Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

Cyclone Chapala triggers heavy flooding in Yemen

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© Twitter @ionacraigMukala is pictured under water after the Chapala cyclone struck the coast of Yemen
A rare tropical cyclone slammed into Yemen on Tuesday, triggering heavy flooding and causing damage in the southeastern region of the war-torn country.

Packing winds of more than 60 mph, Cyclone Chapala made landfall in the provinces of Hadramawt and Shabwa, Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafain told Agence France-Presse.

"The damage is enormous," said the minister, who is part of a commission established to deal with the cyclone that brewed in the Arabian Sea.

The World Health Organization said that it had delivered trauma kits for 1,000 patients in Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, and was providing fuel for hospitals and ambulances.



Bizarro Earth

Should we be alarmed? Models predict abrupt changes in food chains as Southern Ocean acidifies fast

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© Craig PlattAntarctica waters have a low threshold to start with, before carbon emissions are added.
The Southern Ocean is acidifying at such a rate because of rising carbon dioxide emissions that large regions may be inhospitable for key organisms in the food chain to survive as soon as 2030, new US research has found.


Comment: That is 15 years from now. Marine life is more threatened by humans eating them than by climate change.


Tiny pteropods, snail-like creatures that play an important role in the food web, will lose their ability to form shells as oceans absorb more of the CO2 from the atmosphere, a process already observed over short periods in areas close to the Antarctic coast.

Ocean acidification is often dubbed the "evil twin" of climate change. As CO2 levels rise, more of it is absorbed by seawater, resulting in a lower pH level and reduced carbonate ion concentration. Marine organisms with skeletons and shells then struggle to develop and maintain their structures.

Comment: What if carbon emissions are a natural consequence of our changing world, what then can the world leaders do about it besides selling us another scam?


Sun

Stunning sun dog captured in Hertfordshire, UK skies

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© photosofweather.com

This is one of the most colourful examples of a Sun Dog I have ever seen. A sun dog is a beautiful example of atmospheric optics. This is a term used to describe the interaction between light and our atmosphere. You may have heard a sun dog described as different things. It's different names include a parhelion or mock sun. The cirrus clouds present in this image are a type of high level cloud. On this particular day they are all contrails.

The beautiful spectral colours of a sun dog can be found at 22 degrees, either side of the Sun. This photo was taken on a really cold day, -13 degrees centigrade! Hexagonal plate shaped ice crystals high in the atmosphere refract light. If millions of them refract light in just the right way we get a sun dog or sun dogs! A sun dog can also be part of a larger 22 degree halo. These phenomena are known as Ice Halos.

There are a great range of atmospheric optics that we can observe and photograph. Take a look at the atmospheric optics page of this site to see more examples. I took this photograph of a sun dog at Patmore Heath in Hertfordshire. Patmore Heath is an SSSI. That is a special site of scientific interest. This is due to the diverse range of wildlife and plant species found living there.

Comment: A combination of possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere is producing all sorts of anomalous phenomena.


Attention

Whale found dead on Oman coast

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© ONAWhale washes ashore on Oman coast
A 20-metre 'Ambar' whale drifted ashore on Tuesday at Fushi Beach located between centre of the Wilayat of Sadah and Hadbeen area after getting caught in a fishing net used by fishing boats.

Said bin Masoud Al Amri, Director of Fisheries Department in Sadah said that the Fisheries Research Center in Raysut will deal with the issue and the concerned authorities will remove it.

Arrow Down

100ft-deep sinkhole swallows garden in Cornwall, UK

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© SWNS
A 93-year-old woman miraculously survived after a 100ft-deep sinkhole suddenly opened up in front of her missing her by just inches.

Stunned Kathleen Angel watched on in horror as the giant sinkhole 'devoured' her garden. The huge death trap appeared after builders burst a water pipe during work to construct two new homes nearby. Kathleen, a widow, who lives in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, said: "It was a great shock. I heard something and looked up and there it was, a very deep, big hole in the middle of my garden. It is very concerning, very much so."

The hole turned out to be a disused mine shaft, which neighbours estimated to be over 100ft deep, and has now been cordoned off by wire fencing. Next-door neighbour Jim Ashford, 92, said: "Kathleen has not been coping well, when she heard about it I thought it was going to finish her off. "She lives on her own, I know her son-in-law comes to visit her, but she is a very reclusive person."

His son Nick added: "The building work is a living nightmare. It's been going on for two months and we were given no warning beforehand about what would happen. "The effects of it all are terrible, and it all culminated on Saturday, just as the rugby was on, when suddenly a 100ft hole appeared in the garden next door. "If Kathleen was standing over it she would have died.

