Weekly Ocean News

Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK THREE: 4-8 February 2013

For Your Information

Aspects of ocean water chemistry and marine life considered -- If you would like more background information concerning how marine organisms evolved in the ocean with a relatively narrow range of chemical and physical characteristics, please read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth.
Small asteroid should safely pass Earth this month -- Astronomers with NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office report that the small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 should pass within 17,000 miles of Planet Earth on Friday, 15 February 2013/ While this asteroid will make an approach inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites surrounding Earth that are approximately 23,000 miles above the equator, the asteroid will have little chance of making a collision with Earth. The 150-foot diameter asteroid may be viewed with a small telescope from Indonesia. [NASA JPL]

Ocean in the News

(Wednesday) Pacific earthquake raises tsunami warning -- A powerful 8.0 magnitude eathquake occurred off the Solomon Islands Wednesday that created a regional tsunami. The 1 meter (3 ft.) wave killed 5 people in the Santa Cruz portion of the Solomons. [CNN] The Pacific-wide warning was later cancelled as wave heights were minor.
Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, only one tropical cyclone moved across the tropical South Indian Ocean as as Southern Hemisphere summer continues. At the start of last week, Cyclone Garry had dissipated over the western South Pacific waters, leaving the lone tropical cyclone moving across the western sections of the South Indian Ocean. This system had formed as a tropical storm to the northeast of La Reunion over the previous weekend. During the early week, this tropical storm traveled west toward Madagascar intensified to become Tropical Cyclone Felleng as it curved toward the southwest and then south early in the week. Felleng had intensified to a strong category 4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as estimated maximum sustained surface winds reached at least 130 mph by Wednesday. Although the center of Felleng passed to the east of Madagascar, rainfall totals of between eight and ten inches fell across eastern sections of this island nation and winds gusting to 110 mph on Thursday produced seas with wave heights between 30 to 35 feet. By Sunday morning (local time), Felleng had weakened to a tropical storm as it continued to travel to the southeast away from Madagascar. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite imagery and additional information on Cyclone Felleng.
Free nautical BookletCharts™ are available for boaters -- NOAA's Coast Survey has announced that a set of experimental BookletCharts™ are available online without charge for recreational boaters. Nearly 1000 handy and newly updated nautical charts cover the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and the Great Lakes. These BookletCharts, which are now official, contain most of the information found on NOAA's full-scale nautical charts, but it is presented as reduced-scale. [NOAA News]
Dissolved organic matter helps produce sea foam -- An article on NOAA's National Ocean Service website identifies the origin of sea foam as being from dissolved organic matter in ocean water. [NOAA National Ocean Service]
Interagency report on threat of climate change to health, safety and economy along nation's coasts -- Officials with NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and the US Geological Survey (USGS) recently released a technical report entitled "Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: A Technical Input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment." This report, which was prepared by leading scientists and experts, warns that the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of the social, economic and natural systems of US coastal communities. Furthermore, the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure the resiliency of these coastal communities is stressed. [NOAA News] or [USGS Newsroom]
"Challenger" Mission designed to send underwater glider around the world --As Mid-Atlantic partners of the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®), scientists at Rutgers University have recently launched a test mission called "Challenger" that is meant to send the first underwater robotic vehicle or "glider" on a trip around the world. This glider, which would collect marine data at various depths, is named for the 19th century HMS Challenger, the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe on a marine research expedition. [NOAA National Ocean Service]
New marine fishery allocation report is posted -- NOAA Fisheries recently announced that it posted online a new 59-page report entitled, "Marine Fishery Allocation Issues," which summarizes the discussion of fisheries allocation issues, including input received from a broad spectrum of stakeholders from around the nation. A national webinar on this report will be hosted on 14 February by NOAA Fisheries for all who are interested in additional information. [NOAA Fisheries Service]
Public comment sought on regulations to protect marine mammals during naval exercises -- NOAA's Fisheries Service is seeking comments through mid-March for proposed rules requiring the US Navy to implement measures to protect marine mammals during training exercises in two separate areas in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico [NOAA Fisheries] and in the North Pacific off California and Hawaii. [NOAA Fisheries]
Partnership helps marine animals in distress -- Several success stories have recently surfaced concerning the efforts made by NOAA Fisheries and its partners at protecting and rescuing marine animals that have been in distress. One of the success stories involved the response of NOAA Fisheries and its partners from Massachusetts to a report that a mother and calf North Atlantic right whale were observed in the chilly waters of Cape Cod Bay off Massachusetts. Another success story involved NOAA Fisheries and partners from Georgia and Florida who helped disentangle another North American right whale back in 2008. Recently, this whale was seen with her first calf. [NOAA Fisheries Service]
Potent August storm from Siberia did not cause record low Arctic sea ice in 2012 -- Researchers at the University of Washington claim that "The Great Arctic Cyclone of August 2012" did not cause the historic sea ice minimum across the Arctic Ocean basin observed in September. This storm was the most powerful of August storms and the 13th most powerful of any Arctic storm since satellite records began more than three decades ago. Although this potent August storm that originated over Siberia was accompanied by unseasonably strong winds across the entire Arctic basin, increased temperatures remain primarily responsible for the record sea ice minimum. [University of Washington News]
Instrument on Space Station to scan globe for weather and climate data -- NASA will install the RapidScat instrument on the International Space Station (ISS) that is designed to monitor surface winds over large water bodies. This instrument is called a scatterometer and will be used to help scientists monitor the interactions between the atmosphere and oceans, especially for the sea currents that influence environmental conditions across the globe, including the determination of El Niño events. High frequency radar pulses are bounced off the ocean surface to determine the sea state, which can then be used to determine surface wind speeds and direction. This new ISS-RapidSat instrument, which will be sent to ISS in 2014 represents a replacement for the SeaWinds scatterometer aboard NASA's QuikScat satellite that experienced an age-related antenna failure in 2009. [NASA JPL]
Antarctic ozone depletion affects atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns -- Using numerical simulations of four wind patterns, researchers at Pennsylvania State University have determined that the depletion of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica represents a more important factor in shifting the Southern Hemisphere jet stream toward the south than increasing levels of greenhouse gases. The southward shift in this jet stream has been determined to create changes in the precipitation and oceanic circulation patterns across the Southern Hemisphere. The researchers believe that the jet stream could shift back toward the north as the depleted region of ozone, often identified as the "ozone hole", would recover. [Penn State Live] In related research, scientists from Johns Hopkins University and colleagues from the US and Australia have found that the reduced stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctic have changed the way in which the waters of the southern oceans mix, which can potentially alter the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Changes appear to have occurred in the upwelling of the circumpolar waters of the southern oceans, which appear consistent with the strengthening of surface winds. [Johns Hopkins University HUB]
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: Sea Water Salinity and Carbon Dioxide

