News Release

Science picks-leads, feeds and story seeds (March 2003)

Looking for icy science stories? You thought you had heard all of the snow stories? "Sno" news is good news

Peer-Reviewed Publication

U.S. Geological Survey

LEADS:

How Much Water is in Them Thar' Snow Banks? If the above average precipitation we saw in February lasts through the spring, flooding, not drought will be a concern. In a typical year, more lives are lost and more property damaged as a result of flooding than any other type of natural disaster. In response to this hazard, the USGS operates and maintains thousands of stream gaging stations. Scientists, flood forecasters, emergency response teams, and private citizens can track conditions on area streams in real-time. Automated equipment in gaging stations allows continuous monitoring and reporting of stream levels to an accuracy of 1/8 of an inch. Battery-powered gauges linked with satellite radios make data transmission possible during storms, even when extreme high waters and strong winds disrupt telephone and power services.

When the weather warms up, the heavy snowpack that has blanketed the Northeast will melt, releasing millions of gallons of water. And just how much water is there?

  • Ten inches of an ?average? snowpack produces about 1 inch of water,
  • Light, powdery snow may require 20 or more inches to equal 1 inch of water,
  • It may take only 4-5 inches of heavy, wet snow to equal an inch of water.
The figures for 10 inches of average snow within the city limits of some major Eastern cities are:
Washington, DC 1.2 billion gallons of water
Boston, Mass. 0.8 billion gallons of water
New York City 5.2 billion gallons of water
Philadelphia 2.2 billion gallons of water

This water can help replenish streams and ground water, which were below normal owing to drought conditions in 2002. If the snow melts too fast it can trigger local flooding. Check http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/ for your local conditions. (Kathleen Gohn, 703-648-4242, kgohn@usgs.gov).

When the Bell Tolls: Great earthquakes make the earth ring like a bell that's been struck. Thousands of miles from epicenters, lakes will slosh and water wells will become muddy. Five miles from the South Pole, 1000 feet beneath the surface of the 10,000 foot ice cap, seismometers at the newest station in the Global Seismographic Network are now recording the quietest vibrations on the Earth, up to 4 times quieter than ever before observed. The South Pole location is unique in the world of seismology due to the lack of environmental "noise." Analysis of these seismic rings reveals information about the Earth's composition and allows scientists to study much smaller Antarctic earthquakes than ever before, leading to new information about the evolution of the Antarctic Plate. Long term data from such high latitude seismograph stations show evidence that the Earth?s solid inner core is spinning at a slightly faster rate than the rest of the Earth. For more information and pictures see: http://www.usgs.gov/features/south_pole/ (Carolyn Bell, 703-648-4463, cbell@usgs.gov)

FEEDS:

Lots of Snow and No Pot Holes! Uninhabited Antarctica -- the highest, driest, coldest continent -- is, mittened hands down, the most remote and forbidding place on earth. Only two percent of Antarctica peeks through thick sheets of ice that blanket the continent. In the winter, the lowest recorded temperatures have reached -89ºC (-129ºF). The continent averages 2.4 kilometers in height (1.5 miles) above sea level, making it 1.5 kilometers (almost a mile) higher than the global average land height. The South Pole receives less than an inch of water annually in the form of snow that never melts. Yet Antarctica holds 70% of the Earth's freshwater and 91% of the Earth's ice. With its barren landscape virtually untouched by humans, Antarctica supplies scientists with a pristine natural laboratory that provides an unmarred view of earth and biologic processes and global climate history. A thorough knowledge of the continent will enable scientists to better understand the response of all of Earth's systems to future environmental changes. For navigation and for location reference of observations, Antarctic scientists require detailed maps. The same government agency that makes topographical maps of your neighborhood also maps the unique landscape of Antarctica. Since 1959, the USGS has mapped over 1,450,000 square kilometers of the continent that was previously unmapped. The U.S. Antarctic Resource Center (USARC) at USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia, maintains the Nation's most comprehensive collection of Antarctic maps, charts, satellite images, and photographs. To learn more visit the Atlas of Antarctic Research, http://usarc.usgs.gov/antarctic_atlas/ , and the U.S. Antarctic Resource Center, http://usarc.usgs.gov/. (Jon Campbell, 703-648-4180, joncampbell@usgs.gov).

South Pole on the Move: Of course, there has always been -- always will be -- a geographic South Pole, the southernmost point on the globe. But any physical evidence that references that point on the continent of Antarctica drifts away from the true geographical position at a rate of about 10 meters a year following the glacial movement of the Polar Icecap. A team of geodetic scientists from the USGS repositions the South Pole marker — an eight-foot long pole with a brass plaque — annually around New Year's Day. Then, at the height of the Antarctic summer, polar temperatures may soar to -10 degrees F. Though it has little importance for science or surveying purposes, repositioning the South Pole has a symbolic significance for the small community of astrological, meteorological, and glaciological scientists working at South Pole Station, and possibly for armchair geographers the world over. After all, don't you sleep better at night knowing that the South Pole is accurately marked, that if you started trudging south one day, you would know exactly where to stop? For USGS maps of Antarctica visit the Atlas of Antarctic Research at http://usarc.usgs.gov/antarctic_atlas/ , and the U.S. Antarctic Resource Center, http://usarc.usgs.gov/. (Jon Campbell, 703-648-4180, joncampbell@usgs.gov)

A Moving Story For the Birds: USGS scientist Chandler Robbins has been a research biologist with the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center for more than 50 years. He is the author of the Golden Guide Birds of North America, originally published in the late 1960s and updated in 2001. Last spring on Midway Atoll, Robbins rebanded an albatross that he later discovered he had banded previously -- in 1956. It is estimated that this bird is at least 51 years old---and was brooding a chick! This breaks the longevity record for North American birds in the wild, the previous record being for this same species at the age of 42 years 5 months. For photo and info see http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/seabird_foragefish/photogallery/index.html Click on "June 2002." Chandler Robbins is noted for his founding of the Breeding Bird Survey, recruiting thousands of volunteers to monitor birds. This work helped to document the far-reaching harm of DDT on birds -- an issue fellow Patuxent researcher Rachel Carson cited in her book Silent Spring --and resulted in the ban placed on DDT. His work has also documented population trends, such as the decline of North American migratory birds and the invasion of non-native bird species. Robbins is well known among bird enthusiasts -- he received the 2000 Audubon Medal; previous recipients include Walt Disney, Rachel Carson, and Jimmy Carter. (Diane Noserale, 703-648-4333, dnoseral@usgs.gov).

SEEDS:

A Moving Glacier Gathers no Moss: Much of the Earth's supply of fresh water is locked up in its glaciers, and determining where and when glaciers are growing or shrinking is essential to understanding changes in regional and global climates. In addition, meltwater from shrinking glaciers contributes to the rise in global sea level. The Glaciers of North America volume [http://pubs.usgs.gov/prof/p1386j ] was published in 2002. Later this year, the USGS will publish Glaciers of Alaska (USGS Professional Paper 1386-K), a comprehensive review of historical and ongoing changes in the glaciers of Alaska, with reference to the Landsat image baseline years of 1972-1981. Both publications will provide a wealth of aerial photographic, map, and satellite image information to the scientific community, to educators, and to the general public. For information on the glacier atlas project and on other volumes in the series, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs130-02/. Images of glaciers from all over the world are available at http://www.glaciers.er.usgs.gov/gl_slide/index.htm. (Kathleen Gohn, 703-648-4242, kgohn@usgs.gov)

Will the Earth Move in March? March seems to be a time for "great" (magnitude 9 and above) U.S. earthquakes. According to USGS seismic data, March saw the two largest earthquakes ever recorded in U.S. history. On March 28, 1964, Prince William Sound (Alaska) experienced a 9.2 magnitude event that took 125 lives and caused $311 million in property loss. On March 9, 1957, the Andreanof Islands, Alaska, felt a 9.1 temblor. Check out "Today in Earthquake History" at http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/history/. (Carolyn Bell, 703-648-4463, cbell@usgs.gov)

###

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.