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Wed, 27 Oct 2021
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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattles Australia's Northern Territory and Indonesia

Banda sea quake map
© Geoscience Australia Earthquakes
A map showing the earthquake off Indonesia.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has rattled the Northern Territory and parts of Indonesia, with residents in Darwin reporting widespread shaking but no reports of damage.

Some NT captured the shaking on video, with one clip showing a Christmas tree rocking and other showing shelves trembling.

The quake struck at a depth of 180km in the Banda Sea off the coast of eastern Indonesia about 11.17am, Geoscience Australia Earthquakes advised.

There is no tsunami threat to the Australia, the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre advised.

"We're on the third floor and it gave us a shake," Darwin-based Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Chris Kent said, and added that the quake lasted several minutes.

Some NT residents took to Facebook to report feeling tremors.

Sun

Warmest December day on record in Miami

Miami Inmigrantes prohibidos turismo

While the rest of the US suffers dramatic cold Miami experiences 24 month long heat records
On Sunday, Miami set a new record for the warmest December day ever. Monday shattered another record, with the highest high at 86 degrees. With less than two weeks to go, it's too soon to say if December 2016 will top December 2015, which now holds the record for Miami's hottest December. But bet on it being the polar opposite of back-to-back Arctic blasts gripping other parts of the country this holiday season.


"It's not just hot, it's so humid, too," said University of Miami tropical weather expert Brian McNoldy. "It's as if winter or fall never happened."

Wolf

25% more patients being treated in hospital for animal attacks over the last three years in Tayside, Scotland

Dogs were responsible for 396 trips to accident and emergency in three years

Dogs were responsible for 396 trips to accident and emergency in three years
The number of people being treated at accident and emergency for injuries caused by animals around Tayside has leapt up by a "shocking" 25% in the last three years.

Between 2013 and this year, the number of people seen at hospital has jumped from 673 to 847.

People who have been treated for injuries sustained from dogs has risen by 15% — with 396 cases in the last year.

And last year attacks by cats left 75 people requiring attention at A&E — a 38% rise in three years.


Cats were responsible for 75 trips to emergency in the three years.

Cats were responsible for 75 trips to emergency in the three years.
There has also been a 161% increase in the number of people attending A&E because of tics.

Locals who have been the victim of animal attacks reacted to the increase. Tracey McAllister, 53, was forced to spend two nights in hospital after a dog mauled her arm in the street.

The bite ripped a wound in her arm that required 13 stitches.

Snowflake

Thundersnow reported on summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii

Hawaii snow
© (Photo: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, AP)
In this image made from webcam video provided by Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the CFHT telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island is covered in snow on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. More snow fell on the volcanic peaks of Hawaii the past couple of days.
Another round of snow — including reports of thundersnow — blanketed the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii on Sunday and Monday.

Mauna Kea park rangers reported "significant snowfall with continuous thunder and lightning over the summits," the National Weather Service in Honolulu tweeted late Sunday.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 cows in Invergordon, Australia

One of the cows which died in the lightning strike

One of the cows which died in the lightning strike
A lightning strike killed a valuable Holstein dairy cow at an Invergordon farm on Tuesday.

Ashleigh and Jamie Noonan were shocked to discover they had lost a promising cow after a violent storm passed over their property on Tuesday morning.

Some of her progeny are destined for showing and sale at International Dairy Week in January.

Two other Autumn calved heifers were also lost.

The Country Fire Authority was kept busy containing more than 10 small fires caused by a band of lightning that ranged across northern Victoria.

Source: Shepparton News

Attention

Dead sperm whale found along the shore of Samal, Philippines

The Bone Collector Museum Incorporated,
© Darell Blatchley
A sperm whale found along the shores of Samal died after ingesting plastic materials, experts said Monday.

The juvenile male sperm whale was found dead in a coastal area in Barangay Miranda early Saturday morning.

Foreign objects, including cellophane, wires, ropes, fishnets, and hardwood, were found inside the sperm whale's stomach and intestines, officials from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said.

The sperm whale's bones will be preserved and displayed by the Bone Collector Museum, officials said.

Most of the dolphins and whales preserved by The Bone Collector Museum died due to human intervention and waste materials, Bone Collector Museum president Darell Blatchey said.

"Only four out of 53 (whales and dolphins) we have recovered died due to natural causes," he said.

