Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Record Low Arctic Sea Ice Extent for January

Low Ice
© Earth Observatory, NASANASA image created by Jesse Allen, using AMSR-E data and sea ice extent contours courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

During the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2010 - 2011, unusually cold temperatures and heavy snowstorms plagued North America and Europe, while conditions were unusually warm farther north. Now the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has reported that Arctic sea ice was at its lowest extent ever recorded for January (since satellite records began).

This image shows the average Arctic sea ice concentration for January 2011, based on observations from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Blue indicates open water; white indicates high sea ice concentrations; and turquoise indicates loosely packed sea ice. The red line shows the average sea ice extent for January from 1979 through 2000.

NSIDC reported that ice extent was unusually low in Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and Davis Strait in the early winter. Normally frozen over by late November, these areas did not completely freeze until mid-January 2011. The Labrador Sea was also unusually ice-free.

NSIDC offered two possible explanations. One reason is the Arctic Oscillation (AO), a seesaw pattern of differences in atmospheric pressure. In "positive" mode, the AO includes high pressure over the mid-latitudes and low pressure over the Arctic, setting up wind patterns that trap cold air in the far North. In "negative" mode, air pressure isn't quite as low over the Arctic and isn't quite as high over the mid-latitudes. This enables cold air to creep south and relatively warm air to move north.

Bizarro Earth

Russia's Kizimen Volcano Erupts Sending Ash Four Kilometres High

The Kizimen Volcano located on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula is spewing ash into the skies and creating potential problems for aircraft.


Bizarro Earth

Australia in grip of disasters as wildfires, floods wreck havoc

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© unknownA bushfire burns close to a vineyard in Roleystone, near Perth.
Australia was battling a series of natural and man-made disasters as raging wildfires destroyed over 40 homes on the west coast city of Perth and Victoria was lashed by flashfloods that led to one death, while heavy thunderstorms were threatening to submerge Queensland.

The Meteorology department said heavy rains and possible flash flooding could hit parts of Brisbane, the Somerset area, Ipswich and Lockyer Valley, areas which are already reeling under the recent flooding.

Senior forecaster Rick Threlfall said a major storm was developing around the Marburg and Amberley areas, west of Brisbane, a reported by Herald Sun said quoting experts.

"That storm's not moving too far and it's produced about 40 to 50 mm (rainfall) in the last hour... with those rainfall totals flash flooding is a potential," he said.

"We've also got a storm currently heading towards Toowoomba. That's not looking too severe at the moment," he added.

Phoenix

Japan: A Neighbour With a Volcanic Temper

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© Kazuhiro Nogi/AFPResidents clearing volcanic ash released by the erupting Shinmoedake volcano from the roof of their house in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki prefecture, yesterday. Shinmoedake, the 1,421-metre-high volcano on the border of Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures in southwestern Japan, was still active after its first major eruption in 52 years in late January.
It shot to fame in 1967 thanks to the James Bond film You Only Live Twice but now it seems to be vying for the limelight again as it shoots lava into the sky in a diabolical vein.

Japan's Mount Shinmoe was an "extinct" peak way back in the 60s, serving as the perfect observation point for the 007 agent to scrutinise archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in his secret base.

However, in reality the volcano is neither a secret rocket base, nor extinct.

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© unknownVolunteers carrying volcanic ash from an entrance of a residence in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki prefecture, yesterday.
In fact Mount Shinmoe jumped back into action only a few days ago, after 52 years in comatose mode, disturbing air and land traffic as it goes through one of its biggest eruptions as it spews and rocks on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands.

The revamped volcano got back into action on January 27 and in its biggest explosion it managed to break windows eight kilometres away. Officials cannot determine how long the eruptions will continue but some are insisting the cycle could go on for weeks and even intensify.

Attention

Russian Volcano Activity Causes Global Concern

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© NASA
Now the world has something else to grip about when it comes to Russia - the weather.

A string of volcanoes on Russia's eastern seaboard of Kamchatka have been unusually active for the last six months. The dust they threw up diverted winds in the Arctic, pushing cold air over Europe and North America and causing the unusually cold winter this year, say scientists.

The volcanoes (160 in total, of which 29 are active) are still on the go and could create more problems this year, depressing harvests around the world just as global food prices soar and culminating in a second freezing winter next Christmas.

The eruptions have come at the worst possible time. The Pacific Ocean has already been cooled by the so-called La Nina - which contributed to the deluge in Australia and Tropical Cyclones - while at the same time the Atlantic Ocean is warmer than usual, say climatologists. Erste Bank says the combination of this means the weather forecast for the first quarter of this year is extreme, which will hit both the agricultural and mining sectors, sending already spiking prices up even faster. "These climatic conditions reduce the outlooks of harvest for agricultural commodities (last year was also bad) and prevent the mining of commodities like coal," says Erste. "The extreme weather will probably culminate in the [first quarter] - this is the reason why the prices of commodities will be influenced by this weather... then an acceleration of consumer inflation... There are also problems for transport due to strong storms."

