Earth ChangesS


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African vultures are declining at a critical rate


phys.org
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 14:47 UTC
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Vultures
An international team of researchers, including leading scientists from the University of St Andrews, the Hawk Conservancy Trust and the University of York, say African vultures are likely to qualify as 'Critically Endangered' under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's global threat criteria.

In a report published today (18 June 2015) in the scientific journal Conservation Letters, scientists from across Europe, Africa and North America have published the first continent-wide estimates of decline rates in African vultures: and find that many national parks and game reserves appear to offer vulture species in Africa little effective protection.

Scavengers such as vultures are essential to a healthy ecosystem; without them carcasses are largely consumed by mammalian scavengers such as dogs and jackals and this can increase levels of disease transmission, with possibly dire consequences for human health.

Being long-lived, slow breeders, vultures take several years to reach maturity, and typically fledge only a single offspring every 1-2 years. Yet the study indicates that Africa's vultures are declining at rates of between 70% and 97% over three generations; a time interval used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) when assessing a species' threat status. Since six of the eight species are largely or wholly confined to Africa, and are projected to decline by at least 80% over three generations, the study suggests that they are likely to qualify as 'Critically Endangered' under the IUCN's global threat criteria.
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Attention

Boy bitten by shark off Daytona Beach Shores, Florida

M. Alex Johnson
nbcnews.com
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 14:23 UTC
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Shark
A 10-year-old boy suffered minor injuries when he was bitten by a shark Wednesday in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida. He is the second 10-year-old to be attacked in Florida in a week and at least the fourth person to have been attacked in Volusia County this year, authorities said.

The boy, who wasn't identified, was bitten on the calf as he swam in chest-deep waters just after 1 p.m. ET, said Tamra Marris, a spokeswoman for Volusia County Beach Safety/Ocean Rescue. A lifeguard responded, and the boy was treated at the scene for lacerations on his leg without having to go to a hospital.

The beach safety agency told NBC station WESH of Orlando that beaches would remain open.

Another 10-year-old boy is recovering from what authorities called "significant injuries" after he was attacked last week off Cocoa Beach, about 60 miles south.

Comment: See also: 2 children attacked by shark near Oak Island, North Carolina

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Cloud Precipitation

Hail storm leaves holes in buildings at San Juan College, New Mexico

Devin Neeley
kob.com
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 09:18 UTC
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Holes in a roof at San Juan College
Cleanup following last Thursday's hail storm in Farmington is still going on now a week later. They are still tabulating what it will cost to fix the damage on campus at San Juan College, too.

Officials say the storm was really bad. Videos sent to KOB show the hail pounding the campus—starting around pea sized, later growing to golf ball sized.

Maintenance workers at San Juan College said the phones started ringing not long after the hail, each call alerting them to a leaking roof in another building.

Many of the buildings have a white Thermal Plastic Overlay, or TPO, roof. A drop in temperature left the roofing brittle and each piece of hail that hit the roof left a crack. Those cracks let rain leak in and to the classrooms below.

The next hours and days involved a lot of fans and buckets to catch all that water. Pallets of buckets, in fact, more than 500 are deployed to catch any water still leaking.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods hit much of China, sweeping away homes


euronews.com
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 08:56 UTC
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House washed away in China floods
Torrential rains made a surprise visit to most parts of China on Wednesday, causing severe damage to infrastructures and disrupting road traffic in many cities and regions. In Yingshan County, in the central Hubei Province, downpours led to severe flooding in crop fields and some neighbourhoods. A home near a swollen river was washed away by a flood.

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Cloud Precipitation

Southern Bulgaria submerged in floods after torrential rains


novinite.com
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 08:47 UTC
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© BGNES Flooding in Bulgaria
Hundreds of houses have been affected and many hectares of crops have been destroyed by torrential rains and hailstorms in Bulgaria's south.

Belozem, a village near Bulgaria's second-biggest city Plovdiv, has been left almost completely sumberged in water, private national NOVA TV channel says.

In the nearby region of Haskovo, to the east, the hail took by surprise residents who seldom see any rain falling.

In Plovdiv itself, many streets and boulevards were left under water for some time.

The nearby Tundzha, Arda and Maritsa rivers are swelling. Authorities are trying to prevent any incidents related to a potential overflowing of dams located in the immediate vicinity (Kardzhali, Studen Kladenets, and Ivaylovgrad).

