• Hyperactive sun fires off 3 major solar flares in 1 day

    NASA/SDO

    The strongest solar flare of 2013 erupted Monday from the sun. This image of the flare, shown in the upper left corner, was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observator.

    By Tariq Malik, Space.com

    The sun, it seems, is in overdrive. Late Monday night, the sun unleashed its third major solar flare in 24 hours — the biggest and most powerful solar storm of the year, so far. 

    This latest sun storm erupted Monday at 9:11 p.m. ET and registered as an X3.2 solar flare, one of the strongest types of flares the sun can release, space weather officials said. It came on the heels of two other recent X-class solar flares on Sunday night and Monday, all of which were sparked by a highly active sunspot on the sun's far left side. 

    Officials at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo., marveled at the intense activity from the crackling sunspot. 

    "Clearly an extraordinary active region is making its way fully onto the visible disk," SWPC officials wrote in a morning update Tuesday. "Can it keep up this hectic pace?" 

    Two of the three recent solar flares have been associated with massive explosions, called coronal mass ejections, which flung super-hot solar material into space at millions of miles per hour. Because the sunspot firing off the flares is not yet facing Earth, the solar eruptions pose no threat to satellites and astronauts in orbit, NASA has said. 

    "This marks the 3rd X-class flare in 24 hours," officials with NASA's sun-watching Solar Dynamics Observatory wrote in a statement. "Just like the two before this one also happened over the eastern limb of the sun and is not Earth-directed." 

     

  • NOAA slaps warning on man for harassing whale off Florida beach

    View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

    By Juan Ortega and Willard Sheperd, NBCMiami.com

    A man has been given a warning letter for harassing a sperm whale that died while languishing off Florida's Pompano Beach two months ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

    In the written warning issued earlier this month, NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement told Anthony Armento that he violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits people from harassing, capturing, hunting or killing whales and other marine mammals.

    The alleged harassment occurred the morning of Dec. 16 in the waters off Pompano Beach, when a man was seen getting on top of a sperm whale by a witness, who photographed the bizarre encounter from afar.

    The whale, pronounced dead hours later that day, was thought by marine scientists to have been ailing at sea long before the whale was harassed. Still, responding to reports of the man harassing the whale, NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement investigated and said it identified Armento as the violator.

    Video on NBCMiami.com: NOAA slaps warning on man for harassing whale

    Armento couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, despite a visit to a listed address. The letter stated that he was eligible to appeal the finding within 30 days of receiving the letter, NOAA said.

    The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), enacted in October 1972, was established to protect and conserve marine mammals, according to Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal scientist with NOAA.

    "The MMPA is the primary mechanism that we have to manage and conserve marine animals in the United States," Fougeres said. "It does make it illegal to harass, hunt, capture, kill or attempt to do any of those things to a marine mammal."

    Also on NBCMiami.com: NOAA to look into report of swimmer getting on whale that died

    Violations can result in a civil penalty up to $11,000, as well as criminal penalties up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to a year or both. Violators include those who approach the marine mammals too closely to watch, feed or swim with them.

    "We recognize that these are important animals in the marine environment, and also animals that the public enjoys seeing in the wild," Fougeres said. "And the act is really primarily to protect them so that we have them around for future generations."

    Also on NBCMiami.com: Dead sperm whale towed out to sea from Deerfield Beach

    Despite people's fascination with marine mammals, they should not near them for everyone’s safety, Fougeres said.

    "You want to make sure that as you're observing them, you're observing them from a safe distance and in a manner that would not change their natural behavior," Fougeres said.

    In Armento's case, the purpose of NOAA's issuing him a written warning was to document the violation, NOAA said. It also could be used to justify a more severe penalty if any future violations involving him occur, NOAA said.

    "When proceeding with investigations and prosecutions, NOAA considers such things as the violator's intention or state of mind, the effect of a violation on the resource, the need for specific and general deterrence, etc.," NOAA said in a statement. "In this case, after considering the facts of the case, NOAA determined that a written warning was an appropriate outcome."

    Photos provided to NBCMiami.com by a witness showed two swimmers nearing the whale the day of the incident, though only one person was seen in a picture on top of the whale. NOAA on Thursday did not say whether the second swimmer was cited.

    The day of the incident, witness Margie Casey told NBCMiami.com that she saw two swimmers twice go up to the whale. She said she watched them from her fifth-floor balcony and snapped photos of the one swimmer getting on the whale.


    Casey said the whale had been drifting north along the shore, just south of a stretch of beach near the Northeast 14th Street Causeway. Casey said she considered the whale to be alive at the time, because it was flapping its tail. Perhaps the whale was on its "last leg," Casey said in a Dec. 16 interview. "So sad."

