Earth ChangesS


Igloo

Baby boomer marmots fatten up with climate change

Image
© Inklein/CC 3.0Life sure is good
The good times have been rolling for Colorado's baby-boomer marmots. They've been getting fatter and their population has been swelling - but the news is not all good. The changes seem to be caused by the warming climate.

A team led by Daniel Blumstein of the University of California, Los Angeles, have been monitoring the yellow-bellied marmots of Colorado's Upper East river for over three decades. Blumstein recently realised the population had exploded. "It's boom time in this region," he says.

Looking at records with Arpat Ozgul of Imperial College London, he saw that marmot numbers had been fairly stable since the mid-1970s, but in 2001 they suddenly began growing by an average of 14.2 marmots per year. Between 1976 and 2001 the population had gained an average of 0.56 marmots per year.

When the team analysed the body mass figures of 1190 marmots collected between 1976 and 2008, they found another trend. Again, weights were relatively stable up until around 2000, and rose sharply after that. "They're getting fatter," says Blumstein.

Comment: Perhaps the marmots read this article by Laura Knight-Jadczyk: Fire and Ice - The Day After Tomorrow


Cloud Lightning

Northeast Kentucky deluged by rain, flooding

Kentucky flooding
© UnknownPike County residents clean up after the flooding.
Up to half a foot of torrential rain in northeastern Kentucky has led to swift-water rescues, propelled a truck into a tree and washed away homes and businesses -- and more severe weather is on the way.

"We're trying to get a hold on this. It's just awful," said Brandon Roberts, a spokesman for the Pike County judge executive, the top elected official in the county. "It's so bad. ... It's so bad. People might not even be aware it's raining. They're a hundred yards away from where they used to be."

Roberts said Wednesday that floodwater had washed "well over 200 homes," including a brick house, off their foundations. He added that the water picked up a Ford F-350 truck and carried it into a tree.

CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said there was an even a higher chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the region Wednesday than there was Tuesday. Some parts of Kentucky were under flood advisories, and over the next few days, some locations could get 2 more inches of rain, he said.

Roberts said that in a twisted way, more heavy rain could help cleanup efforts by clearing roads and driveways of accumulated mud and debris.

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - North of Halmahera

Indonesia Earthquake_210710
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 09:16:04 UTC

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 06:16:04 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
3.037°N, 128.214°E

Depth:
102 km (63.4 miles) set by location program

Region:
NORTH OF HALMAHERA, INDONESIA

Distances:
265 km (165 miles) NNE of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia

410 km (255 miles) ENE of Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia

1500 km (930 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines

2580 km (1600 miles) ENE of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Bizarro Earth

Aquatic Dead Zones

Image
© Unknown
The size and number of marine dead zones-areas where the deep water is so low in dissolved oxygen that sea creatures can't survive-have grown explosively in the past half-century. Red circles on this map show the location and size of many of our planet's dead zones. Black dots show where dead zones have been observed, but their size is unknown.

It's no coincidence that dead zones occur downriver of places where human population density is high (darkest brown). Some of the fertilizer we apply to crops is washed into streams and rivers. Fertilizer-laden runoff triggers explosive planktonic algae growth in coastal areas.

The algae die and rain down into deep waters, where their remains are like fertilizer for microbes. The microbes decompose the organic matter, using up the oxygen. Mass killing of fish and other sea life often results.

Satellites can observe changes in the way the ocean surface reflects and absorbs sunlight when the water holds a lot of particles of organic matter. Darker blues in this image show higher concentrations of particulate organic matter, an indication of the overly fertile waters that can culminate in dead zones.

Cloud Precipitation

More than 700 dead and 650,000 homes destroyed in Chinese floods

Image
© XinhuaSoldiers transfer people trapped by flood water on a rubber boat in Guang'an, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on July 19, 2010.
Torrential flooding across much of the nation has left 701 dead and hundreds missing, China's vice minister of water resources said.

At least 347 people are missing, Liu Ning told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.

Ninety-percent of the casualties were caused by mountain floods, mudslides and landslides triggered by heavy downpours. About 645,500 houses had collapsed, he said.

More than 230 rivers were above warning levels; 25 of them saw their highest levels ever, he said.

More than 100 cities flooded, he said.

