Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Revised 2010 hurricane forecast in US: 'Major hurricanes' ahead

Image
© NASA/APA NASA image shows tropical storm Colin from space
A revised 2010 hurricane forecast is in from the National Weather Service, and the agency is predicting another strong year for tropical storms. Four to six 'major hurricanes' are expected out of 14 to 20 named storms.

The 2010 hurricane season in the Atlantic, now heading into its most active three month stretch, stands a strong chance of becoming the 11th above-normal season in the past 15 years, according to federal forecasters.

June and July were less active than the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center expected them to be when it issued its initial seasonal forecast in May, notes Gerry Bell, who heads the effort.

Phoenix

Canada: Over 400 wildfires scorch British Columbia

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© B.C. Wildfire Management Branch
The number of wildfires roaring throughout British Columbia climbed to more than 400 on Tuesday, with officials predicting the tally will rise as the province is plagued by hot, dry conditions.

"We don't anticipate any significant decrease in fire activity in the coming days," fire information officer Gwen Eamer said in an interview. "We expect to continue to pick up in the range of 50 fires every day."

Eamer said 183 new wildfires were reported during the B.C. Day long weekend. Since the beginning of the year, more than 760 square kilometres of land has been damaged or destroyed by fire.

Bizarro Earth

Dead zone as big as Massachusetts along coast of Louisiana and Texas, scientists say

dead zone map
Louisiana Universities Marine ConsortiumCurrent extent of 'dead zone' as determined from July 24 to Aug. 2

The annual summertime dead zone caused by low oxygen levels in water along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline this year is twice as big as last year's, stretching 7,722 square miles across Louisiana's coast well into Texan waters, scientists with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium announced Monday.

But there's no evidence the larger expanse of low-oxygen water -- which covers an area as big as Massachusetts, and is linked to nutrients carried to the Gulf by the Mississippi River -- was made bigger by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists said.

Last year, the area affected by low oxygen was limited by lower springtime water levels in the Mississippi River, which meant less nutrients reached coastal waters. Also, persistent winds from the west and southwest last year may have driven low-oxygen water out of the easternmost Louisiana waters where last year's mapping was done.

Bad Guys

Navy Plans Could Affect More Marine Mammals

US Navy Ship
© APA military Sealift Command ocean surveillance ship is seen underway in 2009. The Navy plans to increase ocean warfare exercises, conduct more sonar tests and expand coastal training areas.
Washington - The Navy plans to increase ocean warfare exercises, conduct more sonar tests and expand coastal training areas by hundreds of square miles - activities that could injure hundreds of thousands of marine mammals or disturb their habitats, federal records show.

Training areas already are established along most of the continental U.S. coastline, so the Navy is seeking federal permits to broaden an existing range off the Pacific Northwest and dramatically expand exercises and sonar use in the Gulf of Alaska.

The service also plans to increase training substantially in the Pacific around the Mariana Islands.

The Navy estimates in federal permit applications that its activity in those areas will impact about half a million sea mammals each year, including seals, sea lions and whales, some of which are endangered.

The effects range from brief interruptions in normal feedings to significant injury and, in very rare instances, death.

Already, 2.3 million marine mammals are affected similarly each year by the Navy's training on its ranges on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Navy studies show.

Fish

Flashback US: Dead Sea Turtles Wash Ashore in Mississippi

dead turtle
© AP Photo
The carcasses of 23 sea turtles have been found along Mississippi's 70 miles of coastline, and have been retrieved for examination by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, said Moby Solangi, the group's president and executive director.

The carcasses were placed in garbage bags that were stacking up in the institute's necropsy lab refrigerator unit.

Although this is the time of year when dead turtles are often found on the beach, scientists say the number is more than double what they would expect. Necropsies will be conducted Monday afternoon by a team of four veterinarians. It's unclear whether the deaths are related to the oil spill, which is still offshore.

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 4.8 - Wyoming

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Thursday, August 05, 2010 at 00:04:17 UTC

Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 06:04:17 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
43.585°N, 110.440°W

Depth:
5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program

Region:
WYOMING

Distances:
30 km (20 miles) ENE of Jackson, Wyoming

65 km (40 miles) W of Dubois, Wyoming

95 km (60 miles) NNW of Pinedale, Wyoming

535 km (335 miles) WNW of CHEYENNE, Wyoming

Bizarro Earth

Kuril Islands: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - East of Kuril Islands

Kuril Is. Quake_040810
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 23:48:02 UTC

Thursday, August 05, 2010 at 09:48:02 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
45.964°N, 153.216°E

Depth:
33.6 km (20.9 miles)

Region:
EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

Distances:
425 km (265 miles) ENE of Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands

570 km (350 miles) SSW of Severo-Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands, Russia

775 km (480 miles) ENE of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan

7245 km (4500 miles) NE of MOSCOW, Russia 1

Fish

Mississippi, US: Thousands of Dead Fish Floating in Biloxi Waters

dead fish
© WLOX
If you saw tens of thousands of dead fish floating in Biloxi waters Tuesday, the deaths are not related to the oil spill.

Phone calls began coming into WLOX Tuesday afternoon from people who'd been at Beau Rivage reporting hundreds of dead fish floating in the water and washing up along the boom south of the casino resort. Witnesses said the smell was terrible.

Officials from the Department of Environmental Quality said a company that catches the small, silver Menhaden, or pogey fish, lost its catch when a net was torn.

The dead fish were floating Tuesday night near the shore at the Biloxi Lighthouse on Porter Avenue, all the way to the waters behind the Hard Rock and Beau Rivage casinos.

Fish

Flashback Mississippi, US: Fish Kill Covers Shore in Gulfport Near Jones Park

dead fish
© WLOX
Something besides oil washed ashore along a section of beach in Gulfport. Construction workers at Jones Park called WLOX Monday morning with news about a fish kill.

You could smell the problem before seeing it. Dead menhaden, or pogeys, washed ashore along the beach.

The large fish kill created quite a mess. Piles of the small, silvery fish cover much of the shoreline just east of Jones Park from 15th Avenue to Moses Pier.

While many laid baking in the late morning sun, others were pushed ashore by the gentle surf.

Bizarro Earth

Papua New Guinea: Earthquake Magnitude 7.0 - New Britain Region

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 22:01:45 UTC

Thursday, August 05, 2010 at 08:01:45 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
5.804°S, 150.767°E

Depth:
54 km (33.6 miles)

Region:
NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Distances:
75 km (45 miles) ESE of Kimbe, New Britain, PNG

140 km (90 miles) ENE of Kandrian, New Britain, PNG

565 km (350 miles) NE of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

2415 km (1500 miles) N of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia