Earth ChangesS


Red Flag

Scientist finds 20% of California forests at risk of dying due to drought conditions

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© Noah Berger / Reuters
A lead scientist for the Carnegie Airborne Observatory spent three weeks flying over California's forests in Sacramento and Bakersfield in order to laser map them. The results were shocking: up to 20 percent of the state's forests are at risk of dying. The results come as California endures its fourth year of drought and its worst forest fire season in history.

The Carnegie team used a special plane outfitted with two special instruments with which they could map millions of trees a day - a LiDAR and an image spectrometer. The LiDAR fires two lasers out of the bottom of the plane that capture 3D images of the forest, and the image spectrometer measures the chemical makeup of trees. The instruments allowed Carnegie's Greg Asner to rapidly measure trees in bulk - about 8 million per hour - rather than having to measure individual trees by hand.

A unique set of sensors were employed to reveal the trees' water content, an indicator of whether they are stressed by drought or likely to die.

"We've been all over the state...And we've seen everything from forests that are doing just fine to other forests that are in real trouble where we're seeing lots of mortality, extreme drought stress, scary stuff in different parts of the state," Asner told Al Jazeera America.

Comment: Trees are part of the key to life on this planet. It's rather symbolic that in the U.S. there seems to be an extinction in process of that which gives life.


Attention

Outgassing? Inquest finds sewer deaths of Dublin brothers caused by 'toxic levels of hydrogen sulphide'

Harris brothers sewer deaths
Alan and Stephen Harris, Robbie and the entrance to Drumnigh Woods, Co. Dublin, Ireland, where the accident took place.
Two brothers overcome by fumes while working in an underground sewer died of hypoxia due to toxic levels of hydrogen sulphide. Brothers Alan (45) and Stephen (32) Harris were working on a sewage drain at Drumnigh Woods estate in Portmarnock, Co Dublin when the accident occurred last June.

Alan Harris of Hazelbury Pk, Clonee, Dublin 15 died at Beaumont Hospital on June 10 last. His brother Stephen Harris of Monasterboice Rd, Crumlin, Dublin 12 died two days later. Both men died as a result of hypoxia, secondary to exposure to toxic concentrations of hydrogen sulphide, Dublin Coroner's Court heard.

A double inquest into the brothers' deaths was opened and adjourned before Coroner Dr Brian Farrell and members of the Harris family including Alan Harris' wife Tracey.

The brothers were working for Alan Harris' family company Harris Draintech at the Portmarnock estate on the evening of Wednesday June 10 2015 when the accident happened.

The pair were working in a pit, part of an underground drainage system, when they were overcome by toxic levels of hydrogen sulphide, a deadly colourless, poisonous gas.

"The two brothers were working at the housing estate Drumnigh Woods in Portmarnock on an underground drainage system. They were self employed, working for Alan's company, a family company," Insp John Gordon of Coolock Garda Station told the inquest.

Comment: As high levels of hydrogen sulfide builds up, such tragic accidents may become a lot more common. Those working on sewer systems or living in 'low-lying areas' may be particularly susceptible to these potentially fatal 'heavier than air' toxic fumes.

Such outgassing may also be responsible for some of the "unprecedented" wildfires and massive explosions we have witnessed this year, possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources. See also:

Two brothers die after inhaling sewer fumes in Dublin tragedy
Methane is a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature and standard pressure, and as residents 'complained of a smell' prompting the sewer inspection, this tragedy could be related to inhalation of other toxic 'sewer gases'. Such as hydrogen sulfide, which does have an odor and is "heavier than air, very poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and explosive".



Binoculars

Lost hooded warbler a big draw for Calgary birdwatchers

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© Wikipedia Commons / Magnus Manske

The first hooded warbler to touch down in Calgary in 11 years, the little bird was first spotted two weeks in Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Birdwatchers flock for a look and listen after warbler likely blown off course on its way to Mexico.

Bird watchers are flocking to Lafarge Meadows in Fish Creek Provincial Park to get a look at a rare bird, likely lost on its way to Mexico.

"This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first time in over 11 years one's been in Calgary," said Andrew Hart, president of Nature Calgary. "And the other one probably got lost as well."

Hart said the yellow-bodied hooded warbler, recognizable from the black feathers around its head, was likely caught in a storm and thrown off course.


Wolf

Residents on alert after coyote attacks father and toddler in Forbes, California; six attacks in the area since May

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Irvine authorities and residents are on alert after the most recent coyote attack on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2015.
California Fish and Wildlife officials say they're working with professional trappers after a coyote attacked a father and his 3-year-old son in Irvine Wednesday night.

The attack happened in the first block of Forbes in Irvine, shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Authorities said the man was working in his garage when the coyote bit the toddler in his right knee. The boy then jumped to his father's back and then the animal bit the 40-year-old man in the right side of his buttocks.

"All of a sudden his son jumped on his back. He thought his son was just playing and when he got up, he realized his son was bit by a coyote," said Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi

Neighbors scared away the coyote and the animal has yet to be found.


