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Tue, 02 Nov 2021
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Five volcanoes erupting at once on the Kamchatka Peninsula

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© ISS Crew Earth Observations/Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center
Remote. Cold. Rugged. Those three adjectives capture the essence of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Another word - perhaps more applicable than anywhere else on Earth - is "fiery."

Of the roughly 1,550 volcanoes that have erupted in the recent geologic past, 113 are found on Kamchatka. Forty Kamchatkan volcanoes are "active," either erupting now or capable of erupting on short notice. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured activity at five of them during a single satellite pass on April 14, 2014.

Imagery follows.

Attention

Whale found dead in Port Elizabeth harbor to be brought to Jersey City for necropsy

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© Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
A whale that was found dead in New York Harbor was transported to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility at Caven Point Marine Terminal in Jersey City where marine veterinarians performed a necropsy to find out the cause of death, on April 16, 2014.
A 30- to 35-foot whale found dead in the water in the area of Port Elizabeth will be brought to Caven Point Terminal in Jersey City tomorrow where a necropsy will be performed, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers said.

The Army Corps of Engineers was notified on Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the dead whale had been spotted, Corps spokesman Chris Gardner said today. The Corps has lashed the whale to one of its barges used to collect drifting debris in the harbor in order to keep the whale from disrupting ships' navigation, Gardner said.

Gardner said the whale will either be towed or lifted by a drift collection vessel and brought to Jersey City where it will be placed on land for the necropsy. He said he did know what type of whale it is but said officials have it narrowed down to several possible species.

The spokesman said he did not know if the whale had any visible signs of injury such as from a boat propeller and said that will be determined tomorrow. Gardner said the whale was not brought ashore today due to the rainy weather because the necropsy will be performed outdoors. Moving the whale tomorrow will be contingent on the weather as well.

Necropsy is another word for autopsy and is used with reference to animals.

Attention

40-Foot gray whale washes up on Oregon Coast

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© Matt Fletcher
A dead gray whale washed ashore on the Oregon Coast on Tuesday.

A dead, decomposing 40-foot gray whale washed ashore in the Oregon Coast town of Seaside on Tuesday morning, and marine experts advise staying away from the massive carcass because it's "really nasty."

Keith Chandler, a marine mammal expert from the Seaside Aquarium, said the whale has been dead for "quite some time."

"It's really smelly. We're quite a ways from it and I can smell the whale," Chandler said.

Dr. Debbie Duffield from Portland State University will collect samples on the dead whale and try to determine its cause of death.

Once marine experts have finished collecting all the data they need, the city of Seaside will likely bury the whale. Chandler said it will be a challenge.

Umbrella

More than 40 feared dead after floods in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Tanzania flooding
© Daniel Hayduk / AFP
Pedestrians cross the flooded Old Bagamoyo Road in the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam on April 12th.
Some 41 people are feared dead as a result of floods caused by downpour that hit Dar es Salaam for about three days over the weekend, according to Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Saidi Meck Sadiki.

Mr Sadiki, who by virtue of his position is the Chairman of the Regional Defence and Security Committee, noted, however, that so far 25 people have been confirmed by police to have died as a result of the floods.

"In Ilala District, there are two people who have been reported missing while 11 have been confirmed dead while in Kinondoni, there are seven confirmed deaths and 14 were reportedly buried before corroboration by the police.

In Temeke, seven people perished. "I have directed the police to visit families of the 14 people reported dead to ensure that the said persons really died as a result of the floods as the search for other bodies continue," Mr Sadiki told this newspaper in a telephone interview.

Cloud Grey

Strong winds cause 2 ships to collide in Chesapeake Bay; third vessel runs aground

Two vessels collided in a main shipping channel and a 751-foot cargo ship ran aground in the lower Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday in high winds gusting up to 70 mph, the Coast Guard said.

The 79-foot rig vessel Petite and the 1,065-foot container ship MSC Charleston collided about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday "due to weather" in the Thimble Shoal Channel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. There were no reports of injuries, damage or pollution and both vessels were safely anchored, the release said.

Snowflake

Norway: Avalanche kills 4 skiers

Norwegian police say rescuers have found the bodies of four skiers who were killed by an avalanche in central Norway.

The four men were reported missing late Monday after skiing off-piste in the Sunndalsfjella mountains.

Attention

Nicaragua on maximum alert after series of earthquakes

Nicaragua resuce
© Reuters
People living in buildings most at risk of collapse are being evacuated to shelters
The authorities in Nicaragua have put the entire country on an "extreme red alert", the highest possible, after the country was hit by a series of tremors.

Nicaraguans were asked to sleep outdoors as seismologists warned of the possibility of a powerful earthquake rocking the Central American country.

Officials said the recent tremors had reactivated a fault which caused a devastating earthquake in 1972.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people were killed in the disaster.

Radar

Strong earthquake hits South Atlantic Ocean: 6.9 Magnitude at Bouvet Island

A 6.9 earthquake shook the remote Bouvet Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean Tuesday Morning.

Bouvet Island (Norwegian: Bouvetøya, is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway located in the South Atlantic Ocean at 54°25.8′S 3°22.8′ECoordinates: 54°25.8′S 3°22.8′E. It lies at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and is the most remote island in the world, approximately 2,200 kilometres (1,400 mi) south-southwest of the coast of South Africa and approximately 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) north of the Princess Astrid Coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.

Attention

Dead pilot whale washes up near Coopers Beach, Southampton

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© Riverhead Foundation
A 15-foot dead pilot whale was discovered Sunday, April 13, 2014 on a beach in Southampton near Cryder Lane, according to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, which returned to the beach Monday to conduct a necropsy on the whale.
A 15-foot dead pilot whale was discovered Sunday on a beach in Southampton near Cryder Lane, according to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.

Robert DiGiovanni, the foundation's executive director and senior biologist, said researchers took a few samples Sunday, and that he was headed back to the beach Monday morning with a crew to conduct a necropsy on the whale.

"We'll do as much of a necropsy as we can, but it's going to have to remain on the beach," he said.

DiGiovanni said the Southampton Highway Department was able to move the animal further up on the beach, so it wouldn't wash away, but the whale is too large for researchers to take to the foundation's necropsy lab in Riverhead.

The team will look first for any external injuries, and then take more samples before disposing of it, DiGiovanni said.

DiGiovanni said the foundation usually sees one to two pilot whales wash ashore each year.

Attention

Multitude of dead animals wash up on local beaches in Florida

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Dead marine life wash ashore along our local beaches.

There's something fishy going on in our local waters. No pun intended. According to The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: six dolphins, a shark, a humpback whale and multiple manatees/sea turtles have washed up in the last two weeks.

"We know the dolphins are related," marine biologist Nadia Gordon said. "As far as the shark and see turtles, I can't answer that."

The morbillivirus is believed to be the cause of the dolphin deaths. The disease has claimed the lives of 80 in Northeast Florida since July 2013. On a bigger scale, 1200 dolphins have been found dead from New York to Florida since July- up from the average 180 a year.

Biologists still have work to do, but they're hoping they get a lead soon.

"We're hoping it will die off soon and we won't have to worry about it anymore," Gordon said.