A carcass of a large 16-metre whale has been found in the outer Marlborough Sounds.
The dead whale was found caught up in a mussel farm in Port Ligar, near d'Urville Island, but was likely dead before it got tangled.
Department of Conservation spokeswoman Trish Grant said the carcass was that of a sei whale or a Bryde's whale, but DNA tests would confirm the species.
DOC received reports of the whale carcass on Monday.
Skin samples were taken from the whale for DNA analysis to help identify its exact species, Grant said.
The Philippines' most active volcano ejected a huge column of lava fragments, ash and smoke in a thunderous explosion Monday, sending thousands of villagers back to evacuation centers and prompting a warning that a violent eruption may be imminent.
The midday explosion sent superheated lava, molten rocks and steam between 3.5 to 5 kilometers (2 to 3 miles) into the blue sky, and then some cascaded down Mount Mayon's slopes and shrouded nearby villages in darkness, Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology and other officials said.
From the crater, the deadly debris billowed about three kilometers (1.8 miles) down on the southern plank of Mayon toward a no-entry danger zone. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, officials said.
Comment: UPDATE (25.01.18)
Mayon volcano, which has been erupting for almost two weeks in the Philippines, still appears to be swelling with magma under the surface, scientists said earlier today. More than 74,000 people are staying in dozens of emergency shelters as the volcano continues to belch lava, ash and superheated gas and rocks. Officials are worried the eruption may last months, affecting the education, health and livelihoods of people in its shadow.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said tremors, pyroclastic flows and emissions of sulfur dioxide were detected Wednesday and early Thursday. Lava erupting up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) high was spilling down the slope, with one lava flow extending 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the crater. Ash plumes still rising up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) high have spread ash onto farms and towns nearby, darkening the skies and forcing villagers to wear masks.
The institute said GPS and other measurements indicated a sustained swelling or inflation of the mountain surface, which was consistent with magma rising and creating pressure. The alert level for Mayon remains four on a scale of five, indicating a violent eruption may be imminent.
This week is the hottest week of the year in Antarctica, and the entire continent is below freezing. In the map below, I have masked out all above freezing temperatures.
The Twin Cities and southern Minnesota refilled their snow deficit when the largest snowstorm in six years dumped a foot of snow in many locations.
The 12.4 inches recorded at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Monday brought the seasonal total to 25.3 inches, cutting the shortfall nearly in half. Normally, 30.6 inches has accumulated by this time of year, the National Weather Service said.
That had many residents spending Tuesday digging out and waiting for plows to clear the way.
Fears of tough road conditions prompted Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburban school districts to call off classes. In Edina, officials canceled school after assessing road conditions, staff availability and a shortage of substitute teachers, according to an e-mail sent to families and students.
Seine and Rhine among rivers that have flooded, and while current drier conditions have offered respite, more rain is forecast from Thursday
The Seine in Paris has breached its banks in several areas after weeks of heavy rains in and around the French capital, reaching 4.82m above normal at 6am on Tuesday.
The river is expected to reach the 2016 high-water level of 6.10m by the end of the week.
Volcanic eruptions in Japan, the Philippines and Bali. Massive earthquakes in Alaska and Indonesia.
The rash of natural disasters over the past two days have one common denominator: they all occurred along the so-called Ring of Fire, a sprawling horseshoe-shape geological disaster zone.
Comment: A geologist from the US Geological Survey says these events are not connected - yet they all took place in rapid succession in the Ring of Fire, which is constantly active. So what he actually means is that he doesn't know if they are directly connected - although evidently they are connected by the Ring of Fire itself.
While we appreciate that he is trying to be cautious with his words, he should at least acknowledge the obvious: That the events are at least indirectly connected, and that it is possible - even likely - that there is also a direct connection given that they all happened within two days. And if so, what could that mean?
Shaken: Earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck 64 miles off the coast, at depth of 40 miles
An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck off Japan on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which hit 103 km (64 miles) northeast of the island of Honshu, at a depth of 64 km (40 miles).
Japan lies in the 'Ring of Fire', a line of seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
In the past two days, several major earthquakes have been recorded on the Ring of Fire, including off the coasts of Alaska and Indonesia.
On Tuesday morning, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck some 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, US.
A tsunami warning has been posted for the coast of British Columbia and Alaska following a powerful earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake has a preliminary reading of 8.2 and struck 278 kilometres southeast of Kodiak, Alaska, at a depth of about 10 kilometres.
Environment Canada says the tsunami warning covers the Central Coast and Northeast Vancouver Island coast, including Kitimat Bella Coola and Port Hardy
The weather agency says people in coastal areas are at risk and should move to high ground now and heed further instruction from local authorities.
Scientists have once again set up a mock Arctic base camp to educate world leaders about man-made global warming at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Climate scientists hope their mock camp illustrates how global warming could impact the Arctic, but the "Gore effect" may make it harder to get the message across. Davos has seen frigid temperatures along with about six feet of snow in the last six days.
Comment: It's unsurprising that participants in the event were seemingly unaware of the irony. Global warming - buried in snow. What's wrong with this picture?
Paul Dorian sends word that there's a change brewing in the Arctic that may result in a massive and extended cold outbreak for the Northern hemisphere, much like what we saw in late December and early January when record breaking cold swamped the eastern USA. He writes:
Overview We are now experiencing warmer-than-normal weather conditions in the eastern US and there will be mild spells right into the first week of February, but the signs are increasing for a return to a cold pattern next month and it may very well last for an extended period of time. The MJO is a tropical disturbance that propagates around the global tropics and it will be transitioning into "phases" during the month of February that are conducive to colder-than-normal weather in the eastern US. In addition, stratospheric warming will unfold over the next week or so in the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere and this can set off a chain of events in the atmosphere that ultimately results in colder-than-normal weather for the eastern US. There are other signals as well that support the notion of a return to cold in the eastern US and it very well could stick around for awhile.
00Z Euro forecast of the MJO index from today (lower arrow) to February 6th (upper arrow) which is displayed on a day-to-day basis by the green line.
Comment: If this develops into a another deep freeze blast, it will be the 3rd time this winter that has happened. See here and here. It seems that we are inching ever closer to beginnings of an ice age. See also:
Comfort, the prevailing word for Progress, in its many different aspects and to varying degrees, forms a sufficient aim for the majority of civilized men of our era. Under these conditions of our times, man is only open to divine values in carefully measured doses, kept within limits so that they do not trouble his bourgeois conscience or threaten the material well-being he has acquired.
- Boris Mouravieff
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Comment: UPDATE (25.01.18)
Mayon volcano, which has been erupting for almost two weeks in the Philippines, still appears to be swelling with magma under the surface, scientists said earlier today. More than 74,000 people are staying in dozens of emergency shelters as the volcano continues to belch lava, ash and superheated gas and rocks. Officials are worried the eruption may last months, affecting the education, health and livelihoods of people in its shadow.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said tremors, pyroclastic flows and emissions of sulfur dioxide were detected Wednesday and early Thursday. Lava erupting up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) high was spilling down the slope, with one lava flow extending 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the crater. Ash plumes still rising up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) high have spread ash onto farms and towns nearby, darkening the skies and forcing villagers to wear masks.
The institute said GPS and other measurements indicated a sustained swelling or inflation of the mountain surface, which was consistent with magma rising and creating pressure. The alert level for Mayon remains four on a scale of five, indicating a violent eruption may be imminent.
See also: String of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions hits Ring of Fire - at least five events in two days