Thirteen members of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) were trapped and in danger of freezing to death when their base, Halley VI, lost power. Power went down on July 30th and is now partially restored. The BAS waited to report the incident until power came back up, however now reports that the incident was so serious that all science activities have been suspended and emergency contingency plans to abandon some of Halley's eight modules and attempt to shelter in a remaining few have been prepared.

The incident is particularly serious, as the station is likely completely cut off from rescue for months.

The incident occurred during the height of the Antarctic winter while southern sea ice is at or near record highs (Marc Morano has details at Climate Depot).

One Survey member, Anthony Lister, managed to send a out a "tweet" when power came back up, reporting that the outage occurred while the station was experiencing record cold temperatures of -55.4° C (-67.72° F). (h/t Rai news)

The makings of a mass-level extinction event in the world's oceans appear disturbingly imminent, as marine species after marine species washes ashore on the Pacific West Coast. Ailing seals, dead fish, missing pelicans and much more are being reported in the media as scientists struggle to figure out what, exactly, is causing entire marine ecosystems to suffer and die, seemingly inexplicably.

Much of the carnage is being reported in California, where baby sea lions in distress have been washing ashore in record numbers. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that, for the second year in a row, more baby sea lions than ever are having trouble surviving after being abandoned by their mothers, the direct result of a lack of food.

According to reports, a record 367 California sea lions were admitted to the Marine Mammal Center near San Francisco between January and May, which is nearly five times the normal average. In Southern California, more than 600 sea lions, or twice the normal average, have been taken in so far this year. This is on top of the 1,600 that were treated last year.

"Sea lions are living and feeding on the same resource[s] as humans are," stated Shawn Johnson, director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center, to WSJ. "If they are starting to have problems, that shows there could be a problem with the ocean."

A little further north, orcas and beluga whales are suffering similar fates. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says widespread pollution from oil and gas drilling has caused populations of both species to dwindle significantly throughout the past several decades.

Also suffering along the Alaskan coast are Alaskan ice seals, more than 250 of which have developed a mystery disease that often results in death. Experts have postulated that toxic algal growth along coastal waters may be to blame, and this a result of excess sun exposure due to continued ozone depletion.

"In all, the federal government has declared 38 'unusual mortality events' involving marine mammal species since 2003," wrote Jim Carlton for WSJ. "That is nearly twice the number of events recorded from 1991--when the animals were put under greater federal protection--to 2002."

Over on the other side of the country, hundreds of manatees and about 80 bottlenose dolphins were discovered stranded in Florida's Indian River Lagoon between 2012 and 2013. And in South Carolina in 2013, as many as 40,000 menhaden fish, which measure between six and eight inches in length, washed up dead between DeBordieu Beach and Pawleys Island, just one week after thousands of the same type of fish washed up along North Carolina's Masonboro Island.

One year prior, thousands of dead starfish washed up along the same beaches.

The body of a two-headed dolphin has washed up on a beach in Turkey this week.

The conjoined corpse was seen floating onto the shore in Izmir on Turkey's west coast on Monday by sports teacher Tugrul Metin.

The dead dolphin was believed to be a one-year-old calf measuring just 3.2ft in length.

It had two heads but merged to share just one tail.

Mr Metin, 39, said: 'I noticed the dolphin in the sea and watched as it washed on to the beach.

A Florida 9-year old knew just what to do when he had a too-close-for comfort encounter with a nine-foot, 400-pound alligator.

"I just immediately hit it and I let it go a little so I pry its jaw open," James Barney Jr. said.

Sitting in his hospital bed with only minor cuts, Barney said some quick thinking saved his life when he was attacked by an alligator Thursday in Saint Cloud, Fla.

"First I thought someone was just playing with me and I didn't know what happened. I reached down to go grab it and I felt its jaw, I felt its teeth," Barney said.

Valley fever has been around for more than 100 years, and disproportionately affects poor farmworkers. For some, it becomes a lifelong illness, and doctors don't know why.
Last fall, Kirt Emery was on his motorcycle, cruising up the 99 freeway over the mountains from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield, California, when he saw the dust storm materializing in front of him.

Visibility was low, but he wanted to get through it as quickly as he could, so he held his breath and hammered his bike up to 100 miles per hour.

