Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

4 birds from Siberia seen in the UK for the first time; an unprecedented influx of 59 in northern Europe


ITV
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 14:40 UTC
Siberian Accentor, Mossy Hill, Shetland, 9 October 2016
© Josh JonesSiberian Accentor, Mossy Hill, Shetland, 9 October 2016
A rare bird has got twitchers in a flap after being spotted in the North East TWICE over the weekend.

The Siberian Accentor flew into the Shetlands last Sunday - the first time it had been seen in Britain.

One was then recorded in Spurn, in East Yorkshire, before two more were spotted in the region.

On Saturday one was found in a hedgerow on the cliffs at Saltburn, in East Cleveland, and then the a bird was discovered at a quarry in Hendon.

It's thought the birds were migrating to South East Asia when they were blown off course.


Comment: From Dutch Birding on the 17th October via Google Translate:
Unbelievable! 59 Siberian Accentors (Prunella Monta ella) have been recorded in northern Europe (outside Russia) within 13 days (4-16 October 2016)! No doubt this is not yet the end of this amazing influx and I am certain that in the next days other individuals will turn up.


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Attention

Bulusan volcano spews ash a kilometer high in the Philippines


Global Times
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 14:24 UTC
Bulusan, an active volcano in the eastern Philippine province of Sorsogon, erupted again Monday
Bulusan, an active volcano in the eastern Philippine province of Sorsogon, erupted again Monday
A Philippine volcano 250 km southeast of Manila erupted on Monday, spewing ash about a kilometer high into the sky above the volcano's crater, said the chief of the the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Renato Solidum told radio DzBB in an interview that Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon province that the steam-driven explosion took place at 7:36 a.m..

In its bulletin, the Phivolcs said it has detected a total of 24 volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours.

"Steaming activity could not be observed due to thick clouds covering the summit," the bulletin said.

It added that the volcano's sulfur dioxide emission was measured at an average of 79 tonnes a day on Oct. 12.
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Snowflake

'It's disheartening': Quantity, quality of crops in question as early snowfall blankets farms in Alberta, Canada

Julia Wong
Global News
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 13:24 UTC
A second early snowfall has nearly destroyed any hope of bringing in a bountiful harvest for farmers across Alberta.
A second early snowfall has nearly destroyed any hope of bringing in a bountiful harvest for farmers across Alberta.
Farmers who had been hoping for warmer weather got a huge disappointment last Friday as 10 cm of snow covered the area in and around the Capital Region.

Deryk Sanford is a third-generation farmer in Lavoy, Alta. who calls the snow "a significant blow."

"When the snow hits and you take it down [to the ground] like this, you can imagine how much melting you have to do in order to get rid of that type of snow," he said.

"If we were to get a good week of no precipitation, sunshine, warm weather, we have the opportunity to get out there and take the rest of the harvest. But it's not looking good right now. We're going to need to have at least two, maybe three weeks of dry weather."

Sanford said the snow is making an already difficult year - due to rain and hail - even more difficult.
Canola crops at Jacqueline Laniuk’s farm in Vegreville have been flattened by the snow.
© Julia Wong/Global NewsCanola crops at Jacqueline Laniuk’s farm in Vegreville have been flattened by the snow.
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Snowflake

Juneau in Alaska beats Fairbanks to first snowfall for first time in 70+ years

Quinton Chandler
ktoo.org
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 13:12 UTC
Snow covers Mount Juneau, Sunday, Oct. 16
© Tripp Crouse/KTOOSnow covers Mount Juneau, Sunday, Oct. 16
National Weather Service meteorologist Edward Liske said this season is the first-time Juneau has seen measurable snowfall before Fairbanks since about 1940.

The National Weather Service reported Sunday that Juneau is one of the first communities in the state to see measurable snowfall this year.

"Fairbanks has not seen any snow yet so far this season, neither has Anchorage. Nome has had zero. Kotzebue has had zero," Liske said. "The only place that really has had measurable snow this season has been Barrow with a tenth of an inch so far."
The incredible October continues! Juneau has not seen measurable snow before Fairbanks since 1940! #akwx pic.twitter.com/Ap5nosquur

— NWS Juneau (@NWSJuneau) October 16, 2016
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Seismograph

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Tibet- USGS


RT
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:05 UTC
Map of China
© earthquake.usgs.gov
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has shaken the Himalayan region of Tibet, China, the US Geological Survey reported, adding that the depth of the quake was about 32km.

The tremor took place 17km from the Chinese town of Aduo and 294 km from the city of Chamdo, the USGS reported.
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Bizarro Earth

6.9 magnitude quake strikes off the coast of Papua New Guinea

Lizzie Dearden
The Independent, UK
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 07:02 UTC
Papua New Guinea Earthquake
© USGSThe 6.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
An 6.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The US Geological Survey detected the epicentre near New Britain, Papua New Guinea's largest offshore island, at 4.15pm local time (7.15am BST).

It came days after another tremor measuring 6.4 hit the same region. There was no immediate information on casualties or damage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not release a warning following the earthquake.

"Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake," a notice said.

