Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - E of Bristol Island, South Sandwich Islands


US Geological Survey
Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:20 UTC
Sandwich Island Quake_190313
© USGS
Event Time
2013-03-19 03:29:00 UTC
2013-03-19 01:29:00 UTC-02:00 at epicenter

Location
58.915°S 24.410°W depth=31.3km (19.4mi)

Nearby Cities
121km (75mi) E of Bristol Island, South Sandwich Islands
2666km (1657mi) ESE of Ushuaia, Argentina
2900km (1802mi) SE of Rio Gallegos, Argentina
2906km (1806mi) ESE of Punta Arenas, Chile
2241km (1392mi) SE of Stanley, Falkland IslandsTechnical Details
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Extinguisher

Wildfire burns outside Great Smoky Mountains


Houston Chronicle
Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:46 UTC
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© CURT HABRAKEN/APFirefighters set a boundary as cabins burn on Black Bear Cub Way in Sevier County, Tenn., on Sunday. As of 8 p.m., there were 32 cabins reported burned with 40 more in danger.
A wildfire burning in a resort area outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee has destroyed more than 30 large rental cabins.

The 145-acre fire was first reported around 5 p.m. EDT Sunday in Sevier County, said Ben Bryson, a fire resources coordinator with the Tennessee Division of Forestry. Smoke was reported to be visible from 25 miles away.

Bryson said early Monday that the fire was contained and not expected to spread.

Some of the cabins were occupied and about 150 to 200 people were evacuated, but no injuries were reported, Bryson said.

After dawn Monday, two Tennessee Air National Guard helicopters took off from nearby McGhee Tyson Airport. A state Forestry Division spokesman said the helicopters would be used to scoop up water from Douglas Lake and drop it on the fire.
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Arrow Down

Sinkhole opens up on Lincoln Street in Bangor, Maine

Alex Barber
Bangor Daily News
Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:30 UTC
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© Alex Barber | BDN
A sinkhole big enough to swallow a Volkswagen opened up on Lincoln Street next to the Bangor Daily News parking lot on Sunday. The hole is about three feet deep and eight feet long. Orange cones had been placed around the hole to warn motorists. Bangor Public Works Foreman Matthew Oakes said he had not yet seen the sinkhole, but said it would likely be addressed first thing on Monday.
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© Brian Feulner | BDN
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Arrow Down

Sinkholes: Getting to the bottom of science


The Dallas Chronicle
Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:39 UTC
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© APVanishing: A giant sinkhole under the Tampa home where Jeff Bush was swallowed by the Earth.
The ground suddenly opening beneath our feet is the stuff of nightmares.

In recent weeks, a spate of those bad-dreams-come-true have drawn national attention when the earth seemingly swallowed a man in his Florida bedroom and a golfer in Illinois.

After the widespread coverage of those sinkholes and others, some experts say the phenomena may be scarier in thought than reality.

Only about 20 percent of the country has underground geology that favors the formation of natural sinkholes, the U.S. Geological Survey says. But in developed areas, any pipeline or sewer can collapse in the right circumstances.

"I'd guess there is this primal fear of being swallowed up by the earth and taken to hell,'' said Paul Greene, an associate professor of psychology at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., who works with disaster victims.

"I recall scenes from the movie Ghost when the evil characters die and their souls are taken down in the ground by demons.''

Comment: Scripps Howard News left out countless other incidents last year where people were killed by sinkholes, especially in China:

Sinkhole swallows girl in China

Another sink hole opens up in China killing two - Baby girl's miracle rescue from 33ft-deep crater as busy road collapses

Giant 30m Chinese sinkhole opens up on road and swallows car

Interesting that they should pick out a fundie Christian news aggregator rather than the original alt.news website that has been on top of this since the beginning. In addition, SOTT.net has rationally pointed out that sinkholes are clearly an unexplained natural phenomenon. Although we have not yet determined how they happen or why they suddenly increased in number in 2007, we think at this point that they are probably one result of an infinitesimal but statistically significant slow-down in the rotation of the planet, brought on by solar system-wide 'climate change'. Combined with giant fissures opening up the world over; an increase in the number of strong earthquakes - especially in the last two decades; a weakened planetary magnetic field; and a lower, cooler upper atmosphere... it's clear that sinkholes are yet another Sign of the Times.

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Bizarro Earth

Rare earthquakes rattle Auckland

Matthew Backhouse, Matthew Theunissen
New Zealand Herald
Sun, 17 Mar 2013 02:03 UTC
Auckland Quake
© Tamaryn PeddieDriveway cracks after the earthquake in Unsworth Heights North Shore.
A "moderate" 3.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Auckland today was the biggest in the city since February 2007, GeoNet says.

The tremor, which struck at 4.05pm, was five kilometres deep and was centred near Motatapu Island, 15 kms north-east of the city.

GeoNet described its intensity as "moderate".

"It's quite rare to get any felt events in Auckland, but occasionally we do have some like this," said duty officer Nico Fournier.

He said the earthquake did not indicate an increase in volcanic activity under New Zealand's biggest city, which is dotted with volcanoes.

"Because we have volcanoes in Auckland and then we had this earthquake it doesn't mean the two are related. There is no indication of that."

Further earthquakes were possible, he said.

"Usually when you get earthquakes there are aftershocks, so certainly in the next hours or days there is a possibility of further small earthquakes, but right now it's looking pretty calm.

