Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

Schoolchildren evacuated as more than 60 quakes shake Mount Etna, Sicily


The Local Italy
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 12:16 UTC
An eruption at Mount Etna
© Giovanni Isolino/AFPAn eruption at Mount Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, in 2015.
Schools in Sicily were evacuated on Monday after the island's active volcano, Mount Etna, experienced a flurry of quakes.

Seismic experts at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (Ingv) registered more than 60 tremors on Monday morning - the most significant measuring at least 3.5 magnitude, at 10:51am. The quakes began shortly after 6am, and five have measured over 3.0 in magnitude.

Local authorities have alerted residents to the series of tremors, which have had their epicentre between Ragalna and Monte San Leo, at around 14km deep.

Ingv said there was "nothing unusual" about the volcanic activity, and there have not been any reports of damage to buildings or any injuries caused by the quakes. In the towns of Ragalna, Nicolosi and Bronte on the south side of the volcano, schoolchildren were evacuated on Monday morning as a precaution.

Etna, nestled between the cities of Messina and Catania, is Europe's most active and highest volcano and Italy's highest peak south of the Alps. Together with Mount Vesuvius near Naples, it is one of 16 volcanoes in the world designated as 'Decade Volcanoes' by the UN, which means that they are studied particularly closely due to the frequency of activity and density of nearby population.

It is in a near-constant state of activity, and striking video footage from the past week shows the snow-covered peak sending out clouds of smoke.
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Umbrella

Wettest January in 17 years for Perth, Australia

Phil Hickey
WAtoday
Tue, 31 Jan 2017 04:14 UTC
Perth thunderstorm
© Leonora PolicePolice in Leonora, 830km north-east of Perth, tweeted this picture of a massive thunderstorm rolling into town on Monday.
Perth has broken a 17-year weather record overnight by copping more than 31 millimetres of rain - the sixth wettest January day on record ever.

The maximum temperature in Perth on Monday reached just 20.3 degrees, making it one of the coldest January day's on record. The coldest ever was 19.7 degrees back in 2007.

The average maximum temperature for Perth in January is typically a much warmer 31.6 degrees.

A total of 31.8 millimetres of rain fell in the Perth gauge between 9am Monday and 9am Tuesday making it the wettest January day in Perth since 2000 and the heaviest rain Perth has seen since July 17 last year when 32.8 millimetres fell.

For the entire month of January, Perth has recorded 45.4 millimetres of rain, making it the sixth wettest January on record.

The average is just 9.7 millimetres.
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Attention

Alaska's Bogoslof volcano erupts again; more than 25 times since mid-December


KTOO
Sat, 28 Jan 2017 16:42 UTC
Bogosloff volcano
© Lynda Lybeck Robinson, APThis photo taken Dec. 21, 2016 and provided by Lynda Lybeck Robinson shows the Bogoslof Volcano erupting in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. A volcano in the Aleutian Islands erupted Friday.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has raised the aviation warning level after a volcano in the Aleutian Islands erupted again.

Bogoslof Volcano erupted Friday morning, and the observatory says it generated an ash cloud that may be as high as 25,000 feet.

Volcanic ash above 20,000 feet is a threat to airliners flying between Asia and North America.

The volcano 850 miles southwest of Anchorage has erupted more than 25 times since mid-December and could continue periodic eruptions for months. It also erupted Thursday.

After Friday's event, the Aviation Color Code was raised from orange to red, the highest level. The observatory says the cloud could reach 30,000 feet.

The National Weather Service issues alerts to traffic controllers after significant eruptions.

Comment: The Aleutian Islands volcanoes are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Bogoslof volcano has seen quite a bit activity recently:

January 18: Alaska's Bogoslof Volcano erupts again, sends ash cloud to 31,000 feet
January 12: Photographs show how recent eruptions at Alaska's Bogoslof volcano have changed island
January 5: Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutians back at Red Alert
December 29: Increased seismic activity at Alaska's Bogoslof volcano
December 27: Bogoslof volcano alert raised to red by the Alaska Volcano Observatory
December 23: For second day running, Bogoslof volcano eruption sparks aviation alert in Alaska
December 21: Bogoslof volcano in Alaska erupts briefly, spews ash cloud 34,000 feet

Pacific Ring Of Fire
© Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Pacific Ring Of Fire


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Telescope

ESA satellite images reveal devastating speed of growing Larsen ice shelf rift


RT
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 16:06 UTC
crack antarctic ice shelf, Larsen ice shelf rift
© svs.gsfc.nasa.gov
The European Space Agency has released incredible satellite imagery showing a cavernous crack traveling up an Antarctic ice shelf, leaving the frozen block on the brink of a major split.

A large chunk of the Larsen C shelf, which is more than 80 times the size of Manhattan, is threatening to calve into the ocean.

The unprecedented splintering of the 10,000-year-old ice shelf could form an iceberg about 5,000 sq km (1,930 sq miles) in size and drastically change the landscape around the Weddell Sea.

A compilation of images from the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernica Sentinel-1 satellites reveal how part of Larsen C is hanging by a thread after a 175km (109 mile) crack opened up on its western side.

Since the start of the year, the fissure has increased by a further 20km along the 350m-thick ice shelf.

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Attention

Four dolphins have washed up at Torcross and Thurleston in the UK

Sam Acourt
South Hams Gazette
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 14:56 UTC
Common Dolphin
© cetus.ucsd.eduCommon Dolphin
Three more dolphins have washed up in the South Hams after one was found on the Aveton Gifford tidal road last week.

