As reported by Anthony, RSS satellite temperature data is out for March. And as the Catlin adventurers have discovered, it has been "stupidly cold" in the Arctic. March was the second consecutive month of below normal Arctic temperatures, and the continuation of a four year cooling trend - as seen below. Google's linest() function shows that since the beginning of 2005, Arctic temperatures have been cooling at a rate of 1.8 degrees C per decade, or 18C per century ( see comments). Also note that Arctic monthly temperature anomaly now is about three degrees lower than in January, 1981.
That short term trend isn't meaningful, except in the context of the Catlin Expedition and the cold they are experiencing.
Earth Changes
© AP Photo/Galapagos National Park
In this photo released by Galapagos National Park, La Cumbre volcano erupts in Fernandina Island, in the Galapagos islands, Ecuador, Saturday, April 11, 2009. The Galapagos National Park says La Cumbre volcano began spewing lava, gas and smoke on uninhabited Fernandina Island on Saturday after four years of inactivity.
In this photo released by Galapagos National Park, La Cumbre volcano erupts in Fernandina Island, in the Galapagos islands, Ecuador, Saturday, April 11, 2009. The Galapagos National Park says La Cumbre volcano began spewing lava, gas and smoke on uninhabited Fernandina Island on Saturday after four years of inactivity.
The Galapagos National Park says La Cumbre volcano began spewing lava, gas and smoke on uninhabited Fernandina Island on Saturday after four years of inactivity.
The park says in a statement the eruption is not a threat to people living on nearby Isabela Island.
But it says lava flowing to the sea will likely affect marine and terrestrial iguanas, wolves and other fauna.
© unknown
Pen Hadow and Martin Hartley of the Catlin Arctic Survey battle the elements in the name of science, and their own survival.
Pen Hadow and Martin Hartley of the Catlin Arctic Survey battle the elements in the name of science, and their own survival.
The three-person team of British explorers on the Arctic ice cap may or may not be in danger, depending upon which of the team's representatives back at headquarters in London is doing the talking.
Martin Hartley, Pen Hadow, and Ann Daniels have been on a "scientific" mission to measure sea ice thickness that is routinely measured by satellite and buoys. Unfortunately, just about all of their equipment failed as soon as the team got onto the ice, due to what the BBC has reported as unexpected wind chill values as low as minus 70 degrees Celsius.
On the health front, according to Catlin Arctic Survey medical adviser Doctor Martin Rhodes, the team are battling chronic hypothermia. Additionally, Martin Hartley has frostbite on one foot, photographs of which are on the mission website, with a disclaimer for the faint of heart.
© Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
Impact victim? Nanodiamonds suggest to some scientists that a huge impact did in the mammoths.
Impact victim? Nanodiamonds suggest to some scientists that a huge impact did in the mammoths.
Last night at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, a dozen faculty members and students gathered for a "mammoth barbecue" before the U.S. Public Broadcasting System's NOVA program laid out the story of the provocative--and highly controversial--proposal that a huge impact drove the mammoths and dozens of other large North American animals to extinction 12,900 years ago. The verdict?
"It was NOVA theater," says geologist and host Nicholas Pinter. "It was enjoyable, there were nice animals, but there was skepticism [expressed at the gathering] about the impact story." That, despite the first revelation of evidence from Greenland, added further support to an extraterrestrial killer.
A global analysis of lightning during hurricanes has bolstered observations that the worst winds come a day after the bolts strike.
Forecasters struggle to predict peak hurricane winds. So Colin Price of Tel Aviv University in Israel and colleagues studied all category 4 and 5 hurricanes between 2005 and 2007. Out of 58 hurricanes, 56 showed a significant correlation between lightning activity and wind speed, with peak winds arriving 30 hours after the lightning on average. Price believes the lightning may be caused by a change in wind patterns (Nature Geoscience, DOI: link).
Forecasters struggle to predict peak hurricane winds. So Colin Price of Tel Aviv University in Israel and colleagues studied all category 4 and 5 hurricanes between 2005 and 2007. Out of 58 hurricanes, 56 showed a significant correlation between lightning activity and wind speed, with peak winds arriving 30 hours after the lightning on average. Price believes the lightning may be caused by a change in wind patterns (Nature Geoscience, DOI: link).
Dundumwezi Member of Parliament Edgar Singombe has called on the Department of Veterinary and Livestock Development to ascertain a cattle disease that is killing animals in large numbers in Kasukwe ward.
Mr Singombe told Zanis in Kalomo that several herds of cattle were dying from an unknown disease in the areas around Jongolo, Habusala and Mutubyangulu villages in chief Chikanta's area.
He lamented that despite the matter being reported to the veterinary department last week, no efforts have been made to date.
Mr Singombe told Zanis in Kalomo that several herds of cattle were dying from an unknown disease in the areas around Jongolo, Habusala and Mutubyangulu villages in chief Chikanta's area.
He lamented that despite the matter being reported to the veterinary department last week, no efforts have been made to date.
First, the frogs began disappearing, with as many as 122 species becoming extinct worldwide since 1980. Then honeybee colonies began to collapse. Scientists fear that bats might be next.
© National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado
Still no sign of the national media on the extraordinary growth of sea ice at the antarctic. They sure haven't missed a chance to point out the relatively small loss of ice at the arctic. Did did it ever occur to them that perhaps there is a natural process at work that has shifted ice growth from one pole to the other? Do they not want to admit that there are things man doesn't yet understand about how this planet works?
© Natural History Museum in London
Male members of the newly discovered Danionella dracula fish have vampire-like "teeth," as seen in this scanning electron micrograph.
Male members of the newly discovered Danionella dracula fish have vampire-like "teeth," as seen in this scanning electron micrograph.
The tiny freshwater fish finding may reveal more about how lost structures re-evolve, as well as how evolution can cause some species to mature early. Scientists named the fish Danionella dracula in honor of its large, tooth-like jaw structures.
"This fish is one of the most extraordinary vertebrates discovered in the last few decades," said Ralf Britz, a fish researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, UK.
Britz found the minnow in a stream in northern Myanmar, during a collecting trip. The transparent fish measures somewhat less than one inch long and represents one of the smallest fishes and vertebrates.
Mena - Battered residents of this western Arkansas city waited for daylight Friday to dig out from a "direct hit" by a tornado that killed three people, injured at least 30, and flattened homes and businesses.
The twister sliced through the Ouachita Mountains community shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday. The county sheriff described the sky turning green, while the airport manager said darkness fell quickly as the twister crossed the Oklahoma line 10 miles away.
The twister sliced through the Ouachita Mountains community shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday. The county sheriff described the sky turning green, while the airport manager said darkness fell quickly as the twister crossed the Oklahoma line 10 miles away.
