Earth ChangesS


Eye 1

New Zealand: Rena's wildlife victims die in oil-soaked misery

Isaac Davison
nzherald.co.nz
Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:44 UTC
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© Photo / Joel FordAn oil-sodden bird dead on the beach at Mt Maunganui.

A large wandering albatross is among the latest victims in the soaring wildlife death toll caused by oil pollution from the stricken Rena off Tauranga's coast.

Rescuers are now moving larger animals from the area to prevent them being poisoned by the oil.

Cold weather has worsened the effects of the oil on seabirds. Many penguins, petrels and shearwaters have frozen to death because the oil blocked their ability to insulate themselves against cold.
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Eye 1

US: Another Pilot Whale Dies on Cape Cod Beach


BostonHerald.com
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:37 UTC
Truro - Biologists say for the second time this week a pilot whale has died after washing up on a Massachusetts beach.

An official with the International Fund for Animal Welfare's marine mammal research and rescue team tells the Cape Cod Times an 11-foot long adult whale was reported alive on a sandbar at Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The mammal was dead by the time rescue crews arrived at the scene. Three or four other pilot whales were spotted swimming offshore when crews arrived.

A necropsy is expected Wednesday.

Another pilot whale died after beaching in Duxbury on Monday.

It's not clear whether the two whale deaths are connected.
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Eye 1

US: 4 dead dolphins wash up on Gulf Coast beaches in 5 days; deaths part of 'unusual mortality event'

Ben Raines
al.com
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:02 UTC
dead dolphin
© Courtesy of John C.S. PierceThis dolphin was found on the Mobile Bay side of the Fort Morgan peninsula Saturday morning, one of four found since Friday. The death brings the total number of dead dolphins found since the BP oil spill to more than 400. Federal officials say an "Unusual Mortality Event" has been declared for the Gulf's dolphin population, which have been dying at a rate 5 to 10 times higher than average.

Dauphin Island, Alabama -- A dolphin carcass, bloated and violet in the morning sun, was found on Fort Morgan early Saturday, bringing the number lost since the BP oil spill to more than 400.

Three other dolphins have washed up in Alabama in the past week, including a pregnant female on Dauphin Island and a mother and calf pair on Hollingers Island in Mobile Bay.

"We should be seeing one (death) a month at this time of year," said Ruth Carmichael, a Dauphin Island Sea Lab scientist tasked with responding to reports of dead dolphins. "We're getting one or more a week. It's just never slowed down."
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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Jova swamps Mexican towns, slides feared inland


MSNBC
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:09 UTC
Hurricane Jova flooded the streets of Mexico's main Pacific port with torrential rain Wednesday, and inundated several popular beach resorts along the coast.

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© Marco Ugarte / APFloodwaters from Hurricane Jova swamp a main intersection in Villa de las Garzas, Mexico, on Wednesday.
Streets in the port city of Manzanillo were underwater, communities along the coast were flooded and roads were blocked due to fallen trees and washouts after Jova hit the coast as a Category Two storm late Tuesday.

Highways leading northwest from Manzanillo along the coast were closed and the beach towns of Zihuatlan, Melaque and Barra de Navidad were swamped with floodwaters, according to the Red Cross. However, there were no reports of injuries or deaths.

"The streets of Manzanillo are impassable, as are the highways connecting Manzanillo with the south of Jalisco," national Red Cross coordinator Isaac Oxenhaut said.
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Better Earth

UK Cloud formation looks like eagle soaring through sky


The Telegraph
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:28 UTC
This stunning cloud formation appeared above Cumbria and looks just like a huge eagle soaring through the sky.

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© Ally McGurkTwo massive 'wings' either side of a central 'body' give the impression the bird is swooping down over the coast of Maryport.
Mother-of-one Ally McGurk took the photo from her back window after her partner, Steve, noticed the uncanny formation.

Musical instrument repairer, Ally, said: "This is a cloud formation that appeared in the sky over the Solway Firth, which is just a mile from our house.
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Bizarro Earth

USGS Reports Record Number Of Strong Earthquakes In 2011

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:57 UTC
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© UnknownSeismic chart of the 11 March 2011 Japan earthquake
The number of dangerous earthquakes recorded worldwide so far in 2011 has reached record new levels, according to research conducted by iWeather Online (IWO).

