Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Hundreds evacuate as Japan volcano erupts

volcano
© AFPMount Shinmoedake has been belching smoke and ash into the air since late Wednesday
Tokyo - Hundreds of people living near a Japanese volcano that has been spewing columns of smoke and ash thousands of metres into the air were forced to evacuate their homes Monday, a local official said.

More than 600 residents of the town of Takaharu in Miyazaki prefecture, on the eastern outskirts of the erupting Mount Shinmoedake, were sheltering in school gyms and community halls, an official said.

Municipal authorities had issued an evacuation advisory for 1,158 residents in high-risk districts near the 1,421-metre (4,689-foot) volcano earlier Monday.

Cloud Lightning

Queensland Braces for Worst Ever Storm - Cyclone Yasi

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© Commwealth of Australia 2011Cyclone Yasi's predicted path
The state of Queensland, still reeling from the effects of weeks of widespread flooding, is bracing for the arrival of what could be the state's worst cyclone in history.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, which currently lies northwest of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean, is expected to strengthen into a category four storm, the second highest category, before hitting the north coast of the Sunshine State later this week.

In preparation for its arrival, tourist resorts on the popular Whitsunday Islands have been evacuated and several ports along the busy coast have been shut down. Residents in towns from Innisfail to Mackay have been warned to batten down the hatches or consider fleeing before the storm hits early on Thursday morning, while emergency management teams have held meetings across the state's north.

Authorities have also warned locals to stock up on food, water, batteries and other essentials in case they are cut off for a number of days after Yasi strikes.

There are fears that Yasi could whip up the seas and create a storm surge that would cause significant flooding in low-lying areas, just weeks after devastating floods killed more than 30 people and covered an area the size of France and Germany combined.

Igloo

More snow? Next storm takes aim at Northeast

There's more snow heading to the Northeast and it's expected to impact as many as 29 states. This new snow system is being called one of the more significant systems of the season.

Some state averages and current measured snow fall measures: New York Average 22" currently has seen over 45 inches. Philadelphia Average 19.3", currently seeing over 37 inches. Hartford, average 45.3, current total so far this year 71.2". This is a general trend throughout the North and East of the United States.


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Better Earth

Shinmoedake Peak in Japan Erupts Dramatically with Powerful Lightning Display

Shinmoedake Peak in Japan erupted last January 26, 2011, and alert level was raised to 3 as of January 27, 2011. This is because the volcano spurted lava, 2.5 km into the air.

The volcanic eruption was accompanied with powerful lightning display and lava ejections, sending residents within 1.2 mile radius to evacuate. This is according to National Geographic.

Watching it from afar provides an "awesome" view of the eruption with the vibrant colors emitted by the volcanic lightning.

The Shinmoedake Peak is a part of the famous Mount Kirishima Volcano group, and is located in Kyushu. Included in the volcano group are Mount Karakuni, Mount Shinmoe, and Takachihonomine. The highest peak is Mount Karakuni which is 1,700 meters above sea level.
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© National GeographicVolcanic lightning flashes from Shinmoedake Peak.

Binoculars

Australia: Floodwaters arrive at Swan Hill

floodwaters spread to Swan Hill.
© User submitted: Donna Residents face a tense wait as floodwaters spread to Swan Hill.

The floodwaters moving through north-west Victoria are starting to arrive at Swan Hill.

The State Emergency Service (SES) has moved its incident control centre to Swan Hill and says the flood waters started to reach the city late yesterday.

The Murray River is expected to reach minor flood level later today and major flood level by Thursday.

But the city's levees are expected to prevent any flooding.

Binoculars

Europe's big freeze brings flocks of rare birds to Britain

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© David Kilbey/AlamyGoldcrests, along with other small-bodied birds including wrens, long-tailed tits and coal tits, are feared to have fared badly in the harsh weather before Christmas.
The RSPB says people taking part in the world's biggest wildlife survey should look out for rare visitors in gardens and parks

The deep winter freeze across northern Europe and Russia has driven many exotic and unusual birds into Britain's back gardens on a weekend when more than half a million people are taking part in the world's biggest wildlife survey.

