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Tsunami, Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions Strike Indonesia!

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© unknownA picture of Indonesia's Mount Merapi taken from Umbul Harjo village in Sleman, Yogyakarta, shows the volcano spewing smoke. Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted three times on Tuesday, causing thousands to flee and claiming the life of a three-month-old baby as it emitted searing clouds and volcanic ash.
Rescuers battled rough seas Tuesday to reach remote Indonesian islands pounded by a 10-foot tsunami that swept away homes, killing at least 113 people. Scores more were missing and information was only beginning to trickle in from the sparsely populated surfing destination, so casualties were expected to rise.

The fault that ruptured Monday on Sumatra island's coast also caused the 2004 quake and monster Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Though hundreds of disaster officials were unable to get to many of the villages on the Mentawai islands - reachable only by a 12-hour boat ride - they were preparing for the worst.

"We have 200 body bags on the way, just in case," said Mujiharto, who heads the Health Ministry's crisis center, shortly before announcing a five-fold increase in the death toll.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire - a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Better Earth

Indonesian tsunami kills 108, hundreds missing

tsunami indonesia
© unknown
A tsunami that pounded remote islands in western Indonesia following an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra killed more than 100 people, officials said on Tuesday, and hundreds more were missing.

The 7.5 magnitude quake hit 78 km west of South Pagai, one of the Mentawai islands, late on Monday. Local legislator Hendri Dori Satoko told Metro TV the latest toll was 108 dead and 502 missing.

Most buildings in the coastal village of Betu Monga were destroyed, said Hardimansyah, an official with the regional branch of the Department of Fisheries.

"Of the 200 people living in that village, only 40 have been found. 160 are still missing, mostly women and children," he told Reuters by phone. "We have people reporting to the security post here that they could not hold on to their children, that they were swept away. A lot of people are crying."

Hardimansyah, who has only one name, said 80 percent of the houses in the area were damaged and food supplies were low.

Question

Mystery Surrounds Black Bear Tracks, Scratches

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© UnknownA pine tree suffering from extensive damage from bear bites. Bear bites have been found to coincide with the appearance of trails of carefully retread bear tracks.
Citizens asked to help find, report retread black bear tracks

Hornell, New York - There are still many mysteries about black bears, contends Professor John VanNiel and his Black Bear Management I class at Finger Lakes Community College.

VanNiel and his students are currently investigating a mysterious aspect of bruin behavior - bears that appear to deliberately retread their tracks along a predetermined trail, leaving deep impressions in the earth. A high density of scratched and bitten trees often accompanies these routes.

The phenomenon has been documented in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. VanNiel and company are asking the general public for help finding similar occurrences in New York state.

"I think some people are reluctant to ask the public (for help) because there's always the chance for misidentification or who knows what, but I have confidence in people," VanNiel said. "I've met enough savvy outdoorsmen that maybe don't have the college degree but still have a lot of woodcraft knowledge and could really be a lot of help in this."

The project was born in July, when VanNiel and conservation technician Sasha MacKenzie journeyed to central Massachusetts to assist researchers at the Walnut Hill Tracking and Nature Center. It was there that they witnessed the phenomenon first hand.

Bizarro Earth

Research Reveals Bahama Islands Shaped By Ice Age Megaflood

Collapse of Giant Ice Age Glacial Lake responsible for carving out the Bahamas.

Springfield, Missouri -- A team of researchers has uncovered evidence that a Mega-Flood, or series of megafloods, from beneath the Ice Age Laurentide Ice Sheet shaped the Bahama Islands. These Mega-Floods traveled down the Mississippi River Valley and into the gulf of Mexico.

These Megafloods entered the Gulf, rapidly raising the water level and forcing the overflow out through the many smaller Florida/Cuba Straits. This Glacial overflow then spread across the lower lying area known as the Bahama Mega-Bank. 12,000yrs. ago, (with sea levels at least 300 ft. lower than today) the Bahama Mega-Bank was an exposed land mass larger than present day Florida.

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - Kepulauan Mentawai Region

2nd Indon Quake_251010
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Monday, October 25, 2010 at 22:59:53 UTC

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 05:59:53 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
3.281°S, 100.497°E

Depth:
21.5 km (13.4 miles)

Region:
KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

Distances:
205 km (125 miles) WNW of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia

260 km (160 miles) S of Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia

265 km (165 miles) W of Lubuklinggau, Sumatra, Indonesia

770 km (480 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - Kepulauan Mentawai Region

Indon Quake_251010
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Monday, October 25, 2010 at 19:37:30 UTC

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 02:37:30 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
2.984°S, 100.391°E

Depth:
22.9 km (14.2 miles)

Region:
KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

Distances:
225 km (140 miles) S of Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia

225 km (140 miles) WNW of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia

695 km (430 miles) SSW of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

795 km (495 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Calculator

Bees solve math problems to find food

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© unknown
Study says bumblebees are the first insects known to be capable of solving complex mathematical problems for finding the shortest route to food sources.

Scientists at the University of London found that bumblebees can easily solve the so-called 'Traveling Salesman Problem' to find food shortcuts.

"Foraging bees solve traveling salesman problems every day," said Dr. Nigel Raine.

"They visit flowers at multiple locations and, because bees use lots of energy to fly, they find a route which keeps flying to a minimum."

Igloo

Britain freezes on the coldest October night for 17 years as mercury plummets to -6C

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Last winter the UK and much of Northern Europe were hit by severe snow and ice
Given the unexpectedly cold nights Britain has been enduring over the last few days, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was January instead of October.

It will come as no surprise then that the wintry conditions made last night the coldest in October for 17 years in some regions.

Temperatures in West Freugh in south-west Scotland dipped to a bone-rattling -5.2C, falling below the previous record of -5.1C which was endured in October 1993.

But it was even colder in Sennybridge, south Wales, where the mercury dropped to -6.4C, beating the -6.2C record set 13 years ago in 1997.

Met Office spokesman Charlie Powell said: 'Last night was the coldest in Sennybridge for 17 years and was very cold everywhere.

'It was well below freezing across the bulk of the UK.'

The outlook for this week is marginally better, with temperatures picking up slightly, although it will remain cold.

Tonight will remain dry with clear skies for most places, although it will be breezy along the North Sea coast with a chance of the odd shower.

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Earthquake Magnitude 7.7 - Kepulauan Mentawai Region

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© USGS
Date-Time:
Monday, October 25, 2010 at 14:42:22 UTC

Monday, October 25, 2010 at 09:42:22 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
3.484°S, 100.114°E

Depth:
20.6 km (12.8 miles)

Region:
KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA

Distances:
240 km (150 miles) W of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia

280 km (175 miles) S of Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia

305 km (190 miles) W of Lubuklinggau, Sumatra, Indonesia

795 km (500 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Question

US: Mountain goat kills man in Olympic National Park

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Robert H. Boardman was with wife and a friend
Robert H. Boardman set out on a hike Saturday with his wife and a friend on an Olympic National Park trail popular because it is short, beautiful and close to town.

The Port Angeles man never completed it.

Boardman, 63, died after trying to shoo away a mountain goat at the top of Klahhane Ridge, about four miles north of the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, National Park Service officials said Sunday.

He is believed to be the first person to have died in an incident involving an animal in the park, spokeswoman Barb Maynes said. Rangers found and killed the animal, which was to be taken to Monroe for a necropsy, she said.

Accounts of the incident are murky.