Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Central Mid Atlantic Ridge - Earthquake Magnitude 6.0

Atlantic Quake_150511
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 13:08:12 UTC

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 11:08:12 AM at epicenter

Location:
0.461°N, 25.601°W

Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program

Region:
CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE

Distances:
1276 km (793 miles) ENE (57°) from Natal, Brazil

1624 km (1009 miles) S (188°) from PRAIA, Cape Verde

Cloud Lightning

Palestine: Thunder, Lightning Bring in Heavy Rains Across Country

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© Marc Israel Sellem
Unseasonal downpours spread throughout central and northern regions; rain expected to continue with risk of flash floods in Negev.

Unseasonal rainfall continued overnight Friday, with local thunderstorms breaking out across the country.

Heavy downpours were felt in central and northern areas. There were heavy downpours in central and northern areas, and rain was expected continue on Saturday, with the chance of flash floods in the Negev.

Unseasonal amounts of rain were measured, with 9.8 mm falling in Ariel, 8mm in Ashdod and 2.8 mm in Tel Aviv.

Attention

US: Floods Hit Bridgeport Ohio

Pounding rains shut down roads in Bridgeport on Friday.

Heavy rains pounded the Ohio Valley Friday. Water rushed down through the streets of Bridgeport, tearing up roads, crippling cars, and creeping into the basements of the people who live there.

Crews were called in around 4 p.m. Friday. Bridgeport Mayor, John Callarik, says that the heavy rain was just too much for the sewers to handle

"What happened up above, is our main sewer line is all clogged up and it came over the top", he says. Authorities say all that water than came rushing into town, closed a number of roads in the Kerwood section for about four hours and backed up traffic during rush hour. The Bridgeport Fire Department says that aside from flooding, the biggest issue was making sure people were able to get around..

Cloud Lightning

US: Flash flooding; State of Emergency in Wellsville

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© Yahoo! 2010 Data NavteQ2009
Buffalo, New York - A flash flood watch is posted for Southern Erie, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Wyoming Counties from Noon Saturday through the evening.

Heavy rains caused flash flooding for portions of the Southern Tier Friday.

A state of emergency is in effect in the Village of Wellsville in Allegany County. Roads were damaged and flooded in Wellsville, Belmont and Scio.

Emergency crews evacuated some of the residents.

Wellsville Police say dozens of streets and roadways are impassable and are closed. Some of the roads could be closed for the next several days.

Officials are asking residents to avoid any unnecessary travel in areas affected by the flash floods.

Radar

New Zealand: Aftershocks Continue Daily after Christchurch Earthquake 2011

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© Debbie RoomeThe Back View of Buildings on High St after Christchurch Earthquake 2011
A series of aftershocks woke a number of Christchurch residents in the early hours of Sunday 15th May, 2011.

Aftershocks continue to rattle Christchurch on a daily basis with 7 occurring between 4pm on the 14th May and 3pm on the 15th May. Some of these shocks relate to the 7.1 September 2010 earthquake and others to the 6.3 February 2011 earthquake.

Aftershocks on the 15th May 2011

According to the Geonet website, Christchurch was shaken by 3 large aftershocks between 1am and 3am on Sunday 15th May. The first was a 4.0 magnitude centered near Springston. This aftershock was close to the area of the September 2010 earthquake. The second and third aftershocks measured 4.6 and 4.0 and both were in the ocean off the East Coast. They were centered just over 20 kilometers from Cathedral Square in Christchurch central.

These aftershocks disturbed many people's sleep and Facebook comments reported that frightened children ran and climbed into bed with parents. Other people described the tremors as a good shake and shudder. One person said their windows rattled and there was also a comment about chairs on wheels moving.

Bizarro Earth

US: Here Are The Refineries And Nuclear Power Plants Threatened If The Morganza Spillway Is Opened-Shut

As we reported previously, Obama has found himself on the verge of another environmental scandal now that he has no choice but to redirect the Mississippi river via the Morganza spillway - either lose millions in barrels of daily refined production and potentially the impairment of the Colonial Pipeline, two events which would promptly cause gas prices to soar to new records, or redirect the river via the Spillway, and cause the flooding of millions of acres, and numerous towns and cities, and possibly another New Orelans bases crisis.

It seems Obama has picked the lesser of two evils: i.e., protect the oil: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Friday it anticipates opening the Morganza Spillway on the western bank of the swollen Mississippi River to divert floodwaters into the Atchafalaya River basin and protect Baton Rouge, Louisiana, New Orleans and refineries from flooding.

The Corps of Engineers had been planning next week to open the spillway, about 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Baton Rouge, but could do so as soon as Saturday as high water continues making its way downriver." On the other hand, opening the spillway will also lead to plant impairments: " Opening the spillway will disrupt operations at Alon USA Energy's 80,000-bpd Krotz Springs, Louisiana, refinery. An Alon spokesman said on Friday that the plant was operating normally as crews continued to build a second levee to prevent Atchafalaya River waters from flooding the refinery within 10 to 14 days of the Morganza opening.

Heart - Black

More Dead Dolphins Wash Up On Orange Beach Alabama

"Our entire food chain within the gulf of Mexico is affected, there's no denying that."


Question

British Parakeet Boom is a Mystery, and a Mess

Parakeet
© DIck Daniels / WikimediaRose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) at Birds of Eden aviary, South Africa.

Stanwell, England - The evening started peacefully enough at Long Lane Recreation Park in the western suburbs of London. But just before sunset, five bright green missiles streaked through the air toward a row of poplars at the park's edge.

Within minutes, hundreds more of the squawking birds - in formations 10, 20, 30 strong - had passed above the tidy homes and a cricket club, whizzing toward their nightly roost.

Native to the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa, the rose-ringed parakeet is enjoying a population explosion in many London suburbs, turning a once-exotic bird into a notorious pest that awakens children, monopolizes garden bird feeders and might even threaten British crops.

One rough estimate put the population in Britain at 30,000 a few years ago, up from only 1,500 in 1995. Researchers at Imperial College London are now trying a more scientific census through its Project Parakeet, which enlisted volunteer birders around the country for simultaneous counts on a recent Sunday evening.

Evil Rays

It's Official- Cell Phones are Killing Bees

Image
© Unknown
Scientists may have found the cause of the world's sudden dwindling population of bees - and cell phones may be to blame. Research conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland has shown that the signal from cell phones not only confuses bees, but also may lead to their death. Over 83 experiments have yielded the same results. With virtually most of the population of the United States (and the rest of the world) owning cell phones, the impact has been greatly noticeable.

Led by researcher Daniel Favre, the alarming study found that bees reacted significantly to cell phones that were placed near or in hives in call-making mode. The bees sensed the signals transmitted when the phones rang, and emitted heavy buzzing noise during the calls. The calls act as an instinctive warning to leave the hive, but the frequency confuses the bees, causing them to fly erratically. The study found that the bees' buzzing noise increases ten times when a cell phone is ringing or making a call - aka when signals are being transmitted, but remained normal when not in use.

Alarm Clock

US: New Orlean's Audubon Zoo, located along Mississippi River, has no plans to evacuate animals

While keeping a watchful eye on the nearby Mississippi River, officials at the Audubon Zoo say they have no plans to evacuate animals in the event of rising water.

There are plans in place for emergencies such as a flood, according to spokeswoman Sarah Burnette. However, she said those plans do not currently include evacuating animals.

Burnette pointed to disaster plans put into effect during Hurricane Katrina.

"In the hurricane, we gave many of the animals 'open house' so they could decide whether to be in the exhibit areas or in their nighthouse areas," she said in an email.