Oklahoma City - Geologists say three small earthquakes in less than a week in Oklahoma is no cause for concern.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude 3.2 earthquake at 5:23 this morning about 25 miles east of Ada. The epicenter is about two miles northwest of the junction of State Highway 3 and U.S. 75.
Earth Changes
A mysterious and deadly bat disease discovered just two winters ago in a few New York caves has now spread to at least six northeastern states, and scientists are scrambling to find solutions before it spreads across the country.
White-nose syndrome poses no health threat to people, but some scientists say that if bat populations diminish too much, the insects and crop pests they eat could flourish. Researchers recently identified the fungus that creates the illness' distinctive white smudges on the noses and wings of hibernating bats, but they don't yet know how to stop the disease from killing off caves full of the ecologically important animals.
"The cause for concern is that this is going to race across the country faster than we can come up with a solution," said Alan Hicks, a wildlife biologist with New York state's Department of Environmental Conservation.
White-nose syndrome poses no health threat to people, but some scientists say that if bat populations diminish too much, the insects and crop pests they eat could flourish. Researchers recently identified the fungus that creates the illness' distinctive white smudges on the noses and wings of hibernating bats, but they don't yet know how to stop the disease from killing off caves full of the ecologically important animals.
"The cause for concern is that this is going to race across the country faster than we can come up with a solution," said Alan Hicks, a wildlife biologist with New York state's Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Earth's seasons have shifted back in the calendar year, with the hottest and coldest days of the years now occurring almost two days earlier, a new study finds.
This shift could be the work of global warming, the researchers say.
To figure this out, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard studied temperature data from 1850 to 2007 compiled by the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit in the United Kingdom.
This shift could be the work of global warming, the researchers say.
To figure this out, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard studied temperature data from 1850 to 2007 compiled by the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit in the United Kingdom.
Manila, Philippines - A 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck off Mindoro island at 8:31 p.m. Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The tremor was located 110 kilometers east-southeast of Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro province at a depth of 10 kilometers.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The tremor was located 110 kilometers east-southeast of Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro province at a depth of 10 kilometers.
A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit southern Peru late on Monday sparking panic, although the amount of damage was not clear, the country's Geophysics Institute said.
The quake hit at 2323 IST and was centred in the Pacific Ocean some 74 kilometres west of the city of Pisco at a depth of 35 kilometres.
The US Geological Survey, which uses the Moment Magnitude scale to measure earthquakes, put the tremor at 5.5.
The quake hit at 2323 IST and was centred in the Pacific Ocean some 74 kilometres west of the city of Pisco at a depth of 35 kilometres.
The US Geological Survey, which uses the Moment Magnitude scale to measure earthquakes, put the tremor at 5.5.
A small earthquake rattled northern New Jersey on Monday night but no injuries or damages were reported, authorities said.
The magnitude-3 quake struck at 10:34 p.m. (0334 gmt) two miles southeast of Victory Gardens, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no reports of injuries or damages in the Morris County area 35 miles (55 km) from New York City, according to Dover, New Jersey, police officer Walter Michalski.
The magnitude-3 quake struck at 10:34 p.m. (0334 gmt) two miles southeast of Victory Gardens, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no reports of injuries or damages in the Morris County area 35 miles (55 km) from New York City, according to Dover, New Jersey, police officer Walter Michalski.
Charleston - In Mississippi County, where nearly a fourth of the residents live in poverty, farmers have a long history of making a living off what springs from the flat, fertile lowlands - soybeans, corn, timber.
But now a geologist has come to the area armed with decades-old charts, promises of millions of dollars in jobs and benefits and a theory about what may be tucked deep inside the crevices under the Mississippi River Valley and the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
But now a geologist has come to the area armed with decades-old charts, promises of millions of dollars in jobs and benefits and a theory about what may be tucked deep inside the crevices under the Mississippi River Valley and the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
Blizzards, ice and flooding have ravaged Western Europe over the past few days. At least 25 people were injured by a tornado in Malaga, Spain, while heavy snowfall has left thousands stranded in airports and traffic jams across much of the continent.
Dramatic winter weather hit Spain, England, Belgium, France and Italy over the weekend leaving many commuters stranded due to the ensuing traffic chaos.
In southern Spain, a tornado with wind speeds of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour left at least 25 people injured in the coastal city of Malaga. The roofs of a bus station and parking garage in the city were blown off, billboards torn to the ground and windowpanes shattered. Two highways near Madrid had to be temporarily closed and the train between Malaga and Madrid was shut down due to rail damage from a fallen wall.
© Reuters
A London restaurant with tablecloths and seating cushions made of snow.
A London restaurant with tablecloths and seating cushions made of snow.
In southern Spain, a tornado with wind speeds of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour left at least 25 people injured in the coastal city of Malaga. The roofs of a bus station and parking garage in the city were blown off, billboards torn to the ground and windowpanes shattered. Two highways near Madrid had to be temporarily closed and the train between Malaga and Madrid was shut down due to rail damage from a fallen wall.
© Unknown
Yellowstone National Park is a restless place, even in the calmest of times. Tiny earthquakes - and sometimes not so tiny - are part of life in one of the world's most seismically active and mysterious regions.
But scientists said Monday that one of the biggest earthquake swarms ever recorded in the park took place in the last week of 2008 into early 2009, with 813 quakes in 11 days, most of them deep under Yellowstone Lake and felt by almost no one. Only one other swarm, in 1985, was more intense. Records go back to 1973.
© Associated Press/Kyodo News, Shigeyuki Inakuma
Smoke billows from a crater of Mt.Asama, central Japan early Monday, Feb. 2, 2009. The mountain spewed volcanic smoke earlier this morning. The country's Meteorological Agency warned Sunday that the volcano was in danger in erupting after detecting an increase in seismic activity.
Smoke billows from a crater of Mt.Asama, central Japan early Monday, Feb. 2, 2009. The mountain spewed volcanic smoke earlier this morning. The country's Meteorological Agency warned Sunday that the volcano was in danger in erupting after detecting an increase in seismic activity.
Mount Asama erupted in the early hours of Monday, belching out a plume that rose about a mile (1.6 kilometers) high, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption of the volcano, 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Tokyo. It last erupted in August, 2008, causing no major damage.
