Earth ChangesS


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Best of the Web: Volcano heats high-mountain lake to 108 degrees - Now imagine what a few thousand underwater volcanoes could do

Image
© Unknown
Last month, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) announced that the water temperature in the main crater of Taal volcano in the Philippines had risen from 86.9 degrees Fahrenheit to 88.7 degrees Fahrenheit (30.5C to 31.5C), a sign that the volcano might soon erupt.

This provides an example of how much heat a volcano can generate.

And this is not the only lake that's running hot.

On March 1st of this year, the water temperature in New Zealand's Mt Ruapehu crater lake reached an astounding 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit (41C).

This was just short of the highest temperature ever reached since the lake was re-established in 2002, say volcanologists from New Zealand's Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS).

"The highest recorded temperature was 42.5degC (108.5F) in May 2003," says GeoNet duty volcanologist Agnes Mazot.

"The temperature of Crater Lake is a measure of amount of volcanic heat coming from Ruapehu," Mazot added.

Bizarro Earth

US: Wild April 2011 Weather: Historic Month by the Numbers

Wild Weather
© NOAA

April 2011 sure was a wild weather month. A record-breaking tornado outbreak capped a month of extremes, and many natural disasters, including historic flooding and devastating wildfires, continue into May.

Here are the numbers, according to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Temperature

Average U.S. temperature in April: 52.9 degrees Fahrenheit (11.6 degrees Celsius).

Degrees above the 1901-2000 average: 0.9 degrees F (0.5 degrees C).

State that had its warmest April on record: Delaware. April 2011 was the fourth warmest April for Virginia and the fifth warmest for Texas. Florida and Louisiana had their seventh warmest, New Mexico and West Virginia their eighth, New Jersey its ninth and Maryland its 10th.

Washington State came in at its second coolest April, 5 degrees F (2.8 degrees C) below their long-term average. Oregon (with its fifth coolest April) and Idaho (10th coolest) were also much cooler than normal.

Heart - Black

Dozens of dolphins found dead in Ukraine

Image
© Unknown

Thirty one dolphins were found dead in the Crimean Peninsula in Southern Ukraine, the press office of the Emergencies Ministry in Crimea reported Tuesday.

According to officials, the dead dolphins were scattered in an area of 2 km along the coastal zone.

Experts said the probable cause of the mammalian deaths is getting into the fishing nets. The majority of the dolphins have visible wounds on their body, some of them have damaged or missing fins.

Nuke

When We Tested Nuclear Bombs

Since the time of Trinity -- the first nuclear explosion in 1945 -- nearly 2,000 nuclear tests have been performed, with the majority taking place during the 1960s and 1970s. When the technology was new, tests were frequent and often spectacular, and led to the development of newer, more deadly weapons. But starting in the 1990s, there have been efforts to limit the future testing of nuclear weapons, including a U.S. moratorium and a U.N. comprehensive test ban treaty. As a result, testing has slowed -- though not halted -- and there are questions about the future. Who will take over for those experienced engineers who are now near retirement, and should we act as stewards with our enormous stockpiles of nuclear weapons? Gathered here are images from the first 30 years of nuclear testing. See also "Can We Unlearn the Bomb?" and "Atomic Weapons on Film."

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© US DODA fireball begins to rise, and the world's first atomic mushroom cloud begins to form, nine seconds after Trinity detonated on July 16, 1945.

Comment: Still think smoking is to blame for lung cancer? Could the truth be more revealing? They are blaming the victims for their own evil...

Also, see SOTT's Best of the Web A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945.


