Earth Changes

US: Untold Thousands of Dead Worms Plague Ohio

Modern Survival Blog
Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:03 UTC

From Louisville to Cincinnati to Dayton to Cleveland, beginning yesterday afternoon there have been thousands upon untold thousands of earthworms coming out of the ground which have subsequently 'fried' on the surface from the rays of the sun.

Some local mainstream media outlets are reporting that the cause of the earthworm die-off is from heavy rain or acidic soil. The problem is, some of the reported areas have been dry, and certainly not all of Ohio soil has suddenly become 'acidic'.

Another explanation is that it is mating season for earthworms (the Spring), when they often come out of the ground and get trapped on the concrete or hard surfaces, and eventually die from the sun's rays.

The thing is, I don't recall having heard of this kind of mass earthworm doom-and-gloom occurring on such a wide scale, and found it interesting given the fact that so many other animal die-off's have been reported during this past year.

US: 3.6 Earthquake in Channel Islands Area Felt in Ventura County, Westside

Rong-Gong Lin II
Los Angeles Times
Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:43 UTC

A magnitude-3.6 earthquake that shook the Channel Islands area in the Pacific Ocean was felt 30 miles away in Ventura County and the Westside of Los Angeles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake occurred about 1:17 a.m. Saturday, and was centered about 30 miles south of Malibu's Leo Carrillo State Beach. The epicenter of the quake was only about 2 miles beneath the surface.

According to the USGS' "Did you feel it?" website, which allows users to report if they felt shaking, the quake was felt in Oxnard, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and Calabasas, and also as far away as Brentwood, Encino, Van Nuys, Culver City, El Segundo and Westchester. The shaking was described as weak.

Hundreds of Penguins and other species Wash Up On Uruguayan Shores

Kinetic Truth
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:15 UTC

As many as 600 Magallan penguins have been found dead on Uruguayan coasts; scientists are investigating why so many penguins have died on their way to Brazilian waters.

Authorities said they also spotted turtles, several albatros, and dolphins, in addition to the large amount of penguins.

Scientists are baffled; though it is not unusual to have dead sea life in the area, as large boats do their maintenance in the vicinity, it is very unusual to have such large numbers, as well as the fact that no small animals have washed up ashore, only large animals.

Namibia: Snow Sets Another Record

Jana-Mari Smith
Namibian
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:48 UTC

Images of snow covering mountains, roads, sheep and homes close to the Namib-Naukluft Park on Tuesday took Namibia by storm yesterday.

Reports and photographs of the snowfall circulated rapidly and widely across the Internet and inboxes bulged with rare images depicting snow in areas usually associated with heat and dust, not biting cold and white blankets of snow.

John Rabie from Namibgrens Guest Farm close to the Spreetshoogte Pass where the majority of snow and rain fell, described the scenes of low clouds, mist and snow on Tuesday.

"It was ice cold, especially as the wind was blowing," he said. The snow fell during the day, from around eleven in the morning until the afternoon.

He said the minimum temperature on Tuesday was minus two degrees Celsius, while the day's maximum temperature did not go above five degrees.
Although the temperatures had not improved by yesterday, the absence of wind took away the worst bite of the cold, he said.

"We lost one lamb," he said. He attributed the low number of stock losses to the fact that the wind had died down from Tuesday to Wednesday.

US: Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Rattles California Border Region

Los Angeles Times
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:47 UTC

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattled the California-Mexico border on Thursday morning.

The temblor was recorded at 8:22 a.m. near Seeley, Calif., about 15 miles southwest of Calexico in Imperial County. The area was shaken by last year's 7.1 Easter Sunday quake, which caused more than $90 million in damage.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was felt across Imperial County as well as in San Diego, Orange County and parts of the Inland Empire. No damage was reported.

1st Tropical Storm of the Season Forms in Pacific

Fox News
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Adrian has formed far out in the Eastern Pacific, making it the first named storm of the 2011 hurricane season.

No coastal watches or warnings have been issued. Maximum winds around the center of the storm late Tuesday were about 45 mph. Forecasters say the storm is likely to strengthen.

The center of the storm is about 355 miles south of Acapulco, Mexico. It is barely moving west-northwest direction. That is expected to continue for the next couple of days.

Source: The Associated Press

Bacteria-laced algae are invading freshwater streams across the globe

Annalee Newitz
io9
Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:00 UTC

In the small, freshwater streams of South Dakota, a horrible menace is creeping along the rockbeds. Known as rock snot, it's a form of algae that clings to rocks and spreads rapidly until it takes over the entire ecosystem of the stream, often killing off local plants and microbes. The stuff has spread from North America all the way to New Zealand. But what's really weird is that rock snot can grow even in rivers that appear to have almost no nutrients in them at all. What is helping this algae grow so fast? Is it feeding on our fear?

A group of scientists wanted to find out. So they set about studying Didymosphenia geminata (its scientific name), also called Didymo, in one South Dakota waterway called Rapid Creek. What they discovered was that the algae could actually suck extra nutrients from water that appeared to be nutrient-free. And they do it by creating vast bacterial farms beneath the mats of rock snot. Essentially, the algae uses other life forms to create food for it.

Wallow Fire, Arizona, USA

Earth Observatory, NASA
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:52 UTC

© Earth Observatory, NASA
NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center MODIS Direct Broadcast system.

After several days of extreme fire behavior, the Wallow Fire has become the second largest fire in Arizona history. By early afternoon on June 8, 2011, the fire had consumed 389,000 acres (608 square miles), largely in the Apache National Forest, and was completed uncontained. This image, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite, shows the fire at 1:25 p.m. local time.

The actively burning fire front (outlined in red) surrounds a vast area of charred land. High winds propelled the fire, igniting spot fires as much as three miles ahead of the fire front on June 8, said the Arizona Emergency Information Network. Dense plumes of smoke billow from the fire and stream northeast in the strong winds that drove the flames. The smoke has been affecting air quality through much of the United States.

US: Butte, Montana - Snow is Falling this Morning

Mike Heard
KXLF
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:48 UTC

Snow levels are dropping down close to 5,500' this morning with snow in Butte!

The snow is not sticking too much and should melt off by this afternoon. Looking at MDOT cameras, there is accumulating snow developing on Big Hole Pass, Lost Trail Pass, Elk Park and over Homestake Pass this morning.

One to two inches of snow is possible for Butte, however, as temperatures warm up later this afternoon, thunderstorms could form. Now that is a crazy weather pattern!

US: Wichita, Kansas Experiences Rare 'Heat Burst' Overnight

KSN.com
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:58 UTC

Last night Wichita experienced a very rare weather phenomenon known as a "Heat Burst." At 12:22 a.m. the temperature at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport was 85 degrees. At 12:44 the temperature spiked to 102 degrees. This was a 17 degree increase in only 20 minutes. Winds also gusted between 50 and 60 MPH. The heat burst winds and temperatures rapidly dissipated as they spread across Sedgwick and Southern Butler Counties.

A heat burst is caused when rain falls into very dry air, high up in the atmosphere. The rain quickly evaporates as it falls through the dry parcel of air and that parcel cools rapidly. This dense mass falls rapidly toward the ground, heating up as it compresses. When this hot ball of air hits the ground it spreads out in every direction creating very strong, warm and dry winds.

About an hour before the heat burst, wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour battered the Wichita metro area. This was due to outflow winds from severe weather south of the city, and not related to the heat burst.