Earth Changes
An Arctic cold snap that began in 1998 could last for years, freezing the northern marine passage and making it impassable without icebreaking ships, said Oleg Pokrovsky of the Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory.
"I think the development of the shelf will face large problems," Pokrovsky said Thursday at a seminar on research in the Polar regions.
Scientists who believe the climate is warming may have been misled by data from U.S. meteorological stations located in urban areas, where dense microclimates creates higher temperatures, RIA Novosti quoted Pokrovsky as saying.
"Metres of snow every day for months on end", as seems to have occurred before, would kill everyone in northern countries - Russia, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia, northern Britain, Canada, northern USA - from Moscow to Seattle - in just a few days.
Elementary risk analysis shows that, at the very least, detailed studies of possible counter-measures and even preparations for a "crash program" are URGENTLY needed.
Governments have already spent hundreds of millions, supposedly to avert global warming, yet even the worst-case risk is decades away.
The coming ice age could be just one winter away.
You think it might be because the Gore-loving press wouldn't want people to consider the possibility that all of his global warming hysteria was really about lining his wallet and not saving the planet?
Formulate a response to that question as you look at what all that money the former Vice President is making off of spreading this myth can buy (h/t Doug Ross):
In the state capital, the weather phenomenon took people by surprise, since for 32 years it did not snow in May, said spokesman of the State Civil Protection Unit, Martín de la Rosa.
The municipalities that were covered in white from the early hours of Saturday are: Aldama, Aquiles Serdan, Bocoyna, Buenaventura, Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, Galeana, Gomez Farias, Guachochi, Guerrero, Ignacio Zaragoza, Madera, Matachi, Ocampo, Riva Palacio, San Juanito and Temosachic. It also snowed in San Juanito, Creel, Cusárare and in the region of Divisadero.
In the areas of Rubio and Anahuac, snow fell more intensely, while the inhabitants of Bachíniva, Namiquipa and Riva Palacio, also reported to the Civil Protection Unit of this phenomenon.
"We expected to find nitrogen stored in organic matter in these soils, but didn't realize how much," said Tom Nolan, USGS hydrologist, who led the study. "If mobilized, the large reservoirs of nitrogen could significantly impact water quality."
Nitrogen occurs in soil, plants, and groundwater, and it is difficult to account for all of the various forms it can take. For this study, scientists at the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program and the USDA Agricultural Research Service used a new version of the Root Zone Water Quality Model to estimate unsaturated zone nitrogen mass balances at four agricultural fields. The study was reported in the May/June 2010 edition of the Journal of Environmental Quality, published by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.
The mass balances were expected to reveal the predominant forms of nitrogen in important agricultural settings. The four sites had variable climate, soils, and management practices, and included: an almond orchard in central California; a cornfield that is about 0.6 kilometers from the almond orchard; a corn-soybean crop rotation in eastern Nebraska; and a corn-soybean rotation in eastern Maryland.
According to the Transocean veteran, BP had discovered significant quantities of oil and gas at Macondo, the name of the field that the Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling. BP had reached total depth and penetrated the reservoir horizon at 18,000 feet. Halliburton had cemented the last casing string in the well and inserted several cement plugs within it which BP intended to drill out at some future point when they returned to Macondo to begin full-field development.
With the cement plugs in place, Transocean had begun the process of removing the drill string in the well (used during the cementing operation) and had begun to replace the heavier mud in the wellbore with less dense sea water. This is apparently a common practice, as the plugs are designed to contain the reservoir fluids downhole. Effectively, the Deepwater Horizon was hours away from moving off the Macondo location.

In August 2009, up to 30,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the Timor Sea after the West Atlas oil rig began leaking oil and gas
1991 - The Gulf War oil spill is estimated to be the largest oil spill in history. In order to ward of a potential landing by United States marines, the Iraqi military dumped up to 1.5 million tonnes of oil from several tankers into the Persian Gulf. The oil damaged the ecosystem in the Persian Gulf, around Kuwait and Iraq.
Monday May 03, 2010 at 10:27:45 UTC
Monday, May 03, 2010 at 07:27:45 PM at epicenter
Location:
29.614°N, 141.064°E
Depth:
82.3 km (51.1 miles) set by location program
Distances:
300 km (190 miles) NNW of Chichi-shima, Bonin Islands, Japan
405 km (250 miles) SSE of Hachijo-jima, Izu Islands, Japan
535 km (335 miles) N of Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japan
685 km (425 miles) S of TOKYO, Japan
The USGS says the quake's epicenter was 151 kilometers (94 miles) south-southwest of Concepcion, Chile, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles).

Two people in coats walk down a street in central Seoul, Wednesday, as midday high temperatures stood at 7.8 degrees Celsius in Seoul, the lowest for late April since 1908.
Despite efforts to stay warm, the 27-year-old has been struggling with cold from chilly weather for days.
''Warm rays of sunshine were usual at this time in previous years. But it's literarily freezing,'' she said sneezing.
The entire Korean Peninsula is shivering with a record-low spring chill ― the midday high temperature for Seoul recorded 7.8 degrees Celsius and 6.7 degrees for Daejoen, 170 kilometers south from the Seoul, Wednesday, the lowest for late April since 1908, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
The mercury across the country is forecast to do down further Thursday, with some snow expected in mountainous areas in Gangwon Province.
"The unusual chill is likely to continue until mid May,'' the state weather agency said, adding, ''Rain and accompanying wind made people feel much colder.''
The lowest mid-day temperature for late April in Seoul was 10.1 degrees Celsius, set on April 27, 1962.









