Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: Earthquakes in Japan, Chile, Haiti: Are We In An Age Of Giant Quakes?

Becky Ham
ABC News, US
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:43 UTC
The devastating 2004 Indonesian tsunami, with its death toll of as many as 250,000 people, was caused by the first magnitude-9.0 earthquake since 1967. A succession of smaller but still destructive tremors in Haiti, Chile, and New Zealand -- surpassed by this year's magnitude-9.0 quake in Japan -- has some researchers wondering whether the number of large earthquakes is on the rise.

An earthquake represents the abrupt release of seismic strain that has built up over the years as plates of the Earth's crust slowly grind and catch against each other. Giant earthquakes live up to their fearsome name. The biggest ever recorded was the magnitude-9.5 Chile earthquake of 1960. It accounts for about a quarter of the total seismic strain released worldwide since 1900. In just three minutes, the recent quake in Japan unleashed one-twentieth of that global total according to geophysicist Richard Aster at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro.



The Indonesian quake "reinvigorated interest in these giants," said Aster, who is also president of the Seismological Society of America. The Chile and Japan earthquakes -- along with a magnitude-9.2 quake in Alaska in 1964 -- also triggered catastrophic tsunamis.

After a lull in large quakes in the 1980s and 1990s, we may now be in the middle of a new age of large earthquakes, Aster added.
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Fish

Dead Fish Piling Up In State's Ponds, Lakes


WFSB.com
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 22:57 UTC
dead fish

Wethersfield Connecticut -- A rough winter is causing a smelly spring. Dead fish are popping up in ponds and reservoirs across Connecticut, and while it's a natural occurrence, it's more widespread thanks to this year's winter weather.

Wethersfield's 1860 reservoir is a picturesque place and serene spot. For Nate Wierzbicki, it's his back yard.

"If I'm home, I'm out there," Wierzbicki said. "If I'm free I'll be out there catching some sun and some bass."
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Alarm Clock

Best of the Web: Wild And Crazy 2011: 10 History-Shattering Events That Have Shaken The Financial World To The Core


End of the American dream
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:51 UTC
Image
2011 has already had more history-shattering events than almost any other year since World War 2. Revolutions have swept the Middle East and much of Africa, a new war has erupted in Libya, Japan has experienced an unprecedented tsunami and a horrific nuclear crisis, the price of oil is skyrocketing, multiple nations in Europe are experiencing a financial meltdown and budget issues have pushed the U.S. government to the verge of a shutdown. In past years, it always seemed like there was time to "catch our breath" between each major crisis, but now huge events are striking in rapid-fire succession. We live at a time when wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters, bizarre occurrences and major financial problems are becoming so common that they hardly shock us anymore. 2011 truly has been one wild and crazy year, and the world is literally being transformed right in front of our eyes.

For a moment, let's review some of the history-shattering events that we have witnessed this year so far and the impact that they have had on the financial world....
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Bizarro Earth

Germany: Sandstorm Causes Deadly Autobahn Crash


Spiegel Online
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:54 UTC
Autobahn Pileup
© DPASeveral people have been killed in a mass pileup on a German autobahn apparently caused by a sandstorm. More than 40 vehicles were involved in the accident on the A19 highway near Rostock, with dozens of people injured. In total, 40 vehicles were involved in the pileup, with many catching fire.
Several people were killed and dozens more injured after a mass pileup on a German autobahn involving up to 80 vehicles Friday. The accident, which took place on the A19 highway near Rostock in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, was apparently caused by a sandstorm.

Police reported Friday night that at least eight people died. Around 97 were believed to have been injured, with scores requiring hospital treatment. According to medical facilities in Rostock, Güstrow and Bad Doberan, victims had mostly suffered broken bones, bruises, sprains and head injuries.

Comment: Update: German news report on the bizarre sandstorm:



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Bizarro Earth

5.2-magnitude quake jolts Philippines

Nicolas Asfouri
Agence France-Presse
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:02 UTC
Image
© Agence France-PresseA quake reading on a seismograph. A moderate 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the Philippines early Saturday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings issued
A moderate 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the Philippines early Saturday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings issued.

The earthquake struck at 2:29 am (18:29 GMT) around 105 kilometres (65 miles) southwest of Olongapo on the Philippines' Luzon island and 125 kms southwest of the capital Manila, the US Geological Survey said.

