Earth ChangesS


Igloo

Global Warming? Big Storm Warnings As Snow Bears Down On Mid-Atlantic - 20 inches of Snow

John Raby
Associated Press
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:08 UTC
Image
© AFP/Getty Images/Scott HalleranA pizza delivery man crosses a street in the falling snow to make a delivery in the Montford neighborhood in Asheville, North Carolina. Northeastern United States from North Carolina to Connecticut was under a winter storm warning Friday, as a major storm system threatens to dump up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) of snow in the region, weather forecasters said.
A major storm moving up the Atlantic Coast on the last shopping weekend before Christmas threatened to shut down much of the region as officials warned of up to 20 inches of snow and significant power outages.

People stocked up on groceries and other staples Friday after the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings from the Carolinas to Rhode Island.

In Virginia, Gov. Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, placing the National Guard and other agencies on standby. Philadelphia officials also declared a state of emergency and the school district canceled all weekend activities. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley urged motorists to stay home if possible.

Some shoppers were trying to get their holiday buying done before the snow hit.

"Most of them are coming in this morning to shop before they get snowed in," said Kayla Mahr at the Bath and Body shop at the River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg, Va.

The Federal Aviation Administration said departing flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were delayed by as much as an hour Friday because of rain and wind. United Airlines said it had already canceled more than 140 Saturday flights on the East Coast ahead of Saturday's weather.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 3.1 - New Madrid, Missouri


United Press International
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:38 UTC
Image
© USGS
A 3.1-magnitude earthquake centered near New Madrid, Mo., Friday shook parts of the Midwest, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

KFVS-TV, Cape Girardeau, Mo., said the early morning quake's epicenter was nine miles outside New Madrid and the quake was determined to have occurred at a depth of 5.6 miles.

No reports of damage or injuries were reported.

The New Madrid Seismic Network said the quake took place at 5:38 a.m. CST, nearly six miles northwest of Tiptonville, Tenn.
Read More...
Better Earth

Europe's Flora is Becoming Impoverished


ScienceDaily
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:00 UTC
Image
© André Künzelmann/UFZThe Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) are up to four metres high.
With increasing species richness, due to more plant introductions than extinctions, plant communities of many European regions are becoming more homogeneous. The same species are occurring more frequently, whereas rare species are becoming extinct.

It is not only the biological communities that are becoming increasingly similar, but also the phylogenetic relations between regions. These processes have led to a loss of uniqueness among European floras, scientists from the DAISIE research project have published their findings in the current online edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

For their research the scientists analysed the data of flora native to Europe (Flora Europaea), extinct plant species (national red lists) and alien plant species from the DAISIE database. About 1,600 new non-European species were introduced to the approx. 11,000 native European plant species since 1500 A.D. The researchers also took into account those European plants that are native to a particular region of Europe but considered as introduced species in another (approx. 1,700. It works in a similar way for the species considered to be "extinct."

While in the whole of Europe only 2 plant species can "really" be considered as extinct, approx. 500 species have become locally extinct. One such example is the Blue Woodruff (Asperula arvensis), a weed that grows on cultivated land, which has been greatly displaced particularly from the intensification of agricultural practices. This species is considered to be locally extinct in Germany and Austria for example, whereas it still occurs e.g. in Italy and Spain.
Read More...
Bug

Why Some Insects Can Survive Freezing: Huge X-Ray Microscope Provides Clues


ScienceDaily
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00 UTC
Image
© University of Western OntarioSynchrotron x-ray visualisation of ice formation in insects during lethal and non-lethal freezing.
Using a microscope the size of a football field, researchers from The University of Western Ontario are studying why some insects can survive freezing, while others cannot.

Why is this important? Because the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is one of the bugs that cannot survive freezing and the little creature just so happens to share much of the same genetic makeup as humans, therefore finding a way to freeze them for research purposes is a top priority for geneticists the world over (about 75 per cent of known human disease genes have a recognizable match in the genetic code of fruit flies).

And why the large microscope?

"It's the only one in the world that's set up for this kind of imaging on insects," says lead researcher Brent Sinclair of his team's use of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), located near Chicago, Illinois. The APS generates high-energy x-rays that allow Sinclair and his collaborators to film the formation and spread of ice in real time as the maggots freeze.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US: 3.5 Earthquake Jolts Southeast Nebraska


Kansas City
Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:07 UTC
Image
© USGS
A minor earthquake has rattled southeast Nebraska but apparently caused little damage and no injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the 3.5 magnitude quake struck at 8:53 Wednesday night, centered two miles north-northwest of Auburn.

Nemaha County authorities reported no injuries.

The quake was felt by people in several nearby Nebraska towns, including Peru, Nebraska City, and Dunbar. It also was felt across the Missouri River in Hamburg, Iowa; and Rock Port, Mo.

Though not known for its earthquakes, Nebraska has experienced several notable shakes since its founding as a state in 1867.

Comment: This article might be of interest as well: Fireball: Curious Events In Nebraska: Dec. 16, 2009

Read More...
Chalkboard

Climategate Goes SERIAL: Now the Russians Confirm that UK Climate Scientists Manipulated Data to Exaggerate Global Warming

James Delingpole
The Telegraph
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:00 UTC
Climategate just got much, much bigger. And all thanks to the Russians who, with perfect timing, dropped this bombshell just as the world's leaders are gathering in Copenhagen to discuss ways of carbon-taxing us all back to the dark ages.

Feast your eyes on this news release from Rionovosta, via the Ria Novosti agency, posted on Icecap. (Hat Tip: Richard North)
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Britain: Race Against Snow to Avert Transport Chaos

Lucy Bannerman
Times Online
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:00 UTC
Image
© TimesSnowfall today hit Coverdale, in the Pennines
Heavy snowfall blanketed parts of Britain last night as forecasters warned that treacherous conditions could lead to disruption on main road and rail networks.

Several inches of snow fell in East Anglia and Cambridgeshire with a peppering of showers in other parts of the country, including the Midlands and Essex. The Met Office also issued severe weather warnings for very heavy snowfall in London, the North East, Yorkshire and Humber and the East Midlands

Local authorities and transport agencies were on high alert last night, with fleets of gritters and de-icing lorries ready to be dispatched to keep key commuting routes clear today.

As commuters anticipated disruption this morning, a spokesman for Transport for London insisted that lessons had been learnt after snowfall brought the entire bus network to a standstill in February and paralysed other public transport links.
Read More...
Better Earth

'Fried Egg' may be impact crater

Jonathan Amos
BBC News
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:32 UTC
Image
© EMEPCThe Egg and its companion obtained by multibeam echosounder bathymetry


Portuguese scientists have found a depression on the Atlantic Ocean floor they think may be an impact crater.

The roughly circular, 6km-wide hollow has a broad central dome and has been dubbed the "Fried Egg" because of its distinctive shape.

It was detected to the south of the Azores Islands during a survey to map the continental shelf. If the Fried Egg was made by a space impactor, the collision probably took place within the past 17 million years.

This is the likely maximum age of the basaltic sea-floor rock which harbours the feature. "To be sure, we need to take samples and make a profile of the sediment layers to determine if there really is a central uplift from an impact," explained Dr Frederico Dias from EMEPC (Task Group for the Extension of the Portuguese Continental Shelf).
Read More...
Snowman

Copenhagen: Blizzard Dumps Snow On Global Warming Lie

Christian Wienberg
Bloomberg
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:55 UTC
World leaders flying into Copenhagen today to discuss a solution to global warming will first face freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimeters (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight.

"Temperatures will stay low at least the next three days," Henning Gisseloe, an official at Denmark's Meteorological Institute, said today by telephone, forecasting more snow in coming days. "There's a good chance of a white Christmas."

Delegates from 193 countries have been in Copenhagen since Dec. 7 to discuss how to fund global greenhouse gas emission cuts. U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive before the summit is scheduled to end tomorrow.

Denmark has a maritime climate and milder winters than its Scandinavian neighbors. It hasn't had a white Christmas for 14 years, under the DMI's definition, and only had seven last century. Temperatures today fell as low as minus 4 Celsius (25 Fahrenheit).

DMI defines a white Christmas as 90 percent of the country being covered by at least 2 centimeters of snow on the afternoon of Dec. 24.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Farmers Return to Erupting Philippine Volcano


Agence France-Presse
Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:00 UTC
Image
© Agence France-PresseMany people from the evacuated villages have been creeping back to look after their crops and animals.
Farmers have begun returning to the foothills of the Philippines' most active volcano despite an increasing flow of lava from the mountain, officials said Friday.

The picturesque Mayon volcano continued to spout spectacular fountains of ash into the sky amid a series of minor eruptions, heightening concerns that a major explosion could occur at any time.

Earthquakes inside Mayon also increased due to the enormous pressure of the ever-increasing amount of lava on its slopes, according to the government's volcanology institute.

"The important thing is that people should not be in those danger zones when a hazardous explosion happens," said chief government volcanologist Renato Solidum.

The so-called danger zone is a radius of six to eight kilometres (3.5 to five miles) from Mayon, and nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated from those areas since the volcano began spewing lava on Monday.
Read More...