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Cassiopaea

SOTT Focus: SOTT Summary, February 2014: Fireballs, Extreme Weather, and Earth Changes

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sat, 08 Mar 2014 15:39 UTC
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© SOTT.net

Signs of the Times in February 2014

The following video contains footage of some of the extreme weather, fireballs and seismic activity from around the world in February. Think the weather's crazy where you live? Check out what's happening elsewhere...

January's 'polar vortex' returned to bury most of the US in snow... despite a record number of 'winter wildfires' breaking out as far north as Oregon.

Mount Sinabung in Indonesia erupted spectacularly... then a string of volcanoes followed the ensuing pyroclastic cloud down the mountain, while another major volcanic eruption occurred in Ecuador.

Severe flooding, tidal surges and hurricane force winds hit Western Europe, while Eastern Europe was hit by heavy snow and ice-storms.

A wildfire broke out in Wales between winter storms... as Atlanta, Georgia was knocked out by snow.

There were record snowfalls in Iran and Tokyo, more 'strange sky sounds' and the Great Lakes almost completely froze over.

A waterspout was filmed off the Australian coast, a major heatwave hit Brazil, and sinkholes opened up all over UK...

Is this normal?!



Knowledge protects, ignorance endangers
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Bizarro Earth

Human activity caused 5.7 quake in Oklahoma - confirmed by U.S. Geological Survey

Scott Kaufman
The Raw Story
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 12:45 UTC
Prague earthquake
© USGSMap of Prague earthquake and aftershocks via
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a press release yesterday indicating that the magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck Prague, Oklahoma in 2011 was unintentionally human-induced.

The USGS claims that the magnitude 5.0 earthquake triggered by waste-water injection the previous day "trigger[ed] a cascade of earthquakes, including a larger one, [which] has important implications for reducing the seismic risk from waste-water injection."

Injection wells are considered by some to be the most environmentally sound method of disposing of waste-water - which is a byproduct of both hydrofracking and conventional oil production - because they use the earth itself to both filter and contain the pollution.

The decade-long explosion of energy-producing facilities in the central United States has, according to a recent article in the journal Geology, led to an 11-fold increase in the number of earthquakes occurring in areas that are typically tectonically calm, including Arkansas, Texas, Ohio, and Colorado in the past four years alone.

The 5.7 magnitude quake in Prague followed an injection of waste-water approximately 650 feet away from the Wilzetta fault zone, a complex fault system about 124 miles in length. All three earthquakes exhibited a slip-strike motion, and did so at three different locations, indicating that three separate areas of the fault zone were activated.
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Camcorder

Mass stampeding of dolphins off Dana Point, California, filmed by drone


travel.aol.co.uk
Tue, 04 Mar 2014 12:41 UTC
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This incredible footage of a mega-pod dolphin stampede was captured off the Californian coast by drone

Drone footage has captured some breathtaking footage of stampeding dolphins and a baby humpback whale.

Captain Dave Anderson of Capt Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, recently filmed a five-minute video with a drone of a huge mega-pod of thousands of common dolphins stampeding off Dana Point, three gray whales migrating together down the coast off San Clemente, California, and heartwarming close-ups hovering over a newborn humpback whale calf snuggling with its mum as an escort whale stands guard nearby, in Maui.

According to the information uploaded by Dolphin Safari with the video on YouTube, Southern California has the greatest density of dolphins in the world. It has pods up to 10,000 strong "stretched out for miles like the wildebeests of Africa". There are over 400,000 common dolphin alone, and it's also home to the largest concentration of blue whales on earth.
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Sun

Queensland's drought this summer is the worst on record

Cassie Hough and Eliza Rogers
ABC News
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:52 UTC
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Queensland drought map for March 2014
It is official - this drought is Queensland's most widespread on record, with almost 80 per cent of the state now drought-declared.

Queensland's Agriculture Minister has announced the largest drought-stricken area ever for the state, with 15 new shires added to the list.

This takes the number of drought-declared shires to 38, and it is the first time large sections of the Queensland coast have been included.

Shires of Banana, Bundaberg, Cherbourg, Fraser Coast, Gladstone, Goondiwindi, Gympie, Moreton Bay, Noosa, North Burnett, South Burnett, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Western Downs have been added to the already long list, effective from March 1.

Minister John McVeigh says the failed wet season is the reason so many shires have been declared at once.

"It's really only that coastal strip of Queensland of roughly Rockhampton through to Cape that is not in drought, bar some other small locations around the state, so that does confirm that this is a more significant drought event than Queensland has ever seen before," he said.

