DATASTREME OCEAN PREVIEW WEEK: 16-20 January 2012

Items of Interest:

• Participate in "GLOBE at Night" activities this week -- This week (14-23 January 2012) is identified as the first of the four weeks of the "GLOBE at Night" field campaign of 2012, which represents an international citizen scientist project designed to measure and report the degree of light pollution all around the world using the human eye. This project is part of the GLOBE Program and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO); financial sponsors include NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of State. Check the GLOBE at Night website http://www.globeatnight.org/index.html for additional information on this week's activities plus a Teacher Information Page and activity packet.
• Approaching coldest time of the year -- This upcoming week is the third full week of January, which for many locations across the nation typically marks the coldest week of the year, as indicated by the daily normal high and low temperatures. Usually, those stations located away from the moderating influences of the oceans reach their lowest temperatures during the third week of January, or a roughly one month after the winter solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere receives the fewest hours of daylight and the smallest amounts of solar radiation. During that month, temperatures continue to fall to their lowest typical values as cooling continues. However, the increased length of daylight and increased sunshine during this month begins to warm the ground and overlying atmosphere as normal daily temperatures begin to rise toward their highest levels in mid to late July.

Ocean in the News:

• Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, the only organized tropical cyclones (low pressure systems such as tropical storms and hurricanes that form over tropical oceans) were found over the South Indian Ocean. This system, with minimal tropical storm strength, formed at the start of last week over the waters of the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and Africa's Mozambique. After slightly more than 24 hours, Tropical Storm Chanda weakened to become a remnant low pressure system as it moved to the southeast toward the west coast of Madagascar. For additional information including satellite imagery, consult the NASA Hurricane Page.
  In midweek, Tropical Storm Heidi formed over the waters of the South Indian Ocean to the northwest of Australia. Within 24 hours, this tropical storm traveled southward and dissipated just before making landfall along the coast of Western Australia near Port Hedland. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite imagery on Tropical Storm Heidi.
• The NOAA Administrator speaks on sustainable oceans -- Last week Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere talked at the University of California at Davis on sustainable oceans and how they affect society. A 13-page slide show entitled "Sustaining the Beauty & the Bounty of the Oceans" is available that outlines her remarks. [NOAA News]
• Penalties paid for violation of Right Whale ship strike reduction rule -- Three large commercial vessels recently made full payment of the penalties they were assessed last fall by NOAA for violating the agency's ship strike reduction rule designed to reduce the chances of collisions between ships greater than 65 feet in length and North Atlantic right whales in an effort to reduce the risk of death or injury to these endangered whales. The ships had exceeded the speed limits as they traversed the waters of the North Atlantic off Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and New York City between 2009 and 2011. [NOAA News]
• Official estimates of Gulf oil spill rate confirmed by chemical measurements -- NOAA scientists and academic colleagues recently reported that their analysis of detailed chemical measurements of sea water, oil slick and air samples to determine the rate at which gases and oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico and the air above following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill provides independent confirmation of official estimates made earlier. [NOAA News]
• Putting a price on whales may save them -- In view of the increased worldwide harvesting of whales during the last several decades, scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Arizona suggest that placing tradable harvest quotas upon whales may be a possible means that would ensure the survival of these cetaceans before their populations are depleted. [University of California, Santa Barbara]
• Flights over North Pacific used to help North American weather forecasting -- NOAA's Gulfstream IV-SP jet aircraft that is used during the fall to monitor hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin has been deployed to Honolulu, HI for the winter months to collect atmospheric data over the North Pacific Ocean in an effort to improve winter storm forecasts for the entire North American continent. This specialized twin turbofan jet aircraft will deploy special sensors. Temperature, humidity, pressure and wind data collected by this NOAA aircraft and a US Air Force Reserve weather reconnaissance plane will provide a three-dimensional view of the atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean. NOAA forecasters will use these data to predict the location and intensity of high winds, destructive surf conditions, severe weather and flooding rainfall caused by winter storms. [NOAA News]
• Map shows why Nome, Alaska is ice-locked -- An ice edge analysis map prepared by the National Ice Center from high-resolution data collected last week from NOAA satellites shows thick sea ice extending across the Bering Sea. The thickness of the sea ice necessitated the use of a US Coast Guard icebreaker to assist a tanker in bringing fuel oil to the Alaskan community of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, which had become ice locked. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory] Following behind the USCG Cutter Healy, the Russian tanker Renda reached Nome as of Saturday night and began unloading fuel. [CNN News]
• Cruise ship runs aground along Italy's coast with tragic consequences -- A giant Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia ran aground last Friday night in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea just off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio. After running aground, the 950-ft long ship capsized. More than 4000 passengers and crew were onboard the cruise ship. Although most were rescued, at least five fatalities were reported and as many as 17 people remained missing as of early Sunday. [CNN News]
• National greenhouse emissions data released for 2010 -- During the past week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the first-ever list of comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) data reported directly from large facilities in nine industry groups and from suppliers of certain fossil fuels across the nation. These data show that in 2010, power plants were the largest stationary sources of direct emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, followed by petroleum refineries. [EPA Newsroom]
• 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]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- 
A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, to include drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet
[earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Touring the DataStreme Ocean Website