In view of the contemporary concern regarding global climate change, scientists are studying the various factors that govern the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are on the rise primarily because of the burning of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil, natural gas). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (an atmospheric gas that absorbs and radiates infrared radiation) so that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be contributing to global warming. The ocean's role in regulating the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on the temperature, salinity, and biological components of surface waters.

As noted in Chapter 3 of your textbook, gases are more soluble in cold seawater than warm seawater. Hence, changes in sea surface temperature affect the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide. As noted in Chapter 1 of your textbook, photosynthetic organisms take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen. And through cellular respiration, all organisms release carbon dioxide. What about the effects of changes in salinity on the ocean's uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide? Research from the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii provides some insight on this question.

Since the late 1980s, scientists have been recording ocean conditions at a site (dubbed ALOHA) about 100 km (62 mi) north of Oahu. In 2003, David M. Karl, a biogeochemist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, reported a decline in the rate at which surface ocean waters were absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, in 2001, the rate of CO₂ uptake was only about 15% of what it was in 1989. Why the change in CO₂ uptake? In this region of the Pacific north of Hawaii, sea surface temperatures showed no significant change during the period of observation but precipitation decreased and evaporation increased. Less precipitation coupled with higher rates of evaporation caused the surface water salinity at ALOHA to increase by about 1%. Increasing salinity inhibits water's ability to absorb gases including carbon dioxide. Karl and his colleagues attribute 40% of the decline in the ocean's CO₂ uptake to the saltier waters. The balance of the decline may be due to changes in biological productivity or ocean mixing.

Concept of the Week: Questions

With rising sea surface temperatures, the rate of evaporation of sea water [(increases)(decreases)].
With increasing salinity and constant temperature, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is taken up by ocean water [(increases)(decreases)].

Historical Events

5 February 1924...Hourly time signals from the Royal Greenwich Observatory were broadcast for the first time. (Wikipedia)
5 February 1997...High winds pushed mountains of ice against the northern shore of Lake Erie crushing several houses and cottages in Colchester, Ontario. This phenomenon is known as ice shove. (The Weather Doctor)
5 February 2004 - Nineteen Chinese cockle-pickers from a group of 35 drowned after being trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. (Wikipedia)
6 February 1933...The highest reliably observed ocean wave was observed by crew of the US Navy oiler, USS Ramapo, in the North Pacific during the night on its way from Manila to San Diego. The wave was estimated (by triangulation) to have a height of 112 feet. Average winds at the time were 78 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (See additional discussion on highest ocean waves)
7 February 1969...USCGC Tern, commissioned on this date and stationed in New York, embodied an advanced concept in servicing aids to navigation. Her over-the-stern gantry system of handling buoys is unique. The automation and modernization of over-age, isolated lighthouses and light stations showed significant progress this year. A new, more effective version of the LAMP (Lighthouse Automation and Modernization Project) plan was promulgated in this year. (USCG Historian's Office)
7 February 1978...The worst winter storm of record struck coastal New England. The storm produced 27.5 inches of snow at Boston, and nearly 50 inches in northeastern Rhode Island. The fourteen-foot tide at Portland, ME was probably the highest of the century. Winds gusted to 79 mph at Boston, and reached 92 mph at Chatham, MA. A hurricane-size surf caused 75 deaths and 500 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
8 February 1987...A powerful storm produced blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes Region. North winds of 50 to 70 mph raised the water level of southern Lake Michigan two feet, and produced waves 12 to 18 feet high, causing seven million dollars damage along the Chicago area shoreline. It was the most damage caused by shoreline flooding and erosion in the history of the city of Chicago. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
8 January 2001...The log-carrying ship, Leo Forest, lost much of its cargo as over 2300 logs went overboard approximately 400 miles north of Adak, AK. The ship lost power in waves that were greater than 35 feet and the loss of the logs caused the ship to list 10 degrees to port (left) with the bow three feet down. Fortunately, the ship made safe passage to Dutch Harbor for repairs. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
9 February 1942...The French Liner Normandie, a 79,280-ton luxury ocean liner, burned and capsized in New York Harbor during its conversion to an Allied trip transport ship. (The History Channel)
10 February 1807...With the backing of President Thomas Jefferson, the US Coast Survey was authorized by Congress "to provide for surveying the coasts of the United States." The Coast Survey represents the oldest U.S. scientific organization to encourage commerce and to support a growing economy in a safe and efficient manner. (NOAA History)
10 February 1940...USCGC Bibb and Duane made the first transmissions as weather stations as part of the Atlantic Weather Patrol. (USCG Historian's Office)