Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Two Quakes Wiggle Yellowstone

Aerial of Excelsior Geyser Crater
© Jim Peaco/NPSAerial of Excelsior Geyser Crater & Grand Prismatic Spring
Two earthquakes of the same magnitude - 2.2 on the Richter scale - struck Yellowstone Park this week.

The first was at 9:34 pm Thursday, February 24, 48 miles east of Island Park. The next was at 5:04 am Friday, February 25, 32 miles east-northeast of Island Park.

According to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory's January report, there were 57 earthquakes in the park in January this year. The largest was a magnitude 2.4 event on January 25 at 9:51 pm, about 6 miles north northwest of West Yellowstone. No earthquake swarms were noted in January 2011.

Analysis of the Yellowstone GPS data shows that the period of accelerated Yellowstone caldera uplift, beginning in 2004, has stopped. Some GPS stations exhibit little change and others reflect slight subsidence, according to the report.

Bell

US: Yellowstone volcano may soon erupt

The volcano located near Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming, USA, is showing signs of record activity and could make two-thirds of the country uninhabitable if it erupts. Geophysical reports commented that the volcano has increased its activity at a record pace since 2004. It's floor has been inflating at a rate of three inches per year in the last three years, the fastest rate since records began in 1923.

The magma is now about 10 kilometers deep, so there is no need to worry about it now. But if it comes up to the level of two or three kilometers from the surface, then we have reason for concern, says Robert Smith, professor geophysics at the University of Utah. The volcano is believed to have had two major eruptions 2 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and 642,000 years ago, respectively, which were supposedly more powerful than the spectacular 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington state.

Camera

Amazing Images! Icy swirls around a patient volcano

Just east of Russia and north of Japan lies a long series of island volcanoes called the Kuril chain. Over 50 volcanoes form this archipelago, which stretches for well over 1300 km (800 miles) in the western Pacific ocean. At the southern end is the bizarrely-shaped rectangle of Ostrov Shikotan, and in the winter icy waters swirl and flow around the snow-covered terrain:

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© Unknown
Breathtaking, isn't it? There are two extinct volcanoes on the island (it's still seismically active though) and, amazingly, two settlements as well. Of course, this picture, taken in February from NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite, paints a very white and chilly picture. Satellite imagery in warmer times shows it to be much greener. There is some dispute over who owns the island; it's part of Russia but the Japanese claim it as well.

I suspect in the very long run, it doesn't matter. The Earth owns this parcel of land. The geology indicates it's been battered by eons of tsunamis and earthquakes. Humans may thrust out their chests and thump them, but the vast and mighty forces of a entire planet have squatting rights here, I think.

Snowman

US: Rare Snow for San Francisco and Los Angeles This Weekend

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Extremely rare opportunities for snow will continue for San Francisco and Sacramento into tonight, then even down into some valleys around Los Angeles Saturday.

The last time it snowed in downtown San Francisco was 1976.

As AccuWeather.com Western Expert Ken Clark has been stressing, this storm is a "big deal" for California.

Major disruptions to travel through passes, including all those leading into and out of the L.A. Basin, are expected with this unusually cold storm. The snow will be coming just before the Oscars kick off Sunday.

Travel-snarling snow will not be limited to just California, with parts of Arizona, Nevada and states farther east set to get blasted this weekend as well. Snow could even fall at the Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Ariz., this weekend.

More details on how the storm will impact these southwestern states are provided in this news story.

Attention

Philippine scientists warn of more volcano explosions

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Mount Bulusan
Philippine scientists on Tuesday warned of more explosions from a restive volcano that has been spewing ash for two days after nearly three months of inactivity.

More than 100,000 people were affected by Monday's two ash explosions at Mount Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon province, 250 kilometers southeast of Manila.

At least 2,000 were forced to flee their homes in three towns at the foot of Mount Bulusan, according to civil defense authorities.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it had recorded 16 volcanic earthquakes since the ash explosions started Monday.

Umbrella

South America: State of emergency declared after floods affect 10,000 families

Cochabamba, Bolivia - Authorities in Peru and Bolivia declared a state of emergency on Tuesday due to massive flooding affecting both Andean countries.

In Bolivia, three people died and almost 7,000 were left homeless by the strong rains hitting the country for the past weeks.

One of the victims died in Cochabamba and the other two in Tarija.

Six of the nine Bolivian administrative regions have been affected and the Bolivian government has released a special 20 (m) million US dollar aid package for the victims.


Beaker

California Overdue for Massive Quake

The Southern California Earthquake Center (link), an international research collaborative headquartered at the Univ. of Southern California (link), has developed advanced simulation models of how the ground will shake in a magnitude 8.0 earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault.

Evidence pulled from sediment in three deep trenches suggests the south end of the San Andreas Fault is likely overdue for a massive quake based on historical averages.

This section of the fault has gone perhaps 140 years longer than the average 180 years between quakes, according to the research reported in the February issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.


The study also nixes the idea that lake changes in the now-dry region caused past quakes.

However, the findings do not change existing thinking about the threat of a major quake - potentially measuring 7.0 to 8.0 on the Richter scale - for Southern California, including the Los Angeles Basin. Projections of such a quake in recent years led to the nation's largest-ever drill, the Great Southern California ShakeOut, last year. The 2011 ShakeOut is set for Oct. 20. There's even a video projection of the quake's probable route created by the Southern California Earthquake Center. The last earthquake to originate from the area occurred in about 1690.

Radar

Study: Tremors can signal volcano eruption

U.S. and Canadian scientists say volcanoes produce distinctive tremors minutes, days or even weeks before they erupt, making prediction of events possible.

Researchers at Yale University, along with colleagues at the University of British Columbia, said no matter their size or shape, explosive volcanoes produce tremors at similar frequencies, a Yale release said Wednesday.

Prior to most explosive eruptions the volcanoes shake slightly but measurably, and the shaking becomes more dramatic during the eruption itself and is a primary precursor used by vulcanologists for forecasting an eruption.

"Tremor is very mysterious, most notably because it shakes at pretty much the same frequency in almost every explosive volcano, whether it's in Alaska, the Caribbean, New Zealand or Central America," Yale geology professor David Bercovici said.

Snowflake

Winter storm moving into Las Vegas area

High winds today, rain tonight and possibly some snow on Saturday for western foothills of Spring Mountains, forecasters say

Get ready for a mostly cloudy and breezy day, with winds gusting as high as 50 mph in the Las Vegas Valley.

Temperatures will climb to the low 60s today, but the National Weather Service has issued weather advisories and warnings as a winter storm rolls in tonight, bringing wet weather and snow for the weekend.

The wind advisory, which runs from 10 a.m. today until 1 a.m. Saturday, includes Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Summerlin, Nellis, Mountains Edge, Seven Hills and Blue Diamond, the weather service said.

Alarm Clock

Canada: Mount Baker Overdue for Eruption

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© Creative Commons photo, WikimediaMount Baker
Mount Baker is long overdue for an eruption, considering how much "wagging" is going on inside the volcano.
Mark Jellinek, a volcanologist at the University of British Columbia, told the Montreal Gazette that the Washington volcano is showing signs of activity, most notably that it's shaking and vibrating - "wagging," as those in the volcano business say - because of giant columns of magma moving from within.

Jellinek and Yale researcher David Bercovici published research in the journal Nature saying the movement could help predict when the mountain will explode.