Amateur ornithologists are being told to "expect the unexpected" as they turn out for the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, including spectacular flocks of rarely seen waxwings that have been forced into towns and cities across the UK by a shortage of berries in their native Scandinavia and Russia.

Other unusual visitors to bird tables include fieldfare and redwing thrushes, winter migrants who prefer the countryside but are now seeking food and refuge in residential areas.

Comment: It's difficult to see what the RSPB is getting excited about, given that the organisation warned last week that populations of wild birds in the UK have registered an alarming 24% decline in recent decades.


Cloud Lightning

Meteorologists blame freak Arctic weather phenomenon for US snowstorms

Meteorologists say a freak weather phenomenon over the Arctic is responsible for the storms which have dumped record amounts of snow on the United States East Coast this winter.
snow
© Getty ImagesDecember 27, 2010: A bicycle is buried in snow in Manahattan, New York
The phenomenon, known as the North Atlantic Oscillation, is pushing frigid winds from the North Pole across the Atlantic, where they are colliding with the warm, moisture-laden air over the southern US. Jet streams, a belt of winds aloft at about 18,000 feet, are then carrying the cold air north-west, where the moisture is falling as snow.

In normal winters, the air mass above the Arctic is surrounded by a circular vortex of wind currents - a kind of fence that keeps in the frigid polar air. This condition, which meteorologists call the North Atlantic Oscillation's Positive Phase, ensures both sides of the Atlantic have relatively mild winters.

Wolf

UK: Mysterious Illness Affects Dogs

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© Unknown
A seasonal canine illness seems to be affecting dogs in certain parts of England.

The disease which was first noted in the autumn of 2009, has affected 19 dogs in Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire in the past two years, and 12 died. More fell ill in 2010, which prompted the Animal Health Trust to carry out its research into this illness, the most common symptoms being sickness, diarrhoea and lethargy.

Igloo

Britons going cold on global warming: Number of climate change sceptics doubles in four years

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© Press AssociationChilly outlook: The ice cold winters of recent years has seen the number of climate change sceptics more than double
The number of climate change sceptics has almost doubled in four years, official research showed yesterday.

A quarter of Britons are unconvinced that the world is warming following successive freezing winters and a series of scandals over the credibility of climate science.

The figures suggest that a growing proportion of the public do not share the belief of all three major political parties and Whitehall - that climate change is a major and urgent challenge requiring radical and expensive policies.

The survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, has plotted levels of acceptance of the theory of man-made global warming since 2006.

In that year it found that 87 per cent of people were at least 'fairly convinced' that climate change was happening.

Comment: The statement "There is also an increasing reluctance to take personal steps to tackle climate change" seems to indicate that we can turn the ship around when in fact there is little we can do or could have done. From all appearances we are experiencing a cyclic global cooling period.

More on global cooling here.


Bizarro Earth

Bloom in the Ross Sea

Algae Bloom
© Norman Kuring, Ocean Color Team, NASAAcquired January 22, 2011.

Every southern spring and summer, after the Sun has risen into its 24-hour circuit around the skies of Antarctica, the Ross Sea bursts with life. Floating, microscopic plants, known as phytoplankton, soak up the sunlight and the nutrients stirring in the Southern Ocean and grow into prodigious blooms. Those blooms become a great banquet for krill, fish, penguins, whales, and other marine species who carve out a living in the cool waters of the far south.

This true-color image captures such a bloom in the Ross Sea on January 22, 2011, as viewed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite. Bright greens of plant-life have replaced the deep blues of open ocean water.

The Ross Sea is a relatively shallow bay in the Antarctic coastline and due south from New Zealand. As the spring weather thaws the sea ice around Antarctica, areas of open water surrounded by ice - polynyas - open up on the continental shelf. In this open water, sunlight provides the fuel and various current systems provide nutrients from deeper waters to form blooms that can stretch 100 to 200 kilometers (60 to 120 miles). These blooms are among the largest in extent and abundance in the world.