Earth ChangesS


Blue Planet

Flashback High-resolution map reveals the Gulf of Mexico's strange geology

high-resolution map floor of the Gulf of Mexico
A new high-resolution map of the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

Data gathered by oil exploration companies was combined to create the highest resolution map ever made of the area.


The floor of the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most geologically interesting stretches of the Earth's surface. The gulf's peculiar history gave rise to a landscape riddled with domes, pockmarks, canyons, faults, and channels - all revealed in more detail than ever before by a new 1.4 billion-pixel map.

This striking view of the ocean floor off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas was created by a government agency you've likely never heard of called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The bureau's job is to manage exploration and development of the country's offshore mineral and energy resources. Consequently it has access to all the survey data that private companies collect.

The exploration companies use 3-D seismic imaging to map areas of the Gulf they are interested in. This involves towing high-powered underwater air guns behind a ship. When the guns fire, they create sound waves that travel down and are reflected back up by the sea floor. Lines of underwater microphones pulled along the surface behind the ship record how long it takes the reflected waves to reach them, data that can then be translated into topography.

Question

Mysterious mass bird death in Penticton, British Columbia

dead starlings
Like an ominous scene from a Hitchcock film, a flock of dead birds littering the road left a Castanet reader seeking answers.

On Saturday March 10, Naramata-area resident Mary found traffic on Naramata Road not far from La Frenz Winery suddenly slowing to a crawl. She soon discovered why.

"There were what seemed like hundreds of birds dead on the road and around it," Mary said.

She identified the birds as starlings, an invasive species in the Okanagan, and snapped a photo. Her daughter then sent the picture to Castanet in the hope that an explanation could be found.


Wolf

Teenager mauled to death and woman fighting for life after savage attacks by pack of stray dogs near Moscow

The attack occurred at around midnight
© Anna Liesowska / east2west newsThe attack occurred at around midnight
Oleg Shushunov, 18, was set upon by a pack of eight ferocious dogs while he walked to a friend's house, hours before 24-year-old Kristina Rostova was savagely attacked in the same area of Moscow

A Russian teen was savaged to death by a pack of stray dogs hours before a mother-of-one was left fighting for her life following a separate attack on the same street.

Oleg Shushunov, 18, died from blood loss after being set upon by at least eight ferocious dogs at around midnight as he was walked to a friend's house in the village of Kursakovo.

Mr Shushunov, who was about to become a father, was bitten dozens of times by the strays with a graphic picture showing his savaged body lying in the snow and his clothes ripped to shreds.

The horrific attack took place four hours before 24-year-old Kristina Rostova was mauled by a pack of stray dogs in the same village, in the Moscow region, 52 miles west of the city.

Snowflake Cold

The Beginning & End of the Modern Warm Period

Al Gore movie flop global cooling
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
This recent post discussed the end of the Modern Warm Period and the year that global cooling began. That post was inspired by a comment to a post on WUWT six to eight years ago to the effect that climate is controlled by the Sun's magnetic flux - no need to worry about much else. The comment seemed to come from a warmer scientist - they are well funded, have plenty of time on their hands, some are smart and idle curiosity would get a few looking into what controls climate. The results would not be published of course. To paraphrase Mussolini, everything within the narrative, nothing outside the narrative, nothing against the narrative. If the Sun's magnetic flux controls climate, you don't have to worry about what goes on under the hood - the effect of EUV on the NAO, the GCR flux, the F10.7 flux, any other flux apart from the magnetic flux.

Seismograph

Analysis shows Mexico City earthquake was a rare 'bending' quake - and it could happen again

earthquake mexico city
© Nacho Doce/Reuters AuthorsThe epicenter of Mexico's lethal September 2017 earthquake was less than 65 miles outside the nation's capital.
Six months have passed since a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Mexico City, toppling 40 buildings and killing over 300, but the memory remains fresh. Condemned structures dot many neighborhoods, their facades crumbling. And after an earthquake 225 miles away in Oaxaca state shook the capital city again on Feb. 16, 2018, the city mayor said hospitals treated dozens of people for panic attacks.

Seismologists, too, are still studying the Sept. 19 earthquake, trying to better understand what's happening underneath Mexico City. Our new paper in Geophysical Research Letters brings critical findings to light.

Since the damaging quake, we have been analyzing data from the national network of seismological sensors, as well as high-quality GPS stations around the country. Together, these instruments measure shaking across Mexico. We wanted to know what caused this magnitude 7.1 earthquake and whether a future shock could strike even closer to this city of 20 million.