By analysing data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), IWO was able to determine that earthquake activity (6.0-9.9 magnitude) during the period 01 January to 12 October 2011 reached its highest level in 20 years. The 2011 data was compared with data for the corresponding period in each of the 19 previous years since 1992.

A total of 177 earthquakes in the range 6.0 to 10 magnitude on the Richter Scale have been recorded so far in 2011, compared to 149 for the same period in 2010 and 119 in 2009.

Recent earthquakes exceeding 6 magnitude on the Richter Scale have occurred in Tonga (08 Oct), northern Argentina (06 Oct), India/Nepal (18 Oct), Cuba (15 Sept), northern Sumatra (05 Sept), Vanuatu (03 Sept), Alaska (02 Sept), and East Timor (30 Aug).

Interestingly, the total number of earthquakes (magnitude 0-9.9 magnitude) recorded in 2011 is dramatically lower than the previous four years since 2007.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Severe weather leads to power outages, wrecks in North Texas

Marjorie Owens
WFAA.com
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:52 UTC
Thousands in North Texas woke up this morning to find their homes without power after severe weather blew through the area overnight.

As of 6:30 a.m., there were about 5,000 outages in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to Cristi Ramon, a spokeswoman for Oncor. While Occupy Dallas protesters donned ponchos and took shelter in their tents as rain fell down on Pioneer Plaza, drivers across North Texas reported accidents and high water.

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Bizarro Earth

Subsea Volcanic Eruption Underway Near El Hierro (The Canary Islands)

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:12 UTC
A submarine volcanic eruption is taking place approximately 5 kilometres off the southern coast of El Hierro, the smallest of The Canary Islands.

The Mayor of La Frontera (El Hierro), David Cabrera, confirmed in an interview on Radio iron Garoé that 'underwater eruption' is taking place about 900 metres beneath the sea surface five kilometres south of La Restinga. The eruption has been ongoing for four hours, the Mayor said.

Spanish newspaper laopionion.es quoted the Minister of emergencies of the Cabildo of El Hierro, Maria of Carmen Morales, as saying the eruption is taking place because 'the seismic movement of 4.3 occurred on Saturday afternoon caused a fissure, from where the energy is been released'. Scientists remain unclear if the emissions are gas or lava.

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© MODISEl Hierro, The Canary Islands, from space in this MODIS satellite image on Oct. 7 2011
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Bizarro Earth

Volcanic Red Alert Issued As Residents Are Evacuated From El Hierro Town

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:07 UTC
Spain's Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) confirmed on Tuesday that an underwater eruption has occurred five kilometres off the southern coastline of El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Island. The eruption is Spain's first since the eruption in 1971 of the Teneguía volcano on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands).

The IGN says all three of its seismic stations on El Hierro in the Canary Islands have registered a volcanic tremor of low frequency in the south of the island at La Restinga, the southern-most village in the Canaries. The estimated 537 residents of the town were summonsed to a local football field on Tuesday afternoon to be briefed on evacuation procedures.

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© Google MapsEl Hierro.
A Red Alert has since been issued by local authorities for the town. A notice posted on the Emergencia El Hierro website on Tuesday evening stated: "Phase pre-eruptive. It involves the initiation of a preventive evacuation. Make yourself available to the authorities."
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Bizarro Earth

Volcanic Activity Continues At Chile's Puyehue Corón-Caulle

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:00 UTC
A conspicuous plume of volcanic gases and fine ash rose above the volcano on Sunday (October 9, 2011), and blew southeast over Argentina.

In the top natural-color satellite image the mountainous landscape is covered with gray ash, largely snow-free for the first time in several months. To the north and southwest of the active vent is a lava flow, its textured appearance suggestive of thick lava. Immediately west of the vent the flow appears fresh - its dark surface not yet covered by lighter ash.

Image
© NASA image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using ALI data from the EO-1 Team. Caption by Robert Simmon. Instrument: EO-1 – ALINASA satellite imagery shows that the eruption of Puyehue Corón-Caulle Volcano is continuing after more than 4 months of activity.
In a false-color image made from shortwave infrared, near infrared, and visible light data, the vent and nearby lava flow are bright orange. This is a sign of intense heat, and likely indicates ongoing emissions of lava. These images were acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite.
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