Papua New Guinea lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - a volcanically active region subject to requent earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

In July 1998, two undersea quakes measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale created three tsunamis that killed at least 2,100 people near the town of Aitape.
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Question

Mysterious hole discovered in Norwegian glacier

Natanael Waage
Norway Today
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 06:27 UTC
hole in Blåmannsisen, Norway
© Vebjørn Karlsen / NTB scanpixA "mysterious" hole in the Blåmannsisen in the Arctic.
330 Squadron discovered a large hole in the glacier Blåmannsisen in Nordland when they flew over the area as a part of a military excercise trip.

It is not normal that they are so big. The ones forming during the summer, are usually between 20 and 30 centimeters in width, Atle Nesje, a professor at the Geological Institute of the University of Bergen, says to TV 2.

Kjetil Wiik at 330 Squadron says this hole seemed to be between 15 and 20 meters in diameter, and went very far down the ice.

Nesje thinks the hole is a melt hole formed when the melt water has been present on the surface of glacier. This is relatively common in Norwegian glaciers.

Due to the pressure it has melted itself down into glacier. When a hole appears in the glacier, it has emptied itself of the water, Nesje says, and informs that the water usually works its way through the ice until it reaches the bottom.

Norwegian glacier hole
© Vebjørn Karlsen / NTB scanpix

Comment: Another possible explanation to this mysterious hole is discussed in this article: SOTT Exclusive: The growing threat of underground fires and explosions
In 2014 a mysterious crater-hole was discovered in the Yamal peninsular, northwest Siberia, Russia. It was 'probably caused by methane released as permafrost thawed' according to researchers, and the result of 'internal forces not seen in 8,000 years'. Since then new information has come to light, with witnesses reporting an 'explosion' and a 'glow in the sky' from 100 km away.

This would indicate an extremely powerful explosion occurred from below to form this 'crater-hole', in a region known in the local Nenets language as the 'end of the world'. The recent discovery by scientists of methane 'bubbles' on the remote Belyy Island in the Kara Sea off the Yamal Peninsula coastline may be another alarming sign of increased activity in the depths.


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Cloud Precipitation

At least 11 deaths reported and tens of thousands of homes destroyed by floods in central Vietnam


The Guardian
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 15:05 UTC
Floods surround houses in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province after torrential rain submerged tens of thousands of houses.
© STR/EPA Floods surround houses in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province after torrential rain submerged tens of thousands of houses.
At least 11 people have died and several more are missing in heavy flooding in central Vietnam, state media said on Saturday, with tens of thousands of homes completely submerged by water.

The communist government has ordered local authorities to mobilise the army and police to rescue trapped residents following heavy downpours, state-run Vietnam television reported.

The channel said at least 11 had died in the flooding with some 27,000 homes under water in the region.

Local official Nguyen Huu Hoai said the death toll was seven in Quang Binh province, but added that conditions were improving.

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Attention

Surfer survives shark attack off Caloundra, Australia

Daniel Peters
Daily Mail (UK)
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 14:41 UTC
Shark attacks
A surfer has survived a terrifying shark attack just 10 metres from the shore while lying on his board in the water at a popular tourist beach on the Sunshine Coast.

University student Cooper Hallam said he was 'hit hard' from the rear left side and then took two or three bites to his body before he could react and fight off the shark.

The attack took place at Kings Beach, in Caloundra, late on Saturday afternoon.

Photographs of Mr Hallam's wounds were uploaded to the Dorsal Shark Reports Facebook page along with a description of the attack.

'Shark was obviously small, couldn't fit jaws around my waist, but still enough to give me the fright of my life,' he wrote.

'Further inspection of the bite looks like the sharks jaw size is around the diameter of a dinner plate.'

'Still very rattled... Not freaking out quite as much as my Mum though.'

Photographs of the man's wounds were uploaded to the Dorsal Shark Reports Facebook
Photographs of the man's wounds were uploaded to the Dorsal Shark Reports Facebook

Comment: See also: Shark attack on surfer off Ballina, Australia; 6th attack for the area in 21 months

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Windsock

Typhoon Sarika leaves two dead, thousands stranded in Philippines


The Telegraph (UK)
Sun, 16 Oct 2016 05:33 UTC
Typhoon Sarika
© EPA/NASA/NOAA/Goddard MODIS Rapid Response / HANDOUTTyphoon Sarika approaches the Philippines
A powerful typhoon slammed into the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, leaving at least two people dead, knocking out power and isolating villages amid floods and toppled trees.

Typhoon Sarika, locally known as Karen, blew into Aurora province early Sunday and was barreling fast through heavily-populated agricultural provinces with sustained winds of 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour and gusts of 220 kph (136 mph), officials said.

Mayor Nelianto Bihasa of Baler, a popular surfing town in Aurora, said howling wind ripped tin roofs off many houses and knocked down trees and electric posts, causing power outages and blocking access roads to some villages.

Coastal villagers were warned early to move to safer areas and there have been no immediate reports of casualties other than two injured residents, he said.

In eastern Catanduanes province, a man drowned after being swept by strong river currents and a farmer died after his head hit the ground in fierce wind, provincial safety officer Gerry Beo said.

Three fishermen were reported missing, he said.
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