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

1. The latest global sea surface temperature map indicates that SSTs are generally higher over the [(western)(eastern)] tropical Pacific Ocean.
2. 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

• 17 January 1773...HMS Resolution, commanded by English explorer Captain James Cook, became the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle (66 deg 33 min S). (Wikipedia)
• 17 January 1779...The English explorer Captain James Cook made his last notation in ship's log Discovery. He was killed less than one month later on Hawaii's Big Island.
• 18 January 1778...The English explorer Captain James Cook sailed past the island of Oahu, thereby becoming the first European to see the Hawaiian Islands, which he called the "Sandwich Islands." (The History Channel)
• 18-22 January 1978...The Atlantic's first-ever January subtropical storm with tropical characteristics since records began in 1871 organized 1500 miles east-northeast of Puerto Rico. The storm finally dissipated on the 22nd approximately 200 miles north of Puerto Rico. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 19 January 1840...LT Charles Wilkes, USN was the first American to sight the eastern Antarctic coast, claiming this portion of the continent for the United States. The group that he led explored a 1500-mile stretch of the coast of eastern Antarctica, which later became known as Wilkes Land. (Naval Historical Center)
• 19 January 1946...Staged jointly by the USCG and USN, the first public demonstration of LORAN was held at Floyd Bennett Field in New York. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 19 January 1996...The tug Scandia and its barge, the North Cape, ran aground on the shore of Rhode Island, spilling 828,000 gallons of oil, the worst spill in that state's history. The Coast Guard rescued the entire crew, pumped off 1.5 million gallons of oil and conducted skimming operations. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 20 January 1606...As many as 2000 people died around the Severn Estuary in England as the result of severe flooding. (The Weather Doctor)
• 20 January 1850...The Investigator, which was the first ship to effect a Northwest Passage, left England.
• 20 January 1914...The International Ice Patrol Convention was signed. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 20 January 1986...The United Kingdom and France announced plans to construct the Channel Tunnel, a railway tunnel underneath the English Channel, also known as the "Chunnel." (Wikipedia)
• 21 January 1881...The light was first shown at Tillamook Lighthouse, located 19 miles south of the Columbia River entrance on the Oregon coast. (USCG Historian's Office)
• 21 January 1941...The first commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater was made at Freeport, TX.
• 21 January 1954...The first nuclear powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched on the Thames River in Groton, CT, representing a landmark in the history of naval engineering and submersible craft. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower christened the vessel, which sailed beneath the Arctic icepack to the North Pole in 1958. (Today in Science History)

Return to DataStreme Ocean Website

Prepared by DS Ocean Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.,
email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2012, The American Meteorological Society.