OOI Tree 2013-06-25
,

The Circle of OOI

The complexity of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, simplified to a nice simple circle.
1 week change in Sea Surface Temperature from July 12 to 19, 2013
,

The End of Upwelling

What a difference a week makes. Late last week, the waters off New Jersey were between 5-15 degrees below normal. They're not any more.
A sea surface temperature satellite image map, alongside a NDBC buoy on the water

Satellites vs. Buoys

A little while back, I received the following question from a Visual Ocean visitor: "When might satellite sst data be more informative than buoy data?"
Red, white and blue map of SST Gradients in the Mid Atlantic on July 4, 2013
,

The Ocean in Red, White and Blue

To celebrate Independence Day, I thought it would be fun to dress up the ocean in a little red, white and blue.
False-color image from NOAA-18 at 4:36pm on June 7, 2013
,

Tropical Storm Andrea clouds up the ocean

This week, was the start of the 2013 Hurricane Season, and already forecasters have declared the first storm of the season, Tropical Storm Andrea.
NGSS Middle School performance expectations for Weather and Climate - page 58
, ,

Next Generation Activity Development

Last week, I had an opportunity to look through the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) alongside many other ocean educators at the COSEE Network Meeting. Our goal was to figure out how the NGSS could be used to develop activities.
USGS WaterWatch Web Site

Blog Roundup #1 – Ocean Science and More

I hope to occasionally share some of my favorite web sites and blogs in easily digestible chunks. This first roundup features some of the top sites on ocean, climate and environmental data and science.
Conductance vs. Streamflow on the Delaware River at Trenton, NJ
,

Streamflow and Conductance on the Delaware

Conductance is an important measurement of water quality in rivers, and it is often related to river discharge.
Streamflow over the course of 2012 from the USGS streamgage in Trenton, NJ
,

RTD Activity Idea: Monitoring Streamflow

The USGS's National Water Information System provides data that is easily accessible to students, allowing them to investigate real-time river conditions at nearby locations or across the nation.
A 1-year graph of river flow on the Delaware River at Trenton NJ
,

Streamflow on the Delaware

While temperature, pressure or humidity change with more predictable variation throughout the course of a year, streamflow is more closely correlated with major rain and snow events that occur sporadically throughout the year, often in large doses.
A map of the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) river forecasts
,

Observations and Forecasts of River Floods

Every time it rains there is a potential for flooding to occur. The National Weather Services' Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) analyzes data and models to issue forecasts of potential flooding events.
USGS WaterWatch Web Site
,

USGS WaterWatch

Thanks to a network of over 3,000 stream gages monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the WaterWatch web site, we can easily study how rain and snow impact local streams, rivers and estuaries.