Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

Spectacular lost hummingbird rediscovered after 69 years in Colombia

Richard Emblin
The City Paper
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 19:15 UTC
Image
© Carlos Julio Rojas (ProAves)Blue-bearded Helmetcrest was recently split from the other forms of helmetcrest, becoming a seriously endangered full species.
Conservationists Carlos Julio Rojas and Cristian Vásquez were trekking through the high altitude wetlands of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta when they were stopped in their tracks by a rare and beautiful find.

Given their location in the coastal range home to the "Lost City" (and many yet to be discovered archeological sites), these biologists working at the Reserva Natural de Aves 'El Dorado,' a scientific research station of the ProAves Foundation, managed to capture with a camera the Colibrí Barbudito Azul, or Blue-bearded Helmetcrest.

For bird lovers around the world, the spotting of a Blue-bearded Helmetcrest is important news, as the last time this hummingbird was seen by humans, was back in 1946.

"I saw the flash of a bird screeching past me and it perched on a bush nearby. I managed to take a quick photo of it before it flew off. I then reviewed the photo in the camera and immediately recognized the strikingly-patterned hummingbird as the long-lost Blue-bearded Helmetcrest," explains Cristian.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Car explodes after freak lightning strike ignites nearby gas mains in Canberra, Australia

Tegan Osborne and Ruby Cornish
ABC News
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 02:57 UTC
car hit by lightning in Australia
© Sarah GroubeThe car was hit by lightning above a gas rupture on Dryandra Street, O'Connor.
A man has escaped serious injury after his car burst into flames following a freak lightning strike near a gas main in Canberra's north.

The fire began after lightning struck on Dryandra Street in Canberra's north during a short thunderstorm over the ACT about 8:00am.

Shortly after the lightning strike a car on the street burst into flames.

Firefighter Danny Brighenti said crews at the scene were initially puzzled by the blaze, which kept reigniting.

"They believed there was a ruptured fuel tank which was causing the car to reignite," he said.

He said on closer inspection, once the fire died down, it was revealed a gas main had ruptured near the car.

Nearby resident Sarah Groubes: "As we turned around the corner onto Dryandra Street we just saw this fireball on the side of the road."

Commander Brighenti said the cause of the gas leak was unclear.

He said scenarios in which cars were struck by lightning were rare, and it was possible a tree nearby was actually struck.

He said it was also unclear whether the car that caught fire was parked or moving along the road at the time of the lightning strike.

"On arrival the person had got out of the vehicle, but the car was heavily involved in fire with the surrounding trees and bushes," Commander Brighenti said.

"They're not injured ... but the car is totally destroyed."

A mountain bike and an iPhone inside the car were also destroyed.

Comment: Elsewhere today, six teenagers were tragically killed in India by lightning after "great bolts of lightning cut through the sky", and
six construction workers were killed after being struck by lightning in South Africa.

See also: SOTT Exclusive: Solar System grounding:Transformer explosions and electrical anomalies

Read More...
Magnet

Northern Lights head south: Geomagnetic storm reveals aurora borealis in Central Russia


RT
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:29 UTC
Image
© RIA Novosti/Igor PodgornyiAurora in Mikhailovsky District of the Ryazan Region.
An abnormal atmospheric phenomenon was visible throughout the relevantly low latitude of central Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg on Tuesday. A powerful geomagnetic storm promises to continue for a second day, also including an aurora.

Witnesses and amateur astronomers have been busily posting photos and videos of this atmospheric event - so rarely seen in Central Russia - on blogs and social media.

As a rule, the aurora borealis is visible in regions close or above the Polar Circle, for example in Russia's Arctic city of Murmansk.
Image
© www.moveinfo.ru
But sometimes extremely powerful solar flares cause this atmospheric phenomenon to be visible in much lower altitudes, as is the case now.

Read More...
Arrow Down

One mile of road closed due to large sinkhole in Oakfield Township, Michigan


WOODTV.com
Mon, 16 Mar 2015 14:50 UTC
Image
© WOODTV
A section of a road west of Greenville will remain closed until mid-summer after a pipe collapsed and caused a large sinkhole.

Podunk Avenue was shut down between 13 Mile Road and 14 Mile Road over Wabasis Creek in Oakfield Township Friday after this sinkhole appeared, according to Jerry Byrne, who is the Kent County Road Commission's deputy managing director of operations.

Byrne told 24 Hour News 8 a large, corrugated metal pipe rusted through and collapsed. It will be replaced by a concrete culvert, which should last longer than the metal pipe.

The section of Podunk Avenue will remain closed until mid-summer because the Kent County Road Commission needs permits from the Department of Environmental Quality. They also have to wait for water levels on Wabasis Creek to recede, Byrne said.

The collapsed culvert was inspected with in the last few years, Byrne said, however - while some issues were noted - inspectors did not expect it to collapse.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 6 construction workers in South Africa


iol.co.za
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 18:09 UTC
Image
Six construction workers are dead after being struck by lightning on the N8 outside Botshabelo near Bloemfontein on Wednesday, said paramedics.

Five others were injured, said ER24 spokesman Chitra Bodasing.

The men, between the ages of 20 and 40, took refuge under a structure when it began to rain and the lightning struck.

"ER24 paramedics and other services arrived on scene and found the patients lying in and around the structure," said Bodasing.

