the horse's mouth

Jason-2. Surveying The Earth's Oceans.

PASADENA, Calif. -- A new NASA-French space agency oceanography satellite launched on June 20th from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a globe-circling voyage to continue charting sea level, a vital indicator of global climate change. The mission will return a vast amount of new data that will improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts.

With a thunderous roar and fiery glow, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite arced through the blackness of an early central coastal California morning at 12:46 a.m. PDT, climbing into space atop a Delta II rocket. Fifty-five minutes later, OSTM/Jason 2 separated from the rocket's second stage, and then unfurled its twin sets of solar arrays. Ground controllers successfully acquired the spacecraft's signals. Initial telemetry reports show it to be in excellent health.

"Sea-level measurements from space have come of age," said Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. "Precision measurements from this mission will improve our knowledge of global and regional sea-level changes and enable more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts."

Measurements of sea-surface height, or ocean surface topography, reveal the speed and direction of ocean currents and tell scientists how much of the sun's energy is stored by the ocean. Combining ocean current and heat storage data is key to understanding global climate variations. OSTM/Jason 2's expected lifetime of at least three years will extend into the next decade the continuous record of these data started in 1992 by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, or CNES, with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The data collection was continued by the two agencies on Jason 1 in 2001. Continue reading here.

Photo credit: Carleton Bailie/United Launch Alliance
June 20, 2008

Technorati Tags: jason-2, ocean surface topography, ocean survey, satellite

See You Later Alligator.

In a while crocodile.
Glug, glug, glug. Down she goes.
THE Greek-flag, 6,395 gt general cargo ship Ice Prince, that was abandoned
by its crew yesterday, sank early this morning in very rough weather about
26 miles south south east of the Portland Bill, England.

Via mgn.com. Photos from Corriere della Sera.

Tags: mishaps at sea, maritime mishaps, ship sinks

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Open Wide And Say Ahh.

Dude, you need a breath mint or two.
Shark Week is back.

Tags: sharks, shark week, great white shark, marine life

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The Sea Can Be A Harsh Mistress.

ONE!



TWO!



THREE! WHACK!....So this it, we're going to die!!
The Sea ain't for sissies.

Tags: heavy seas, big waves, rollers

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Down She Goes. The USS Oriskany Says Aloha As She Sinks Under The Sea.

The Mighty "O" is no mo....as a ship that is, she is now the world's largest artificial reef. Navy divers detonated explosives aboard the ship this morning, sending the retired aircraft carrier to Davey Jone's locker. She is now 24 miles off Pensacola Beach and 212 feet underwater. The local honchos hope that she will boost the economy by becoming a prime destination for sport divers and fishermen.

Click the photo of the Mighty "O" to watch the dramatic video of her sinking.

Via  Tampa Bay 10 | Photo AP

Tags: USS Oriskany, Artificial Reefs, Pensacola, Florida

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The Angry Sea. Photos Of Her All Worked Up.

Anyone who has been out at sea knows that the sea is a harsh mistress. The weather can turn and wack the hell out of you.

The photos below illustrate the fury of the sea.


Some fun on an oil rig.


Heavy Seas. Not a fun place to be!


Yikes! This is not what I want to see when looking out of the wheelhouse.


I wonder if they are sea sick?


Do you notice how small this ship looks in the heavy seas?


Just a wee lad of a wave. Help!
This is an illustration taken from a BBC special on Rogue Waves.


The real deal.
The next time you think that Captain Cook had it easy or about sailing off into the sunset remember these photos and have a copy of Adlard Coles "Heavy Weather Sailing."

Some Photos from Heavy Seas.
Ocean Prediction Center.
Slideshow of Heavy Seas from my photobucket site.
Heavy Weather Sailing Article.

The Sea Orbiter.

A computer generated image of the Sea Orbiter designed by Frenchman Jacques Rougerie. An international scientific station, Sea Orbiter will drift across the oceans, driven by the current. Its mission is to observe and explore ocean life, to study the interactions between ocean and atmosphere and their impact on our climate. With a life expectancy of 15 years, Sea Orbiter will provide a new tool for multi-disciplinary scientific expeditions focusing on climate change, fish resources, viruses and bacteria.

I like the idea of this floating station. I wonder how well it would hold up in storms or big wave conditions?

Via The Daily Telegraph.

Something of an aquatic nature. Video

Click to watch an Octopus walk, talk and chew gum.
Just kidding, but it does walk. Your tax dollars at work.

Read the AP story.

Talk about a breaking wave!

Rogue wave? I'm glad I was not standing on the sea wall.