Earth Changes

Shiveluch volcano in Russia spews ashes over nearby village

The Moscow Times
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:22 UTC

A volcano in Russia's Kamchatka region has spewed ashes, covering a local village with a thin layer of soot, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on Wednesday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The ash cloud from the Shiveluch Volcano reached 6,500 meters above sea level, the ministry said in a statement, RIA Novosti reported. The volcano is 3,283 meters high.

Winds carried ashes nearly 50 kilometers east of the volcano, reaching the village of Ust-Kamchatsk, where a 1-millimeter layer of ash fallout was registered, the report said.

The incident presented no hazards to local residents' health, the report said.

Triple eruption of ash, smoke recorded at Mexico's Colima volcano

Adam Justice
International Business Times
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 20:18 UTC

Mexicos Colima or Fire volcano roared to life, spewing columns of gas and ash into the sky early on 14 December. The first explosion took place in the early morning before sunrise and it was followed by another blast at 8.06am local time.

The National Civil Protection Coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said on his Twitter account that the column of ash and smoke rose 3,000 meters over the crater, before it was pulled by winds heading southeast. A third outburst took place at 11.41am local time, with the column rising to 1,500 meters.

Located in the southwestern Mexican state of Colima, the Fire Volcano has been exhibiting continuous activity since 9 July. Officially known as the Colima Volcano, it was previously active in January and February of 2015 and is part of the Pacifics Ring of Fire.

Mexico contains over 3,000 volcanos, but only 14 are considered active. Major eruptions in Mexican history have included the 1953 eruption of the Paricutin Volcano in Michoacan, the 1982 eruption of Tacana Volcano in Chiapas and the 1986 eruption of the Colima Volcano.

Oklahoma reports surge in earthquakes during 2015

Dana Branham
The Oklahoma Daily
Mon, 14 Dec 2015 20:50 UTC

As 2015 nears its end, 850 earthquakes of magnitude three or greater have stirred the state of Oklahoma. Compared to 584 of the same magnitude in 2014 and 109 in 2013, the trend is clear: earthquakes are on the rise.

While Oklahoma's spike in earthquakes has been heavily publicized, Jeremy Boak, director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey, said it's less widely known that the state has been taking steps toward combating the pattern of induced seismicity.

Comment: Putting "some" restriction? Again this Boak person sounds like he's doing damage control on behalf of unspecified interests in the oil and gas industry.

Strange cloud formation scares residents in Santiago del Estero, Argentina

Kara O'Neill
Daily Mirror, UK
Tue, 15 Dec 2015 19:12 UTC

A strange cloud formation has left residents in Argentina terrified after it rolled over a city - then suddenly disappeared minutes later.

The video has been uploaded to YouTube by Diario El Liberal and has had more than 3,000 views since December Sunday.

One journalist, who witnessed the bizarre weather phenomenon , told local media: "It was a matter of two or three minutes from when it formed in the sky to when it disappeared.

"We believe that this may have occurred when there was a sudden drop in temperature over Santiago del Estero.

Intense, more frequent explosions, new lava flows at Guatemala's Fuego volcano

Elena Ugrin
The Watchers
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 18:46 UTC

Another phase of strong, increased activity was observed at the Fuego volcano, Guatemala on December 14, 2015, Volcano Discovery reported. Frequent, intense explosions and ash plumes accompanied with loud shock waves marked the 13th paroxysmal episode of the 2015 volcano activity.

Two new lava flows were observed at the Fuego volcano, accompanying intense and frequent explosions on the evening of December 14 (local time). Between 4 and 6 explosions per hour were reported with ash plumes, followed by loud shock waves, rising up to 1 km (3 280.8 feet) above the volcano summit. New lava flows were 800 m (2 624.7 feet) long and have started to head towards the Santa Teresa on west flank, and Trinidad on south flank drainages.

The reported event is the 13th paroxysmal episode of this year, and should the activity of the volcano increase further, dangerous pyroclastic flows could take place over the coming hours or days. Residents have been advised to avoid the river beds and valleys at the feet of the mountain at all times.

