WEEKLY OCEAN NEWS

31 July - 4 August 2017

DataStreme Ocean will return for Fall 2017 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 21 August 2017. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Item of Interest:

A celebration -- Tuesday, 1 August 2017, is the ancient Celtic holiday of Lammas that corresponds to one of the cross quarter days, lying nearly halfway between the summer solstice (21 June 2017) and the autumnal equinox (22 September 2017). This holiday, also known as "loaf-mass day", originally marked the first wheat harvest of the year in the British Isles. [Editor's note: This coming Sunday evening, 6 August 2017, represents the exact halfway point between the dates of the solstice and equinox. EJH]
In the Land of the Midnight Sun -- The sun will set at Barrow, AK early Wednesday morning (1:56 AM AKDT on 2 August 2017), marking the first time in nearly 12 weeks (since 10 May 2017) that the sun has gone below the local horizon. However, the sun will remain below the horizon for 75 minutes before rising at 3:11 AM on Wednesday. On each day until mid-November, the length of night will increase at Barrow. On the afternoon of 18 November 2017, the sun will set and remain below the horizon for a stretch of two months until late January 2018, when the sun will reappear above the horizon for slightly less than one hour.
Coast Guard Day is celebrated -- Friday, 4 August 2017, is designated Coast Guard Day, as the day commemorating the founding of the United States Coast Guard as the Revenue Cutter Service on 4 August 1790, by then Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. A fleet of the first ten Revenue Service cutters were authorized by Congress with the responsibility for enforcement of the first tariff laws enacted by Congress under the Constitution. The Coast Guard was given its current name in 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the US Lifesaving Service. In 1939, the US Lighthouse Service was transferred to the Coast Guard. Since 2001, the US Coast Guard has been part of the US Department of Homeland Security. [US Defense Department]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- Tropical cyclone activity was found across both eastern and western sections of the North Pacific Ocean during the last week:

In the eastern North Pacific basin, Tropical Storm Greg continued its travels toward the west at the start of last week, as it was approximately 1560 miles to the west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula early Monday morning. Some weakening was reported, with Greg becoming a tropical depression on Tuesday afternoon when estimated maximum sustained winds fell below the 39-mph threshold for a tropical storm. Early Wednesday morning Tropical Depression Greg entered the central North Pacific basin as it crossed the 140 degree West meridian of longitude, the boundary between the eastern and central North Pacific basins. Greg continued to weaken, becoming a remnant low approximately 895 miles to the east of South Point on Hawaii's Big Island by late Wednesday morning (Hawaii time). Consult the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Greg.

Tropical Storm Hilary became the fourth hurricane of 2017 early Monday morning as it traveled toward the northwest and west-northwest, well offshore of the western coast of Mexico. By Monday evening, Hurricane Hilary had strengthened to become a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as maximum sustained surface winds were estimated to have reached at least 100 mph. At that time, Hurricane Hilary was located approximately 290 miles to the south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Through the remainder of the week, Hilary continued to travel toward the west-northwest, weakening to a tropical storm on Thursday evening. Additional weakening of Hillary occurred over the weekend, with Tropical Storm Hilary being located approximately 1100 miles to the west of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Sunday afternoon. Hilary was expected to become a remnant low late Sunday. Satellite imagery and additional information on Hurricane Hilary are available on the NASA Hurricane Page.

Tropical Storm Irwin strengthened to become the fifth hurricane of 2017 in the eastern Pacific early last Tuesday morning as this system traveled generally toward the west. Irwin remained a category 1 hurricane for slightly more than 24 hours before it weakened to a tropical storm. On Friday Irwin turned to take a track toward the north, which it took through the weekend. As of Sunday, Tropical Storm Irwin was moving toward the north-northwest as it was located approximately 1060 miles to the west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Irwin was expected to continue toward the north-northwest and weaken into a remnant lowo by late Monday as it moves over colder waters of the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Additional information and satellite images associated with Hurricane Irwin can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the western North Pacific basin, Typhoon Noru made a large loop in a counterclockwise direction across the waters of the western Pacific to the north of Minami Tori Shima (Marcus Island) atoll. At the start of last week, this category 2 typhoon (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) reversed its westward trek by traveling toward the east-southeast and then to the east by the midpoint of last week when it curved toward the north. By late in the week, Typhoon Noru was traveling toward the west. As of this current Monday (local time) Typhoon Noru was located approximately 130 miles to the south of Japan's Iwo To atoll. Current forecasts indicate Noru should curve toward the west and then to the northwest the first part of this week. By later in the week, Noru should take a northward track by midweek, heading toward the main Japanese Islands by late this week. Intensification was anticipated, with Noru possibly becoming a major category 3 or 4 typhoon by Tuesday. Check the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite images and additional information on Typhoon Noru.

