Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Australia: Blue Whales Make Rare Warrnambool Visit

Blue Whale_2
© Rob Gunstone
Several blue whales made a rare Warrnambool visit yesterday, enchanting locals and tourists alike at Thunder Point.

The oceanic giants frolicked in waters to the city's west with marine experts keeping a close eye on the action as the whales pass through on a current known as the Bonney Upwelling.

Blue whales are often sighted off the south-west coast near Cape Bridgewater but this is the first time in several years that the world's largest animals have graced Warrnambool's coastline.

Blue Whale Study co-director Margie Morrice was at Thunder Point yesterday to identify and document the behaviour of the visiting whales. She said six whales had been sighted off the coast with three confirmed as blue whales.

"Blue whales are seen right along the coast here, from Cape Otway to the Great Australian Bight," Ms Morrice said.

"The unusual thing about this sighting is that they are so close to shore. We can see many blue whales off the coast near Cape Bridgewater because it's closer to the continental shelf, but usually the only sightings near Warrnambool are by fishermen out on boats."

Stop

Texas, US: Mysterious spill affects shoreline near San Leon

Image
© UnknownA viewer submitted these photos of the spill and clean up effort to iWitness.abc13.com
Officials are investigating what appears to be an oil spill near San Leon.

According to the US Coast Guard, a spill of some oil-like substance is affecting about a mile of rocky shoreline at April Fool's Point in San Leon. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the spill, which appears to be oil, but officials are testing the substance to determine exactly what it is.

Evil Rays

Is New Zealand earthquake linked to the mysterious deaths of more than 100 pilot whales?

Image
© Unknown
Twitter was awash today with theories that the bizarre deaths of more than 100 stranded pilot whales in New Zealand may have been a warning that an earthquake was going to hit.

There have been TWO mass whale deaths on NZ's South Island in less than three weeks.

In the latest bizarre incident on Sunday, less than 48 hours before the earthquake hit, a pod of whales beached themselves near Cavalier Creek on Stewart Island.

Discussing the earthquake and whale deaths on Twitter, Kate Redman 'DolphinSeeker30' asked: "could the stranding of 100 pilot whales be linked to the earthquake?"

Bizarro Earth

Italy, Mt Etna: Second Eruption in 2011

Etna
© Héloïse PicotLava flow emitted during Etna's paroxysm of 18 February onto the western flank of the Valle del Bove, seen from the village of Stazzo at about 13:00 GMT.
The second paroxysmal eruptive episode of the year 2011 from the Southeast Crater occurred on 18 February, 36 days after the previous episode (12-13 January 2011). The full duration of this episode was about 11 hours, with strong Strombolian activity and pulsating lava fountains. Although inclement weather precluded continuous direct observation of the activity, it seems that qualitatively this event was similar to its predecessor, but probably less energetic.

The paroxysm has taken place once more at the pit crater located on the lower eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone, the only active eruptive vent at this summit cone since the summer of 2007.

The paroxysm was preceded by an explosive sequence presumably from the Northeast Crater, on the late evening of 16 February. Also in that case, direct visual observation was difficult due to the presence of cloud cover.

The onset of today's paroxysm was abrupt, and thus quite different from the long buildup phase that led to the episode of 12-13 January.

Arrow Down

US, Ohio: Thousands of birds die along Maumee, Lake Erie

Image
© WTOL
Toledo - Wildlife officials say they have no idea what is killing thousands of ducks and geese along Lake Erie and the Maumee River.

When they first discovered the trend a few weeks ago, only a few birds were infected. As of Friday, around 200 birds have been linked to the mystery illness.

Infected birds simply throw their heads back and lose their motor skills before they die.

No one knows how far it could spread.

"This may be something that's not at all going to affect people, but it may be, and we need to figure it out to know what's going on," said Nature's Nursery's Laura Zitzelberger.

So far, labs tests confirm that the birds did not die of the avian flu.

Attention

Many Blackbirds Found Dead in Ukraine

dead blackbird
© n/a
Sevastopol, Ukraine -- Mass deaths of blackbirds in the Crimea are puzzling Ukrainian scientists.

Dozens of the migratory birds have been found dead on the Kamyshovskoye highway in Sevastopol, along Kazachya Bay and in other coastal areas, ITAR-Tass reported Saturday.

Ornithologist Alexander Grinchenko of the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds said it is not yet known if the blackbirds died from infection or poisoned food. They probably flew from North Africa, where no bird epidemics are reported.

The first examinations by the Sevastopol state veterinary center suggest frost as a cause. A recent storm brought heavy snow and frigid weather to the Crimea.

