Earth ChangesS


Arrow Up

Volcanic activity in South America: Sabancaya, Ticsani, Ubinas, Nevados de Chillan and Hudson on alert

Erik Klemetti
WIRED
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 07:00 UTC
Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts
© YouTube/breaking news (screen capture)Peru's Sabancaya volcano erupts.

Perú

Sabancaya has been restless for the last two years, with periods of heightened activity and a return to quiet. However, it looks like the Peruvian volcano has entered a new phase of activity since early November. The volcano has produced dozens of explosive eruptions since November 6, when the renewed activity began.

This first explosion generated an M3.6 earthquake as well. Ash has reached 1.5-3.5 kilometers (4,900-11,400 feet) over the volcano and spread ash over 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the volcano on the people living across the area. The ash plumes (see below) have been some of the highest ever recorded at Sabancaya and video from the explosions show a vigorous plume of dark grey ash from the volcano.

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Arrow Up

6.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Fukushima, Japan - days after 7.4 quake struck the same area

Brianne Tolj
Daily Mail (Australia)
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 22:22 UTC
6.1 Japan earthquake map
© Google Maps The second earthquake in three days to hit off the coast of Fukushima province in Japan, this one reported as a 6.1 magnitude by the Japan Meteorological Agency, hit around 6:23 a.m. Thursday morning. It was felt in Tokyo, like the previous one, however no tsunami warning was issued and there have been no reports of injuries or damage to property.
Japan has been struck by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in same region a 7.4 magnitude quake rattle the country just three days ago.

The quake occurred about 6.30am (local time) on Thursday 37km south of Namie, according to the, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Five smaller earthquakes measuring between 4.6 and 3.2 magnitudes followed in quick succession within and hour and a half.

A sixth stronger earthquake measuring 5.2 in magnitude struck just after 9.30 am (local time) in the Tori-shima Kinkai region, which is an uninhibited island located about 600km south of Tokyo.

There have been no reports of injury or damage and no tsunami warning has been issued, according to Nine News.

A 7.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima on Tuesday, triggering a one metre tsunami.
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Arrow Down

Houses disappear in Panama due to Hurricane Otto-linked landslide


9news.com.au
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:15 UTC
Panama landslide
© YouTube/CNN (screen capture)
Torrential rainfall is hitting Panama so hard as a result of Hurricane Otto's movement toward Central America that landslides and life-threatening flash floods are wreaking serious havoc.

Video obtained by Critica shows several houses sitting on a cliff disappearing as the ground beneath it collapses.

As the houses slowly sink down the cliff, those filming can be heard yelling and screaming.

Miraculously, houses on each side - which appear to be newer than those which sunk - remain intact.

The houses are in San Miguelito, a city which lies in the Panama Province - roughly 25km from the nation's capital.

Three deaths have already been linked to Otto in Panama.

Hurricane Otto is expected to intensify as it approaches Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

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Igloo

November snow in Tokyo - First time in 50-years


Sputnik News
Thu, 24 Nov 2016 05:13 UTC
Snowing November in Tokyo
© AP Photo/Koji SasaharaPeople walk against blowing snow in Tokyo.
Japan's capital is experiencing November snow for the first time in more than 50 years, data from the Japan Meteorological Agency shows.The snowfall was registered on Thursday morning in central Tokyo. It was also snowing in the cities of Yokohama, Kofu, Utsunomiya and Maebashi. According to the NHK broadcaster, this is the first time that it is snowing in November in Tokyo in 54 years.

Japan's meteorologists do not exclude that by Friday morning, there could be up to two centimeters (almost one inch) of snow in Tokyo.

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Snowflake Cold

Siberian snow theory points to early, frigid winter in U.S.

Brian K Sullivan
Bloomberg
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 03:10 UTC
winter siberia
© Andrey Rudakov/BloombergA frozen road in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia.
  • U.S. could get a blast of cold from north to south in December
  • MIT scientist's research contradicts prevailing U.S. forecasts
For those cursing the unseasonable November chill, there's an ominous sign up north. It suggests this winter will be long and cold, according to one eminent scientist.

He's the father of the "Siberian Snow Theory." In a nutshell, he argues that the more snow covering the ground in northern Eurasia, the colder we can expect it down below. Sadly, Siberia is looking pretty white already.

Judah Cohen, a renowned MIT climatologist, has been working on this theory for 17 years, despite skepticism from some U.S. government weather experts. Cohen, who figures his theory has been right 75 percent of the time, spies all the makings of an early, cold winter.

"This year, we have had this very textbook situation," Cohen said.

Comment: The signs are already here, with early snowfalls and cold records already being set:

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Snowflake Cold

Tailgating the anthropogenic-warming message: 'Elimination of GMO crops would cause hike in greenhouse gas emissions' - Green heads to explode

Natalie van Hoose
Purdue University
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 00:00 UTC
green explosion
A global ban on genetically modified crops would raise food prices and add the equivalent of nearly a billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, a study by researchers from Purdue University shows.