Bizarro Earth

Loyalty Islands: Earthquake Magnitude 6.8

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 08:55:09 UTC

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 07:55:09 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
20.252°S, 168.273°E

Depth:
14.9 km (9.3 miles)

Region:
LOYALTY ISLANDS

Distances:
134 km (83 miles) SW of Isangel, Tanna, Vanuatu

149 km (92 miles) NNE of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

276 km (171 miles) S of PORT-VILA, Efate, Vanuatu

1741 km (1081 miles) ENE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

Bizarro Earth

US: Earthquake Magnitude 3.9 - Colorado

Image
© USGS
Date-Time:
Monday, May 09, 2011 at 23:28:53 UTC

Monday, May 09, 2011 at 05:28:53 PM at epicenter

Location:
37.139°N, 104.726°W

Depth:
4.9 km (3.0 miles)

Region:
COLORADO

Distances:
9 km (6 miles) W (266°) from Cokedale, CO

18 km (11 miles) W (278°) from Starkville, CO

20 km (12 miles) W (260°) from Trinidad, CO

126 km (78 miles) S (184°) from Pueblo, CO

288 km (179 miles) S (176°) from Denver, CO

Binoculars

US: Mississippi Delta sees flooding from mighty river

Memphis - Parts of the Mississippi Delta are beginning to flood, sending white-tail deer and wild pigs swimming to dry land, submerging yacht clubs and closing casino boats, and compelling residents to flee from their homes.

The sliver of land in northwest Mississippi, home to hardship and bluesman Muddy Waters, is in the crosshairs of the slowly surging river, just like many other areas along the banks of the big river.

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© Associated Press/Rogelio V. SolisA walkway to the Lighthouse Point Casino lies underwater as the waters in Lake Ferguson begin to rise as does its feeder source, the Mississippi River, May 5, 2011 in Greenville, Mississippi.
To points much farther north, thousands face the decision of whether to stay or go as high water kept on rolling down the Mississippi and its tributaries, threatening to soak communities over the next week or two. The flooding is already breaking high-water records that have stood since the 1930s.

"We're getting our mamma and daddy out," said Ken Gelston, who helped pack furniture, photos and other belongings into pickup trucks in Greenville, Miss.

Cloud Lightning

US: Thousands in Memphis told to evacuate as flood waters close in

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© My 5Flood waters near Riverside Drive Friday morning in Memphis.
Memphis, Tennessee - Teams from Shelby County and the city of Memphis conducted a door-to-door operation Friday to tell thousands of residents it is time to evacuate.

Meanwhile, the parking lot of the Raleigh Springs mall was an oasis Friday for Shelby County residents being targeted by flood waters.

Elizabeth Benson checked in to see if her house off Thomas and Frayser Boulevard was in danger. The news wasn't good.

"I need to prepare for the possibility of being flooded out," she said.

Local authorities were uncertain whether they had legal authority to order evacuations, and hoped the fliers would persuade people to leave. Bob Nations, director of emergency management for Shelby County, which includes Memphis, said there was still time to get out. The river is not expected to crest until Wednesday.

Radar

US: Coast Guard reopens part of Mississippi River

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© Associated Press/Rogelio V. SolisA sightseer drives down from the levee road in Greenville, Miss., May 5, 2011.
River monitoring will continue and navigation will be restricted when necessary, says Coast Guard captain

From Illinois to Mississippi, record flooding is getting worse everyday, causing river communities to evacuate. Mark Strassmann reports from Finley, Tenn. on the disaster in slow motion.

Memphis - Children played in front yards and neighbors chatted under a cloudless sky Friday in a south Memphis neighborhood, yards away from the rising water of the Nonconnah Creek.

The unforgiving creek has soaked Johnny Harris' house as the rest of Memphis awaits flood waters from the Mississippi River. Harris estimated he had more than 3 feet of water in his small, rented house on a low-lying section of Hazelwood Street.

"It's like an ocean," he said.

Bizarro Earth

US: Great white zeroes in on whale off Vineyard

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© Jeff Lynch / Boston HeraldPhoto of a great white shark spotted near the carcass of a dead minke whale off Martha’s Vineyard.
Buddies out mackerel fishing today came upon a giant great white shark like they've never seen before "bumping" and "nudging" a dead whale and then circling their boat off Martha's Vineyard.

The line from the seminal shark flick "Jaws" quickly came to mind for the crew -- "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

The monster of the sea was "20 feet" long, said captain Jeff Lynch of Chilmark. "To see something that big was crazy. It was as big as my boat."

The shark had zeroed in on a dead minke whale that was tangled in lobster gear and died. The shark, he said, kept at the whale but never chomped down - possibly sensing it was long dead.

"I was very surprised to see it," Lynch told the Herald.