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| ©PA |
| The early part of 2008 saw continued low temperatures in some regions |
Earth Changes
This year appears set to be the coolest globally this century.
A study by a group of prominent seismologists suggests that a pattern of subtle but active faults makes the risk of earthquakes to the New York City area substantially greater than formerly believed. Among other things, they say that the controversial Indian Point nuclear power plants, 24 miles north of the city, sit astride the previously unidentified intersection of two active seismic zones.
The paper appears in the current issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America HERE.
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| ©Sykes et al. |
| All known quakes, greater New York-Philadelphia area, 1677-2004, graded by magnitude (M). Peekskill, NY, near Indian Point nuclear power plant, is denoted as Pe. |
The paper appears in the current issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America HERE.
Researchers from the University of Hawaii, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, National Marine Fisheries Service and Projecto Meros do Brazil discovered a new species of fish - a grouper that reaches more than six feet in length and can weigh nearly 1,000 pounds. This newly discovered species can be found roaming the tropical reefs of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Was the massive fish hiding among the corals and sea grass to evade marine biologists? No, it was just a case of mistaken identity, as explained in a recent genetic study in the journal Endangered Species Research.
It turns out that goliath in the Atlantic - which inhabit the tropical waters of the Americas and western Africa - are not the same groupers that swim in Pacific waters, even though they look identical.
"For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species, and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques. The genetic data were the key to our finding: two species, one on each side of the isthmus.," said Dr. Matthew Craig of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, lead author of the study.
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| ©Rachel Graham/Wildlife Conservation Society |
| A new genetic study by the University of Hawaii, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and others has found that there are two species of goliath grouper instead of one. |
Was the massive fish hiding among the corals and sea grass to evade marine biologists? No, it was just a case of mistaken identity, as explained in a recent genetic study in the journal Endangered Species Research.
It turns out that goliath in the Atlantic - which inhabit the tropical waters of the Americas and western Africa - are not the same groupers that swim in Pacific waters, even though they look identical.
"For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species, and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques. The genetic data were the key to our finding: two species, one on each side of the isthmus.," said Dr. Matthew Craig of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, lead author of the study.
WASHINGTON - In northern Greenland, a part of the Arctic that had seemed immune from global warming, new satellite images show a growing giant crack and an 11-square-mile chunk of ice hemorrhaging off a major glacier, scientists said Thursday.
BEIJING - A typhoon that killed four people in the northern Philippines is headed for Hong Kong and will lash the city by Friday, weather forecasts said.
If typhoon Nuri stays on its present course, the centre of the category 1 storm could strike the densely populated city by early Friday afternoon, according to British-based storm tracker Tropical Storm Risk .
A category 1 storm is the weakest on a scale of 1 to 5.
Hong Kong is hosting Olympic equestrian events that are scheduled to finish on Thursday.
Heavy rain and winds of up to 162 kph (101 mph) are expected to sweep across the city, weather forecasts said. Hong Kong, a major Asian financial hub on the southeastern Chinese coast, has a population of 7 million people.
Chinese officials issued a warning for Fujian province along the southeast coast, asking foreign-registered boats to seek shelter, Xinhua news agency said.
If typhoon Nuri stays on its present course, the centre of the category 1 storm could strike the densely populated city by early Friday afternoon, according to British-based storm tracker Tropical Storm Risk .
A category 1 storm is the weakest on a scale of 1 to 5.
Hong Kong is hosting Olympic equestrian events that are scheduled to finish on Thursday.
Heavy rain and winds of up to 162 kph (101 mph) are expected to sweep across the city, weather forecasts said. Hong Kong, a major Asian financial hub on the southeastern Chinese coast, has a population of 7 million people.
Chinese officials issued a warning for Fujian province along the southeast coast, asking foreign-registered boats to seek shelter, Xinhua news agency said.
Belen: Golf ball-sized hail pounded the Belen area hard Sunday afternoon, causing hundreds of people to scramble for safety.
Residents and business owners are still cleaning up broken glass and picking up fallen leaves and branches left by a storm Sunday afternoon that produced hail so large that it shattered glass, sliced through trees and killed birds. While there were no reports of major injuries, damage from the storm is widespread.
Residents and business owners are still cleaning up broken glass and picking up fallen leaves and branches left by a storm Sunday afternoon that produced hail so large that it shattered glass, sliced through trees and killed birds. While there were no reports of major injuries, damage from the storm is widespread.
Te Papa's half-tonne colossal squid was a not a fearsome predator but a colossal wuss, new research has suggested.
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| ©Phil Reid/The Dominion Post |
| Marine biologist Steve O'Shea with Te Papa's half-tonne colossal squid. |
Power supplies, hospitals, schools, clean water and emergency services for millions of Britons are ' dangerously vulnerable' to flooding, official figures reveal today.
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| ©Reuters |
| Havoc: The water treatment works at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire under water last year |
Tropical Storm Fay lumbered offshore Thursday for what was likely to be a brief stay over the Atlantic Ocean's energizing waters after flooding hundreds of homes with torrential rain, trapping residents and leaving much of Florida a soggy mess.
A mathematical proof that there is no "climate crisis" has been published in debate on global warming in Physics and Society, a scientific publication of the 46,000-strong American Physical Society.
Christopher Monckton, who once advised Margaret Thatcher, demonstrates via 30 equations that computer models used by the UN's climate panel (IPCC) were pre-programmed with overstated values for the three variables whose product is "climate sensitivity" (temperature increase in response to greenhouse-gas increase), resulting in a 500-2000% overstatement of CO2's effect on temperature in the IPCC's latest climate assessment report, published in 2007.
Christopher Monckton, who once advised Margaret Thatcher, demonstrates via 30 equations that computer models used by the UN's climate panel (IPCC) were pre-programmed with overstated values for the three variables whose product is "climate sensitivity" (temperature increase in response to greenhouse-gas increase), resulting in a 500-2000% overstatement of CO2's effect on temperature in the IPCC's latest climate assessment report, published in 2007.
