Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Easter Island Region - Earthquake Magnitude 6.0

Easter Island Quake_010311
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Tuesday, March 01, 2011 at 00:53:46 UTC

Monday, February 28, 2011 at 05:53:46 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
29.605°S, 112.107°W

Depth:
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program

Region:
EASTER ISLAND REGION

Distances:
377 km (234 miles) SW of Hanga Roa, Easter Island

3931 km (2441 miles) W of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile

Bizarro Earth

US: Arkansas Has Largest Earthquake in 35 years

Arkansas Quake
© Arkansas Geological SurveyIn this image provided by the Arkansas Geological Survey near Greenbrier, Ark., Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, a seismic chart illustrating earthquake activity at Woolly Hollow State Park from noon to midnight on Feb. 16, is shown.
Greenbrier - Residents of the small north-central Arkansas town of Greenbrier said Monday they're unsettled by the fact that they never know if or when the next earthquake is going to strike, especially after being woken up by the largest quake to hit the state in decades.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake at 11 p.m. Sunday, centered beneath the ground about four miles northeast of Greenbrier. It was the largest of more than 800 quakes to strike the area since September in what is now being called the Guy-Greenbrier earthquake swarm.

"You don't know what to expect. It's unnerving," said Corinne Tarkington, an employee at a local flower and gift shop. "I woke up last night to the sound of my house shaking."

What woke Tarkington was a magnitude 4.7 earthquake - the largest to hit the state in 35 years. No injuries or major damage have been reported, but the escalation in the severity of quakes in and around the small north-central Arkansas town has many residents on edge. Some said they're seeing gradual damage to their homes, such as cracks in walls and driveways.

"We probably had 40 to 50 calls last night," Greenbrier police Sgt. Rick Woody said, noting that the tone of the calls had changed. After previous quakes, most callers simply wanted to find out if a loud noise they'd heard was an earthquake, he said.

Igloo

'Chandler's Wobble' May Usher in a New Ice Age

Last week in 'Gems,' we reported that NASA has discovered 'cracks' in the fluctuating earth's magnetic field.

This is worrisome, because this magnetic field affects the ionosphere, and particularly the winds in the lower troposphere. These 'cracks' in the magnetic field and the shifting of our planet's magnetic poles can lead to SUPER STORMS on virtually every continent like we've seen in recent months.

This month's mega-monster cyclone 'Yasi' left much of northeastern Australia in Queensland a "war zone," according to rescue workers. This incredible storm packed winds near 190 miles per hour. Although it was labeled as a Category '5' cyclone (hurricane/typhoon), theoretically it was an 'off the scale' Category '6'!

Tens of thousands of homes were severely damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of people died. Livestock herds were decimated. There were reports of "sharks swimming through the flooded houses."

As if these worsening superstorms aren't enough, we have 'Chandler's Wobble' to worry about.

It was first discovered by an American astronomer in 1891 by the name of Seth Carlo Chandler. Chandler said that the earth "wobbles like a top" whenever our planet slows down a bit in its rotation like it has in recent years.

According to NASA, "the track of this spin began to slow down very slightly about Jan. 18, 2006." Since then, we've had a series of EXTREMELY HARSH winter seasons in both hemispheres.

If this 'wobble' of the planet continues, it's entirely possible that we will eventually see at least a new 'Little Ice Age,' maybe even a new GREAT ICE AGE like the one approximately 11,500 years ago.

Evil Rays

Devastation in New Zealand quake on par with Haiti: ex-PM

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© Agence France-PresseLuxury houses teeter on the edge after landslides in Redcliffs near Christchurch on February 27, 2011, after a 6.3 earthquake devastated New Zealand's second city and surrounding towns on February 22. The quake caused more damage than the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit the city on September 4, 2010 and has killed at least 146 people.
The scale of devastation in quake-hit Christchurch is comparable with the destruction wreaked in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, New Zealand's former premier Helen Clark said Monday, as rescuers prepared for the final death toll to rise above 200.

The stark assessment came with much of the city lying in ruins after last Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude quake caused widespread death and destruction, toppling buildings and tearing up roads.

"The building damage I've seen compared with Haiti," Clark, who now heads the United Nations Development Program, told Radio New Zealand Monday, referring to the massive quake which killed at least 220,000 in the Caribbean island in January last year.

"Let there be no mistake, New Zealand has suffered a tragedy of monumental proportions and it's going to require every ounce of recovery in this country to push through from this," she added.

