Earth ChangesS


Ice Cube

Interesting and positive changes in Arctic sea ice volume

Frank Lansner
Watts Up With That?
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 23:12 UTC
Arctic Research Station
© NASA/JPLIn addition to satellite data from NASA's Grace mission, the scientists used measurements from Arctic Bottom Pressure Recorders deployed to the Arctic Ocean floor to monitor changes in Arctic Ocean circulation.
DMI publishes daily their Arctic ice volume data in the form of graphs. From these it is possible to retrieve the data and plot them as you like.

So, first I plotted all years available, 2003 - 2016 for the period May 16 to Aug 8 to show the melt season. Not all dates in the period was used, but enough to get the overall picture.

The first that caught my interest was obviously how 2016 was "performing" in comparison with the other years 2003 - 2015. The winter winds Nov 2015 - Feb 2016 were quite harsh to the ice as it was generally blown towards the Atlantic via East Greenland. This may explain the very low levels of ice volume May 2016. Whatever the reason for this low level of ice volume May 2016, it appears that 2016 during summer melt did not melt as fast as most other years.
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Attention

Youth killed by bears in Odisha, India


Odisha Sun Times
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 20:34 UTC
Sloth bears are found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan but shrinking habitats and rampant poaching have reduced their numbers
© Manpreet RomanaSloth bears are found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan but shrinking habitats and rampant poaching have reduced their numbers
A youth was killed in a bear attack this morning in Odisha' Balasore district while engaged in farming land.

The deceased has been identified as Ganeswar Mallik of Budusahi village in Bhaunriabada panchayat under Nilagiri block in the district.

According to reports, two bears attacked Ganeswar from behind about 6 am today while he was channeling water to his farming land in his village.

Locals heard screams and rushed to the spot to find him profusely bleeding.

He was rushed to the local hospital where the doctor declared him dead on arrival.
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Sun

The US is approaching 4,000 days since a major hurricane strike

Roy W. Spencer
drroyspencer.com
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
Hurricane Wilma
© NOAAHurricane Wilma over Florida, October 24, 2005
In less than two months (October 6, 2016) it will be 4,000 days since the last time a major hurricane made landfall in the U.S., which was Wilma on October 24, 2005.

Wilma was a record-setter, being the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, with peak estimated sustained winds of 183 mph and lowest surface pressure of 882 mb. That surface pressure corresponds to a 13% removal of atmospheric mass in the core of the hurricane compared to normal sea level pressure.

But after the record-setting 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, with a whopping 27 named tropical storms, the bottom pretty much dropped out of hurricane activity since then.
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Tornado2

Waterspout seen in Sai Kung, Hong Kong


Coconuts - Hong Kong
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 20:10 UTC
Sia Kung Hong Kong waterspout
© Siu Keung Tsui via Facebook
The skies of Sai Kung were briefly graced with a waterspout (think tornado, but over water) earlier today while the Hong Kong Observatory's Thunderstorm Warning was in place.

At around 4:55pm, Hongkongers spotted the dramatic funnel-shaped column of water rotating over the surface of the sea.

A witness told Apple Daily she was at Pak Sha Wan Pier when the sky suddenly changed colour. "One of the clouds began spinning rapidly, like during a Typhoon 3, and formed a tail [the waterspout]. There was thunder and lightning... the entire process took around 15 minutes."

A spokesperson for the HKO told Apple Daily that the phenomenon came from a funnel cloud, which are sighted mostly during the wet 'n' wild (at least, temperature-wise) summer months in Hong Kong. According to the HKO, waterspouts and tornadoes are seen in Hong Kong once every one to two years.
Hong Kong waterspout
© Via Facebook/Live - Apple Burst

Comment: Nearly 5,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes recorded in 3 hours over Hong Kong

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Binoculars

Double rainbows, circumhorizontal arcs appear over Ontario in wake of severe storms

Leeanna McLean
The Weather Network
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:44 UTC
Fire rainbow in Ontario
© The Weather Network
Severe storms produced some messy summer weather this past weekend across Canada. However, Mother Nature smiled down in the form of double rainbows and circumhorizontal arcs, an atmospheric phenomena also referred to as "fire rainbows."

Social media lit up with images of the colourful skies. Several residents in southwestern Ontario managed to snap photos of the circumhorizontal arc. It was visible from many places, including the town of Laselle, Windsor and Amherstburg.

"It's actually an ice halo formed by ice crystals in cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere," says Dayna Vettese, The Weather Network manager of meteorological briefing. "The reason why this doesn't look like a halo is because the arc is so large it looks like it's almost parallel to the horizon. These occur when the sun is very high in the sky. As the sunlight passes through the existing ice crystals, the sun ray is split into its individual colours giving it the rainbow effect."

The conditions have to be "just right" for the arcs to appear, Vettese adds.

"The sun must be 58 degree elevation or higher, and there must be cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere with a certain type of ice crystal for this to form."

