THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 6, 2015
NORTH COAST
OSU researchers
studying warm-water
mass off West Coast
‘Citizen
scientists’
can help with
the project
By DIANE DIETZ
The Register-Guard
research on extreme weath-
er events — Àood, blizzard,
drought, heat waves, wind
storms — to better determine
the likelihood that an\ event is
associated with climate change.
The science is dif¿cult be-
cause extreme events occur
naturall\ also.
Think about a baseball
pla\er on steroids, said Phil
Mote, director of the Oregon
Climate Change Research In-
stitute at OSU.
The pla\er might hit 50
home runs in a season, begin
taking steroids, and then the
homers jump to 70 per season.
“<ou can’t sa\ an\ partic-
ular home run was because of
steroids, but \ou can sa\ over-
all the odds have gone up,”
Mote said.
EUGENE — Oregon State
Universit\ scientists are look-
ing for a link between the Cal-
ifornia drought, climate change
and a mass of warm water lin-
gering in the Paci¿c Ocean off
the West Coast.
The events ma\ be without
connection — but the blob and
the drought, which is troubling
Oregon, too, have one thing in
common: The\ are extreme.
,n recorded histor\, Califor-
Massive statistical
nia hasn’t seen a dr\ spell as se-
analysis
vere as the past four \ears.
The scientists use massive
The mass of warm water
in the ocean — hundreds of statistical anal\sis, running
miles wide and about as long as hundreds of climate scenarios,
California — has average tem- to tr\ to determine the prob-
peratures that are 5 degrees to abilit\ that a given extreme
7 degrees warmer than normal, event was connected with hu-
Washington climatologist Nick man-caused climate change.
In the past \ear, the an-
Bond said.
“We’re in, if not uncharted swers to speci¿c questions
territor\, prett\ near it. ,t is an have emerged as probabl\ \es,
extreme sort of thing,” he said. and probabl\ no.
Participating groups of re-
OSU scientists are joining
with others at Oxford Univer- searchers found that a 013
sit\, who work with scientists heat wave in Australia was
from the Ro\al Netherlands probabl\ related to global
Meteorological Institute and warming, but another research
the Universit\ of Melbourne in effort determined that extreme
Australia to examine extreme rainfall in Colorado in the
weather and to determine their same \ear was probabl\ not.
Most recentl\, the research-
connection, if an\, with climate
ers plan to test the connection
change.
The teams are rel\ing on between the California drought
the excess computing power and the warm-water mass b\
comparing mas-
of 30,000 home
sive amounts of
computers vol-
unteered
b\ ‘We can do oceanographic
climate data
their
owners
hundreds and
— and the\’re
for an 18-month
looking for oth-
period — De-
if not
er would-be cit-
cember 013 to
izen scientists to thousands of Ma\ 015 —
join in.
and then com-
Bond identi- simulations pare it with sim-
¿ed the mass of
ilar 18-month
with the
warm water —
stretches, begin-
seen as a red-or- help of the ning in 1981.
ange pool on cli-
The scientists
mate maps — in volunteers tweak variables
late 013, and
in the computer
we’re
it has persisted
models and run
since.
them over and
hoping
to
“We
can
over to see what
keep track of
recruit.’
happens.
sea
surface
The\
will
Phil Mote
temperatures
ask, for exam-
director, Oregon Climate
quite well b\
ple,
whether
satellites,” Bond Change Research Institute there
would
said.
be a California
While the images were tell- drought if the\ removed the
ing one stor\, anecdotes from inÀuence of the warm water
the ocean — of marine ecos\s- from the calculation.
tem disruption — came trick-
This requires anal\zing stag-
ling in.
gering amounts of data.
The OSU scientists esti-
Seabirds starved
mate that the\ would need three
Seabirds called Cassin’s super computers to do the job,
auklets starved this winter off unless the\ could enlist the help
Washington state and Oregon. of thousands of volunteers with
Northwest ¿shers reported idle space on their home com-
strange species in their nets, puters.
skipjack tuna or ocean sun¿sh,
For the past dozen \ears, the
which would be more likel\ Oxford group has done projects
along the coast of Baja, Calif. using the idle power of the “cit-
/ast fall’s run of Fraser Riv- izen scientists” the\ drafted. The
er socke\e salmon veered north technique is called distributed
around Vancouver Island. The computing.
Canadian ¿sher\ had a banner
Volunteers download a pro-
\ear and the U.S. ¿shers went gram, and then the rest is largel\
home with empt\ holds.
automatic. The home computer
Scientists are documenting loads a project, the does the anal-
an unprecedented West Coast- \sis when it’s not otherwise oc-
wide marine algae bloom this cupied and then communicates
\ear. The bloom poisons shell- the results the next time the com-
¿sh, causing authorities to shut puter connects to the Internet.
down harvests.
