Earth ChangesS


Muffin

Winter wheat shows worst fungus symptoms ever recorded in U.K

Whitney McFerron
Bloomberg
Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00 UTC
Winter wheat in the U.K., which had its wettest summer in a century this year, showed the worst-ever symptoms in the current season of fungal diseases fusarium ear blight and septoria tritici, CropMonitor said.

There was a "marked increase" in ear blight, with 96 percent of field samples displaying symptoms, the crop-quality service said in a report e-mailed today. Some types of fusarium can result in yield losses or the development of mycotoxins, chemicals that can harm humans and animals, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

"Ear blight symptoms were recorded at the highest-ever levels since the survey began," said CropMonitor, which is run by government and industry groups. Some field samples also showed fusarium on plant stems and nodes, where leaves emerge from stems, according to the report.

Septoria tritici, which also can cut yields, was the most common foliar disease, with 97 percent of crops affected, CropMonitor said. Brown rust was recorded on 17 percent of field samples and tan spot affected 14 percent of crops.

Powdery mildew affected only 4 percent of crops, the lowest level ever recorded and down from last year's results showing 34 percent of crops were infected.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flood warnings issued as storms cause chaos across Britain

Steven Morris
The Guardian
Sun, 25 Nov 2012 06:43 UTC
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Malmesbury under water
A 21-year-old woman was killed when a tree smashed into her tent while she was sleeping, as torrential rain and fierce winds continued to cause chaos in parts of the UK.

Two men who are also believed to have been in the tent, near Exeter city centre, were injured when the large tree toppled into their shelter. It is not yet known why the three were in the tent.

The government said on Sunday morning that almost 500 homes and businesses had been flooded, mainly in the south-west of England and the Midlands. Overnight four severe flood warnings - meaning lives are in danger - were issued for Cornwall, though by first light this had been reduced to two. Dozens of sections of roads in the west country, including the M5 and M50, were flooded .
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Wolf

Wolves close in on Berlin after more than a century

Tony Paterson
The Independent, UK
Sat, 24 Nov 2012 16:20 UTC
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Naturalists in Berlin have sighted a pack of wolves and their cubs just 15 miles south of the German capital for the first time in more than 100 years.

The German office of the World Wildlife Fund said yesterday that farmers had alerted its field workers to the existence a wolf pack which appeared to have moved into a deserted former Soviet army military exercise area near the village of Sperenberg south of Berlin.

Janosch Arnold, a WWF wolf expert, told Berlin's Die Tageszeitung that naturalists equipped with infra-red night vision cameras had filmed the animals in the area overnight.

"There is definitely a wolf pack with cubs and they seem to be on top of the world," he said.
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Radar

Magnitude 2.1 earthquake shakes Camden County, New Jersey

Dan Stamm
NBC 10 - Philadelphia
Fri, 23 Nov 2012 05:51 UTC
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No reports of injuries from 2.1 magnitude quake centered in Clementon.

New Jersey - A loud boom that shock homes in Camden County very early Friday was actually an earthquake.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the 2.1 magnitude quake hit near Clementon, N.J. at 12:13 a.m.

The epicenter was near W. Atlantic Avenue and Oak Lane -- a short distance from Clementon Park, according to the USGS.

The whole floor just started shaking really hard, said MaryLou Gicker of nearby Sicklerville.

Residents reported to NBC10 feeling the quake in nearby Pine Hill, Erial and Lindenwold -- some calling and e-mailing the station to say they believe something may have exploded.

"We went outside in the backyard we were looking in the sky to see if there were any fires," said Sicklerville's Bill Chalef. "We were listening for sirens going off to see if there was an accident or explosion."

There was no explosion though, just the movement of the earth.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the 3.2-mile deep quake.

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Cloud Lightning

Storms claim first victim as 100mph gale winds batter Great Britain

Nathan Rao
The Express UK
Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:59 UTC
storms great britain
Gales crash the Cornish coast at Porthleven yesterday
Britain's storms claimed their first victim last night as a man died after being trapped in his car by flood water and heavy rain 

The victim, was caught in Chew Stoke in Somerset as flood waters wedged his car under a bridge near a ford.

Emergency services were called and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile Britain is braced for yet more devastating storms tomorrow, which are set to bring torrential rain and 100mph gales.

The entire country is on flood alert with hurricane-force gusts likely to fell trees and damage buildings.

Forecasters said flood-hit regions face further mayhem as a deep depression from the Continent roars in tomorrow morning.

And parts of the country that have so far escaped the worst of the downpours face a battering with virtually everywhere on standby for lashing rain.
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Arrow Up

Mordor erupts! New Zealand's Mount Tongariro volcano that stars as 'Mordor' in Lord of the Rings erupts on video


indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com
Thu, 22 Nov 2012 05:10 UTC

New Zealand's Mount Tongariro volcano sprang suddenly to life on November 21, spewing ash nearly 20,000 feet into the air, canceling regional flights and coating everything in its vicinity in a layer of fine gray silt.

