Earth ChangesS


Question

US: A race to solve mystery of bat-killing fungus

bats
© Unknown
If the recent catastrophic history of Vermont's hibernating bats were sold to the movies - part horror film, part sci-fi disease mystery - the opening scene of The Attack of the Bat-Killing Fungus might play like this:

A European tourist with an interest in caves arrives in New York state. He seeks out Howe Caverns west of Albany and joins a commercial tour through its underground passages.

As he passes stalactites and stalagmites, his shoes scuff the rock, his jacket brushes the cave walls, and microscopic spores of a European cold-loving, cave-dwelling fungus are scraped from his attire onto the walls and floor.

Phoenix

Two US volcanoes making news: Kilauea and St. Helens

Mount St Helens
© Big ThinkAn undated aerial image of Mount St. Helens, Washington.
We've talked a lot about volcanoes in other parts of the world, but now we have two UF volcanoes making some news (although neither because they're having a large eruption):

Hawai'i: The lava lake at the Halema'uma'u Crater in Kilauea has reached new heights - in fact, the lava lake had gotten high enough (~77 meters below the crater floor) in the pit crater that there was some thoughts that it might spill out onto the floor of the crater. However, that fate is unclear now as the pit crater itself is collapsing into the lava lake, with large chunks of the rim falling in on Monday. These chunks, some as large as 120 meters x 5 meters, fell into the lake and produced small plumes of ash and gases along with very obvious popping sounds heard as far as half a mile away. You can hear some of the noises and watch some quicktime movies of the activity at the Halema'uma'u Crater over on the Hawaii Volcano Observatory website. Collapses in the pit crater in 2009 blocked off the lava lake from view, but quickly the lava was able to retake the crater. Seismicity related to the upper east rift zone of lava seemed to peak late last week, which might suggest that the influx of new basaltic magma might be waning. Be sure to check out the great time lapse videos (this one from Pu'u O'o) from Eruptions readers along with all the Kilauea the webcams as well. UPDATE: Speaking of Pu'u O'o time lapse video, here is a new one from the USGS as well.

Arrow Up

Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing: images from aftermath


Curfew and cordon thrown around rescue zone in centre of New Zealand city, where 75 are confirmed dead and 300 missing

Police have a declared a curfew in central Christchurch as aftershocks from Tuesday's earthquake struck the city.

The death toll from the 6.3-magnitude quake has reached 75 and is expected to rise. Three hundred people are missing, with Ireland's department of foreign affairs confirming that two Irish passport holders were killed.

Reports of Britons among the dead have not been confirmed. The British high commission, which is providing consular assistance in Christchurch, said it had received no information as yet of any British casualties.

Officials have urged Christchurch people to stay at home unless travel is essential. Locals venturing into the city to view the damage would hamper rescue efforts, said Police Superintendent Dave Cliff. He warned of the danger of "criminal elements" and announced a strict exclusion zone around the city's "four avenues" from 6.30pm. Six arrests for burglary have been made.
Image
© Sarah Ivey/APEastern suburbs of Christchurch lie flooded

Meteor

Flashback Homeland Security Secretary urges Americans to watch out for bird deaths as a sign of 'chemical attack'

Image
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's both and it's a sign that our sky is changing because of accumulating material - some of it highly toxic to human health - in our atmosphere from overhead cometary fly-bys and explosions.
Washington - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Wednesday launched a national Ready Campaign to prepare Americans for terrorist attacks, urging them to take such measures as storing 3 or more gallons of water for each family member and watching for dead birds as a sign of chemical attack.

A week after Ridge and his department came under fire for suggesting that duct tape and plastic sheeting would be a defense against possible attacks, the homeland security secretary traveled to Cincinnati to tout the new campaign he said was designed primarily to prevent fear and panic.

"Fear is the terrorists' most effective weapon," Ridge said. "The threat of terrorism forces us to make a choice. We can be afraid or we can be ready. And today America's families declare we will not be afraid and we will be ready."

The campaign's list of recommendations elaborated on some of the precautionary steps Ridge urged last week after the Bush administration raised the terrorist threat level from yellow, for "elevated risk," to orange, for "high risk." Ridge did not say when he expected the threat level to be reduced to yellow, though he had indicated over the weekend that it might be soon.

Comment: "Other types of explosions", like overhead cometary explosions? Note the comment about dead birds being a sign of chemical attack. We've certainly had plenty of those signs of late. Consider that airborne chemicals or pathogens that precipitate out of the stratosphere can be "dropped off" in the upper atmosphere by exploding comet fragments. You will definitely want to read Dr. Segura's article in the upcoming issue of the Dot Connector about this, titled 'New Light on the Black Death - The Viral and Cosmic Connection.'

The efforts we see the US government undertaking in the above article might suggest, of course, that a warning about dead birds and fish could also be a smoke screen, attributing it to terrorist activity when, in fact, it is "natural." Consider that the whole idea of chemtrails is propagated widely to cover up the far more scary things going on in our atmosphere, on our planet, in our solar system, all of which presage very serious earth changes which could include the destruction of 90% of humanity or more. The powers that be really want people to "believe in chemtrails" because they then continue to think that some shadow government really is in charge of everything, up to and including natural disasters, and they also do not read the signs accurately. This, of course, spells their doom at a time when paying strict attention to the signs can make all the difference.

Chemtrails? Contrails? Strange Skies


Sun

Approaching active region on Sol: More geo-storms on the way?

A significant active region is about to emerge over the sun's northeastern limb. The underlying sunspots are not yet visible from Earth, but the region's towering magnetic canopy is already in view. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) took this picture during the early hours of Feb. 23rd:

Approaching Active Region
© SpaceWeather
A better view is had by NASA's STEREO-B probe, stationed over the sun's eastern limb where it can see the region from top down. Recent movies beamed back by STEREO-B show flashes of extreme UV radiation and hints of magnetic instability. This could herald a period of renewed solar activity when the region turns toward Earth in the days ahead. Or the action could peter out beforehand. Stay tuned for updates.

Info

Earth's Rotation, Not Human Activity, Caused Methane Level Increase

A new study has suggested that it's not human activity but the Earth's rotation patterns that caused an increase in methane levels 5000 years ago.

Dr Joy Singarayer of the University of Bristol, and colleagues, suggest changes in the Earth's orbit and precession, not agriculture, played a major part.

The team used computer models, used to estimate future climatic conditions, to trace back over the past 130,000 years and then used this data to estimate vegetation types, and hence methane production, across the planet.

Singarayer and colleagues found the output of their models matched with measurements of methane from ice cores taken in Greenland.

"What we found was that our models were able to reproduce both the decrease that was seen around 100,000 years ago and the increase we've seen in the last 5000 years, without having to invoke human induced emissions through agriculture," ABC Science quoted Paul Valdes, also of the University of Bristol, as saying.

Bizarro Earth

Australia: Blue Whales Make Rare Warrnambool Visit

Blue Whale_2
© Rob Gunstone
Several blue whales made a rare Warrnambool visit yesterday, enchanting locals and tourists alike at Thunder Point.

The oceanic giants frolicked in waters to the city's west with marine experts keeping a close eye on the action as the whales pass through on a current known as the Bonney Upwelling.

Blue whales are often sighted off the south-west coast near Cape Bridgewater but this is the first time in several years that the world's largest animals have graced Warrnambool's coastline.

Blue Whale Study co-director Margie Morrice was at Thunder Point yesterday to identify and document the behaviour of the visiting whales. She said six whales had been sighted off the coast with three confirmed as blue whales.

"Blue whales are seen right along the coast here, from Cape Otway to the Great Australian Bight," Ms Morrice said.

"The unusual thing about this sighting is that they are so close to shore. We can see many blue whales off the coast near Cape Bridgewater because it's closer to the continental shelf, but usually the only sightings near Warrnambool are by fishermen out on boats."

Stop

Texas, US: Mysterious spill affects shoreline near San Leon

Image
© UnknownA viewer submitted these photos of the spill and clean up effort to iWitness.abc13.com
Officials are investigating what appears to be an oil spill near San Leon.

According to the US Coast Guard, a spill of some oil-like substance is affecting about a mile of rocky shoreline at April Fool's Point in San Leon. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the spill, which appears to be oil, but officials are testing the substance to determine exactly what it is.

Evil Rays

Is New Zealand earthquake linked to the mysterious deaths of more than 100 pilot whales?

Image
© Unknown
Twitter was awash today with theories that the bizarre deaths of more than 100 stranded pilot whales in New Zealand may have been a warning that an earthquake was going to hit.

There have been TWO mass whale deaths on NZ's South Island in less than three weeks.

In the latest bizarre incident on Sunday, less than 48 hours before the earthquake hit, a pod of whales beached themselves near Cavalier Creek on Stewart Island.

Discussing the earthquake and whale deaths on Twitter, Kate Redman 'DolphinSeeker30' asked: "could the stranding of 100 pilot whales be linked to the earthquake?"

Bizarro Earth

Italy, Mt Etna: Second Eruption in 2011

Etna
© Héloïse PicotLava flow emitted during Etna's paroxysm of 18 February onto the western flank of the Valle del Bove, seen from the village of Stazzo at about 13:00 GMT.
The second paroxysmal eruptive episode of the year 2011 from the Southeast Crater occurred on 18 February, 36 days after the previous episode (12-13 January 2011). The full duration of this episode was about 11 hours, with strong Strombolian activity and pulsating lava fountains. Although inclement weather precluded continuous direct observation of the activity, it seems that qualitatively this event was similar to its predecessor, but probably less energetic.

The paroxysm has taken place once more at the pit crater located on the lower eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone, the only active eruptive vent at this summit cone since the summer of 2007.

The paroxysm was preceded by an explosive sequence presumably from the Northeast Crater, on the late evening of 16 February. Also in that case, direct visual observation was difficult due to the presence of cloud cover.

The onset of today's paroxysm was abrupt, and thus quite different from the long buildup phase that led to the episode of 12-13 January.