http://www.sott.net Signs of the Times, featuring news and commentary on world events. Never wavering in our unending search for the light of truth in a pathocracy driven world! en-us Original content Copyright 2009 by Signs of the Times. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:47:38 -0500 http://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net http://www.sott.net http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197410-Climatologists-Baffled-by-Global-Warming-Time-Out Global warming appears to have stalled. Climatologists are puzzled as to why average global temperatures have stopped rising over the last 10 years. Some attribute the trend to a lack of sunspots, while others explain it through ocean currents. At least the weather in Copenhagen is likely to be cooperating. The Danish Meteorological Institute predicts that temperatures in December, when the city will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, will be one degree above the long-term average. Otherwise, however, not much is happening with global warming at the moment. The Earth's average temperatures have stopped climbing since the beginning of the millennium, and it even looks as though global warming could come to a standstill this year. Ironically, climate change appears to have stalled in the run-up to the upcoming world summit in the Danish capital, where thousands of politicians, bureaucrats, scientists, business leaders and environmental activists plan to negotiate a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Billions of euros are at stake in the negotiations. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197410-Climatologists-Baffled-by-Global-Warming-Time-Out Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:46:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197383-Scientists-Uncover-Corn-s-Full-Genetic-Code A team of US scientists has uncovered the complete genetic code of corn, a discovery that promises to speed development of higher yielding varieties of one of the world's most important food crops. Corn is the third most abundant cereal crop, after rice and sorghum, researchers said. Advances in corn production could mean major steps toward feeding the world's growing population as it struggles with climate change. The team of 150 experts, led by Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said Thursday they had identified some 32,000 DNA sequences, or genes, in the 10 chromosomes that make up the genome of maize, the largest of any plant examined so far. By comparison, the human genome includes 20,000 genes distributed in 23 chromosomes. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197383-Scientists-Uncover-Corn-s-Full-Genetic-Code Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:32:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197382-Rich-Ore-Deposits-Linked-to-Ancient-Atmosphere Much of our planet's mineral wealth was deposited billions of years ago when Earth's chemical cycles were different from today's. Using geochemical clues from rocks nearly 3 billion years old, a group of scientists including Andrey Bekker and Doug Rumble from the Carnegie Institution have made the surprising discovery that the creation of economically important nickel ore deposits was linked to sulfur in the ancient oxygen-poor atmosphere. These ancient ores -- specifically iron-nickel sulfide deposits -- yield 10% of the world's annual nickel production. They formed for the most part between two and three billion years ago when hot magmas erupted on the ocean floor. Yet scientists have puzzled over the origin of the rich deposits. The ore minerals require sulfur to form, but neither seawater nor the magmas hosting the ores were thought to be rich enough in sulfur for this to happen. "These nickel deposits have sulfur in them arising from an atmospheric cycle in ancient times. The isotopic signal is of an anoxic atmosphere," says Rumble of Carnegie's Geophysical Laboratory, a co-author of the paper appearing in the November 20 issue of Science. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197382-Rich-Ore-Deposits-Linked-to-Ancient-Atmosphere Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:29:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197381-Flax-and-Yellow-Flowers-Can-Produce-Bioethanol Surplus biomass from the production of flax shives, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol. This has been suggested by two studies carried out by Spanish and Dutch researchers and published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. "These studies evaluate, from an environmental point of view, the production of bioethanol from two, as yet unexploited sources of biomass: agricultural residue from flax (for the production of paper fibres for animal bedding), and Brassica carinata crops (herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, similar to those which carpet the countryside in spring)," Sara González-García, researcher of the Bioprocesses and Environmental Engineering Group of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), said. González-García, along with other researchers from USC, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Leiden (Holland), has confirmed that if bioethanol is produced from these two types of biomass "both CO2 emissions and fossil fuel consumption will be reduced, meeting two of the objectives established by the European Union to promote biofuels." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197381-Flax-and-Yellow-Flowers-Can-Produce-Bioethanol Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:26:31 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197371-The-Benefits-of-Stress-in-Plants Chronic stress in humans has been implicated in heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes, among a host of other health problems. Extreme environments, a source of chronic stress, present a challenge even for the hardiest organisms, and plants are no exception. Yet, some species somehow manage to survive, and even thrive, in stressful conditions. A recent article by Dr. Yuri Springer in the November issue of the American Journal of Botany finds that certain wild flax plants growing in poor soils have succeeded in balancing the stress in their lives -- these plants are less likely to experience infection from a fungal pathogen. Walking the fine line between the costs associated with surviving under stressful conditions and the benefits that may be derived from growing in an environment with fewer interactions with antagonistic species is a tricky balancing act. For plants, serpentine soils are one example of an extreme environment. Serpentine soils are those that provide a stressful medium for plant growth, due to features of the soil, such as a rocky texture, low water-holding capacity, high levels of toxic metals, and/or low levels of necessary nutrients. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197371-The-Benefits-of-Stress-in-Plants Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:35:42 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197301-5-1-Earthquake-Hits-New-Zealand Two earthquakes hit near New Zealand North Island's Palmerston North on Thursday morning. There have been no immediate reports of injury or damage. The New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS Science) said the first tremor of 5.1 magnitude struck at 7:04a.m. (18:04 GMT Wednesday), 10 km south of Palmerston North at a depth of 40 km. The tremor was felt throughout the North Island. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197301-5-1-Earthquake-Hits-New-Zealand Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:04:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197292-Bees-Can-Learn-Differences-in-Food-s-Temperature-Study-Finds Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered that honeybees can discriminate between food at different temperatures, an ability that may assist bees in locating the warm, sugar-rich nectar or high-protein pollen produced by many flowers. While other researchers had previously found hints that bees might have the ability to do this, the UCSD biologists provide the first detailed experimental evidence in a paper that will be published in the December 1 issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology. "We show that honeybees have the ability to associate temperature differences with food," said James Nieh, an associate professor of biology who headed the study. "This information may help guide bees looking for food by allowing them to distinguish which bees are returning to the hive with the highest quality of food." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197292-Bees-Can-Learn-Differences-in-Food-s-Temperature-Study-Finds Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:24:05 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197289-The-Evolution-of-Bat-Migration Most people know the term of "migrating bird" but "migrating bat" is not very established. However, some bat species migrate every year long or short distances. Whereas birds migrate to exploit seasonal food resources, the majority of bats migrate with the intention to find better hibernating conditions. In Europe about 30 percent and in North America around 45 percent of bird species migrate; the migration of bats however is a rather rare phenomenon. Only about three percent of the approximately 1,000 bat species migrate, of those less than 0.016 percent migrate further than 1,000 kilometers. The vast majority of bats of the temperate zone hibernate during winter, as a result of the food shortage at this time. Together, researchers of the University of Princeton in the U.S. and the Max-Planck Institute for Ornithology have analyzed the genealogical tree of bats on the basis of their migratory behavior. They are confining themselves to only the family of the Vespertilionidae, also called the vespertilionid bats, which includes 316 species or about a third of all bat species. Of about 32 migrating bat species, 23 are part of this family. Eleven of those migrate over long distances longer than 1,000 kilometers. The remaining twelve only fly short distances that vary between 100 and 1,000 kilometers. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197289-The-Evolution-of-Bat-Migration Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:21:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197288-Why-Israeli-Rodents-are-More-Cautious-than-Jordanian-Ones- A series of studies carried out at the University of Haifa have found that rodent, reptile and ant lion species behave differently on either side of the Israel-Jordan border. "The border line, which is only a demarcation on the map, cannot contain these species, but the line does restrict humans and their diverse impact on nature," says Dr. Uri Shanas. Is a border line simply a virtual line appearing on the map? If so, why is it that Israeli rodents are more cautious than Jordanian rodents? Why is it that there are more ant lions in Israel than in Jordan? And how come there are more reptile species in Jordan than in Israel? A series of new studies at the University of Haifa's Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology and the University of Haifa-Oranim's Faculty of Sciences and Science Education are exploring the answers. "The boundary is only a virtual marking that appears on the map and is not capable of keeping these species from crossing the border between Israel and Jordan; but the line does stop humans from crossing it and thereby contains their different impact on nature," says Dr. Uri Shanas, a participant in the research. The series of studies, which have been carried out in cooperation with Jordanian researchers, has examined a variety of reptile, mammal, beetle, spider and ant lion species on either side of the border in the Arava region. The Israeli team includes Dr. Shanas and research students Idan Shapira and Shacham Mitler, who set out to reveal whether the border -- unknown to the species -- could affect differences between them and their numbers on either side of the frontier, even though they share identical climate conditions. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197288-Why-Israeli-Rodents-are-More-Cautious-than-Jordanian-Ones- Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:18:26 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197278-US-Bats-The-New-Canary-In-The-Coal-Mine- You may think bats are scary, but what's truly terrifying is the mysterious fungus that's decimating the bat population, according to an article by Stacy Chase in last Sunday's Boston Globe: At least 1 million bats in the past three years have been wiped out by a puzzling, widespread disease dubbed "white-nose syndrome" in what preeminent US scientists are calling the most precipitous decline of North American wildlife in human history. If it isn't slowed or stopped, they believe bats will continue disappearing from the landscape in huge numbers and that entire species could become extinct within a decade. This would have drastic repercussions for the rest of us. As Tim King, a conservation geneticist with the US Geological Survey in West Virginia, told Chase, "We're at the vanguard of an environmental catastrophe." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197278-US-Bats-The-New-Canary-In-The-Coal-Mine- Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:31:44 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197277-US-What-s-killing-the-bats- At least 1 million have died in the past three years from a mysterious disease, posing serious questions for our environment. But one Boston University biologist is leading the hunt for answers. Thomas Kunz emerges from Aeolus cave in East Dorset, Vermont, with a half-dozen metal ID bands -- smaller than SpaghettiOs -- cupped in the palm of his latex-gloved hand. They're tiny emblems of death, having once been affixed to the forearms of little brown bats. The renowned bat biologist from Boston University, who bears a passing resemblance to Harrison Ford, minutes earlier had recovered the bands while trudging, like a real-life Indiana Jones, through a slippery mud-like ooze of rotting bat carcasses, liquefied internal organs, toothpick-sized bones, piles of guano, and a strange white fungus on the cave floor. If bats had come out of hell, it couldn't have been worse than this. "What we saw was bat soup. There were a lot of bones of wings and skulls and emulsified bodies," Kunz says. "There were dead bats -- decomposing bats -- hanging from the walls of the cave. "My heart sunk," he says, noting some of the bands bore his initials, THK. "It was as if I had lost family members." It's late August, when bats are in their swarming phase, and the 71-year-old Kunz and two fellow biologists have trekked, at night, in hard rain, with heavy gear, 2,520 feet up the rugged Taconic Mountains to Aeolus -- the largest bat hibernaculum in the Northeast -- to bleed live bats and collect samples for researchers leading the hunt for clues into the cause of mysterious bat deaths like these. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197277-US-What-s-killing-the-bats- Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:25:38 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197173-Penguin-DNA-Evolving-Faster-Than-Thought Comparing the DNA in modern birds to that in ancient generations shows molecular evolution can happen at varying rates The evolutionary march of the penguins happened in double time, according to new genetic calculations. A study of DNA from ancient and modern Adélie penguins suggests that scientists may have miscalculated the rates at which genetic clocks tick off evolutionary time in other species as well. A team of researchers collected mitochondrial DNA from penguins currently living in rookeries in Antarctica and from bones of penguins that had lived in the same spot as long as 44,000 years ago. Analysis of the DNA reveals that the penguins are evolving on a molecular scale two to six times faster than standard calculations indicated, the team reports in the November Trends in Genetics. Mitochondria are small structures that generate power inside cells. The organelles were once free-living bacteria and have kept their own circle of DNA, which encodes many of the proteins needed for power production. The function of mitochondria is so crucial to the cell that any changes to mitochondrial genes are likely to throw a wrench into a cell's energy-generating capabilities. As a result, the mitochondrial DNA has evolved slowly. Scientists can use the number of changes in mitochondrial DNA between different species to calculate a molecular rate of evolution and estimate how long ago the species shared a common ancestor. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197173-Penguin-DNA-Evolving-Faster-Than-Thought Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:41:14 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197168-Orphan-Army-Ants-Join-Nearby-Colonies Colonies of army ants, whose long columns and marauding habits are the stuff of natural-history legend, are usually antagonistic to each other, attacking soldiers from rival colonies in border disputes that keep the colonies separate. But new work by a researcher at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen shows that in some cases the colonies can be cooperative instead of combative. In those cases, when an army ant colony loses its queen, its workers are absorbed, not killed, by neighboring colonies, and within days are treated as part of the family. The research, conducted in an ant-rich area on the slopes of Mount Kenya, is detailed in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Army ant colonies are dominated by a single, large queen who produces the eggs that give rise to all of the colony's individuals, which can number millions of workers. When she dies, colonies quickly disappear, raising the question of what happens to the many individuals. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197168-Orphan-Army-Ants-Join-Nearby-Colonies Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:22:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197144-Earthquake-Magnitude-6-6-Queen-Charlotte-Islands-Region Date-Time: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 15:30:46 UTC Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 07:30:46 AM at epicenter Location: 52.151°N, 131.378°W Depth: 11.6 km (7.2 miles) Distances: 250 km (155 miles) SSW (197°) from Prince Rupert, BC, Canada 315 km (195 miles) WNW (303°) from Port Hardy, BC, Canada 331 km (206 miles) S (178°) from Metlakatla, AK 662 km (411 miles) WNW (302°) from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197144-Earthquake-Magnitude-6-6-Queen-Charlotte-Islands-Region Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:56:52 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197117-It-was-the-Sun-wot-done-it-Or-was-it- A sharp drop in solar activity could soon tell us how much mankind and the Sun are responsible for warming the planet Like it or not, it will soon be time to start placing bets for a white Christmas. If most climatologists are to be believed you are almost certainly throwing your money away. The onward march of global warming is consigning such traditional Christmas card scenes to history. No more deep and crisp and even winters for Britain, replaced instead by damp and slush and stormy. But, if a small group of maverick scientists are right, the chances of Yuletide snow may rise dramatically over the coming decades. The difference of opinion hinges on what role - if any - the Sun plays in climate change. The vast majority of climate scientists maintain that the solar influence is limited or even negligible, and it is the unsustainable growth of industrialised nations that is driving the climate into chaos. The mavericks contend that the Sun's activity dwarfs the human contribution, and that there is nothing we can do except wait for the Sun to change. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197117-It-was-the-Sun-wot-done-it-Or-was-it- Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:21:52 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197110-Goat-Lived-Like-a-Reptile-A-First A prehistoric goat survived for millennia on a resource-poor island by living like a reptile - changing its growth rate and metabolism to match the available food supply, according to a new study of the animal's bones. The discovery marks the first time scientists have seen this cold-blooded survival strategy in mammals. The surprising skill likely allowed the goats to endure potentially fatal periods of scarcity on what is now the Spanish island of Majorca. But the technique, developed when the goats had no major natural enemies, came with costs that seem to have made the now extinct goats unable to survive the arrival of skilled predators - humans - some 3,000 years ago. The goats' energy-saving adaptations made the animals small and slow, noted study co-author Meike Köhler, a paleobiologist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197110-Goat-Lived-Like-a-Reptile-A-First Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:46:34 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197073-Volatile-Gas-Could-Turn-Rwandan-Lake-Into-a-Freshwater-Time-Bomb A dangerous level of carbon dioxide and methane gas haunts Lake Kivu, the freshwater lake system bordering Rwanda and the Republic of Congo. Scientists can't say for sure if the volatile mixture at the bottom of the lake will remain still for another 1,000 years or someday explode without warning. In a region prone to volcanic and seismic activity, the fragility of Lake Kivu is a serious matter. Compounding the precarious situation is the presence of approximately 2 million people, many of them refugees, living along the north end of the lake. An international group of researchers will meet Jan. 13-15 in Gisenyi, Rwanda, to grapple with the problem of Lake Kivu. A grant from the National Science Foundation won by Rochester Institute of Technology will fund the travel and lodging for 18 scientists from the United States to attend the three-day workshop. Anthony Vodacek, conference organizer and associate professor at RIT's Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, is working closely with the Rwandan Ministry of Education to organize the meeting. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197073-Volatile-Gas-Could-Turn-Rwandan-Lake-Into-a-Freshwater-Time-Bomb Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:06:19 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197071-US-Earthquake-Magnitude-3-6-Near-Palomar-Observatory A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck northeast of San Diego Monday, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake struck at 5:54 a.m. about 13 miles east-northeast of the Palomar Observatory and 53 miles north-northeast of San Diego, according to the computer-generated report. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197071-US-Earthquake-Magnitude-3-6-Near-Palomar-Observatory Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:00:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197067-US-Earthquake-Magnitude-4-6-Southern-California Date-Time: Monday, November 16, 2009 at 21:21:30 UTC Monday, November 16, 2009 at 01:21:30 PM at epicenter Location: 35.549°N, 117.274°W Depth: 2 km (1.2 miles) Distances: 26 km (16 miles) SSE (158°) from Searles Valley, CA 26 km (16 miles) SSE (160°) from Trona, CA 37 km (23 miles) ESE (102°) from Ridgecrest, CA 188 km (117 miles) NNE (28°) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197067-US-Earthquake-Magnitude-4-6-Southern-California Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:06:16 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197030-Jellyfish-Swarm-Northward-in-Warming-World A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass. The fishermen leaned into the nets, grunting and grumbling as they tossed the translucent jellyfish back into the bay, giants weighing up to 200 kilograms (450 pounds), marine invaders that are putting the men's livelihoods at risk. The venom of the Nomura, the world's largest jellyfish, a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter, can ruin a whole day's catch by tainting or killing fish stung when ensnared with them in the maze of nets here in northwest Japan's Wakasa Bay. "Some fishermen have just stopped fishing," said Taiichiro Hamano, 67. "When you pull in the nets and see jellyfish, you get depressed." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197030-Jellyfish-Swarm-Northward-in-Warming-World Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:31:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197026-Birds-Lose-Color-Vision-in-Twilight Research at the Lund University Vision Group can now show that the color vision of birds stops working considerably earlier in the course of the day than was previously believed, in fact, in the twilight. Birds need between 5 and 20 times as much light as humans to see colors. It has long been known that birds have highly developed color vision that vastly surpasses that of humans. Birds see both more colors and ultraviolet light. However, it was not known what amount of light is necessary for birds to see colors, which has limited the validity of all research on this color vision to bright sunlight only. "Using behavioral experiments we can now demonstrate that birds lose their color vision in the twilight and show just how much light is needed for birds to be able to interpret color signals," says Olle Lind, a doctoral candidate at the Department of Cell and Organism Biology. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197026-Birds-Lose-Color-Vision-in-Twilight Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:16:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197000-Following-the-Adventurous-Ant-Trail "This work will be physically demanding. You will need to carry bulky sampling supplies into rugged terrain. Some sites may be swelteringly hot, others cold and rainy. You will need to move off trails into dense forested habitats. Long hikes may be required ... There will be mud and mosquitoes." Although a hard-labor camp could be a reasonable match for that description, in reality, the harsh conditions are what await student field crews studying ants in Central America under the guidance of biologist John Longino of Evergreen State College. Believe it or not, there is no shortage of fresh-faced undergraduates willing to confront the daunting challenges cataloged above (which were excerpted from a recruitment ad). But members of Longino's work crews must be more than just willing to work; Longino warns them: "This should sound like fun to you." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/197000-Following-the-Adventurous-Ant-Trail Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:34:35 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196999-Female-Wild-Horses-Stick-Together Wild mares that form strong social bonds with other mares produce more foals than those that don't, researchers have found, in what may be the first documented link between "friendship" and reproductive success outside of primates. The study followed bands of feral horses in the Kaimanawa Mountains of New Zealand over the course of three years. Elissa Z. Cameron, now at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and two colleagues computed sociality scores for 56 mares, based on parameters such as the proportion of time each animal spent near other mares and the amount of social grooming she did. The team found that the scores correlated well with foaling rate: more sociable mares had more foals. They also suffered slightly less harassment by the bands' few males. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196999-Female-Wild-Horses-Stick-Together Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:23:44 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196975-Auroras-Ahoy- "Who says one can't photograph the aurora from a moving ship? Digital photography has made things possible of which film shooters can only dream!" says traveling photographer Dennis Mammana. To prove it, he snapped this picture from the deck of the MS Midnatsol off the coast of Tromsø, Norway, on Nov. 12th. When the auroras appeared, "I pulled out a 24mm f/1.4L lens, opened it up all the way, kicked up the camera's ISO to 3200 and shot 2 second exposures for the faintest lights, 1 second exposures for the brightest," Mammana explains. "I also made a panorama of four 1 second exposures at ISO 1600." "Digital noise is, of course, present in all images at such high ISO settings, but thermal noise was minimized by the cold ambient temperatures and could be reduced easily by software." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196975-Auroras-Ahoy- Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:26:04 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196914-6-1-Earthquake-Shakes-Argentina A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit north-western Argentina late on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on its website. The epicenter of the quake was located at the depth of 142 kilometers (82 miles), some 190 kilometers north-east of the city of San Salvador de Jujuy near the border with Bolivia and Chile. There have been no reports of casualties or any damage so far. Another powerful, 6.5-magnitude, tremor shook the northern Chilean regions of Arica, Tarapaca and Iquique early Friday, causing some blackouts but no casualties. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196914-6-1-Earthquake-Shakes-Argentina Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:02:10 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196910-Beijing-s-Heaviest-Snow-in-54-Years-Strands-Thousands Beijing's unusually heavy snow, which brought a traffic paralysis to the capital yesterday, again highlighted the controversial use of weather modification. The snow fell amid lightning and thunder in the capital late Monday to early yesterday, making it the second snowfall in eight days. "The occurrence was rather unusual for early November," said Sun Jisong, chief forecaster of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. An official from the capital weather modification office who refused to be identified told China Daily yesterday that the second snow in Beijing was also artificially induced but refused to reveal further information. On Oct 31, the first snow in the capital city this winter was partly induced by 186 doses of silver iodide, a compound used in cloud seeding. More than 16 million tons of snow fell on the city, Zhang Qiang, director of the municipal weather modification office, said earlier. Without advance notice, the weather manipulation led to another big mess yesterday in Beijing, with traffic and flight delays. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196910-Beijing-s-Heaviest-Snow-in-54-Years-Strands-Thousands Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:48:02 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196895-Cyclone-Phyan-raining-on-Tibet-after-breaking-a-record-in-India Cyclone Phyan broke a 43 year record when it made landfall north of the city of Mumbai, India during the evening hours on November 11. NASA's Aqua satellite captured Phyan's landfall with one instrument, and a day later, another of Aqua's instruments show the storm's remnants raining Tibet as Phyan continues to dissipate. Phyan is the first tropical cyclone to make an appearance in November in the Konkan region of India since 1996. The India Meteorological Department confirmed that the last November appearance of a storm in that region was 43 years ago. As Phyan was making landfall, NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead, and the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer captured a stunning visual image of the storm on November 11 at 0845 UTC (3:45 ET). http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196895-Cyclone-Phyan-raining-on-Tibet-after-breaking-a-record-in-India Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:04:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196886-Reindeer-herd-drowns-in-icy-Lapland-waters More than 400 reindeer have drowned in a river in Jokkmokk in northern Sweden after thin surface ice cracked while the herd were moving to their winter pastures. Reindeer herders in the region were taking around 3,000 animals across the river, a route that has been safely crossed on previous occasions. "The ice suddenly gave way and hundreds of reindeer fell into the water," said Bertil Kielatis, chairman of the Sirges Sami village in Jokkmokk. "Now we are working to recover the animals that have drowned," he added. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196886-Reindeer-herd-drowns-in-icy-Lapland-waters Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:39:41 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196865-Heavy-Snow-in-China-Kill-40-Collapse-9-000-Buildings Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of winter crops, the Civil Affairs Ministry said Friday. Nineteen of the deaths resulted from traffic accidents related to the storms that began Nov. 9, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. The snowfall is the heaviest in the northern and central provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan since record keeping began after the establishment of the Communist state in 1949, the ministry said without giving detailed figures. It estimated economic losses from the storm at 4.5 billion yuan (US$659 million). http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196865-Heavy-Snow-in-China-Kill-40-Collapse-9-000-Buildings Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:43:45 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196858-Worst-storm-of-year-as-parts-of-Britain-battered-by-100mph-winds Gale-force winds of up to 100mph have led to spectacular scenes as the worst storm of the year gripped parts of Britain. Intense weather conditions in Wales and southern England brought an abrupt end to an unusually mild autumn, with isolated flooding in south-western England and severe winds in coastal regions. Drama was not confined to the south-west, however, with a fast rescue craft from an unnamed North Sea oil rig running aground at Britain's most easterly point. Three men were rescued unhurt from the vessel by Lowestoft lifeboat on Friday night after the craft became stuck on a disused jetty at Ness Point in Suffolk, an RNLI spokeswoman said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196858-Worst-storm-of-year-as-parts-of-Britain-battered-by-100mph-winds Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:07:29 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196857-California-2-5-Earthquake-Shakes-San-Jose The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.5 struck this morning in Santa Clara County. According to the USGS, the earthquake struck at about 5:25 a.m. and had a depth of about 4.9 miles. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196857-California-2-5-Earthquake-Shakes-San-Jose Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:03:14 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196856-India-4-6-Earthquake-Rattles-Parts-of-Maharashtra An earthquake of moderate intensity measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale rattled many parts of Western Maharashtra this evening, officials said. The tremor, with its epicentre in neighbouring Satara district, occurred at 6.34 pm and lasted for 15 seconds, according to U V Siddhamal, Chief Executive Engineer of the Koyna dam which has an installed seismograph. While there were no reports of damage to life and property, some houses in Patan in the district developed cracks due to the shock, they said. Epicentre of the quake was believed to be near Varanavati, about 20 km from the Koyna dam which has a hydel power station supplying electricity to Maharashtra. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196856-India-4-6-Earthquake-Rattles-Parts-of-Maharashtra Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:01:17 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196855-3-0-Earthquake-Registered-Near-Oklahoma-City An earthquake measuring 3.0 on the Richter Scale was recorded east of Oklahoma City on Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Services. The quake was recorded 4 miles northeast of Choctaw and 18 miles east of Oklahoma City at 5:13 a.m. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196855-3-0-Earthquake-Registered-Near-Oklahoma-City Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:59:11 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196805-Nuclear-Scars-Tainted-water-runs-beneath-Nevada-desert The state faces a water crisis and population boom, but radioactive waste from the Nevada Test Site has polluted aquifers. Reporting from Yucca Flat, Nevada - A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada. Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the Nevada Test Site, 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Each explosion deposited a toxic load of radioactivity into the ground and, in some cases, directly into aquifers. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196805-Nuclear-Scars-Tainted-water-runs-beneath-Nevada-desert Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:54:36 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196774-Rare-Species-Named-After-Crocodile-Hunter-Steve-Irwin Last year we told you about a turtle named after Steve Irwin. Now yet another species, described in the following Queensland Museum release, has been named after the popular television host, wildlife expert and conservationist, who died in 2006. Queensland Museum scientist Dr John Stanisic has named a rare species of tree snail discovered in north Queensland in honor of wildlife advocate and conservationist Steve Irwin. The snail, Crikey steveirwini, was found in the mountainous regions of north Queensland's Wet Tropics near Cairns. Honorary Research Fellow Dr Stanisic said that like its namesake, the Crikey steveirwini is a unique creature with some interesting qualities that set it apart from other land snails. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196774-Rare-Species-Named-After-Crocodile-Hunter-Steve-Irwin Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:58:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196772-California-3-4-Earthquake-Jiggles-Northwest-Rialto A magnitude 3.4 earthquake rattled the Devore and northwest Rialto areas this morning near the base of the Cajon Pass but went largely unnoticed, San Bernardino County Fire Department dispatchers say. "That would put it right here," Dispatch Supervisor Sue Hood said from the department's command center at Rialto Municipal Airport. "We didn't feel a thing. And I got no calls on it at all." The minor quake struck at 2:11 a.m. three miles south-southwest of Devore and five miles north-northwest of Rialto, according to U.S. Geological Survey seismographs. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196772-California-3-4-Earthquake-Jiggles-Northwest-Rialto Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:44:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196744-Antarctic-iceberg-found-floating-near-Macquarie-Island Dean Miller, an Australian fur seal biologist, was the first person to spot the large white object floating past Macquarie island in the far south-west corner of the Pacific Ocean. "I've never seen anything like it. We looked out to the horizon and just saw this huge floating island of ice," Miller told the Australian Antarctic division. "It was a monumental moment for me as it was the first iceberg I have seen." Estimated to be about 50m high - from the waterline - and 500m long, the iceberg is now about five miles (8km) off the north-west of Macquarie island, halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica south-west corner of the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have said it is rare for icebergs to be seen so far north. Neil Young, an Australian Antarctic division glaciologist, said: "The iceberg is likely to be part of one of the big ones that calved from the Ross ice shelf nearly a decade ago. "Throughout the year several icebergs have been drifting slowly northwards with the ocean current towards Macquarie Island. We know there are also a few more icebergs 100km-200km to the west of the island." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196744-Antarctic-iceberg-found-floating-near-Macquarie-Island Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:48:55 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196723-Greenland-ice-loss-accelerating- The Greenland ice sheet is losing its mass faster than in previous years and making an increasing contribution to sea level rise, a study has confirmed. Published in the journal Science, it has also given scientists a clearer view of why the sheet is shrinking. The team used weather data, satellite readings and models of ice sheet behaviour to analyse the annual loss of 273 thousand million tonnes of ice. Melting of the entire sheet would raise sea levels globally by about 7m (20ft). http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196723-Greenland-ice-loss-accelerating- Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:30:11 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196712-Chile-Earthquake-Magnitude-6-5-Tarapaca Date-Time: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 03:05:55 UTC Friday, November 13, 2009 at 12:05:55 AM at epicenter Location: 19.348°S, 70.246°W Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program Region: TARAPACA, CHILE Distances: 95 km (60 miles) S of Arica, Chile 95 km (60 miles) N of Iquique, Chile 150 km (95 miles) S of Tacna, Peru 1560 km (970 miles) N of SANTIAGO, Chile http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196712-Chile-Earthquake-Magnitude-6-5-Tarapaca Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:56:29 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196704-Oil-industry-sinkhole-threatens-to-swallow-city Parts of the New Mexico town near Carlsbad Caverns National Park could collapse because of irresponsible extraction practices by the oil industry. "U.S. 285 south subject to sinkhole 1,000 feet ahead," reads a bright yellow sign along the stretch of highway heading through Carlsbad, N.M. Normally a motorist driving through the area might not find a sign like that unusual. The city is, after all, home to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, a network of some of the largest natural caverns in North America. But on this occasion, the sign's sharp colors make the message clear: what's happening in Carlsbad is not natural. In fact, the massive sinkhole currently running through the center of town was created by the oil industry. As MSNBC reports, it was formed over three decades as oil field service companies pumped fresh water into a salt layer more than 400 feet below the surface and extracted several million barrels of brine to help with drilling. If it collapses, the unnatural cavern is likely to take with it a church, a highway, several businesses and a trailer park. Massive fissures currently cleave through town, and one business owner has said that structural cracks have even formed in his store. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196704-Oil-industry-sinkhole-threatens-to-swallow-city Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:25:44 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196694-Earth-s-Early-Ocean-Cooled-More-than-a-Billion-Years-Earlier-than-Thought The scalding-hot sea that supposedly covered the early Earth may in fact never have existed, according to a new study by Stanford University researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in 3.4 billion-year-old ocean floor rocks. Their findings suggest that the early ocean was much more temperate and that, as a result, life likely diversified and spread across the globe much sooner in Earth's history than has been generally theorized. It also means that the chemical composition of the ancient ocean was significantly different from today's ocean, which in turn may change interpretations of how the early atmosphere evolved, said Page Chamberlain, professor of environmental earth system science. When rocks form on the ocean floor, they form in chemical equilibrium with the ocean water, incorporating similar proportions of different isotopes into the rock as are in the water. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, giving them different masses. However, because the exact proportion of different isotopes that go into the rock is partly temperature dependent, the ratios in the rock provide critical clues into how warm the ocean was when the rock formed. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196694-Earth-s-Early-Ocean-Cooled-More-than-a-Billion-Years-Earlier-than-Thought Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:32:13 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196671-Mini-Ice-Age-Took-Hold-Of-Europe-In-Just-Months Just months - that's how long it took for Europe to be engulfed by an ice age. The scenario, which comes straight out of Hollywood blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, was revealed by the most precise record of the climate from palaeohistory ever generated. Around 12,800 years ago the northern hemisphere was hit by the Younger Dryas mini ice age, or "Big Freeze". It was triggered by the slowdown of the Gulf Stream, led to the decline of the Clovis culture in North America, and lasted around 1300 years. Until now, it was thought that the mini ice age took a decade or so to take hold, on the evidence provided by Greenland ice cores. Not so, say William Patterson of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and his colleagues. The group studied a mud core from an ancient lake, Lough Monreagh, in western Ireland. Using a scalpel they sliced off layers 0.5 to 1 millimetre thick, each representing up to three months of time. No other measurements from the period have approached this level of detail. Carbon isotopes in each slice revealed how productive the lake was and oxygen isotopes gave a picture of temperature and rainfall. They show that at the start of the Big Freeze, temperatures plummeted and lake productivity stopped within months, or a year at most. "It would be like taking Ireland today and moving it up to Svalbard" in the Arctic, says Patterson, who presented the findings at the BOREAS conference in Rovaniemi, Finland, on 31 October. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196671-Mini-Ice-Age-Took-Hold-Of-Europe-In-Just-Months Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:58:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196673-Last-chance-for-Tuna-Tagging-the-tigers-of-the-sea Pablo Cermeño balances at the back of the small boat, legs braced, harpoon at the ready. Beneath him in the crystal waters his target is clearly visible: a shimmer of metallic turquoise that tacks left, right, left again as it is hauled inexorably towards the surface. The fisherman grunts and sweats as he does battle with the giant fish, reeling, pulling and reeling again. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196673-Last-chance-for-Tuna-Tagging-the-tigers-of-the-sea Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:44:43 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196608-Are-Our-Oceans-Made-of-Extraterrestrial-Material- Contrary to preconceived notions, the atmosphere and the oceans were perhaps not formed from vapors emitted during intense volcanism at the dawning of our planet. Francis Albarède of the Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre (CNRS / ENS Lyon / Université Claude Bernard) suggests that water was not part of the Earth's initial inventory but stems from the turbulence caused in the outer Solar System by giant planets. Ice-covered asteroids thus reached the Earth around one hundred million years after the birth of the planets. The Earth's water could therefore be extraterrestrial, have arrived late in its accretion history, and its presence could have facilitated plate tectonics even before life appeared. The conclusions of the study carried out by Albarède feature in an article published on the 29 October 2009 in the journal Nature. Space agencies have got the message: wherever there is life there has to be water. Around 4.5 billion years ago, the Earth was bequeathed with sufficient water for oceans to form and for life to find favorable niches in the seas and on the continents resulting from plate tectonics. In comparison, the Moon and Mercury are dry, mortally cold deserts, Mars dried up very quickly and the surface of Venus is a burning inferno. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196608-Are-Our-Oceans-Made-of-Extraterrestrial-Material- Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:50:14 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196594-5-6-Earthquake-Hits-Mindanao-Philippines A moderate earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurred in Mindanao, the Philippines at 9.48pm on Wednesday night. The Malaysian Meteorological Department said in a statement that the quake's epicentre was located 231km southeast of Cebu, the Philippines and 934km northeast of Sandakan, Sabah. However, the earthquake did not pose any tsunami threat. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196594-5-6-Earthquake-Hits-Mindanao-Philippines Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:56:01 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196593-Western-Greece-Jolted-by-5-4-Earthquake The Greek Ionian islands were rocked by an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale on Wednesday. Officials say there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Because the quake zone is one of Europe's most seismically active in Europe the building standards in the region are quite high thereby preventing widespread damage and injury. The underwater quake was recorded at 11:51 am and had an epicenter 182 miles west of the Greek capital Athens. The region affected and the tourist island of Zakynthos has been experiencing seismic activity over the past few days. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196593-Western-Greece-Jolted-by-5-4-Earthquake Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:54:40 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196580-Elephant-Seals-Sleep-While-Diving-Study-Suggests Migrating northern elephant seals slowly drift downward to rest in the ocean depths, according to a new study of the animals' dive patterns. Moving from their breeding colonies in California to their wintering areas in the mid-Pacific and around Alaska, the seals spend two to eight months at sea without a single pit stop. There's no land to climb on along the roughly 2,000- to 3,000-mile (3,200- to 4,800-kilometer) voyage, and the seabed is often miles below the surface. The marine mammals' grueling trek had many researchers wondering: When and how do elephant seals sleep? It's long been known that, during the seals' epic migrations, the animals engage in repetitive dives down to depths of 984 feet (300 meters) or more. Now a study of young elephant seals has revealed that during some of these dives, elephant seals roll on their backs and allow themselves to sink. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196580-Elephant-Seals-Sleep-While-Diving-Study-Suggests Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:56:59 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196578-Hurricane-Ida-Kills-152-in-El-Salvador The death toll from mudslides and flooding in El Salvador caused by hurricane Ida has risen to 152 with many more missing, national media quoted rescuers as saying on Wednesday. Over 13,000 people were left homeless as mudslides destroyed about 2,000 houses in the small Central American country, amid torrential rains triggered by the hurricane. The mayor of San Vicente, Medadro Hernandez Lara, said that around 500 people are missing. Addressing an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Monday, President Mauricio Funes described the damage inflicted by the hurricane as "uncountable." He also said that $150 million will be allocated for cleanup and rescue operations. International humanitarian packages have started arriving in the country. Venezuela has sent a planeload of food, while Guatemala and Nicaragua have provided relief workers and rescue equipment. The United States has channeled $100,000 into the construction of temporary housing. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196578-Hurricane-Ida-Kills-152-in-El-Salvador Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:52:41 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196576-Blizzard-Hits-North-China-Paralyzes-Major-Cities Heavy snow blanketed Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, for a second day today and paralyzed all transport, including aviation and highway services, provincial authorities said today. Meteorological officials said city recorded 74 mm of snow in the 24 hours till 6 am today, with the accumulated snow 48 mm thick in most areas. It was the heaviest snow fall in the city since 1955 when the city began to make meteorological records. Xinhua reporters saw no traffic on roads in the city, and pedestrians struggled through knee-high snow. All middle and primary schools were informed they could suspend classes if necessary. All flights from and to the city have been canceled, and all local sections of the six expressways traversing the city, including the Beijing-Shijiazhuang, Zhangjiakou-Shijiazhuang,Shijiangzhuang-Huanghua, and Qingdao-Yinchuan expressways were closed, said transport authorities. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196576-Blizzard-Hits-North-China-Paralyzes-Major-Cities Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:50:13 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196574-Philippines-Mayon-Volcano-Erupts More ash explosions seen The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded an ash explosion in Mayon Volcano early Wednesday, which caused ash fall in Albay towns located southwest and northwest of the volcano. "The explosion, which occurred at around 1:58 a.m., is a clear sign of magma intrusion toward the summit crater of the volcano," said Alex Baloloy, Phivolcs science research analyst. The explosion, which lasted for about three minutes, was accompanied by rumbling sounds. Residents in the towns of Camalig, Guinobatan, Polangui, Oas, and Ligao City reported experiencing the ash fall. Baloloy said, however, that the height of the ash column was not recorded because clouds covered the view of the volcano and it was still dark when the explosion happened. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196574-Philippines-Mayon-Volcano-Erupts Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:46:02 -0500