Earthquakes
RSOE EDIS
| Date/Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Area | Country | State/Prov./Gov. | Location | Risk | Source | Details | ||
| 22.07.2012 04:30:35 | 3.4 | North America | United States | Alaska | Clam Gulch |  |
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USGS-RSOE |  |
| 22.07.2012 03:20:21 | 3.9 | South-America | Argentina | Salta | San Antonio de los Cobres | |
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EMSC | |
| 22.07.2012 03:20:45 | 4.7 | Pacific Ocean – East | Tonga | Tongatapu | Havelu | |
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EMSC | |
| 22.07.2012 02:25:27 | 4.7 | Pacific Ocean | Tonga | Tongatapu | Havelu | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 22.07.2012 01:30:40 | 2.0 | North America | United States | Nevada | Topaz Lake | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 22.07.2012 01:16:31 | 2.7 | North America | United States | Alaska | Salcha | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 22.07.2012 01:31:05 | 3.1 | Caribbean | British Virgin Islands | Road Town | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
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| 22.07.2012 01:15:20 | 4.2 | Europe | Russia | Kuril’sk | |
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EMSC | |
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| 22.07.2012 00:56:05 | 4.2 | Asia | Russia | Kuril’sk | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
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| 22.07.2012 01:15:46 | 2.5 | Asia | Turkey | Denizli | Kale | |
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EMSC | |
| 22.07.2012 01:16:07 | 2.9 | South-America | Chile | Antofagasta | Calama | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 23:30:29 | 2.7 | North America | United States | Alaska | Susitna | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 22.07.2012 01:20:39 | 3.2 | Pacific Ocean | New Zealand | Canterbury | Tai Tapu | |
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GEONET | |
| 22.07.2012 00:10:22 | 2.0 | Europe | Italy | Umbria | Monte Grimano | |
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EMSC | |
| 22.07.2012 00:10:43 | 4.8 | Pacific Ocean – East | Tonga | Vava`u | Hihifo | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 23:20:22 | 4.9 | Pacific Ocean | Tonga | Vava`u | Hihifo | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 23:10:23 | 4.2 | Europe | Greece | South Aegean | Kamarion | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 23:10:54 | 2.8 | Europe | Italy | Emilia-Romagna | San Prospero | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 23:11:18 | 3.1 | Europe | Poland | Lower Silesian Voivodeship | Sieroszowice | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 21:45:39 | 3.0 | North America | United States | Alaska | Old Harbor | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 22:05:26 | 3.5 | South-America | Chile | Antofagasta | Tocopilla | |
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EMSC | |
| 22.07.2012 02:20:27 | 3.0 | Middle-East | Lebanon | Nabatîyé | Habbouch | |
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EMSC | |
| 22.07.2012 00:11:14 | 3.1 | Caribbean | Dominican Republic | La Altagracia | Boca de Yuma | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 22:05:47 | 2.1 | Asia | Turkey | Amasya | Dedekoy | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 22:06:07 | 2.9 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | OEluedeniz | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 20:15:57 | 2.3 | North America | United States | Alaska | Ruby | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 22:06:30 | 4.6 | Indonesian Archipelago | Indonesia | East Nusa Tenggara | Kisba Dua | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 20:00:22 | 2.6 | Europe | Greece | Peloponnese | Areopolis | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 20:00:58 | 2.3 | Asia | Turkey | Konya | Kuyulusebil | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 19:45:30 | 2.4 | North America | United States | Alaska | Seward | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 19:30:35 | 2.0 | North America | United States | California | Coalinga | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 20:01:23 | 3.2 | Middle-East | Lebanon | Nabatîyé | Habbouch | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 20:01:48 | 2.7 | Europe | Greece | Epirus | Samonida | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 22:06:52 | 4.5 | Indonesian Archipelago | Indonesia | East Nusa Tenggara | Kisba Dua | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 19:30:59 | 3.4 | Caribbean | Puerto Rico | Hatillo | Hatillo | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 22:07:15 | 4.6 | Indian Ocean | Maldives | Kudahuvadhoo | |
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EMSC | |
