Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Icelandic Volcanoes Help Researchers Understand Effects Of Eruptions

For the first time, researchers have taken a detailed look at what lies beneath all of Iceland's volcanoes - and found a world far more complex than they ever imagined.

They mapped an elaborate maze of magma chambers - work that could one day help scientists better understand how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in Iceland and elsewhere in the world.

Lake Öskjuvatn
©Unknown
Formed by an eruption from Askja in 1875, Lake Öskjuvatn is the deepest lake in Iceland at 735 feet (224 meters).

Knowing where magma chambers are located is a key first step to understanding the chemical composition of the molten rock that is flowing within them - and of the gases that are released when a volcano erupts, explained Daniel Kelley, doctoral student in earth sciences at Ohio State University.

Info

Undersea Volcanic Rocks Offer Vast Repository For Greenhouse Gas

A group of scientists has used deep ocean-floor drilling and experiments to show that volcanic rocks off the West Coast and elsewhere might be used to securely imprison huge amounts of globe-warming carbon dioxide captured from power plants or other sources.

In particular, they say that natural chemical reactions under 78,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) of ocean floor off California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia could lock in as much as 150 years of U.S. CO2 production. The findings are published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Deep-sea basalt region for CO2 burial
©Goldberg et al.
Deep-sea basalt region for CO2 burial. Red outline shows where water depth exceeds 2,700 meters and sediment thickness exceeds 200 meters; hatched areas show where sediment thickness exceeds 300 meters. Seamounts and areas near plate boundaries or continental shelf are excluded.

Interest in so-called carbon sequestration is growing worldwide. However, no large-scale projects are yet off the ground, and other geological settings could be problematic. For instance, the petroleum industry has been pumping CO2 into voids left by old oil wells on a small scale, but some fear that these might eventually leak, putting gas back into the air and possibly endangering people nearby.

Cloud Lightning

Storm Kalmaegi bears down on eastern Taiwan

Storm Kalmaegi has gained momentum as it approaches Taiwan, threatening the island's east, the Central Weather Bureau said Wednesday.

The edge of the storm may hit eastern Taiwan and unleash downpours in the east and north, an official at the bureau said.

"Ships sailing on the Bashih Channel and waters east of Taiwan must heighten their vigilance," the official said.

The storm was 370 kilometres (222 miles) southeast of Oluanpi, the island's southernmost tip, at 5:00 pm (0900 GMT).

Butterfly

Human society could 'learn much from bees'

Humans could learn much about health, public transport and peaceful living by observing the behaviour of bees, the leader of Britain's first bee-keeping research lab has claimed.

Bizarro Earth

Magnitude 5.1 - Southern Qinghai, China

Details:

* Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 22:58:19 UTC
* Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 06:58:19 AM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 33.162°N, 92.049°E
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
Distances 400 km (250 miles) NNE of Lhasa, Xizang (Tibet)

440 km (275 miles) SW of Golmud, Qinghai, China

530 km (330 miles) NE of Xigaze, Xizang (Tibet)

2295 km (1430 miles) WSW of BEIJING, Beijing, China

Butterfly

Canada: Moth outbreak threatens forests, scientist warns

The mountain pine beetle isn't the only problem British Columbia forest officials are concerned about in the Southern Interior.

Entomologist Lorraine MacLauchlan, who just came back from the field, says the area is in the midst of a severe outbreak of the tussock moth.

Info

Over 100 Species Of Bats Found Within Several Acres Of Rainforest In Ecuador

Bats are a remarkable evolutionary success story representing the second largest group of mammals, outnumbered only by rodents in number of species. Now, researchers of the Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin (Germany) and Boston University (U.S.A.) have discovered the place that harbours the highest number of bat species ever recorded. In a few ha* of rainforest in the Amazon basin of eastern Ecuador, the authors have found more than 100 species of bats.

Dr. Katja Rex and colleagues captured bats at several biodiversity hotspots in the New World tropics, in the lowland rainforest of Costa Rica, the slopes of the Andes and a site in the Amazon rainforest of Eastern Ecuador, at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station 1 located adjacent to the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. During many months of strenuous nightly field work, exposed to rain and mosquitoes, the researchers captured bats, identified species and recorded the total number of each species they captured. Based on these numbers, they calculated the species richness and diversity present in each of these forests.

Bizarro Earth

US: NOAA Predicts Largest Gulf Of Mexico 'Dead Zone' On Record

NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Louisiana State University are forecasting that the "dead zone" off the coast of Louisiana and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico this summer could be the largest on record.

The researchers are predicting the area could measure a record 8,800 square miles, or roughly the size of New Jersey. In 2007, the dead zone was 7,903 square miles. The largest dead zone on record was in 2002, when it measured 8,481 square miles. The official measurement of this year's dead zone is slated to be released in late July. Researchers began taking regular measurements of the dead zone in 1985.

dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico
©NOAA
Approximate dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The prediction of a large dead zone this summer is due to a combination of large influx of nitrogen and exceptionally high flows from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers," said LSU scientist R. Eugene Turner.

Phoenix

Colorado, US: Crews battling wildfire near Fort Carson

A 300-acre wildfire burning on Fort Carson grounds is about 50 percent contained.

The blaze is burning in grass and trees on the south part of the Army base. Authorities believe the fire was sparked by a lawn mower.

Fort Carson spokeswoman Brandy Gill says the Army base was notified of the blaze about 10 this morning. She says the fire is burning in grass and trees near the south part of the base. No structures are threatened.

Recycle

Kamikatsu, Japan: Zero Waste

The Mayor of Kamikatsu, a small community in the hills of eastern Japan, has urged politicians around the world to follow his lead and make their towns "Zero Waste".

He told BBC News that all communities could learn from Kamikatsu, where residents have to compost all their food waste and sort other rubbish into 34 different categories.

Residents say the scheme has prompted them to cut down on waste generally and food waste in particular.

If the policy spread, it would reduce the amount of food waste, and so take some of the pressure off high food prices.

Kamikatsu may be a backwater in the wooded hills and rice terraces of south-eastern Japan but it's become a world leader on waste policy.

There are no waste collections from households at all. People have to take full responsibility for everything they throw away.