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Changing Atmosphere: NASA comes up with ridiculous explanation to Singapore's "dancing cloud" video


IO9
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:14 UTC
The sky above this Singapore hotel seems perfectly normal...but then something weird starts happening in the clouds. They suddenly change shapes, brighten and dim, and seem to pulsate for no apparent reason. This strange phenomenon has baffled scientists...until now.


Videos capturing these strange, rapid light changes in clouds have popped up a lot in recent years, and they defied immediate explanation. But after what NASA rather charmingly calls some "inspection and contemplation", we now have a rather nifty explanation for just what's going on here:
In sum, this hypothesis holds that a lightning discharge in a thundercloud can temporarily change the electric field above the cloud where charged ice crystals were reflecting sunlight. The new electric field quickly re-orients the geometric crystals to a new orientation that reflects sunlight differently. In other words, a lightning discharge can cause a sundog to jump. Soon, the old electric field may be restored, causing the ice crystals to return to their original orientation.

Comment: From "A brief guide to Corrupted Science":

Whenever NASA (or other corrupted institution) says that they have done some "inspection and contemplation", what it really means, that they took some time to fabricate data or invent a ridiculous and fraudulent explanation in order to conceal the truth.

      Read More...
Igloo

US: Juneau Alaska sees record snowfall- more snow expected


Juneau Empire
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:39 UTC
Image
© Michael Penn / Juneau Empire
Snow piles up on top of a downtown business totem on Monday. The 10.7 inches of snow Monday exceeded the previous record of 5.6 inches for Nov. 14.
Record snowfall levels have been reported in Juneau, and more snow was to arrive this morning.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Juneau and other parts of southeast Alaska until 5 a.m. today. Six to 10 inches of new snow are possible for Juneau, Petersburg and Wrangell, with slightly lesser amounts in places like Hoonah and Angoon.

Juneau public schools were closed Monday. Eaglecrest Ski Area reminded outdoor enthusiasts it is closed and had no ski patrol or avalanche control onsite.

Several city commission meetings were canceled, as was a lecture sponsored by the Sealaska Heritage Institute. City buses went on winter routes in areas where the city deems it unsafe to operate buses during heavy snow and ice.

Meteorologist Geri Swanson said Monday afternoon the 10.7 inches that had fallen at weather service offices since midnight broke a record for snow falling on Nov. 14. The previous record was 5.6 inches in 2006.
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Turkey - Earthquake Magnitude 5.2 - Near Van


US Geological Survey
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:28 UTC
Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 22:08:15 UTC

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 12:08:15 AM at epicenter

Location:
8.664°N, 43.099°E

Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles)

Region:
EASTERN TURKEY

Distances:
31 km (19 miles) NW (307°) from Van, Turkey

119 km (74 miles) S (178°) from Karakose (Agri), Turkey

131 km (82 miles) NNW (335°) from Hakkari, Turkey

207 km (129 miles) SW (216°) from YEREVAN, Armenia
      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

A split jet stream brings severe weather to the U.S.


WJLA.com
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:36 UTC
While D.C. is having a grand ol' weather day, a swatch of land stretching from Illinois through Indiana to Ohio to three other states has fallen under tornado watches and warnings. What's causing this discontent in the atmosphere? Blame it on a disturbed jet stream, a river of wind that can scream along at up to 450 m.p.h. several miles above in the sky.

Image
© NOAA
Tornadic weather over the Midwest on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, can be blamed on a seasonal split in the jet stream.
The jet stream typically flows in a single thick band traveling west to east. But around this time during La Nina years, the stream can become split, with one vein coursing through the north part of the country and the other through the south. A split jet stream is a harbinger of severe weather; look above and you'll see why.

The blue in NOAA's map from today represents wind speed at a height of about 3.5 miles, with the darkest blue/purple areas indicating places where gusts top 100 m.p.h. The fast winds denote the location of the jet stream. The stream begins to split in the Pacific Northwest: One branch loops down into Mexico while the other stays the course at the top of the U.S. Where they rejoin is where the problems start. The northern stream is holding a load of frigid air that it carried in from Canada, whereas the southern one is damp and warm thanks to a nice vacation in the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of these disparate atmospheric conditions forms the recipe for severe storms, and is the reason that one tornado and quarter-sized hail have already been reported in Champaign County, Ill.
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Lava lake sinks, spurring quakes


Star Advertiser
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:48 UTC
Image
© Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
A large "skylight" in the Puu Oo lava field permits a view of a tube supplying lava to surface flows north of Royal Gardens subdivision. The tube, which heads southeast, is marked by the line of fume sources in the upper-right portion of the image.
Eight small earthquakes rocked Kilauea Volcano after the lava lake at the summit caldera dropped in elevation Sunday, U.S. geologists reported.

But that seismic shaking was actually below normal levels, they said.

The strongest quake was a magnitude 3.3 at 2:16 a.m. Sunday.