Here's what we learned.

Info

Flashback Thousands of underwater volcanoes discovered in new seafloor map

Seafloor map
© Live Science/Scripps Institution of OceanographyThe seafloor map revealed 15,000 new seamounts.
A new topographic map of Earth's mysterious ocean floor reveals thousands of towering volcanoes, hidden gashes where supercontinents ripped apart and other never-before-seen features once veiled by miles of water and thick sediment.

The topography of Earth's seafloor is as corrugated and bumpy as a book set in Braille. By reading these peaks and ridges, scientists can chronicle the birth of new ocean crust and the past wanderings of Earth's continents.

However, even though the seafloor carries the pivotal clues to plate tectonics, the dry surface of Mars has been detailed more clearly than the ocean's watery depths.

The new map, released today (Oct. 2) in the journal Science, promises to fill in some of the blanks. Compared with the previous map, from 1997, the resolution is twice as accurate overall and four times as better in coastal areas and the Arctic, said lead study author David Sandwell, a marine geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.

Black Cat

Two dogs die in attacks as deep snow pushes British Columbia cougars out of forests

Cougar
Conservation Office fielding three to five calls a week in the Cariboo due to deep snow

Two pets were killed by a cougar within days in the Bridge Lake area.

"There was a dog kill on Tuesday [Feb. 27] and another dog that was killed today [March 1]," said Conservation Officer James Zucchelli. "We were able to track down and get the cat this afternoon."

The cougar was dispatched around Bell Road in Bridge Lake. Zucchelli said he believes the cougar is likely responsible for both dog deaths due to it's proximity to both scenes and it's likeness to a photo of the cat caught during the first attack.

The office is only 90 per cent sure due to the lack of DNA testing though and would like to remind the public to remain diligent in safeguarding their property and pets from cougars.

Comment: Also see: Siberian tiger rampages through Russian village killing dogs


Arrow Down

Large sinkhole emerges in street in Adelaide, Australia

A giant sinkhole opened up outside one family's house.
© 7 NewsA large sinkhole opened up outside one family's house.
Residents in the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth North had a shock when they woke up to see a gaping sinkhole in front of their homes.

A burst water main on Homington Road left bitumen collapsing in front of one family's eyes.

"The road actually lifted up and then just collapsed back into the ground," resident Chris Orange said.

"We were slowly watching bits of bitumen just break off from the sides, and it slowly got bigger and bigger."

Water was cut off in the area while crews worked hard to repair the road.


Comment: Recommended watching: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth


Water

Saving the world's albatrosses: 'The war is against plastic and they are casualties on the frontline'

Albatross ... ‘They are loving, sensitive and graceful,’ says Jordan.
© Chris JordanAlbatross ... ‘They are loving, sensitive and graceful,’ says Jordan.
Following his shocking photographs of dead albatross chicks and the diet of plastic that killed them, Chris Jordan's new film is a call to action to repair our broken relationship with planet Earth

We are living in a plastic age and the solutions may seem glaringly obvious, so why aren't all 7.6 billion of us already doing things differently? Shocking statistics don't guarantee effective change. So what's the alternative? American photographer and filmmaker Chris Jordan believes the focus should be on forcing people to have a stronger emotional engagement with the problems plastic causes. His famous photographs of dead albatross chicks and the colourful plastic they have ingested serve as a blunt reminder that the planet is in a state of emergency.

While making his feature-length film Albatross, Jordan considered Picasso's approach: "The role of the artist is to respect you, help you connect more deeply, and then leave it up to you to decide how to behave."

Comment: View as well: We are rapidly approaching an environmental catastrophe: Plastic waste in the ocean will outnumber fish by 2050

These seabirds are choking on a plastic ocean

Dead whale found with more than 30 plastic bags in its stomach off Sotra, Norway


Seismograph

Late night 5.2 earthquake strikes Galapagos Archipelago

galapagos earthquake march 2018
© USGSParts of Ecuador are along the dreaded Ring of Fire.
A tremor measuring 5.2 in magnitude hit Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) reported.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 14 kilometers off the coast Fernandina island. The tremor struck at about 10:00 p.m. local time. There have been no reports of damage or injuries so far.

Fernandina Island is the third largest island of the Galapagos. The island is a shield volcano that has been erupting since April 11, 2009. A shield volcano is a type of volcano usually built almost entirely of fluid lava flows.

Parts of Ecuador are along the dreaded Ring of Fire - an area in the Pacific Ocean which has a large number of seismic and volcanic activity.