Tropical Storm Kulap traveled generally toward the west to the north of Wake Island at the beginning of last week. Over the next two days, Kulap slowly weakened to become a tropical depression and then a remnant low approximately 475 miles to the north-northwest of the Minami Tori Shima Atoll, Japan. Satellite imagery and additional information are available on the NASA Hurricane Page for Tropical Storm Kulap.

Tropical Storm Sonca traveled to the west across the South China Sea at the beginning of last week toward the coast of northern Vietnam. By midweek, Tropical Storm Sonca had made landfall approximately 87 miles to the northwest of Da Nang, Vietnam. The NASA Hurricane Page has satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Sonca.

Tropical Storm Nesat developed quickly at the midpoint of last week from a tropical depression located over the waters of the Philippine Sea. Traveling to the northwest, Nesat intensified into a category 1 typhoon as it headed toward Taiwan. Nesat made landfall on the northeastern coast of Taiwan late Saturday, accompanied by strong winds and torrential rain. [Al Jazeera News] After crossing northern Taiwan, Typhoon Nesat weakened and became a remnant low over the waters of the Taiwan Strait as it approached China's eastern coast. Additional information on Typhoon Nesat can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.

Over this past weekend, Tropical Depression 12W (TD-12W) developed over the waters of the South China Sea approximately 280 miles to the south-southeast of Hong Kong, China. As this system moved toward the northeast, it strengthened to become Tropical Storm Haitang. On Sunday it reached the southern coast of Taiwan near the city of Kaohsiung. Moving into southwestern sections of Taiwan, Haitang had weakened to a tropical depression as of early Monday. Current forecasts indicate that Haitang will continue to weaken as it curves toward the northwest, traveling across western Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait before making landfall along the southeastern coast of mainland China by early Tuesday. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information about TD-12W prior to its becoming Tropical Storm Haitang.

NOTE: Pairs of tropical cyclones in both the western and eastern Pacific participated in somewhat rare circular dances known as the Fujiwhara effect. This Fujiwhara effect, named for the Japanese researcher who discovered the effect describes how two tropical cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere that are less than 900 miles apart would rotate counter-clockwise about one another. In the western Pacific, Typhoon Noru and Tropical Storm Kulap circulated around one another, while in the eastern North Pacific, Hurricanes Hilary and Irwin participated in this effect. [Weather Underground News]

