Earth ChangesS


Question

Dozens of dead birds found along highway in Youngstown, Ohio

Mike Gauntner
wfmj.com
Sun, 21 Feb 2016 14:33 UTC
Dead birds
Dead birds
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is investigating the death of dozens of birds found Saturday along Interstate 680 in Youngstown.

Passers-by spotted the carcasses of large black birds along the north bound lane near Midlothian Boulevard.

ODNR Wildlife Officer Jesse Janosik told 21 News that he would take photographs of the dead birds and collect samples for testing.

Janosik says he expects it will take a couple of days before it is determined what caused the animals to die.

According to the Division of Wildlife website, ODNR actively follows up on reports of any wildlife diseases in Ohio and monitors the health of wildlife populations to ensure their long-term conservation.

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Cloud Precipitation

Torrential rainfall causes flooding in northern Morocco

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 14:06 UTC
Floods in Morocco
© StoplydecFloods in Morocco
Torrential rainfall between Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February caused flooding in areas of northern Morocco, in particular in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, including the provinces of Tetouan and Chefchaouen.

In the harbour city of Larache, Larache province, 99 mm of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours between 20 and 21 February. In Tangier, around 29 mm of rain fell in 24 hours to 21 February.

The city of Tetouan recorded 22.1 mm in 24 hours on 20 February and 25.9 mm the next day. Roads were blocked and the flooding caused major traffic disruption. Residents criticised the city's drainage system for its inability to cope. Some damage to buildings was also reported in both provinces of Tetouan and Chefchaouen.

There are also unconfirmed reports that a woman drowned in a remote area of Tetouan province after a group she was travelling with became trapped by the flood water.


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Attention

Magnitude 6 earthquake recorded off Coquimbo, Chile


Volcano Discovery
Mon, 22 Feb 2016 13:25 UTC
earthquake
Feb 22 06:44: Magnitude recalculated from 5.5 to 5.6.
Feb 22 06:45: Magnitude recalculated from 5.6 to 5.7.
Feb 22 06:54: Magnitude recalculated from 5.7 to 5.9.
Feb 22 09:18: Magnitude recalculated from 5.9 to 6.0.

Date & time: Mon, 22 Feb 06:37:04 UTC

Magnitude: 6.0

Depth: 10.0 km

Epicenter latitude / longitude: 30.39°S / 71.87°W [Map]

Nearest volcano: Tupungatito (403 km)

Primary data source: GFZ

Earthquake
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Arrow Up

Rare eruption of Great Geysir, Iceland's most famous hot spring


Iceland Monitor
Sun, 21 Feb 2016 14:39 UTC
The Great Geysir
The Great Geysir, Iceland
The Great Geysir, Iceland's most famous hot spring, which has given the name to geysers all over the world, erupted yesterday. This rare event was captured on camera.

Halldóra Eldon, who works at Hótel Geysir was at work when she noticed an unusual amount of steam rising from Geysir. "It was just by chance that I was looking out of the window. I decided to walk outside and it started erupting."

She says it's a very unusual sight although staff of the hotel saw the geyser erupt twice last summer. "I've worked here for two years and I never saw this happening before."

Earthquakes have been shown to revive the activity of Geysir and records from 1630 show that it erupted violently many times that year. Until 1896 however the hot spring was almost dormant before an earthquake that year caused eruptions to begin again, several times a day.

In 1935 a man-made channel was dug through the rim which caused a revival in activity, but gradually the channel became clogged with silica making eruptions once again rare. In 1981 the channel was cleared and eruptions were simulated on special occasions by the additon of soaps, something later discouraged because of environmental concerns.

An earthquake in the year 2000 revived the geyser again and an eruption took place for two days straight, reaching 122 metres in height. In the last decade, eruptions have decreased considerably and it is now considered almost inactive.


Comment: A few months ago in New Zealand a 'dormant' geyser erupted for the first time in 36 years.

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Camcorder

SOTT Focus: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - January 2016 - Part 2: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval (BONUS VIDEO)


Sott.net
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 11:10 UTC
With the pace of Earth Changes apparently quickening in 2016, we've decided to publish this second Summary video for the month of January.
Flooding Mississippi
© SOTT.net
The flooding of the great Mississippi River Basin in early January - which followed record-breaking rainfall over the New Year - was unprecedented for wintertime. The only similar event was the Great Flood of 1937, but back then just one tributary - the Ohio River - flooded. Last month saw the Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas and Meramec Rivers - and the Mississippi itself - all burst their banks, flooding parts of Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee. There are no records in US history of such happening before. In addition, the rivers crested at all-time record heights in a number of places.