Cloud Lightning

Best of the Web: The Beginning of Ice Age: Magnetic polar shifts causing massive global superstorms


Comment: The Earth doesn't stop wobbling all of a sudden for no reason. We are seeing the effects of a change in the electro-magnetic forcing upon the Earth (weather and geology). The change is forced upon the Earth and not the other way. For example if other planets experience a magnetic change, this is a smoking gun that it doesn't come from the Earth but from space. Too bad the article has no references.


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© Unknown
NASA has been warning about it...scientific papers have been written about it...geologists have seen its traces in rock strata and ice core samples...

Now "it" is here: an unstoppable magnetic pole shift that has sped up and is causing life-threatening havoc with the world's weather.

Forget about global warming - man-made or natural - what drives planetary weather patterns is the climate and what drives the climate is the sun's magnetosphere and its electromagnetic interaction with a planet's own magnetic field.

When the field shifts, when it fluctuates, when it goes into flux and begins to become unstable anything can happen. And what normally happens is that all hell breaks loose.

Magnetic polar shifts have occurred many times in Earth's history. It's happening again now to every planet in the solar system including Earth.

The magnetic field drives weather to a significant degree and when that field starts migrating superstorms start erupting.

Comment: All of the things described in this article are EFFECTS of changes in the solar capacitor. It is more likely that the Sun began to interact with its companion in 2005 exactly as described by the Cassiopaeans on 31 October, 2001:

Q: (L) Now according to these guys who are writing this web page about pole shift, they say it can be predicted where the poles will shift to. Is this in fact the case?
A: No.
Q: (L) Why can't pole shifts be predicted? Can't we know where the new pole will end up?
A: Chaotic function here
Q: (L) Okay, in a pole shift does the lithosphere of the planet slide on the core? (A) No. We have to be very precise. There are three possible things that would come under the name pole shift. Only one of them may come, or two, or three, okay? And these are the following - the axis of rotation with respect to stars is changing, straightening out for instance; this is one thing; while all the rest goes with the axis, the lithosphere and the magnetic field. Second, the axis stays where it is, maybe it shifts a little bit; the lithosphere stays where it is - maybe it wobbles - but the magnetic field changes: for instance reverses. Third, axis stays, magnetic field stays, but the lithosphere is moving. So that's three ways a pole shift can happen. And of course there are things that come together. The most dramatic one which is seen from outside is when the axis of rotation changes. The next dramatic one is probably when the lithosphere changes. And the third of unknown consequences is when the magnetic pole changes, okay? So, we want to have an understanding what will be the main change. (L) Well I guess we ought to ask an even more basic question: are we looking at a pole shift happening? That's starting at the beginning. (A) Alright. (L) In the next ten years. Is a pole shift possible in the next ten years?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Is a pole shift of the axis...(A) Honey, you ask if the pole shift is possible, of course it's possible. But suppose it's almost zero probability? 'Is it possible' is not the right question. 'Is it going to happen?' That's a question. (L) Okay you ask, carry on. (A) Are we looking at a pole shift during the next ten or so years with a high degree of probability?
A: Yes.
Q: (A) In this concept of pole shift, what would be the main feature of this pole shift, of all those which we were discussing?
A: New axial orientation, and magnetic reversal.
Q: (L) That's fairly dramatic. (A) Alright, now, change of axis or orientation of axis of rotation: can we say we would straighten up, getting almost perpendicular to the ecliptic? Or the other possibility is that it will fall down being almost parallel to the ecliptic. The third is that we'll flip completely by 180 degrees. We know it's highly unpredictable, but can we have a clue from which one is, so to say, dominate?
A: Perpendicularity will be restored.
Q: (A) We know the axis will change dramatically and magnetic reversal will happen. You didn't mention a change or shift of the lithosphere alone. Can we...
A: Lithospheric shift will feature to some extent.
Q: (A) But, that means eventually that the equator will almost not change because...
A: Correct.
Q: (A) So it will just shift a little bit, but its not going to go to Hawaii? (L) Oh rats! That was my theory! Well, it was a good idea. (A) What about changes in the lithosphere: can we predict a little bit of change in geography, coming from motions in lithosphere and changes in water level?
A: Chaotic features predominate but in general it will be safer inland and in mountainous areas since less folding occurs in such locations.
Q: (A) Now, the major, the change of the orientation of the axis, what would be the main trigger, force, or activity, or what kind of event will trigger this change of the axis?
A: Cometary bodies.
Q: (L) Are the planets of the solar system going to kind of shift out of their orbits and run amok? Is that a possibility?
A: Yes.
Q: (A) Due to cometary orbits alone?
A: Yes. Twin sun also.
Q: (A) When we speak about these cometary bodies, are we speaking about impacts?
A: Some will hit.
Q: (A) What would be - if any - the role played by electric phenomena?
A: Twin sun grounds current flow through entire system setting the "motor" running.
Q: (L) Does this mean that all of the different bodies of the solar system are like parts of some kind of giant machine, and once this electric current flows through them, depending on their positions relative to one another at the time this current flows, that it has some influence on the way the machine runs?
A: Yes, more or less.