One, a common dolphin, was found on Torcross beach by the crew working on the road there, while another washed up on Broadsands and a third washed up at Yarmer Sands, both in Thurlestone.

It is unknown why the three dolphins washed up, and two are scheduled to be picked up by the Natural History Museum for post mortem, while the one at Broadsands is too decomposed to be autopsied.
The dolphin that washed up on Yarmer Sands, Thurlestone
The dolphin that washed up on Yarmer Sands, Thurlestone
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Cloud Precipitation

Australian crop losses due to wet and cold, temperatures drop scientists terminated for speaking up

Adapt 2030
You Tube
Sun, 29 Jan 2017 13:31 UTC
Photo: Taralee Orchard's apricot harvest was a seventh of the normal size crop after the unseasonally wet spring.
© Courtney FowlerTaralee Orchard's apricot harvest was a seventh of the normal size crop after the unseasonally wet spring.
Australian crop losses mount from cold and wet conditions across the agricultural belt. Although the BOM head meteorologists had forecast never ending drought. Which has turned out to be the opposite with record floods across the country this year. Additionally new ACORN data sets show Australia has remained the same temperature as 1920.


Sources
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Cloud Grey

Polar vortex brings rare nacreous clouds to Britain

Sarah Knapton
Telegraph
Fri, 27 Jan 2017 16:11 UTC
Polar vortex brings rare nacreous clouds to Britain
© North NewsA rare nacreous cloud spotted over Langwathby in Cumbria
Vivid iridescent clouds have been spotted over Cumbria sparked by bitter weather coming from the North Pole.

The multi-coloured clouds are sometimes known as 'mother-of-pearl' or nacreous clouds because of their shimmering pastel hues which resemble the inner surface of sea shells.

Usually the clouds only form over the poles during winter because the air in the upper stratosphere needs to be at least -78C.

Comment: See also: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - December 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Black Cat 2

Thousands of black birds seize control of sky in Houston, Texas

Valeria Edwards
Daily Mail
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:08 UTC
Thousands of Black Birds Seize Control of Houston Sky January 2017
An eerie video shows the moment thousands of blackbirds descended upon travelers along a freeway in Houston.
A driver captured the creepy sight as the birds soared through a dark gray sky.

In the video, the birds appeared to be flying in a snake-like formation as they swarmed over cars entering and leaving the city.

Comment: There's been many cases of strange bird behavior in the last decade. One wonders what unseen changes are going on in the environment to cause them.

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Attention

Permafrost across Kenai Peninsula, Alaska thawing rapidly, say researchers

Shahla Farzan
KBBI
Mon, 23 Jan 2017 07:55 UTC
permafrost survey in Alaska
© U.S. Geological SurveyAndrew Parsekian and Emilene Ostene conduct permafrost surveys on the Kenai Peninsula.
Permafrost is thawing at a brisk rate across Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula is no exception.

A recent study estimates permafrost coverage on the peninsula has decreased by 60 percent since 1950.

Permafrost is usually associated with Northern and Interior Alaska, but it also occurs in isolated pockets in wetlands on the Kenai Peninsula.

Benjamin Jones is a research geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey and one of the study co-authors.

"We installed ground temperature loggers connected to a data logger so we were recording ground temperatures on an hourly basis on a two and a half to three year time period," said Jones. "Based on that data collection we were able to confirm that yes there is permafrost present in some of these wetland complexes on the Kenai Peninsula."

To be classified as permafrost, the ground must remain below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years.

The Kenai Peninsula's warm air temperatures mean these permafrost islands are particularly vulnerable to thaw.

Based on aerial photography, Jones estimates permafrost coverage on the Kenai Peninsula has decreased by 60 percent since 1950.
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Horse

Brutal Western U.S. winter weather has been terrible for animals

Andrew Selsky
Post Register
Sat, 28 Jan 2017 11:26 UTC
Two juvenile elk wander in a field
© Jerome A PollosTwo juvenile elk wander in a field
Antelope injured while falling on ice. Horses stranded in snowy mountains. Cougars descending from their wilderness lairs to forage in a town.

It's been a beastly winter in the American West, not just for people but for animals too. One storm after another has buried much of the region in snow, and temperatures have often stayed below freezing, endangering a rich diversity of wild animals.

In southern Idaho, about 500 pronghorn antelope tried to cross the frozen Snake River earlier this month at Lake Walcott, but part of the herd spooked and ran onto a slick spot where they slipped and fell. Idaho Fish and Game workers rescued six of the stranded pronghorn, but 10 were killed by coyotes and 20 had to be euthanized because of injuries suffered when they fell down.

Another 50 pronghorn were found dead in the small western Idaho city of Payette after they nibbled on Japanese yew, a landscaping shrub that's toxic. Tough winter conditions have forced some wildlife to feed on the plant in urban areas.

Heavy snow has forced the Idaho Fish and Game department to begin emergency feeding of big game animals in southern Idaho.

In this Jan. 18, 2017, photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, elk feed at the Wenaha Wildlife Area near Troy, Ore.
In this Jan. 18, 2017, photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, elk feed at the Wenaha Wildlife Area near Troy, Ore.

Comment: See also: Animals struggle with heavy snowfall, winter weather in Idaho

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