Earth ChangesS


Attention

Great white shark attacks surfer off Booti Booti, Australia


Radio Australia
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:54 UTC
Shark attacks
A 65-year-old man who was bitten by a great white shark while he was surfing on New South Wales' Mid North Coast is "quite happy" and in stable condition.

A 65-year-old man who was bitten by a shark while he was surfing on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales is "quite happy" and in stable condition.

Police said the man was attacked just off Booti Booti after 9:00am, by a shark later confirmed to be a great white.

He managed to swim to shore and contacted emergency services.

He was treated for puncture wounds to his arm and leg and airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in stable condition.

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said its assessment confirmed a great white shark was responsible for the attack.

Graham Nickerson, from the Westpac Rescue Service, said the victim was in good spirits despite his ordeal.

The man was in good spirits as he was airlifted to hospital.
© ABCThe man was in good spirits as he was airlifted to hospital.
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Snowflake Cold

Coldest November for the Netherlands since 1998

Janene Pieters
NL Times
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:48 UTC
Frost
© Johan Neven / Wikimedia Commons
This month was the coldest November the Netherlands had since 1998. The average temperature for November, measured at De Bilt, came down to 5.5 degrees. On 12 days the minimum temperature dropped below zero, according to meteorological institute KNMI.

The hottest it was this month was in Westdorpe in Zeeland, where the maximum temperature was 15.2 degrees on November 1st. Despite the low temperatures, this November was quite sunny. There was about 85 hours of sunshine, compared to the November average of around 63 hours.

According to Weerplaza, this autumn is full of extremes. Temperatures in the Netherlands went from 33 degrees to -7 degrees in three months.
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Snowflake Cold

Frigid air mass building in Alaska, poised to descend into lower 48 next week

Jason Samenow
The Washington Post
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:15 UTC
Alaska temperature Nov. 29, 2016
Alaska is witnessing its coldest air in almost two years, and some of the biting chill is forecast to plunge into the western United States in about a week's time.

In Fairbanks on Tuesday morning, the temperature tanked to minus-31 degrees, ending a 624-day stretch in which it was warmer than that — the second longest on record. Tuesday afternoon, the mercury only recovered to minus-21, ending a record-long 658-day stretch with highs above minus-10.

It was even colder in Bettles, Alaska, on Tuesday, where the temperature dropped to minus-41 with a bone-chilling wind chill of minus-53.

Statewide, it was the first time Alaska's daily temperature index was significantly below normal in almost a year.

Comment: From Paul Dorian at Vencore Weather:





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Tornado2

Huge waterspout touches down near Destin, Florida

Hannah Morse
Bradenton Herald
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:54 UTC
A photo of a waterspout, taken by Mark Hinds
A photo of a waterspout, taken by Mark Hinds and sent to Panama City meteorologist Chris Smith, hit near Destin Wednesday morning.

While parts of northern Florida are under tornado watch until 5 p.m. local time, a waterspout touched down near Destin on Wednesday morning.

About 11 a.m., according to Northwest Florida Daily News, the waterspout formed and grazed the coast for several miles.

Locals took video from balconies and cars as what they thought was a tornado made its way around the Choctawhatchee Bay.




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Binoculars

Masked wagtail bird from Asia found in the UK for the first time


Daily Mirror
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:29 UTC
The masked wagtail has attracted birdwatchers from all over Britain
© Athena The masked wagtail has attracted birdwatchers from all over Britain
Birdwatchers from all over Britain have turned up in a tiny Welsh village to see the first recorded visit of a masked wagtail.

The species is normally found in Kazakhstan, Iran and Afghanistan but may have been brought here by the icy temperatures.

It was spotted on the roof of a semi-detached house in Camrose, Pembrokeshire, but local birdwatchers were unable to identify it.

An expert arrived and the bird was confirmed as the masked wagtail which has never been seen before in the British Isles.

More than 40 twitchers drove through the night and slept in their cars to get the first glimpse of the bird seen flying between chimney pots in the village.


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

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Question

What killed up to 300 red-winged blackbirds in Cumberland County, New Jersey?

Bill Gallo Jr
nj.com
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:45 UTC
Hundreds of Red-Wing Blackbirds were found dead in Stow Creek. Officials are trying to determine what might have killed them.
Hundreds of Red-Wing Blackbirds were found dead in Stow Creek. Officials are trying to determine what might have killed them.
Authorities are still investigating what killed an estimated 200 to 300 red-winged blackbirds in this rural township.

The dead birds were found near Frank Davis Road on Nov. 22, according to Cumberland County Department of Health Director Megan Sheppard.

The were found on the road, in farm fields and in wooded areas. Some of the dead birds were also found on some nearby roadways.

