Earth ChangesS


Fireball

Unexplained loud booms: A compilation from 2015


Sott.net
Fri, 08 Jan 2016 07:54 UTC
mystery booms
The following video, produced by the Enigma Seeker Youtube channel, is a compilation of news reports about loud booms heard across the US in 2015. They're often unexplained, or the explanation provided by the authorities falls short of actually explaining the cause of the booms.

Meteor fireball and seismic activity has increased dramatically in recent years, so we suspect a that number of these booms can be attributed to overhead meteor explosions or are earthquake-related.


Comment: See also:

NASA space data supports citizens' observations: Meteor fireballs are increasing dramatically

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Fish

Rare deep-sea ragfish found dead on coast of Gustavus, Alaska: 4th for the state in 3 years

Yereth Rosen
Alaska Dispatch News
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 13:43 UTC
ragfish
© NOAA A ragfish is shown in this undated photo from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
A type of big, deep-ocean fish rarely seen at the water's surface was found washed ashore Thursday in Gustavus in Southeast Alaska, the National Park Service reported.

A ragfish, measuring 65 inches long, was spotted near the dock in Gustavus, the town that serves as the headquarters for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, officials said.

The discovery was made by a state transportation worker, said Craig Murdoch, a Park Service fisheries biologist.

"He was checking the dock and he noticed what he thought was a halibut," Murdoch said. "He went and checked it out, and it was a fish he had never seen before."

Comment: See also: Rare ragfish washes up on Alaskan Beach

Creatures from the deep signal major Earth Changes: Is anyone paying attention?

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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed in Iskenderun, Turkey


Youtube
Fri, 08 Jan 2016 13:06 UTC
Waterspout
Tornado / Waterspout in Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey

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Christmas Lights

Spectacular multi-colored 'light pillars' illuminate skies in northern China

Lee Moran
Huffington Post
Tue, 05 Jan 2016 03:25 UTC
light pillars over China
© NewsflareThe natural phenomenon creates an amazing spectacle by creating pillars of light

Sun pillars form when falling ice crystals reflect sunlight during low temperatures

Mesmerizing multi-colored pillars of light appeared in the sky above a city in northern China last week.

Residents were dazzled as the beams appeared to burst from the ground in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, on Wednesday night.

The phenomenon is called a sun, light or solar pillar, reports People's Daily Online.

According to NASA, the rare spectacle occurs when falling ice crystals reflect sunlight as the sun rises or sets during extremely low temperatures.

"Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds. Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground," NASA wrote on its website. "Sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-pillar effect."

Temperatures in Xilinhot plummeted to -20.2F on Wednesday, reports the Daily Telegraph, meaning it was the perfect condition for the natural light show.


Comment: This rare phenomena has been observed recently over Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States in the past month.

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Binoculars

Wrong time, wrong place: Rare tropical bird found dead in South Dakota

Jonathan Ellis
Angus Leader
Thu, 07 Jan 2016 19:19 UTC
Great Kiskadee
© Terry SohlThis photo of a Great Kiskadee was taken on December 2nd, 2015 near Volga, South Dakota
Members of the state's birding community were astonished in November when they spotted a in South Dakota, the first confirmed sighting in the state.

The bird is plentiful in Mexico and the tropics and typically found in the United States in only extreme southern Texas.

The sighting in South Dakota was near Volga during the South Dakota Ornithologists' Union fall meeting in Brookings, so there was no doubt about its veracity. Members of the community speculated about how it ended up here, and in the story above, South Dakota State University ornithologist K.C. Jensen predicted the tropical birds wouldn't have a good chance to survive South Dakota's brutal winter.
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Red Flag

Guatemala's Fuego volcano spews ash up to 24,000 feet; new lava flows

Ella Turner
The Telegraph, UK
Mon, 04 Jan 2016 10:54 UTC
Fuego volcano
© Reuters via Storyful
Footage shows the moment the Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted on Sunday.

According to Guatemala's volcanic monitor, Insivumeh, thick ash was sent up to 24,000 feet high because of the eruption.

It caused new lava flows and loud explosions, however none of the mainland has been greatly impacted.

This comes after an eruption that began last week intensified for the volcano, which lies about 30 miles southwest of Guatemala city.

The eruption has had no affect on any flights at the country's main international airport according to Reuters.


Comment: Fuego volcano in Guatemala; increased activity, strombolian explosions, pyroclastic flow

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Attention

Magnitude 5.0 earthquake hits Southern Chile


Volcano Discovery
Fri, 08 Jan 2016 14:47 UTC
A closeup of a seismograph machine needle drawing a red line on graph paper depicting seismic and eartquake activity
A closeup of a seismograph machine needle drawing a red line on graph paper depicting seismic and eartquake activity
Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - Southern Chile on Thursday, 7 January 2016

Hypocenter depth recalculated from 33.0 to 37.0 km.

Date & time: Thu, 7 Jan 15:40:46 UTC

Magnitude: 5.0

Depth: 37.0 km

Epicenter latitude / longitude: 41.59°S / 73.79°W [Map]

Nearest volcano: Calbuco (99 km)

Primary data source: GFZ
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Attention

5.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Pakistan


Business Standard
Fri, 08 Jan 2016 14:34 UTC
Epicentre
This was the third quake to hit Pakistan since the beginning of 2016.

A strong earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale hit Pakistan on Friday, the country's Meteorological Department said.

The epicentre of the quake was detected at Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region, Dawn online reported.

However, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the magnitude of the earthquake was 5.0 and traced its origin to the Jarm region in Afghanistan.
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Attention

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits Kuril Islands, Russia


Sputnik
Fri, 08 Jan 2016 14:22 UTC
Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake has occurred off the Kuril Islands, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reports.

The quake struck at 20:23 GMT on Thursday, its epicenter was located 93 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Severo-Kurilsk, a Russian town in the northern part of the Kuril Islands.

There have been no reports of damages or tsunami warnings in the area.

According to the Richter scale, earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0-5.9 are considered to be moderate and can lead to casualties and cause damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The Kuril Islands separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. Russia and Japan are engaged in a territorial dispute over the South Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan.
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Fire

Wildfires in U.S. burned record 10 million acres in 2015

Doyle Rice
USA Today
Wed, 06 Jan 2016 13:45 UTC
fire wildfire
© Unknown
For the first time in U.S. history, wildfires charred more than 10 million acres across the nation in 2015, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

That's roughly the size of Connecticut and Massachusetts combined.

At 10,125,149 acres burned, it's the first time the 10 million acre mark has been topped. The previous record was set in 2006 at 9,873,745 acres.

This year's amount is about 4 million more than average, the center announced Tuesday. Fires in Alaska made up about half of the acreage burned.

Nine of the 10 worst years for acres burned have occurred since 2000, center spokesman Randall Eardley said.

Accurate wildfire records go back to 1960. Prior to 2000, the U.S. surpassed 7 million acres only one time — in 1963.
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