Earth ChangesS


Heart - Black

Starving Eagles "Falling Out of the Sky'

Image
© Lyle Stafford/The Globe and MailA Bald Eagle sits on a log in the Squamish river in Brackendale, BC.
When David Hancock saw the bald-eagle count on the Chehalis River drop from more than 7,000 to fewer than 400 over a few days in December, he knew a crisis was coming.

Earlier this week, news reports that starving eagles were "falling out of the sky" in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island, confirmed his fears.

Wildlife rescue centres on the Island have reported birds growing so weak from hunger that they fall out of trees, or fly so clumsily they hit things. One crashed into a roof.

Mr. Hancock said a collapse of chum salmon runs has left British Columbia's bald-eagle population without enough food to make it through the winter, leaving them weak from hunger and forcing thousands of birds to scavenge at garbage dumps.

Reports of starving eagles have been coming in from all over the Lower Mainland but seem concentrated in the Comox Valley, he said.

"This is what I said would be happening," said Mr. Hancock, a biologist, publisher and author of The Bald Eagle of Alaska, BC and Washington.

Snowman

Canada: Snow Blankets Victoria and Fraser Valley

Heavy snow blanketed many areas of the South Coast of B.C. on Wednesday morning, including Victoria and the Fraser Valley between Chilliwack and Hope, causing traffic chaos on the roads.

East of Vancouver, Highway 1 eastbound near Lickman Road was shut down after a semi truck jackknifed. There were reports of several other vehicles in the ditches slowing traffic in other areas.

The cold conditions are forecast to continue for the next few days, but most of the snow is expected to pass south of Vancouver.


Igloo

US: Nowata, OK Experiences 100 Degree Temperature Swing In One Week

Our weather is hard to believe, even for Oklahoma. The sunshine and above normal temperatures are a much needed change from our record breaking snowfall and bitter cold temperatures.

Folks in Nowata sure deserve it. That's where it got down to 31 below zero, but no one is complaining now. What a difference a week makes in Oklahoma weather, especially in Nowata.

One week ago it was minus 31, now? Lots of sun and 75 degrees


Attention

Canada: Small Quake Rattles Southwestern Ontario: No Injuries or Damage Reported

A minor earthquake gave a mild shake to the southwestern Ontario town of Wheatley on Wednesday morning as most people began their workday.

No injuries were reported from the magnitude 3 quake.

But Janet Drysdale, a seismologist from Natural Resources Canada, said some people may have felt a rumble around 9:21 a.m.

"Some people close to the epicentre would have felt some minor shaking," she said.

They also may have heard a bang or a sound suggesting a furnace exploding, which Drysdale called normal and attributed to a big release of seismic energy in the atmosphere.

Alarm Clock

US: Lake Pillsbury, California area hit by 4.3-magnitude earthquake Tuesday

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake occurred Tuesday evening near Lake Pillsbury, with residents on the other side of the county reporting that they felt the temblor.

The quake occurred at 8:49 p.m., according to the US Geological Survey.

Its epicenter was located six miles north of Lake Pillsbury, 16 miles southwest of Alder Springs and 22 miles east northeast of Willits. The US Geological Survey said it was recorded at a depth of 9.1 miles.

The quake was immediately preceded by two 2.9-magnitude earthquakes - one at 8:44 p.m., located on the same epicenter as the big quake but at a depth of 7.1 miles, and the second at 8:45 p.m., at a depth of 4.8 miles but located seven miles north of Lake Pillsbury.

At 9:17 p.m. a 2.4-magnitude quake occurred seven miles north of Lake Pillsbury, followed at 10:14 p.m. by a 2.8-magnitude quake six miles north of Lake Pillsbury, US Geological Survey records showed.

Radar

US: More seismic monitors to be installed in Arkansas

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© UnknownNew Madrid Fault Zone
The U.S. Geological Survey is installing two more seismic monitors in north-central Arkansas where more than 750 earthquakes have been recorded in the past six months.