“We can do hundreds if not
In mid-June, thousands of thousands of simulations with
red crabs washed ashore in the help of the volunteers we’re
Southern California.
hoping to recruit,” Mote said.
In each case, researchers
Mote said he volunteered
wondered about whether the with his MacBook Air. He nor-
warm-water mass was a factor. mall\ uses onl\ a fraction of its
Air temperatures can Àuc- power.
tuate up and down rapidl\, but
Volunteers can go to a Web
change comes more slowl\ to page and see the data graphed
in real time, Mote said.
the ocean, Bond said.
Eventuall\, the OSU re-
“There’s so much thermal
inertia that a seven degree searchers will anal\ze the pat-
anomal\ is ver\ large,” Bond terns, calculate the probabilit\
said. “Once \ou get the wa- that events are connected and
ter so much warmer — or so publish their ¿ndings in a peer-
much colder — than normal, reviewed journal, Mote said.
“We hope to have enough
there’s some persistence to it.”
The OSU scientists are results within the next couple
working with counterparts of months to write a paper and
around the globe to speed up submit it this fall,” he said.
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Oregon
students
doing
better than
expected on
new tests
Black lives matter
The Daily Astorian
EDWARD STRATTON — The Daily Astorian
The Lower Columbia Diversity Project organized a March Sunday as part of Black
Lives Matter, a movement created after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the
2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Around the country, the group
has demanded an end to racial profiling, police brutality, mass incarceration of
African Americans and the militarization of police departments.
Bridge and road repairs planned
The Daily Astorian
The Oregon Department of Transportation
continues work this week on the Astoria Bridge.
The project involves recoating the steel above the
bridge deck on the southern side of the Columbia
River bridge along U.S. 101 north of Astoria.
The scheduled work includes prepping and
painting the steel above the bridge deck along
with miscellaneous touch-up painting throughout
the bridge structure. Flaggers control single-lane
traf¿c. /ane dela\s of up to 0 minutes are al-
lowed an\time on weekda\s and weekends.
At 0an]anita Avenue on U.S. +ighwa\ 101
(milepost 43.00 to 43.34), ODOT is replacing an
existing culvert at Neahkahnie Creek with a tun-
nel structure, enhancing of the stream bed, and
relocating and improving the highwa\ alignment
along U.S. +ighwa\ 101 near 0an]anita. Also,
turning lane movements into downtown Manza-
nita are being enhanced.
:ork includes installation of temporar\ shor-
ing and a temporar\ water diversion s\stem. Mi-
nor dela\s can be expected when Àaggers need to
occasionall\ control single-lane traf¿c.
Bridge rehabilitation work is being performed
at both the Old <oungs Ba\ and /ewis Clark
River bridges along U.S. +ighwa\ 101 Business
(mileposts 4.78 and 6.89).
:ork includes reconstruction of the /ewis
Clark River Bridge, which is now closed until
August to facilitate construction activities. A de-
tour route is currentl\ designated with signing.
The scheduled work at the Old <oungs Ba\
Bridge includes rehabilitation of the electrical
and mechanical s\stems. :hen Àaggers need to
occasionall\ control single-lane traf¿c, minor de-
la\s can be expected.
The Oregon State Police enforces the speed
limit through the work zone areas.
For information, call 5-1-1 or go to www.trip-
check.com or www.odotproject.info
Vintner hopes to ‘Kickstart’ winery
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
CANNON BEACH —
Mark Proden wants to bring a
winer\ to the North Coast, and
he is asking for the public’s help
in making his dream come true.
The Portland-based wine-
maker, inspired b\ Manzanita
and its proximit\ to the Paci¿c
Ocean, is holding a Kickstarter
campaign to help raise funds for
The Winer\ at Manzanita.
The campaign, which began
in June and continues through
Wednesda\, seeks to involve the
communit\ in bringing a wine-
making facilit\ to the coast.
Originall\ from Wisconsin,
Proden, 41, became interested
in wine through cooking during
his 11 \ears as a U.S. Air Force
pilot and engineer, visiting Napa
and Sonoma in California and
eventuall\ Oregon. Proden said
he fell in love with Oregon “the
¿rst time I came up.”
He began making wine in a
small space in Salem and start-
ed looking for a new building in
a location that was “inspired b\
nature.”
Proden worked with Erath
Winer\, and later in the Cubanis-
mo and Orchard Heights tasting
room, both in Salem. In 013,
he opened his own tasting room,
The Portland Wine Bar in down-
town Portland, just off Pioneer
Courthouse Square.
Now he hopes to settle per-
manentl\ in Manzanita.
“I started going to Manzani-
ta on m\ last few vacation da\s
from the Air Force,” Proden said.
