Why is BGS re-establishing a magnetic observatory on South Georgia?

The South Georgia observatory will plug a significant gap in the global network of magnetic observatories. In particular South Georgia observatory will allow better monitoring of the South Atlantic Anomaly and of changes occurring deep within the Earth. By establishing the new observatory, BGS will re-start continuous magnetic observations in South Georgia, last carried out in 1982.

What is the South Atlantic Anomaly?

The Earth's magnetic field, generated deep within the planet, is a shield against particle radiation from space. In the South Atlantic this shield is much weaker than elsewhere across the globe and radiation from space therefore penetrates deeper into the atmosphere. This region is known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the radiation in the SAA is a known hazard to satellites, spacecraft and high-altitude aircraft.

Monitoring changes in magnetic field

The radiation input into the atmosphere depends on the Sun's magnetic and radiation activity and the geometry (or 'shape') of the Earth's magnetic field. So, understanding the space environment, particularly during magnetic storms, is important. Equally important is understanding any changes over time in the magnetic field observed across the surface of the Earth - see also Long-term monitoring of the Earth's magnetic field.

From NWS Duluth, MN, an old record beaten by five degrees:

Record weather event
National Weather Service Duluth, Minnesota

5:18 PM CST. Fri Jan 21, 2011

...Record Low Temperature Set At International Falls, Minnesota...

A record low temperature of -46 degrees F was set at International Falls, Minnesota today. This breaks the old record of -41 F set in 1954.

Two people froze to death, including one woman whose frozen body was found on a driveway, as an Arctic blast hit the northern U.S., dropping temperatures as low as minus 36 degrees.

The wind chill in some areas of New England was expected to make it feel as cold as 50 degrees below zero.

Schools in western and northeastern Pennsylvania, across upstate New York and parts of Vermont and New Hampshire closed their doors or delayed openings to protect students.

In upstate New York, the National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories and warnings for much of the region on Monday, including the Adirondacks where the low was 36 below in Saranac Lake early Monday morning.

The Arctic temperatures led Amtrak to suspend rail service Monday morning between Albany and New York City because the extreme cold affected signals and switches. Amtrak hoped to resume limited service between the two cities later Monday. Other rail lines are still running.

In Montpelier, Vt., it was 21 below at 7 a.m.

"Snot-freezing cold," was how Kelly Walsh, 28, described it, walking home from an auto parts store after buying a new battery for her car, which wouldn't start Monday morning.

"I usually really like it. Today is a bit of nuisance," she said.

Others agreed.

Will Forest, a 53-year-old web designer who was walking to work, called the cold "indescribable."

Without doubt, the winter weather that began and ended 2010 was remarkable.

Judging by the weather, the world seems to have flipped upside down.

For two winters running, an Arctic chill has descended on Europe, burying that continent in snow and ice. Last year in the United States, historic blizzards afflicted the mid-Atlantic region. This winter it is the Deep South that has endured unusual snowstorms and severe cold, and a frigid Northeast is bracing for what could shape into another major snowstorm at midweek.

Yet while people in Atlanta learn to shovel snow, the weather 2,000 miles to the north has been freakishly warm the past two winters. Throughout northeastern Canada and Greenland, temperatures in December ran as much as 15 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Bays and lakes have been slow to freeze; ice fishing, hunting and trade routes have been disrupted.

Iqaluit, the capital of the remote Canadian territory of Nunavut, had to cancel its New Year's snowmobile parade. David Ell, the deputy mayor, said that people in the region had been looking with envy at snowbound American and European cities. "People are saying, 'That's where all our snow is going!'" he said.

The immediate cause of the topsy-turvy weather is clear enough. A pattern of atmospheric circulation that tends to keep frigid air penned in the Arctic has weakened during the past two winters, allowing big tongues of cold air to descend far to the south, while masses of warmer air have moved north.

The deeper issue is whether the pattern is linked to the rapid changes that global warming is causing in the Arctic, particularly the drastic loss of sea ice. At least two prominent climate scientists have offered theories suggesting that it is. But many others are doubtful, saying the recent events are unexceptional, or that more evidence over a longer period would be needed to establish a link.

