Earth ChangesS


Butterfly

Neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for butterfly decline in the UK

Stuart Winter
Daily Express, UK
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 19:38 UTC
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© GettyThe decline of butterflies could be attributed to insect harming pesticides
Researchers say 15 species of native butterfly have shown downward population trends associated with neonicotinoid use. The chemicals - known as "neonics", for short - have been thought to harm birds, bees and other wildlife, but this is the first time there has been scientific claims they may be contributing to the decline of butterflies.

Over the past decade, once widespread butterflies have disappeared at the rate of 58 per cent across English farmland. Details of a study based on findings gathered by volunteers from across more than 1,000 UK sites as part of the long-running UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS), recorded declines in species such as the small tortoiseshell, the wall butterfly and small skipper.

"Our study not only identifies a worrying link between the use of neonicotinoids and declines in butterflies, but also suggests that the strength of their impact on many species could be huge," warns ecologist Dr Andre Gilburn of the University of Stirling, who led the study.
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Fish

Thousands of dying starfish mysteriously wash up on Moreton Island, Australia

Nelson Groom
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 19:00 UTC
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A rare mass stranding of starfish on Moreton Island which left a tour guide and his group stunned
Thousands of dying starfish have mysteriously washed up on an island in what has been deemed a rare natural phenomenon.

Tour guide Rhett Ericsen-Miller stumbled upon the stranded sealife with a tour group near Tangalooma Wrecks, a fleet of shipwrecks, in southeast Queensland's Moreton Island.

The video he uploaded on Facebook has amassed nearly 20 thousand views, while scientists are unsure of exactly what caused the mass stranding.

The vision shows a long stretch of the island's shore lined with the fish, making it impossible to throw them all back into the water.

A Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman told Brisbane Times it could have been caused by strong winds or a dramatic change in water temperatures.

'As far as we are aware it's a natural phenomenon, and at this stage we have no information to indicate otherwise,' she said.

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Fire

Major wildfire kills two as farm animals burned alive in southern Australia


Sky News
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 17:09 UTC
Australia wildfires
© AAP
A "fast-moving and dangerous" bush fire leaves two people dead, with thousands of animals thought to have been burned alive.

Firefighters are battling to control a major wildfire in southern Australia which has killed two people and thousands of livestock.

Around 200 firefighters and several aircraft have reportedly been deployed to try and control the blaze, which is burning across a 27-mile front near Adelaide.

One person died in a paddock while a second died in a car, Australian media reported.

Comment: It is not only Australia where the "length and intensity of the fire season" is increasing. A study has shown that wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth.

Globally we are witnessing extensive wildfires, which in some regions have been described as "unprecedented". The National Interagency Fire Center has described the 2015 wildfire season in the United States as a record breaker. The Amazon jungle is going up in smoke with tens of thousands of wildfires so far this year. Wildfires in Indonesia are causing a toxic haze which threatens millions in southeast Asia.

Rather than attributing this increase to "climate change" which "causes temperatures to rise", could a significant factor in the escalation of these wildfires be that they are fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources?

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Cloud Precipitation

Flooding in Saudi Arabia and Qatar after one year of rain falls in a day

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 17:21 UTC
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© Saudi Arabia Civil DefenceSaudi Arabia Civil Defence teams carrying out flood rescues in Buraidah, Al-Qassim Region.
Seasonal storms brought heavy rain to Qatar and central and eastern parts of Saudi Arabia on 25 November 2015.

Doha, Qatar, recorded more than a year's worth of rain in one day. One person has been reported as killed in the floods in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia in what is the third deadly flood event to hit the country in the last 4 weeks.


Saudi Arabia

The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported earlier today that seasonal storms brought heavy rainfall in central and eastern areas of the country, causing severe flooding in Riyadh and Al-Qassim Regions.

Saudi Arabia civil defence report that 1 person has died in the floods in the province of Rimah, Riyadh Region, which is located about 120 kilometres north-east of the capital Riyadh.

Schools have been closed, roads blocked and in some cases flooding has forced drivers to abandon their vehicles. Saudi Arabia civil defence say they have responded to dozens of emergency calls. The city of Buraidah, Al-Qassim Region, is reported as one of the worst hit.
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Fish

Large number of dead starfish and crabs wash up on Lincolnshire beach, UK


Lincolnshire Echo
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 15:58 UTC
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© Ian Mann A haul of dead starfish and crabs has been found on the beach at Ingoldmells
A haul of dead starfish, crabs and other marine life has been discovered on a Lincolnshire beach.

Ian Mann, who owns a holiday home at the Skegness Sands park discovered the dead sea creatures this morning on a stretch of beach at Ingoldmells.

He said: "It was like a killing spree.

"I was just walking my dog on the beach and I threw the ball for him when I noticed something was washed up.

"I went for a closer look and noticed all these dead starfish.

"There were some in little puddles.
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Attention

Alert level 1 for Kanlaon Volcano after steam explosion, Philippines

Aries Joseph Hegina
newsinfo.inquirer.net
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 15:26 UTC
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© AFP Residents look towards the Kanlaon volcano from Kanlaon, central Philippines. File Photo
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has hoisted Alert Level 1 over Kanlaon volcano on Tuesday after it had a steam explosion.

The steam explosion, which occurred at 9:55 p.m. on Monday, lasted for eight minutes, Phivolcs reported.

The explosion produced a 1.0-1.5 kilometer high white plume above the summit before drifting towards the southwest," it said.

On Tuesday morning, Kanlaon continues to emit steam with minor ash.

Prior to Monday night's steam explosion, only four volcanic quakes were recorded in Kanlaon. However, a volcanic tremor which lasted five hours has since recorded after the explosion.
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Attention

Enormous mounds of methane found off the coast of the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia

Richard Gray
Mail Online
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:23 UTC
pingos discovered
© Pavel SerovArctic scientists have discovered huge mounds, some up to 3,280ft (990 metres) wide and 30ft (9 metres) tall, on the sea bed of the South Kara Sea off the coast of Siberia using seismic surveys (pictured). They said melting permafrost on the seabed is releasing methane that is forcing the earth above it to bulge upwards
Huge mounds filled with methane have been discovered forming on the frozen sea bed of the Arctic Ocean, raising fears they are being caused by climate change.

Scientists fear thawing permafrost beneath the ocean is causing methane to become free, forming underwater pingos - mounds of earth and ice - off the coast of the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia.

Similar structures are thought to be behind enormous craters that have appeared on the land on the peninsula as methane exploded out of the Earth.


Comment: Update! Russian scientists explore site of 'crater-hole' in Yamal Peninsula: Probably result of internal forces not seen in 8,000 years


The researchers warn the underwater pingos appear to be forming through the same process and are also at risk of causing huge blow outs under the ocean.

This could release huge amounts of methane - a potent greenhouse gas - into the atmosphere.

Comment: The 'warming' that is taking place is likely due to increased volcanic activity, especially under the Arctic Ocean, where methane clathrate deposits are being ruptured in enormous quantities these days, releasing methane gas into the atmosphere. Recently an active underwater volcano was discovered spewing methane gas in southern Alaska.

Sinkholes and fissures of all descriptions appearing all over the world in recent years, as the planet is literally 'opening up'. A few recent incidents include:

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Camera

Continuing its rampant activity, Colima volcano erupts spectacularly in Mexico


RT
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 00:53 UTC
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© Screenshot via webcams de Mexico
Mexico's Fire Volcano is continuing its rampant activity spitting out ash and instilling fear in both locals and visitors to breathtaking effect. Webcams de Mexico has captured the latest stunning Colima volcano activity.

A moderate explosion recorded Tuesday, shows the crater of one of the most deadly volcanoes in the world slowly steaming away when it suddenly erupts, sending debris into the air.

The heated material than falls on the slopes as flashes of volcanic lightning are seen before the ash is whipped up by the wind. After the blast, which happened early Tuesday, the plume from the eruption spread roughly one kilometer into the air. Further eruptions saw the plume reaching roughly 2.5 km into the air.

The volcano continues to remain restless, after being home to a powerful eruption on November 16. On this date, the plume of smoke and ash from the Fire Volcano reached some 3,000 meters into the air. Webcams de Mexico also offers footage of the spectacular explosion.

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Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 7.5 quake jolts Peru-Brazil border


RT
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 00:52 UTC
Peru earthquake
© earthquake.usgs.gov
A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake, initially reported as 6.9, has struck eastern Peru, close to the border with Brazil, according to USGS.

The quake was extremely deep, some 600 kilometers below ground level. Besides Peru and Brazil, shaking has also been felt in neighboring Bolivia.

The epicenter of the quake was located in an unpopulated area of the Amazon Basin, 175 kilometers from the closest Peruvian town of Iberia, and some 250 km from the Brazil's Brasileia and Bolivia's Cobija.

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Tornado2

Waterspout spotted off Oman's Sur coast

Rejimon K
Times of Oman
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:07 UTC
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© Times of Oman
A waterspout was spotted off Sur coast today, a weather enthusiast said.

A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water. They are connected to a towering cumuliform cloud or a cumulonimbus cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water.

"A waterspout appeared in Sur sea. It's a rare phenomenon, which occurs during cyclone season. Skies are cloudy too," Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administrator of www.rthmc.net, a local Web-based forum that discusses weather in Oman, told Times of Oman.

In its latest tweet, Oman meteorology department has predicted rain in coastal areas of Oman. On Sunday itself, meteorology department has predicted heavy rain in northern parts of Oman from today till the end of the week.

In the Sunday's advisory, the meteorology department added that Oman will likely witness deep depression as moderate to heavy rain is expected on Musandam and North Al Batinah while other governorates will witness varied rain shower except for Dhofar and Al Wusta.
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