"There's no indication that it will be the case, but we can't exclude it."

Fire Service spokesman Jaron Phillips said the northern communications centre fielded calls about the quake from across Auckland.
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Stop

White nose syndrome: the mysterious bat fungus that threatens entire species, everyone else

Rocco Penn
Techi
Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:54 UTC
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© Unknown
We know what it is. We know what it does. We have an idea of how it's being spread. Despite a large number of concerned scientists focused on white nose syndrome (WNS), the bat fungus that is spreading rapidly and that has a 95% mortality rate, we still don't know how it started, how to slow its spread, and how to cure it.

Bats are not normally considered essential parts of the ecosystem, but they are an integral part in balancing the natural infrastructure of the world, particularly in insect population control. Areas where the bats have been hit by WNS have noted a measurable increase in insects, including those that are damaging to crops.

Here's what we know. A white fungus grows on the face and wings of bats as they hibernate in lower temperatures. This stirs the bats and makes them active prematurely. As a result of increased activity during times of limited food supply, they die. Estimates are conservative placing the deaths of bats in North America at around 6 million since it was first noted in 2006.

The spread is continuing. It starts in caves and spreads throughout them where tens of thousands of bats may be hibernating. It then spreads bat to bat, infecting other caves as a result. From Canada to Alabama and from the east coast to the Mississippi river, more bat caves are being infected every month.
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Snowflake Cold

Snowbound drivers rescued after winter storm chaos recedes

Martin Wainwright
Guardian
Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:42 UTC
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© Luke Macgregor/ReutersAn abandoned caravan on the South Downs near Brighton.
The last of hundreds of tired and cold drivers were rescued from stranded cars on Tuesday after winter's late revival brought chaos to both sides of the Channel.

Major roads were blocked in southern England, northern France and Belgium, and Eurostar trains were halted by bad weather on the European mainland.

A man was taken in a critically ill condition to St George's hospital in Tooting, south London, after being hit by a telegraph pole that fell in high winds. The 27-year-old suffered head injuries and a cardiac arrest.

Two other people were freed with minor injuries from the debris of fallen trees, and a 19-year-old woman was treated for head injuries after a three-car pile-up on the M23 in Sussex. There were 771 road accidents, but no fatal injuries, in the county, which took the brunt of blizzards with neighbouring Kent on Monday night.
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Igloo

The new Mini Ice Age is upon us!

Robert Felix
IceAge Now
Sat, 16 Mar 2013 14:19 UTC
"The CO2 story is over. It has been pointing the world in the wrong direction for too long."

"MIA (Mini Ice Age ) fingerprint now overwhelming," says astrophysicist Piers Corbyn of WeatherAction.com.

"March 10th 1947 was the day of the thaw ending the late snowy cold winter of 1947 in Britain & Europe and there was a giant sunspot group at the centre of the solar disc," says Corbyn.

"This year, three magnetic (22yr) solar cycles later, solar activity has been generally very low and this day marked deep cold " - heralding more snow, on 12th, when snow blizzards hit S/E England (Pic Folkstone) as WeatherAction forecasted in detail 25 days ahead.

"This is further evidence of the inevitable plunge from now into the new Mini-Ice Age we warned of some years ago", said Corbyn just last week (March 10th).

"The CO2 story is over. It has been pointing the world in the wrong direction for too long. The serious implications of the developing MIA to agriculture and the world economy through the next 25 to 35 years must be addressed. "

"Warmists have been fiddling ("selecting") data for years. But whatever they do, even with "new" data, the world is cooling while CO2 continues to rise.

Source: Astrophysicist Piers Corbyn of WeatherAction.com (PDF)
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Snowman

Snow in Georgia, USA in March!


West Cobb Patch
Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:17 UTC
Image
Rain will return Tuesday, but only briefly before moving out Wednesday.

Our weekend brush with snow wasn't much to write home about, but it did break a record for March 3 - but that record previously stood at zero snowfall.

Around here, we got a dusting, but some parts of northern Georgia got an inch of snow, maybe more in the mountains. It all melted pretty quickly.

Tuesday will be warmer, with the high expected to reach about 63, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Rain is expected to return, with showers and thunderstorms before 4 p.m., then showers likely. But the rain should move out by Wednesday, when the day's high will approach the low 50s, with the nighttime low dipping to about 31.

The daytime temps are set to make a return to the 60s headed into the weekend.
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Snowflake Cold

Record low temperatures giving Florida spring breakers a chilly welcome


CBS Tampa Bay
Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:14 UTC
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© SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty ImagesIt's cold in Florida this March
Spring Breakers flocking south to Florida's typically warm and sunny beaches are bringing along a very unwelcome guest this year - Old Man Winter.

Temperatures averaging 10 to 20 degrees below normal have taken a southward dip into the southeastern portion of the U.S., with temperature highs sitting unseasonably low in the 50 and 60 degree range.

"Bathers may need a wet suit instead of a bathing suit for a couple of days," senior AccuWeather Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski joked in his report.

CapitalClimate reports that record low temperatures were set in Florida on Wednesday: Naples hit 36 degrees, Tallahassee hit 18 degrees and pockets of Florida saw it get even colder with the Gainesville area dropping to 10.7 degrees in northern Florida and the Lake Okeechobee area in southern Florida dipping down to 15.3 degrees.
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