Antarctica overall has cooled measurably during the last 35 years - despite a global average increase in air temperature of 0.06 degrees Celsius during the 20th century - making it unique among the Earth's continental landmasses, according to a paper published today in the online version of Nature.
Researchers with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Longterm Ecological Research (LTER) site in Antarctica's Dry Valleys - a perpetually snow-free, mountainous area adjacent to McMurdo Sound - argue in the paper that long-term data from weather stations across the continent, coupled with a separate set of measurements from the Dry Valleys, confirm each other and corroborate the continental cooling trend.
Earth Changes
BEIJING - A strong magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck remote northwestern China on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
One of the coldest Octobers on record in the Interior has the Yukon River grinding to a halt and residents settling in for winter.
October 2008 went down as Fairbanks' fourth-coldest October on record since 1904, according to meteorologist Rick Thoman with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. The average temperature of 15.1 degrees was 8.4 degrees below normal.
The coldest October on record in Fairbanks was in 1996, which had an average temperature of 13.1 degrees.
"That year we had three days in a row with lows in the mid 20s below," Thoman recalled. "We didn't have anything quite like that this year.
October 2008 went down as Fairbanks' fourth-coldest October on record since 1904, according to meteorologist Rick Thoman with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. The average temperature of 15.1 degrees was 8.4 degrees below normal.
The coldest October on record in Fairbanks was in 1996, which had an average temperature of 13.1 degrees.
"That year we had three days in a row with lows in the mid 20s below," Thoman recalled. "We didn't have anything quite like that this year.
© REUTERS/M. Rauschert/Census of Marine Life handout
Megaleledone setebos, a shallow-water circum-Antarctic species endemic to the Southern Ocean is seen in this undated handout
Megaleledone setebos, a shallow-water circum-Antarctic species endemic to the Southern Ocean is seen in this undated handout
Researchers in 82 nations, whose 10-year study aims to help protect life in the seas, found a mysterious meeting place for white sharks in the eastern Pacific Ocean and algae thriving at -25 degrees Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit) in the Arctic.
"We are approaching a picture of the oceans ... from micrcobes to whales," said Ron O'Dor, co-senior scientist of the census of the 2007-08 findings by up to 2,000 scientists.
Howling Winds, Up To 4 Feet Of Snow Hit High Plains
As snow depth totals approached 4 feet in the higher Black Hills and winds gusting to 50-plus mph continued to howl, top-level state officials had a simple message for anyone thinking of trying to drive in western South Dakota's blizzard: Don't.
And they stressed the storm will keep causing problems as it spreads east through Friday.
"This is a dangerous storm," Gov. Mike Rounds told reporters in a telephone conference call early Thursday evening.
"Western South Dakota is basically under a no-travel advisory."
The storm already has dropped 45.7 inches of snow near Deadwood, in the northern Black Hills. Reports of 10 inches to 2 feet of snow were received from many West River counties. In some towns, residents reported drifts were blocking their doorways.
In Shannon County, in the southwestern corner of the state, 20-foot snowdrifts were reported on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
As snow depth totals approached 4 feet in the higher Black Hills and winds gusting to 50-plus mph continued to howl, top-level state officials had a simple message for anyone thinking of trying to drive in western South Dakota's blizzard: Don't.
And they stressed the storm will keep causing problems as it spreads east through Friday.
"This is a dangerous storm," Gov. Mike Rounds told reporters in a telephone conference call early Thursday evening.
"Western South Dakota is basically under a no-travel advisory."
The storm already has dropped 45.7 inches of snow near Deadwood, in the northern Black Hills. Reports of 10 inches to 2 feet of snow were received from many West River counties. In some towns, residents reported drifts were blocking their doorways.
In Shannon County, in the southwestern corner of the state, 20-foot snowdrifts were reported on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
© Reuters
Fulfilling forecasters' predictions for a high number of strong hurricanes, one storm after another in August and September hit the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, the British Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southeastern United States. Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike followed within weeks of each other.
Haiti - the poorest country in the Americas - is ill prepared to prepare for storms or cope with their consequences, and suffered the highest number of deaths when it was hit in turn by all four. It's hard to pin down an exact toll from floods and mudslides caused by a series of storms in August and September 2008 - since many corpses were washed out to sea - but police and local authorities say it was around 700.
© Reuters
Distribution of assistance should take place between 8th and 24th November 2008, in 7-10 remote villages and hamlets/ kilies in Kuch UC (area of Gogi, Tungi, Chungi Ahmadoon and Ahmadoon), when planned assistance to 500 families should be provided to the all identified beneficiaries.
© AFP
A woman walks on the traditional malecon (seafront) in Havana, as Hurricane Paloma approaches Cuba
A woman walks on the traditional malecon (seafront) in Havana, as Hurricane Paloma approaches Cuba
After making landfall on Cuba's southeast coast earlier in the day as a powerful Category Three storm, Paloma weakened to Category Two, displaying winds of 175 kilometers (108 miles) an hour, the national Institute of Meteorology said.
"It is now a Category Two storm," Jose Rubiera, the institute's director, said in a statement.
The US National Hurricane Center said Paloma packed winds measuring 155 kilometers (100 miles) an hour.
At 0600 GMT, the center of Paloma was about 45 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Camaguey, the Miami-based center said.
Miami - Dangerous Hurricane Paloma made landfall near Santa Cruz del Sur in southeastern Cuba on Saturday as a Category 3 storm with 125 mile-per-hour (200-kph) winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
© REUTERS/Enrique De La Osa
People carry their belongings on the back of a cart ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Paloma in Camaguey, Cuba November 8, 2008.
People carry their belongings on the back of a cart ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Paloma in Camaguey, Cuba November 8, 2008.
Bluefin tuna disappeared from Danish waters in the 1960s. Now the species could become depleted throughout the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, according to analyses by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Aqua) and University of New Hampshire. The species is highly valued as sushi.
Bluefin tuna is a treasured delicacy. A kilo of its much sought after meat can bring in prices reaching 130 Euros at fish auctions. The species in the Mediterranean Sea and northeast Atlantic is caught by fishermen from many countries, particularly France, Spain and Italy.
Bluefin tuna is a treasured delicacy. A kilo of its much sought after meat can bring in prices reaching 130 Euros at fish auctions. The species in the Mediterranean Sea and northeast Atlantic is caught by fishermen from many countries, particularly France, Spain and Italy.
Comment: The United Nations Children's Fund has estimated that the earthquake left 70,000 people homeless and more than 300 people dead. You can read more about it here and here