Earth ChangesS


Attention

Rare, strong earthquake jolts Antarctica

Santiago -- An earthquake registering 6.3 on the Richter scale rocked Antarctica at 2031 GMT Friday, the Chilean national TV station reported.

©csem-emsc

Bizarro Earth

Scientists Say Indonesian Volcano Erupts

One of Indonesia's deadliest volcanos began erupting Saturday, but there was no visual confirmation of activity because the peak was cloaked in dense fog, a senior government volcanologist said.

Cloud Lightning

Vietnam: Havoc continues as floods kill 7 and injure 30



©VNA/VNS Photo Xuan Quang
The water level in the Hoai River in the ancient town of Hoi An, Quang Nam Province, continues to rise due to heavy rains.

Seven people have died and 30 others have been injured by the recent extreme weather conditions in Viet Nam's central region, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Six people are still missing.

Authorities in Quang Nam Province have told relevant sectors to evacuate people in areas threatened by landslides and floods, and have distributed food, oil, petrol and medicine to localities that have been cut off by flooding.

House

Calaveras Fault hit with nearly 40 aftershocks after 5.6 quake




Nearly 40 small aftershocks struck on the Calaveras Fault on Wednesday, following Tuesday night's moderate earthquake near San Jose that startled residents throughout the Bay Area.

The 5.6-magnitude quake caused only minor damage in South Bay communities, and the aftershocks - the largest at 3:54 p.m. with a magnitude of 3.7 - occurred south of the main quake's epicenter near the Calaveras Reservoir, according to Tom Brocher, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.

Cloud Lightning

Update! One million people affected by Mexico floods

MEXICO CITY - One person was killed and more than a million people affected by flooding in Mexico's southern state of Tabasco, officials said, as hundreds of thousands Friday waited for rescuers to pull them out of their homes in the worst floods ever in the region.

The oil-rich state the size of Belgium is now 80 percent underwater, officials said, adding that they expect more rain in the next days.

©Gilberto Villasana/AFP/Getty Images
General view of a flooded area in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco state, Mexico on November 1, 2007. More than 700.000 people were affected by the heavy rain --unrelated to Hurricane Noel-- in the state of Tabasco.

Magnify

Oldest Known Jellyfish Fossils Found

The oldest known fossils of jellyfish have been found in rocks in Utah that are more than 500 million years old, a new study reports.

The fossils are an unusual discovery because soft-bodied creatures, such as jellyfish, rarely survive in the fossil record, unlike animals with hard shells or bones.

©Unknown
Cambrian fossil jellyfish shows similarity to the modern jellyfish (right), Periphylla. Credit: Fossil photo by B. Lieberman. Periphylla photo by Dhugal Lindsay, Copyright JAMSTEC

"The fossil record is biased against soft-bodied life forms such as jellyfish, because they leave little behind when they die," said study member Bruce Lieberman of the University of Kansas.

These jellyfish left their lasting imprint because they were deposited in fine sediment, rather than coarse sand. The film that the jellyfish left behind shows a clear picture, or "fossil snapshot," of the animals.

"You can see a distinct bell-shape, tentacles, muscle scars and possibly even the gonads," said study team member Paulyn Cartwright, also of KU.

Better Earth

One Third of European Fish Species Endangered

More than one out of every three freshwater fish species in European waters is on the brink of extinction, conservationists announced today.

After seven years of research, scientists with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), based in Switzerland, found that 200 of the 522 (38 percent) species of European freshwater fish are threatened with extinction due to rapid development in Europe over the last 100 years. Twelve species are already extinct.

The survey, detailed in a book, Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes, also found 47 new fish species, but this biodiversity is threatened in many of Europe's lakes and rivers.

"This new study shows that we are far from achieving European governments' targets to halt biodiversity loss by 2010," said Jean-Christophe Vie of the IUCN's Species Program. "The status of fish populations reflects the condition of European lakes and rivers."

Better Earth

Magnitude-3.5 earthquake strikes outside Yosemite National Park

The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-3.5 earthquake has jolted the Sierra Nevada mountains just outside Yosemite National Park.

The temblor struck just after 9:30 a.m. about 11 miles southeast of Mammoth Lakes along the eastern edge of the park.

Better Earth

Volcano gets active in Indonesia

Thousands of mountainside residents were evacuated as activity rose at one of Indonesia's most deadly volcanos Thursday, officials said.

Hundreds of deep volcanic tremors shook Mt. Kelud - tenfold the normal number - and its crater lake was the hottest since the mountain was put on high alert last month, said Surono, a senior government volcanologist who goes by a single name.

©Unknown
Hundreds of deep volcanic tremors shook Mt. Kelud - tenfold the normal number - and its crater lake was the hottest since the mountain was put on high alert last month (indoinside.com)

"Kelud is entering its critical phase," Surono said in a telephone interview, indicating that an eruption could occur at any time.

In 1990, Mt. Kelud killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In 1919, a powerful explosion that could be heard hundreds of miles away destroyed dozens of villages and killed at least 5,160.

Evil Rays

Prepare: Cell phone system not ready for next big earthquake

Many cell phone calls failed to get through, while some land lines were briefly spotty. And in the wake of Tuesday's quake, many people were left trying to determine how they should communicate when the next one hits.

©American Red Cross
Instructional earthquake preparedness leaflet from American Red Cross

Comment: The above article references the following earthquake in California on 30 October 2007:

Moderate earthquake of 5.6 rattles Bay Area