Bizarro Earth

One person dead, 110,000 acres burned in Texas wildfires

Firefighters in Texas continued efforts to contain fast-moving wildfires that have destroyed nearly 60 homes, burned more than 110,000 acres and caused an accident that killed a 5-year-old child, state forestry officials said Monday.


The fires broke out about noon Sunday, said Lewis Kearney, a spokesman for the forest service's Texas State Lone Star Incident Management Team. Officials believe many were started by power lines that fell from high winds.

Since that time, forestry officials, who were called in to help local fire departments, have responded to 25 fires in 15 counties across the Texas Panhandle, Kearney said.

Cow Skull

Water demand will 'outstrip supply by 40% within 20 years' due to climate change and population growth

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© Associated PressCrisis? Water demand in many countries will exceed supply by 40 per cent within 20 years due climate change and population growth, scientists have said

A new way of thinking about water is needed as looming shortages threaten communities, agriculture and industry, experts said.

In the next two decades, a third of humanity will have only half the water required to meet basic needs, said researchers.

Agriculture, which soaks up 71 per cent of water supplies, is also likely to suffer, affecting food production.

Filling the global water gap by supply measures alone would cost an estimated £124billion per year, a meeting in Canada was told.

Radar

Chile: Earthquake Magnitude 6 Marks Anniversary of Fatal 8.8 Quake

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© USGS
A 6.0 magnitude quake has struck the Bio-Bio region of Chile, exactly one year after a fatal 8.8 magnitude quake devastated the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake hit 23 miles south of Concepcion and 291 miles south south-west of Santiago at a depth of 10.4 miles. It struck at around 10.30 p.m. local time. There have been no reports of damage or injuries yet.

Earlier in the day, the anniversary of the 2010 earthquake was commemorated, led by President Sebastian Piñera. Across the nation, candles were lit and prayers raised in memory of the dead, according to BBC News. One minute's silence was observed at the precise moment the earthquake had struck.

The February 2010 earthquake was accompanied by a tsunami, killing more than 500 people, and leaving hundreds of thousands more homeless.

Bizarro Earth

US: 4.7-magnitude earthquake hits central Arkansas

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© USGS
A 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Arkansas just after 11 p.m. Sunday (12 a.m. ET Monday), the United States Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake's epicenter was 37 miles from Little Rock, Arkansas, USGS said. CNN affiliate KARK received calls from a number of viewers who reported feeling the impact of the quake and seeing items on their walls shake.

From USGS:

Date-Time:
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 05:00:50 UTC

Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 11:00:50 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
35.265°N, 92.344°W

Depth:
3.8 km (2.4 miles)

Region:
ARKANSAS

Distances:
6 km (4 miles) NE (46°) from Greenbrier, AR

7 km (4 miles) S (187°) from Guy, AR

9 km (6 miles) SE (128°) from Twin Groves, AR

22 km (14 miles) NNE (27°) from Conway, AR

59 km (37 miles) N (359°) from Little Rock, AR

418 km (260 miles) SSW (207°) from St. Louis, MO

Arrow Up

Mud volcano in Indonesia to erupt until 2037

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A mud volcano in Indonesia is expected to continue erupting over the next 26 years according to international reports.

"Lusi," a mud volcano in Sidoarjo of East Java, Indonesia, first erupted on May 29, 2006. The 40 Olympic-sized pools of mud the volcano spewed a day during its peak buried homes and land in a 7-square kilometer radius, displacing over 13,000 families.

Based on the flow of mud, which has now slowed to 4 pools a day, researchers estimate that Lusi will continue to erupt until 2037.

"Our estimate is that it will take 26 years for the eruption to drop to a manageable level and for Lusi to turn into a slow bubbling volcano," Richard Davies, professor of Earth sciences at Durham University in England, said.

Radar

Philippines: 13 lahar-related 'quakes' rock Mount Bulusan area

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At least 13 volcanic quakes were recorded around restive Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon in the last 24 hours, state volcanologists said Monday morning.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quakes were "lahar-related" - a day after lahar flows affected water supply in parts of Sorsogon.

"Bulusan Volcano's seismic network recorded 13 lahar-related seismic signals during the past 24 hours. Steaming activity was not observed due to thick clouds covering the active vents and summit crater. Continuous heavy rain over Bulusan Volcano yesterday saturated loosely deposited ash and rock fragments and generated small lahar flows to roll down the slopes of the volcano then flowed along river channels," Phivolcs said on its website.

It said channel-confined lahar flows were observed along Cogon and Monbon river channels.

Other than that, it said no other significant volcanic activity was observed since the last ash explosion on Feb. 21.