Best Of - Les Voiles de St Barth 2016

Links :

• GeoGarage blog : Les Voiles de Saint Barth by drone view / Rambler : les Voiles de Saint Barth

The Messina Rise cortex

see ESA globcurrent.oceandatalab.com

GlobCurrent aims to advance the quantitative estimation of ocean surface currents from satellite sensor synergy and to demonstrate the impact and advancements through user-led scientific, operational and commercial applications. 

This in turn, will highlight the advantages of satellite approaches and increase the uptake and exploitation of satellite ocean current measurements.
The GlobCurrent project is funded by the Data User Element, which is a programmatic element of the 4th period of the European Space Agency's Earth Observation Envelope Programme.

How dangerous is Hurricane Matthew? The Saffir-Simpson scale details potential damage

Conceptual animation illustrates the wind damage associated with increasing hurricane intensity - courtesy of The COMET Program and the NOAA National Hurricane Center.

From KSat ABC by RJ Marquez

In the event of a hurricane or major weather event, it’s important to know the potential for property damage or loss of life.

The National Hurricane Center estimates potential damage by using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

According to the National Hurricane Center, hurricanes reaching category 3 and higher are considered major hurricanes because of their potential for significant loss of life and damage.

Category 1 and 2 storms are still dangerous and require preventive measures.  

Here is the breakdown of the categories based on wind speeds.

 The Saffir-Simpson category describes only the WIND threat of a hurricane.

Category 1: Sustained winds of 74-95 mph  
Category 1 storms are considered to have very dangerous winds and will produce some damage. Potential for damage includes:  

• Well-constructed frame homes could have damage to roofs, shingles, vinyl siding and gutters. 
• Large branches of trees will snap and shallowly rooted trees may be toppled. 
• Extensive damage to power lines and poles likely will result in power outages that could last a few to several days.

Category 2: Sustained winds of 96-110 mph
Category 2 storms are considered to have extremely dangerous winds that will cause extensive damage.
Potential for damage includes:  

• Well-constructed frame homes could sustain major roof and siding damage.
• Many shallowly rooted trees will be snapped or uprooted and block numerous roads.
• Near-total power loss is expected, with outages that could last from several days to weeks.  

Category 3 (major): Sustained winds of 111-129 mph
Category 3 storms have winds that will cause devastating damage.
Potential for damage includes:

• Well-built frame homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends.
• Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads.
• Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes.

 This animation of NOAA's GOES-East satellite imagery from Oct. 4 to Oct. 6 shows Hurricane Matthew making landfall on Oct. 4 in western Haiti and moving through the Bahamas on Oct. 6. TRT: 00:38.

Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

Category 4 (major): Sustained winds of 130 - 156 mph
Category 4 storms have winds that will cause catastrophic damage.
Potential for damage includes:

• Well-built frame homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls.
• Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed.
• Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. 
• Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months. 

Category 5 (major): Sustained winds of 157 mph or higher
Category 5 storms have wind that will cause catastrophic damage. Potential for damage includes: 

• A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse.
• Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas.
• Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Links :

• Washington Post : Hurricane Matthew lashes Florida; emergencies declared in three states / Hurricane Matthew remains a dangerous and destructive Category 3 storm as it nears the Florida coast
• CNN : Hurricane Matthew: Live updates / What it's like in Hurricane Matthew's path
• Time :What to Know About Hurricane Matthew 

'Great Pacific garbage patch' far bigger than imagined, aerial survey shows

"We opened the door and we saw the debris everywhere. Every half-second you see something." Photograph: Ocean Cleanup

From The Guardian by Oliver Milman

Giant collection of fishing nets, plastic containers and other discarded items called a ‘ticking time bomb’ as large items crumble into micro plastics

The vast patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean is far worse than previously thought, with an aerial survey finding a much larger mass of fishing nets, plastic containers and other discarded items than imagined.
A reconnaissance flight taken in a modified C-130 Hercules aircraft found a vast clump of mainly plastic waste at the northern edge of what is known as the “great Pacific garbage patch”, located between Hawaii and California.
The density of rubbish was several times higher than the Ocean Cleanup, a foundation part-funded by the Dutch government to rid the oceans of plastics, expected to find even at the heart of the patch, where most of the waste is concentrated.
“Normally when you do an aerial survey of dolphins or whales, you make a sighting and record it,” said Boyan Slat, the founder of the Ocean Cleanup.
“That was the plan for this survey. But then we opened the door and we saw the debris everywhere. Every half second you see something. So we had to take snapshots – it was impossible to record everything. It was bizarre to see that much garbage in what should be pristine ocean.”

  Boyan Slat, founder of the Ocean Cleanup : aerial expedition, Ocean Force One tour

Photograph: The Ocean Cleanup

The heart of the garbage patch is thought to be around 1m sq km (386,000 sq miles), with the periphery spanning a further 3.5m sq km (1,351,000 sq miles).
The dimensions of this morass of waste are continually morphing, caught in one of the ocean’s huge rotating currents.
The north Pacific gyre has accumulated a soup of plastic waste, including large items and smaller broken-down micro plastics that can be eaten by fish and enter the food chain.

According to the UN environmental programme, the great Pacific garbage patch is growing so fast that it, like the Great Wall of China, is becoming visible from space.
Last year, the Ocean Cleanup sent 30 vessels to cross the patch to scoop up micro plastics in fine nets to estimate the extent of the problem.
However, the new reconnaissance flights from California have found that large items of more than half a meter in size have been “heavily underestimated”.
Slat said: “Most of the debris was large stuff. It’s a ticking time bomb because the big stuff will crumble down to micro plastics over the next few decades if we don’t act.”
Following a further aerial survey through the heart of the patch on Sunday, the Ocean Cleanup aims to tackle the problem through a gigantic V-shaped boom, which would use sea currents to funnel floating rubbish into a cone.
A prototype of the vulcanized rubber barrier will be tested next year, with a full-sized 100km (62-mile) barrier deployed by 2020 if trials go well.
The boom will not be able to suck up all of the strewn rubbish, however, with Slat warning that plastic is “quite persistent. We need to clean it up, but we also need to prevent so much entering the oceans. Better recycling, better product design and some legislation is all part of that. We need a combination of things.”

 Using about 30 vessels, The Ocean Cleanup currently executes the largest ocean research expedition in history, aiming to determine how many tons of plastic are in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The full scale of plastic pollution was revealed in 2014, when a study found there were more than 5tn pieces of plastic floating in our oceans.
In 2014, 311m tonnes of plastic were produced around the world, a 20-fold increase since 1964.
It is expected to quadruple again by mid-century.
A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation earlier this year predicted there would be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050 unless urgent action was taken.

Links :

• Huffington Post : The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Even Worse Than We Feared
• The Telegraph : 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' is a myth, warn experts, as survey shows there is no 'rubbish island'
• Christian Science Monitor :Great Pacific Garbage Patch is denser than previously thought 
• Science Alert : The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains even more trash than we thought 
• GeoGarage blog :Ocean Cleanup Project's trash-catching prototype takes ... /How to clean up the Oceans while making alternative fuels / Full scale of plastic in the world's oceans revealed for first ... / Ocean garbage patch is mysteriously disappearing / Trashed / The Ocean Cleanup : it could work / Garbage-eating drone destroys ocean pollution / Big rise in North Pacific plastic waste 

US NOAA update in the GeoGarage platform

9 nautical raster charts updates

see News