Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

25 dead in Thai floods; rains finally ease


The Seattle Times
Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:44 UTC
thai floods
© Associated PressA Buddhist monk paddles through a flooded temple
Bangkok- Heavy rains have finally eased in southern Thailand, where flooding and mudslides over the past week killed 25 people.

Flood relief center official Vittayen Muttamara warned Friday that residents in hillside areas must remain alert, because the flood runoff from the mountains could still inundate villages.

The government disaster agency says nearly 1 million people in eight southern provinces have been affected by the floods.

Vittayen said access to some villages by land was still difficult because of damage to roads and bridges, but rescue workers were able to reach them by helicopter. The state news agency TNA quoted Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat saying more than 1,246 schools suffered damage.
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Bizarro Earth

Philippines: Increasing Carbon Dioxide Emissions at Taal Cause Concern

Erik Klemetti
Big Think
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:16 UTC
Taal_1
© Big ThinkUndated image of the active crater at Taal in the Philippines.

Over the last year, we've been hearing about unrest at the Taal caldera in the Philippines. Last year, PHIVOLCS even raised the alert status briefly when seismicity at the volcano increased to a level that raised concerns it could erupt. The seismicity waned and the alert status was lowered, but PHIVOLCS has been keeping a close eye on the caldera that sits a mere 50 km from the capitol of the Philippines, Manila. The volcano is a case where careful monitoring and mitigation will hopefully save lives - one of the reasons it was a Decade Volcano.

As a refresher, the last eruption of Taal was over 30 years ago, in 1977, but these were mostly small phreatic (steam explosion) events. Taal is capable of producing significant explosive eruptions, including a potential VEI 6 eruption in ~3850 BC, multiple VEI 4 eruptions in 1716, 1749 and 1965, and frequent VEI 3 events. With this much potential for explosive eruptions so near a population center, the volcano must be watched closely.
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Bizarro Earth

Strong earthquake strikes southern Greek island of Crete


The Associated Press
Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:32 UTC
map earthquake crete
© USGS6.4 magnitude earthquake near Crete
A strong earthquake struck the southern Greek island of Crete on Friday, rattling buildings as far away as Cairo, Egypt, across the Mediterranean. Local police said they had no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The Athens Geological Institute and the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany, gave preliminary magnitudes of 6.2, while the U.S. Geological Survey gave the preliminary magnitude as 5.9. Preliminary magnitudes recorded by geological institutes often differ.

The quake struck off the southern coast of Crete at 4:29 p.m. (1329 GMT, 8:29 EDT), 122 kilometres (75 miles) east of the city of Irakleion, at a depth of 77 kilometres (48 miles), the USGS said.

Greece is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, but serious damage and fatalities are rare.
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Question

Karkala, India: Yellow Rain in Hebri Causes Curiosity and Concern


Mangalorean
Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:42 UTC
A rare phenomenon of yellow rainfall has occurred in and around Hebri here on Sunday, March 27 at about 6-15 in the evening.

It was concentrated in Ikkodlu, Bandimath and Jatkal villages near Hebri, said the residents, adding that it happened only within an extent of five kilometres, which included two kilometres of forest area. They also said it had a foul smell. Drops landing on vehicles and foliage have left yellow patches. It created not only curiosity but caution among the public, who wondered if it was not acid rain.

A farm belonging to Praveen Shetty of Sitanadi village provided clear evidence of the yellow rainfall. A car parked in front of his house and plants and trees around bear yellow patches.
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Snowman

Best of the Web: Glaciers Growing on Mt. Shasta

Robert Felix
Ice Age Now
Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:00 UTC
Image
© USGS Lyn TopinkaMount Shasta and Shastina, California.
Although the media has done a great job of covering this up, the inconvenient fact is that all seven glaciers on California's Mount Shasta are growing. This includes Whitney Glacier, the state's largest.

Yes, growing. Not melting.

Not only are Mt. Shasta's glaciers growing, two have nearly doubled in size.

Both the Hotlum and Wintun Glaciers have nearly doubled in size since 1950, says this article on Wikipedia. The Bolam Glacier has increased by half, while the Whitney and Konwakiton Glaciers have grown by a third.

Scientists first became aware of these growing California glaciers in 2002, and I began writing about them in 2003. Now, eight years later, most media outlets still refuse to acknowledge that these glaciers are growing.

