Earth ChangesS


Evil Rays

Strong earthquake shakes Portugal's Azores

A strong earthquake shook Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores archipelago early today, according to the US Geological Survey's Earthquake Information Center.

Cloud Lightning

Rare clouds 'could indicate global warming'

Rare, mother-of-pearl coloured clouds caused by extreme weather conditions above Antarctica are a possible indication of global warming, Australian scientists have announced.

Known as nacreous clouds, the spectacular formations showing delicate wisps of colours were photographed in the sky over an Australian meteorological base at Mawson Station on July 25.

Comment: See also: "Mother of Pearl": Nacreous Clouds

Nacreous Cloud Alert

Rare clouds 'could indicate global warming'

CALIPSO Spies Polar Stratospheric Clouds


Evil Rays

Global warming heating Mars four times faster than Earth

GLOBAL warming could be heating Mars four times faster than Earth due to a mutually reinforcing interplay of wind-swept dust and changes in reflected heat from the Sun, according a study.

Better Earth

Spectacular volcano eruption on La Reunion



Lava flowing from Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion

Raging lava has spewed out of one of the world's most active volcanos on the French island of La Reunion.

The red hot lava cut roads in half, damaged homes and created huge clouds of steam as it flowed into the Indian Ocean.

Better Earth

Arctic sea ice vanishing: NASA

The Arctic in 2005 saw little renewal of the thick, perennial sea ice that normally melts and is replenished every year, a NASA study has found.

Renewing the layer is crucial to maintaining the summer ice cover's stability, and the new findings suggest it may continue to decrease by as much as 10 per cent a year, researchers at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

Attention

Third quake shakes Solomon Islands, death toll rising - radio

The third earthquake in the past three days has shaken the Solomon Islands, struck by two quakes and a resulting tsunami Monday, Australian radio reported Wednesday.

Two earthquakes measuring between 7.6 and 9 on the Richter scale caused a tsunami some 10 meters (30 feet) high that completely flooded the towns of Gizo and Noro. The official death toll has already reached 32, and scores of villagers are reported missing.

Arnold Moveni, the head of the local emergency relief committee, said rescuers have conducted flights over the hardest-hit areas, and that the death toll is likely to keep rising as reports come in from other affected areas.

Attention

Humans 'not to blame' for climate change

A group of scientists is fighting a rearguard action to challenge mainstream evidence that humans are to blame for climate change.

They point to natural shifts in the sun's heat, a cooling of the planet in the mid-20th century and an apparent slowdown of temperature rises in the past decade.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in February that it was "very likely" - more than 90 per cent - that human activities, namely fossil fuel burning, explained most of an "unequivocal" warming in the past 50 years.

The panel said temperatures will likely rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 Celsius this century.

The IPCC, made up of about 2,500 scientists, is endorsed by governments.

Eagle

Want to monitor climate change? P-p-p-pick up a penguin!

We are used to hearing about the effects of climate change in terms of unusual animal behaviour, such as altering patterns of fish and bird migration. However, scientists at the University of Birmingham are trying out an alternative bio-indicator - the king penguin - to investigate whether they can be used to monitor the effects of climate change. "If penguins are travelling further or diving deeper for food, that tells us something about the availability of particular fish in regions of the Antarctic. We may be able to assess the pressure exerted by king penguins on this ecosystem, and look at the effects of both climate change and overfishing in this region of the world", says Dr Lewis Halsey who will present his results on Wednesday 4th April at the Society for Experimental Biology's Annual Meeting in Glasgow.

Cloud Lightning

Warning of bad hurricane season

Experts are again predicting a busy Atlantic hurricane season, with up to 17 named tropical storms forming - nine of which could become hurricanes.

At least one major storm is expected to make landfall in the US during the 1 June-30 November season, Colorado State University forecasters said.

Cloud Lightning

Is it Spring yet?: Snow storm warnings for much of Minnesota

Schools in Fergus Falls and Browns Valley are closed and more than a dozen western Minnesota school districts are starting classes two hours late this morning as winter returns to the state.

Winter storm warnings are out for the central third of Minnesota, and snow advisories are out for areas north and south of that band.