Last year's floods and torrential rains caused the death of more than 13 people across Bulgaria and destroyed property worth hundreds of millions.
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Eagle

The oldest Bald Eagle in the US found dead aged 38

John Birks
The Monitor Daily
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:21 UTC
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Oldest bald eagle in the US was 38 years old
Bald eagles, the symbol of the United States, have a lifespan between 15 and 25 years out in their natural wild habitat.

However, the bald eagle that was recently found dead on a roadside in Henrietta is believed to have been 38 years old, based on the metal band that was wrapped around the majestic bird.

This means that the unfortunate bird was the oldest bald eagle in the United States, some bird experts believe.

According to an official statement released by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the bird found dead in Henrietta was apparently hit and killed by a moving car.
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Attention

Record snow cover for June in Norway, 5 times more than normal

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 07:23 UTC
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© globesar.comThroughout Norway is the record amount of new snow in the mountains
Large areas of Norway still covered in snow - in June !

There is an extreme amount of snow in the mountains, both in the north and south.

Satellite measurements show that 23 percent of land area in southern Norway is still covered in snow, nearly five times more than normal in June, says senior forecaster Eirik Malnes..

In Northern Norway, the corresponding figure is 35 percent, more than double a normal year.

Daily satellite measurements from the research institute NORUT in Tromsø show that nearly a quarter of the land area in the south and one third in the north are still snowy.
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Bizarro Earth

Rare Guadalupe fur seals stranding in record numbers


Desdesmona Dispair
Wed, 17 Jun 2015 03:39 UTC
guadalupe fur seal
© Dana Angus, The Marine Mammal Center, NOAA Permit #932-1905-01This Guadalupe fur seal pup was one of many rescued by the Center this year.
"These stranded animals are just the tip of the iceberg in terms off animals affected by the unusually warm water temperatures we've been seeing off the coast"

California sea lions aren't the only pinnipeds in crisis this year. Guadalupe fur seals, a threatened species, seem to be struggling with the same food availability issues and have stranded along our coast at five times the record yearly rate.

With their diminutive snouts, extra-long front flippers and outstretched ear flaps, Guadalupe fur seal pups can appear almost alien-like, especially when wet. But this year, the appearance of these furry "Yodas" is more than just a little unusual—it's downright alarming.

So far in 2015, The Marine Mammal Center has rescued 27 Guadalupe fur seals—more than five times the record high we've seen in our 40 years.

These numbers pale in comparison to the more than 1,100 California sea lions we've rescued during this same time period, but relatively speaking, the influx of Guadalupe fur seals is just as distressing, if not more so.
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Fire

Wildfires raging in Western U.S. States mark early start to destructive fire season

Steve Quinn, David Schwartz, Shelby Sebens
Reuters
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 21:16 UTC
Willow alaska wildfire
© Mat-Su BoroughThe setting sun is partially obscured by smoke from an out of control wildfire on the Parks Highway near Willow, Alaska, June 14, 2015.
Wildfires raging in four West Coast states have forced more than 1,000 people to be evacuated from their homes this week in rapidly growing blazes that mark an early start to what experts say may be a particularly destructive fire season.

The fires, spread by wind and exacerbated by very dry conditions, have already consumed more than 100 structures in Alaska, and were threatening others in drought-hit California and Arizona.

In a national forest outside Los Angeles, some 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and bulldozers were battling the Lake Fire, which was raging across some 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) and was just 5 percent contained, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

More than 150 people were forced to evacuate various camps, as officials closed hiking trails and roads, and structures were threatened, the county said.
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Cloud Lightning

Tropical storm Bill lashes central U.S. causing widespread flooding

Jon Herskovitz
Reuters
Thu, 18 Jun 2015 23:09 UTC
Galveston flood, tropical storm Bill
© Reuters/U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Bastob
Flooding is pictured from a Coast Guard Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter as it flies over Galveston, Texas after Tropical Storm Bill made landfall in this handout photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken on June 16, 2015.
Tropical Depression Bill pelted Oklahoma with heavy rains, triggering flooding that killed a 2-year-old toddler who was swept out of his father's arms by raging waters, officials said on Thursday.

One person in neighboring Missouri was killed by flooding caused by rains from the storm hitting the region and a woman died in central Texas when she lost control of her car while driving through the storm, officials said.

Bill, the second named tropical storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to dump between 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain as it travels northeast through Arkansas and Missouri into West Virginia.

Some areas could see as much as 12 inches (30 cm), the National Weather Service said. It has issued a flash flood watch stretching from the Texas Coast into Illinois.
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