Earth Changes

Heavy snowstorm paralyses Istanbul, Turkey

Yahoo! News
Sat, 07 Jan 2017 14:01 UTC

People walk during snowfalls in Istanbul on January 7, 2017

A heavy snowstorm paralysed life in Istanbul on Saturday, with hundreds of flights cancelled and the Bosphorus closed to shipping traffic.

The snowstorm dumped almost 40 centimetres (16 inches) of snow in parts of the Turkish metropolis overnight, causing havoc on roads as travellers sought to leave the city for the weekend getaway.

For those not travelling, the snow however provided a rare chance to see Istanbul's famous minaret and dome-studded skyline caked in a white layer of snow.

Flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) cancelled some 500 flights from both the main Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports, with the snow also bringing poor visibility.

Wildfires burn 1 million hectares in Argentina over the last several weeks

Bill Gabbert
Wildfire Today (blog)
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 22:43 UTC

Most of the fires are in the provinces of La Pampas, Rio-Negro, and Buenos Aires.

Wildfires in Argentina have burned approximately 2.47 million acres (1 million hectares) over the last several weeks. On December 22 NASA satellites started detecting heat from fires that grew to become some of the larger blazes on the east side of the country 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of the coastal city of Bahia Blanca.

Below is an excerpt from an article by NASA, and following that is a series of five more satellite photos showing the progression of the fires up through January 6:

Severe drought during the winter and spring of 2016 in northeastern Patagonia played a large role in the current fires, said Guillermo Defossé, a professor of ecology at the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco and researcher for the Centro de Investigación y Extensión Forestal Andino Patagónico (CIEFAP), an organization that monitors Patagonian forests.

"While historically these ecosystems were fire prone, during the last century the number of wildfires severely declined as a consequence of a great grazing pressure—grazers consumed all fine fuels that otherwise will carry the fires—and a successful policy of fire exclusion," Defossé wrote in an email.

"This masked, in part, the fact that these ecosystems are naturally highly flammable, with a fire recurrence time of about 20 - 25 years. During the last 10 years, however, a very sharp decline in wool prices and continuous drought—probably due to climate change—made several ranchers to reduce the number of sheep or directly abandon the ranching activity. This abandonment increased the availability and amount of fine fuels."

New cold record of -41.7C and freak winter thunderstorm in Finland

YLE News
Wed, 04 Jan 2017 19:55 UTC

Early Thursday a new cold record for this winter of -41.7 degrees Celsius was set in Muonio, Finnish Lapland. It was nearly as chilly in the village of Naruska in Salla, where thermometers showed -41.4. On Thursday night temperatures are expected to fall further in southern and central Finland as well.

Shortly after midnight, this winter's new cold record of -41.7 degrees Celsius was set in Muonio, Finnish Lapland. It was nearly as chilly in the village of Naruska in Salla, where thermometers showed -41.4.

A day earlier, the record was snapped twice in Finnish Lapland.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), thermometers sank to -38.7 degrees Celsius shortly before 7 am at Nuorgam in the northernmost municipality of Utsjoki. Just after noon that record was bested by the village of Väylä, slightly further south in Inari. There the mercury plunged to -39.8.

Larsen C ice shelf crack may portend formation of giant Antarctic iceberg

RT
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 23:36 UTC

A glacier more than 80 times the size of Manhattan is on the brink of splintering from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf and floating off into the ocean.

Over time, a rift has steadily formed along the massive ice sheet, which lies in the Weddell Sea near the northwest of the Antarctic.

Pictures released by NASA last November showed a 100-meter (328ft) wide and 500-meter deep (1640ft) crack slicing the incredible sub-zero temperature environment.

According to Project Midas, a UK research group documenting the effects of global warming in the area, 10 percent of the overall Larsen C ice mass is now close to calving into the sea.

It could mean the creation of a 5,000 sq km (193 sq mile) iceberg.

Comment: The missing factor may be the reawakening of dormant undersea volcanoes in the area.

Pu'u 'Ō'ō volcanic show continues at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Big Island News
Wed, 04 Jan 2017 00:54 UTC

Four days after the huge delta collapse at the lava ocean entry at Kamokuna in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, visitors are enjoying a new volcanic show.

National Park Service video taken by rangers on Tuesday, January 3, shows a "lava hose" streaming out of a severed tube and into the ocean. The active lava tube was exposed when 26-acres of new land suddenly broke off and fell into the sea on New Years Eve.

The lava viewing area inside the park had to be closed and relocated a short distance away.

Local lava photographer Tom Kualii captured the lava stream during the overnight hours in this remarkable video.

Comment: Part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park collapses into ocean

Shallow 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes west of Port Hardy, Canada

Scott Brown
Vancouver Sun
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 09:51 UTC

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake has struck 186 kilometres west of Port Hardy, on the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was reported at 7:49 a.m. Pacific Time. It occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a tsunami warning, watch or advisory for the pacific coast.

In an online post, Natural Resources says there are no reports of damage and none would be expected.

The quake occurred in the seismically active area along the Cascadia subduction zone off Vancouver Island, where two plates of the earth's crust meet.

Comment: Also today:

US in the grip of the 'The Big Chill'

Anthony Watts
Watts Up with That
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 17:59 UTC

We've known that the USA is in for a bi-coastal blast of cold air, snow, and heavy rains, but this map by Jesse Farrell shows just how much of the contiguous USA has below freezing temperatures this morning.

Here is a summary of temperatures seen this morning by states:

All States except Florida (80% of US Land) are less than 32°F
25 States (30% Land) Below 0 °F
6 States Below -20°F

Of course, though not seen in the map above, Alaska has subfreezing temperatures, and Hawaii has subfreezing temperatures on the mountain peaks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea -not unusual for this time of year, but it is important not to exclude the 49th, and 50th states from any discussion about the USA.

Meanwhile, a once in a decade storm will hit California this weekend.

Another eruption at Colima volcano in Mexico

cbc.ca
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:00 UTC

A large plume of ash rises from the crater of the Colima volcano, also known as the Volcano of Fire, on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016.

© Dario Lopez-Mills/Associated Press
A large plume of ash rises from the crater of the Colima volcano, also known as the Volcano of Fire, on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016.

One of Mexico's most active volcanoes has erupted, yet again.

Colima — known locally as the volcano of fire — spewed gas and ash into the air on Wednesday. An ongoing volcanic ash advisory, issued by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Washington, remains in effect Thursday.

The volcano is in western Mexico, about 160 kilometres south of Guadalajara. Its eruptions date back to the 16th century, but have been steady since 1994.

The activity has intensified since last October, when nearby residents were evacuated as the volcano spewed lava. It is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the 40,000-kilometre volcanically volatile area home to about 75 per cent of the world's active volcanoes.

Colima's recent eruptions have created some lava domes, made from lava that has built up around the volcano's opening.

You can see multiple different views of the volcano in real-time here.

Green alert issued as Turrialba Volcano ashfall intensifies in Costa Rica

Michael Krumholtz
The Tico Times.
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:41 UTC

© Blas Sánchez/CNE
Turrialba Volcano continues to send ash towards the Central Valley in a series of prolonged eruptions beginning Dec. 28.

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) declared a Green Alert for the Central Valley on Thursday afternoon as Turrialba Volcano continued to pump ash intothe skies in the latest of the constant eruptions that have lasted throughout the past two weeks.

A statement from Casa Presidencial indicated that a combination of continued eruptions, a dry air system over Central America that has reduced the chance of rain, and strong winds have all contributed to the increase of ashfall in the area.

The CNE asks municipal emergency commissions to be vigilant, keep their communities informed and monitor ash levels. If people have to leave their houses in areas where significant ash is present, the government recommends that they cover their mouths and noses with towels or dust masks. The CNE also suggests not consuming food outdoors and to even avoid driving in areas with high ash levels.

On Thursday morning, the National University's Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) reported more ashfall being carried by southwest winds towards the San José metro area. Ash was seen covering cars and buildings Wednesday throughout the capital and the broader Central Valley, including as far north as Heredia and as far west as Escazú.

Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutians back at Red Alert

Zoe Sobel
kucb.org
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 16:34 UTC

A satellite image showing the volcanic cloud from Bogoslof's January 5, 2017 eruption.

Two hours after lowering the aviation code for an Eastern Aleutian volcano, it's back at the highest alert level.

The reasoning? According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, there was a significant explosion at Bogoslof volcano Thursday afternoon.

The observatory detected a raised level of seismicity around 1:30 p.m. as well as reports from the World Wide Lightning Detection Network of lightning strikes. A pilot reported seeing a volcanic cloud at 35,000 ft.

The volcano has been erupting since mid-December.

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Earth Changes

Heavy snowstorm paralyses Istanbul, Turkey

Wildfires burn 1 million hectares in Argentina over the last several weeks

New cold record of -41.7C and freak winter thunderstorm in Finland

Larsen C ice shelf crack may portend formation of giant Antarctic iceberg

Pu'u 'Ō'ō volcanic show continues at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Shallow 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes west of Port Hardy, Canada

US in the grip of the 'The Big Chill'

Another eruption at Colima volcano in Mexico

Green alert issued as Turrialba Volcano ashfall intensifies in Costa Rica

Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutians back at Red Alert

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