Igloo

Ice volcanoes attract curious explorers to Lake Michigan shore

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© Gary PorterPatti Bailie, director of the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center preschool, helps Zack Durand out of an ice volcano, or ice-cano, at the nature center last winter.
Experts warn to explore formations with caution

Winter enthusiasts have been flocking to Bradford Beach, the Doctors Park beach and other spots along the Lake Michigan shoreline since last week's blizzard to check out a bizarre lunar landscape of craters, boulders and rounded mounds carved from the shoreline ice shelf by wind and waves.

Many are climbing inside ice volcanoes - ice cones several feet high that form along the lake when waves force water up through the ice.

"It's pretty cozy in here; I'm not going to lie," said Marna Lamson, 24, of Milwaukee, as she huddled inside an ice volcano close to shore. "It's very sheltered from the elements. The bottom is snow and ice."

While they may be fascinating to explore, naturalists warn that ice volcanoes also can be treacherous. Even if they're not spouting water because the mouth that links them to the lake has frozen over, volcano bases can quickly change from snow and ice to water, depending on conditions.

Ice shelves also can break apart unexpectedly with changes in temperature and wave action, said Don Quintenz, director of education at the Schlitz Audubon Center in Bayside.

"You can fall through the ice, so you have to be very careful," he said. "I've studied the ice, and I'm still amazed by how fast things can get soft, and what was solid becomes unsolid."

Camera

One Photographer's Harrowing Journey to the World's Most Remote Active Volcano

Mount Erebus
© Donna and Steve O'Meara
This guest post was written by Donna O'Meara, an award-winning writer and photographer living in Hawaii, who has photos currently on view in "Extreme Exposure" at The Annenberg Space for Photography

I held my breath and clanked up the metal gangplank of The Spirit of Enderby, a privately leased Russian icebreaker that would be my new home for the next month. Following "in the footsteps of Scott and Shackleton," Enderby left port from Invercargill, New Zealand, bound for Mount Erebus on Ross Island in Antarctica.

The journey is only possible for about six weeks each Austral Summer -- January and February in the Southern Hemisphere -- when temperatures allow the ice to melt. For four weeks, we would rock and roll across the the Southern Ocean, the most dangerous and damned patch of water on Earth, to cross the Ross Sea and reach the base of the towering 12,400-foot high mountain.

Wolf

'Super pack' of 400 wolves terrorise remote Russian town after killing 30 horses in just four days

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© Caters News AgencyAttacks: A hunter holds up the body of a dead wolf after a massive pack of 400 of the animals has terrorised the town of Verkhoyansk in Russia
A 'super pack' of wolves has been terrifying a town after leaving more than 30 horses dead in just four days.

Four hundred bloodthirsty wolves have been spotted prowling around the edges of Verkhoyansk, in Russia, attacking livestock at will.

Twenty four teams of hunters have been put together to get rid of the wolves, with a bounty of £210 for every wolf skin brought to officials.

Stepan Rozhin, an administration official for the Verkhoyansk district in Russia, said: 'To protect the town we are creating 24 teams of armed hunters, who will patrol the neighbourhood on snowmobiles and set wolf traps.

'But we need more people. Once the daylight increases, the hunters will start shooting predators from helicopters.'

A pack of wolves this size is unheard of, with the animals usually preferring to hunt in smaller groups of just six or seven.

The massive group is believed to be made from hundreds of packs and has left animal experts baffled.

Dr Valerius Geist, a wildlife behaviour expert, said the harsh Siberian winter - where temperatures plummet to minus 49C - had killed off the animal's usual prey.

He said: 'It is unusual for wolves to gather in such numbers or hunt large animal like horses.

'However, the population of their usual prey, rabbits, has decreased this year due to lack of food, so wolves have had to change their habits.

'Wolves are very careful to choose the most nutritious food source easiest obtained without danger - which in this case happens to be horses.

Cloud Lightning

Australia: Deluge tops up Victorian floods

Australia flood
© ABC NewsA man floats on blow-up tube down Langbourne Drive, in Narre Warren South
Transcript of radio broadcast.

Eleanor Hall: The wild weather associated with Cyclone Yasi caused more flooding in Victoria on the weekend. Heavy downpours on Friday night and into Saturday caused flash flooding across the state.

While Melbourne was deluged, once again the state's north-west seems to have suffered the worst of it. For some people it's their fourth flood in recent months, as Simon Lauder reports.