Liu cited torrential downpours between June 13 and June 27, and heavy rain on July 8 in southern China as particularly damaging.

"In southern China, the rainfall is 30 to 100 percent higher than the historical average," he said.

Meteor

Ice Crystals on the Rise: Stunning 'Sun Dog' Spotted from Bournemouth Beach, England

sun dog halo ice crystals
© BN&PSBournemouth photographer Chris Skone-Roberts captured this amazing 'sun dog' hovering over the seaside town yesterday.
It looks like a giant eye gazing down from the heavens.

But the spectacular sight of the sun surrounded by a mysterious halo is known as a 'sun dog'.

The phenomenon, which had beachgoers in Bournemouth gazing at the sky yesterday, occurs when sunlight is refracted by hexagonal-shaped ice crystals in high and cirrus clouds - and is quite common.


Comment: It is interesting to note that a competing version of this story actually classifies this as a "rare phenomenon"


This picture was taken from Bournemouth beach in Dorset by photographer Chris Skone-Roberts.

The phenonemen is officially called a pathelia but is also known as a 'halo' or 'mock sun'.

Cow Skull

US: Kansas heat wave has killed 2,000 cattle

cow
© Reuters/Vasily FedosenkoA cow looks out of its stall during an agricultural exhibition near the village of Liavonavichi, some 10 km (6 miles) north of the capital Minsk, June 10, 2010.

Chicago - The intense heat and humidity that blanketed central Kansas since late last week have killed more than 2,000 cattle and one state official called the heat-related losses the worst in his 17 years on the job.

However, conditions for the cattle improved somewhat on Tuesday as the humidity has decreased and the wind has picked up, state and feedlot sources said.

Kansas is the third largest cattle state with more than 2 million cattle in feedlots.

Bizarro Earth

Papua New Guinea: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - New Britain Region

Papua Earthquake_200710
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 19:18:23 UTC

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 05:18:23 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
5.917°S, 150.681°E

Depth:
35.9 km (22.3 miles)

Region:
NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Distances:
70 km (45 miles) SE of Kimbe, New Britain, PNG

130 km (80 miles) ENE of Kandrian, New Britain, PNG

550 km (340 miles) NE of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

2400 km (1490 miles) N of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

Fish

Hundreds of dead penguins wash up on Brazil shores

Magellanic penguins
© AFP/File/Mauricio LimaMagellanic penguins swim off the coast of Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hundreds of dead penguins and other sea animals have washed up on Sao Paulo state's shores and scientists are investigating the causes, according to environment officials.
Hundreds of dead penguins and other sea animals have washed up on Sao Paulo state's shores and scientists are investigating the causes, environment officials told Folha Online news agency.

The Institute of Environment and Natural Resources said 530 penguins, numerous other sea birds, five dolphins and three giant sea turtles have been found in the coastal towns of Peruibe, Praia Grande and Itanhaem, with more likely on other nearby beaches.

Sao Paulo University biologists and a wildlife research center are looking into the possible reasons for the animal deaths, the institute said.

Praia Grande authorities have ruled out pollution, saying preliminary investigations point to starvation as the cause.

The most likely scenario for the penguin deaths is exhaustion and hunger during their long migration from the waters off Argentina's southern Patagonia region, said Andrea Maranho, a veterinarian for the Sea Animal Rehabilitation Center in Praia Grande.

Umbrella

India: Flood toll in Punjab and Haryana reaches 40

Image
© AP
Two more deaths due to floods were reported in Punjab's Mansa district Friday, taking the toll to 25, officials said. With this, the collective flood toll in Punjab and Haryana went up to 40.

The flood situation remained grim in Sardulgarh area of the district with several acres inundated and various villages submerged. Rescue work was on and the army and paramilitary forces were assisting the district administration in the relief operation.

'Over 9,000 acres of agriculture land has been inundated and several villages are submerged in water in the Sardulgarh area. Floods have damaged 19,452 houses in the district,' Deputy Commissioner Kumar Rahul told IANS.

'Flood water entered five more villages, namely Mirpur Kalan, Mirpur Khurd, Bhagwanpur Hingnan, Alipur and Bern, since Thursday,' he said, adding though the water level has receded at some places, the situation is still grim.