Earth ChangesS


Arrow Up

Powerful eruption of Bezymianny volcano, Russia; ash ejected up to 10 km (33,000 feet)


The Watchers
Thu, 09 Mar 2017 07:24 UTC
Russia's Bezymianny volcano eruption
© KB GS RASBezymianny eruption on March 9, 2017.
A powerful eruption took place at Bezymianny volcano, Kamchatka, Russia around 03:00 UTC on March 9, 2017. The Aviation Color Code was first raised to Orange, then to Red.

Tokyo VAAC said at 03:42 UTC, that an eruption at Bezymianny at 03:00 UTC sent ash up to 10 km (33 000 feet) extending N-NW.

According to satellite data by KVERT, ash plume at the height about 7 km (23 000 feet) a.s.l. drifts for about 112 km (70 miles) to the northwest from the volcano, KVERT said at 05:11 UTC. The width of ash plume is about 14 km (8.7 miles). Strong gas-steam activity of the volcano continues, it said.

Strong ash explosions up to 15 km (49 200 feet) a.s.l. could occur at any time. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft.

Based on KB GS RAS (Kamchatka Branch of Geophysical Services, Russian Academy of Sciences) data, KVERT noted that seismicity at Bezymianny began to increase on November 18, 2016. The temperature of a thermal anomaly detected in satellite images increased on December 5, and then significantly increased on December 13, which was likely caused by lava-dome extrusion. The Aviation Color Code was raised to Orange.
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Attention

Shallow magnitude 4.6 earthquake shakes Switzerland; largest for 12 years


The Local Switzerland
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 09:56 UTC
Switzerland earthquake
© Swiss Seismology ServiceThis map shows where Monday's earthquake struck.
An earthquake of magnitude 4.6 on the Richter scale hit central Switzerland on Monday night, the Swiss Seismology Service (SED) has said. The quake struck at 9.12pm at a depth of 5km under the summit of the Ortstock mountain in the canton of Glarus, around 6km west of the town of Linthal, the SED announced on its website.

While no damage was reported, police in the cantons of Glarus and Schwyz told news agency ATS they received dozens of calls from worried residents who felt the quake.

The SED said it received reports that the quake was also felt in the cantons of Bern, Aargau, Zurich and Graubünden.

So many people visited the SED's website after the earthquake that it crashed, said the service.

About a dozen aftershocks were detected after the main event, with more to be expected in the coming days.

"It is unlikely that there will be an earthquake with a similar or even larger magnitude than the main shock but this cannot be excluded," it added.

Comment: More earthquakes than usual shook Switzerland last year

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Arrow Up

Huge new lava outbreak at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii (VIDEO)


The Watchers
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 06:40 UTC
Kilauea volcano lava flow
© Tropical Visions Video, Paradise Helicopters / BigIslandNow.com
A huge new outbreak just above the pali to the south of the Kilauea's 61g flow is sending many lava streams downslope, Tropical Visions videographer Mick Kalber and the Paradise Helicopters crew reported after an overflight on March 2, 2017.

"Truly an amazing amount of activity," Kalber said.

Kilauea's current Aviation Color Code is at Orange, Volcano Alert Level is at Watch, AVO reported late March 7.

The episode 61g lava flow from Puʻu ʻŌʻō is entering the ocean at Kamokuna and is feeding surface flows on and above the pali, and on the coastal plain, inland from the ocean entry, but these lava flows pose no threat to nearby communities at this time. The summit is deflating, and the lava lake was 33 m (~108 feet) below the Overlook crater rim on the morning of March 7 (local time).

Summit tremor continues to fluctuate in response to variations in lava lake spattering. Average daily summit sulfur dioxide emission rates were about 3 000 metric tons/day last week, the most recent time when conditions permitted measurements. After a brief increase, seismicity in the upper East Rift Zone has returned to typical levels over the past day, with just a few small earthquakes.


Comment: There has been increased activity at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano in recent months: Volcanoes are erupting across the planet with 35 currently active which prompts the question: Is something strange happening deep inside the Earth?

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Snowflake

A months' worth of snow fell in just 2 hours on Kamloops, Canada

Brendan Kergin
infotel.ca
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 20:44 UTC
A truck plows a parking lot in Sahali as Kamloops residents dig out of a surprise snow storm March 8, 2017.
© BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.caA truck plows a parking lot in Sahali as Kamloops residents dig out of a surprise snow storm March 8, 2017.
A month's worth of snow fell in about two hours this morning in Kamloops, leading to slow roads and car crashes.

The vast majority of the snow arrived between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau says while only 3 centimetres were reported at the Kamloops Airport, she's seen unverified reports of up to 10 cm around the city.

"There was a line of heavy flurries that swept through the Kamloops and South Thompson area," she says. "It was quite intense and it was actually fairly localized."

The flurries hit Kamloops hard though, with streets slick with snow before crews could clear them. In the downtown area, Coun. Denis Walsh witnessed a pedestrian nearly crushed by a pickup truck after the driver lost control and slide sideways through the intersection at 3 Avenue and Seymour Street and into the building on the northeast corner of the intersection.