The Bone Collector Museum Incorporated
© Darell Blatchley

Attention

Humpback whale carcass removed away from beach in Cape Town, South Africa

Whale carcass
The City of Cape Town on Monday towed a humpback whale carcass away from one of its popular beaches to a nearby harbour for disposal.

The City said in a statement that it was alerted to the 15 ton carcass found floating approximately 1.6km off Llandudno Beach on Monday morning and immediately implemented its Stranded Whale Protocol.

"This morning, the Western Cape Government's Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) alerted the City's Environmental Management Department to the carcass of a humpback whale which was floating approximately 1.6 km off Llandudno Beach.

Snowflake

Algerian villagers stunned as snow falls in Sahara for first time in over 30 years

Snow in Algeria
This might not be the first place you'd expect to find a festive snowy scene, but incredible images show the Sahara desert looking particularly chilly.

It is just the second time in living memory that snow has fallen, with the last occasion being in February 1979.

The pictures were taken by amateur photographer Karim Bouchetata in the small Saharan desert town of Ain Sefra, Algeria, yesterday afternoon. He captured the amazing moment snow fell on the red sand dunes in the world's largest hot desert.

This time the snow stayed for a day in the town, which is around 1,000 metres above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains


Attention

Two volcanoes erupt on South Sandwich Islands

A plume originating from Mount Curry on Zavodovski Island is drifting then dispersing to the south-southwest.
© Terra/MODIS/NASA.
A plume originating from Mount Curry on Zavodovski Island is drifting then dispersing to the south-southwest.
On 17th December 2016, two plumes appear in satellite images. One originating from Zavodovski Island, and the other from Saunders Island.

In the image of Zavodovski Island, a white plume originating from the summit crater of Mount Curry is seen drifting in a south-southwesterly direction before dispersing. It's more likely to be a gas plume although I wouldn't rule out the possibility of some slight ash content.

In the image of Saunders Island, a greyish plume originating from the summit crater of Mount Michael is seen drifting towards the northeast. A thermal anomaly was also detected on the summit area of Mount Michael. This indicates that it's likely to be an eruption occurring on Mount Michael Volcano.

What is likely to be an ash plume from Mount Michael on Saunders Island.
© Aqua/MODIS/NASA.
What is likely to be an ash plume from Mount Michael on Saunders Island.

Arrow Up

Outgassing? More reports of noxious odors around Southern California beaches

Huntingdon Beach odors
© JEFF GRITCHEN
Some residents in Huntington Beach and Seal Beach have been complaining about chemical-like odors. Authorities over the years have offered residents several unsubstantiated theories including offshore vessels and oilfields.
Periodically and unpredictably, mysterious chemical-like fumes drift into Rhonda Wainwright's home not far from Huntington Beach Central Park.

The noxious odors have induced headaches, burning of the eyes and throat, nosebleeds and vomiting, she says. Even her dog and two cats have retched during the malodorous episodes that "about knocks you on your knees," Wainwright said.

Roughly 10 miles away in coastal Seal Beach, resident Susan Perrell reports suffering similar foul odors. Perrell, an environmental adviser to an oil and gas company, also describes a petroleum-like stench that can be intense enough to "knock you over."

Their experiences are far from isolated.

Last month, air-quality regulators saw a spike in such complaints in the Huntington Beach and Seal Beach area. Over several consecutive days, the South Coast Air Quality Management District fielded dozens of calls involving "a nasty egg odor (or a) petroleum odor," said agency spokesman Sam Atwood.


Comment: Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs; it is heavier than air, very poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and explosive. Exposure can lead to various health problems, and may be fatal. It is also being linked with psychological and neurological problems in humans.


Residents also have lodged complaints with fire officials, the gas company and others, seeking help in pinpointing the source of the smells, which many say have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two years.

But no one has identified a definitive cause or culprit.

Comment: Unprecedented marine heatwaves could be attributed to increased quantities of CO2, methane, hydrogen sulfide outgassing and heat coming up from below, i.e. passing up through the oceans from within the planet, heating and acidifying the planet's oceans.

Such activity may be a significant contributory factor to the increasing number of bizarre, odd (perhaps even mutated species), previously unknown and mysterious creatures being discovered recently, together with increases in abnormal animal and marine behavior. All over the world such 'strange' and 'unusual' incidents are quickly becoming the norm, as are mass fish die offs.

Some related reports from the Huntington beach area in recent times include: