Earth ChangesS


Ice Cube

High winds invert waterfall in Catalonia, Spain, freezing nearby vegetation


Strange Sounds
Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:54 UTC
inverted waterfall
© Twitter meteoprades ‏@meteoprades
Strong winds sweeping through Capafonts, Spain have created this amazing inverted waterfall on March 5, 2016.

Due to the frigid temperatures in the region, the water instantly freezes, covering the nearby vegetation with icicles despite any signs of winter around.

According to gravity water falls down.

frozen
However, if you add an additional factor, such as strong wind, the water can start flowing upwards:

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Red Flag

Shark bites boy in Ocean Reef Park, Florida

PJ Randhawa
ksdk.com
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 13:27 UTC
Shark attacks
A metro east 12-year-old is recovering from a shark bite while on vacation in Florida.

Michael Wilson was wading in three feet of water Friday at Ocean Reef Park, when a shark sunk its teeth into his foot.

He has a fracture and some scratches.

They say the entire ordeal was pretty scary but the Wilsons still caught a Cardinal's spring training game in Jupiter Sunday afternoon before heading home to O'Fallon, Illinois.

Wilson even used his injury to get the attention and an autograph from his hero Matt Holliday.

Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson
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Red Flag

Red tides hit Hong Kong beaches

Ernest Kao
South China Morning Post
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 13:04 UTC
Red tide
Beach-goers advised not to swim at Clear Water Bay Second Beach and Silver Mine Bay Beach, while brown foam appears on Cheung Chau shoreline

Several parts of Hong Kong were hit by suspected red tides over the weekend, with swathes of the Cheung Chau shoreline caked with a putrid, foamy discharge that put off many beach-goers.

Pictures taken by local islanders and tourists on Saturday and Sunday showed parts of the island's Tung Wan Beach covered in the light brown froth.

Red tides, or algal blooms, are areas of seawater discoloured - brown, pink or red - by large concentrations of micro-organisms that may deplete levels of dissolved oxygen. Sightings usually peak in the spring.

A reader photo showing the foamy waters at Cheung Chau over the weekend.
A reader photo showing the foamy waters at Cheung Chau over the weekend.
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Alarm Clock

6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes off Samoa


RT
Tue, 08 Mar 2016 06:02 UTC
Samoa map
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off the Samoa islands, Geoscience Australia and the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported, adding that the epicenter of the quake is about 200km from Apia, the capital and largest city of the island country.

Apia has about 37,000 residents.

The earthquake depth is 29.8 km, USGS said. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) put the depth of the earthquake at 2km.


According to the most recent USGS estimate, the magnitude of the quake is 5.8 and it took place just 96km from the town of Hihifo in Tonga.

There have not been any reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning has been issued.

The part of South Pacific Ocean where Tonga and Samoa are located is considered to be one of the most seismically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates, the USGS said.
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Bizarro Earth

Massive shift in Alpine Fault in New Zealand

Michael Daly
Stuff.co.nz
Tue, 08 Mar 2016 02:23 UTC
Alpine Fault
© GNS ScienceThe Alpine Fault, which runs up the spine of the South Island, has ruptured five times in the past 1100 years - producing an earthquake of between magnitude 7 and 8 each time.
The Alpine Fault has moved much more than previously thought, and more than any other known fault on land in the world, new research shows.

In the past 25 million years, the two sides of the South Island have shifted more than 700 kilometres relative to each other along the Alpine Fault. That is 250km more than previously thought.

The full extent of the movement was masked because the rocks first moved 250km in one direction, then went back the other way - retracing the first 250km and adding a further 450km.

GNS Science earthquake geologist Robert Langridge has been studying why the Alpine Fault is so susceptible to earthquakes - it's since been discovered that it may be the world's fastest-moving known fault line.

The extent of the movement was worked out by researchers from Victoria University and GNS Science, with the findings published in the American Geophysical Union journal G-Cubed.
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Bizarro Earth

Earthquake 'shook houses' in south-east England


BBC
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 12:37 UTC
Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire earthquake
The earthquake at was centred near the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border
An earthquake with a magnitude of 2.3 has been recorded in Oxfordshire, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has confirmed.

Residents in Chinnor and Thame as well as Princes Risborough, Aylesbury and Bledlow in Buckinghamshire reported feeling shaking late on Sunday.

The BGS said the earthquake, centred on the village of Emmington, happened at 23:11 GMT.

Seismologist Glen Ford said: "The fact it was noticed makes it a bit special."
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Cloud Precipitation

Serbia declares emergency following regional floods

Sasa Dragojlo
Balkan Insight
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 15:28 UTC
Floods near the city of Cacak as seen on a YouTube video.
Floods near the city of Cacak as seen on a YouTube video.
The authorities have declared an emergency situation in the Cacak, Lucani and Arilje municipalities in central and eastern Serbia due to heavy rain and flooding.

The Serbian Interior Ministry declared an emergency situation on Monday in the flood-affected Cacak, Lucani and Arilje municipalities.

There were also landslides caused by the deluge in the Bajina Basta municipality, where several homes were submerged and roads damaged.

In Preljine near Cacak, where about 80 millimetres of rain per square metre fell overnight, the River Cemernica broke its banks, resulting in the evacuation of 15 people, Emergency Situations Sector chief Predrag Maric said.

Matic also said that water levels were rising in major rivers elsewhere in Serbia, but that serious problems were not expected there.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 3 in Chingola, Zambia

Moffat Chazingwa
Times of Zambia
Sun, 06 Mar 2016 14:59 UTC
Lightning
Lightning has killed three people believed to be members of the same family in Chingola, two others are nursing serious burns.

The victims are believed to have had taken shelter under a mango tree when the lightning struck, killing the three on the spot.

Copperbelt Police chief Charity Katanga confirmed the tragedy, which happened on Saturday in Chabanyama area around 14:00 hours.

Ms Katanga named the deceased as Goza Banda, 82, of house number 15, Chabanyama, his grandson Mathias Banda, 14, of Twashuka Township and Suzan Njamba, 44 of Chigayo area, while those injured were Grace Nakamba, 60, and Dorcas Nanyangwe, who were both admitted to Nchanga North Hospital.

She said the victims were in the garden when the rains characterised by lightning started.
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Tornado2

Spectacular rare snow tornado filmed in Norway


Strange Sounds
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 14:31 UTC
“snownadoes”
Snow devils or "snownadoes" are extremely rare weather phenomena since they require very specific meteorological conditions to form.

Snow tornadoes are so rare that only six have ever been captured on camera and very little is known about them.

These twisting columns of snow are closely related to waterspouts since they form over either frozen lakes or snow-covered areas.

For snow devils to occur, the necessary conditions include a colder air mass passing over a relatively warmer surface heated by sunlight, and a low-level wind shear (change of wind speed or direction with height) or colliding air currents to get the rising air to spin.

A warmer surface causes the snow or ice to form fog or steam, and if there is a column of colder, low-pressure air above this fog, it will begin to rise, and the wind shear or currents will cause it to rotate and begin to pick up loose snow forming the recognizable funnel shape.

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Solar Flares

Aurora borealis makes spectacular rare appearance in UK and Ireland


RT
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 13:33 UTC
Northern lights
© @debennis11 / Instagram
The Northern Lights illuminated skies above the UK and Ireland last night, giving local photographers a rare opportunity to capture the spectacular sight of the aurora borealis.

The dazzling phenomenon was visible as far south as Oxfordshire as well as South Wales, Scotland and in parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Aurora borealis occurs when electrically charged particles from the sun enter earth's atmosphere. The phenomenon is normally best observed in regions close to the North Pole.

However, cosmic conditions and clear skies combined last night to give night sky watchers in the UK and Ireland an unforgettable light show.


Comment: Aurora borealis "dazzles" in Britain's skies: Ignorant Media Ignore Implications

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