Tissues from the dead birds have been sent to a veterinary clinic in Simferopol, and a diagnosis is expected within a week.

The mass bird death is the first reported in Ukraine, and it is not known if there is any connection to recent incidents in the United States and Europe.

Radar

Earthquake Shakes Up Suez Canal as Iran Warships Approach

warship @ Suez larger
© Israel news photo
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook up residents at the entrance to the Suez Canal early Monday morning, 48 hours before two Iranian ships, a frigate and a supply vessel, are expected to enter the canal.

The National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research reported that tremors from the 3 a.m. quake lasted for 27 minutes, but caused no damage.

The ships had originally been expected to enter the Suez today (Monday), but Egyptian officials announced the delay this morning, without explanation.

Iran inexplicably announced Sunday morning that two of its warships had crossed the Suez, a report that was thoroughly denied by Egyptian authorities. Iranian media did not mention the ships on Monday, and the false report may have been for local consumption.

Cloud Lightning

Australia: Tropical Cyclone Carlos hits mining, oil

Image
© Melissa Taniora60 homes in Karratha are without power after lines came down in a mini tornado yesterday
A tropical cyclone lashing Australia's northwest mining coast Tuesday damaged dozens of homes and forced the closure of offshore oil rigs and ports handling iron-ore exports, officials said. Tropical Cyclone Carlos, measuring category two on a five-point scale, howled along Western Australia's Pilbara coast, shutting Port Hedland -- the nation's biggest iron-ore terminal -- and halting offshore oil drilling. The companies BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both have major iron-ore projects in the Pilbara region, and they said the wild weather had also forced the closure of rail and roads.

Woodside Petroleum, Australia's second-largest energy firm, froze production at its Enfield and Cossack Pioneer platforms, while Apache also halted work at its Stag and Van Gogh fields. Mining towns including Karratha and Dampier were on red alert as Carlos battered the coast, bringing heavy rains and winds gusting in excess of 140 kilometres (87 miles) per hour, emergency officials said. "There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately," the Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) warned residents, advising them to shelter in the safest part of their house.

Bizarro Earth

New Zealand earthquake causes ice to break off glacier

Image
© ReutersThe quake also shook loose 30 million tonnes of ice from the nation's longest glacier, sending boulders of ice - such as this one - into the Tasman Lake, 200km (124 miles) south-east of Christchurch.
The earthquake that struck Christchurch has caused some 30 million tons of ice to break off from New Zealand's biggest glacier.

Tour guides at the Tasman Glacier in the Southern Alps say the quake caused the ice to "calve" from the glacier, forming icebergs in the terminal lake.

Tourists of Glacier Explorer boats say the icefall caused waves of up to 3.5 meters in height which swept up and down the lake for 30 minutes.

The glacier is about 120 miles (200 kilometers) from Christchurch on the west coast.

Sun

Get ready for a 'global Katrina': Biggest ever solar storm could cause power cuts which last for MONTHS

Image
The world got a taster of the sun's explosive power last week with the strongest solar eruption in five years (white flash, centre) sent a torrent of charged plasma hurtling towards the world. Scientists believe we are overdue a ferocious solar storm
* Earth is overdue a solar storm as the sun enters its most active period

The world is overdue a ferocious 'space storm' that could knock out communications satellites, ground aircraft and trigger blackouts - causing hundreds of billions of pounds of damage, scientists say.

Astronomers today warned that mankind is now more vulnerable to a major solar storm than at any time in history - and that the planet should prepare for a global Katrina-style disaster.

A massive eruption of the sun would save waves of radiation and charged particles to Earth, damaging the satellite systems used for synchronising computers, airline navigation and phone networks.

If the storm is powerful enough it could even crash stock markets and cause power cuts that last weeks or months, experts told the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The chances of a disruption from space are getting stronger because the sun is entering the most active period of its 11 to 12-year natural cycle.

The world got a taster of the sun's explosive power last week when the strongest solar eruption in five years sent a torrent of charged plasma hurtling towards the world at 580 miles per second.

Comment: Notice the fact that NASA issues this "dire warning" about the upcoming solar cycle causing a global "katrina-style" disaster but then cites the increase in the number of cell phones as the reason why this solar cycle would have such a terrible effect compared to the last solar cycle ten years ago. Clearly this is nonsense. Cell phone outage around the world would not constitute a "katrina-style disaster", but massive power outages around the world would. So the real question is, 'why is NASA expecting a much worse solar cycle this time?' What has changed about the sun?