As the head of epidemiology for the Bakersfield Public Health Services Department, Emery has spent the past two decades studying dust like this - and avoiding it at all costs. He knows all too well what could happen to him if he got sick: the expensive medications with their nasty side affects, the uncertainty of whether he could be ill for the rest of his life.

It's been more than 20 years since he moved to Bakersfield, and so far, he's still healthy. That makes him one of the lucky ones. For many people living in places like Bakersfield, and throughout much of California's Central Valley, dust can be deadly.

Coccidioidomycosis, also known as cocci, or valley fever, is a fungal disease endemic to the soils of the Southwest, in places like Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. In California, it's rampant across the Central Valley, an area just slightly smaller than West Virginia that grows about a third of the country's produce. About 30 percent of all valley fever cases nationwide occur in the Central Valley each year.

Torrential rain, devastating floods and supersonic winds are expected to blight the landscape as the Met Office urges communities to brace themselves for the worst. The Government body is on standby and has warned Brits of "dangerous" and "disruptive" 80mph gales.

A spokesman for the Met Office said this evening: "We are watching very carefully and the forecast is constantly under review and subject to change." Former BBC forecaster Michael Fish said air pressure at the centre of the storm is now dangerously close to last year's devastating St Jude's Day Storm, which killed five people.

Michael, 70, who notoriously told BBC viewers not to worry hours before the Great Storm of 1987, said yesterday: "There is some really nasty weather possible over the weekend. "We are in for almost autumnal weather and the message would be to batten down the hatches."

A powerful typhoon is raging through southwestern Japan, prompting the country's meteorological agency to issue the highest red-level weather alert. At least 6 people have been injured and half a million locals were urged to evacuate.

Typhoon Halong, which has already been unofficially classified as a super typhoon, has caused rains and winds of up to 198 kilometers (123 miles) per hour.

As of 3pm on Saturday, Halong was traveling north-northeast some 160 km south-southwest of Cape Ashizuri in Kochi Prefecture at 150 kph. The maximum sustained wind speed near its center was 126 kph, the Japan Times reported.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued the highest red-level weather alert, which means that the storm poses a threat to life and could inflict massive damage.

Strong winds have already left six people injured, one of them seriously, in Miyazaki prefecture in southern Japan.

A Plymouth man is shocked that he survived a lightning strike Wednesday. "I just saw a big flash," Bruno DiFilippo told WBZ-TV a day later. "I look down and I saw these blue sparks come out of my ankles and it went about five, ten feet."

The lightning bolt went in his shoulder and out his ankles as he was holding a hose outside his home. His girlfriend witnessed the terrifying scene. "All of a sudden I see him kind of jolt, his eyes turn bright red, he lit up like a Christmas tree," Lisa Rengucci said. "He shook just a tad, and he's talking the whole time, and he says, 'I think I was just zapped!'"

EMTs took Bruno to the hospital after the lightning strike. Even though the electricity shot out of his ankles, it left a mark only for a short time.

The diagnosis? "I am a really lucky man," he said. Asked what kind of vitamins he takes, he told WBZ: "Espresso."

The summer of 2014 has been one of the mildest on the books - and could be the first summer in a decade without a heatwave.

"It wasn't clear if it was going to be a hot or a cool summer," said National Weather Service meteorologist David Stark. "We started out the year very cool and it seems like we just continued that. It doesn't look like we have any heat waves in the near future."

Instead of searching for the skimpiest outfits to battle the sizzling sun, New Yorkers are reaching for their sweatshirts.

"It's been so much colder this summer," said Susan Vartholomatos, 51, who broke out her bikini for a beach day Friday afternoon. "In the morning, when I go out to my terrace, I need a sweatshirt."

Vartholomatos said she wishes it was hotter, adding "I'd take heat and humidity over snow any day."

Only four days have hit 90 degrees this summer, three in July and one in August, with the hottest temperature on the books clocking in at 91.

South Florida is in for a celestial treat this weekend when the second of three supermoons this summer will be visible.

The full moon on August 10th isn't like any other full moon we've seen this year. This is a "Supermoon," the closest and largest full moon in 2014.

When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth, it becomes a "Supermoon," and will be up to 31,000 miles closer to Earth than other full moons this year.

According to NASA, this full moon will be 14-percent closer and 30-percent brighter than other full moons of the year.

The scientific term for the phenomenon is "perigee moon" or the point when the Moon is closest to the Earth in its monthly orbit.

The moon will appear much larger than normal, especially on the horizon.