    A specialist went into the water later that day and determined the sperm whale had died, officials said. The next day, the dead whale washed up around Deerfield Beach's fishing pier. It then was towed more than five miles out to sea to dispose of its carcass, officials said.

    The Pompano Beach whale case is among the latest in a series of cases in Florida involving the harassment of animals.

    Sunday, a Fort Pierce, Fla., man was arrested on the charge he violated Florida law by illegally playing with and handling a manatee calf, then posting Facebook pictures of the encounter, authorities said. And in November last year, a St. Petersburg, Fla., woman was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of violating state law by riding a manatee, officials said.

    NOAA encourages anyone who sees possible violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act to report it to NOAA's enforcement hotline at 1-800-853-1964. Anyone who sees a stranded, injured or entangled marine mammal may report it to the Southeast Regional Marine Mammal hotline at 1-877-942-5343.

  • NOAA: 2012 was warmest year ever for US, second most 'extreme'

    Last year was one for the history books, as a long-term warming trend brought two record highs for each record low between 2000 and 2010. And even more concerning, in the past year there were five record highs for each low recorded. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    If you found yourself bundling up in scarves, hats, and long underwear less than usual last year, you weren't alone: 2012 was the warmest year on record in the contiguous United States, according to scientists with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


    The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.2 degrees above normal and a full degree higher than the previous warmest year recorded -- 1998 -- NOAA said in its report Tuesday. All 48 states in the contiguous U.S. had above-average annual temperatures last year, including 19 that broke annual records, from Connecticut through Utah.

    “We’re taking quite a large step,” said Jake Crouch, a climate scientist from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, which has recorded temperatures in the contiguous U.S. for the past 118 years.

    It was also a historic year for "extreme" weather, scientists with the federal agency said. With 11 disasters that surpassed $1 billion in losses, including Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Isaac, and tornadoes across the Great Plains, Texas, and the Southeast and Ohio Valley, NOAA said 2012 was second only to 1998 in the agency's "extreme" weather index.

    A long-term warming trend for the U.S., combined with drought and a northerly jet stream, led to the record heat, explained Crouch. 

    "During the winter season, the jet stream tended to stay further north of the U.S.-Canadian border, so that limited colder outbreaks in the country. It also limited precipitation. So that led to a warm and dry winter season, and that persisted through the spring," he said. 

    Matt Rourke / AP file

    People play in water from an open fire hydrant during the afternoon heat on July 18, 2012, in Philadelphia. July was the hottest month ever on record in the contiguous U.S.

    "That warm and dry spring and winter laid the groundwork for the drought we had this summer... . When we have drought, it tends to drive daytime temperatures upward."

    The unprecedented warm weather wasn't contained to the United States.

    A corresponding rise in global temperatures prompted the World Meteorological Organization to call the rate at which the Arctic sea ice was melting "alarming" in its Nov. 28, 2012, report.

    “The extent of Arctic sea ice reached a new record low. The alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the far-reaching changes taking place on Earth’s oceans and biosphere. Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records,” World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said.

    Each year since 2001 has been among the warmest on record worldwide, with 2012 likely to "be no exception despite the cooling influence of La Niña early in the year," the report added.

    'Horrible' sea level rise of more than 3 feet plausible by 2100, experts say 

    Watch NBC's special coverage of the 2012 drought 

    'Wake-up call': Chicago set to break 73-year-old snowless record

    NOAA expects to have global data for 2012 sometime in the coming weeks, but Crouch said scientists already know with certainty "it's going to be in the top ten" warmest years ever.

    Adding to the extremes: 2012 was the driest year on record for the U.S., with 26.57 inches of average precipitation -- 2.57 inches below average. Those dry conditions created an ideal environment for wildfires in the West, which charred 9.2 million acres -- the third highest amount ever recorded, NOAA said Tuesday.

    Other notable climate activity from 2012:

    • Snowpack totals across the Central and Southern Rockies were less than half normal.
    • July was the hottest month ever on record in the contiguous U.S.
    • Tornado activity was concentrated toward the beginning of the season, with large outbreaks in March and April in the Ohio Valley and Central Plains, but the final 2012 tornado count will likely be less than 1,000 -- the least since 2002. "The factors behind that are kind of related to what was going on with the drought. We didn't have these large storm systems moving through the country, so that limited precipitation, and that also limited severe weather outbreaks," Crouch said. What made this year so high on the extreme weather index were cyclones, hurricanes, and the heat, he said.
    • Alaska was cooler and slightly wetter than average, and had a record-cold January. "Their January temperatures were 14 degrees below average. Many locations in Alaska had temperatures 30 degrees below zero," Crouch said, adding that Anchorage, Alaska, set a new snow record.
    • Hawaii experienced growing drought conditions, with 47.4 percent of the state experiencing moderate-to-exceptional drought at the beginning of 2012 and 63.3 percent at the end of the year. Alaska and Hawaii were not included in the bulk of NOAA's 2012 report because of terrain issues, and because scientists don't have records dating back as far as states in the contiguous U.S.