INSIVUMEH reported that on November 29, 2015 activity at Fuego increased significantly, characterized by large and strong explosions, ash plumes, and lava flows. Ash plumes rose as high as 2.2 km (7 217.8 feet) above the crater and drifted 40 km (24.9 miles) W and SW. Lava fountains rose 500 m (1 640.4 feet) above the crater, feeding four lava flows that traveled 3-4 km (1.9-2.5 miles) down the Ceniza, Trinidad, Las Lajas, and Santa Teresa drainages.

More than just trash ... How chemicals that come with plastic pollution harm animals & you

Orietta C. Estrada
Onegreenplanet.org
Mon, 14 Dec 2015 18:06 UTC

It's no secret. We have severely polluted our oceans with plastic. Yes, we are all to blame. In fact, analysis of 17 global data sets by scientist show that all oceans, worldwide, are negatively impacted in some way by humans — no ocean has been spared the hand of man. How did this happen? It all (mostly) started on land and from mismanaged garbage.

Other factors to consider (this is where the "mostly" fits in) are cargo lost at sea "The Great Shoe Spill of 1990" (yes, that happened) and the "Lego Spill of 1997" (yes, that also happened), and catastrophic events (e.g., tsunamis and hurricanes). All of these events are actors in delivering land-based items to the sea - but by and large, the blame falls on us all.

Our collective trash accumulation is problematic for marine ecosystems, especially when it comes to plastic. Scientists estimate that there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are a float in our oceans worldwide. It's time to claim our independence from plastic and take responsibility for what enters our oceans.

Comment: More disturbing information about the abundance of trash in the world's oceans:

Daily snowfall record broken in Denver, Colorado

Chris Spears
denver.cbslocal.com
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:07 UTC

The biggest winter storm to hit Denver so far this season has also broken a daily snowfall record for the city.

As of 5 p.m. the official measurement since midnight at Denver International Airport was 7.7″.

That is both the biggest one day snowfall so far this season and a new record for December 15.

The previous daily record for Dec. 15 was 2.8″ set in 1897.

The snowfall record for Dec 15th in Denver is only 2.8" set in 1897. 3-6" expected along the I-25 Corridor. #COwx pic.twitter.com/cClpNx0RQX

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 15, 2015

Lightning bolt kills 4, injures another 10 in Zambia

znbc.co.zm
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 14:59 UTC

Lightning has killed four people while 10 others are battling for their lives at Mwami Adventist Hospital in Vubwi in Eastern Province.

The incident happened on Tuesday around 10:00 hours in Mchenjeza area at a Catholic Out Station.

Vubwi District Commissioner, Enelesi Banda confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with ZNBC News.

Ms. Banda explained that the incident happened when the victims were carrying out some works at the out station.

She said survivors are out of danger and may be discharged by the end of the day.

Great white shark attacks fishermen on boat in New South Wales, Australia

The New Daily
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 14:19 UTC

Two NSW fishermen have had a harrowing encounter with one of earth's biggest ocean predators, with their boat bearing the chomp marks to prove it.

Stephen Crust, 63, and son Andrew Crust, 36, were fishing on Sunday (13 December) when a white pointer at least half the length of their boat attacked, supposedly unprovoked, prompting fears for local residents.

The "bloody big" beast bit and repeatedly rammed the craft with its head near Pulbah Island in Lake Macquarie, NSW, the son told The Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate.

Massive floods and sinkhole close roads in Washington

Daily World
Wed, 16 Dec 2015 13:45 UTC

© Grays Harbor County
A sink hole that developed on South Bank Road south of Elma may take the county several weeks to repair. The sink hole comes right up to the road, leaving about a 20-foot drop-off from the shoulder, said County Engineer Russ Esses.

County road crews have been busy over the last few days, repairing damage from relentless rain storms over the past week.

The county's main concern at this point is a portion of South Bank Road South of Elma just east of Lambert Road, where a failed pipe has caused a sinkhole that opened at the edge of the road, County Engineer Russ Esses told The Daily World Monday afternoon. He said the county called in a contractor to open up the damaged pipe and stem flooding caused by the pipe's failure, but until the Chehalis River level drops and repair work can commence, the road will remain closed.

There is a detour on local access roads, but Esses said it's not suitable for log truck traffic or heavy hauling.

"Right now, we're waiting for the river to drop," Esses said. "We're hoping ... to get the road open in the next few weeks."

Comment: The weather has been getting out of control in the U.S. Also see: