Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Kenya: Mysterious 'bearded' antelope photographed

Bearded antelope
© Paolo TorchioThis strange, bearded antelope was seen just a few weeks ago in Kenya. It's not clear why this young creature looks so different from its kin.
When Paolo Torchio set out across Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve a few weeks ago, it was just a typical Thursday morning for the veteran wildlife photographer, who has lived and worked in Kenya for two decades.

Torchio is intimately acquainted with the beasts that wander the nearly 600-square-mile game reserve, so he was astonished to see a terrier's face poking out of the tall grass.

"I was wondering, what is this dog doing?" Torchio said. "And when it came out from the grass, that was a surprise."

The hirsute creature that emerged was clearly not a dog. The animal had all the markings of a Thomson's gazelle (a type of antelope) - but, like that old song from "Sesame Street," one of these kids was not like the others. This animal was covered with a strange, thick coat of hair, in stark contrast to the sleek Thomson's gazelles in its company.

"The funny aspect was that it wasn't affecting the relations with the other gazelles," Torchio said in a phone interview. "There was no problem between her and the other one."

Torchio crept alongside the shaggy creature for 15 minutes, snapping pictures, but eventually the spooked animal sped away. The Italian photographer spent the next five days trying to find the gazelle, but to no avail.

Experts are not quite sure what to make of the fluffy little gazelle, especially since Torchio's photographs are the only known example of such a beast.

Bizarro Earth

Over 50,000 Evacuated in China Flooding

Image
© Agence France-PresseOver 50,000 evacuated in China flooding
More than 50,000 people have been evacuated after a swollen river flooded a city in northeastern China on Saturday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier reports said 10,000 people had been evacuated.

Torrential rains caused flooding along the Yalu River that marks the border between China and North Korea.

Floodwaters cut off transport and communication links in Dandong City, destroyed over 200 houses and left at least three people missing, local officials said.

Bizarro Earth

Thousands Flee As Fresh Floods Hit Pakistan

Image
© NASAThis NASA image shows the severity of flooding in Sukkur city in Sindh province
Thousands more people in Pakistan have been forced to flee their homes as fresh flooding has submerged dozens more towns and villages in the south.

Around 150,000 Pakistanis in Sindh province have been evacuated to higher ground because of the swollen Indus River, a government spokesman said.

Officials expect the floodwaters to recede nationwide in the next few days as the last river torrents empty into the Arabian Sea.

But survivors may find little left when they return home - the waters have washed away houses, roads, bridges and crops, and leaving millions homeless and penniless.

In Sindh, there are already 600,000 people in relief camps set up during the flooding.

Bizarro Earth

Big Quakes More Frequent Than Thought on San Andreas Fault

Earthquakes have rocked the powerful San Andreas fault that splits California far more often than previously thought, according to UC Irvine and Arizona State University researchers who have charted temblors there stretching back 700 years.

The findings, to be published in the Sept. 1 issue of Geology, conclude that large ruptures have occurred on the Carrizo Plain portion of the fault - about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles - as often as every 45 to 144 years. But the last big quake was in 1857, more than 150 years ago.

UCI researchers said that while it's possible the fault is experiencing a natural lull, they think it's more likely a major quake could happen soon.

"If you're waiting for somebody to tell you when we're close to the next San Andreas earthquake, just look at the data," said UCI seismologist Lisa Grant Ludwig, principal investigator on the study.

Sun

Sublime Space Station Auroras

On August 13th a minor solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. The impact did not trigger widespread displays of auroras on Earth, but the view from orbit was sublime:

Image
© NASA

NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock took the picture from the International Space Station and quickly tweeted it down to Earth, captioned by lyrics from the Don McLean ballad "Vincent" (aka "Starry Starry Night"). Note how the planet directly below the auroras is partially sunlit. The auroras are nevertheless visible against the black, starry backdrop beyond the planet's limb. The ISS is a nice place for sky watching!

Bizarro Earth

Papua New Guinea: Earthquake Magnitude 6.4 - Bougainville Region

PNG Quake_200812
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 17:56:19 UTC

Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 03:56:19 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
6.559°S, 154.088°E

Depth:
50.9 km (31.6 miles)

Region:
BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Distances:
165 km (105 miles) WSW of Arawa, Bougainville, PNG

260 km (160 miles) SSE of Taron, New Ireland, PNG

825 km (510 miles) ENE of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

2325 km (1440 miles) N of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

Cloud Lightning

China Train Falls into River as Floods Hit Bridge

At least two carriages of a passenger train fell into a river Thursday after floods knocked out a bridge in southwestern China, but there were no fatalities, state media reported.

The accident happened in Guanghan, a city about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, when floods loosened piers on the Shitingjiang bridge, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The website of the provincial propaganda department said no fatalities were reported by railway officials.

The train was traveling from Xi'an in northwestern Shaanxi province to Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province.

Cloud Lightning

Tennessee rain washes away home, derails train

flood bridge out in TN
© AP Photo/Erik SchelzigWorkers remove debris from a bridge washed out by flooding in the Double Springs community outside Cookeville, Tenn., on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010
Drenching rains swept away a home, trapped drivers in their vehicles and derailed a train in Tennessee, and forecasters expected more heavy showers to fall Thursday over the Southeast.

The downpours Wednesday hit some of the same parts of Middle Tennessee that were inundated with severe flooding in May, but forecasters don't foresee it wreaking the same kind of havoc. Portions of Middle and East Tennessee as well as areas of southern Kentucky and western North Carolina and Virginia have been under flash flood warnings or watches.

Much of the damage in Tennessee was in Putnam County, where a home floated off its foundation and a train carrying sand derailed when the tracks were washed away. Roads were washed out and some minor bridges were affected, but no injuries or deaths were reported, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy Heidt said.

Arrow Down

Almost 60 Pilot Whales Die Stranded on New Zealand Beach

Image
© AlamyWhale beachings are not uncommon along the New Zealand coast and more than 100 pilot whales died in a stranding in the South Island last December
Nearly 60 pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a beach in New Zealand according to conservation officials.

The mass stranding of a pod of 73 whales was discovered mid-morning. Carolyn Smith from the Department of Conservation said the whales probably beached overnight, which was why so many died before a rescue operation was launched.

The area around Kaitaia beach, in the far north of New Zealand, was experiencing heavy rain and wind which Ms Smith said helped the surviving whales by ensuring they did not dry out but made it difficult for rescuers preparing to refloat the mammals.

At least five people are needed to work with each of the whales, which weigh up to 1.5 tonnes.

Whale beachings are not uncommon along the New Zealand coast and more than 100 pilot whales died in a stranding in the South Island last December.

Binoculars

Germany: Father Saves Toddler from Zoo's Bear Enclosure

Image
© ReutersAsiatic black bears
A Dutch man came face-to-face with an angry bear when he climbed into the enclosure at a German zoo to rescue his three-year-old daughter.

While her parents were looking away, the little girl, who was visiting the area with her parents and young sibling, climbed a three-foot-high fence in the Luenebach zoo in south-western Germany and tumbled into the animal's pen, police said on Thursday.

Though her father quickly climbed after her, the 28-year-old Asiatic black bear had already hit the girl's forehead, injuring her, police said in a statement.

The man succeeded in carrying his daughter to safety, but not before the bear injured his leg, according to police, who did not release the names of the family involved.

Other visitors who were watching the "dramatic situation" called the rescue squad and the girl was flown to a hospital in Trier, police said. The father was also hospitalized, but their wounds were not life-threatening.