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Issue link: http://sea-technology.epubxp.com/i/112603
environmentalmonitoring Extreme-Weather Monthly Records Broken Across US In 2012, the U.S. had 3,527 monthly weather records for heat, rain and snow broken by extreme weather events, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). In 2011, 3,251 records were broken. The hottest March on record occurred in the contiguous U.S. in 2012, and July was the hottest single month on record in the lower 48 states. As a whole, 2012 was the warmest year ever recorded in the U.S., according to NOAA���s State of the Climate report. An interactive map at www.nrdc. org/extremeweather ranks all 50 states for the percentage of weather stations reporting at least one monthly heat record broken in 2012. The 10 states showing the highest percentage with new heat records are: Tennessee (36 percent), Wisconsin (31 percent), Minnesota (30 percent), Illinois (29 percent), Indiana (28 percent), Nevada (27 percent), West Virginia (26 percent), Maine (26 percent), Colorado (25 per- 88 st / FEBRUARY 2013 cent) and Maryland (24 percent). The Upper Midwest, Northeast, northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states were hard-hit regions. NOAA has estimated that 2012 will surpass 2011 in aggregate costs for U.S. annual billion-dollar disasters. Hurricane Sandy, for instance, cost an estimated $79 billion, with at least 131 deaths reported. From 1980 through 2011, the frequency of weather-related extreme events in North America nearly quintupled, rising more rapidly than anywhere else in the world, according to the insurance company Munich RE. AQUARIUS UV BWMS Gets IMO Type Approval The W��rtsil�� Corp. (Helsinki, Finland) AQUARIUS UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) has been granted type approval in accordance with the 2004 International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention for the control and management of ships��� ballast water and sediments. www.sea-technology.com AQUARIUS UV is the frst system to have been fully endorsed and type approved by the fag administration of the Netherlands. Upon uptake, seawater is passed through the system���s backwashing screen-type flter. It then passes through a UV chamber to disinfect the water before entering the ballast tank. On discharge, water from the ballast tank is pumped through the UV chamber for a second time to complete the disinfection process. The AQUARIUS range of BWMS became part of the W��rtsil�� portfolio with the acquisition of Hamworthy plc (Poole, England) in January 2012. US Coast Guard Releases Answers To Ballast Water Questions The U.S. Coast Guard has posted Volume II of ballast water management frequently asked questions at http://bit. ly/SFWuux. It includes answers to questions on alternate management system (AMS) determination, type approval application and the process for type approval without using existing data. Regina Bergner is given as the primary point of contact for questions from applicants regarding the status of