After this year's record snowfall, it will become harder to continue the deception.
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Nuke

Europe to get space radiation-storm warning service

Lewis Page
The Register
Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:53 UTC
International boffins are meeting in Blighty today with the aim of setting up a European solar radiation-storm warning service. With the Sun expected to belch forth increasing amounts of bad "space weather" in coming years, the scientists warn that billions of pounds' worth of damage could be done to satellites in orbit.

Image
© UnknownThe sunspot glass is dropping, Number One - looks like we're in for a blow
The new warning setup is to be called SPACECAST.

"Space weather is a serious natural hazard and better forecasting is a priority for Europe," says Professor Richard Horne of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), leading on the project for the UK.

"This is especially important as we approach maximum levels of solar activity and increased numbers of magnetic storms. SPACECAST will provide forecasts of disruptive space weather events and issue warnings and alerts for periods of high risk."

According to Horne and his colleagues, the solar sunspot cycle is to peak over the next few years: however, the actual storms which affect electronic equipment in the vicinity of Earth don't quite match this cycle and the storm peak is expected to lag about two years behind the sunspot maximum. The years 2013 to 2015 are expected to be especially stormy in space - with perhaps as many as 60 events per year that could cause serious problems.


Comment: Let us suggest, that it might happen much earlier than 2013, and not particularly due to sunspot maximum, though, undoubtedly, sun has its role to play, too. It is also highly unlikely that world leaders at the highest level are not aware of the upcoming calamities, but keep the rest of the population in the dark, or feed them with carefully crafted lies, supported by the scientific establishment.

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Attention

World's Deadliest Volcano in Africa Waiting to Explode


Thaindian News
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:36 UTC
Image
© AP
London - Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's deadliest volcanos, is waiting to explode and turn Goma, a city of a million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, into a modern day Pompeii, a Roman town completely destroyed by volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

But scientists do not know when, since it is in the war-torn eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two-mile high cauldron of lava is also one of the least understood.

At the base of Nyiragongo sprawls Goma with its numbers swelling by the day as villagers from the countryside seek refuge from rebel and government forces, the magazine National Geographic reports.

Twice in recent years Nyiragongo's eruptions have hit the city, destroying homes and sending residents fleeing. But now, seismologists believe, the risk is not just near the city, but directly beneath it, according to the Daily Mail.
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Igloo

California drought officially ends after snowy winter

Don Thompson
Thenewstribune.com
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:53 UTC
A drought that loomed over some of California's most fertile farmland officially ended Wednesday after a winter of relentless mountain storms that piled snow up to three stories high and could keep some ski resorts open until the Fourth of July.

More than 61 feet of snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada high country so far this season, second only to 1950-51, when 65 feet fell, according to records kept by the California Department of Transportation. And more snow is possible in April, raising the prospect of an all-time record.

When it melts, the snow will bring relief to hundreds of communities and many farms that provide fruits and vegetables to the nation.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday repealed a statewide drought declaration made in 2008 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who called for a state of emergency in February 2009 after three years of low water levels.

Brown acted after state officials reported the water content in the Sierra snowpack at 165 percent of normal for this time of year. That is one of the wettest winters since 1970, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

It trails only 1983, when the water content in the snowpack was 227 percent of normal, and 1995, which was 182 percent of the average for the end of March.

The wet winter means state and federal water agencies will be able to provide more water to urban and agricultural areas as the snowmelt fills reservoirs this summer.
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Cloud Lightning

Floods in Malasya: 1,013 Evacuated In Terengganu


Bernama
Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:21 UTC
The number of flood victims in Terengganu rose to 1,013 people as of 8pm Tuesday night as the floods in several districts worsened.

They are currently housed in 14 evacuation centres, a spokesperson of the Terengganu National Security Council said.

The floods also forced the closure of over 23 schools, of which 12 were in Setiu involving 1,500 students, nine in Hulu Terengganu with 1,400 students and two in Besut with with 700 students.
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Nuke

Plutonium is forever

Robert X. Cringely
Cringely
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:02 UTC
Image
Cringely
I have been doing business in Japan for 20 years, consulting for big and small companies, speaking at conferences, writing for Japanese publications, and helping both American and Japanese companies do business with each other. For years I flew to Tokyo once a month, generally in my role as giver of bad news, which I could get away with as an American. Throughout those 20 years I have been astounded by the energy and discipline of Japanese industry, and by its turgid impenetrability. For a country known for advanced technology, Japan is astoundingly resistant to outside ideas, as the current earthquake and nuclear crisis show yet again.
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