(Miami, Florida) Marine researchers who have been observing the same pod of dolphins off Florida's eastern coast for three years have now, for the first time, photographed the dolphins swimming directly northward.
"These bottlenose dolphins, possibly the smartest creatures on Earth, were observed swimming directly northward", said Prof. Bonita Krillman. "Given the recently observed warming of the tropical oceans, we theorize that this pod is heading poleward in search of cooler waters".
About 50 whales were found dead Wednesday after they beached for a second time on a Chiba Prefecture beach, despite an earlier attempt to redirect them to the sea, an official said Wednesday.
The dead whales were among a pod of about 70 melon-headed whales that had first beached themselves in Ichinomiya, Chiba Prefecture, early Tuesday morning, said Ichinomiya town official Mieko Ishii.
Surfers and local residents had helped return the whales to sea, but by Wednesday morning the pod had run itself back up on the shore, Ishii said.
She said about 50 whales were found dead, while the remaining 20 -- each measuring about 2 meters long -- were transported to a relatively calm fishing port and would be released into the sea at a later date.
Experts would examine some of the dead mammals to determine a cause of the death, while the remaining will be buried in the town, Ishii said.
The whales resemble dolphins and usually inhabit only deep water. It was not immediately known why such a large number of the whales washed up at one time, Ishii said.
About 70 whales were found washed up on a beach in Ichinomiya, Chiba Prefecture, on Tuesday, but surfers and local residents cooperated in returning the mammals back to sea, a town official said.
Surfers initially reported seeing several whales beached up in Ichinomiya Tuesday morning, said town spokesman Takeshi Ide.
Ide said local officials later confirmed about 70 melon-headed whales had washed up on shore in the Pacific coastal town of Ichinomiya.
The whales, each about 2 meter long, resemble dolphins and usually inhabit only deep water, according to another town official Mieko Ishii.
Several local residents and about 50 surfers joined in the rescue and carried the whales back to the water, Ide said.
It was not immediately known why such a large number of whales washed up at one time, he said.
The timing matched another oddity: the water's oxygen level, which veered from one extreme to the other.
"We measured the oxygen levels in the water this morning and they were very low," said Stephanie Garrett, environmental technician with DWQ. "Then two and a half hours later, they were high."
PASADENA, Calif. - Regions of the Earth previously thought to be immune to giant earthquakes might actually be at high risk of experiencing them, according to a Caltech study released Wednesday.
ST. LOUIS - Preparing for a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid fault is a priority, a FEMA official said Friday before a congressional field hearing on government readiness to handle natural disasters.
"New Madrid is at the top of the list," Michel Pawlowski, section chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said. "It's our primary objective."
Pawlowski told a congressional committee that FEMA has "significant concerns" for the potential of a catastrophic earthquake equal in magnitude to those that struck parts of the Mississippi River Valley in 1811-1812, and again in 1895.
The estimated magnitude of those earthquakes is 7.5 or 8. The probability of a magnitude 6 or larger earthquake is 25 percent to 50 percent over the next 50 years.
Even a magnitude 7 earthquake would destroy more than 60 percent of buildings in St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn., because most buildings predate building requirements aimed at resisting the shock, officials estimate.
"A catastrophic earthquake in the central United States along the New Madrid Seismic Zone could pose unprecedented problems and challenges," Pawlowski said.
Scientists studying a land bulge near Bend, Ore., think a new volcano may be forming. A group from the U.S. Geological Survey is studying the swelling in Earth's crust. It is nearly two-thirds the size of Portland, Ore.
Recent eruptions at Mount St. Helens have rekindled interest in the patch of land west of Bend in Central Oregon.
Strict hunting limits have not reversed drop in numbers in Alaska's Cook Inlet
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- In the 1970s, there were about 1,300 beluga whales in Cook Inlet, delighting locals and tourists alike. Last year, the number was estimated at just 278.
Why their numbers are dwindling has scientists puzzled -- and scared.
Tim Flannery's climatic epic on the erosion of life on Earth is an epitaph and a cause for hope
THE WEATHER MAKERS: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change by Tim Flannery Allen Lane, £20; 368pp
For the first time, scientists have confirmed Earth is melting at both ends, which could have disastrous effects for coastal cities and villages.