"The man pushed off the building," Walsh says. "He got his hand stuck by the truck, otherwise he'd be pasted up against the building."
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Cloud Precipitation

Roads closed, campers evacuated following floods in Auckland and Coromandel, New Zealand; 10 inches of rain in 24 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 19:37 UTC
Flooding in the Hunua Ranges Regional Park.
© Auckland CouncilFlooding in the Hunua Ranges Regional Park.
A storm and heavy rain overnight from 07 to 08 March caused flooding and power cuts across Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand on 08 March 2017.

Golden Valley in Coromandel recorded over 250 mm of rain in 24 hours. The Wairoa River near Clevedon rose by around 5 metres in just a few hours.

Several roads were closed due to flooding, slips and fallen trees, specifically in the Kawakawa Bay and Clevedon areas and also Waiheke Island.

Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management issued a warning to drivers:
"If you're commuting from south east Auckland today please consider delaying trip or drive with extreme care. Never drive through flood waters."
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Attention

Iconic Maltese arch the Azure Window collapses


RT
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 19:17 UTC
Tourists walk near the Azure Window
© Darrin Zammit Lupi / Reuters Tourists walk near the Azure Window
The famous Azure Window rock formation on the island of Gozo in Malta, which has appeared in films and TV shows, including "Game of Thrones", has collapsed after a strong storm.

The Azure Window, a local landmark and major tourist attraction in Malta, collapsed into the sea on Wednesday morning, after withstanding centuries of attacks from the natural elements. The news has devastated locals and tourists alike.

"Heartbreaking," Maltese Prime Minister Josef Muscat tweeted on the loss of the Azure Window (Tieqa tad-Dwejra in Maltese).

"There was a big raging sea beneath the window," local resident Roger Chessell told the Times of Malta." Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray. By the time the spray had faded, the stack had gone too."
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Attention

Bogoslof volcano erupts again, sends ash cloud over Aleutians


U.S. News
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 18:30 UTC
Bogoslof volcano ashfall in Unalaska, January 31, 2017.
© Andy Dietrick / Alaska Volcano ObservatoryBogoslof volcano ashfall in Unalaska, January 31, 2017.
An Alaska volcano that's been active since mid-December has erupted again with an ash cloud that could threaten airliners.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory says Bogoslof (BOH-gohs-lawf) Volcano in the Aleutian Islands started erupting at 10:36 p.m. Tuesday and sent up an ash cloud to 35,000 feet.

The eruption was marked by seismic activity and lightning that subsided about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Ash can harm and stop jet engines. Ash from southwest Alaska volcanos is a threat to airliners operating between North America and Asia when a cloud rises above 20,000 feet.

Comment: See also: Volcanoes are erupting across the planet; 35 currently active

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Attention

Camel attacks farmer and swings him through the air in Samandağ, Turkey

Rory Tingle
Daily Mail
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:56 UTC
Mr Ildam was swung through the air by the angry camel. He was badly injured enough to require hospital treatment
Mr Ildam was swung through the air by the angry camel. He was badly injured enough to require hospital treatment
This is the incredible moment a camel grabs its owner by the leg with its teeth and swings him through the air.

Farmer Cetin Ildam was telling a TV crew how diversifying into camel breeding had transformed his business when the animal suddenly attacked him.

Mr Ildam was stroking its head when it locked its jaws around his knee and swung the poor farmer into a fence at his farm in Samandag, southern Turkey.

Shocked cameraman Guven Basman immediately stopped filming and went to Mr Ildam's aide.

Mr Ildam was badly injured enough to require hospital treatment but the TV crew waiting for him completed their feature after he was released.

And it gave an extra dimension to the interview as Mr Basman was able to ask him about the aggressive camel.

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Attention

Three more dolphins found dead on beaches in South Hams, UK

Chris Derrick
South Hams Gazette
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:42 UTC
Campaigner Lindy Hingley with a dead dolphin
Campaigner Lindy Hingley with a dead dolphin
Three more common dolphins were reported washed up on South Hams beaches this week.

The dead dolphins were found on the beaches at Challaborough, Thurlestone and Wonwell and reported to the Natural History Museum for post mortem.

More than 100 dolphins have been found dead on south west beaches in the first six weeks of this year alone, with most being found in Cornwall.

'The alarming fact is that all experts agree that only one per cent of the dolphins killed ended up washed-up on the shoreline,' Lindy Hingley from Brixham Seawatch explained.
DEAD DOLPHIN

Comment: See also: Dolphin 'massacre' claim as 100 wash up over 8 weeks in Cornwall, UK

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Fireball

SOTT Focus: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - February 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs


Sott.net
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 08:35 UTC
Fireball Illinois
Februrary 2017 continued on as January started. Massive flooding in California due to "atmospheric rivers" dumping large amounts of rain on coastal areas and snow on the Sierra Nevada. The snow melt from this caused further flooding in Nevada. Eastern Canada also experienced record snowfall, as did Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Japan.

Wildfires broke out in Eastern Australia and New Zealand while record rainfall inundated Western Australia. Major flooding also hit several South American nations including Chile, Peru and Colombia.

There are at least 30 active volcanoes around the world right now, including a really impressive one in Guatemala. Massive earth cracks opened in Pakistan and Italy.

These are just some of the chaotic events we present in this month's Sott 'Earth Changes' video compilation.

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