    While NOAA made no meteorological forecasts for 2013, Crouch said the drought was going to continue to be an issue.

    "The drought got a lot of attention this summer when it was having impacts on agriculture. More than 60 percent of the country is still in drought," he said. "And if things don't change, the drought is going to continue to be a big story in 2013."

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  • World matched record for hottest September

    Courtesy NOAA Visualization Lab

    NOAA scientists say the globally-averaged temperature last month, tied with the September record high set in 2005.

    By Vignesh Ramachandran

    If you thought September felt a bit warmer than usual, you weren't alone.

    Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Monday that last month tied a 2005 record for the warmest September on record worldwide. These numbers have been tracked since 1880. September's combined average temperature over land and ocean around the world was 60.21 degrees Fahrenheit -- 1.21 degrees over the 20th century average.


    The heat was most notable in parts of Russia, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Paraguay, Canada and Greenland. In the United States, September was only the 23rd hottest, The Associated Press reported.

    The scientists also noted that September "also marked the 36th consecutive September and 331st consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average."

    Records such as this are seemingly being set at a greater rate than they used to be, according to Professor Jonathan E. Martin, chair of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Martin says greenhouse gases are changing the composition of the atmosphere.

    "One of the consequences of that is an easier time hurdling past high temperature records," Martin told NBC News, acknowledging that global warming could be at play.

    With a September average of 1.39 million square miles, Arctic sea ice also reached its all-time lowest daily extent on record on Sept. 16. Martin speculated that there is a "very strong possibility" that this increased water exposure to the air could be affecting temperatures.

    Related: Arctic sea ice reaches new low

    The situation was different in the Antarctic, where sea ice actually reached its all-time highest daily extent record on Sept. 26.

    Deke Arndt, chief of the climate monitoring branch at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, said 2012 so far currently clocks in as eighth warmest year on record. Unless there are exceptionally high temperatures the rest of the year, 2005 and 2010 will likely continue holding the title for hottest years on record, he added.

    The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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  • Feeling the heat: First half of 2012 is warmest on record

    Although temperatures have dropped across the Midwest and Northeast, irrigation ponds in southern Illinois are drying up and crops such as corn and soybeans are shriveling in the fields. NBC's John Yang reports.

    By Vignesh Ramachandran, msnbc.com

    It's been a hot year.

    In fact, the first six months of 2012 accounted for the warmest January-through-June period on record for the contiguous U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday.


    The national temperatures averaged 52.9 degrees — "4.5 degrees above the long-term average," NOAA said in a statement. "Most of the contiguous U.S. was record and near-record warm for the six-month period, except the Pacific Northwest." East of the Rockies, 28 states were "record warm," NOAA said.

    The past year also registered as the hottest 12-month period on record in the contiguous U.S., narrowly surpassing the mark set last month, NOAA said.

    Climate models indicate the hot temperatures are not expected to ease anytime soon. “It looks like it’s going to stay above normal, for much of the remainder of the summer,” said Jon Gottschalck at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

    Last month was the 14th hottest June on record. The average June temperature for the contiguous 48 states was 71.2 degrees — two degrees higher than the 20th century average.

    Slideshow: Summertime living

    Celebrating the warm summer months, as schools let out and the cooling off begins

    Launch slideshow

    With much of the nation experiencing scorching temperatures, NOAA found 170 American cities met or broke record-high temperatures in June. South Carolina's 113-degree high and Georgia's 112-degree high could be the highest temperature records ever in their respective states.

    Conditions have also been incredibly dry — it was the tenth-driest June on record. More than half the contiguous U.S. — 56 percent — have drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

    The start of the monsoon season around Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado are some relief for areas affected by wildfire, Gottschalck said.

    Colorado, which experienced its worst wildfire season in a decade, was 6.4 degrees above normal June temperatures. Wildfires ravaged land across the country with more than 1.3 million acres burned overall — "the second most on record during June," NOAA said.