At Puu Oo, meanwhile, a "skylight" in the pahoehoe (smooth, ropy lava) field showed a tube transporting lava on the southeast flank to active flows about three miles to the south.

The active lava flows are within the Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve, which remains closed to the public because of various hazards - including potentially lethal concentrations of sulfur dioxide - so they are visible only from the air.

But the glow from the vents and flows can be seen from the Hawaii County viewing area at Kalapana if weather conditions are right, said scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey.
      Read More...
Hardhat

Did Fracking Cause Oklahoma's Largest Recorded Earthquake?

Charles Q. Choi
Scientific American
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:05 UTC
Oklahoma Earthquake fracking
© iStockphoto.com / cstar55
QUAKE CAUSE?: Oklahoma recently experienced its strongest earthquake ever and some suggest drilling for oil and gas may have played a role.
Probably not, as the gas drilling practice tends to be associated with minor quakes, not big ones, seismologists say

The biggest earthquake ever recorded in Oklahoma struck on November 5, a magnitude 5.6 temblor that buckled a highway and ruptured water pipes. This quake is part of a skyrocketing rise in seismic activity the state has seen in the past three years, leading many to wonder - and worry - about its cause. Might the practice of fracking, a controversial method of drilling into rock for natural gas, be to blame?

The earthquake struck around 10 P.M. local time about 50 kilometers east of Oklahoma City, and was felt from Saint Louis to Dallas. Until then, the state's largest temblor was a magnitude 5.5 event near the town of El Reno in 1952.

Overall, only minor injuries and damage were reported after last weekend's earthquake. A magnitude 4.7 foreshock preceded the quake by about 20 hours, and dozens of aftershocks were detected as well. These all apparently happened on the well-mapped Wilzetta Fault. "It seems the east side of the fault moved a bit southward," says seismologist Randy Keller, director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS).
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Congo Mount Nyamulagira Volcano: Tourists Invited To See Eruption

Saleh Mwanamilongo
The Huffington Post
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:12 UTC
A national park in Congo best known for its endangered mountain gorillas is now inviting tourists to go on overnight treks to see a volcano spurting fountains of lava nearly 1,000 feet into the air. Mount Nyamulagira began erupting on Nov. 6 and could continue to do so for days, or even months. "Last night's was the most spectacular yet," spokeswoman LuAnne Chad said Monday from Virunga National Park.
      Read More...
Fish

22 Sperm Whales Die in Australia


Agence France-Presse
Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:25 UTC
Image
© Tasmania Parks And Wildlife
Steve Mansfield (L) and James Grey from the Parks and Wildlife Service tag deceased sperm whales on Ocean Beach near Strahan on Tasmania's west coast on November 1. Wildlife staff are battling wet and windy conditions as they try to save four sperm whales stranded in shallow water after 22 others die.
Rescuers were racing against the clock Monday to save two huge sperm whales stranded on a Tasmanian sandbank after 22 others died, the Parks and Wildlife Service said.

Marine mammal specialists were on site in Macquarie Harbour at Strahan on Tasmania's northwest coast, but the rescue bid was hampered by rough weather.

Twenty-two of the whales -- each weighing two tonnes and up to 12 metres (40 feet) long -- washed ashore on Saturday at Ocean Beach near Strahan, and all of them died.

Four others came into the harbour and became stranded on a sandbank. Two of these were successfully refloated and swam back out to sea, but the other two remain stuck.

Rescuers said two minke whales also got into trouble nearby and died.

Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife incident controller Chris Arthur said the sperm whales were so big that they could not simply be pulled into deeper water by volunteers, instead requiring a more complicated rescue operation.
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Molucca Sea - Earthquake Magnitude 6.3


US Geological Survey
Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:23 UTC
Molucca Quake_141111
© USGS
Earthquake Location
Date-Time
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 04:05:12 UTC

Monday, November 14, 2011 at 01:05:12 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
0.954°S, 126.864°E

Depth
19.4 km (12.1 miles)

Region
MOLUCCA SEA

Distances
200 km (124 miles) SSW of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia

337 km (209 miles) NNW of Ambon, Moluccas, Indonesia

853 km (530 miles) N of DILI, Timor-Leste

1347 km (836 miles) NNW of DARWIN, Northern Territory, Australia
      Read More...
Igloo

Canada: British Columbia storm cuts power, jams highways, stops ferries


CBC News
Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:06 UTC
Image
© CBC News
Stormy weather has forced BC Ferries to delay ferries on several routes on Friday afternoon, cut power to thousands and caused havoc on the Coquihalla and other B.C. highways.

Shortly after 2 p.m. BC Ferries began announcing ferries would not be sailing between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, and on several smaller routes until high winds subsided.

About 50,000 BC Hydro customers in the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island regions were without power as the wind knocked trees onto power lines during the height of the storm around 3 p.m.

Then by 3:30 p.m. the wind had subsided in some areas and some of the ferries had resumed sailing, including those on the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route, but sailings on many routes were running behind schedule.
      Read More...
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