Earth ChangesS


Extinguisher

US: Smoking Steaming Hillside Phenomenon - Southern California

Sheilaaliens
YouTube
Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:50 UTC
smoke,hillside
© snip /3 ABC

Hope Ranch - An unsolved mystery is smoldering on a dirt hillside below Hope Ranch. Smoke and steam are coming out of the soil, very similar to an event in October of 2006. Geologists have said a landslide five years ago may have opened up a crack in the bluff. That may have added oxygen to an underground super heated tar site.

The hot zone is being controlled with sprinklers spraying waters in all directions.

A fence is up in the area to keep inquisitive beach walkers away.

Santa Barbara County Fire officials say there is no immediate threat to the area or risk to the public.
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Stop

Mystery of five shark attacks in a week

Glenda Kwek
Peninsula Weekly
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:10 UTC
Are humans to blame for attacks? Bo Derek backs bill banning shark-fin trade.

Five shark attacks in a week - all in places where the predators are unusual - have foxed experts.

Some marine scientists said the attacks - on a British honeymooner in the Seychelles and four others in Russia and Puerto Rico - could be a result of warmer waters caused by climate change.

Others believe overfishing or more people swimming may be to blame.

But they all agree science does not yet fully understand the behaviour and movement of sharks.
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Stop

Two Shark Attacks in Russia in One Day


International Business Times
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:44 UTC
Image
© Manos MatsakisA hammerhead shark is thought to be the culprit.
The Russian word for shark is "akoohlah," which will be useful for tourists swimming on the country's Pacific coast, in the Sea of Japan. Two people were attacked by sharks in the Far Eastern Primorye Territory in a 24-hour period.

In the first case, a 16-year-old swimming around the Zheltukhina island on Wednesday was bitten in the leg. He is recovering in a Vladivostok hospital.

"The young man's flippers and wetsuit saved him from death. Some 20 meters off the coast, the shark grabbed the man's legs, but the wetsuit served as a protective covering," doctors told Russian daily RIA Novosti.

Another man near Vityaz village had both his arms bit off by a rogue shark. The 25-year-old was about 30 miles from the location of the first incident, and according to reports, he fought off the animal to protect his wife.
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Eye 1

US: Pig-Size South American Rodent Spotted in Central California

Lauren F. Friedman
Scientific American
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:18 UTC
Image
© Nick Kamp/KSBY/KION
Nick Kamp, who works at a water treatment plant in Paso Robles, Calif., was near a solid-waste pond when he spotted something emerging from the murky water. He quickly snapped a few photos of what turned out to be a capybara, the world's largest rodent, before it slipped back into the water and swam away.

Capybaras resemble huge guinea pigs and can grow to be as large as sheep, sometimes reaching more than 1.3 meters in length. They eat grass, freshwater plants and - to aide digestion - their own feces. The semiaquatic mammals are native to South American marshlands and swamps, but this sighting in central California was not the first.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Alaska's mysterious floating orange goo identified as 'rusting' fungal spores but local Eskimos fear fish will be poisoned


The Daily Mail
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:02 UTC
orange goo alaska
© NOAA FisheriesThe orange goo that washed ashore near the village of Kivalina was identified as microscopic eggs (shown here) from a crustacean
The mystery of the floating orange goo has been solved.

But the results have only served to increase the fears of the small Alaskan village which spotted the colourful sight struck on their lagoon for the first time ever two weeks ago.

It soon disappeared but the local Eskimo community, which relies on the surrounding waters for its very existence, feared long-term damage to the water quality and particularly the fish and plants they use for food.

At first the leading theory suggested the goo was made up of millions of microscopic eggs.

But now scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have confirmed the presence of fungal spores which create rust, explaining the luminous colour.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Overnight storms, hail pound northwestern Minnesota


InForum
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:58 UTC
Severe weather pounded northwestern Minnesota and the Bemidji area with hail and rain early this morning, leaving behind various reports of damage, the National Weather Service said.

Image
© AccuWeatherr
The storms began around midnight, rattling Red Lake Falls with hail as large as 1-inch in diameter.

Trained weather spotters, media and members of the public reported to the weather service that the hail also pounded the communities of Mentor, Erskine, McIntosh, Fosston and Pinewood as the line of storms moved eastward.

Several of the reports said the hail was generally about the size of a dime or nickel, but with some pellets reaching the size of a quarter or larger.

By 2 a.m., the storms rolled into Bemidji with a fierce combination of hail, wind and rain.

The weather service received reports of ping-pong ball-sized hail and winds of up to 70 mph in the southeast part of town.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Another Haboob storm envelops Phoenix, downs power lines


ABC15 / Associated Press
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:41 UTC
Crews are cleaning up after severe storms moved through the Valley Thursday night. Many are eager to see what damage has been done. "It will be interesting to see what it looks like after sunrise," said Sgt. Ryan Skedel of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

Image
© Matt York / APLightning reveals a large layer of dust in the sky over Gilbert, Ariz., on Thursday.
Sunrise revealed quite a sight. Utility poles blown over by heavy winds snapped like toothpicks along the Hunt Highway where stranded vehicles were still on the road as of 6:20 am Friday. The storm moved through Eloy, Casa Grande, San Tan Valley and Queen Creek before it hit central Phoenix just before 6 p.m. Thursday.

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Bizarro Earth

Japan: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - East Coast of Honshu


US Geological Survey
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:26 UTC
Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Friday, August 19, 2011 at 05:36:32 UTC

Friday, August 19, 2011 at 02:36:32 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
37.673°N, 141.716°E

Depth:
43.6 km (27.1 miles)

Region:
NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

Distances:
99 km (61 miles) SE of Sendai, Honshu, Japan
103 km (64 miles) NE of Iwaki, Honshu, Japan
113 km (70 miles) E of Fukushima, Honshu, Japan
283 km (175 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan
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Attention

US, California: Exclusive look at deadly sinkhole in Bakersfield

Carol Ferguson
Bakersfield Now
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:40 UTC
Photos from an oil field near Taft give a first look at the area where a sinkhole opened up, killing a Chevron worker. State officials have banned steam injection at problem areas near two wells, and they say more steam and fluids are reaching the surface.


Eyewitness News obtained photos from the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources. The images from DOGGR show a hilly area of the large Midway Sunset Field. It's the place where Robert David Taylor, 54, was killed June 21 when he fell into a sinkhole.

The photos show what looks like steam coming from the side of a hill, and a large darkened area. That indicates the area affected by eruptions of water, steam, rocks and mud, DOGGR spokesman Don Drysdale explained by e-mail. Three photos are from the Chevron lease near Well 20.

That's where a "surface expression" had shown up, and that's what state investigators are worried about. According to DOGGR documents obtained by Eyewitness News, surface expressions have continued to turn up in this area, and they continued to develop.
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No Entry

Canada, Ontario: Sinkhole opens on Bronson near Carleton University

Kristy Nease
The Ottawa Citizen
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC
Just in time for the Thursday evening commute, a sink hole on Bronson Avenue near Sunnyside Avenue narrowed the busy southbound artery to just one lane while city crews started repairs.

The sink hole was between Bronson Avenue and Brewer Way. There was no estimated repair time.

Power failures and downed wires were reported earlier Thursday afternoon as a small but strong storm cell made its way from west to east across Ottawa.

Environment Canada's website listed a severe thunderstorm watch for the Ottawa region as of 1:32 p.m., with the possibility of large hail and damaging winds. The small, intense storm was already making its way through Nepean at the time.
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