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| 21.07.2012 20:02:17 | 2.9 | South-America | Chile | Valparaíso | La Ligua | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 18:30:37 | 2.1 | North America | United States | California | Descanso | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 18:56:11 | 4.6 | Indonesian Archipelago | Indonesia | East Nusa Tenggara | Kisba Dua | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 18:21:04 | 4.6 | Indonesian archipelago | Indonesia | East Nusa Tenggara | Kisba Dua | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 18:56:43 | 3.4 | Middle-East | Iraq | Arb?l | Rawanduz | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 18:57:07 | 2.5 | Asia | Turkey | Antalya | Buyukbelkis | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 17:50:50 | 2.4 | North America | United States | California | Markleeville | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 17:55:19 | 2.8 | Europe | Greece | Attica | Agia Pelagia | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 17:55:43 | 2.5 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | Kargi | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 17:56:11 | 2.3 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | OEluedeniz | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 17:56:35 | 2.5 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | Yatagan | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 16:55:19 | 2.5 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | OEluedeniz | |
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EMSC | |
| 21.07.2012 16:00:30 | 3.2 | Middle America | Mexico | Baja California | Alberto Oviedo Mota | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 21.07.2012 15:50:27 | 3.7 | South-America | Chile | Antofagasta | Tocopilla | |
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EMSC | |
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Volcanic Activity
New Zealand : Tongariro volcano alert at new high
By Matthew Backhouse and Kieran Campbell
An aerial view over the Tongariro National Park. Photo / Greg Bowker
A “sudden rise” in volcanic activity at Mt Tongariro has prompted scientists to lift its volcanic alert status for the first time.
But local businesses and conservation authorities remain unconcerned as they seek to reassure visitors it is “business as usual” at National Park.
GNS Science this afternoon lifted Mt Tongariro’s volcanic alert status from level zero to level one, and increased the aviation status from green to yellow.
It said a series of more than 20 “small” volcanic earthquakes had been recorded at Tongariro since July 13 – more than the average of two per year according to historic seismic data.
The quakes, below a magnitude of 2.5 and between 2-7km deep, were recorded in a cluster zone between Emerald Crater and Te Maari craters.
The sequence of earthquakes soon declined but restarted on Wednesday and increased in number yesterday and today.
GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said it was the first time the alert level had been lifted at Tongariro since the alert system was introduced.
“It’s displaying some form of unrest. We don’t know exactly what’s driving it, if we did we’d be saying.”
To get a clearer picture, GNS would deploy portable seismic recorders around the epicentres of the earthquakes and conduct sampling of selected hot springs, crater lakes and fumaroles in the area.
“We’ve got our permanent networks out giving us data in real time… (and) we want to compliment that with some more data, just to add to our knowledge.”
Mt Tongariro is a volcanic complex that lies to the north of Ngauruhoe and consists of numerous craters and vents.
There are six alert levels of volcanic action, increasing in seriousness from zero to five. Alert level one indicates “signs of volcano unrest”.
For the alert level to be lifted to two – “minor eruptive activity” – there would need to be an eruption and there was no indication that would happen.
The aviation status yellow also acts as a warning of increased unrest.
Department of Conservation local conservation analyst Harry Keys said GNS Science was dealing with the matter and the department did not need to take any action at this stage.
The popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing passed close to Te Maari craters, where the most recent ash eruptions took place from 1855 to 1897.
But there was no hazard at the moment and the crossing would remain open to the public.
“There are public safety matters if the volcano starts getting active, but at the moment the volcano is not getting active and it may not ever get active,” he said.
“We’ve got everything ready if we have to do anything. We will then go to the next stage, but at the moment we’re not doing anything.”
Dr Keys said he would not expect more or fewer visitors at the moment.
“It’s definitely business as usual. People might make their own decisions, but there’s no reason at the moment they should make any decisions about what they’ve planned.”
National Park Business Association chairman Murray Wilson said the only problem with volcanic activity was when it interrupted visitor flows.
He had been at a regional tourism meeting today but the issue was not even raised.
“It’s just a fact of life around here and I don’t think anyone around the place will be to excited about that – it’s probably more of a technical response than a physical response.”
