Earth ChangesS


Pocket Knife

Expedition Explores Violent Russian Volcanoes

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© Agnes SamperGorely's massive crater dwarfs the researchers along its edge.
A group of scientists is hiking in one of the most remote areas on the planet in pursuit of new information about the recurring deaths and rebirths of two volcanoes.

The European expedition is spending two weeks on the Kamchatka Peninsula, a vast, isolated region of the Russian Far East that is home to one of the most active volcanic areas in the world.

The expedition, which runs to Sept. 7, is focused on the Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanoes, peaks just 9 miles (15 kilometers) apart that have been active for as long as 800,000 years. Both mountains have undergone repetitive destructive and rebuilding episodes. [See pictures from the expedition.]

Cloud Lightning

US: Evacuation order expanded in North Carolina ahead of Hurricane Earl

North Carolina's governor has declared a state of emergency as evacuation of the coast ahead of Hurricane Earl continues.

Gov. Beverly Perdue issued the declaration during a Wednesday afternoon briefing at the state Emergency Operations Center near the state capital.

Earl's strongest winds are expected to reach the coast Thursday night into Friday morning. Perdue warned residents along the Outer Banks to leave those areas immediately.

Sherlock

Video: Hurricanes Could Carry Gulf "Oil" Inland


Umbrella

Hurricane Earl May Skim North Carolina as Strong Storm

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© Ricardo Arduengo, APA boy in Puerto Rico takes cover from a wave driven by Hurricane Earl on Monday.

"Excellent chance" it'll be a Category 3 as far north as New Jersey, expert says.


Hurricane Earl is on a path that could take it near North Carolina's Outer Banks (map) late this week - and unusually warm Atlantic waters mean the storm could stay a major hurricane as it travels northward along the U.S. East Coast.

As of 11 a.m. ET today, Hurricane Earl's strongest winds were blowing at 135 miles (217 kilometers) an hour, making it a Category 4 storm.

Butterfly

Famed Tasmanian devil euthanized after tumor found

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© AP Photo/Rob GriffithIn this Wednesday, May 21, 2008 file photo, a Tasmanian devil searches for food in his enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. The Tasmanian devil population has plummeted by 70 percent since Devil Facial Tumor Disease was first discovered in 1996.
A Tasmanian devil named Cedric, once thought to be immune to a contagious facial cancer threatening the iconic creatures with extinction, has been euthanized after succumbing to the disease, researchers said Wednesday.

The death of the devil - previously heralded as a possible key to saving the species - is another blow for scientists struggling to stop the rapid spread of the cancer, which is transmitted when the furry black marsupials bite each other.

"It was very disappointing indeed," said scientist Alex Kreiss of the Menzies Research Institute in Hobart, Tasmania, which has led the studies on Cedric. "It's just made us more determined to keep the research going."

The Tasmanian devil population has plummeted by 70 percent since Devil Facial Tumor Disease was first discovered in 1996. The snarling, fox-sized creatures - made famous by their Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz - don't exist in the wild outside Tasmania, an island state south of the Australian mainland.

In 2007, Menzies researchers injected Cedric and his half brother Clinky with facial cancer cells. Clinky developed the disease, but Cedric showed an immune response and grew no tumors - giving researchers hope that he could help them create a vaccine.

But in late 2008, Cedric developed two small facial tumors after being injected with a different strain of the cancer, which causes grotesque facial growths that eventually grow so large, it becomes impossible for the devils to eat. Current estimates suggest the species could be extinct within 25 years due to the prolific spread of the cancer.

