Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Second worst January for US avalanche deaths in 20 years

Ellen Brait
The Guardian (UK)
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 20:37 UTC
avalanche site in Wyoming
© Chris LeighAn area near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where snowboarder Jed Wesley Foster, triggered an avalanche on 19 January 2015.

11 have died this month, in Washington, Colorado, Wyoming and elsewhere, due to 'poor snow structure' and increased interest in backcountry skiing

This year has been a deadly one for avalanches. Ten people have died in the past 10 days, and a total of 14 have died this snow season in the US, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. With 11 deaths this month, it's the highest death rate for January since 2008 and the second worst January in 20 years.

There were four deaths just last weekend alone, with one person killed in Washington state, two skiers killed in Wyoming and one snowmobiler killed in the Whitefish Mountains.

But the spike in fatalities has not occurred because of an increased number of avalanches, according to avalanche forecaster Spencer Logan of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The center's data shows that the number of avalanches recorded this season "are not out of the ordinary". Rather, Doug Chabot, director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center believes the high death rate is due to a "perfect storm" of conditions.

Comment: In recent weeks a giant avalanche almost buried an Alpine resort in northwest Italy, while another avalanche buried about 10 houses in Norway.

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Question

People report hearing big boom sound in South Carolina

Evelyn Fernandez
WTHITV 10
Tue, 26 Jan 2016 01:38 UTC
mt pleasant sc
usgs

People are calling in to our sister station's newsroom reporting vibrations from Charleston, Berkeley and Williamsburg Counties in South Carolina. In Mount Pleasant, people reported hearing a big booming sound.

In Mount Pleasant, people reported hearing a big booming sound.

Some on Daniel Island, James Island and Goose Creek said their homes shook.

This happened around 12:26 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
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Arrow Down

Climate fraudsters exposed by new monsoon study

G.S. Mudur
The Telegraph, India
Tue, 26 Jan 2016 00:25 UTC
Monsoons Clouds
© Wikimedia CommonsAdvancing monsoon clouds and showers in Aralvaimozhy, near Nagercoil, India.
India's monsoon is in no danger of catastrophic collapse in response to global warming and air pollution, two atmospheric scientists said today, refuting earlier predictions that the monsoon could shut down within 100 years.

The scientists at Yale University in the US who used computers to model the Earth's atmosphere, land and oceans have found that the expected changes in the monsoon will not abruptly alter their strength or their water volume.

Their results contradict earlier forecasts by scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany portending frequent and severe failures and even a breakdown of the monsoon, which is critical to India's food, water resources and economy.

"Our models show that monsoon rainfall will change smoothly in response to rising greenhouse gas concentrations, air pollution, and changes in land use," William Boos, an associate professor at Yale University told The Telegraph.

"We should expect changes in the monsoon rainfall in response to changes in the global mean temperature in the coming decades, but there is no reason to expect those changes to be abrupt," Boos said.

The earlier modelling exercises had predicted that the monsoon, under the influence of global warming and air pollution, would experience a "tipping point" that would lead to a sharp drop in rainfall over India.

Boos and his colleague Trude Storelvmo have now shown that the theory and models that were used to predict such "tipping points" had omitted a key term in climate behaviour, ignoring the fact that air cools as it rises in the atmosphere.

The scientists described their results this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a US research journal.
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Bizarro Earth

More mystery booms reported over New Jersey

Jeanna Bryner & Andy Polhamus
Live Science and NJ.com
Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:28 UTC
Sonic Booms
© USGSSonic booms were reported over southern New Jersey and along the East Coast to Long Island, New York, on Jan. 28, 2016.
At least 10 sonic booms have been reported this afternoon (Jan. 28) from southern New Jersey along the East Coast to Long Island, New York, say scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The first sonic boom was recorded at 1:24 p.m. EST (18:24:05 UTC), about 2 miles (3 kilometers) north-northeast of Hammonton, New Jersey, and 37 miles (60 km) south of Trenton, New Jersey. In the following hour and a half, seismometers picked up at least nine other sonic booms along the Eastern Seaboard all the way to Long Island, according to the USGS.

A spokesperson for the USGS said agency scientists there have no other information except that these were sonic booms and not earthquakes that were detected today.

A sonic boom occurs when an object (or an explosion) travels faster than the speed of sound (761.2 mph, or 1,225 km/h, at sea-level), sending out a shockwave that also travels faster than sound, according to John Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.

The cause of today's sonic booms remains mysterious. Bellini noted, however, that if an explosion had caused these booms, someone likely would have seen it.
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Cloud Precipitation

2 months' worth of rain in an hour results in flash floods, Geelong, Australia

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Thu, 28 Jan 2016 20:02 UTC
Flash floods in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, January 2016.
© VICSESFlash floods in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, January 2016.
A storm in Geelong, Victoria, Australia on 27 January 2016 dumped more than double the January monthly average rain on parts of the city in just 1 hour.

Avalon, a suburb of the city, recorded 72 mm of rain between 16:00 to 17:00 local time on 27 January. Geelong Racecourse recorded over 40 mm of rain between 15:00 and 17:00.

The rain caused severe flash flooding throughout the city and suburbs. Emergency services responded to over 500 requests and had to carry out 15 flood rescues.

The City of Greater Geelong said that "Yesterday's storm was considered a 1 in 100 year event with double the January monthly average rain falling in just 1 hour".

Stefan Delatovic, Manager of Emergency Management Communications for Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) said:
"This dramatic storm has been characterised as a "once in a century event", but it's important to say that this is a measure of magnitude, as in 'a storm this severe has a one-in-100 chance of occurring in any given year'. It doesn't mean another storm like this isn't expected for another 50 years. More rain is forecast for today, another storm like this could pop up anywhere in Victoria with little warning".

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Attention

Man survives shark attack in Hawaii


wdaz.com
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 18:59 UTC
Shark attack
In this week's WDAZ Animal Watch, a story that's taking social media by storm: a Minnesota man was attacked by a shark in Hawaii, and lived to tell the tale.

The man describes the situation as 'nuts,' fighting off a 14-foot tiger shark that attacked him while paddle boarding in Maui over the weekend.

48-year-old Matt Mason was boarding about 150 yards off Wailea Beach late Saturday morning. His wife, who was paddling about five feet behind him, saw the shark swim underneath her, poke its head out of the water, and attack her husband's board.

Mason said the shark clamped its jaws to the back of the board, gave a twist, and it threw him off.
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Question

Mysterious burning crack in the earth releases gas in Chimborazo, Ecuador


Strange Sounds
Thu, 28 Jan 2016 18:39 UTC
possible volcanic origin.
© El CommercioOfficials are baffled and want to rule out a possible volcanic origin.
A mysterious burning crack is releasing gases since two weeks in a small village named Columbe situated in the Ecuadorian Andes.

The steam started coming out of the earth about 15 days ago after a controlled burn of weeds.

A column of steam and gas continues to emanate from a mysterious crack that opened up in a hill near Columbe, in Chimborazo, Ecuador.

The area has been evacuated because it is still unknown if toxic gases are released by the unexplained underground emanation.
mysterious crack appeared in the ground of Columbe,
© El Universo This mysterious crack appeared in the ground of Columbe, Ecuador and baffles scientists.
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Ice Cube

Incredible photos of fishing boats stuck in ice in China

Robert Felix
Ice Age Now
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 13:41 UTC
Ice trapped boats
Fishing boats trapped in sea ice in a port at Xikou Village in Yantai City, East China's Shandong province.

Under the influence of a strong cold wave, sea ice appeared around the Yantai sea area and affected maritime transportation.

Fishing boats trapped in sea ice, China

Fishing boats trapped in sea ice, China
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Fire

One of Azerbaijan's largest volcanoes erupts

Amina Nazarli
AzerNews
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 17:31 UTC
Akhtarma-Pashali volcano erupts
One of the largest volcanoes of Azerbaijan Akhtarma Pashali awoke in the country's Hajigabul region on the night of January 25.

The first eruption occurred at 07:20, when the fire rose to 120-150 meters in the air. The second was fixed 10 minutes later, when the fire rose to a height of 20 meters. The total area of the lava spill was 200-250 square meters.

The mud volcano has ceased erupting, according to the Chairman of the regional emergency commission Sahib Aslanov. No victims were reported, as no settlements are located around the area.

Akhtarma Pashali is located in 35 kilometers of the city of Shirvan. The diameter of the crater is approximately 10 square kilometers.

Aslanov emphasized the last eruption of this mud volcano occurred in 1963, while the first eruption of the volcano was reported in 1948.

Mud volcanoes are a fairly widespread geological phenomenon and over a thousand mud volcanoes are known to exist in the world.

The dissemination of mud volcanoes usually indicates the existence of large oil and gas basins, therefore oil and gas-rich Azerbaijan ranks first in the number of mud volcanoes in the world. The territory of Azerbaijan places 344 mud volcanoes and 133 of them are located in the country's Caspian Sea section.
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Alarm Clock

Peru's El Misti volcano awakens

Hillary Ojeda
Peru this Week
Wed, 27 Jan 2016 17:26 UTC
El Misti volcano awakens
© Publimetro/USIArequipa's majestic Misti volcano
The last eruption of great magnitude at Misti was 2,000 years ago, informs Peru's volcano authority.

The iconic symbol of Arequipa, the Misti volcano, that gazes over the southern Peruvian city has long been considered 'asleep.'

However, studies by the Southern Volcano Observatory (OVS, Spanish acronym), reveal that it is awake and emitting gases, informs Publimetro.

It is currently considered the greatest risk in the South American country, as thousands of habitants reside near its crater.

"The gases that Misti emits are magmatic. This confirms that the volcano is active and is not sleeping, as many people think," VS engineer, Luisa Macedo, told AFP over the phone from Arequipa, according to Publimetro.

The volcano is located only 17 kilometers from the city.

The engineer informed that four weeks ago a group of researchers from OVS took images of the Misti crater. With their investigation were able to identify magmatic activity.

"The gases reach 500 meters and contain sulfuric acid, carbon and calcium," said Macedo. He informed that the distance prevents the nearby communities being affected by the emissions.

Another OVS specialist, Domingo Ramos, explained that although the volcano is active, it does not necessarily mean there is danger of a hazardous eruption.
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