Earth Changes

Bad weather thwarts third rescue attempts of stranded Antarctica ship

Tracy Connor and Elisha Fieldstadt
NBC News
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 03:55 UTC

© Andrew Peacock / Getty Images
This image taken by passenger Andrew Peacock on Dec. 30, shows the ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy still stuck in the ice off East Antarctica, as it waits to be rescued.

Weather conditions thwarted efforts of a third rescue vessel attempting to approach a trapped research ship in Antarctica on Monday, officials reported.

Snow showers and high winds made it impossible for the Aurora Australis to approach the MV Akademic Shokalskiy, which has been stuck in multi-layered slabs of ice more than 10-feet deep since Christmas Eve, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

The Aurora made it within 10 nautical miles of the stranded ship before having to retreat, AMSA said.

The Aurora reached the general vicinity of the Akademic Shokalskiy early Monday (Sunday afternoon, Eastern Time) as the crew was encouraged by cracking ice surrounding the ship, leading crew members to make a light-hearted video they posted on Twitter:

Comment: Those who wish to retrace the footsteps of Mawson had better be armed with accurate knowledge, such that the planet has not been warming for the last 16 years.

Tectonic shift: This 300 ft wall in Bolivia has over 5000 dinosaur footprints

twistedsifter.com
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC

cal orko wall of dinosaur footprints sucre bolivia (1)

Photograph by Ramon Kristian Arellano

Located 5 km (3 miles) from downtown Sucre, Bolivia is Cal Orko, an imposing limestone slab 1.5 km (0.9 miles) long and over 100 meters high (328 ft). On this steep face (inclination of 72 degrees), visitors can peer through time to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth over 68 million years ago.

At Cal Orko you will find 462 distinct dinosaur tracks from at least 8 different species, totaling an incredible 5,055 individual dinosaur footprints. So how do thousands of dinosaur footprints come to be, on a seemingly vertical rock face hundreds of feet high? You'll have to scroll down to find out.

cal orko wall of dinosaur footprints sucre bolivia (2)

Photograph by Yatlik.com

cal orko wall of dinosaur footprints sucre bolivia (3)

Photograph by Carsten Drossel

7,000 stranded by rare floods in Sarawak

Stephen Then and Yu Ji
The Star/Asia News Network
Sun, 29 Dec 2013 20:06 UTC

Miri - Flood relief operations are in full swing as emergency food aid is being rushed to the interior north of Sarawak.

This follows the worsening situation in Ulu Baram, where access for some 7,000 people had been cut off as rain continues.

Several residents from the Marudi district and Long Lama sub-district have called The Star, saying they needed food supply.

The division's Welfare Department head Goh Yong Kiat confirmed that it had received appeals for food aid from residents across Baram.

As of yesterday afternoon, he said at least 28 longhouses had been affected by floods.

"We have sent food to 21 of the 28 longhouses and we are arranging for the others. The deployed assistance will help at least 985 families," Goh said, adding that they were liaising with Marudi's district office, which oversees the operations.

Goh said Ulu Baram had been inundated since Dec 22, with some longhouses recording water levels rising over one metre.

In Kuching, heavy rain coupled with high tide caused Bintulu in central Sarawak to be inundated, a rare occurrence for the town.

Stormy weather, heavy snow hit northern Japan

Japan Today
Sun, 29 Dec 2013 19:55 UTC

Tokyo - Heavy snow and blizzards hit many parts of the Sea of Japan coast and Hokkaido on Saturday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a low pressure system had brought a cold air mass over northern Japan, bringing 22 cms of snow in Yamagata, Niigata, Akita and Toyama prefectures, and up to 50 cms in mountainous regions.

Hokkaido received heavy snowfall and blizzards as well, TBS reported. Shin-Chitose airport in Sapporo reported the cancellation of 23 flights, while JR Hakodate canceled 60 train services between Sapporo and Hakodate.

The meteorological agency forecast the blizzard-like conditions to continue until Monday and cautioned that transportation could be further disrupted.

Hawaii snow, Mauna Kea access road closed

Big Island Video News
Sat, 28 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC

Snow is falling on Mauna Kea as Hawaii Island summits are under a winter weather advisory until 6 p.m. Saturday..

The National Weather Service says a slow-moving trough east of the Big Island will produce widespread rain and isolated snow showers at the highest elevations today. At least an inch of snow is expected to accumulate. By 8:30 a.m. Saturday snow was already visible on the Mauna Kea observatory webcams.

Mountain rangers report the road to the summit is currently closed at the Visitor Information Station due to snow and ice on the roads, making driving dangerous. UPDATE: (1:00 p.m. HST) The road to the summit is now open to the public. Rangers say, "as always a 4 wheel drive vehicle is strongly recommended when traveling past the Visitor Information Station".

Meanwhile, down below, East Hawaii is getting soaked. The National Weather Service says rain will persist over windward Maui and Hawaii County through the weekend as winds ease. There was a high surf advisory posted for north facing shores on Friday night, as well.