It hit at a relatively shallow depth of 24 kms (15 miles), the USGS said.

People in the Philippines have been nervous about a potential killer quake following the devastating ones to have hit Japan and New Zealand recently.
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Bizarro Earth

Tsunami-hit towns forgot warnings from ancestors

Jay Alabaster
The Associated Press
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:22 UTC
ancient tsumani warning
© AP Photo/Vincent YuIn this March 31, 2011 photo, A centuries-old tablet that warns of danger of tsunamis stands in the hamlet of Aneyoshi, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan. Hundreds of such markers dot the coastline, some more than 600 years old. Collectively they form a crude warning system for Japan, whose long coasts along major fault lines have made it a repeated target of earthquakes and tsunamis over the centuries.
Modern sea walls failed to protect coastal towns from Japan's destructive tsunami last month. But in the hamlet of Aneyoshi, a single centuries-old tablet saved the day.

"High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants," the stone slab reads. "Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point."

It was advice the dozen or so households of Aneyoshi heeded, and their homes emerged unscathed from a disaster that flattened low-lying communities elsewhere and killed thousands along Japan's northeastern shore.

Hundreds of such markers dot the coastline, some more than 600 years old. Collectively they form a crude warning system for Japan, whose long coasts along major fault lines have made it a repeated target of earthquakes and tsunamis over the centuries.

The markers don't all indicate where it's safe to build. Some simply stand - or stood, until they were washed away by the tsunami - as daily reminders of the risk. "If an earthquake comes, beware of tsunamis," reads one. In the bustle of modern life, many forgot.

More than 12,000 people have been confirmed dead and officials fear the number killed could rise to 25,000 from the March 11 disaster. More than 100,000 are still sheltering in schools and other buildings, almost a month later. A few lucky individuals may move into the first completed units of temporary housing this weekend.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 4.2 - Arkansas


US Geological Survey
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:31 UTC
Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Friday, April 08, 2011 at 14:56:32 UTC

Friday, April 08, 2011 at 09:56:32 AM at epicenter

Location:
35.261°N, 92.362°W

Depth:
6.3 km (3.9 miles)

Region:
ARKANSAS

Distances:
4 km (3 miles) NE (34°) from Greenbrier, AR

8 km (5 miles) SE (138°) from Twin Groves, AR

8 km (5 miles) SSW (200°) from Guy, AR

21 km (13 miles) NNE (23°) from Conway, AR

58 km (36 miles) N (357°) from Little Rock, AR

419 km (260 miles) SSW (207°) from St. Louis, MO
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Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: More Updates on Fukushima: Discussion of High Level Radiation Releases and the Previous "Worse Case Scenario" Planned for by the Industry


Fairewinds Associates
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:55 UTC
April 6, 2011: Arnie Gundersen discusses inconsistencies between what the NRC, TEPCo, and the Nuclear Industry are saying privately and publicly. Documents from the French nuclear firm, Areva, and the NRC reveal what the industry knows about the Fukushima disaster.

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Umbrella

US: Storm Expected to Bring Snow and Rain To San Diego


SanDiego6 News
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:36 UTC
A cold storm was expected to hit San Diego County late Thursday, bringing a chance of snow to the mountains and showers everywhere else, forecasters said.

According to the National Weather Service, a cold low pressure system moving southward along the west coast will bring much cooler weather today through Saturday.

"Snow levels could lower to near 4,000 feet for late Friday through early Saturday," the agency advised.

The Weather Service also advised that there was a slight chance of showers today but a greater chance of rain late Friday through early Saturday, along with a slight chance of thunderstorms as the coldest mid-level air moves across Southern California.

Rainfall totals from the storm were expected to be from up to a half-inch at the coast to about an inch on coastal mountains slopes.
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Phoenix

Japanese volcano blows its stack


CBS News
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00 UTC
Geologists monitor latest eruptions at Sakurajima, which is sending large amounts of ash into the air

Japan's Sakurajima volcano, which has been regularly recorded blowing its stack since the 10th century, is at it again.

The volcano, located in the south of the country near the city of Kagoshima, is perhaps most famous for a 1914 eruption, which went into the record books as the most powerful of any in 20th century Japan.

The latest flare-up recently led the nation's meteorological agency to issue an ash warning for the Sakurajima volcano, now considered to be "very dangerous." But given what Japan has gone through these last several weeks, this is probably the least of the nation's worries just about now.
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