Using a model to assess the economic and environmental value of GMO crops, agricultural economists found that replacing GMO corn, soybeans and cotton with conventionally bred varieties worldwide would cause a 0.27 to 2.2 percent increase in food costs, depending on the region, with poorer countries hit hardest. According to the study, published Oct. 27 in the Journal of Environmental Protection, a ban on GMOs would also trigger negative environmental consequences: The conversion of pastures and forests to cropland - to compensate for conventional crops' lower productivity - would release substantial amounts of stored carbon to the atmosphere.

Comment: Just how widely this study will be used to help influence people into accepting GMO's as being vital to lowering the global CO2 footprint remains to be seen. If the GMO industry can manage to market successfully their toxic agricultural products using anthropogenic global warming as a means, perhaps even Edward Bernays would have been very pleased and supportive of a marketing tactic such as this.

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Eye 2

Mystery disease strikes American snakes

Colin Barras
BBC
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 19:39 UTC
A timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
© Daniel Heuclin/naturepl.comA timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
In 2006 biologists studying the only timber rattlesnakes in the state of New Hampshire recorded something alarming: a population crash. The already rare animals - numbering about 40 in total - began dying in unusually large numbers. No more than 20 rattlesnakes survived, and the population remained at that new super-low level five years later.

Many of the snakes showed signs of a severe skin infection on their heads and bodies just before they died. It was an early sign of a deadly fungal disease that is now sweeping through the snakes of eastern North America.

Today at least 30 species are affected. "Snake fungal disease" has been documented in more than 16 US states and in parts of Canada. How worried should we be?

Snake fungal disease generally begins with a relatively mild skin infection, often - but not always - where a snake's skin has been physically damaged.

The snake's immune system kicks into action, but within a few days the skin at the infection site has begun to thicken and die, creating a yellow or brown crust. In some cases this crust breaks off, exposing raw flesh and allowing the fungus to spread.
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Cloud Precipitation

Landslides and floods leave 5 dead and 3 missing in New Caledonia; 15 inches of rain in 12 hours recorded

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 18:55 UTC
Overflowing rivers in Houaïlou.
© Wawa Désirée WaiteaOverflowing rivers in Houaïlou.
Several days of heavy rain has caused deadly flooding and landslides in New Caledonia.

Eastern parts of the main island, Grande Terre, have been the worst hit, with the biggest landslides occurring in the municipality of Houaïlou, where at least 5 people have died and 3 are still missing.

President Hollande expressed his condolences to the families and relatives of the victims yesterday, and gave his full support to the inhabitants of New Caledonia. The President also acknowledged the work of the rescue teams who are fully committed to dealing with the situation.

Images of the landslide site show where a large parts of mountainside had collapsed, destroying everything in its path. A local commentator suggested that rivers and creeks have been blocked by mining waste, and mountainside eroded by bush fires and drought.

Accumulation of precipitation from 21 November 2016 at 11:00 to 22 November 2016 at 23:00.
© Meteo FranceAccumulation of precipitation from 21 November 2016 at 11:00 to 22 November 2016 at 23:00.
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Wolf

Pack of wild dogs attack a man while fencing on a farm in Western Australia

Sebastian Neuweiler and Joanna Prendergast
abc.net.au
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:35 UTC
Dog attack
A man working on a farm in Western Australia has been attacked by what is believed to be a pack of roaming wild dogs

Police have confirmed a man spent a night in hospital after receiving bites to his arms, legs and torso after the dogs attacked him on a property north west of Koorda in the Wheatbelt.

Police said the man was attacked last week by up to six dogs while he was fencing on the property and was taken to the nearby Wyalkatchem Hospital where he was required to stay overnight as a result of the severity of his injuries.

The attack victim has since been discharged from hospital.

The Shire of Koorda is currently investigating the matter to determine whether the dogs were wild, and what to do with them.

Pastoralists and Graziers Association president Tony Seabrook said an attack was inevitable, but the news made his blood run cold.

Wild dog
Wild dog
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Attention

Dead sperm whale discovered on San Jose Island, Texas


Port Aransas South Jetty
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:26 UTC
Sperm whale
Sperm whale
A dead sperm whale was found on the beach on San Jose Island on Monday, Nov. 21, according to Tony Amos, Port Aransas coordinator with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

No cause of death has been determined, said Amos, who also is director of the Animal Rehabilitation Keep and research fellow with the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. Samples were taken from the whale's body for analysis.

Today (Tuesday, Nov. 22), the 28-foot-long whale's body still is lying in shallow water not far from shore, slightly more than one mile north of the north jetty. It's unclear whether efforts will be made to dispose of the carcass, which weighs many tons, Amos said.

Amos cautioned that folks shouldn't touch or even get close to the whale's body. It could carry diseases, and a wave could push the huge carcass onto someone who gets too close, he said.

In addition, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is against the law to touch sperm whales even after they're dead, Amos said.
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