Canary Islands: New eruption may be brewing at El Hierro volcano

Becky Oskin
Yahoo! News - Canada
Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC

Two years after a new underwater volcano appeared offshore of El Hierro in the Canary Islands, earthquake swarms and a sudden change in height suggest a new eruption is brewing near the island's villages, officials announced today (Dec. 27).

After the announcement, one of the largest temblors ever recorded at the volcanic island, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake, struck offshore of El Hierro at 12:46 p.m. ET (5:46 p.m. local time) today, the National Geographic Institute reported. Residents on the island reported strong shaking, and the quake was felt throughout the Canary Islands, according to news reports. The earthquake's epicenter was 9 miles (15 kilometers) deep.

Before the earthquake struck early this afternoon, the island's volcano monitoring agency, Pelvolca, had raised the volcanic eruption risk for El Hierro to "yellow." This warning means that activity is increasing at the volcano, but no eruption is imminent. A similar burst of activity prompted a yellow warning in June 2012, but the volcano soon quieted down.

Comment: Video of the 2011 underwater volcanic eruption courtesy of ITN:

Crows invade downtown Portland, Oregon

Joel Iwanaga
koin.com
Thu, 26 Dec 2013 11:35 UTC

City: '1st time' for 'such large numbers' of birds

Bird-dropping deluge hits downtown park

Benches and walkways are covered in bird droppings in Chapman Square. It's just one of many areas in Portland's downtown hit hard by roving bands of crows. KOIN's Joel Iwanaga reporting.

Benches and walkways are covered in bird droppings in downtown's Chapman Square. It's just one of many areas in Portland's downtown hit hard by roving bands of crows.

Portland leaders said they were caught by surprise by the city's influx of crows. And with the influx came droppings -- lots of them.

"It's as bad as I've ever seen," said tourist Joe Goodman on Thursday.

Those looking for a place to sit in downtown's Chapman Square were about out of luck Thursday afternoon.

"This is too bad," said Betsy Nesbit.

Nesbit moved to Portland 20 years ago for its beauty and cleanliness. Sure, nature is part of the allure -- but what these crows are leaving behind these days has much of downtown Portland looking "uncared for, just uncared for," she said.

Bird droppings were everywhere, covering the sidewalk and the park benches. It's what holiday tourists such as Joe Goodman, from Philadelphia, found as they were checking into downtown hotels, shopping and walking through the downtown parks.

Mystery of Maasai Cattle Deaths in Kenya

Cherri Megasko
voices.yahoo.com
Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:20 UTC

Drought can be a devastating economic blow to anyone engaged in agriculture. But for the Maasai people of East Africa, it can threaten a centuries-old way of life. Cattle mean more than just food to this primitive tribe that still lives life in much the same way as their distant ancestors. Cows represent status, act as currency, provide a means of social interaction and are even necessary for marriage.

On a recent visit to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, East Africa, wildlife abounded. But for every giraffe, elephant and zebra I saw I also saw a dead Maasai cow. Dozens of dying, dead and decaying Maasai cattle littered the landscape, not only of the Maasai villages and surrounding lands, but inside the boundaries of the Reserve as well.

When the rains failed to come in late October, herds of cattle that were already on the brink of starvation from the dry season became even weaker and began to die. The Maasai, whose entire culture is centered around their cows, began sneaking their herds onto the protected lands of the Park under the cover of darkness. "Wilson," the son of a Maasai chief in a village adjacent to the Reserve, explained to me that there the cattle can graze freely - although illegally - until just before sunrise, when they sneak them back out of the Reserve before they are discovered by Park rangers. Unfortunately, the Maasai do not always return with the same number of cows they entered with.

Earthquakes in Oklahoma: 2 on 29 Dec.

ABC News
Sun, 29 Dec 2013 09:15 UTC

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 4.1 magnitude earthquake rattled an area about 30 miles north-northeast of Oklahoma City early Sunday and was followed by a smaller quake hours later in the state. There were no reports of any injuries or damages from either temblor.

Lightning kills eight worshippers in Malawi church

Tiisetso Motsoeneng
Reuters
Sun, 29 Dec 2013 08:48 UTC

A lightning bolt struck a church in Malawi, killing eight worshippers and injuring several others, local media reported.

Several members of the Seventh Day Adventist church in the capital Lilongwe were admitted to hospital after Saturday's strike, the Nyasa Times said, citing witnesses, police and health officials.

It was not immediately clear whether they were injured by the lightning or in the panic to escape.

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Earth Changes

Bad weather thwarts third rescue attempts of stranded Antarctica ship

Tectonic shift: This 300 ft wall in Bolivia has over 5000 dinosaur footprints

7,000 stranded by rare floods in Sarawak

Stormy weather, heavy snow hit northern Japan

Hawaii snow, Mauna Kea access road closed

Canary Islands: New eruption may be brewing at El Hierro volcano

Crows invade downtown Portland, Oregon

Mystery of Maasai Cattle Deaths in Kenya

Earthquakes in Oklahoma: 2 on 29 Dec.

Lightning kills eight worshippers in Malawi church

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