The US Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions flipped from experiencing their warmest ever temperatures for December and early January... to being buried under a record-breaking 3-day blizzard that killed 55 people. The North American cold wave extended as far south as Veracruz, southern Mexico, which is experiencing its "coldest winter in history." At the same time, a powerful cold wave in East Asia extended as far south as central Vietnam, where snow fell for the first time ever. An unusual cold wave also extended deep into the Middle East, where hail turned the Arabian Desert white and snow reached as far south as Kuwait (another first!).

Comment: View part 1 here:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - January 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Blue Planet

Yosemite's spectacular 'Firefall' phenomenon draws photographers from around the world


CBS SF Bay
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 20:01 UTC
yosemite firefall horsetail fall
© James Nagel PhotographyThe "firefall" effect at Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park.
An annual pilgrimage by amateur and professional photographers to Yosemite National Park to capture a unique solar lighting effect has been revived with the recent wet weather.

For a couple of weeks in February, Yosemite's Horsetail Fall gets bathed in the light of the setting sun, creating what is known as a "firefall," with the waterfall and wet rockface creating an orange glow from the reflection.

In recent years, a lack of water or cloudy weather has meant the spectacular effect does not appear during the brief window when the sun is aligned perfectly on the fall.

This year, images of the firefall at Horsetail Fall has blanketed social media.
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Fish

Bizarre deep sea fish found off Victoria coast, Australia

Nelson Groom and Tang Li
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 20 Feb 2016 19:02 UTC
bizarre deep sea creature
The bizarre deep sea creature is the second in the past few weeks to be caught in Australian waters

A bizarre deep sea creature with bug eyes and dozens of needle-like teeth has been pulled ahsore - the second sea monster to appear in Australian waters in less than a week.

The outlandish creature was caught off the Victoria state coast by a fishing trawler, the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association said.

Experts said the animal may be an Endo's Goosefish - Lophiodes endoi, also known by some people as 'monkfish' - is a deepwater member of the anglerfish family.

Growing to 38cm, this species can be found around the south-eastern and western margins of Australia's continental shelf in waters ranging from 275-500m deep.
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Bizarro Earth

Red rainbow photographed over the Netherlands


SpaceWeather
Sun, 21 Feb 2016 18:05 UTC
Rainbows are normally red, yellow, green and blue--in short, all the colors of a rainbow. But the towering rainbow Jan Koeman photographed from Kloetinge, the Netherlands, on Feb. 18th was simply red:
Red rainbow
© Jan KoemanTaken by Jan Koeman on February 18, 2016 @ Kloetinge, the Netherlands.
"I have never seen such a rainbow before," says Koeman. "It appeared just a few minutes after a red sunrise."

What made the rainbow red? It was only color available. All of the other colors of the rainbow had been scattered away by air molecules and dust particles in front of the low-hanging sun.

Koeman notes another puzzle: Rainbows require raindrops, "but it was not raining at all!" he says. Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley thinks the raindrops were there, in the distance. "There could be rain on the horizon or virga. Virga is cloud precipitation that does not reach the ground," says Cowley.

Red rainbows are more common than you might think. They appear with frequency at sunrise or sunset, all around the world. More examples may be found in the realtime photo gallery.
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Attention

Dead whale found in waters off Zambales, Philippines

Allan Macatuno
Inquirer.net
Sat, 20 Feb 2016 17:52 UTC
A PYGMY sperm whale that beached in San Narciso, Zambales, on Sunday died on Monday.
© OCEAN ADVENTUREA pygmy sperm whale that beached in San Narciso, Zambales, on Sunday died on Monday.
A dead whale was found in the waters off the coastal town of Candelaria in Zambales province on Saturday morning, local police said.

Residents of Barangay (village) Dampay discovered the carcass of the whale floating some 100 kilometers from the coastline at 9 a.m., said SPO4 Tomas Mejos, team leader of a unit deployed by the Candelaria Police Station.

"The whale was about the size of a minibus," Mejos said in a telephone interview.

The species of the whale has yet to be identified, Mejos added.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Luzon has sent a team to determine the cause of the whale's death, said Nelson Bien, chief of the agency's fisheries resources and management division.

As of 1 p.m., residents were still towing the animal to the shore, Mejos added.
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Bizarro Earth

Forest Grove neighborhood frustrated over mysterious noise

Chris Liedle
KATU News
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 17:03 UTC
forest grove orergon
People living in a west Forest Grove neighborhood are puzzled by a high-pitched whistling noise.

Paula Lynch told KATU News she first heard the noise several weeks ago. She's heard the noise about five times, and at all hours of the day.

On Friday, she recorded a 30-second video and posted it to social media, hoping someone had an answer.
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