    While much of the country was bone dry, Florida had its wettest June on record. The Sunshine State was more than six inches above average precipitation, much of it caused by Tropical Storm Debby. Washington state, Oregon and Maine each saw a top-ten wet June.

    More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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  • Tuning out just as important as sniffing

    David Rae Morris for msnbc.com

    Steve Wilson, chief quality officer for NOAA's seafood inspection program, demonstrates a sensory assessor's approach to a piece of seafood.

    And, finally, a footnote for those of you who wondered about the wisdom of conducting sensitive sniff tests within breathing distance of a waste treatment plant.

    When I asked NOAA’s Steven Wilson whether the, shall we say pungent, odor from the plant might not interfere with the experts’ razor sharp sense of smell, he said that wasn’t a concern.

    “Believe it or not, our assessors can filter that out,” he said.

  • The 'top guns' of seafood sniffing

    By JoNel Aleccia and Kari Huus, msnbc.com

    A final word about the "top guns" of seafood sniffing.

    Known as expert assessors, there are only 18 of them on NOAA's payroll. These are the experts who are capable of smelling 1 part per million of contaminants, according to Steven Wilson, the chief quality officer of NOAA's Seafood Inspection Service.

    To prepare them for their duty in the Gulf, NOAA sent them to Gloucester, Mass., for "harmonizing" – a process in which they repeatedly sniffed samples from the BP oil smell until they could agree on common descriptors for the odor of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon.

    As noted in this previous post, Wilson is hoping to build the expert squad up to 24 to help handle the crush of work in the coming months.

    In addition, NOAA recently held three three-day sessions for state screeners. These were people who already were working as fish inspectors or lab personnel and had some training in the sensory arts. With the refresher training, Wilson said, they will be able to detect 10 parts per million of contaminants and help prevent the expert sniffers from being overwhelmed.

    That will leave the agency's finest-tuned noses to concentrate on the most delicate decisions that lie ahead: When areas will be reopened for fishing.

    That's why, though Wilson was willing to appear on camera, he steadfastly refused to identify the expert assessors and said he would strongly resist any efforts to force disclosure.

    "We're in the middle of an industry under stress," he said, referring to the hard-hit Gulf commercial fishing industry. "These assessors stay here for two weeks at a time. We don't want any kind of pressure on them to make some kind of determination."

    He said many of the assessors have expressed concerns about possible repercussions, adding, "I would push hard to support their fears and their concerns in this issue."

    Click here for the final post in the series: Tuning out is just as important as sniffing

  • A fine red snapper, with a hint of rubber bands

    David Rae Morris for msnbc.com

    Sniffing station at the NOAA National Seafood Inspection Lab.

    From the lab where the fish was dissected, we were ushered into a similar looking testing room, where three lidded Pyrex bows sat on the counter – one with red snapper, one with shrimp and one with oysters.

    Steven Wilson, chief of quality control for the Seafood Inspection Program, demonstrated the techniques that a sensor would use.

    But first he noted a deviation from NOAA's strict testing protocol: Seafood sensors usually work behind white cardboard partitions to ensure they don't pick up any visual cues from other sniffers. He also added another restriction that wasn't mentioned in this earlier post on testing procedures: Sensors don't wear rings while sniffing lest they pick up the slightest whiff of metal.

    Then he pried the lid on the first bowl up about 2 inches, and used his other hand to waft a bit of air toward his nose, almost like a wine taster sampling a fine Cabernet Sauvignon. He then replaced the lid and stepped back.

    He wasn't rocked back on his heels by the odor. Wilson explained that at this point in the process, the sensor is supposed to apply a single descriptor to the smell, maybe something like "smells like rubber bands."

    Such a smell would likely earn the fishery where that sample was caught a "remain closed" rating from an expert assessor, but if 70 percent of the sensory panel decided it was OK, it would be cooked and then submitted to a second smell test, Wilson explained. Then, if it again was approved by 70 percent of the panel, they would taste it.

    If 70 percent gave a thumbs up, the sample would be tested for 14 toxic chemicals at the Seattle lab, after which the fishery would be cleared for reopening if the results were negative.

    One interesting footnote: Like wine tasters, seafood sniffers need to clear their senses between samples. The NOAA experts use watermelon and cucumbers to clear their nasal passages and eat saltine crackers between tastings.

    Be back shortly with a bit more on the real hotdogs of the seafood sensory world.

