Earth ChangesS


Target

Arsenal Confirms Chimp's Ability to Plan, Study Says

Image
© Mathias Osvat/University of LundSantino makes and stockpiles missiles to throw at zoo visitors. Is he truly planning for the future?

Santino evidently knows he's going to get upset, so he plans ahead. The 30-year-old chimpanzee, who has lived in a Swedish zoo most of his life, sometimes gets agitated when zoo visitors begin to gather on the other side of the moat that surrounds his enclosure, where he is the dominant -- and only -- male in a group that includes half a dozen females.

He shows his displeasure by flinging stones or bits of concrete at the human intruders, but finding a suitable weapon on the spur of the moment perhaps isn't so easy. To prepare, Santino often begins his day by roaming the enclosure, finding stones and stacking them in handy piles.

Umbrella

US: Maine skiers warned about late-night owl attacks

Bangor - Cross-country skiers who set out on a crisp, moonlit night for a peaceful outing in Bangor's city forest are being targeted by a least one ornery and territorial owl. Over the past three weeks, at least eight skiers and a few romping dogs apparently have fallen victim to a great horned owl that swoops down from a tree with talons outstretched and smacks them on the head.

Bizarro Earth

Volcanoes in the deep

Rota-1
© UnknownAbove, workers prepare the remote operated vehicle (ROV) for its plunge to the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Geosciences professor Robert Stern's research has him scouring the depths of the ocean. But he's not hunting lost treasure. He and graduate student Julia Robeiro are studying volcanic activity beneath the sea.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, Stern and Robeiro undertook the first part of their study Feb. 2-7 analyzing underwater volcanoes in the Western Pacific.

Stern said he has always liked to discover new things. With few places on land to discover virgin territory, the seas were the logical place for Stern. Covering more than two-thirds of the earth's surface, there was no telling what mysteries the depths might reveal, he said.

Bizarro Earth

Earthquake Magnitude 5.1 - Chiapas, Mexico

Image
© US Geological Survey

Date-Time

* Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 00:36:47 UTC

* Monday, March 09, 2009 at 06:36:47 PM at epicenter

Location 16.676°N, 93.111°W

Depth 181.1 km (112.5 miles)

Distances 10 km (5 miles) S of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

50 km (30 miles) W of San Cristobal d/l Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

360 km (220 miles) NW of GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala

710 km (440 miles) ESE of MEXICO CITY, D.F., Mexico

Bizarro Earth

Exxon Valdez oil spill could persist for 'decades and possibly centuries'

Image
The "stunning" legacy of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska is the persistence of oil along the beaches of Prince William Sound that in places is "nearly as toxic as it was the first few weeks after the spill," says a new report from the group charged with monitoring the cleanup.

Prepared for the 20th anniversary of the tanker accident that spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into one of the West's most majestic waterways, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council said surveys even 14 years after the spill found an estimated 21,000 gallons of crude oil lingering below the surface of beaches - some of it more than 450 miles away from the spill, on the Kenai Peninsula and the Katmai coast.

"At this rate, the remaining oil will take decades and possibly centuries to disappear entirely," the report said.

Bizarro Earth

4.0 Earthquake Hits Hawaii Island

An earthquake hit Monday morning on the island of Hawaii. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake as 4.0 on the Richter scale, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially said it was a magnitude 5.2. State Civil Defense reports there was no tsunami threat.

The quake's depth was 6.5 miles, according to the USGS.

The epicenter of the quake was at 20.113°N, 155.175°W approximately 10 miles offshore of Laupahoehoe or about 29 miles NNW of Hilo. It struck at 9:44 am.

Fish

Ocean "Dead Zones" Spreading

The number of "dead zones" in coastal regions around the world continues to rapidly increase, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the University of Gothenberg, and published in the journal Science.

Bizarro Earth

5.3 Earthquake Off Guatemala's Coast

The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Guatemala.

There was no immediate word on whether the earthquake was felt or caused any damage.

The quake was recorded just after midnight (2 a.m. EDT) at a depth of 47 miles and centered 65 miles south of Guatemala City.

Bizarro Earth

California: 2.3 Earthquake Strikes Near Milpitas

The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.3 struck this morning in Santa Clara County.

According to the USGS, the earthquake struck at about 5:55 a.m. and had a depth of 4.1 miles.

The quake was centered 7 miles east of Milpitas and 10 miles northeast of San Jose City Hall, according to the USGS.

Umbrella

Australia: Cyclone Hamish is heading for South Queensland

Cyclone Hamish 2
© Commonwealth of Australia 2009, Bureau of MeteorologyColour infrared image taken on 9 March 2009
The weather bureau expects Cyclone Hamish will remain a Category 4 system tonight as it continues moving along the central Queensland coast.

The Category 4 storm is located off the Capricornia coast and is estimated to be 255 kilometres east of Yeppoon and 245 kilometres north-north-east of Bundaberg, moving south-east at 17 kilometres per hour.