Earth ChangesS


Attention

New Zealand: Fears Bee Colony Collapse Has Arrived

honeybee
© 1999, MC Cassine
Beekeepers fear an alarming phenomenon that is wiping out bees and leading to reduced food crops around the world has reached New Zealand.

Colony collapse disorder has caused American beekeepers to report losses of up to 90 per cent in some cases, prompting fears of crop shortages.

Honeybees are the planet's most effective pollinators, and industry leaders in New Zealand are calling for an investigation into the problem.

National Beekeepers Association joint chief executive Daniel Paul said reports coming in to the group were causing concern.

In the past six months, it had received reports of significant bee losses - up to 30 per cent in some places.

"It's significant enough to make us sit up and take notice."

Clock

Bolivia: Does the central Andean backarc have the potential for a great earthquake?

Image
© Ben Brooks, SOEST/UHMBen Brooks, 'O. Ozcacha and Todd Ericksen stand next to one of the GPS stations that was used in the study.
The region east of the central Andes Mountains has the potential for larger scale earthquakes than previously expected, according to a new study posted online in the May 8th edition of Nature Geoscience. Previous research had set the maximum expected earthquake size to be magnitude 7.5, based on the relatively quiet history of seismicity in that area. This new study by researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) and colleagues contradicts that limit and instead suggests that the region could see quakes with magnitudes 8.7 to 8.9.

Benjamin Brooks, Associate Researcher in the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at UHM and colleagues used GPS data to map movement of the Earth's surface in the Subandean margin, along the eastern flank of the Andes Mountains. They report a sharp decrease in surface velocity from west to east. "We relate GPS surface movements to the subsurface via deformation models", says Brooks. "In this case, we use a simple elastic model of slip on a buried dislocation (fault) and do millions of Monte Carlo simulations to determine probability distributions for the model parameters (like slip, width, depth, dip, etc.)." From these data, the researchers conclude that the shallow section in the east of the region is currently locked in place over a length of about 100 km, allowing stress to build up as the tectonic plates in the region slowly move against each other. Rupture of the entire locked section by one earthquake could result in shaking of magnitudes up to 8.9, they estimate.

This project is a long-term collaborative effort between UHM, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, the Bolivian Instituto Geografico Militar (IGM), the Bolivian Seismological Observatory (Observatorio San Calixto), the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina), and University of Memphis. The project's general name is the Central and Southern Andes Project (CAP).

Cloud Lightning

Tropical Storm Hits Philippines, 9 Dead

Tropical storm Aere
© Bullit MarquezDeadly storm: An officer directs traffic as motorists negotiate a flooded highway in the Philippines. Tropical storm Aere has killed nine and forced thousands from their homes.
Tropical storm Aere slammed into the eastern Philippine coast on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and landslides that have so far killed nine people and forced thousands to leave their homes.

The Philippines' state weather bureau said Aere made landfall over the island of Catanduanes before noon and moved northwest over the main island of Luzon.

Sun

US: Mother's Day Heat Wave for Kansas

A heat wave in May? It will certainly feel like summer across Kansas this Mother's Day, as afternoon high temperatures soar into the 90s. The warmest temperatures will top out in the middle and upper 90s across southwest Kansas. A high fire danger is expected this afternoon and evening, for western Kansas and critical fire weather warnings have been issued. If you're curious, record highs for today and tomorrow are in the middle and upper 90s across southcentral Kansas, so we will get close (Wichita Mid-Continent Airport record high for today 97 set in 1989).

Igloo

US: Mother's Day Gift? Winter Storm Warnings Issued for Billings Region, Montana

A strong storm system is expected to move across the region late Sunday, bringing rain to lower elevations and lots of snow to the mountains through Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning from midnight Sunday to 6 p.m Tuesday.

From 1 to 2 feet of snow may fall in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains, Bighorn Mountains and Crazy Mountains.

Attention

US: Historic Floods Along the Mississippi

The Mississippi River is a disaster on the move. It's expected to crest in Memphis by Wednesday at or near record highs.


Memphis is getting ready. As the waters of the Mississippi River continue to rise, the city is bracing for a flood the likes of which most have never known.

Cloud Lightning

Hawaii: Heavy Downpours Cause Problems On Oahu

Oahu car crash
© KITV
Heavy rain not only put a damper on some outdoor activities this weekend in Hawaii, on Oahu it also caused problems on the roads Saturday morning.

When the heavy rain came down on the windward side -- problems popped up. Kamehameha Highway near Waikane became waterlogged under several inches of runoff.

When the driver of an SUV came across it, he said he slid out of control and slammed into a guardrail before flipping over.

Cloud Lightning

Thailand: Warnings of Heavy Rains in 8 Provinces

The Meteorological Department on Sunday issued an announcement warning people living in risk areas of eight provinces in the East and the South to brace for heavy rain and possible flash flood from May 8 to 11.

Cloud Lightning

US: Unlucky Arkansas Town Struggles From Tornado and Then Flood

Vilonia tornado damage
© APCleanup begins in a Vilonia neighbourhood after a tornado struck the area, destroying most of the town, killing four who lived there
Vilonia, Arkansas - People are skittish in this small town of 3,000 residents.

On April 25, a nasty tornado touched down, leveling subdivisions, wrapping metal around trees like crepe paper and killing five people. In Black Oak Ranch Estates, more than 100 homes were destroyed.

Less than a week later, on May 1, the town was hit with flash flooding from the nearby Little Palarm Creek caused by heavy rains from a cold front that stalled over the state.

Bizarro Earth

US: Two Stranded Pilot Whales Released Off Cudjoe Key

Stranded Whales
© Associated PressTwo healthy pilot whales are loaded onto a boat in Cudjoe Key to be released at sea.

There was a moment of joy for the tireless marine mammal rescuers working to save a pod of stranded pilot wales Saturday evening in the Keys: two of the seven surviving whales were deemed healthy and released in deep waters nine miles offshore.

Cheers erupted on the barge carrying the whales when the two adult males met in open water, touched each other, and then swam away together.

The whales, each over 12 feet long and more than 1,000 pounds, were first fitted with trackers that should last between 2-3 months.

The pair were part of a pod of 20 pilot whales who inexplicably beached themselves Thursday near Cudjoe Key, about 20 miles east of Key West.

Thirteen of them have died, and the surviving seven have been cared for in a makeshift waist-deep pen, where volunteers continue to cover the whales' exposed bodies in zinc and sheets to protect their sensitive skin from the sun.