San Salvador island, a Bahamas kitesurf paradise

Columbus Isle Kitesurf Paradise from Charlotte Consorti

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San Salvador Island, also known as Watlings Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas.

It is widely believed that during Christopher Columbus' first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land he sighted and visited on 12 October 1492; he named it San Salvador after Christ the Saviour.

Columbus' records indicate that the native Lucayan inhabitants of the territory, who called their island Guanahani, were "sweet and gentle".

Ancient voyages to America - Who were the first explorers?

Who were the first people to discover America?

Historical evidence uncovers the myth of Christopher Columbus being the first to America.

This documentary explores the evidence of Ancient Civilizations visiting North America long before Columbus. Chinese, Egyptian, Viking explorers all traveled to the New World.

Amazing map shows the past 170 years of hurricanes to hit Earth - and how the Northwestern Atlantic has been ravaged by some of the world's most vicious cyclones

It may look like a work of art at first glance, but this is the amazing image that reveals the past 170 of hurricanes around the globe.
Produced by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it reveals exactly where in the world is worst hit.
The image charts 11,967 tropical cyclones that have occurred on Earth since the NOAA began keeping a record in 1842, when data was supplied by ships and lighthouses rather than today’s advanced satellite detection systems.
Interactive map: Using the map on the right hand-side, zoom in on a particular location or zoom out to see a global view.
You can then click on the 'Hurricanes' or 'Country Strikes' tabs on the top right to view the frequency and path of all hurricanes in that particular area.
The key on the top right corresponds to hurricane strength and the number of hits in that area since 1842.
The frequency of track overlaps is much lower in the Western Hemisphere than in the Eastern Hemisphere
In contrast, an intensity map shows the Northwestern Atlantic has had a much greater spread of strong storms

From DailyMail

‘Before the advent of the satellite era, hurricane tracks were constructed from ship reports – and although reliable, some storms were probably missed, the NOAA admits.
‘Geostationary satellites, such as NOAA’s GOES, revolutionised the ability of meteorologists to track cyclones,’ the map-makers explain.
Not a single storm is missed as these eyes in the sky provide consistent scans of the globe every few minutes.’
The group has also released an interactive map that allows you to zoom in on specific areas in the world and view hurricanes based on their frequency and path in the area.
The team used colours to make patterns in the storms more obvious.
By colouring how many times any storm track overlapped another, patterns arose in the density of storms affecting a given area, the team found.

By colouring how many times any storm track overlapped another, certain patterns arise in the density of storms affecting a given area.
Cyclone tracks overlapped the most in the western Pacific and Bay of Bengal (India), where typhoon season never ends since waters are always warm enough to sustain cyclone formation.
The frequency of track overlaps is much lower in the Western Hemisphere

Cyclone tracks overlapped the most in the western Pacific and Bay of Bengal (India), where typhoon season never ends since waters are always warm enough to sustain cyclone formation.
The frequency of track overlaps is much lower in the Western Hemisphere than in the Eastern Hemisphere.
They also produced a second map showing storm intensity.
In contrast to the first image of frequency, the Northwestern Atlantic shows a much greater spread of strong storms, whereas in the Pacific the strongest cyclones seem to group near the Philippines.

This map shows storm intensity, providing an interesting contrast to storm frequency.

Here, the Northwestern Atlantic shows a much greater spread of strong storms, whereas in the Pacific the strongest cyclones seem to group near the Philippines 

Links :

• Wired : 170 Years of the World’s Hurricane Tracks on One Dark and Stormy Map
• NOAA : revisits historic hurricanes (IBTrACS)
• AmetSoc : The International best track archive for climate stewardship (IBTrACS): Unifying Tropical Cyclone Data

New York at risk from combination of rising seas and stronger hurricanes, experts warn

The NOAA agency's larger map indicates that sea levels
near New Orleans increased at a rate of 9.24 millimeters a year between 1947 and 2006 — three feet over the course of a century. 

From NYDailyNews

Projections by the National Weather Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show that much of the five boroughs will be submerged if another strong hurricane hits New York in the year 2100.

 In its forthcoming report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that sea level could rise by as much as six feet by the end of the century.

photo : Stephen Wilkes (National Geographic)

Thanks to rising seas brought on by global warming, New Yorkers can count on a very wet, deadly, and expensive future.
Based on projections from the National Weather Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, if a storm equivalent in strength to Hurricane Sandy were to hit the five boroughs in the year 2100, vastly larger swaths of the city would be submerged.
The reason is simple.

Sea levels are forecast to rise by as much as six feet before the end of the century, making low lying cities like New York all but defenseless to the wrath of powerful storms.

 Given the dire predictions on how fast sea level is rising, New York could face annual flood costs of $2 billion per year.

In its September issue, National Geographic spoke with several experts who proposed ways to try and protect the city.

Unfortunately, over the past decade, scientific projections on sea level rise have grown rapidly as more data on climate change has continued to be analyzed.
Six years ago. the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimate that by 2100 sea level would rise by a maximum of 23 inches. In a draft of this year’s report, the final version of which is to be released this fall, the IPCC revised that outlook to a maximum of six feet.
“In the last several years we’ve observed accelerated melting of the ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica,” Radley Horton, a research scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute in New York City, told National Geographic in its September issue. “The concern is that if the acceleration continues, by the time we get to the end of the 21st century, we could see sea-level rise of as much as six feet globally instead of two to three feet.”

 Hurricane Sandy, which killed 43 people, caused an estimated $19 billion in damages in New York.
photo : Iwan Baan (National Geographic)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed that the city spend $19.5 billion to mount a defense against rising seas, roughly the same amount New York faced in losses as a result of Hurricane Sandy (43 people died in the city because of the storm).
Whether the mayor’s plan will be embraced before he leaves office, or will be championed by his successor, remains to be seen.
“Eventually the city will have to face up to this, because the problem is going to get worse,” Malcolm Bowman, a physical oceanographer at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, told National Geographic. 

“It might take five years of study and another ten years to get the political will to do it. By then there might have been another disaster. We need to start planning immediately. Otherwise we’re mortgaging the future and leaving the next generation to cope as best it can.”
In the absence of bold new measures, including the construction of massive storm surge barriers, the financial toll the city faces from rising sea levels in the not too distant future is more than a little daunting.
A new study by Nature Climate Change estimates that New York City faces about $2 billion in annual losses from flooding in 2050.

Links :

• Sea Level Rise Tool for Sandy recovery

Brazil DHN update in the Marine GeoGarage

1701 Porto de Santos

 

19 charts have been updated since the last update  :

(DHN update August 19, 2013)

• 701   PORTO DE MUCURIPE (Fortaleza)
• 705   TERMINAL PORTUARIO DO PECÉM
• 710   PROXIMIDADES DO TERMINAL DO PECÉM E DO PORTO DE MUCURIPE
• 1000   DE MACEIÓ AO RIO ITARIRI
• 1201   PORTO DE ILHÉUS
• 1210   PROXIMIDADE DO PORTO DE ILHÉUS
• 1410   PROXIMIDADES DOS PORTOS DE VITORIA E TUBARÃO
• 1607   BAÍAS DA ILHA GRANDE E DE SEPETIBA
• 1621   BAÍA DA ILHA GRANDE - PARTE LESTE (TERMINAL DA ILHA GUAÍBA)
• 1623   PORTO DE ITAGUAÍ
• 1636   PORTO DE ANGRA DOS REIS E PROXIMIDADES
• 1701   PORTO DE SANTOS
• 1803   BAÍA DE GUARATUBA
• 1822   PORTOS DE PARANAGUÁ E ANTONINA
• 1830   PROXIMIDADES DO PORTO DE SÃO FRANCISCO DO SUL
• 21060   DO ARQUIPÉLAGO DOS ABROLHOS AO CABO FRIO
• 22100   DO CABO CALCANHAR A CABEDELO
• 22200   DE CABEDELO A MACEIÓ
• 2111   DE ITAPUÃ A PORTO ALEGRE

Today 424 charts (467 including sub-charts) from DHN are displayed in the Marine GeoGarage
Don't forget to visit the NtM Notices to Mariners (Avisos aos Navegantes)