The volcano had erupted in August after being dormant for more than a century, according to news accounts. But since then it had been quiet.

"The eruption itself gave us no warning whatsoever, it just snuck up on us," said an unnamed observer to BBC News in the video below, which showed pictures of people hosing down their front porches and leaving footprints as they walked.

One resident described it as a mushroom-looking cloud not unlike that of a nuclear bomb. No one was reported hurt, though numerous flights were canceled as the ash cut visibility. About 50 hikers in Tongariro National Park, including numerous schoolchildren on a class trip, had to scurry to safety during the five-minute eruption, reported the website Live Mint. The mountain is closed to hikers for at least three days.
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© AFP Photo/GNS ScienceTe Maari Crater on Mount Tongariro situated in the central area of New Zealand's North Island.
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Bizarro Earth

Researcher: Japan should prepare for worst-case magnitude-10 earthquake

Shigeko Segawa
The Asahi Shimbun
Fri, 23 Nov 2012 00:10 UTC
Earthquake Drill
© Asahi Shimbun file photoWorkers hold a drill simulating rescue work in Mie Prefecture in the event of a Nankai Trough earthquake.
Japan should be prepared for the possibility of a magnitude-10 earthquake, although the chances of a temblor that size are slim, a seismologist said.

"The chances of a magnitude-10 occurring are very low," professor Toru Matsuzawa of Tohoku University reported at a Nov. 21 meeting of the Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction, Japan. "But if we think of what could happen, with the maximum in mind, we can make a swift response."

The world's largest recorded earthquake was the magnitude-9.5 Valdivia earthquake off the coast of Chile in 1960, rupturing a 1,000-kilometer fault. A magnitude-10 earthquake would be 30 times more powerful than the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

Matsuzawa said a magnitude-10 quake is possible in theory if a large fault slips.
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Bizarro Earth

South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'


BBC News
Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:27 UTC
Sandy Island
© BBC NewsCartographers everywhere are now rushing to undiscover Sandy Island for ever.
A South Pacific island, shown on marine charts and world maps as well as on Google Earth and Google Maps, does not exist, Australian scientists say.

The supposedly sizeable strip of land, named Sandy Island on Google maps, was positioned midway between Australia and French-governed New Caledonia.

But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea.

The phantom island has featured in publications for at least a decade.

Scientist Maria Seton, who was on the ship, said that the team was expecting land, not 1,400m (4,620ft) of deep ocean.

"We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 1,400m in that area - very deep," Dr Seton, from the University of Sydney, told the AFP news agency after the 25-day voyage.

"It's on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island. We're really puzzled. It's quite bizarre.
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Sun

Worst US drought in decades deepens to cover 60 percent of the lower 48


Associated Press
Thu, 22 Nov 2012 02:49 UTC
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© Nati Harnik/APA tree trunk rests on the bed of a dried lake, the outcome of severe drought, in Waterloo, Neb., on Tuesday. A new report shows that the nation's worst drought in decades is getting worse again, ending an encouraging five-week run of improving conditions.
The worst U.S. drought in decades has deepened again after more than a month of encouraging reports of slowly improving conditions, a drought-tracking consortium said Wednesday, as scientists struggled for an explanation other than a simple lack of rain.

While more than half of the continental U.S. has been in a drought since summer, rain storms had appeared to be easing the situation week by week since late September. But that promising run ended with Wednesday's weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report, which showed increases in the portion of the country in drought and the severity of it.

The report showed that 60.1 percent of the lower 48 states were in some form of drought as of Tuesday, up from 58.8 percent the previous week. The amount of land in extreme or exceptional drought - the two worst classifications - increased from 18.3 percent to 19.04 percent.

Comment: This is not good news for those already struggling to put food on the table, as food prices are sure to rise.

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Cloud Precipitation

Flood warnings abound as sodden UK prepares for fresh rain

Steven Morris
The Guardian
Thu, 22 Nov 2012 03:20 UTC
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© Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesA car sits stuck in the village of Chilcompton, near Wells, Somerset.
Met Office warns of severe weather in south-west England, West Midlands, Wales and a much of Scotland, with 70mph winds

Householders, business people and motorists have been warned to prepare for flooding, gale-force winds and terrible driving conditions as another band of wet weather sweeps across the UK.

Up to 60mm (2.35in) of rain is expected to pound down within a few hours on to ground that is already sodden or flooded, and into rivers swollen by the autumn showers.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for south-west England, the West Midlands, the whole of Wales and a good deal of Scotland, and said winds of up to 70mph could add to the misery.

Bob Wilderspin, the Met Office chief forecaster, said: "The current unsettled spell of weather is set to continue, with further spells of heavy rain expected across the country over the next few days.
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