Using ice-penetrating radar instruments flown on aircraft, a team of scientists from the U.S. and U.K. have uncovered a previously unknown sub-glacial basin nearly the size of New Jersey beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) near the Weddell Sea. The location, shape and texture of the mile-deep basin suggest that this region of the ice sheet is at a greater risk of collapse than previously thought.

Team members at The University of Texas at Austin compared data about the newly discovered basin to data they previously collected from other parts of the WAIS that also appear highly vulnerable, including Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites Glacier. Although the amount of ice stored in the new basin is less than the ice stored in previously studied areas, it might be closer to a tipping point.

"If we were to invent a set of conditions conducive to retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, this would be it," said Don Blankenship, senior research scientist at The University of Texas at Austin's Institute for Geophysics and co-author on the new paper. "With its smooth bed that slopes steeply toward the interior, we could find no other region in West Antarctica more poised for change than this newly discovered basin at the head of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. The only saving grace is that losing the ice over this new basin would only raise sea level by a small percentage of the several meters that would result if the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet destabilized."

• Lake sediment proves 'solar minimum' caused 200 years of cooling 2,800 years ago
• New minimum due soon - after this year's increased sunspot activity
• Sun's activity CAN cause changes in Earth's climate, claim scientists
• May throw predictions of global warming out of whack

When the Greek poet Homer was writing The Odyssey around 2,800 years ago, the Earth went through an abrupt period of cooling, caused by the sun - and the same could happen again soon.

Scientists at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences analysed lake sediment in Lake Meerfelder Maar, and found direct evidence of a sudden cooling caused by a 'solar minimum'.

Some scientists suspect that the current period of high solar activity - including increased sunspots and solar storms thsi year - will be followed by a 'minimum' period, which could even cause an Ice Age.

If the GFZ research is correct, a new 'solar minimum' could have a direct impact on Earth's climate - cooling our planet drastically, and knocking the predictions of global-warming alarmists out of whack.

Brevard County -- A mystery is unfolding in Brevard County as several dead pelicans have been found along the Indian River over the past few weeks.

Florida Fish and Wildlife biologists collected two of the dead pelicans after at least eleven of the birds have been found along the bank in Palm Shores near Melbourne, and people are puzzled as to why they died.

Wildlife officials said there have been no reports of fish kills, algae blooms or other factors that could have contributed to the deaths.

Meantime, the mystery remains.

"I might see one once in a blue moon," said Tim Carlisle of Palm Shores Public Works. "But for this many popping up on the shore, it's unexplained."

Palm Shores Public Works says they've gotten many calls lately from resident complaining about the problem. Another resident who contacted News 13 said they found more than a dozen just a couple miles along the river north. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say tests are being done on the animals to try and determine the cause of death.

"We were thinking maybe it's the fish, or somebody doing something to them. But it's in a lot of different place," said Carlisle.

Meanwhile overseas, Peru's health ministry is asking people to avoid beaches in Lima and north of the capital until officials can determine what is killing hundreds of pelicans.

Last month, the country's production ministry said the authorities were investigating the deaths of more than 538 pelicans, and other birds, on the northern coast.

For the media, time is of the essence in a news story. The March 11, 2011 disaster attracted thousands of reporters and photographers from around the world. There was a brief deluge of Japanese and international media coverage on the first anniversary, this spring. Now the journalists have packed up and gone and by accident or design Japan's government seems to be mobilizing its agenda, aware that it is under less scrutiny.

The press pack has disappeared like a ghost since this April. The influx of foreign media has suddenly stopped, as I can attest since I worked as a translator and aid to many foreign journalists in the year up to the 3.11 anniversary in 2012. Using the keywords 'Fukushima' and 'nuclear plant' in Japanese to scour the Nikkei TELECOM 21 search engine shows 9,981 domestic news items in April 2012, just over half the 17,272 stories the previous month.

As if to take advantage of the precise timing of the media evacuation, the municipal government of Minami-soma city, Fukushima Prefecture began implementing a blueprint planned some time earlier. In the dead of night on Monday April 16th, the city lifted the no-entry regulations and changed evacuation zone designations that had stood since March 12, 2011. The decision allowed people to return to the district of Odaka and some parts of the Haramachi district.

Watanabe Ichie, a volunteer from Tokyo who witnessed the scene near the roadblock into the zone observed that: "several police vehicles with flashing red lights arrived after 23:00 on April 15th. By 0:15, all the vehicles had gone". "After that, all that remained was the light from the traffic signals." The following morning, cars moved freely inside the once-prohibited area.

US, Washington - The contiguous U.S. states posted record warmth from May 2011 through April, and drought conditions spread across more than a third of this area during the first months of 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA.L said on Tuesday.

The contiguous United States had a national average temperature of 55.7 F (13.2 C) from May 2011 to April 2012, 2.8 F (1.6 C) above the 20th century average, NOAA said in a statement.

It was the warmest ever May-to-April period in the lower 48 states. It included the second-hottest summer, fourth-warmest winter and the warmest March. Twenty-two states posted record warmth for the period.

The first four months of the 2012 were the warmest on record. The average temperature for the contiguous states during these months was 45.4 F (7.4 C), 5.4 F (3 C) above normal.

The deadly tornado that hit a residential area in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sunday is believed to have been triggered by a temperature difference of more than 40 C between a high-altitude cold air mass and warm moist air near the ground, which developed a cumulonimbus cloud and a rotating ascending air current.

Japan Meteorological Agency radars detected a cumulonimbus cloud 10 to 20 kilometers in diameter, suggesting that a so-called supercell thundercloud developed around the time of the incident.

Supercell clouds, cumulonimbus clouds several times bigger than usual, tend to trigger powerful tornadoes.

Severe weather warnings were issued last night for large swathes of Britain as more torrential downpours are on the way.

The soaking, which has seen the soggiest April in 100 years, will ­continue with a month's rain expected to fall ­tomorrow night.

Motorists have been warned to take care as roads will be battered by gales reaching 50mph.

The Civil Defense in Peru (Indeci) intensified today a prevention drive warning of a potential massive earthquake now preceded of two daily tremors average. Indeci called on every workplace and home to ready an emergency evacuation plan after a median quake and two replicas were recorded Sunday in Ica (south) and in Lima.

Marco Tantalean, an expert from the institution, said planning must include safe routes and refuges, plus staples like your ID cards, drinkable water, first-aid material, flashlight, non perishable food and saving phone calls for emergencies to prevent the lines from collapsing.

Other prevention measures include a May 31st tsunami simulation, marking the 1970 massive quake that killed some 70,000 people in Ancash, north Peru. Scientific evidence have proven that after "long periods of rest" big quakes may occur, like those that have especially razed Lima through history; plus, Peru is located in a seismic area, adds Hernando Tavera, director of Seismology at the Institute of Geophysics, reminding of the 66 tremors of 2012 through April, near one daily.

Scotland was colder than the Arctic at the weekend with freezing temperatures and snow.

It was - 7.4C on Saturday morning on Cairngorm mountain, near Aviemore, and - 6.2C at Saughall, Ayrshire.

But in the Arctic at the most northerly village in Europe - Honningsvag in Norway - it was only 0C.

Yesterday morning was just as bad with temperatures below freezing in many parts.

Watch this video of a huge dust cloud that approaches and eventually covers an Iowa college campus on Friday. This video was captured on the campus of Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and posted on YouTube.


The video's caption said the cloud was caused by an almost fully formed tornado, and caused a scare on campus.