Earth ChangesS


Igloo

Tajikistan: Medvezhiy Glacier Advances More Than Double Background Rate Since June


NASA.gov
Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:40 UTC
Image
© NASA Earth ObservatoryImage acquired July 23, 2011. NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team and the United States Geological Survey.
In the early summer of 2011, the Medvezhiy Glacier in Tajikistan slid abruptly down its valley and for greater distance than it has in at least 22 years. The sudden downhill slide of the glacier raised concern among glaciologists and emergency management groups about a potential glacial outburst flood that could flow down into the Vanch River valley.

According to satellite imagery and reports from local scientists, the glacier has moved roughly 800 to 1,000 meters since June 2011. The glacier normally moves 200 to 400 meters in an entire year. The mud-covered terminus of the glacier now blocks the Abdukagor River and is forming a lake behind a wall of ice 150 to 200 meters high and 300 to 350 meters across. Cracks and ice tunnels may be allowing some water to flow through; a bridge across the river downstream has been washed out from one water surge so far.

The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image of Medvezhiy Glacier on July 23, 2011. Annotations mark the position of the glacier terminus on May 2, June 3, and July 23, 2011.
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Better Earth

US: Huge 'New Zealand swell' hitting California

Michael Field
Stuff.co.nz
Sun, 04 Sep 2011 09:22 UTC
New Zealand Swell
© APNew Zealand Swell: A beach goer takes photos of surfers and body boarders as a large swell hits California beaches.

Massive waves slamming into California's coast - killing at least one person and causing millions of dollars in damage - are being labelled the "New Zealand surf" because of where they are coming from.

In a rare event, a big weather system between New Zealand and Antarctica has generated a heavy Pacific wide swell, bringing the waves to California.

Sean Collins, chief forecaster and president of Surfline, told news website Patch.com he warned Californian authorities over the swell.
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X

What is going on? First shark attack in the area for more than 20 years: Shark bites legs off bodyboarder in Australia


Associated Press
Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:20 UTC
A shark bit the legs off a bodyboarder at a popular surfing spot in western Australia on Sunday, killing the man, police said. Authories were reportedly searching for the shark as well as the man's missing limbs.

The man in his early 20s was bodyboarding with five friends when the shark attacked, a police spokesman said.

He died at the scene in the surfing haven known as The Farm, off Bunker Bay near the western town of Dunsborough. The beach was closed after the attack.

Comment: Another case to add to the growing list of unusually aggressive behavior exhibited by infamous marine predators starting from August this year.

UK: Did the same shark which killed British honeymooner in Seychelles in front of his new wife also kill French tourist just two weeks ago?

Two Shark Attacks in Russia in One Day

Mystery of five shark attacks in a week

Another shark attack reported in Russia's Far East

Riding their luck in California, US: 12ft Great White shark pictured in San Diego wave just feet away from oblivious surfers

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Stop

Riding their luck in California, US: 12ft Great White shark pictured in San Diego wave just feet away from oblivious surfers

Paul Bentley
The Daily Mail
Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:15 UTC
As Labor Day weekend begins, many will be planning family trips to the beach.

Although, for those in San Diego, this picture might make them think twice.

A terrifying photograph shows the moment a Great White shark was spotted in a wave in Encinitas, California - just a few feet away from completely oblivious surfers.

Image
© CBS8Lurking: The shark, furthest right, swims through the wave the surfers try to ride
Gary Elliott, a passer-by who took the picture on Wednesday was convinced he had seen a shark - and the claim has now been backed up by marine experts.
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Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: Disasters in US: An Extreme and Exhausting Year

Seth Borenstein
The Associated Press
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 06:43 UTC
weather
© unknown
Nature is pummeling the United States this year with extremes.

Unprecedented triple-digit heat and devastating drought. Deadly tornadoes leveling towns. Massive rivers overflowing. A billion-dollar blizzard. And now, unusual hurricane-caused flooding in Vermont.

If what's falling from the sky isn't enough, the ground shook in places that normally seem stable: Colorado and the entire East Coast. On Friday, a strong quake triggered brief tsunami warnings in Alaska. Arizona and New Mexico have broken records for wildfires.

Total weather losses top $35 billion, and that's not counting Hurricane Irene, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. There have been more than 700 U.S. disaster and weather deaths, most from the tornado outbreaks this spring.

Last year, the world seemed to go wild with natural disasters in the deadliest year in a generation. But 2010 was bad globally, and the United States mostly was spared.

This year, while there have been devastating events elsewhere, such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Australia's flooding and a drought in Africa, it's our turn to get smacked. Repeatedly.

Comment: Notice the Global Warming - you have to get used to it - propaganda: "The idea is that these events keep happening, and with global warming they should occur more often, so society has to learn to adapt, said former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA's deputy chief."

What they don't mention is that global warming inevitably leads to global cooling, as in the Ice Age Cometh! An Ice Age means the deaths of millions if not billions of human beings because there simply will be no food with the disruption of growing cycles and destruction of agricultural land. Even without an Ice Age, the Earth has long since passed its carrying capacity. See Lierre Keith's The Vegetarian Myth for details.

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Cloud Lightning

US, Indiana: Storm Causing Flood Delays Second Half of Notre Dame Game


The Associated Press
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:22 UTC
Notre Dame Stadium
© unknownNotre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame and South Florida returned to the field Saturday after a halftime delay of more than two hours caused by storms that prompted officials to ask fans to evacuate Notre Dame Stadium.

After two storms passed, but with lightning strikes still visible away from the stadium, the teams came back on the field for a 12 1-2 minute warmup period before resuming play. The total delay was 2 hours, 10 minutes. South Florida led 16-0 against a sloppy Irish team that was hurt by turnovers.

Notre Dame made one big change during the long delay. They replaced struggling starting quarterback Dayne Crist with Tommy Rees. Crist, starting for the first time since he suffered the second knee injury of his career last Oct. 30, was just 7-for-15 for 85 yards with an interception in the first half.
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Bizarro Earth

Vanuatu - Earthquake Magnitude 7.0


USGS
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:32 UTC
Vanuatu Quake_030911
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Saturday, September 03, 2011 at 22:55:36 UTC

Sunday, September 04, 2011 at 09:55:36 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
20.585°S, 169.696°E

Depth:
132.4 km (82.3 miles)

Region:
VANUATU

Distances:
122 km (75 miles) SSE of Isangel, Tanna, Vanuatu

217 km (134 miles) ENE of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

347 km (215 miles) SSE of PORT-VILA, Efate, Vanuatu

1860 km (1155 miles) ENE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia
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Snowman

Best of the Web: Early Winter Snowfall Predicted For Ireland and UK

Mark Dunphy
Irish Weather Online
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:12 UTC
UK under snow
© MODISIreland and UK from space on Christmas Day 2010.
A long range weather forecaster is predicting an early start to winter 2011-2012 for many regions of the United Kingdom and Ireland. James Madden of Exacta Weather says heavy snowfalls are likely in places as soon as late October and early November.

Last week, UK-based Positive Weather Solutions also predicted that the winter months will be colder than average everywhere and that some regions will experience significantly colder than average temperatures between December and March.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Increased Activity at 22 Volcanoes, Alert Raised

Adianto P. Simamora
The Jakarta Post
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:28 UTC
Twin Peaks
© Komodo Park.comTwin volcanoes in Flores Island, Indonesia.
The government has requested that local administrations remain on the alert for severe risks of volcanic eruptions, as the number of volcanoes showing abnormal activity continued to raise.

As of Friday, activity in 22 volcanoes was categorized as above normal, with six at alert level three and 16 at level two. Volcano status ranges from level one, which is normal, to four, which is the highest alert.

The Volcanology and Geophysical Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) raised the status of Papandayan, one of the major tourist destinations in Garut, West Java, to alert level three on Friday.

"There were 48 shallow volcanic earthquakes detected, with one deep volcanic earthquake and a white cloud emitted as high as 20 meters on Thursday," National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Sutopo added that his office had prepared contingency plans to anticipate worst-case scenarios if
Papandayan erupts.

"If Papandayan erupts, it would impact 171,744 people living in the five subdistricts and 20 villages," he said.

Indonesia has been dubbed the world's most disaster-prone country for its frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods and droughts.
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Bizarro Earth

Tropical Storm Lee Begins Pelting Gulf Coast

Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
Sat, 03 Sep 2011 08:47 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Gerald HerbertA hotel is reflected in puddles of rain from approaching Tropical Storm Lee at a streetcar track, as a streetcar passes through Lee Circle, in New Orleans, Friday, Sept. 2, 2011.
Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Lee were falling in southern Louisiana and pelting the Gulf Coast on Saturday as the storm's center trudged slowly toward land, where businesses were already beginning to suffer on what would normally be a bustling holiday weekend. The storm could drop as much as 20 inches of rain in some areas.

Tropical storm warning flags were flying from Mississippi to Texas and flash flood warnings extended along the Alabama coast into the Florida Panhandle. The storm's slow forward movement means that its rain clouds should have more time to disgorge themselves on any cities in their path.

The National Hurricane Center said the center of Lee was about 45 miles (72 km) south of New Iberia and moving north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). It was expected to cross the Louisiana coast Saturday and meander through the state's southern parishes through Sunday.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say that Lee's maximum sustained winds had increased to 60 miles per hour (95 kph) Saturday morning.
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