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Researchers find first evidence of deep-sea animals ingesting microplastics

Microplastic fibre inside sea pen polyp.
© Michelle TaylorMicroplastic fibre inside sea pen polyp.
Scientists working in the mid-Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean have found evidence of microfibers ingested by deep sea animals including hermit crabs, squat lobsters and sea cucumbers, revealing for the first time the environmental fallout of microplastic pollution.

The UK government recently announced that it is to ban plastic microbeads, commonly found in cosmetics and cleaning materials, by the end of 2017. This followed reports by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee about the environmental damage caused microbeads. The Committee found that a single shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean.

Researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford, working on the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Cook at two sites, have now found evidence of microbeads inside creatures at depths of between 300m and 1800m. This is the first time microplastics — which can enter the sea via the washing of clothes made from synthetic fabrics or from fishing line nets — have been shown to have been ingested by animals at such depth.

The results are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Attention

Bear attacks man twice in Madison County, Montana

Bear attack
A 50-year-old Bozeman man escaped a mauling by the same sow bear — possibly a grizzly — twice on Saturday morning on the North Fork of Bear Creek. Still, he was able to drive himself about 17 miles to the Ennis hospital, authorities said.

While scouting possible hunting locations 3 miles down the trail, the unidentified man encountered a sow and her cub — suspected to be grizzlies, said Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson. The first incident occurred at about 7:15 or 7:30 a.m.

Despite yelling, using bear spray, and rolling into a ball to play dead, the bear chewed on the man and jumped on him.

"He did everything he was supposed to do," said Thompson. "He got a small fracture in his left forearm when the bear jumped on him."

Finally, the bear took off and the man continued his way back to the trailhead.

But the bear wasn't done with him.

Comment: It seems that the bears in Montana are revolting, see also this report from 5 days ago: 2 hunters injured in separate bear attacks in Montana


Seismograph

Shallow 5.7 magnitude earthquake recorded off Ilocos, Philippines

Graph
© Dimas Ardian, Getty Images
5.7 magnitude earthquake 4 km from Balingasay, Ilocos, Philippines
about 5 hours ago

UTC time: Sunday, October 02, 2016 13:40 PM

Your time: Sunday, October 2 2016 2:40 PM

Magnitude Type: mb

USGS page: M 5.7 - 11km WNW of Balingasay, Philippines

USGS status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Reports from the public: 19 people

about 5 hours ago 5.7 magnitude, 10 km depth

Balingasay, Ilocos, Philippines

Seismograph

Southern California under heightened earthquake alert

Salton Sea
A series of small temblors occurred deep under the Salton Sea

Southern California residents should remain on heightened alert until Tuesday for the increased possibility of a major earthquake, officials said.

The warning by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services follows a series of small temblors deep under the Salton Sea, which is located on the 800-mile-long San Andreas fault, the Orange County Register reported Saturday.

Such warnings are typically issued once or twice a year, said Kelly Huston, the deputy director of criss communications for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

The latest alert was issued after 142 temblors hit starting Monday near Bombay Beach at the southern end of the fault. Those quakes ranged from a magnitude of 1.4 to 4.3, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 2 in Sylhet, Bangladesh

lightning
© 123RF
Two people were killed in a lightning strike in front MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in the city on Sunday morning.

One deceased was identified as Abdul Mukit.

Witnesses said the thunderbolt stuck them as they were standing in front of the emergency unit of the hospital around 8.30am, leaving Mukit dead on the spot and another unidentified man injured.

The injured was admitted to the hospital where doctor declared him dead, according to a news agency.

Attention

Four rare dugongs found dead in a week off the coast of Queensland, Australia

Four dugongs found dead in one week
Four dugongs found dead in one week
With dugongs listed 'vulnerable to extinction' in Queensland, four deaths in one week has highlighted the need for the State Government to organise post-mortem examinations, WWF-Australia says.

Wednesday, September 21: a dead dugong was found among mangroves near Armstrong Beach, south of Mackay

Friday, September 23: a researcher took a DNA sample from a dugong drowned in a commercial fishing net at Saunders Beach, north of Townsville.

Sunday, September 25: a recreational fisher photographed a dead dugong near the Booral flats just south of Hervey Bay.

Tuesday, September 27: another dead dugong was found south of TownsvilleThe dugong death off Saunders Beach is the second fatality in that location in the past three months. In June, researchers posted pictures on Twitter of a dead animal with suspected entanglement marks.