Attention

10 pilot whales strand on Calais beach, France; 7 die

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© EPA/Fred Collier
Pilot whales stranded on a Calais beach, despite huge efforts only three of the mamals could be saved.
A school of 10 whales that washed up on Monday in northern France may have done so voluntarily after the death of the dominant male, an expert said.

Seven of the whales found on the beach in Calais have not survived.

"The group was in the middle of a deep-sea migration towards the Faroe Islands to reproduce and feed," said Jacky Karpouzopoulos, of the Centre for Marine Mammal Research at La Rochelle.

"It's possible that this was a voluntary family beaching, whereby the dominant male died at sea and the rest followed his body," she said.

Arrow Up

Mexico's Colima volcano explodes five times in one morning

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© screenshot via IB Times
Mexicos Colima or Fire volcano erupted once again on 1 November, as its period of activity rolls on. There were five explosions between 8am and noon local time, and ash from the volcano reached 1,500 metres into the sky.

Located in the southwestern Mexican state of Colima, the Fire volcano has been exhibiting continuous activity since 9 July. Over several months, nearby villages have been blanketed with thick coats of ash, leading to evacuations.

The eruption on Sunday morning required no such evacuation. But officials were releasing warnings to locals to cover their faces and to be careful before drinking water.

The volcano, officially known as Colima, was previously active in January and February of 2015 and is part of the Pacifics Ring of Fire.

Mexico has more than 3,000 volcanos, but only 14 are considered active. Major eruptions in Mexican history have included the Paricutin volcano in Michoacan in 1953, the Tacana volcano in Chiapas in 1982, and the Colima volcano in 1986.


Comment: Colima has been very active recently. See:


Cloud Precipitation

Southern Italy hit by deadly floods following 2 days of heavy rain

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© Nazionale AnpasNazionale Anpas provide assistance after major flooding in Calabria, Italy, November 2015.
Calabria and Sicily in southern Italy endured heavy rain since Sunday 01 November 2015, resulting in severe flooding and an increased thereat of landslides. At least 2 people have died in weather related incidents.

Calabria

The Calabrian regional government said yesterday that it will request a state of emergency to be declared to help the region recover from flood damage. Italian news agency ANSI describe the damage as huge. Calabria has already endured major flooding this year when, in August 2015, more than 200mm of rain fell in 24 hours.

The city of Reggio Calabria is reported to be one of the worst hit areas. Local emergency workers has to respond to hundreds of calls. Evacuations were carried out in the city of Catanzaro.

Power has been cut in many areas of the region, and houses, roads and railway lines have been severely damaged. A 750 metre stretch of coastal railway line has been severely damaged. Around 250 emergency workers have been drafted in to help clear debris and repair damaged infrastructure.


Attention

Researchers say Seattle, Vancouver and Portland are at risk of a megaquake

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Seattle, Portland and Vancouver are at risk of being hit by a megaquake, scientists have warned. Pictured is the Juan de Fuca and Gorda plates offshore of the Pacific Northwest. The plate moves eastward from the midocean ridge and spreading center on the plate's western edge to the trench on the eastern margin
Seattle, Portland and Vancouver are at risk of being hit by a megaquake, scientists have warned.

Researchers believe a killer quake along Cascadi - a fault line which runs from Cape Mendocino, California, to Vancouver Island - is 72 years overdue.

The 'Big One' will hit when Juan de Fuca, a 700-mile chunk of the Pacific Ocean, slides under Canada and America.

Now, scientists have a better idea of how this will happen after creating the first ever detailed map of the mantle under the tectonic plate.


Sun

British heatwave: Hottest ever start to November since records began

Unseasonably warm November weather in UK
© GettyUnseasonably warm November weather has delayed the arrival of winter this year

There may only be seven weeks to go until Christmas, but that did not stop Britons flocking to the beach as the country saw the hottest start to November since records began.


There was no need for extra layers yesterday as pictures from across Britain showed dozens of people sunbathing in balmy spring-like weather on Brighton beach.

Across the country the mercury touched 72.3F (22.4C) in Ceredigion, Mid Wales, beating the previous record of 71.1F (21.7C) set in Prestatyn, north Wales, in 1946.

It is the highest November temperature recorded by the Met Office since it began collecting data in 1910.

In Wales thousands of day trippers heading to the mountains and coast with youngsters playing on the sands.

One of the warmest Halloweens on record saw thermometers hit 67F on Saturday in Hampton, south-west London.

Comment: Unseasonal record breaking high temperatures have also been reported over Eastern U.S. and elsewhere in Europe