Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

New Zealand: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - East of the North Island

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 07:53:12 UTC

Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 07:53:12 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
35.430°S, 177.878°W

Depth:
13.4 km (8.3 miles)

Region:
EAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Distances:
1609 km (1000 miles) S (189°) from NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga

3428 km (2130 miles) SW (229°) from PAPEETE, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Bizarro Earth

Japan: Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - Near East Coast of Honshu

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 08:00:07 UTC

Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 05:00:07 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
36.289°N, 141.308°E

Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles)

Region:
NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

Distances:
74 km (45 miles) E of Mito, Honshu, Japan

92 km (57 miles) SSE of Iwaki, Honshu, Japan

131 km (81 miles) ESE of Utsunomiya, Honshu, Japan

155 km (96 miles) ENE of TOKYO, Japan

Bizarro Earth

Cuba: Earthquake Magnitude 5.1 - Near Cuba

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 08:43:07 UTC

Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 04:43:07 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
19.563°N, 78.008°W

Depth:
5 km (3.1 miles)

Region:
CUBA REGION

Distances:
122 km (75 miles) N of Montego Bay, Jamaica

169 km (105 miles) WSW of Bayamo, Cuba

216 km (134 miles) NW of KINGSTON, Jamaica

722 km (448 miles) SSE of Miami, Florida

Question

Blue Whale Song Recorded Above Water


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Off Long Beach, a blue whale made what may have been the first above-surface vocalization ever witnessed, and NBC News happened to have cameras rolling.

A camera crew from NBC News captured what may be a first and aired it tonight: the song of a blue whale above the water. It is a low groan but you can hear it loud and clear.

The extraordinarily rare performance occurred off the coast of Long Beach, where four blue whales treated a boatful of whale watchers and the news crew to a wild show few people have ever seen.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, an American Cetacean Society researcher, told Pete Thomas Outdoors it was a once in a lifetime experience.

"We heard it through the air, loud and clear," she said. "It was a strange, alien sound. It really was an extraordinary thing."

Three smaller male blue whales were pursuing one large female blue whale. They were swimming faster than normal and in tight circles when the female surfaced along side the Christopher out of Harbor Breeze Cruises.

Bizarro Earth

Can earthquakes trigger volcanic eruptions?

Volcano and earthquakes
Waveforms for quake off Kapoho Thursday

Seismologists are often asked the question, "Can large earthquakes trigger volcanic eruptions?" The short answer is yes, earthquakes and volcanic processes are closely linked, as suggested by the existence of the "ring of fire" of active volcanoes and earthquakes circling the Pacific Ocean.

A volcanic eruption occurs when the force of the magma plumbing system exceeds the force holding the rock together between the magma chamber and the surface. For earthquakes that are relatively close to an active volcano, the displacement of the earthquake itself can change the stresses around the magma chamber, possibly bringing the volcano closer to an eruption. Depending on the type of earthquake and the geometry of the fault, different areas around the earthquake source area may be subject to increased compression or relaxation. A nearby magma chamber that experiences relaxation of the crust above the chamber as a result of a large nearby earthquake would be more likely to erupt because less force would be required from within to push the crust apart.

Bizarro Earth

Near Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska - Earthquake Magnitude 6.1

Alaska Quake_140911
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 18:10:07 UTC

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 09:10:07 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
53.138°N, 173.022°E

Depth:
1 km (~0.6 mile) (poorly constrained)

Region:
NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA

Distances:
27 km (16 miles) NNW of Attu, Alaska

87 km (54 miles) WNW of Shemya Island, Alaska

3180 km (1975 miles) W of WHITEHORSE, Yukon Territory, Canada

3236 km (2010 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan

Bizarro Earth

Is the End of Salmon Near?

Salmon
© Getty ImagesA school of Chinook salmon. New research shows the fish could vanish from many rivers by the end of the century.

A warming climate is likely to wipe out spring-run Chinook salmon in at least one California watershed by the century's end, found a new study.

No matter which climate projections the researchers used, warmer waters spelled major trouble for the fish in the coming decades if people do nothing to help the fish. And the findings are likely to apply to a variety of salmon species up and down the West Coast, especially in California where temperatures are closest to the tipping point.

"I saw the results almost a year ago, and I just sat at my desk and cried," said Lisa Thompson, a fisheries biologist at the University of California, Davis. "Fish weren't making it through to the end of the century in almost all cases."

"Things look grim," she added. "But there are things we can do."

For the last five years, Thompson and colleagues have been studying spring-run Chinook salmon in the Butte Creek watershed, in the Central Valley of California. These types of fish are particularly sensitive to climate change because adults spend their summers in freshwater streams before spawning in the fall. And compared to the Pacific Ocean, where the fish spend the rest of the year, streams are far quicker to warm up in hot conditions.

More than a million spring-run Chinook used to live in the waters of the Central Valley, Thompson said. Today there are fewer than 10,000 of them -- a decline of 99 percent.

Bizarro Earth

Five Indonesian Volcanoes to Keep Eye On

Mt Merapi
© Antara / Regina SafriMount Merapi Eruption in 2010.
Indonesia, situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, has about 130 active volcanoes. Now few of them even have seismic activities.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has the data that there are 21 volcanoes whose status is above normal-active. "The five volcanoes of alert status (level III) are Mt Tambora, Mt Anak Ranakah, Mt Papandayan, Mt Karangetang and Mt Lokon," said BNPB Head of Data Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Tuesday.

He explained that the status of Mt Tambora and Mt Anak Ranakah was elevated almost in the same time, on September 8, 2011.

In addition to those of alert status, 16 volcanoes in Indonesia whose status is level II namely Soputan, Ibu, Lewotobi Perempuan, Marapi, Bromo, Dieng, Gamkonora, Merapi, Sinabung, Talang, Kerinci, Krakatau, Semeru, Sangeangapi, Gamalama and Dukuno.

Bizarro Earth

US: California Earthquake Magnitude 4.1 - Greater Los Angeles Area

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 14:44:51 UTC

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 07:44:51 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
33.953°N, 117.076°W

Depth:
16.9 km (10.5 miles)

Region:
GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA

Distances:
9 km (6 miles) SSW (196°) from Yucaipa, CA

10 km (6 miles) WNW (289°) from Beaumont, CA

13 km (8 miles) SSE (162°) from Mentone, CA

14 km (9 miles) ENE (78°) from Moreno Valley, CA

109 km (67 miles) E (96°) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA

Bizarro Earth

US: Some report rumbling from Alabama earthquake; epicenter near Center Point

Image
© USGS
A 3.0 magnitude earthquake reported tonight was strong enough to knock pictures off a few walls in Trussville, but police reported no structural damage.

"Some people felt the rumbling," said Lt. Paul Skaggs. "A lot of people must not have, because we only got a few calls on it."

The epicenter of the earthquake -- which was reported just before 6 p.m. -- was about three miles south of Center Point, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There have been other earthquakes in Alabama this year: a 2.1 magnitude was reported in August in Fayette; two earthquakes -- one a 2.2, the other a 2.5 -- were detected in one week in March in Limestone County; and in February a magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck just south of Fort Morgan in south Alabama.