Mr Wilson said “media hype” had been the biggest issue the last time neighbouring Ruapehu had erupted in the 1990s.
“The people around here depend on uninterrupted visitor flows. Last year we had interrupted visitor flows because of the Rugby World Cup – as soon as the rugby started, people tended to stay at home and go to the rugby matches.”
He did not think there would be much impact unless it was “over-reported and people get worried”.
- APNZ
By Matthew Backhouse and Kieran Campbell | Email Matthew
Strong quake hits off east coast of New Zealand
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A strong earthquake has struck off the east coast of New Zealand, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-5.8 temblor struck Saturday off the east coast of the North Island at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles).
New Zealand is prone to earthquakes. In February 2011, a strong quake in Christchurch killed 185 people and destroyed much of the city’s downtown area.
X-rays illuminate the origin of volcanic hotspots
by Staff Writers
Paris, France (SPX)
 This is an illustration showing how the mantle plumes can be emitted from the core-mantle boundary region to reach the Earth’s crust. Due to the lateral displacement of the tectonic plates at the surface, the mantle plumes can create a series of aligned hot spot volcanoes. A mid ocean ridge and a subducted plate are also shown. Credit: ESRF/Denis Andrault/Henri Samuel. For a larger version of this image please go here.
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Scientists have recreated the extreme conditions at the boundary between Earth’s core and its mantle, 2,900 km beneath the surface. Using the world’s most brilliant beam of X-rays, they probed speck-sized samples of rock at very high temperature and pressure to show for the first time that partially molten rock under these conditions is buoyant and should segregate towards the Earth’s surface.
This observation is a strong evidence for the theory that volcanic hotspots like the Hawaiian Islands originate from mantle plumes generated at the Earth’s core-mantle boundary. The results are published in Nature dated 19 July 2012.
The group of scientists was led by Denis Andrault from the Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans of University Blaise Pascal in Clermont, and included scientists from the CNRS in Clermont and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.
Most volcanoes are situated where continental plates are pushed or pulled against each other. Here, the continental crust is weakened, and the magma can break through to the surface. The Pacific “Ring of Fire”, for example, exhibits such plate movements, resulting in powerful Earthquakes and numerous active volcanoes.
Volcanic hotspots are of a completely different nature because most of them are far away from plate boundaries. The Hawaiian Islands, for example, are a chain of volcanoes thought to have their origin in a mysterious hot spot beneath the Pacific ocean floor. Every island in the chain starts as an active volcano fed by the hot spot that eventually rises above the ocean surface. As plate tectonics move the volcano away from the hotspot, it becomes extinct.
The hot spot will in the meantime create another volcano: the next island in the chain. The Hawaiian Islands are one of many examples of this process, like the Canary Islands, La Reunion or the Azores.
The nature of the hot-spot source and its location in the mantle have remained elusive to the present day. One explanation is narrow streams of magma conveyed to the Earth’s surface from the boundary between the Earth’s core of liquid iron and the solid mantle of silicate rock. Whether the lowermost mantle expels such streams of magma called mantle plumes is one of today’s major controversies among geologists.
What material can be stored at the core-mantle boundary and become sufficiently light to rise through 2900 km of thick solid mantle? This was the question Denis Andrault and his colleagues addressed when they set out to recreate in a laboratory the conditions found at the core-mantle boundary.
They compressed tiny pieces of rock, the size of a speck of dust and ten times thinner than a human hair, between the tips of two conical diamonds to a pressure of more than one million bar. A laser beam then heated these samples to temperatures between 3000 and 4000 degrees Celsius, which scientists believe is representative of the 200km-thick core-mantle boundary. The samples are extremely small compared to the natural processes occurring in the Earth.
However, the melting processes are very well reproduced experimentally. Therefore, the observations can be confidently transferred from micron scale in the experiments to kilometre scale in the deep mantle.
Beams of X-rays at the ESRF, focused to a diameter of one 1000th of a millimetre, were used to map these samples and identify where the solid rock had melted. “Obviously, these tiny samples produce weak interaction signals, and this is why it is important to have the most brilliant X-ray beams for this type of experiments, says Mohammed Mezouar, the scientist responsible for the high-pressure beamline ID27 at the ESRF.
Once regions with molten rock had been identified, another X-ray technique was used at the ESRF to compare the chemical compositions of previously molten and solid parts. “It is the iron content which is decisive for the density of molten rock at the core-mantle boundary. Its accurate knowledge allowed us to determine that molten rock under these conditions is actually lighter than solid,” says Denis Andrault.
Gravity makes the light liquid rock from a hotspot move slowly upwards like a bubble in water until it reaches the surface where the magma plume will form a volcano. The hotspots of liquid occur in the relatively thin boundary region between the solid lower mantle and the liquid outer core of the Earth where the temperature rises over a distance of just 200 kilometres from 3000 to 4000 degrees. This steep rise is caused by the vicinity of the much hotter core and induces a partial melting of the rocks.
The results of the experiment are also of great significance for the understanding of the early history of the Earth, as they provide an explanation why many chemical elements playing a key role in our daily life gradually accumulated from the Earth’s inside to its thin crust, close to the surface.
“We know less about the Earth’s mantle than about the surface of Mars. It is impossible to drill a hole of even 100 kilometres into the Earth, so we have to recreate it in the laboratory. This is important knowledge, because active hot spot volcanoes like those in Iceland can be dangerous and disruptive for the daily lives of people far away”, concludes Denis Andrault.
Related Links
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest
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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought
Excessive Heat Warning
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO OMAHA/VALLEY NE DES MOINES IA HASTINGS NE TOPEKA KS ST LOUIS MO PADUCAH KY
Heat Advisory
FORT WORTH TX OMAHA/VALLEY NE HASTINGS NE MEMPHIS TN SPRINGFIELD MO NORMAN OK TULSA OK GOODLAND KS SIOUX FALLS SD NORTH PLATTE NE WICHITA KS ST LOUIS MO
Red Flag Warning
FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
MEDFORD OR BOISE ID POCATELLO ID
Fire Weather Watch
BOISE ID
| 21.07.2012 | Extreme Weather | China | Capital City, Beijing |  |
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Extreme Weather in China on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 17:59 (05:59 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| At least 12 people died during torrential rainstorms which battered much of northern and southwestern China from Friday night to Saturday, state media reported. In Beijing, strong winds blew off rooftops killing two people and injuring six others, the Beijing Emergency Medical Center reported. Heavy rain flooded roads and caused 223 flights to be cancelled in the capital, as the Beijing Meteorological Bureau issued its second-highest rainstorm alert for the first time since 2005. The report said Beijing received 95 mm of precipitation on average as of 7:00 pm (1100 GMT), and heavy rainfall is expected to last until Sunday morning. |
| 20.07.2012 | Forest / Wild Fire | Portugal | Atlantic Ocean – North, [Island of Madeira ] | |
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Forest / Wild Fire in Portugal on Thursday, 19 July, 2012 at 19:09 (07:09 PM) UTC.