Arkansas Geological Survey geohazard supervisor Scott Ausbrooks told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the monitors will be placed near Guy and Greenbrier to help pinpoint the earthquakes. Other monitors were installed last fall.

Scientists have said they're not sure if the earthquakes are occurring naturally or are a result of fluid injections by oil and gas drilling companies.

Geologists say quakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3.0 are generally the smallest felt by humans.

Bizarro Earth

Laos: Earthquake Magnitude 4.6

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 15:53:17 UTC

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 10:53:17 PM at epicenter

Location:
18.926°N, 101.734°E

Depth:
16.2 km (10.1 miles) (poorly constrained)

Region:
LAOS

Distances:
96 km (60 miles) E (80°) from Muang Nan, Thailand

116 km (72 miles) SSW (203°) from Louangphrabang, Laos

141 km (88 miles) NW (318°) from VIENTIANE, Laos

Question

US: A race to solve mystery of bat-killing fungus

bats
© Unknown
If the recent catastrophic history of Vermont's hibernating bats were sold to the movies - part horror film, part sci-fi disease mystery - the opening scene of The Attack of the Bat-Killing Fungus might play like this:

A European tourist with an interest in caves arrives in New York state. He seeks out Howe Caverns west of Albany and joins a commercial tour through its underground passages.

As he passes stalactites and stalagmites, his shoes scuff the rock, his jacket brushes the cave walls, and microscopic spores of a European cold-loving, cave-dwelling fungus are scraped from his attire onto the walls and floor.

Phoenix

Two US volcanoes making news: Kilauea and St. Helens

Mount St Helens
© Big ThinkAn undated aerial image of Mount St. Helens, Washington.
We've talked a lot about volcanoes in other parts of the world, but now we have two UF volcanoes making some news (although neither because they're having a large eruption):

Hawai'i: The lava lake at the Halema'uma'u Crater in Kilauea has reached new heights - in fact, the lava lake had gotten high enough (~77 meters below the crater floor) in the pit crater that there was some thoughts that it might spill out onto the floor of the crater. However, that fate is unclear now as the pit crater itself is collapsing into the lava lake, with large chunks of the rim falling in on Monday. These chunks, some as large as 120 meters x 5 meters, fell into the lake and produced small plumes of ash and gases along with very obvious popping sounds heard as far as half a mile away. You can hear some of the noises and watch some quicktime movies of the activity at the Halema'uma'u Crater over on the Hawaii Volcano Observatory website. Collapses in the pit crater in 2009 blocked off the lava lake from view, but quickly the lava was able to retake the crater. Seismicity related to the upper east rift zone of lava seemed to peak late last week, which might suggest that the influx of new basaltic magma might be waning. Be sure to check out the great time lapse videos (this one from Pu'u O'o) from Eruptions readers along with all the Kilauea the webcams as well. UPDATE: Speaking of Pu'u O'o time lapse video, here is a new one from the USGS as well.

Arrow Up

Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing: images from aftermath


Curfew and cordon thrown around rescue zone in centre of New Zealand city, where 75 are confirmed dead and 300 missing

Police have a declared a curfew in central Christchurch as aftershocks from Tuesday's earthquake struck the city.

The death toll from the 6.3-magnitude quake has reached 75 and is expected to rise. Three hundred people are missing, with Ireland's department of foreign affairs confirming that two Irish passport holders were killed.

Reports of Britons among the dead have not been confirmed. The British high commission, which is providing consular assistance in Christchurch, said it had received no information as yet of any British casualties.

Officials have urged Christchurch people to stay at home unless travel is essential. Locals venturing into the city to view the damage would hamper rescue efforts, said Police Superintendent Dave Cliff. He warned of the danger of "criminal elements" and announced a strict exclusion zone around the city's "four avenues" from 6.30pm. Six arrests for burglary have been made.
Image
© Sarah Ivey/APEastern suburbs of Christchurch lie flooded