The South Korean government's weather office on Monday said that 2009 will mark the fifth warmest year on record, indicating the continuing effects of global warming.
The average temperature of six of the largest cities across the country recorded 14.0 degrees Celsius in 2009, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said in a press release.
The figure is the fifth highest since the country first started keeping track of the average temperature of those six cities in 1912, as the annual temperature has continued to rise by 1.7 degrees Celsius on average, the release said.
The highest record was set in 1998 at 14.5 degrees Celsius followed by 14.4 degrees Celsius in 1994, 14.2 degrees Celsius in 2007, and 14.03 degree Celsius in 2004.
Earth Changes
As the World Churns: Earth's Liquid Outer Core is Slowly 'Stirred' in a Series of Decades-Long Waves
© NASA/JPL
By combining measurements of Earth's magnetic field from stations on land and ships at sea with satellite data, scientists were able to isolate six regularly occurring waves of motion taking place deep within Earth's liquid core, with varying timescales.
By combining measurements of Earth's magnetic field from stations on land and ships at sea with satellite data, scientists were able to isolate six regularly occurring waves of motion taking place deep within Earth's liquid core, with varying timescales.
The powerful forces of wind, water and ice constantly erode its surface, redistributing Earth's mass in the process. Within Earth's solid crust, faulting literally creates and then moves mountains. Hydrological changes, such as the pumping of groundwater for use by humans, cause the ground beneath us to undulate. Volcanic processes deform our planet and create new land. Landslides morph and scar the terrain. Entire continents can even rise up, rebounding from the weight of massive glaciers that blanketed the land thousands of years ago.
Indeed, the outermost layers of the celestial blue onion that is Earth-its crust and upper mantle-aren't very solid at all. But what happens if we peel back the layers and examine what's going on deep within Earth, at its very core? Obviously, Earth's core is too deep for humans to observe directly. But scientists can use indirect methods to deduce what's going on down there.
A 5.1-magnitude earthquake has struck near Kodiak island, but there have been no reports of injury or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred at 6:12 p.m. Saturday and was centered in the sea about 70 miles south of Old Harbor.
The quake struck just one week after another 5.1 temblor, 50 miles east of Amchitka Island.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred at 6:12 p.m. Saturday and was centered in the sea about 70 miles south of Old Harbor.
The quake struck just one week after another 5.1 temblor, 50 miles east of Amchitka Island.
I haven't commented on ClimateGate because I felt it was more important to focus on the factors that influence climate and weather, the formation of the IPCC, and this new carbon exchange system. While ClimateGate is certainly compelling, and many listeners and readers may find it engaging, it's a blip on the screen of a global takeover of our entire planet - and that, dear readers, is where the action is.
This morning, I watched a video on YouTube featuring White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Journalists asked him about the hacked emails that set off ClimateGate and the reason why thousands of scientists do not accept the official climate change story. Of course, he handled the press the way the White House always does - by dismissing and deflecting any questions that required an honest answer.
I wasn't particularly disturbed by the predictable dismissal and redirection process, nor was I shocked by the way they stonewalled the journalists who refused to play ball. I expect that kind of gross imbalance and inequity from the executive office, whereby the stroke of a pen renders the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other integral foundational documents null and void. (I'm referring to Executive Orders, international treaties, and any other edicts that have to do with legal standing.)
This morning, I watched a video on YouTube featuring White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Journalists asked him about the hacked emails that set off ClimateGate and the reason why thousands of scientists do not accept the official climate change story. Of course, he handled the press the way the White House always does - by dismissing and deflecting any questions that required an honest answer.
I wasn't particularly disturbed by the predictable dismissal and redirection process, nor was I shocked by the way they stonewalled the journalists who refused to play ball. I expect that kind of gross imbalance and inequity from the executive office, whereby the stroke of a pen renders the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other integral foundational documents null and void. (I'm referring to Executive Orders, international treaties, and any other edicts that have to do with legal standing.)
© Corbis
Mangroves are some of the areas most vulnerable to climate change, as a new study by the Carnegie Instuttion in California reveals the rapid movement of global warming across the world.
Mangroves are some of the areas most vulnerable to climate change, as a new study by the Carnegie Instuttion in California reveals the rapid movement of global warming across the world.
Global warming creeps across the world at a speed of a quarter of a mile each year, according to a new study that highlights the problems that rising temperatures pose to plants and animals. Species that can tolerate only a narrow range of temperatures will need to move as quickly if they are to survive. Wildlife in lowland tropics, mangroves and desert areas are at greater risk than species in mountainous areas, the study suggests.
"These are the conditions that will set the stage, whether species move or cope in place," said Chris Field, director of the department of global ecology at the Carnegie Institution in the US, who worked on the project. "Expressed as velocities, climate change projections connect directly to survival prospects for plants and animals."
The study, by scientists at the Carnegie Institution, Stanford University, the California Academy of Sciences, and the University of California, Berkeley, combined information on current and projected future climate to calculate a "temperature velocity" for different parts of the world.