Date-Time
Monday, January 24, 2011 at 02:45:29 UTC

Monday, January 24, 2011 at 07:45:29 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
38.437°N, 72.749°E

Depth
89.6 km (55.7 miles)

Region
TAJIKISTAN

Distances
95 km (60 miles) SW of Karakul, Tajikistan

150 km (90 miles) NE of Khorugh, Tajikistan

150 km (95 miles) SSW of Sary-Tash, Kyrgyzstan

350 km (215 miles) E of DUSHANBE, Tajikistan

It's not the "aflockalyptic" fallout from a secret US weapon lab as some have theorized. But the government acknowledged Thursday that it had a hand in one of a string of mysterious mass bird deaths that have spooked residents in Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, South Dakota, and Kentucky in the last month.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) took responsibility for hundreds of dead starlings that were found on the ground and frozen in trees in a Yankton, S.D., park on Monday.

The USDA's Wildlife Services Program, which contracts with farmers for bird control, said it used an avicide poison called DRC-1339 to cull a roost of 5,000 birds that were defecating on a farmer's cattle feed across the state line in Nebraska. But officials said the agency had nothing to do with large and dense recent bird kills in Arkansas and Louisiana.

2010 was a hard year for Central Coast otters.

A preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that 304 otters were found dead along the coast between Half Moon Bay and Santa Barbara, according to the Monterey-based Otter Project.

When compared to the total spring count of 2,700 otters, 11.2 percent dead may not seem catastrophic, especially when compared to the 8 percent found dead in 2009. However, the jump from 232 dead otters in 2009 to 304 in 2010, makes scientists concerned for the species.

"Young pups and females died this year; if pups are dying, you have no future, and if females are dying you have no reproductive future," said Steve Shimek, chief executive of the Otter Project. "This suggests that we don't have a trend that will turn around too easily."

Though there was a peak of more than 3,000 otters in 2007 and there are a variety of causes for their death, what's unusual to Shimek is the number dying from disease.

In my previous article, "And They March...", I touched on the possibility that the mass death of blackbirds over Beebe, Arkansas was caused by the shockwave from an airbursting bolide or comet fragment. While that explanation seemed to fit with the facts in that specific case, it is clearly apparent that these animal die-offs are now a global phenomenon; and airbursting comets are not the cause of death in all cases. Furthermore, the animals dying are of very diverse types. Everything from cows to octopuses, to crickets are dying in large swaths in disparate regions around the globe. While animal-specific diseases and viruses may be responsible in some cases, there is clearly some larger process at work here that nobody in the mainstream has really grasped.

Shortly after I wrote this article, Niall Bradley mentioned in his article, "Procession of the Damned...", the possibility of these mass animal deaths being caused by magnetic changes. Apparently he's not the only one with magnetic changes in mind. A quick glance at the Google trends for the phrase "pole shift" over the last 12 months (and beyond) shows a big ol' hockey stick, shooting straight through the roof right after the new year!


So while the geomagnetic field hasn't significantly shifted yet, it appears something has shifted in the minds of the public about such a possibility. In fact, here on SOTT.net we recently carried a story, "Shift of Earth's Magnetic North Pole Impacts Tampa Airport" which, according to our webmaster, and to our general surprise, was the most popular article on the site that day. The Tampa airport article simply states that the Tampa airport authorities are having to repaint one of their runways because it is no longer aligned with true magnetic north. No big deal, right?

But come to think of it, if a tiny magnetic (likely localized) shift is enough to throw a spanner in the works of air travel, I can't even imagine the chaos that would ensue during a complete magnetic reversal. As we'll see below, hindered air travel will probably be the least of our worries.

Date-Time:

Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 12:16:47 UTC

Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 05:16:47 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
34.872°N, 112.058°W

Depth:
5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program

Region:
ARIZONA

Distances:
25 km (15 miles) W of Sedona, Arizona

50 km (30 miles) SW of Flagstaff, Arizona

55 km (35 miles) NE of Prescott, Arizona

160 km (100 miles) N of PHOENIX, Arizona

Hundreds of fish have been found dead in the Six Mile Water river in County Antrim.

Billy Robinson from Ballynure Angling Club walked a few miles alongside the river on Sunday afternoon.

He said he has seen dead fish from Duck bridge right up towards Ballyclare.

"There are quite a few dead trout, from small fish, up to fish weighing three quarters of a pound to a pound in weight, so it seems to be a total fish kill," he said.

"I'm looking over the bridge at the moment and there must be around 30 or 40 fish dead in the space of a few yards."