Tag Archives: noaa

Today’s worst watershed stresses may become the new normal, study finds

By Guest PostSeptember 23, 2013Environmentboulder, cires, climate projection, demand for freshwater, ge sun, james meldrum, kristen averyt, noaa, peter caldwell, power plants, steve mcnulty, united states, university of colorado, us watersheds, watershed stresses, western water assessment

Nearly one in 10 U.S. watersheds is “stressed,” with demand for water exceeding natural supply, according to a new analysis of surface water in the United States. What’s more, the lowest water flow seasons of recent years—times of great stress on rivers, streams, and sectors that use their waters—are likely to become typical as climates continue to warm.

“By midcentury, we expect to see less reliable surface water supplies in several regions of the United States,” said the study’s lead author, Kristen Averyt, associate director for science at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. “This is likely to create growing challenges for agriculture, electrical suppliers and municipalities, as there may be more demand for water and less to go around.” (more…)

New ocean forecast could help predict fish habitat six months in advance

By Guest PostSeptember 10, 2013Environmentclimate predictions, j scope, jisao, nanoos, nick bond, noaa, ocean ecosystem, ocean forecast, olympic coast, pacific northwest fisheries, phil levin, samantha siedlecki, sardine habitat maps, university of washington, uw oxygen model

People are now used to long-term weather forecasts that predict what the coming winter may bring. But University of Washington researchers and federal scientists have developed the first long-term forecast of conditions that matter for Pacific Northwest fisheries.

“Being able to predict future phytoplankton blooms, ocean temperatures and low-oxygen events could help fisheries managers,” said Samantha Siedlecki, a research scientist at the UW-based Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean. (more…)

Real-time Monitoring Pays Off for Tracking Nitrate Pulse in Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2013Environmentbaton rouge, brian pellerin, connecticut, dead zone, gulf of mexico, hypoxic zone, kevin richards, lori caramanian, mississippi drainage, mississippi river basin, nitrate data, nitrate pulse, nitrate removal systems, noaa, raccoon river, rainfall, real time monitoring, research hydrologist, seasons, usgs, van meter

Cutting edge optical sensor technology is being used in the Mississippi River basin to more accurately track the nitrate pulse from small streams, large tributaries and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico.

Excessive springtime nitrate runoff from agricultural land and other sources in the Mississippi drainage eventually flows into the Mississippi River. Downstream, this excess nitrate contributes to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone, an area with low oxygen known commonly as the “dead zone.” NOAA-supported researchers reported that the summer 2013 dead zone covered about 5,840 square miles, an area the size of Connecticut. (more…)

Study reveals how fishing gear can cause slow death of whales

By Guest PostJune 16, 2013Environment, Natureaerial survey, Christmas day, device, diving, dtag, eg 3911, fishing gear, florida, jacksonville, julie, marine mammals, michael moore, mmhsrp, noaa, north atlantic, oceanography, patient monitoring, paxarms nz, right whale, suction cupped, swimming behavior, van der hoop, whale, whoi

Using a “patient monitoring” device attached to a whale entangled in fishing gear, scientists showed for the first time how fishing lines changed a whale’s diving and swimming behavior. The monitoring revealed how fishing gear hinders whales’ ability to eat and migrate, depletes their energy as they drag gear for months or years, and can result in a slow death.

The scientists in this entanglement response suction-cupped a cellphone-size device called a Dtag to a two-year-old female North Atlantic right whale called Eg 3911. The Dtag, developed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), recorded Eg 3911’s movements before, during, and after at-sea disentanglement operations. (more…)

Hidden Wildfires Taking Big Toll on Amazon Rainforest

By Guest PostJune 9, 2013Environmentairs, Amazon, amazon fire season, amazon forests, Amazon rainforest, atmospheric infrared sounder, austin, climate conditions, climate fire connection, climate mechanisms, data, deforestation activity, doug morton, dry conditions, evolution, fire season, frequent understory fire, german aerospace center, global climate, grace, grasses, hidden wildfires, imaging spectroradiometer, irvine, isabella velicogna, kathryn hansen, moderate resolution, modis, nasa scientists, noaa, regional scale, satellite technique, sea surface temperature, shrubs, southern amazon, terra satellite, type of wildfire, understory fires, university of california, university of texas, yang chen

Using an innovative satellite technique, NASA scientists have determined that a previously unmapped type of wildfire in the Amazon rainforest is responsible for destroying several times more forest than has been lost through deforestation in recent years.