Volcanologists closely monitoring the activities of Mayon Volcano are wary of the calm before the storm.
With past eruption records in mind, volcanologists here are becoming more fidgety with the sudden lull of Mayon Volcano following its awesome two-day display of fireworks, saying it could serve as a prelude to the anticipated big bang.
Resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta said they are relying on the previous eruption records of Mount Mayon in doing away with any recommendation for the more than 47,000 evacuees to return home.
"We already learned our lesson in the past. Every affected resident here knows that the silence of Mayon is not an assurance that they would be safe if they go back home," said Laguerta.
With past eruption records in mind, volcanologists here are becoming more fidgety with the sudden lull of Mayon Volcano following its awesome two-day display of fireworks, saying it could serve as a prelude to the anticipated big bang.
Resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta said they are relying on the previous eruption records of Mount Mayon in doing away with any recommendation for the more than 47,000 evacuees to return home.
"We already learned our lesson in the past. Every affected resident here knows that the silence of Mayon is not an assurance that they would be safe if they go back home," said Laguerta.
© Charlie Neibergall/Associated Pres
Jose Felix shoveled snow on a sidewalk in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
Jose Felix shoveled snow on a sidewalk in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
Poor visibility due to blowing snow shut one major highway, Interstate 29, which stretches from Iowa through South and North Dakota up to the Canadian border, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation Web site.
"We've had the word out here a few days, that if people had to travel for Christmas to stay put," said Kyle Carstens, a meteorologist in Rapid City, S.D. "From a travel standpoint, it's a pretty big impact up here."
The winds near Rapid City were forecast to reach as high as 55 miles an hour, with temperatures in single digits.
Some 125 pilot whales died in New Zealand after stranding on the beach over the weekend - but vacationers and conservation workers Sunday managed to coax 43 others back out to sea.
Rescuers monitored the survivors as they swam away from Colville Beach on North Island's Coromandel peninsula, and by Monday morning they were reported well out to sea.
Department of Conservation workers and hundreds of volunteers helped re-float the 43 whales at high tide. The volunteers covered the stranded mammals in sheets and kept them wet through the day.
"Some 63 pilot whales stranded ... but it looks pretty good, we've got 43 live ones," Department of Conservation ranger Steve Bolten said as the pod swam out to sea.
Rescuers monitored the survivors as they swam away from Colville Beach on North Island's Coromandel peninsula, and by Monday morning they were reported well out to sea.
Department of Conservation workers and hundreds of volunteers helped re-float the 43 whales at high tide. The volunteers covered the stranded mammals in sheets and kept them wet through the day.
"Some 63 pilot whales stranded ... but it looks pretty good, we've got 43 live ones," Department of Conservation ranger Steve Bolten said as the pod swam out to sea.
© AP Photo
View of a snowy peak in the Alps.
View of a snowy peak in the Alps.
In one incident on Saturday, two Italian tourists were trapped in an avalanche while mountain climbing in the Trentino Alto Adige region.
Another avalanche killed four rescue workers of the seven-person team sent out to find the two trapped tourists.
A separate rescue expedition discovered that the two missing tourists had died and located their bodies.
And a 14-year-old German boy died on the spot in another avalanche in nearby Alto Adige as he was skiing off-piste with his brother and a friend.
New research from the John Innes Centre on how plants adapt their flowering to climate is also helping to unravel some of the mysteries of how genes are controlled.
Until relatively recently genome sequencing projects, and studies of gene expression have mostly focussed on the messenger RNA transcripts produced from genes that contain the code needed to make proteins. But as well as this coding RNA, it is now becoming apparent that there are extensive amounts of non-coding RNA that has important roles in regulating gene expression.
Despite being widespread amongst many different organisms, our understanding of this non-coding RNA is still very limited. It is thought to play major roles in the differentiation of stem cells, and it has been implicated in cancer development, but we are still a long way from knowing what all of this non-coding RNA is for. Recent studies by Professor Caroline Dean of the John Innes Centre on how plants control flowering in different climates have given indications of how non-coding RNA is processed and how it can affect gene expression, demonstrating the potential use of a plant based model system in unravelling fundamental questions about how genes work.
Until relatively recently genome sequencing projects, and studies of gene expression have mostly focussed on the messenger RNA transcripts produced from genes that contain the code needed to make proteins. But as well as this coding RNA, it is now becoming apparent that there are extensive amounts of non-coding RNA that has important roles in regulating gene expression.
Despite being widespread amongst many different organisms, our understanding of this non-coding RNA is still very limited. It is thought to play major roles in the differentiation of stem cells, and it has been implicated in cancer development, but we are still a long way from knowing what all of this non-coding RNA is for. Recent studies by Professor Caroline Dean of the John Innes Centre on how plants control flowering in different climates have given indications of how non-coding RNA is processed and how it can affect gene expression, demonstrating the potential use of a plant based model system in unravelling fundamental questions about how genes work.
