Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

US: South Florida water table rose up to three inches after quake

West Palm Beach - The devastating earthquake that shook Japan caused a temporary jolt in groundwater levels throughout much of Florida, officials said.

The South Florida Water Management District reports that a network of groundwater gauges registered a jump of up to three inches in the water table from Orlando to the Florida Keys about 34 minutes after the quake struck on March 11.

The oscillations were observed for about two hours and then stabilized.

Meteor

SOTT Focus: Planet-X, Comets and Earth Changes by J.M. McCanney

Planet-X Comets and Earth Changes Cover
© jmccanneyscience.com press

Planet-X, Comets & Earth Changes
by James M. McCanney
Minneapolis, MN: jmccanneyscience.com press, 2007 (first published in 2002)
182 pp.

A new model of the Universe

A scientific revolution in the theories of the nature of comets, solar system formation and astronomical phenomena in general is long overdue. For example, the impossibilities and contradictions inherent in the "dirty snowball comet model" and the "nebular collapse" theory of the origin of the solar system are legion. The theories fall short of explaining observed phenomena, but you'll never hear the scientists promoting them admit as much. Unfortunately, it seems that in all their mental excavations, the mass-produced scientists of our time have dug themselves into a trench of dreary proportions, carried along by the inertial stream of their cherished professors' naïve opinions. In fact, they can't even tell how deep they are in it, or that their theories are as woefully outdated as the mastodon fossils of which they catch passing glimpses. And thanks to James McCanney's work over the last thirty-odd years, they find themselves plunged, in the words of Mullah Nasr Eddin, "into the deepest galoshes that have ever been worn on sweaty feet."

James McCanney is something of a maverick in the scientific community. Having taught physics and mathematics at Cornell University, he was ousted because of pressure put on University authorities by professors in the astronomy department who didn't like what he was publishing. In that sense, academia is a tad like life in the Mob: "You can't say these things. If you do, we'll ruin you." But while McCanney may have suffered the fate of any scientist who attempts to go against the grain, his theories continue to hold up, predicting newly observed phenomena without having to resort to the "creeping crud" of widely accepted, bogus theories (McCanney's term for the shameless "revision" of old theories to account for unexpected observations).

Bell

Japanese Volcanic Blast Shatters Windows for Miles

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© Japan Meteorological AgencyShinmoedake volcano (below) simmering in February during part of its nearly two-month lull in activity.
The strongest activity at southern Japan's Shinmoedake volcano in 52 years shattered windows four miles away, sending hundreds of people fleeing the area.

Ash and other volcanic debris soared more than 6,000 feet into the atmosphere above Kyushu Island, about 950 miles from the epicenter of the catastrophic 9.0 magnitude quake off Honshu two days earlier.

Officials said it was unclear if the volcanic blast was related to the temblor.

Shinmoedake's last blast was on Feb. 1. Its rumblings resumed on Jan. 19 after the peak had remained dormant for two years.

Vulcanologists have been warning that a lava dome was growing inside the volcano's crater, but were not certain if it was a sign of an impending eruption.

Shinmoedake is one of several geologically active peaks in the Kirishima mountain range.

Igloo

US: Hail Storm Pounds Northeast Oklahoma

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© T.J. Conley/News On 6 News On 6 viewer T.J. Conley snapped this photo in Coffeyville, Kansas.
Coffeyville, Kansas - News On 6 viewers snapped pictures of a hail storm that fell on parts of northeast Oklahoma and southern Kansas Saturday.

One viewer said hail the size of golf balls covered the ground in Coffeyville, Kansas.

The fast moving storm caused only a few drizzles in the Tulsa metro area as it drifted northeast out of the area.

A return to windy and warm conditions will be likely Sunday through Tuesday with fire danger issues dominating the headlines.

A storm system will brush the state Tuesday evening and there will be a slight chance of storms across the eastern third of the state. A few could be severe if they form.

Radar

5.7 magnitude earthquake in Kashmir

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© Unknown
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar and other parts of the valley were jolted by a 5.7-magnitude earthquake on Monday afternoon, an official said.

Sonam Lotus, the director of the local weather office, said: 'An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale hit Srinagar and other parts of the valley at 3.19 p.m.