"The wet season in these newly declared shires has been very poor with many areas missing out altogether. February, normally one of the wettest times of the year, has been particularly dry.
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Arrow Down

Three metre-deep sinkhole on school field in Ramsgate, UK

Tom Barnes
Isle of Thanet Gazette
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 10:45 UTC
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School staff believe the hole could be a remnant of the Townley House estate
A three metre-deep sinkhole has opened up on the playing fields of Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School in Ramsgate.

The hole has left staff baffled since it was first discovered when one student's foot fell through the ground as he was playing football around a fortnight ago.

The pit has now grown to approximately one metre by two metres wide and is between 10 and 12 feet deep.

"We will be keeping all children and staff off the field until it has been surveyed. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have an idea of exactly what's happening underground."

Staff do not believe that the opening is a conventional sinkhole, but a long forgotten well or cesspit linked to the Townley House estate.

Teacher Chris Freeman said: "It doesn't appear to be a normal sinkhole, like the one that opened up on the M2 for example.

"It is bad enough that it has stopped our games until we can find out what caused it. Our playing fields have suffered enormous amounts of flooding- they have been saturated since Christmas.

"Some of the school grounds used to be part of the Townley House estate and we believe this could be either a well or an old Victorian cesspit linked to the estate.

A team of geophysical surveyors from Maidstone will inspect the field next week to determine what has caused the hole and whether it poses any further danger.

The school is also checking Victoria era plans of the area to try and solve the mystery of what has actually caused the hole.

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Galaxy

Heaven and Earth: Unusual natural events and strange phenomena from around the world in February/March 2014

Last Messages
YouTube
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 10:07 UTC
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© Martin Rietze/National
This video compiles footages of strange phenomena of all kinds, including awesome natural events or beautiful phenomena from around the world in the last few weeks. Just a small sample of what we've seen already this year!

In the past month or so we have seen: Unusual solar activity including an X class flare - Aurora Borealis much further south than usual, including southern UK - Huge waves off coast of California, Brazil, UK - England battered by record storms, floods and sinkholes - Severe drought in California, followed by extreme storms and floods - US cities in the East frozen still - Strange skies over Europe - Ecuador Tungurahua volcano erupts - Strange 'hailstone' falls over Nevada - Weird pulsating orange Earth phenomena melts ice and boils water - Amazing sinkhole in the Corvette Museum - New York sinkhole swallows car - Popocatelpetl Volcano, Mexico eruptions - Sakurajima, Japan spectacular volcanic eruption - Large fireball over Maine, USA - Huge eruption from Volcano Pacaya in Guatemala
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Attention

Rare deep sea creature washes up on Dorset beach, UK

Emma Walker
Dorset Echo
Fri, 07 Mar 2014 10:33 UTC
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A rare sea creature which is only usually seen at the depths of the ocean was found washed up on a Dorset beach.

Biomedical scientist Paul Harris was walking along West Bexington Beach when he stumbled upon a Sea Mouse, which can usually be found buried up to 6,600ft beneath the waves.

The rare creature, which feasts on dead animals and is covered in colourful hair, is a type of marine worm.

Dorset's coast has been battered by severe storms in recent weeks and tonnes of rubbish, dead seabirds and unusual finds have been washed up on the county's shores.
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Arrow Down

Massive sinkhole repaired in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A.J. Bayatpour
fox6now.com
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 10:10 UTC
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Massive sinkhole at Palmer & Townsend in Milwaukee

A massive sinkhole that formed at the intersection of Palmer and Townsend on the Milwaukee's north side created a world of headaches for homeowners and DPW crews.

"It was like two days ago when it first started. I was coming out of the crib and I heard some water rushing so I looked over there and I couldn't see where it was coming from. I looked down and it was a hole the size of a golf ball," said Anthony Gray who lives near the sinkhole.

The sound of rushing water was the sound of a broken watermain. In order to clamp down on the problem, workers needed to dig up the street and turn off the water.
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Arrow Down

Fire crew at sinkhole on Skipper Road in Tampa, Florida


The Tamba Bay Tribune
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 09:58 UTC
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© CLIFF MCCBRIDEA small hole opened Thursday at the Breezewood Mobile Home Park off Bearss Avenue in Tampa
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue is on the scene of a what is being called a 6-by-9 foot depression in the ground of a mobile home park off of Skipper Road in Tampa.

Two homes were evacuated at the Breezewood Mobile Home Park, 1701 Skipper Road.

The Code Enforcement department and Tampa Electric are sending representatives to the scene.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole swallows two vehicles near Hayden Lake, Idaho


KBOI 2
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 10:24 UTC
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© Kootenai County Sheriff's Office
Three people were taken to the hospital after two vehicles drove into a sinkhole early this morning near Hayden Lake, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office says.

Deputies say they found two vehicles that had driven into a large washout on Rimrock Road. Investigators say a culvert under the road failed due to heavy runoff.

The hole ended up being 10 feet wide and about eight feet deep.
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