Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

New Zealand's Volcano Alert at New High

Matthew Backhouse and Kieran Campbell
New Zealand Herald
Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:32 UTC
Mt. Tongariro
© Greg BowkerAn aerial view over the Tongariro National Park.
A "sudden rise" in volcanic activity at Mt Tongariro has prompted scientists to lift its volcanic alert status for the first time.

But local businesses and conservation authorities remain unconcerned as they seek to reassure visitors it is "business as usual" at National Park.

GNS Science this afternoon lifted Mt Tongariro's volcanic alert status from level zero to level one, and increased the aviation status from green to yellow.

It said a series of more than 20 "small" volcanic earthquakes had been recorded at Tongariro since July 13 - more than the average of two per year according to historic seismic data.

The quakes, below a magnitude of 2.5 and between 2-7km deep, were recorded in a cluster zone between Emerald Crater and Te Maari craters.

The sequence of earthquakes soon declined but restarted on Wednesday and increased in number yesterday and today.
Read More...
Radar

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake shakes Victoria, Australia

Martin Zavan
NineMSN.com.au
Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:51 UTC
Image
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck Victoria this evening.

The quake struck in Moe, 117km east south east of Melbourne, at 7.11pm.

A number of Twitter users across Victoria have reported feeling tremors but there have been no reports of damage so far.

A seismologist with Geoscience Australia, Jonathan Bathgate, said the quake felt this evening was an aftershock from the 5.4 earthquake that struck 16km southwest of Moe last month.

"There have been in excess of 200 aftershocks since the June 19 earthquake," he said.

"This one is the largest recorded."

The scientist added that the aftershocks could conceivably carry on for a number of weeks.

Members of the public have been urged not to dial triple zero unless there is an emergency.
Read More...
Arrow Down

Record low temperatures in Fiji

Tevita Vuibau
Fiji Times Online
Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:47 UTC
The chilly weather gripping the country is expected to continue into the weekend with forecasters predicting cooler nights for the country.

Records kept by the Nadi weather office show the lowest temperature measured this week was 15 degrees Celsius at Rarawai mill in Ba.

Other major centres also recorded low temperatures in the past week with Suva experiencing 21 degrees, Lautoka 17.6 degrees and Nadi at 18 degrees.

According to the weather office the cold spell is being caused by strong south east wind flow bringing in cold air from the south.

"These conditions are expected to continue into the weekend, however, it should start getting warmer next week," a forecaster said. Temperatures in the Western Division are expected to drop to 15 and 16 degrees Celsius in the weekend with the Central Division expected to record lows of 18 and 19 degrees.
Read More...
Igloo

Satellite study of Asian mountains show that glaciers are NOT melting - and some are actually gaining new ice

Rob Waugh
Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:34 UTC
Image
Experts cautioned that the gain is so small that the glaciers might not actually be growing - but what is clear is that the glaciers are not shrinking, according to a report published in Nature Geoscience
Huge glaciers in the area between Pakistan and China are puzzling scientists - and disproving the doom-laden predictions of some climate experts.

The glaciers in the Karakoram Range between northern Pakistan and western China have actually grown, rather than shrinking.

Unlike most mountain glaciers, the Karakoram glaciers, which account for 3 percent of the total ice-covered area in the world, excluding Greenland and Antarctica, are not shrinking.

A team of French glaciologists has recently confirmed that these glaciers on average have remained stable or may have even grown slightly in recent years.

The new study used data from satellites to study the Karakoram Range of northern Pakistan and western China.

The researchers found that the ice had actually increased in thickness by 0.11 (plus or minus 0.22) meters per year between 1999 and 2008.

Experts cautioned that the gain is so small that the glaciers might not actually be growing - but what is clear is that the glaciers are not shrinking, according to a report published in Nature Geoscience.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Tornado downed trees near Locustville, Virginia

Carol Vaughn
delmarvanow.com
Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:24 UTC
Image
Viewer photo of reported tornado from from WTKR.com.
The Accomack County Department of Public Safety said its investigation found signs of tornado damage after a tornado reportedly touched down near Locustville on Saturday afternoon.

Newly hired Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Jones told the Board of Supervisors DOS personnel found damage to trees in the area behind Accawmacke Elementary School as well as the wooded area off Nedab Lane.

One vehicle received minor damage from a fallen tree and numerous trees were downed and were found to be twisted off from the ground up.