There has been no cause yet determined as to what killed them.

As for humans, Sheppard says there appears to be no threat.

"Not at this time, we don't have any concerns," she said Wednesday, noting no unusual illness has been reported in humans or pets in the area.

Comment: Mass bird deaths have been on the rise:

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Wolf

Baby and toddler attacked by dog in Brunswick, Georgia

Jacob Rodriguez
firstcoastnews.com
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:51 UTC
Dog attack
A toddler and a baby were injured in a dog attack at a Brunswick apartment complex last Wednesday, authorities say.

When police arrived on scene, they found a woman lying prone in an open doorway, cradling her 2-year-old great-grandchild from a pit bull as it fought to get at the child, a police report says.

Police approached the woman, who was reportedly crying out, 'Shoot it! Shoot it!,' and the dog started toward the officers.

After attempting to spray the dog to subdue it, one officer pulled out his stun gun and tried to use that on the brown pit bull - but nothing worked, police reports show.

As the dog advanced toward the officers, one officer was able to get the woman out of the doorway and away from the animal.

At that point, officers discovered she was cradling a 2-year-old. It was at that point they discovered she was cradling a 2-year-old. Police say the child had a large gash across his or her forehead, a chunk of flesh missing from his or her chin and multiple other bite marks.
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Attention

Last remaining dugong in the Gulf of Thailand found dead


Coconuts Bangkok
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:07 UTC
Dugong
© Seub Nakasathain Foundation
A male dugong, believed to be the only remaning dugong in the Gulf of Thailand, was found dead in the sea of Rayong province last week, according to today's report.

The dead dugong was found on Nov. 25, only two days after a dead bruda whale was found near the Lamchabang Pier in Chonburi.

The male dugong was bruised and bloody along his body, indicating a collision before death, according to Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center of the Eastern Gulf of Thailand.

The research center revealed that there were previously a couple of dugongs living along the coast of Rayong to Chanthaburi. Last year, there was a rumor that one of them was dead and sold on the black market. Therefore, this means the dead dugong found last week could have been the last one on the eastern coast.

Polluted oceans endanger their lives but dugongs are also hunted for their bones, which are used to make amulets, just like elephant ivory and rhino snout.
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Attention

'Unusual' seismic activity reported in New Zealand's North Island


Otago Daily Times
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 05:35 UTC
giant crack in New Zealand hill
© APThis photograph of a giant crack in the side of a hill in New Zealand shows where the earth split in two following the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake
Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says a public statement about unusual seismic activity in the lower North Island is not a cause for alarm.

In a statement released this afternoon, Mr Brownlee said GNS Science had observed "unusual activity involving patches of slow-slip activity'' between tectonic plates under the region.

"The heightened activity increases the uncertainty about the likelihood and size of future earthquakes,'' he said.

Mr Brownlee said the observations by GNS were a timely reminder for New Zealanders to be prepared for earthquakes.

Speaking to reporters at Parliament later, the minister clarified that his statement did not amount to a warning about future quakes.

"I just want to make sure that what we are doing is putting that information out there that it is advisable to be prepared.

"We're not creating alarm, we're just creating awareness.''

Since the November 14 earthquake near Kaikoura, a series of simultaneous "slow-slip'' quakes have been observed in Gisborne, the Hawkes Bay, and Kapiti.

Slow-slip quakes move just millimetres at a time and are detected by GPS because they cannot be picked up by seismographs.

Comment: See also:

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Telescope

Weird atmospheric wave ripples over China


Spaceweather.com
Thu, 24 Nov 2016 03:00 UTC
Mesospheric Bore Atmospheric Wave Over China Taken by Jeff Dai on November 24, 2016, Mount Balang, Sichuan, Chin
© Xiao Shuai Mesospheric Bore over China

MESOSPHERIC BORE (IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)

This month, a lot is happening in the mesosphere. The mesosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere above the stratosphere; it is the realm of sprites, noctilucent clouds (NLCs), and airglow. Starting on Nov. 17th, NASA's AIM spacecraft spotted bright noctilucent clouds forming in the mesosphere above Antarctica. Then, in an apparently unrelated development on Nov. 24th, the normal dome of airglow over China split in two.


Comment: Meanwhile down below between 17th and 25th November there were strong earthquakes occurring: Strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Argentina, 7.3 Magnitude earthquake off Fukushima triggers tsunami warning, Magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits northeast Tajikistan, Tsunami warning lifted in El Salvador and Nicaragua after 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes in Pacific Ocean


Xiao Shuai photographed the event from Mount Balang in Sichuan:

Comment: For more strange happenings on the planet see: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - October 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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