“I drove up from /.A. to Manza-
nita, and I thought, ‘This is such
a cool little town.’ I kept going up
because of m\ dog, Pinot. It’s a
ver\ friendl\ dog beach, and it’s
ver\ reminiscent of Nantucket,
with cedar shingles and architec-
ture. I thought how cool it would
be to have a great winer\ so close
to the beach.”
Working with good friend
Richard Cuddih\ — one of the
legends of Oregon wine lore —
Proden responded to a sign post-
ed on Manzanita’s main street,
/aneda Avenue, stating “Imagine
the possibilities!”
Cuddih\, who lived in <am-
Submitted Photo
Mark Proden of The Winery at Manzanita. He hopes to
open his winery this fall.
hill, died in 014.
Manzanita Real Estate broker
Charle\ /ostrom helped move
the project ahead b\ brokering
the location close to the beach.
Upon completion, the Man-
zanita winer\ will feature a
shingled, 500-square-foot tast-
ing room, ,000-square-foot
production facilit\, with court-
\ard, grapevines and string-bulb
lighting. The plan calls for Ad-
irondack chairs, ¿re pits, a glass
roll-up garage door entrance and
a two-bedroom, second-Àoor
beach vacation rental with ocean-
view deck.
Proden is seeking $55,000
through his Kickstarter program
to raise funds for a destemmer,
press, fermentation tank, barrels,
commercial dishwasher, tasting
room bar, chairs and wine barrel
¿re pits. Rewards range from a
cup of coffee a da\ for a month
to tapes, pizza parties, private
candlelight dinners, picnic beach
lunches and an opportunit\ to de-
sign \our own label.
Along with pinots, Proden
urged wine lovers to sample the
state’s wide range of wines, es-
peciall\ malbec and cabernet
sauvignon. “The\’re more diver-
si¿ed,” he said. “I think the pinot
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bubble has burst a bit, because
Oregon is so renowned for pinot.
People are still de¿nitel\ asking
for it. But then the\’re surprised
to know we can grow all these
single varietals that are normall\
in a blend.”
He said that while some vines
will be onsite, most of the wine
grapes will be grown elsewhere,
including throughout Oregon
and Washington state.
He said when seeking to part-
ner with a vine\ard, he looks for
growing practices and sustain-
abilit\. “When \ou get into the
harvest, \ou’re looking at the
acid, the pH and the fruit quali-
t\,” he added.
Proden will make the wine
himself, and said he plans to pro-
duce about ,000 cases per \ear.
Oregon students are out-
performing expectations on
the new Smarter Balanced
state tests, according to the
Oregon Department of Edu-
cation.
The department report-
ed preliminar\ state-level
results showing students in
math and English outper-
forming projections given to
the state Board of Education
last \ear.
The department received
preliminar\ results for 95 per-
cent of Oregon students who
took the Smarter Balanced
assessment. The results cov-
ered students’ performance in
third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-,
seventh-, eighth-, and 11th-
grade math and English.
Students who score three
or four on a four-point scale
in an\ area of the Smart-
er Balanced assessment
are considered on track to
graduate college- and ca-
reer-read\.
The percentage of stu-
dents earning a three or bet-
ter on the English portion of
the test exceeded expecta-
tions b\ an average of 15.4
percent, increasing as stu-
dents got older.
Students exceeded ex-
pectations in math b\ 7.3
percent. The onl\ area Ore-
gon students did not exceed
expectations was 11th-grade
math, where percent few-
er than expected passed the
Smarter Balanced exam with
a score of three or better.
³, am ver\ pleased to see
so man\ Oregon students
demonstrating college- and
career-read\ skills in En-
glish and math,´ Deput\
Superintendent Salam Noor
said in a release b\ the de-
partment. “Oregon has
raised the bar and this tran-
sition to higher expectations
will require persistence and
patience from our students
and a continued focus on im-
plementation and high-qual-
it\ instruction from our ed-
ucators.”
The state expects percent-
ages to drop as final results
come in.
More than 80,000 Or-
egon students took the new
Smarter Balanced assess-
ments, which were aligned
with higher academic stan-
dards. The\ were asked to
write, reason, think criti-
call\ and solve multistep
problems the state said bet-
ter aligned with classroom
learning in the real world.
“Students in m\ classes
prepared for the test all \ear,
but there was no ‘teaching
to the test,’” Janna Reid,
a teacher at South Middle
School in Grants Pass, said
in the release. “Students
practiced the skills the\’ll
use after middle school and
be\ond high school. These
skills involve critical think-
ing and problem-solving, and
perhaps the most noteworth\
skill: an emphasis on writing,
and writing for a purpose.”
The state will release
final school, district and
state-level results later this
summer.
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