The six were declared dead on the scene while the five sustained minor injuries.

They were treated on scene before being transported to a local hospital for further treatment.
Read More...
Sun

California in severe drought - State approves sweeping water restrictions

Kurtis Alexander
San Francisco Chronicle
Tue, 17 Mar 2015 17:47 UTC
Image
California officials approved a package of far-reaching water restrictions Tuesday, limiting homes and businesses in much of the Bay Area and elsewhere to just two days of outdoor watering per week while cracking down on the way restaurants and hotels use water.

The rules mark unprecedented territory for the state, which has historically let local water agencies, with their unique supplies and demands, manage how customers use water. But with California poised for a fourth year of drought and conservation lagging, officials opted for statewide action.

The regulations, carrying fines up to $500, add to restrictions put in place last year that rein in outdoor water use — for example, barring people from hosing down driveways. The new terms tread deeper into homes, businesses and the lives of most Californians, and are indicative of the state's worsening water woes.

"We are not seeing the stepping up and the ringing of alarm bells that the situation warrants," said Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, which voted unanimously for Tuesday's conservation mandates.

The regulations require local water agencies that don't already limit outdoor watering to certain days of the week to adopt a two-day-a-week policy. Among the Bay Area agencies that would have to impose the two-day limit are the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, serving the city's more than 800,000 residents, as well as the Marin Municipal Water District and Contra Costa Water District. Agencies outside San Francisco that buy water from the SFPUC — including on the Peninsula and in parts of the East Bay — are affected only if they do not already impose watering limits.
Read More...
Question

Lebanon, Pennsylvania backyard sinkhole reveals mysterious room

Kendra Nichols
ABC27.com
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:49 UTC
A sinkhole has unearthed a mystery in Lebanon.
Image
© ABC
From above, the sinkhole looks about 10 feet long, four feet wide, and about seven feet deep, but look down inside and you will find there is much more. Stone walls make what appears to be some type of circular room with metal beams supporting a metal ceiling.

"I thought 'oh, my God.' I did not know what to think," Sandra Norton said.

Norton lives at the home in the 100 block of Canal Street with her granddaughter, Ashley Norton. She discovered the hole Saturday afternoon when she let the dogs out in the backyard.
Image
© ABC
Since then, the family has learned a little bit about the history of the property.

"There was an auto body shop in 1925, but in 1875 there was a brick manufacturing," she said.

Norton says her granddaughter has reached out to a contractor to see how much it will cost to fill in the hole. She also hopes to learn more about the property with the help of the Lebanon County Historical Society.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

20,000 affected by flooding in Boca do Acre, Brazil

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:35 UTC
Image
© Seduc – AmazonasFlooded school in Boca do Acre, March 2015.
More than 20,000 people have been affected by flooding caused by the swollen Purus River in Boca do Acre in Amazonas State, Brazil.

Defesa Civil Amazonas (Amazonas state civil defense) have distributed more than 36 tons of humanitarian aid to flood victims, which includes food, medicine, bedding, mosquito nets, drinking water, and water filters.

"We ... are working on the needs of the population and municipal deficiencies caused by this natural disaster," said the Secretary of Defesa Civil Amazonas, Colonel Roberto Rocha.

At least 70 families have been forced from their homes and are being housed in emergency tents. Authorities say that 8 out of the 9 local districts have been affected. Defesa Civil Amazonas reported that the city's water treatment plant has been damaged in the floods. Maize and banana crops have also been flooded.

Read More...
No Entry

Half-mile stretch of road in Sandusky, Ohio road closed due to sinkholes

Andy Ouriel
Sandusky Register
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:38 UTC
Image
© Register/Andy Ouriel
An emerging sinkhole on McIntyre Road near Edison High School forced local officials to shut down a portion of the corridor until further notice.

On Tuesday, after finding a depression caving several inches deep into the pavement, Milan Township officials closed a half-mile stretch of roadway.

Among the areas where a worker blocked off the road to all traffic, including emergency vehicles:

- Heading south, turning off Ohio 113: Vehicles can travel on McIntyre Road up until a driveway leading to a private residence.

- Heading north, turning off Seminary Road: Vehicles can only access a small portion of McIntyre Road.

No homes, businesses or points of interest are located within the barricaded area.

"We're not too sure how it happened," township road employee Dave Fox said. "We can't fill it like a pothole. We have really never dealt with anything (in the Milan area) like this before. If a car hit that spot just right, it would tear up the undercarriage and could possibly cause the vehicle to crash."
Read More...
Evil Rays

Consequences of fracking - Reactivated fault lines in Oklahoma could cause major quake

Jon Herskovitz
Yahoo
Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:40 UTC
Image
Fault lines dating back hundreds of millions of years in Oklahoma that have been recently reactivated could lead to a devastating quake in the state where many structures were not built to withstand major seismic activity, a report said.

The state, which has seen several hundred seismic events over the past five years, has "a high degree of potential earthquake hazards," according to the study accepted for publication this month whose authors include researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

"The majority of the recent earthquakes in central Oklahoma define reactivated ancient faults at shallow depths in the crust" of less than 3.7 miles (6 km), said the report for the American Geophysical Union.

The report did not look at whether the reactivation of the faults was linked to the energy extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Read More...