Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Flashback California's attack of the jumbo squid

Ferocious, pack-feeding jumbo squid have invaded waters off California's central coast and are devouring local fish populations. Researchers say global warming and overfishing are likely to blame.


Humboldt or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) first appeared off Monterey, California during an El Niño event which warmed waters in 1997. Since 2002 they have taken up permanent residence.

Frog

Transparent frogs, tiny geckos and snail-sucking snakes

Image
© Paul S Hamilton / RAEISee-through diversity
An expedition to the coastal rainforests of western Ecuador has discovered 30 new species of frog and a slug-sucking snake.

The team of scientists, who work for Reptile and Amphibian Ecology International, also identified four new species of stick insect, three species of lungless salamanders, a tiny, scaly-eyed gecko known as Lepidoblepharis buschwaldii and a bushmaster - the longest viper in the world.

Most of the new animals were discovered in the forests of Cerro Pata de Pájaro, a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its cloud forests are particularly fecund: 14 of the 30 new species of frog discovered were found in a patch of cloud forest just a couple of miles wide, according to the press release.

The newly-discovered frogs are "rain" frogs of the genus Pristimantis, which lay their eggs in trees. As the eggs hatch, miniature versions of the adult frogs - some the size of a pinhead - fall into the water below.

Bizarro Earth

Caribbean at risk of more large earthquakes

Image
© KPA/Zuma/Rex FeaturesMore to come?
Earthquake experts are warning that the devastating quake that struck Haiti on Tuesday could be the first of several in the region. They say historical records suggest that not all the energy that has built up in the faults running through the Caribbean region was released in this week's tragedy.

Their fear is that enough energy remains in the fault system to trigger another earthquake of the same scale as Tuesday's.

The last time Haiti was struck by earthquakes of this scale was in 1751 and 1770, when three large earthquakes hit within the space of 20 years. They ruptured the same fault segment as the one that slipped on Tuesday, as well as segments lying further to the east, in Haiti and the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

"Last time round there was a sequence of earthquakes," says Uri ten Brink, an expert on earthquakes in the region from the US Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. "I'm worried, as we might expect the eastern side of the fault to rupture next." Other geologists concur. "Stress transfer along the fault is likely to trigger a chain of quakes," says Bill McGuire from University College London.

Bizarro Earth

Southwestern Iran: Earthquake Magnitude 4.9 - Khuzestan

Image
© USGS
A moderate magnitude-4.9 earthquake has shaken the city of Andimeshk in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan, seismologists have announced.

Local seismological centers affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the trembling at 23:53 local time (20:23 GMT) on Saturday.

The epicenter was located a few kilometers away from Andimeshk, on the foot of the Zagros Mountains with a population of more than 180,000 people

The shake caused panic, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Andimeshk, located 726 km (451 miles) southwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Iran is located at the juncture of some of the world's most active seismic faults causing minor and major jolts on an almost daily basis.

Attention

Haiti's Fault Rupture Boosts Long-Term Risk of Jamaica Quake

The magnitude 7 earthquake that killed as many as 100,000 people in Haiti this week may increase the likelihood of a future quake in Jamaica, according to seismologists who study geological risk.

When aftershocks subside in the coming weeks, Haiti's prospects of another earthquake will plummet, while areas west along the same fault line will see increased seismic pressure, said Stuart Sipkin, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. It could take decades or a century for the pressure to rupture on the western edge of the fault in Jamaica.

A similar quake flattened the Haitian capital of Port-au- Prince 240 years ago, so long ago that most residents were unaware they were at risk, said Roger Musson, who advises engineers on regional dangers for the British Geological Survey. The 1770 upheaval was part of a string of westward-moving temblors that culminated in Jamaica in 1907, he said.

"In Haiti, there's not been earthquakes in living memory; now it's likely that the stress will be increased on the next segment along," Musson, the agency's head of seismic hazard, said in a telephone interview. However, he added, "You are constantly surprised by earthquakes doing things that they're not supposed to do."

Sheeple

Turkey: Sheep Gives Birth to Human-Faced Lamb

Image
© The Daily Telegraph
A sheep gave birth to a dead lamb with a human-like face. The lamb was born in a village not far from the city of Izmir, Turkey.

Erhan Elibol, a vet, performed a caesarean on the animal to take the lamb out, but was horrified to see that the features of the lamb's snout bore a striking resemblance to a human face.

"I've seen mutations with cows and sheep before. I've seen a one-eyed calf, a two-headed calf, a five-legged calf. But when I saw this youngster I could not believe my eyes. His mother could not deliver him so I had to help the animal," the 29-year-old veterinary said.

The lamb's head had human features on - the eyes, the nose and the mouth - only the ears were those of a sheep.

Chalkboard

New Zealand experiences temperature extremes in 2009

New Zealand experienced extreme temperature swings in 2009, as heat waves in January and early February were followed by the coolest May on record.

Heat waves occurred in January and the start of February; May was the coldest on record; October had its lowest temperatures since 1945; and August was the warmest August ever, according to are port by the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) released on Wednesday.

In individual months, especially September and November, daily temperatures frequently broke long-standing records, with extremely cold temperatures often occurring within a week or so of record hot events.

NIWA climate scientist James Renwick said in a press release that wild swings in temperature were sometimes only days apart.

Igloo

India: 19 die due to cold in Uttar Pradesh, toll reaches 356

Lucknow - Nineteen people have died due to the cold in Uttar Pradesh where Hamirpur recorded the lowest temperature of 4.2 degree celsius.

While seven people died overnight due to the cold in Ghazipur, three each died in Kushinagar and Deoria, two each in Banda and Baghpat and one each in Shrawasti and Faizabad, taking the death toll to 356 this winter in Uttar Pradesh, reports said.

Hamirpur, which recorded a minimum temperature of 4.2 degrees, was the coldest place in the state. The state capital experienced a minimum of 8.6 degrees which was two degrees above normal.

However, the maximum temperature in Lucknow was 15. 7 degrees, seven notches below normal, the Met office said.

The Met office has predicted dense to moderate fog in the eastern districts of the state and moderate fog in the western region.

Igloo

Korea: Is Current Cold Winter Ushering In 'Mini-Ice Age'?

The ongoing winter has shattered many records in Korea's modern meteorological history and more records are expected to be rewritten before it is over.

Record high snowfall in central parts of the country early this month already broke a 73-year-old record. In Seoul on Wednesday, the mercury dropped to minus 15.3 degrees Celsius, challenging the lowest temperature in the capital city of -16.7 degrees, set on Jan. 22, 2004.

Southern parts of the peninsula are also struggling with "unprecedented" blizzards.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Younggwang, a rural country in South Jeolla Province, was bombarded with 20.5 centimeters of snow, while other towns in the vicinity saw snowfall ranging from three to 10 centimeters.

Fish

Thousands of dead crabs wash up on Kent beaches

Image
The crabs should not pose a danger to people or animals
Thousands of dead crabs have been washed up on Kent's beaches after being killed by the cold weather.

The velvet swimming crabs are littering beaches around Thanet, along with smaller numbers of whelks, sponges and anemones.

It is the second year that icy temperatures have killed off the sea creatures in such large numbers.

Last year the Environment Agency set up an inquiry amid fears a mystery virus could be to blame.