 November 1970...A cyclone swept over Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan, pushing a 49-ft storm surge against the coast at high tide. Flooding killed 500,000. Over 50 million people were affected by the storm rain, wind and surge. (The Weather Doctor)
13 November 2002...The single-hulled oil tanker Prestige sank off Spain's Galician coast, causing a huge oil spill. (Wikipedia)
14 November 1825...The Codorus, the first ship made in the U.S. with sheet iron, was tested on the Susquehanna River at York, PA. The ship weighted five tons, of which two tons was for the coal- and wood- fueled boiler which provided power for an 8-hp engine. With a keel length of 60-ft and a 9-ft beam, the ship drew about seven inches of water. (Today in Science History)
14 November 1977...The "Andhra Cyclone" formed over the Bay of Bengal. The Super Cyclone would strike India on the 19th, killing over 10,000 people, with winds up to 125 mph and a storm surge of 16 feet. (National Weather Service files)
14-21 November 1991...Tropical Cyclone Tia spent most of its life near the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. However, it completely destroyed 90 percent of all dwellings on Tikopia Island. The remaining 10 percent of the buildings sustained collapsed walls or roofs that had been blown off. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
14 November 1999...Hurricane Lenny formed in the Caribbean and began moving in an unusual direction: eastward. Forecasters nicknamed the storm "left-handed Lenny." (National Weather Service files)
15 November 1860...The light in the massive stone Minots Ledge Lighthouse at the entrance to Boston Harbor, which was built on the original site of the one lost in 1851, was exhibited. Work on the new lighthouse commenced in 1855 and was finished in 1860. "It ranks, by the engineering difficulties surrounding its erection and by the skill and science shown in the details of its construction, among the chief of the great sea-rock lighthouses of the world." (USCG Historians Office)
15 November 1854...In Egypt, a royal concession from Said was made that ultimately permitted construction of the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. (Wikipedia)
15 November 1888...The Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was born on this date. He was known for his studies of the physics, chemistry, and biology of the ocean. He died in August 1957. (Today in Science History)
16 November 1999...Hurricane warnings were in effect as late-season Hurricane Lenny was threatening Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Lenny was a Category 3 hurricane with top winds of 115 mph. Lenny was not only unusual because of its late-season strength, but because of its forward movement. Lenny was moving from west to east across the Caribbean. It was the first hurricane in recorded history to threaten Puerto Rico from the west. The unusual motion meant that some harbors normally protected from hurricanes were threatened. (National Weather Service files)
17 November 1820...Captain Nathaniel Palmer, USN, became the first American to see Antarctica. He saw the Palmer Peninsula, which was later named after him. (Wikipedia)
17 November 1869...The Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas, was officially inaugurated in Egypt with an elaborate ceremony. (Wikipedia)
17 November 1973...The "Largest Icebreaker in the Western World," USCGC Polar Star, was launched. (USCG Historians Office)