In the southern Amazon rainforest, fires below the forest treetops, or “understory fires,” have been hidden from view from NASA satellites that detect actively burning fires. The new method has now led to the first regional estimate of understory fire damages across the southern Amazon. (more…)

New Robotic Instruments to Provide Real-Time Data on Gulf of Maine Red Tide

By Guest PostJune 2, 2013Environmentalexandrium bloom season, alexandrium fundyense, amnesic shellfish poisoning, asp, chris scholin, coast of portsmouth, coastal waters, current status, dennis mcgillicuddy, diatom, don anderson, environmental sample processors, epa, espchris, espdon, esps, fda, greg doucette, gulf of maine, habs, harmful algal blooms, kohl kanwit, MIT, molecular biology labs, neracoos, new england, new robotic instruments, nh, noaa, paralytic shellfish poisoning, pseudo nitzschia, psp, real time data, red tide, sea grant program, single celled algae, toxins, WHO

Deployment could lead transformation of toxic HAB monitoring

A new robotic sensor deployed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Gulf of Maine coastal waters may transform the way red tides or harmful algal blooms (HABs) are monitored and managed in New England. The instrument was launched at the end of last month, and a second such system will be deployed later this spring.

The results will add critical data to weekly real-time forecasts of New England red tide this year distributed to more than 150 coastal resource and fisheries managers in six states as well as federal agencies such as NOAA, the FDA and the EPA. Researchers also plan to add data from the sensor to regular updates provided on the “Current Status” page of the Northeast PSP website. (more…)

Research Enables Fishermen to Harvest Lucrative Shellfish on Georges Bank

By Guest PostMay 13, 2013Environment, Sciencealexandrium cells, alexandrium fundyense, bloom dynamics, cape cod, chrissy petitpas, cysts, darcie couture, dave townsend, dave wallace, deana erdner, delaware, dennis mcgillicuddy, dna evidence, don anderson, ecohab, fda, georges bank, gomtox project, gulf of maine, harmful algal blooms, marine biotoxins, massachusetts, microscope, mindy richlen, nccos, new england shellfisheries, new jersey, noaa, nova scotia, ocean quahogs, offshore population, paralytic shellfish poisoning, phytoplankton, psp, red tides, rhode island, robert magnien, sea watcher, sea water samples, smast, stacey degrasse, surf clams, toxicity, toxicity in shellfish, united states, university of maine, university of massachusetts, university of texas, whoi

Combined research efforts by scientists involved in the Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project, funded by NOAA’s Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program, and administered by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), have led to enhanced understanding of toxic algal blooms on Georges Bank. This new information, coupled with an at-sea and dockside testing protocol developed through collaboration between GOMTOX and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators, has allowed fishermen to harvest ocean quahogs and surf clams in these offshore waters for the first time in more than two decades.

The shellfish industry estimates the Georges Bank fishery can produce up to 1 million bushels of surf clams and ocean quahogs a year, valued $10 – 15 million annually. “There is a billion dollars’ worth of shellfish product on Georges Bank that is property of the United States but that can’t be harvested because of the threat of toxicity, and 99.9% of the time, it is good wholesome product,” says Dave Wallace of North Atlantic Clam Association and a GOMTOX participant. “In an unusual and unique partnership, we worked with GOMTOX scientists, the FDA, and the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Delaware and now that huge resource can go into commerce, which helps the entire country.” (more…)

Researchers Issue Forecast for ‘Moderate’ New England Red Tide in 2013

By Guest PostMay 2, 2013Environmentalexandrium fundyense, blooms, bruce keafer, chris nash, current status, don anderson, ecohab program, gulf of maine, harmful algal blooms, moderate, new england, noaa, paralytic shellfish poisoning, psp, quay dortch, red tide, toxic algae, whoi biologist

New England is expected to experience a “moderate” red tide this spring and summer, report NOAA-funded scientists studying the toxic algae that cause blooms in the Gulf of Maine. The “red tide” is caused by an alga Alexandrium fundyense, which produces a toxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Red tide typically occurs annually along some portions of the Gulf of Maine coast. This year’s outlook is similar to the 2012 red tide which was also classified as “moderate.”

As with the past five forecasts for this region, the 2013 outlook is based on the quantities of the A. fundyense in its cyst (dormant) state detected in Gulf of Maine sediments last fall. These data are combined with a computer model to produce a range of bloom scenarios based on previous years’ conditions. This year, the team also used a forecast of toxicity impact developed from 34 years of historical data as part of the 2013 outlook. The 2013 bloom is expected to fall somewhere in the middle in terms of toxicity impact, justifying a “moderate” forecast done by the established method. (more…)