| Updated: | Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 02:51 UTC |
| Description | |
| The Interior Ministry sent a military transport plane with 83 firefighters to Madeira, where the flames briefly threatened the outskirts of the region’s capital and popular tourist destination Funchal on Wednesday night. Interior Minister Miguel Macedo also flew to Madeira to coordinate the efforts. | |
| 21.07.2012 | Forest / Wild Fire | USA | State of Missouri, [Near to Ash Grove] |  |
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Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 18:11 (06:11 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Firefighters from several departments started fighting a fast-spreading brush fire east of Ash Grove near U.S. 160 at Farm Road 43. Firefighters were dispatched at about 9 a.m. to fight a brush fire that was originally reported to be two acres in size. Crews from Everton, Bois D’Arc, Willard, Ash Grove and Walnut Grove worked to prevent the fire from spreading to a field with a machine shed in it. The fire spread to the outer edge of U.S. 160 close to at least one home. It wasn’t the peace and quiet for sleeping Stan Pyle planned on. “I work night shift at French’s, and I actually got home and got to bed. My wife just woke me up and said there’s a fire across the street, and my son and I hook up all the garden hoses we had,” Pyle says. Ash Grove and Walnut Grove firefighters were the first on the scene. “We had approximately two acres when we first got here, but the winds pushed it pretty fast on us,” says Ash Grove Fire Chief Anthony Monnig. |
| 21.07.2012 | Forest / Wild Fire | USA | State of Washington, [Near to Horseshoe Bend] |  |
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Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 11:03 (11:03 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Firefighters contained a brush fire that threatened homes south of Horseshoe Bend Thursday afternoon. Officials tell us that about 10 to 20 homes on Horseshoe Bend Hill were evacuated. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management said a lot of resources were put on the Summit Fire to keep it from spreading and destroying homes. Fire departments from Horseshoe Bend, Eagle and the BLM responded. Six fire engines, five structure protection units, two water tenders, one bulldozer, two helicopters and one plane were called to the scene. Windy conditions and dry brush fueled the fire, which burned around 100 acres. One outbuilding was lost in the fire. The fire was reported around 2:20 p.m. “When you do get a grass fire that burns hot and fast, those homes are usually in the direct path of that,” said Nevil Humphreys of the Eagle Fire Department. The fire burned to within about a quarter-mile of Highway 55, but the road remained open to traffic. Boise County Sheriff’s deputies went door-to-door urging residents near the fire to evacuate their homes.
The Kreitzer family lives in one of the homes that was evacuated. They were all out of the house when the fire started. Ingrid Kreitzer said their neighbor alerted them to the fire. “He called and he said, ‘You know, I think you probably should come up. It looks like it might be coming closer. You might just want to come down and hose anything in case it jumps over,’” Kreitzer said. She said with all the recent fires, her family had been creating a fire plan in case of the wildfire. Crews on the scene told us homes they saw had good defensible space, helping to keep them safe. “We were able to get in there, limb up some brush and what not,” said Paul Story, a firefighter who came in with his crew from Salt Lake to help with recent fires. “It was very minimal effort on our part, and so the homeowner did a good job in that regard.” Humphreys said the fire is human-caused and remains under investigation. No homes were destroyed in the fire. |
Worst drought in five decades ravages US
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP)
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Weather forecasters see no end in sight to the worst US drought in five decades, a blistering heatwave that has wilted crops across America’s crucial breadbasket and sent grain prices soaring.
Farmers are mulling cutting down crops and thinning livestock herds as meteorologists said the country’s central breadbasket, the world’s largest source of both soybeans and corn, faces another month of stifling, rainless heat.
Top US agriculture official Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday he was designating 39 more counties in eight states as “natural disaster areas,” making farmers there eligible for low-cost emergency loans. Nearly 1,300 counties across 29 states have been designated natural disaster areas this year.
Vilsack also met with President Barack Obama Wednesday to review options to deal with the drought.
Meanwhile, a World Bank official said they were watching to see how the drought could impact global food supplies, after sharp surges in food prices in 2008 and 2010 dealt harsh blows to poor, food-importing nations.
“While it’s too early to be overly concerned, the Bank is monitoring the situation closely for potential impacts on our clients,” said Marc Sadler, team leader for the World Bank’s Agricultural Finance and Risk Management Unit.
“Global stocks in most of the tradable grains are lower now than they have been historically… we don’t have as much in the larder as we used to.”
More than 60 percent of the continental United States has been under drought and extreme heat conditions since June, according to Mark Svoboda of the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Temperatures have topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) for days in a row in many places, with the central plains running three to four degrees Fahrenheit above normal this month.
Svoboda said the drought was as tough as the worst in the 1930s and 1950s, although those benchmarks were multi-season, multi-year disasters while the current situation only dates to May.
But, he pointed out, the timing of the lack of rain and the heat has been particularly devastating, coming just at the peak of the growing season with the epicenter the central US farm belt east of the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Atlantic coast.
It has hit corn, soybeans, and crops like hay needed to feed cattle especially hard.
Farmers are now looking at cutting their losses — chopping down fields of half-mature, ear-less corn to feed the stalks to cattle.
“The jury is still a little bit out on it. We are in that process right now, making that decision,” said Steve Foglesong, who raises cattle and farms corn in Astoria, Illinois.