Cloud Lightning

Earl could force US evacuations ahead of Labor Day

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© AP Photo/Todd VanSickleA boat is battered by waves in Sopers Hole during the passage of Hurricane Earl near Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Monday Aug. 30, 2010. The Category 4 hurricane was expected to remain over the open ocean before turning north and running parallel to the U.S. coast, potentially reaching the North Carolina coastal region by late Thursday or early Friday.
Raleigh, North Carolina - A powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to sideswipe much of the East Coast just ahead of Labor Day, worrying countless vacationers who planned to spend the traditional last week of summer at the beach.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned people along the Eastern Seaboard to prepare for possible evacuations and islanders in the Turks and Caicos hunkered down in their homes Tuesday as the Category 4 hurricane steamed across the Caribbean with winds of 135 mph.

Earl was expected to remain over the open ocean before turning north and running parallel to the East Coast, bringing high winds and heavy rain to North Carolina's Outer Banks by late Thursday or early Friday. From there, forecasters said, it could curve away from the coast somewhat as it makes it way north, perhaps hitting Massachusetts' Cape Cod and the Maine shoreline on Friday night and Saturday.

Bizarro Earth

Scientists Ponder Dolphin Mystery

Victoria, British Columbia: -- Canadian scientists say they are puzzled why dolphins, which normally stay in offshore waters, are showing up close to shore and in inlets on Vancouver Island.

Dolphins started moving closer to land in the mid-1980s but the reason is still unknown, researchers said. It could have been a result of a food shortage or changing water temperatures.

"They just keep increasing," Echo Bay, British Columbia, resident Billy Proctor told the Vancouver Sun. "I guess their population is probably exploding because there's tons of babies everywhere. I don't think they're supposed to be here."

Proctor said he sees hundreds of them daily hanging out close to shore.

Bug

Possible Breakthrough in Breeding Parasite-Resistant Bee


A British beekeeper says he may have discovered a strain of honey bee immune to a parasite that has been gradually wiping out populations of the vital insect worldwide.

Scientists have been trying to find a way to fight the pesticide-resistant Varroa mite.

But now a retired heating engineer who spent 18 years searching for a mite-resistant breed may have found a breakthrough.

Ron Hoskins, 79, from Swindon in southern England, says he has managed to isolate and breed a strain of bees which "groom" one another, removing the mites.

Newspaper

More People Flee Homes as Volcano Erupts in Indonesia

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© Xinhua/AFPMount Sinabung volcano spews smoke in the district of Tanah Karo outside the city of Medan, North Sumatra August 28, 2010.
The number of evacuees in volcano eruption in Indonesia climbed to over 21,000 on Monday and was expected to rise, spokesman of National Disaster Management Agency Priyadi Kardono said.

The rise of over 9,000 evacuees from that on Sunday has caused overload on shelters, the spokesman said.

Some of the evacuees have suffered from diseases, he said.

"The problems at the shelters now is overload and it may become severer as the people keep flocking on the refugee centers. Besides some of the evacuees have got disease, most of them have respiratory problem," Priyadi told Xinhua by phone.

Cloud Lightning

Newborn Hurricane Earl threatens north Caribbean

Hurricane Danielle
© Associated Press/Weather UndergroundThis NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, Aug 28, 2010 at 03:00 AM EDT shows clouds associated with Hurricane Danielle as it begins to track northeastward as a Category 3 storm. It may regain Category 4 status on Saturday, but will weaken as it remains away from any major landmasses. Tropical Storm Earl is to the southeast of Hurricane Danielle and is moving westward. Clouds in the Gulf of Mexico are producing some showers along the Gulf Coast
Islanders set up emergency shelters and cancelled flights on Sunday as newly born Hurricane Earl churned toward the northern Caribbean. Cruise lines diverted ships to avoid the storm's path.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said that Earl, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), could hit the northern Leeward Islands as soon as Sunday night. It could become a major hurricane by Tuesday - probably while north of Puerto Rico.

People on several islands stuffed shopping carts with bottled water, canned food, milk, candles and batteries, while some tourists scrambled to board flights home. Others enjoyed the beach while they could.

"I'm just trying get a good suntan in while the weather is still co-operating," said Linda Curren of New York City, sunbathing on San Juan's Ocean Park beach as a few surfers paddled into pounding waves.