Earth ChangesS

Attention

5.9 magnitude earthquake rocks Pakistan


The Times of India
Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:46 UTC
Several parts of Pakistan, including the federal capital were on Sunday rocked by a moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale.

The quake, which had its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountain range and occurred at about 1.30 am, shook Islamabad, the North West Frontier Province, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and parts of Punjab province, the local met office said.

There were no reports of loss of life or damage to property.
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Target

Strong earthquake jolts NE Afghanistan


Xinhua
Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:45 UTC
A powerful earthquake measured 6.2-magnitude hit northeastern Afghanistan, in the wee hours of Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

It occurred at around 12:53 a.m. local time (2020 GMT) at the depth of 220.8 km when the quake shocked the Hindu Kush Region, some 255 km northeast from the Afghan capital Kabul, recorded by the USGS website.

People in Kabul could feel house rattling quickly which last for some 30 seconds.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
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Better Earth

Earthquake in Kashmir valley, no damage reported


Times of India
Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:43 UTC
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rocked the Kashmir valley early on Sunday, jolting residents out of their sleep in panic.

"A 6.4 quake struck the Valley at 1.53am on Sunday. The epicentre of the quake was located in the Hindukush region with latitude 36.5 degrees north and longitude 70.8 degrees east," an official of the weather office here said.

There were no reports of damage to life and property.
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Bizarro Earth

Strong Earthquakes Hit Indonesia


BBC News
Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:55 UTC
At least four people have been killed and dozens injured after a series of powerful earthquakes hit eastern Indonesia, officials say.

Rubble
© BBC NewsA number of buildings collapsed in Manokwari
The strongest tremor, with a magnitude of 7.6, struck north of the city of Manokwari in West Papua province at 0443 (1943 GMT on Saturday).

It was followed by another big quake and a string of aftershocks.

Witnesses said the tremors triggered mass panic in Manokwari, where several buildings were flattened.
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Bizarro Earth

An Eighteen-Hundred-Year Climate Record from China

Keith Sherwood and Craig Idso
CO2 Science
Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:05 UTC
Working with a stalagmite found in China's Wanxiang Cave (33ยฐ19'N, 105ยฐ00'E) -- which Zhang et al. (2008) say is located on the fringes of the area currently affected by the Asian Monsoon and is thus sensitive to (and integrates broad changes in) that annually-recurring phenomenon -- the seventeen researchers developed a O18 record with an average resolution of 2.5 years that "largely anti-correlates with precipitation" and runs continuously from AD 190 to 2003. Even more important than its close ties with precipitation, in our opinion, Zhang et al. demonstrate that the record "exhibits a series of centennial to multi-centennial fluctuations broadly similar to those documented in Northern Hemisphere temperature reconstructions, including the Current Warm Period, Little Ice Age, Medieval Warm Period and Dark Age Cold Period." And when one compares the peak warmth thus implied by their data for the Current and Medieval Warm Periods, it is readily seen that the Medieval Warm Period comes out on top as having been the warmer of the two.
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Better Earth

4000 Year Oxygen-18 Histories of New Zealand's North and South Islands

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:51 UTC
This is a review from CO2Science.com of an interesting paper looking at Oxygen 18 records in water driven cave formations (stalactite, stalagmite or flowstone) than span a 4000 year period. Here is a basic description from the NZ Climate Centre:

"These deposits occur within karst terranes in subterranean caverns mainly as calcite (CaCO3) precipitated from groundwater that percolated through overlying limestone or marble rock. Interior cave climates and environments are generally stable; temperatures have little annual variation and are usually close to the external local mean annual air temperature. Oxygen and carbon stable isotope values (18O/16O and 13C/12C) obtained from speleothem calcite have been employed at many locations in the world to determine past climate conditions and can be used to interpret environmental changes."
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Alarm Clock

Mr. Gore: Apology Accepted

Harold Ambler
The Huffington Post
Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:52 UTC
You are probably wondering whether President-elect Obama owes the world an apology for his actions regarding global warming. The answer is, not yet. There is one person, however, who does. You have probably guessed his name: Al Gore.

Mr. Gore has stated, regarding climate change, that "the science is in." Well, he is absolutely right about that, except for one tiny thing. It is the biggest whopper ever sold to the public in the history of humankind.
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Better Earth

New Breeding Ground For Endangered Whales? High Numbers Of Right Whales Seen In Gulf Of Maine


Science Daily
Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:37 UTC
right whales
© NOAA/Misty NiemeyerThree North Atlantic right whales are visible at the surface on Jordans Basin. A fourth whale is visible just below the surface at lower left.
A large number of North Atlantic right whales have been seen in the Gulf of Maine in recent days, leading right whale researchers at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center to believe they have identified a wintering ground and potentially a breeding ground for this endangered species.

The NEFSC's aerial survey team saw 44 individual right whales on Dec. 3 in the Jordan Basin area, located about 70 miles south of Bar Harbor, Maine. Weather permitting, the team regularly surveys the waters from Maine to Long Island and offshore 150 miles to the Hague Line (the U.S.-Canadian border), an area about 25,000 square nautical miles.

"We're excited because seeing 44 right whales together in the Gulf of Maine is a record for the winter months, when daily observations of three to five animals are much more common," said Tim Cole, who heads the team. "Right whales are baleen whales, and in the winter spend a lot of time diving for food deep in the water column. Seeing so many of them at the surface when we are flying over an area is a bit of luck."
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Cow

India: Mysterious outbreak among buffaloes


The Imphal Free Press
Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:47 UTC
The chief of Bolongdai village (Nungba), Ningkham Gangmei informed IFP over the telephone today that a mysterious outbreak of a disease has led to the death of over 12 buffalo heads. According to him, about five buffaloes were reported dead in the village prior to Christmas while another seven have died till yesterday.

He said that he had no reports of death of other types of cattle coming from the village and expressed concern that the outbreak could also affect other villages since cattle graze together.
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Attention

Tsunami alert issued after strong Indonesian quake


Associated Press
Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:49 UTC
Image
© USGS
JAKARTA - Authorities and witnesses say a strong earthquake in eastern Indonesia has sent panicked residents running outside.

The country's meteorology and seismology agency warned that with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 it was strong enough to cause a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of giant waves.
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