“The Atlantis Massif, an undersea mountain, or seamount, formed in a very different way than the majority of the seafloor in the oceans. Unlike volcanic seamounts, which are made of the basalt that’s typical of most of the seafloor, Atlantis Massif includes rock types that are usually only found much deeper in the ocean crust, such as gabbro and peridotite.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
“This visualization shows ocean surface currents around the world during the period from June 2005 through December 2007. The visualization does not include a narration or annotations; the goal was to use ocean flow data to create a simple, visceral experience.” Quoted from the NASA visualization release.
Pale green patterns tinted the water along the Namibian coast in late February 2012. But unlike other bright hues that occasionally show up in the ocean, these colors didn’t result from a phytoplankton bloom. [...] The sediments in the local seafloor are also rich with organic matter. When organic matter decays in an oxygen-poor environment, hydrogen sulfide emissions can result.
Marine treasure hunters claim to have located the SS Port Nicholson, a Britsh ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1942. It was carrying over $2 billion in precious metals and industrial diamonds.
“Four months after it began, the underwater volcanic eruption off El Hierro Island persists [...] measurements of the sea floor by the Instituto Oceanográfico Español showed that the volcano’s summit is now only 120 meters beneath the ocean surface—10 meters higher than it was in mid January.
“ESA satellites show that a large dome of fresh water has been building up in the ArcticOcean over the last 15 years. A change in wind direction could cause the water to spill into the north Atlantic, cooling Europe.” Quote from the ESA website.
Volcanic activity continues south of El Hierro Island in the Canary Island chain. The cone is growing and is now about 60 meters below the surface. Will it produce a new island?
The Eruptions blog has interesting photos and commentary on the continuing subsea volcanic activity near the Canary Islands in a post titled: “Mixing Magmas at the Ongoing El Hierro Eruption“.
The summit of the volcano off the coast of the Canary Island named El Hierro is still about 70 meters below the surface but evidence of the eruption is obvious.
A volcanic eruption under the sea south of El Hierro Island produces a milky green plume in the marine waters. The plume is most likely caused by volcanic gases, pulverized pumice and sea floor sediments.
Volcanic eruptions are occurring on the seafloor off of the Canary Islands. Discolored water, strong odors and floating volcanic debris are some of the evidence.
British Marine Exploration has identified the British Ship, Mantola, that was torpedoed in 1917 and went down in over one mile of water with 20 tons of silver on board.
“A technology commonly used to map the bottom of the deep ocean can also detect gas seeps in the water column.” Quoted from the University of New Hampshire news release.
“Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements there have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis, but scientists have so far failed to explain the deformation of this complex region in a coherent and predictable picture, and this has hampered their ability to assess the seismic and tsunami hazards.” Quoted from the USGS website.
The new issue of Lite Geology by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has an interesting article titled: “Ancient Tsunamis from Meteorite Impacts”.
“Earth’s deep oceans may absorb enough heat at times to flatten the rate of global warming for periods of as long as a decade–even in the midst of longer-term warming.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
“Explorers on NOAA expedition discover chemosynthetic shrimp, tubeworms together for first time at hydrothermal vent, also first live vent tubeworms seen in Atlantic waters.” Quoted from the NOAA news release.
CNN has a photo gallery that includes two photos from the Silfra Fissure in Iceland’s Thingvellier National Park. The Silfra fissure is the pull-apart boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates.
Some members of Congress recommend opening portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the outer continental shelf for oil and natural gas drilling as a way to create jobs and cut the deficit.
Russia and China are very interested in the mineral resources of Antarctica and hope that the current ban on mining will be lifted in 2048. They currently have seafloor exploration projects on ocean ridges that approach the continent.
This NASA video explains how surface ocean currents are driven by wind while deeper currents are driven by density. “Aquarius salinity data, combined with data from other sensors that measure sea level, ocean color, temperature, winds, and rainfall, will give us a much clearer picture of how the ocean works.” Quoted from the NASA video release.
Hurricane Katia is a Category One storm off the east coast of the United States. During the next few days it is expected to track east out into the Atlantic Ocean.
“LARGE SWELLS GENERATED BY KATIA WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT MOST OF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES…BERMUDA…THE GREATER ANTILLES…AND EAST-FACING BEACHES OF THE BAHAMAS DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THESE SWELLS ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING SURF AND RIP CURRENT CONDITIONS. PLEASE CONSULT PRODUCTS FROM YOUR LOCAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.” Quoted from the National Hurricane Center.
Scientists can now remotely monitor the ocean’s changing chemistry with help from some of the five-foot-tall Argo floats that drift with deep ocean currents and transmit data via satellite back to land.