Attention

Deceased humpback whale turns up in Lloyd Harbor: Second dead whale for New York coast within a week

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© Town of Huntington Facebook page
Humpback whales have been spotted playing in Long Island Sound waters several times in the past month. But unfortunately, a not-so-happy whale sighting was reported in Lloyd Harbor this weekend.

A dead humpback whale was found in the harbor after a local resident noticed that the whale may have been in distress on Saturday, according to the Town of Huntington.

The Town Harbormaster responded and confirmed that the female humpback whale was deceased. The Town then contacted the The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation and the Coast Guard, which then took the whale to a Coast Guard facility to determine its cause of death.

Comment: See also: Dead humpback whale washes up in Montauk, New York


Attention

Dead humpback whale washes up in Montauk, New York

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© Riverhead FoundationA dead humpback whale, measuring 26 feet long, washed up about a quarter-mile east of Ditch Plain Beach. The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation was notified of the whale on Monday.
A dead humpback whale washed ashore at Ditch Plain Beach in Montauk for what is believed to be the second time in less than a week. Officials from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation believe the carcass is the same one that washed up on Thursday and then was washed back out to sea before they could get to it.

The badly decomposed carcass was in a difficult area to traverse, about a quarter mile east of Ditch Plain, and biologists were only able to get there to examine it on Monday afternoon with the assistance of East Hampton Marine Patrol. The humpback was a male that measured approximately 26 feet. They believe it is the same whale that washed up nearby on Wednesday night. The tide had taken it back out by Thursday morning.

Attention

Over 200 earthquakes swarm San Francisco Bay Area

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© USGSA USGS map shows more than 200 temblors that have struck San Ramon in the past seven days.
A swarm of more than 200 earthquakes have rumbled through San Ramon in the Bay Area in recent days, including a 3.5 temblor Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The biggest quake in the area in the past 24 hours was a magnitude 3.6 that struck about 4:20 p.m. Monday about one mile northeast of San Ramon. Shaking was felt as far as 14 miles away in Walnut Creek, the USGS reported.

Nearly 60 earthquakes, most of them so small they can't be felt, have rumbled beneath San Ramon since Monday morning. But looking further back, the town has seen 238 earthquakes since Oct. 13, some of them coming just minutes apart. Besides Monday afternoon's temblor, two others quakes were above magnitude 3.0.

Alarm Clock

5.5 magnitude earthquake shakes Japan's Fukushima & Miyagi regions

Japan 5.5 earthquake
© www.jma.go.jp
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake has hit near the Fukushima prefecture in Japan, with residents of some 10 other prefectures feeling the tremor.

The quake occurred off the northeast coast of Japan. No tsunami warning has been issued.

The epicenter was near the Fukushima coastline, at a depth of 30 kilometers.

People in affected areas of Japan took to Twitter to say they felt the tremor.

Comment: As Japanese authorities adopt new secrecy laws whilst urging citizens to move back to Fukushima, the legacy of the recent disaster reveals thousands have died since the evacuations, with suicide and cancer rates on the rise. See also:


Bizarro Earth

Powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes north east of Vanuatu

Vanuatu Quake
© Google Maps
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 has struck the Pacific Ocean near the island nation of Vanuatu, seismologists say.

The earthquake, at 8:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday, was centered about 46 kilometers (29 miles) northeast of Port-Olry, or about 339 kilometers (211 miles) north-northwest of Port-Vila, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. It struck about 117 kilometers (72 miles) deep, making it a fairly deep earthquake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami.

"Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat because the earthquake is located too deep inside the Earth," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.

UPDATE: The United States Geological Survey has downgraded the magnitude of the earthquake to 7.1.

Snowflake Cold

Winter getting a head start: Record cold and storms forecast for northeast U.S.

early winter new jersey
© New Jersey Weather and Climate NetworkNew Jersey low temperatures on Oct. 19, 2015
Talk about a frigid morning in New Jersey!

The mercury plunged to 27 degrees in Trenton on Monday, shattering the previous record low for Oct. 19: 30 degrees set in 1986 and 1974, according to the National Weather Service's Mount Holly Office.

In Atlantic City, the temperature dropped to 28 and it was the coldest morning in October since Halloween in 2011, according to the weather service.

Locally, the mercury sank to 23 degrees in Berkeley, 24 in Upper Freehold and 25 in Howell, according to the New Jersey Weather and Climate Network.

The cold led to a widespread freeze in the entire region covered by the Mount Holly Office, according to a forecast discussion. In some cases, it was a hard freeze, with temperatures of 28 degrees or lower.

"As a result, the growing season has now ended for the entire region," the discussion says.

On Sunday, I drove from Pittsford, New York, to New Jersey and encountered snow showers on the New York State Thruway. Good thing the highway didn't seem slippery, at least when and where I was driving

Comment: Looks like it's getting started.