Several roads also flooded during the storm, which reportedly dumped nearly 4 inches of rain in some spots near Locustville and up to 6 inches in Gargatha.

No injuries were reported and no structural damage was found besides downed electric wires and a pole.
Read More...
Arrow Up

Grain price volatility from global crop failures will impact food industry by September

Kacey Culliney
Bakery and Snacks
Tue, 17 Jul 2012 04:48 UTC
Image
A drought stricken corn field is seen in DeWitt, Iowa July 12, 2012.
Price spikes in the US grains market fuelled by a lengthy drought will be felt by bakery and snack manufacturers around September, according to an industry analyst.

A drought in the US and soaring temperatures in the Black Sea region have created a volatile grain futures market that has led to lower yield estimations for the 2012-13 season. The US Department of Agriculture has projected that global wheat stocks for this season will be at a three year low.

As a result, prices have spiked significantly and Francisco Redruello, senior food analyst at Euromonitor International, said that this volatility across the grains sector will have implications for bakery and snack firms in the near future.

"If price rises continue in August, it will increase in-put costs for bakery and snack manufacturers," Redruello told BakeryandSnacks.com.

It could become a "significant" problem for firms if dry conditions continue, he said.

"Impact on prices will probably start to be felt in September, when current futures contracts expire," he added.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Idaho woman killed driving to work after sinkhole opens up overnight and swallows her car


KTVB.com
Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:02 UTC
Melba, Idaho - A sinkhole near Melba claimed the life of a woman who was driving to work early Saturday morning on Butte Road, just east of South Powerline Road.

Kieran Donahue, a long-time deputy with the Canyon County Sheriff's Office, says this is a freak accident. He says there are rarely sinkholes in the county, let alone one that would appear on a road and kill someone.

But investigators say 32-year-old Sonia Lopez was driving to work at about 4:15 a.m. Saturday on Butte Road, south of Melba, and apparently didn't see the 20-foot wide sinkhole right in front of her.

"She's driving early in the morning hours, probably pitch black, and literally just drives right into this 2-3 foot deep hole," said Donahue.

Lopez was not wearing her seatbelt and was found dead more than an hour later by an out-of-county deputy.

Now filled-in, the only sign of the sinkhole and accident is a fresh patch of asphalt and a memorial to a young woman gone too soon. A yellow cross with messages like, "Love you and miss you so much" stands just feet from where the hole was.

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - Kuril Islands


US Geological Survey
Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:37 UTC
Kuril Islands Quake_200712
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time
Friday, July 20, 2012 at 06:10:25 UTC

Friday, July 20, 2012 at 06:10:25 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
49.418°N, 155.935°E

Depth
22.7 km (14.1 miles)

Region
KURIL ISLANDS

Distances
137 km (85 miles) S of Severo-Kuril'sk, Russia

424 km (263 miles) SSW of Vilyuchinsk, Russia

442 km (274 miles) SSW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia

449 km (278 miles) SSW of Yelizovo, Russia
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Canary Islands Wildfires Continue to Rage


Terra Daily
Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:00 UTC
Image
© tri-cityherald.com
Spanish authorities evacuated a town of 1,800 residents on the Canary Islands on Tuesday, after three days of firefighting efforts failed to prevent a raging wildfire from reaching it.

Residents were evacuating from the town of Vilaflor, south of the Teide national park that spans the centre of the Spanish island of Tenerife, as flames reached parts of the town.

Emergency services "are evacuating residents from Vilaflor due to the advance of the fire from the east," the regional government said in a statement Tuesday evening.
Read More...
X

Nuclear Insanity: Japan Refires Second Reactor at Station Sitting on Tectonic Fault


Agence France Presse
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00 UTC
Image
© digitaljournal.com
Japan's nuclear safety watchdog on Wednesday ordered a probe into claims the country's only working nuclear power station sits on an active tectonic fault.

The order came as Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) readied to refire a second reactor at the Oi plant, western Japan, just weeks after the first unit was restarted, ending a brief nuclear-free period in earthquake-prone Japan.

A spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said KEPCO had to re-examine the Earth's crust underneath Oi, while the operator of the Shika plant in nearby Ishikawa also had to carry out further studies.

The decision came after geological experts argued both plants are likely sitting on active faults and could be vulnerable to earthquakes if tectonic plates shift.
Read More...