    Click here for the next post in the series: The 'top guns' of seafood sniffing

  • No spicy food for sniffers, but deodorant is OK

    Sensory testing -- or sniffing -- is done under tightly controlled conditions. Tests are conducted in rooms with waterproof, seamless floors and smooth walls painted white, light gray or beige. The temperature must be between 68 degrees and 75 degrees with relative humidity at 45 percent. They can't be distracted by any other personnel, including fish industry officials – or reporters, said Steven Wilson, who oversees the inspections for NOAA.

    The testers themselves must wash their hands with odorless soap and dry them with low-odor, white paper towels. They can't wear cologne or perfume -- although deodorant is OK, Wilson said -- and they must avoid eating spicy foods the day before and the day of the test, according to an industry manual.

    A minimum of six 1-pound samples of seafood are collected. The testers smell each of the raw samples and record the odor, marking its intensity on a zero-to-4-point scale, with 4 being the most aromatic. They also note any unusual characteristics. An oil-tainted fish might smell "piney," for instance, with an aroma like Pine Sol cleaner, or it might smell "phenolic," with an aroma of Band-Aids.

    The samples are then cooked and testers evaluate the cooked aroma and also take a tiny taste. They must spit out the samples, the manual says.

    Now, let's see the process in action.

    Click here for the next post in the series: A fine red snapper, with a hint of rubber bands

  • David Rae Morris for msnbc.com

    Frank Sommers, fisheries research biologists, takes samples of a lemonfish.

    Two filets, one for sniffing, one for the lab

    After being loaded onto the cart, the fish are brought to a lab inside the NOAA building, where they are left to thaw overnight before being inspected. The lab is cool and crowded with refrigerators and processing equipment. Not surprisingly, it smells like fish.

    While the recent arrivals begin to defrost, we are led to a black counter on the other side of the lab where two workers from NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center are preparing a cobia, also known as lemon fish or ling fish, that was caught a few days ago for inspection.

    Wearing latex gloves, they carefully remove a filet from one side and place it into a Pyrex bowl for the sensory team. Then they remove a filet that is carefully wrapped and then prepared for shipment to the Seattle lab for chemical analysis.
    By the time it gets there, the results from the sensory test will be known. If it passed the sniff test, it will undergo chemical testing; if not, it doesn't.

    Onward to the sniffing station.

    Click here to read the next post in the series: No spicy food, but deodorant is OK

  • So you want to be a fish sniffer ...

    In case you were wondering, there are between 60 and 70 people in the U.S. trained as expert seafood sensory assessors.

    They work for NOAA or the federal Food and Drug Administration and are usually charged with inspecting seafood shipments for signs of decomposition.

    A person becomes an expert through a combination of natural ability, training and practice, said Steven Wilson, chief quality officer for NOAA's Seafood Inspection Program. The best testers can detect taint in concentrations as low as 1 part per million, he said.

    "The issues that come up are just, literally, how sensitive their noses can be," he said. "Also, how repeatable their results are."

    About 16 of those experts specialize in petroleum taint, said Wilson, with more experts being trained in this specialty every day. By the end of the summer, Wilson hopes to have at least 24 assessors "harmonized," a process that trains testers to detect oil and dispersants specific to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

    Click here to read the next post in the series: Two filets: One for sniffing, one for the lab

  • David Rae Morris for msnbc.com

    Cheryl Lassitter, left, Lisa Natanson, center, and Stephen Bell unload samples of seafood at the dock at the NOAA National Seafood Inspection Lab. Samples are being tested to determine if fish from the Gulf of Mexico have been contaminated after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    Deep sea fish on the sniffing menu

    We've just been led into a warehouse that opens onto the dock, where the 180-foot NOAA research vessel Delaware II is waiting.

    First NOAA expert John Stein shows us a large map decorated with little black crosses that represent the spots where NOAA's fleet has taken seafood samples since April 28 – ranging all the way from the tip of Texas to the end of the Florida panhandle. In some cases, they have done sampling to gather baseline data; in others, missions were aimed at determining whether specific areas could be reopened to fishing.

    Today the boat has brought in pelagic – or deep sea – fish are on the sniffing menu, specifically blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi.

    NOAA is doing more testing of these species because little is known about what is happening to fish that live far offshore and travel long distances, and because these fish represent a lot of money for sport and commercial fishing operations.

    "Our focus is on commercially important species," said Calvin Walker, a NOAA toxicologist.

    The crew of the Delaware II unloaded about 10 frozen fish, each about 4 feet long and wrapped in black plastic and duct taped to prevent contamination. They are piled on a cart on the dock, where photographers and film crews crowd around to shoot what looks like a small pile of black cordwood.

    Now we're heading back into the building for a demonstration of the testing procedures.

    Click here to read the next post in the series: So you want to be a fish sniffer ...a>em>

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