Hurricane Katia has formed in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to pass north of Puerto Rico early next week.
“KATIA IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS…AND KATIA COULD BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE THIS WEEKEND.” Quote from the National Hurricane Center.
“Remember frozen iguanas falling from trees during Florida’s 2010 record-breaking cold snap? Well, a new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science shows that Florida’s corals also dropped in numbers due to the cold conditions.” Quoted from the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science news release.
Governors in New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina have all declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. These advance declarations are partially financial maneuvers to make funds ready for emergency use, but they are also signs of respect for the dangers of a hurricane.
“As Hurricane Irene rumbles through the Atlantic Ocean, it needs fuel to sustain itself. Warm water is the main fuel, and there is plenty of it right now, as there usually is this time of year.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
A “cone of uncertainty” on a hurricane map shows the forecast track of the storm. It shows where forecasters think that the storm is going to go. The cone grows in width along the path of the storm because it is more difficult to predict a storms path with increasing time into the future.
The white area on the map at right is the cone of uncertainty for Hurricane Irene from the morning of Thursday, August 25, 2011.
“THE CORE OF IRENE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS THROUGH TONIGHT AND OVER THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS ON THURSDAY. DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 120 MPH, WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IRENE IS A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO AND IRENE COULD BECOME A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE BY THURSDAY.”
“THE CORE OF IRENE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS TODAY AND OVER THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS ON THURSDAY. [...] IRENE IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST…AND IRENE WILL LIKELY BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE LATER TODAY. [...] AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 7 TO 11 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS OVER THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS…AND BY AS MUCH AS 5 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS AND THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. NEAR THE COAST…THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS WAVES.”
“Scientists have confirmed the presence of the North Icelandic Jet, a deep-ocean circulation system off Iceland. It could significantly influence the ocean’s response to climate change.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
Hurricane Irene is moving along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. The National Weather Service reports:
“IRENE IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS…AND IRENE COULD BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE ON TUESDAY.”
This fall the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will consider legislation that will allow the leasing of 3 million acres for offshore exploration off the coast of Virginia.
“Mid-ocean ridges are the topographic manifestation of where the Earth’s tectonic plates separate and spread apart and new oceanic crust is created. The Mid-Cayman Rise is an example of one of these ridges and forms part of the boundary between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates.” Quoted from the Ocean Explorer website.
Profiles of Mt Dent on west of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center (red) and Mt Everest (yellow) shown at the same scale. Mt Dent is clearly a big (undersea) mountain.
“The Irish-led VENTuRE scientific expedition aboard the national research vessel RV Celtic Explorer has discovered a previously uncharted field of hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – the first to be explored north of the Azores.” Quoted from the Marine Institute press release.
“This process of longshore transport is responsible for moving sediment up and down coastlines. It can sometimes lead to the development of barrier islands and spits—thin strips of beach that generally form parallel to the mainland.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
Russia’s climate agency said that ice cover in the Arctic Ocean has melted over 50% more than average allowing commercial shipping through the Northern Sea Route that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific along the Siberian coastline. Sovcomflot is transporting cargoes of natural gas concentrate on the route.
“The ebb and flow of the ocean tides, generally thought to be one of the most predictable forces on Earth, are actually quite variable over long time periods, in ways that have not been adequately accounted for in most evaluations of prehistoric sea level changes.” Quoted from the Oregon State University news release.
Over 1000 microearthquakes have been detected under El Hierro Volcano in the Canary Islands. The Eruptions blog has some background on volcanism in the Canary Islands.
In August 2010 a large “ice island” about four times the size of Manhattan broke from the Petermann Glacier on the northwestern coast of Greenland. Now the “Petermann Ice Island” is about the size of Manhattan and drifting off the coast of Labrador.
“As one of the planet’s largest single carbon absorbers, the ocean takes up roughly one-third of all human carbon emissions, reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide and its associated global changes.” Quoted from the University of Wisconsin-Madison news release.
“Power grid managers and systems operators are keeping a close eye on SWPC forecasts, especially as the Sun enters an active phase of activity that peaks about every 11 years. The next solar maximum is expected in 2013.” Quoted from the NOAA press release.
“This potentially deadly force is the #1 safety threat at beaches – it’s called a rip current. Rip currents are fast, powerful channels of water flowing away from the beach and out past the breaking waves. And before you realize it, you can get dragged out far from the shore.” Quoted from the NOAA video transcript.
Google Earth now has high resolution maps of the seafloor that show submarine canyons, underwater volcanoes, faults, oceanic ridges and many other features.
“Air and water meet over most of the earth’s surface, but exactly where one ends and the other begins turns out to be a surprisingly subtle question.” Quoted from the University of Southern California news release.
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