Cloud Lightning

Update: Death toll due to lightning strikes climbs to 9 in Rajasthan, India

lightning
© 123RF
Three more persons including two women were killed after being struck by lightning in separate incidents in Rajasthan, taking the toll to 9 in the state.

Taijabai Bagri (40), a resident of Saimle village of Jhalawar district was killed last evening after being struck by lighting while she was working in the field, police said.

In a separate incident, Sugnabai Bheel, a resident of Khajuri village, was killed after she was struck by lighting.

The minor was rushed to a government hospital in Jhalawar but doctors declared her as brought dead, police said, adding the bodies of the deceased were handed over to family members after postmortem.

Harnavdashahaji, Chipabarode and Chhabra areas of Baran district witnessed light to moderately heavy showers with thunders and sky lighting yesterday afternoon.

Five women labourers, Chandabai, Seema, Manbhar, Santosh and Balchandibai, were killed after they were struck by lightning while working in the fields at three different places in Balapura, Harnavdashashaji and Deegod-Jagir area, ASI of Harnavdashahaji Police Station, Mohanchand, said.

Attention

Six previously undiscovered volcanoes found near Italy's deadly Mt Vesuvius

volcanoes submerged near Naples
© GettyThe volcanoes are submerged near the coast of Naples

SIX previously undiscovered volcanoes have been found off of the coast of Naples, all of which are situated close to the deadly Mt Vesuvius.


The newly found submerged volcanoes lie just three kilometres from the Gulf of Naples - home to Mt Vesuvius.

Mt Vesuvius is responsible for one of the most deadly eruptions in human history when, in 79 AD, the huge volcano erupted over the city of Pompeii, killing all 11,000 inhabitants of the ancient Roman-ruled area.

Researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the University of Naples Federico II and the National Research Council discovered the new volcanoes during a campaign in 2014 to garner more information on Vesuvius, which is overdue an eruption, but information has only just been released.

INGV's Guido Ventura said: "We detected new points of carbon dioxide emissions in the Gulf of Naples, which is quite common in geothermal and volcanic areas such as Naples.

"And here we have discovered six volcanic structures (cones and domes) with a diameter of 800 meters, unknown until now."

Comment: There has been a sharp rise in observable volcanic activity on our planet's surface in recent times. However, the vast majority of the planet's volcanoes are located underwater (up to one million is estimated).

Unprecedented marine heatwaves could be attributed to increased quantities of CO2, methane outgassing and heat coming up from below, i.e. passing up through the oceans from within the planet, heating and acidifying the planet's oceans.

Such activity may be a significant contributory factor to the increasing number of bizarre, odd (perhaps even mutated species), previously unknown and mysterious creatures being discovered recently, together with increases in abnormal animal and marine behavior. All over the world such 'strange' and 'unusual' incidents are quickly becoming the norm, as are mass fish die offs.


Camera

Sprites and lightning captured above hurricane Matthew

Sprites above Hurricane Matthew
© Frankie LucenaSprites seen near Aruba and Colombia high above Hurricane Matthew from a vantage point 400 miles southwest of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

As major hurricane Matthew rapidly intensified into a Category 5 just north of Colombia, something peculiar was lighting up the skies far above Matthew's devastating winds and gargantuan waves. Lightning was electrifying the skies for hundreds of miles around Matthew's eyewall and eastern feederbands.

But this wasn't entirely the normal lightning that you think of that zig-zags its way to the ground. Although lightning was also striking the Caribbean Sea below, there were also upper atmospheric lightning strikes, called sprites, exploding above the high thunderstorm cloud tops below.



Comment: A couple of weeks ago an enormous 'jellyfish' sprite was photographed over the Caribbean Sea. Rare red sprites have also been captured this year over Texas and Arizona.

Electric universe theory provides rational, intelligible explanations for such atmospheric phenomena as sprites, ball lightning, plasma discharges, noctilucent clouds, lightning, hurricanes and tornadoes. For more information on this and much more read, Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk.


Seismograph

USGS: Alaska hit by 5.2 magnitude earthquake

Alaska
© Flickr/ Joseph

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck off the Alaskan coast on Sunday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The quake occurred at 22:07 GMT on Saturday at a depth of 20.9 kilometers (about 13 miles), 236 kilometers (147 miles) south of False Pass, a city in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, according to the USGS. No information on casualties or damage from the quake has been provided yet.