WEEKLY WEATHER & CLIMATE NEWS

WEEKLY WEATHER AND CLIMATE NEWS

7-11 January 2013

Free admission into the National Parks -- This coming weekend, Friday, 14 January 2012 through Monday 16 January 2012, has been designated by the National Park Service as fee-free days in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. 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]
Winter Awareness -- Montana will observe Ice Jam Awareness Day on 12 January 2012.
Eye on the Tropics -- During the last week, only two organized tropical cyclones were found across the Earth's major ocean basins. These two tropical cyclones were located in the South Indian Ocean basin. Cyclone Benilde, which had formed during the previous week, moved generally westward and intensified to become a category 2 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale over the New Year's Day weekend. However, during the first half of the past week, this cyclone weakened to a tropical depression before becoming a remnant low over the waters south of Diego Garcia. The NASA Hurricane Page. has additional information and satellite images on Cyclone Benilde.
Over this past weekend, Tropical Storm 5 formed over the waters of the Mozambique Channel from a tropical low pressure system that had been designated System 99S. As of Sunday, movement of this minimal tropical storm was traveling to the southeast toward Madagascar. Additional information and satellite images showing System 99S in its early stages can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Ice starts forming on the Great Lakes –- An image obtained from data collected by the MODIS sensor on one of NASA's satellites early last week shows ice forming on some of the bays on western Lake Superior. The National Ice Center uses data from these satellites to produce daily analyses of ice coverage on the Great Lakes. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Lake-effect snow streamers spread across the Midwest –- Satellite images obtained last week from NASA's MODIS satellite and NOAA's GOES-13 satellite show several streaks of lake-effect snow that fell downwind of the Great Lakes as cold air moved southward across the relative warm lake water early last week. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Worldwide disasters last year prove costly --According to Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance firms, 2011 was the costliest year in history in terms of damages incurred by weather, earthquakes and tsunamis. Total insured damage and loss worldwide was estimated to be nearly one third of a trillion dollars. [USA Today]
New methods employed to assess hydrologic extremes-- Several ways of assessing the magnitudes of drought and wet spells across the nation are highlighted. These methods include assessment of the number of days with or without precipitation and the determination of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) that permit the calculation of the US Climate Extremes Index that has been developed at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. [NCAR & UCAR Currents]
Arctic seawater is freshened along Canadian coast -- Researchers from the University of Washington and NASA have found that the waters of the Arctic Ocean bordering the Canadian and Alaskan coasts have become less salty as increasing amounts of freshwater from Canada and the US have entered the Arctic Ocean between 2005 and 2008 while the amount of freshwater had decreased along the Russian side of the Arctic. Changes in the salinity in the Arctic from melting Arctic sea ice could impact the global "ocean conveyor belt" that redistributes heat around the planet. [NASA JPL]
Helping to protect power grids from solar storms -- The US Department of Homeland Security recently released a report entitled "Impacts from Severe Space Weather on the Electric Grid," prepared by advisers from the independent JASON scientific advisory group that emphasizes the "seriousness" of space weather when strong solar activity or "solar storms" can knock out electric power grids for days or longer. [The Epoch Times]
Tracking marine debris produced by the Japanese tsunami -- Several Federal agencies are joining forces to track the spread of debris produced by last spring's massive Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Using models that predict near surface winds and ocean currents, these agencies are also attempting to predict future movements of this debris. According to NOAA scientists, some of the debris could reach the Hawaiian Islands late this winter and the West Coast of the United States by 2013. An audio podcast was produced that includes a description of the movement of the debris by the Pacific Islands Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program. [NOAA's Ocean Service News]
Air pollution appears to be linked to diabetes and hypertension in African-American women -- In a study conducted at Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center, an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension among African-American women appears to be related to the cumulative levels of exposure to nitrogen oxides associated with air pollution. [EurekAlert!]
Drought-tolerant alfalfa being developed -- Based upon the needs of farmers and ranchers for livestock feed during the current drought conditions across the Southwest, scientists at New Mexico State University are using genetic analysis and traditional plant breeding practices to develop varieties of alfalfa that would be more drought-tolerant. [KTVL-TV News]
Climate change models could underestimate future extinctions -- Biologists at the University of Connecticut and the University of Washington warn that many current climate models may underestimate future extinctions of plant and animals around the world because these climate models do not adequately account for species competition and movement. [University of Connecticut]
Mercury assisted in Earth's massive extinction -–Scientists at the University of Calgary and Natural Resources Canada claim that while rapid climate change was a major contributing factor in the Earth's greatest extinction event that occurred 250 million years ago, an influx of mercury into the ecosystem also contributed to the extinction of nearly all marine species and a majority of those on land. The researchers believe that the mercury released from ancient volcanic activity during the late Permian oceans was nearly 30 times more than that released by current volcanic activity. [University of Calgary]
A "rock clock" is calibrated -- Researchers at the United Kingdom's National Physical Laboratory and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre have been working on the calibration of the "argon-argon clock" in an attempt to increase the accuracy of dating Earth history back to the time of its formation 4.5 billion years ago. This "argon-argon clock" entails measuring the ratio of the amount of radioactive potassium in a sample of rock to the amount of its decay product, argon. [EurekAlert!]
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, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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