Earth ChangesS


Seismograph

6.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Fiji

earthquake graph
© Flickr/ Matt Katzenberger
An earthquake of 6.1 magnitude struck off the coast of Fiji on Saturday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

According to the EMSC, the quake was centered 184 kilometers (114 miles) southwest from Nadi, a city on Fiji's main island, at the depth of 60 kilometers.

No tsunami warning was issued. The Fiji Islands are parts of the so-called Ring of Fire, a strip of volcanoes and tectonic faults in the Pacific Ocean, and the area where 90 percent of all the earthquakes occur.

Comment: A few days ago a strong 7.3 magnitude undersea earthquake struck near the Philippines. The quake was measured at a depth of 617 km (380 miles), one of the deepest ever recorded.


Snowflake Cold

Top climatologist retires, citing the scientific craziness surrounding man-made global warming

Judith Curry
© Ken Cendeno/GreenpeaceJudith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology speaks during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on "Data or Dogma" in 2015.
Judith Curry, one of climate science's most vocal critics, is leaving academe because of what she calls the poisonous nature of the scientific discussion around human-caused global warming.

Curry, 63, is retiring from her tenured position as a professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She's instead going to focus on growing her private business, Climate Forecast Applications Network, which provides insights into climate and weather risks for agriculture and energy companies.

The climatologist, who distinguished herself in the field decades ago with research into the Arctic and the causes of the climate feedback that have shaped the region, writes a blog called Climate Etc. It is by turns academic and inflammatory.

There she occasionally mocks what she calls "climate alarmists" who say time is almost out unless humanity weans itself off fossil fuels. In her blog and on Twitter, she has also criticized some of the scientists, including Pennsylvania State University climatologist Michael Mann and Harvard University climate historian Naomi Oreskes, who have become leading voices for climate action. She has testified in front of Congress, boosted by politicians who use her work to argue that environmental regulations and a scaling down of fossil fuel use will be ineffective. Her work is frequently invoked by climate skeptics and denialists. Congressional Democrats, displeased with her conclusions, have investigated the source of her funding.

Comment: It's a shame when scientists that actually follow the data, rather than their dogmatic beliefs and what is considered 'sexy science', leave the field.


Wolf

Boy suffers facial injuries in mauling by family pit bull; grandmother and mother injured in Warren, Michigan

Dog attack
A grandmother, a mother and a 3-year-old boy were mauled by a pit bull Friday morning before officers arrived and killed the dog in Warren.

The attack happened at about 11 a.m. in the 21000 block of Louge Avenue.

According to Warren police, the family's dog attacked the 3-year-old boy and caused serious facial injuries.

The 47-year-old grandmother tried to take the pit bull off the boy and the dog attacked her, biting her arms. The child's mother stepped in and she was bit in the arm.

Bizarro Earth

Sheep attacks the shepherd after being startled by passing car

Sheep attacks Sheperd
© enes asm/YouTube
In an incredible animal challenge to human authority, a sheep uncharacteristically went rogue and revolted against its shepherd in a vicious attack that was caught by the dashcam of a nearby motorist.

The shepherd was rammed no fewer than three times by the aggressive animal who took the opportunity to pounce when the rest of the flock was startled by a passing car.

In the footage, the shepherd can be seen calmly herding the flock along a picturesque mountain road when a passing car sends the animals into complete disarray.

Attention

Teenage surfer stable following shark attack at Ballina, Australia

Shark attacks
A teenage surfer was in stable condition after he was bitten by a shark Monday at the same Australian beach where a Japanese surfer was fatally mauled last year, officials said.

Cooper Allen, a 17-year-old high school student, was surfing with friends on the first day of the students' spring vacation when he was attacked off Ballina's Lighthouse Beach at midmorning, Ballina Mayor David Wright said.

The shark struck from behind and bit across the board's fins as the boy lay on the board paddling. The shark's lower jaw tore into the fiberglass as its upper teeth clamped his right hip and thigh, Wright said.

"The shark lacerated his leg in three or four places fairly deep," Wright said. "Luckily the lifeguards were on duty and got down there quickly."

Snowflake

U.S. Snowfall totals exceed 200 inches at many locations of the Sierra Nevada and Cascades; one site over 300 inches

Snow chart
Snow totals in inches for ski resorts in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada so far this season.
Snowfall has been prolific so far this month in the Sierra Nevada, which straddles the border between California and Nevada.

The feet of snow that have piled up in recent days in multiple atmospheric river events vaulted snowfall totals this season over 200 inches at the highest elevations.

Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain, Mount Rose and Squaw Valley are among the locations that have seasonal snowfall totals that have topped the 200-inch benchmark through Jan. 9, according to data on each of the ski resort websites. One of those resorts, Mount Rose in the Lake Tahoe region, is reporting more than 300 inches of snow for the season.

Farther north in the Cascades of Oregon and Washington, Mount Hood Meadows and Stevens Pass have also racked up more than 200 inches of snow this winter.

Large piles of snow in the Mammoth Mountain area on Jan. 9, 2017.
© Instagram/r0d1fabLarge piles of snow in the Mammoth Mountain area on Jan. 9, 2017.

Attention

Dead minke whale washes ashore in Flushing Bay, New York

Dead minke whale washes ashore in Flushing Bay
Dead minke whale washes ashore in Flushing bay
A dead whale washed ashore in Flushing Bay Thursday afternoon.

The 15-foot minke whale is at the end of the LaGuardia Airport runway near the 'Welcome to New York' sign.

There is no word yet on how the whale died.

It was discovered on the embankment leading up to runway 1331, one of two intersecting runways at LaGuardia.

The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation says it is providing support to airport personnel as they determine the options for removing the mammal without disrupting flight operations.

The foundation wants the opportunity to examine the whale.

Camera

Photographs show how recent eruptions at Alaska's Bogoslof volcano have changed island

Bogoslof Island changes size
© John Seese/NOAA, Dan Leary/Maritime Helicopters Bogoslof Island in 1998 and on January 10, 2017.
A volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands has sent up two more ash clouds but neither reached 20,000 feet, the height as which ash becomes a major concern for intercontinental air carrier flights.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory says Bogoslof Volcano erupted at 11:23 a.m. Thursday and produced a cloud that reached 18,000 feet.

A second eruption at 12:35 p.m. sent up an ash cloud to 14,500 feet.

Both eruptions were seen by pilots.

Bogoslof is 850 miles southwest of Anchorage. The volcano has erupted more than 10 times since Dec. 16.

CBS affiliate KTVA reports that scientists are getting a unique look at how eruptions are changing the layout of Bogoslof Island and its volcano.

AVO geologist Chris Waythomas noted how the landscape has changed in a pair of photos taken nearly 19 years apart.

Comment: The last recorded eruption of Bogoslof was in 1992. The Aleutian Islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the northern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.




Snowflake Cold

Heavy snow collapses roofs in Oregon and Ontario

A collapsed roof at a produce warehouse on SE 4th in Hillsboro. Two people sleeping there escaped unhurt.
© Hillsboro Fire DepartmentA collapsed roof at a produce warehouse on SE 4th in Hillsboro. Two people sleeping there escaped unhurt.
Hillsboro Fire Department early Thursday said a roof had collapsed on a produce warehouse in Hillsboro on Southeast Fourth.

Five people escaped unhurt, spokesman Storm Smith said.

Workers are not allowed to sleep inside the building, but they sometimes do, he said. Smith was not able to confirm that everyone affected worked at the warehouse.
Roof collapse at produce warehouse SE 4th. 2 people sleeping there escape unhurt. pic.twitter.com/fJpEgmyn1F

-- Hillsboro Fire Dept (@HillsboroFire) January 12, 2017
Utility workers turned off water and gas service to the building because both substances were leaking inside, Smith said.
Utilities being shut off to building following roof collapse. Broken sprinkler lines & nat gas hazard. pic.twitter.com/8wkPb0ETKU

-- Hillsboro Fire Dept (@HillsboroFire) January 12, 2017

Windsock

Violent winter storm lashes northern France; 300,000 homes without power

Travel problems as storm Egon hits France
© Eduardo Soteras / AFPPassengers are seen on the platform at Arras, in northeastern France on January 13, 2017 as they are transferred from one train to another after a Brussels-Paris bound train hit technical difficulties in bad weather.
A severe winter storm that swept across northern France on Thursday night left more than 300,000 homes without power.

More than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes because of fallen trees, ruptured power cables and damaged roofs. Some 6,000 pompiers (rescue workers) were called out to deal with 4,452 emergencies.

An international Thalys train with 200 passengers was left stranded in the Somme region in norther France overnight because of a fallen tree branch on the line.

The storm, which has been dubbed "Egon", saw 146 kmh winds in the northern port city of Dieppe.

The violent weather has been compounded by a cold snap, with warnings of snow and ice on roads. The Normandy and Picardie regions are particularly badly affected.