Meanwhile, after severe storms slammed Nova Scotia, prompting Environment Canada to issue a tornado watch for Sydney and Cape Breton County, a stunning double rainbow formed.
Double rainbow in Ontario
© Via Twitter@Ryno1820"Double rainbow! Glace Bay, Nova Scotia!"
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Extinguisher

Family and rescuers hurt in Greater Manchester home explosion

Danny Boyle and Cristina Criddle
The Telegraph
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 10:38 UTC
House explosion in Manchester
© Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue
At least 10 people have been injured after an explosion destroyed a terraced house in Greater Manchester.

Emergency services found several people hurt on the ground following the blast that left the property in Ashton-under-Lyne collapsed at both the front and back. Three people have suffered serious injuries and seven others were left with minor wounds following the explosion during the early hours of Tuesday.

Aerial images showed a large pile of bricks strewn in front of the house, as rooms were left exposed with furniture visible from the road. The roof of at least one other property appeared to be badly damaged. The cause of the explosion, at around 5am, is currently unconfirmed.
Aeriel view
© Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service deployed six engines to the scene. Gas and electricity supplies were turned off at the house and four neighbouring properties. Rescue crews described how the explosion had caused the property to collapse at the front and back.

Comment: The fire service seems to be denigrating a selfless act. Rescuing a fellow human being from being burned alive or dying from smoke inhalation is not an 'issue'. How ignorant.

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Cloud Lightning

Nearly 5,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes recorded in 3 hours over Hong Kong


South China Morning Post
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:51 UTC
Lightning
In three hours of thunderstorms on Tuesday, lightning flashed close to 5,000 times in the city, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

This included Hong Kong's 18th highest occurrence of cloud-to-ground lightning detected in a hour since records began in 2005, as heavy rain pelted down after a week of sweltering temperatures.

According to Li Yuet-sim, acting senior scientific officer of the Observatory, cloud-to-ground lightning was recorded 4,884 times between 11am and 1.59pm.

A total of 3,242 instances of cloud-to-ground lightning were detected between noon and 12.59pm, which is the 18th highest in an hour since records began, Li said.

She added that the highest was about 13,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in an hour, recorded on September 9, 2010.

An amber rainstorm warning signal was issued between 12.30pm and 1.30pm, while a thunderstorm warning was in force 11.00am to 3.30pm.

Comment: See also: Hong Kong hit by 10,000 lightning flashes within 12 hours

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Windsock

17,000-ton oil rig blown ashore by heavy storm in Western Isles, Scotland


news.com.au
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:34 UTC
Oil rig washed ashore in Scotland
© Storyful
A 17,000 tonne oil rig has been swept ashore after being hit by severe weather and heavy winds in the Western Isles in Scotland.

Police rushed to cordon off the popular surf beach in Dalmore after fumes could be smelt coming from The Transocean Winner rig, reports The Mirror.

There is a risk that the structure, which is carrying 280 metric tonnes of diesel, could be damaged and leak its cargo into the sea.

The drilling rig became detached from the Alp Forward tug boat during severe weather conditions overnight.

HM Coastguard said: "The Maritime & Coastguard Agency's counter pollution branch and the SOSREP have both been monitoring the situation since yesterday evening and the local authority, police and Marine Scotland have all been kept informed."

According to former crew members the Transocean Winner carried out its last project at the end of July and was on its way to Malta to be broken into scrap, reports The Mirror.

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Ice Cube

Earthquake 'swarm' near Pothole Glacier, Alaska probably not earthquakes at all

Tracy Sinclair
KTUU
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 11:13 UTC
Pothole glacier swarm map
© Alaska Earthquake CenterHundreds of small seismic events have occurred in an area near Pothole Glacier.
Earlier this summer, the scientists at the Alaska Earthquake Center began monitoring a swarm of small earthquakes in an area about eight miles west of Mt. Spurr. According to State Seismologist Dr. Michael West, they probably aren't earthquakes at all.

Hundreds of small seismic events have been registered in the area since June 11, with almost 100 of the recordings exceeding magnitude 2.

"That catches our attention," says West, "because magnitude 2 is big enough that you're being recorded, you can see that signal a few hundred kilometers away."

The three possible sources of these seismic events, according to West, are standard earthquake activity, volcanic activity or glacial activity. "The patterns of all these little events didn't fit the pattern of a classic earthquake swarm driven by stresses, tectonic pressures in the region," says West. The Alaska Earthquake Center worked with the Alaska Volcano Observatory and largely ruled out volcanic activity. That left glaciers as the most likely explanation.

"I have to be clear, there is no smoking gun right now about exactly what these are," West says. "The hypothesis of least astonishment I think is that they are probably coming from one of the glaciers in that area."
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Cloud Lightning

4 die in lightning strikes in Odisha, India


Business Standard.
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:14 UTC
Lightning
At least four persons died and two others injured in lightning strikes in two places of Balasore district today, police said.

Of the four, Ajit Das (18) and his grandfather Mahendra Das(58) died at Gabgaon village under Chandipur police station while Basanti Singh (12) died at Ganeswarpur under Remuna block.

Jaleswar police said one Jogeswar Jena in Mahisamunda village under Jaleswar Block also died in a lightning strike.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

Source: Press Trust of India
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