Earth ChangesS


Attention

Mysterious illness hits at least 100 gannets on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sarah Betancourt
necn.com
Wed, 07 Jun 2017 12:02 UTC
Volunteer finds Gannet
© New England Wildlife CenterVolunteer finds Gannet
Wildlife veterinarians have been responding to an unexplained "die-off" of Northern Gannets on Massachusetts' South Shore and Cape Cod.

Gannets are washing up on local beaches, seriously ill, or already dead.

Scientists are stumped over what can be causing the illness. A wildlife technician with the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates about 100 northern gannets have been affected overall.

The New England Wildlife Center (NEWC) has been scrambling to figure out the mystery. NEWC trying to quickly pinpoint the cause because it "is critical to protecting the fragile eco-system on Cape Cod," explained Dr. Greg Mertz, veterinarian and CEO of NEWC on the NEWC website.
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Snowflake Cold

Southern Hemisphere cooling trend is now apparent

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Wed, 07 Jun 2017 07:09 UTC
Adelaide coldest start to winter
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
With the Southern Hemisphere winter getting underway we need to look back at trends to see the future of the coming year. David Archibald has today given the most up to date information on our Sun entering a grand solar minimum and the State of the Sun, now with the past 5 winters under our belts we can look for trends. I present to you the trend of a cooling Southern Hemisphere.


Comment: See also:

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Cloud Precipitation

Video captures microburst over Austin, Texas

Jim Spencer
KXAN
Tue, 06 Jun 2017 18:58 UTC
microburst over Austin, Texas
© YouTube/KXAN (screen capture)
Tree limb damage and a destroyed billboard on North Lamar Boulevard Monday were the result of a weather phenomenon known as a "microburst," and it was captured on video.

Downburst, or on a smaller scale, microburst winds are not rare in Texas thunderstorms, but capturing them in a video time lapse is. That is exactly what Victor Ituarte did while heavy thunderstorms moved over the middle of Austin late Monday afternoon.

His video captured the dramatic moment the collapsing pocket of cold air and rain rushed to the ground, fanning out at speeds of 40-50 mph.


Comment: On Sunday June 4th an incredible downburst engulfed Dallas, Texas.

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Tornado2

Rare waterspout recorded in waters off Beihai, S.W. China

CGTN
YouTube
Wed, 07 Jun 2017 06:16 UTC
China waterspout
© YouTube/CGTN (screen capture)
A rare waterspout was spotted off the coast of Beihai City, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Wednesday, in a jaw-dropping scene that fascinated residents. Witnesses were quick to take out their phones and record the first video footage of a vortex of water swirling near the city. The whirlwind lasted for about ten minutes.

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Camera

Dazzling 'ring around the sun' seen across New Hampshire


NH1
Mon, 05 Jun 2017 10:10 UTC
Sun halo in New Hampshire
© Kim Nelson CarstensenSun halo in Nashua, New Hampshire
In all parts of the region Sunday afternoon, people saw a glowing ring around the sun.

Between 1 and 3 p.m., dozens of pictures were posted to social media from the seacoast to the Monadnock Region.

This is known as a 'sun halo' and occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals high in the sky. The light is refracted by the ice crystals, and its straight path is bent in a 22 degree angle.
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Moon

Southeastern Queensland residents treated to spectacular halo around the moon

Tobi Loftus
South Burnett Times
Tue, 06 Jun 2017 09:53 UTC
South Burnett, Queensland moon halo
© Tobi Loftus
South Burnett residents were treated to a spectacular sight on Monday night, with a halo forming around the moon.

Professor Michael Drinkwater from the University of Queensland said the phenomenon was created by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. "They're reflecting or bending the light from the moon in our atmosphere," Prof Drinkwater said.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist David Bernard said the cool temperatures on the ground had no effect on the phenomenon, as it is always cold in the upper atmosphere. "We saw Cirrus clouds around Kingaroy, they're very high clouds," he said. "There are some remnants in the sky at the moment.

"What that can do is make the sun or the moon appear to have a halo around it, as long as it is not too thick to block out the light."
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Ice Cube

Oops - Polar ice not receding after all?

Robert W. Felix
Ice Age Now
Sun, 04 Jun 2017 20:53 UTC
NASA satellite measurements show polar ice caps
NASA satellite measurements show the polar ice caps have not retreated at all.
In fact it may be standing at its greatest extent in at least 97 years. Al Gore predicted that the Arctic ice cap could completely disappear by 2014.

However, new data released by NASA reveals that the Earth's polar ice caps have not receded at all since satellite measurements began in 1979.

Considering that the late 1970s marked the end of a 30-year cooling trend, the polar ice caps were quite likely more extensive at that time than they had been since at least the 1920s.

This indicates that not only is polar ice not receding, it is now quite possibly at its greatest extent in at least 97 years.

Thanks to Dale for this link

Comment: See also: Arctic Sea Ice Expanded in May - and in the unlikely place of Barents Sea

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Snowflake

California's endless winter: 8 feet of snow remains on the ground in June

Doyle Rice
USA Today
Wed, 07 Jun 2017 19:33 UTC
Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain
It's an endless winter in the West.

Snow from the barrage of storms that pounded the western mountains over the winter is still on the ground. Many mountains in the Rockies, Sierra and Cascades are packed with at least 8 feet of snow, the National Weather Service said, creating a dream summer for skiers and snowboarders.

The Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is seeing its "best spring conditions in decades ... and will be operating DAILY into August for one of our longest seasons in history," the resort said on its website. "When will this endless winter end? We don't have that answer yet, but we do know that the skiing and riding is all-time right now."

The snowpack throughout the Sierra rivals, and in places exceeds, records set during the massive winter of 1982-83. As of June 6, the amount of snow on the ground in the central Sierra region was twice as much as usual, marking its biggest June snowpack in decades, the California Department of Water Resources said.

Comment: See also: It's June, but there are still massive piles of snow on Trail Ridge Road, Colorado

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Attention

Two farmers killed by elephants as herd storms through village in Tanzania


Coastweek.com
Wed, 07 Jun 2017 19:13 UTC
charging elephants
Two people were killed in a wild elephant attack in the Tanzania central region of Singida on Monday, police said.

Debora Magiligimba, Singida Regional Police Commander, said that a group of 32 elephants stormed the remote village of Musimi in Ikungi District, killing two farmers.

She said the incident occurred on Monday morning around 10 a.m.

The situation caused mayhem in the village as most people were puzzled to learn that the largest mammals were in the village, the regional police chief said.

Magiligimba further said the elephants might have strayed from either Maswa Game Reserve or Kigosi and Kizigo Game Reserves.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills three family members in Rajasthan, India


DNA
Wed, 07 Jun 2017 18:19 UTC
lightning
Three members of a family were killed as lightning struck a tree under which they had taken shelter in the Jagdishpura village falling under the Khanpur police station in Jhalawar district today.

Yogendra Nagar (40), his wife Sugna Bai and their son Lokendra (13), who were working in the fields, had taken shelter under a tree when they were struck by thunderbolts, SHO Khanpur, Surjeet Tholiya, said.

He said that the couple had two sons, of which one died in the natural calamity.

After post-mortem the bodies were handed over for the last rites, the official said.

Source: Press Trust of India

Comment: On the same day in another district of India a man and his daughter were killed by lightning in Rajouri.

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