Earth Changes

Tanzania: 'Mountain of God' spews out its wrath after series of tremors

Zephania Ubwani
Daily Nation
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:20 UTC

©Unknown

Mt Oldonyo Lengai (file picture)

In the past the community living at the foot of Oldonyo Lengai defied government orders to evacuate after the mountain erupted.

They argued that they could not move out because they had lived there for generations and had grown used to the volcanic ash from "the mountain of God" in northern Tanzania. But nine months after it continued to emit smoke into the sky and spewing molten rocks on its slopes, many of the defiant people are now moving out without being asked to.

Hawaii: Volcano blast spews grit over 19 miles

Rod Thompson
Star Bulletin
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:13 UTC

©Charlene Meyers. Images of Hawaii

Photographer and national park volunteer Charlene Meyers
took this 72-second time exposure Tuesday night
of the glowing spot in Halemaumau Crater.

Big Island photographer Charlene Meyers must have been one of the last people to see the glowing red vent inside Halemaumau Crater before the unusual feature blew itself apart early Wednesday morning.

Texas: Why Was It Raining Mud?

Jennifer Broome
WOAI
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:12 UTC

Many of you called and email about what looked like mud falling from the sky late Tuesday afternoon. By sundown, everything was coated in dirt.

People weren't sure if it was pollution, but it was getting all over cars and windows.

"I don't know, I've never seen this before," said Magne Turoy, who is from Norway. "I'm used to rain, lots of rain, but I've never seen this before."

©WOAI

Gulf Stream Leaves Its Signature Seven Miles High

sciencedaily.com
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:06 UTC

The Gulf Stream's impact on climate is well known, keeping Iceland and Scotland comfortable in winter compared to the deep-freeze of Labrador at the same latitude. That cyclones tend to spawn over the Gulf Stream has also been known for some time. A new study reveals that the Gulf Stream anchors a precipitation band with upward motions and cloud formations that can reach 7 miles high and penetrate the upper troposphere. The discovery, announced by a Japan - US team of scientists, shows that the Gulf Stream has a pathway by which to directly affect weather and climate patterns over the whole Northern Hemisphere, and perhaps even world wide.

©iStockphoto/Erik Kolstad

Cumulonimbus storm cloud forming over the warm Gulf Stream along the Norwegian coast. The system is sometimes called a polar low.

Iron Gets Into The North Pacific In Unexpected Ways, Will Impact Climate Change Predictions

sciencedaily.com
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:00 UTC

Most oceanographers have assumed that, in the areas of the world's oceans known as High Nutrient, Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, the iron needed to fertilize infrequent plankton blooms comes almost entirely from wind-blown dust. Phoebe Lam and James Bishop of the Earth Sciences Division at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have now shown that in the North Pacific, at least, it just ain't so.

©DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

From a site 47 degrees north latitude and 160 degrees east longitude in the Western North Pacific, iron and manganese found at depths of 100-200 meters originated hundreds of miles away, from the continental shelves of the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands. Particulate and dissolved iron and manganese hydroxides came from the upper shelf, and, after further processing, more iron (now poor in manganese) came from deeper on the slopes.

Giant Waves Break Up Caribbean Coral

Associated Press
Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:19 UTC

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Unusually large waves churned by an Atlantic storm system have littered the beaches of Barbados with broken coral in what could be a sign of damage to reefs across the region, a scientist said Sunday.

Forecasters warn of flooding in Arkansas

Jon Gambrell
news.yahoo.com
Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:15 UTC

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - High water pouring down the White River could cause historic flooding in cities along its path in eastern Arkansas, forecasters warned Sunday.

The river, one of many out of its banks across wide areas of the Midwest, could top levels recorded in a devastating flood 25 years ago, National Weather Service meteorologist John Robinson warned.

"There will be water going into areas where people have not seen it before, and may not be expecting to see high water," Robinson wrote in an e-mail to reporters Sunday.

Current Major Flooding In U.S. A Sign Of Things To Come, NOAA Predicts

sciencedaily.com
Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:54 UTC

Major floods striking America's heartland in March offer a preview of the spring seasonal outlook, according to NOAA's National Weather Service. Several factors will contribute to above-average flood conditions, including record rainfall in some states and snow packs, which are melting and causing rivers and streams to crest over their banks. The week of March 15, more than 250 communities in a dozen states are experiencing flood conditions.

©NOAA

Map of US spring flood risk.

State warns of elevated levels of sulfur dioxide on Big Island

kpua.net
Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:43 UTC

HONOLULU, Hawaii - State health officials are warning Big Island residents of elevated levels of sulfur dioxide caused by the volcanic activity at Kilauea.

The Health Department is monitoring sulfur dioxide levels in Kona, Hilo, Mountain View, Pahala and Pahoa.

Heavy quake detected north of Aleutian islands

Anchorage Daily News
Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:40 UTC

ALEUTIANS -- A large earthquake rocked the Aleutian islands Saturday afternoon. The quake measured a magnitude 6.2, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.