'The quake was of moderate intensity with its epicentre in the Hindukush region at latitude 36.5 degrees north and longitude 17.9 degrees east,' she said.

The tremors were felt by residents of Srinagar, but no loss of life or property has been reported so far.

Attention

Cover-up? US Coast Guard: Gulf substance is likely sediment

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© Unknown
The Coast Guard says a miles-long patch of discolored goop floating in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be caused by river sediment.

The Coast Guard tested the patch Sunday and found only trace amounts of petroleum that were well below the state of Louisiana's standard for clean water. A news release says The Coast Guard believes the discoloration is the result of sediments brought down the Mississippi River.


Nuke

Japan's disaster toll rises with 18,000 deaths

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© Reuters/Kim Kyung-HoonA photographer holds a radiation detector indicating 0.35 microsieverts per hour at a devastated factory area hit by earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, northern Japan, March 20, 2011.
Fukushima, Japan - The toll of Japan's triple disaster came into clearer focus Monday after police estimates showed more than 18,000 people died, the World Bank said rebuilding may cost $235 billion and more cases of radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water turned up.

Japanese officials reported progress over the weekend in their battle to gain control over a nuclear complex that began leaking radiation after suffering quake and tsunami damage, though the crisis was far from over, with a dangerous new surge in pressure reported in one of the plant's six reactors.

The announcement by Japan's Health Ministry late Sunday that tests had detected excess amounts of radioactive elements on canola and chrysanthemum greens marked a low moment in a day that had been peppered with bits of positive news: First, a teenager and his grandmother were found alive nine days after being trapped in their earthquake-shattered home. Then, the operator of the overheated nuclear plant said two of the six reactor units were safely cooled down.

"We consider that now we have come to a situation where we are very close to getting the situation under control," Deputy Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama said.

Cloud Lightning

USA: The nation's weather

A powerful Pacific storm will pound California and Nevada with heavy rain and high elevation snow. Winter storm warnings are in effect for the Sierra Nevadas of California with up to 2 feet of new snow possible above 7,000 feet. Some lower elevations in California could experience more than an inch of rain, prompting flooding concerns.

High wind warnings are in effect for almost all of California and Nevada as southerly winds will gust up to 75 mph in the lower elevations and up to 100 mph along the ridges of the Sierra Nevadas. The intensity of the wind may potentially knock out power to some populated areas.

Meanwhile, another storm will move into the upper Midwest, spreading rain. The rain will make its way into the Mississippi Valley watershed, adding to an already potentially record-breaking flood season. Flood watches and warnings are already in effect for the Mississippi River.

Temperatures in the Northeast will rise into the 30s and 40s, while the Southeast will see readings in the 70s and 80s. The Southern plains will see temperatures in the 80s and some 90s, while the Northwest will see 40s and 50s. Higher elevations will only rise into the 20s and 30s in the West. Temperatures in the lower 48 states on Saturday have ranged from a morning low of 6 degrees at Crane Lake, Minn., to a high of 89 degrees at Augusta Bush, Ga.

Bizarro Earth

9 dead dolphins found since Saturday in Alabama and Mississippi

dead,dolphin
© Press-Register/Harlan Kirgan9 dead dolphins have been found in Alabama and Mississippi since Saturday. Scientists with the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies perform a necropsy on a dead dolphin earlier this year.

Despite what she called an "unusual mortality event" killing dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico, the top federal scientist investigating the deaths, revealed Wednesday that the government has yet to send any tissue samples for laboratory testing to determine a cause. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Blair Mase blamed the delay on complications related to oil spill litigation.

A letter sent by NOAA to groups authorized to collect tissue samples from dead dolphins described the work as "a criminal investigation," according to Mase.

Nine more dolphin carcasses were recovered in Alabama and Mississippi between Saturday and Wednesday, bringing the total for the two states to 62 since Jan. 1, according to a list compiled Wednesday by the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

Attention

Coast Guard probing reports of "sheen" in Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating reports of a "sheen" in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana.

The Coast Guard on Sunday were trying to determine whether the sheen or gleaming at the top of the water, was the result of oil or an algae growth, said Lieutenant Ryan Baxter, command duty officer in New Orleans.

"We have an unknown substance in the water," he said. "We're trying to confirm what it is."