Earth ChangesS


Bizarro Earth

Fiji: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - South of The Fiji Islands

Fiji Quake_040810
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 04:46:21 UTC

Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 04:46:21 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
26.953°S, 177.148°W

Depth:
23.7 km (14.7 miles)

Region:
SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS

Distances:
270 km (165 miles) NNE of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands

525 km (325 miles) NNE of L'Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands

1335 km (830 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand

1755 km (1090 miles) NNE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Sun

Northern Lights: Coronal mass ejection hits Earth's magnetic field, sparks geomagnetic storm

A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field on August 3rd at 1740 UT. The impact sparked a G2-class geomagnetic storm that lasted nearly 12 hours--time enough for auroras to spread all the way from Europe to North America. Shawn Malone of Marquette, Michigan, photographed this display over Lake Superior:

Image
© Shawn Malone

Attention

Peru Declares State of Emergency Amid Plunging Temperatures

Image
© Enrique Castro-Mendivil/ReutersA doctor checks a child in Lima, where temperatures have also plunged and a vaccination project is now under way.
Hundreds die from extreme cold in remote mountain villages also struggling with severe poverty

Peru has declared a state of emergency after hundreds of children died from freezing conditions that have seen temperatures across much of the South American country plummet to a 50-year low. In 16 of Peru's 25 regions, temperatures have fallen below -24C.

Reports from the country say 409 people, most of them children, have already died from the cold, with temperatures predicted to fall further in coming weeks.

Worst hit are Peru's poorest and most isolated communities, which are already living on the edge of survival in remote Andean mountain villages more than 3,000 metres above sea level.

Although those living at such high-altitude would expect temperatures to drop below zero at this time of year, NGOs and government officials say many are unable to withstand the extreme cold which they are now experiencing.

Bizarro Earth

Garbage Islands Threaten China's Three Gorges Dam

Garbage_1
© Reuters/StringerA worker clears floating garbage washed down by recent torrential rain on the Yangtze River in Wuhu, Anhui province, August 2, 2010.
Thousands of tons of garbage washed down by recent torrential rain are threatening to jam the locks of China's massive Three Gorges Dam, and is in places so thick people can stand on it, state media said on Monday.

Chen Lei, a senior official at the China Three Gorges Corporation, told the China Daily that 3,000 tons of rubbish was being collected at the dam every day, but there was still not enough manpower to clean it all up.

"The large amount of waste in the dam area could jam the miter gate of the Three Gorges Dam," Chen said, referring to the gates of the locks which allow shipping to pass through the Yangtze River.

The river is a crucial commercial artery for the upstream city of Chongqing and other areas in China's less-developed western interior provinces.

Pictures showed a huge swathe of the waters by the dam crammed full of debris, with cranes brought in to fish out a tangled mess, including shoes, bottles, branches and Styrofoam.

Bizarro Earth

Papua New Guinea: Earthquake Magnitude 6.4 - Eastern New Guinea Reg

PNG Quake_040810
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 07:15:33 UTC

Wednesday, August 04, 2010 at 05:15:33 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
5.521°S, 146.793°E

Depth:
213.6 km (132.7 miles) set by location program

Region:
EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Distances:
115 km (70 miles) ESE of Madang, New Guinea, PNG

135 km (85 miles) N of Lae, New Guinea, PNG

440 km (270 miles) N of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea

2520 km (1560 miles) NNW of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

Cloud Lightning

Ireland: Bucketing trend with wettest July in 60 years

It all seemed promising enough when we got a bit of sunshine in May and June. But the recent glut of rain has ensured it was the wettest July in 60 years in some parts of the country. In a depressingly familiar trend, the sun proved elusive, the rain rolled in with abandon and continental heatwaves stubbornly refused to head our way.

According to Met Eireann's monthly weather summary for July, the only saving grace was that it was preceded by a run of dry months, thereby sparing us the devastating floods seen in previous years.

Soggiest

Rainfall totals for July were above normal everywhere and were more than twice the average at some weather stations. Meterologists said it was the fourth successive July when rainfall totals were far in excess of normal over most of Ireland.

Fish

Marine Pied Piper Leads Nemo astray

Image
© Steve SimpsonA damselfish swims around a coral reef.
The growing amount of human noise pollution in the ocean could lead fish away from good habitat and off to their death, according to new research from a UK-led team working on the Great Barrier Reef.

After developing for weeks at sea, baby tropical fish rely on natural noises to find the coral reefs where they can survive and thrive. However, the researchers found that short exposure to artificial noise makes fish become attracted to inappropriate sounds.

In earlier research, Dr Steve Simpson, Senior Researcher in the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences discovered that baby reef fish use sounds made by fish, shrimps and sea urchins as a cue to find coral reefs. With human noise pollution from ships, wind farms and oil prospecting on the increase, he is now concerned that this crucial behaviour is coming under threat.

He said: "When only a few weeks old, baby reef fish face a monumental challenge in locating and choosing suitable habitat. Reef noise gives them vital information, but if they can learn, remember and become attracted towards the wrong sounds, we might be leading them in all the wrong directions."

Bizarro Earth

Indonesia: Earthquake Magnitude 6.3 - Molucca Sea

Indonesia Quake_030810
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Tuesday, August 03, 2010 at 12:08:26 UTC

Tuesday, August 03, 2010 at 08:08:26 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
1.243°N, 126.277°E

Depth:
42.8 km (26.6 miles)

Region:
MOLUCCA SEA

Distances:
135 km (85 miles) WNW of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia

160 km (100 miles) E of Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia

1590 km (990 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines

2310 km (1430 miles) ENE of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia

Phoenix

Russia on Fire: No air to breath, no home to return to

Intense temperatures and the worst dry spell for generations continue to pound parts of Russia, with at least forty lives now claimed by wildfires. Hundreds have been injured. Seven of the hardest-hit regions are now in a state of emergency. One of them is the greater Moscow area. RT's Natalya Novikova gives us a picture from the center of the capital, which has been gripped by smog. While outside the city, Peter Oliver says the situation remains severe.


Bizarro Earth

US: What's With the Weird Sky Color Sunday?

Weird Sky
© Shannon Fears / Seattlepi.comThe sun burns a strange, multi-hued glow through smoky skies Sunday afternoon as seen from Poulsbo.
Many around the Northwest noticed the sky looked a bit weird Sunday with the sunlight more of a brownish/orange akin to a sunset than midday sunshine.

It turns out, a decent plume of smoke from wildfires burning in inland British Columbia got caught up on the northerly flow and was pushed over Western Washington.

Go here to see an animation loop of the visible satellite over the area, taken between 10 a.m. and noon:

The smoke should subside by Monday morning.