Toxicity of Lake Erie algal bloom tracked with new robotic laboratory -- Scientists from NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have been using a robotic lake-bottom laboratory during this month to track the levels of dangerous toxins produced by cyanobacteria that bloom each summer in the western basin of Lake Erie. This robotic lake lab is also identified by the name ESPniagara, since it is an environmental sample processor or ESP. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Humpback whale freed off northern California through collaborative rescue efforts -- Early last week responders from the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, Humboldt State University, Oregon State University, U.S. Coast Guard, California Whale Rescue, and local fishermen and community members freed a juvenile 25-foot humpback whale that was entangled in numerous lines of fixed fishing gear approximately two miles off Crescent City, CA. [NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region Stories]
Coastal resilience grants worth $13.8 million are awarded -- NOAA's National Ocean Service and National Marine Fisheries Service recently announced that $13.8 million have been awarded in NOAA Coastal Resilience grants to nineteen research projects in seventeen states and Puerto Rico that will restore 1100 acres of habitat and prepare more than 350 coastal communities to withstand extreme weather and related hazards.
[NOAA News]
Coral reef survey in remote areas of Pacific has concluded -- Teams of scientists from NOAA and noted oceanographic research institutions recently completed an 88-day scientific expedition to survey coral reef ecosystems in two remote areas of the Pacific Ocean. These scientists conducted their survey as part of the Pan-U.S. Pacific Coral Reef Research Expedition from the NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai, traveling to the islands of Jarvis, Howland, Baker and Wake that are part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and then to Mariana Archipelago. [NOAA National Ocean Service News]
Green deepwater Alaska sponge could be a cancer cure -- Researchers from NOAA Fisheries' Alaska Fisheries Science Center along with their biomedical colleagues at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina and at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute in Detroit have discovered that small, green deepwater sponge living on the seafloor of Alaska's North Pacific Ocean could represent a cancer cure. Apparently, discorhabdin compound molecules in the green Latrunculia austini sponge may selectively target and kill pancreatic tumor cells in humans. [NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center News]
Sea surface temperature dataset is updated -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently released an updated fifth version of its Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSSTv5) dataset. This fifth version of the dataset, which contains a decade of near surface seawater temperature data from ARGOS floats and an updated sea–ice concentration dataset, is a global monthly sea surface temperature dataset beginning in January 1854 and continuing to the present that also includes anomalies computed with respect to a 1971–2000 monthly climatology. The dataset can be used for global climate monitoring and assessment, tracking cycles of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), oceanic and environmental research, and applications in various industries and economic sectors, such as agriculture and water resources. [NOAA NCEI News]
Global cloud records have been updated and expanded -- Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and their partners at NASA and several international satellite agencies have recently made updates that expands their record of satellite-derived cloud properties by reprocessing the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP). The expanded dataset, which will soon extend through 2015, includes several cloud properties such as cloud amount, cloud top pressure and temperature, and cloud water path. These satellite-derived cloud properties can be used to understand weather and climate. [NOAA NCEI News]
Sea ice lingers on the waters of Hudson Bay -- A mosaic of natural-color images obtained from data collected by the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite at the end of June shows the sea ice cover that remained on Canada's Hudson Bay. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Large iceberg continues to fracture off Antarctic coast -- Images made from data collected by the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite less than two weeks ago shows the fracturing of Iceberg A-68 off Antarctica into two smaller icebergs. Iceberg A-68 had calved from Larsen C Ice Shelf earlier in this month, as one of the largest icebergs to have formed in recorded history. Ocean currents, tides and winds battered A-68, which broke into two icebergs identified as A-68A and A-68B, along with additional other smaller unnamed pieces. [NASA Earth Observatory]
The "plastic problem" reaches a remote region of paradise -- An image made by the Advanced Spaceborne Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) onboard NASA's Terra satellite in April 2009 of Henderson Island in the South Pacific Ocean. This image shows plastic trash littering some of the beaches of this uninhabited tropical island, the result of trash being carried to these beaches by a large gyre in the ocean. [NASA Earth Observatory]
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]

Historical Events:

31 July 1498...On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, the explorer Christopher Columbus became the first European to reach the island of Trinidad. (Wikipedia)
31 July 1978...A 50-yard wide waterspout came onshore at Kill Devil Hills, NC and destroyed a small house. One person died and four were hurt. Waterspouts are typically considered relatively benign. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
1 August 1498...Christopher Columbus reached Venezuela, the first known European to visit that country. (Wikipedia)
1-3 August 1989...Hurricane Chantal made landfall along the Upper Texas coast about sunrise on the 1^st. Chantal deluged parts of Galveston Island and southeastern Texas with 8 to 12 inches of rain. Unofficial totals ranged up to twenty inches. Winds gusted to 82 mph at Galveston, and reached 76 mph in the Houston area. Tides were 5 to 7 feet high. The hurricane claimed two lives, and caused 100 million dollars damage. The remains of Hurricane Chantal also deluged north central Texas with heavy rain. Up to 6.50 inches drenched Stephens County, and Wichita Falls reported 2.22 inches of rain in just one hour on the 2^nd. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1 August 2002...At the Delaware Bay buoy located 26 miles southeast of Cape May, NJ, an ocean water temperature of 83.1 degrees Fahrenheit was measured--marking the highest ocean temperature recorded at that buoy since observations began there in 1984. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
2 August 1880...Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was adopted officially by the British Parliament, selected because Greenwich had been the national center for time since 1675. GMT was originally set-up to aid naval navigation, but was not on land until transportation improved. GMT was adopted by the U.S. at noon on 18 Nov 1883 when the telegraph lines transmitted time signals to all major cities. Subsequently, GMT was adopted worldwide on 1 Nov 1884 when the International Meridian Conference met in Washington, DC, USA and 24 time zones were created. (Today in Science History)
2-3 August 1922...A typhoon hit the China Coast at Swatow on the night of the 2^nd. The wind and the storm surge killed as many as 50,000 of the city's 65,000 residents. Barometric pressure at landfall had dropped to at least 932.3 millibars (27.53 inches). (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
3 August 1492...The Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, in command of three ships, embarked from the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera on a journey westward in search of a sea route to Asia. This expedition, which reached the Bahamas near North America on 12 October, was the first of four expeditions that Columbus made to the "New World". (The History Channel)
3 August 1864...The crew of a Union fleet witnessed a waterspout move right past their ship, causing no damage, in Albemarle Sound, NC. (National Weather Service files)
3 August 1958...At 11:15 EDT, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the first ship to reach the geographic North Pole submerged, traveling at a depth of approximately 500 feet from the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow, AK on 1 August to the Greenland Sea near Spitzbergen on 5 August. (Naval Historical Center) (The History Channel)
3 August 1960...A severe squall line with hurricane force winds crossed Chicago and then proceeded across Lake Michigan. Two hours later a seiche caused the lake to rise as much as four feet along the Chicago shore. One man died clinging to a rope on the lake side of a filtration plant near Navy Pier. (National Weather Service files)
3 August 1970...Hurricane Celia made landfall near Port Aransas on the Texas coast, producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi, and estimated wind gusts of 180 mph at Arkansas Pass. Even at Del Rio, 250 miles inland, Celia produced wind gusts to 89 mph. The hurricane was the most destructive of record along the Texas coast (until Hurricane Alicia in 1983) causing $454 million damage as 8950 homes were destroyed on the Coastal Bend. Celia also claimed eleven lives and injured 466 people. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
3-4 August 1978...The remnants of Tropical Storm Amelia produced up to 32 inches of rain on Schackelford County in Texas, an incredible amount of rain for a far-inland and non-mountainous area. A twenty-foot wall of water killed six during the evening of the 4^th in Albany, resulting in 89 percent of the city being covered by water. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
4(?) August 1609...A tempest struck the western Atlantic Ocean scattering small British convoy headed to Virginia. Two vessels sank; another, the Sea Venture was presumed lost. However, a ship made landfall on Bermuda, shipwrecking the crew. After a ten-month stay to build two small rescue boats, they sailed to Jamestown (Virginia) Colony. Incident accounts may have provided William Shakespeare with background material for The Tempest. (The Weather Doctor)
4 August 1666...A violent hurricane raked the island of Guadeloupe, destroying all boats along its coast, including a 17-ship fleet with 2000 troops. The island's batteries, with 6-foot thick walls, were destroyed and the 16-pounders (large cannons) were washed away. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
4 August 1858...After several unsuccessful attempts, the first trans-Atlantic cable, a 2000-mile submerged telegraph line conceived by Cyrus W. Field, was completed by USS Niagara and British ship Agamemnon. While the first messages were exchanged between President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria on 16 August, the cable ceased functioning in early September. The first permanent trans-Atlantic cable was laid in 1866. (Naval Historical Center) (The History Channel)
5-6 August 1959...Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 103 mph and gusts to 125 mph. Over 6 inches of rain fell there and over 9 inches on the island of Hawaii. The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages. (Intellicast)
5 August 1980...Hurricane Allen reached category five status (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) for the first of three times during its long path across the Atlantic with a pressure of 911 millibars (26.90 inches of mercury) while south of Puerto Rico. (National Weather Service files)
5-7 August 1997...Although far to the southwest, Hurricane Guillermo generated surf to 12-foot heights along the beaches of southern California. In Newport Beach, lifeguards made almost 300 rescues on the 5^th and 6^th. Rip currents were responsible for one death and three injuries. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
6 August 1959...Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 105 mph with gusts to 125 mph. Over 6 inches of rain fell with over 9 inches on the Big Island of Hawaii. The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages. (National Weather Service files)
6 August 1986...A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast of Australia dumped a record 12.91 inches of rain in one day on Sydney. (Wikipedia)