“From the road the corn looks green, but there are no ears on it.”
Foglesong said the next two weeks will be crucial, but weather forecasters were not encouraging.
“The worst of the drought is right in the middle of the nation, the corn belt. It’s just been bone dry,” said Carl Erickson, a meteorologist at Accuweather.
“Unfortunately across the central plains, the Mississippi valley, it looks like the overall pattern will remain in place for the rest of the month and into August,” he said.
“Once you get into a pattern like this, it almost feeds on itself.”
Joseph Glauber, chief economist for the Department of Agriculture, said their surveys show that 38 percent of the corn crop, and 30 percent of the soybean crop, are considered in “poor” or “extremely poor” condition.
That compares to 9 percent and 8 percent respectively this time last year.
In the last big drought, in 1988, corn yields fell by more than 20 percent, Glauber noted. Although the department will wait until early August before reaching a conclusion about the crops, he said: “It’s evolving as we speak. Every week these crop conditions have gotten worse.”
Corn prices have soared by 50 percent since May, while the rate for soybeans, which develop later than corn and might be able to bear up under another few weeks of rainless conditions, has surged 26 percent.
Ironically, in a way, beef and other meat prices have fallen. Glauber said some ranchers facing higher feed prices appear to be reducing their herds, pushing livestock into the market.
Foglesong said that in addition, from what he can tell the heat wave has been so intense around so much of the country that consumers have curtailed their summer barbecues, also hitting demand for steaks, ribs and other products.
Over the longer term, Glauber said, the herd reductions will mean tighter supplies and higher prices for meat on top of the grains.
Svoboda said that the crops aren’t the only problem. The drought has already fed devastating wildfires in the west, and if it keeps on, he predicts cities will start running into limits on their water supplies, which could lead to water use controls.
Related Links
Climate Science News – Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation
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Storms / Flooding / Landslides
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| Name of storm system | Location | Formed | Last update | Last category | Course | Wind Speed | Gust | Wave | Source | Details |
| 09W | Pacific Ocean | 21.07.2012 | 21.07.2012 | Tropical Depression | 265 ° | 56 km/h | 74 km/h | 4.57 m | JTWC | |
Tropical Storm data
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| 21.07.2012 | Tropical Storm | North Korea | MultiProvinces, [Provinces of Kangwon, North Gyeongsang and South Hwanghae] | |
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Tropical Storm in North Korea on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 03:31 (03:31 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Tropical storm Khanun destroyed scores of houses, buildings and transportation infrastructure in southern parts of North Korea this week, killing at least seven people in the reclusive state, state-run media reported on Friday. It weakened quickly over North Korea before Khanun’s remnants dissipated over China. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that flooding triggered by Khanun caused significant damage and casualties in the southern regions of North Korea. It said at least seven people were killed in Kangwon Province, but few other details about casualties were released. “Many hectares of farmland were inundated in Kangwon province and some dwelling houses, public buildings, railways, roads, bridges, breakwaters, electric supply and communication networks were destroyed,” KCNA said in its report, adding that some areas saw up to 200 millimeters (7.8 inches) of rain. “The water supply system was paralyzed in Wonsan and Munchon cities, suspending the provision of drinking water to citizens.” In South Hwanghae province, several houses were destroyed in Haeju City and Jaeryong County while large areas of cropland were submerged in Unchon County. The report did not say whether there were casualties in South Hwanghae province, or in any other regions of North Korea. In South Korea, Khanun also caused flooding, power outages, and affected major transportation systems. One fatality was reported in North Gyeongsang province when the wall of a home collapsed, officials said. |
| 21.07.2012 | Flash Flood | USA | State of North Carolina, Charlotte | |
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Flash Flood in USA on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 03:20 (03:20 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| A North Carolina mall was evacuated Friday when a thunderstorm that produced heavy rain caused the ceiling to collapse, officials said. The ceiling at SouthPark collapsed around 5 p.m., said Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Rob Brisley. He said by the time firefighters were dispatched to the mall, an evacuation was already under way. Brisley said firefighters also pulled the alarm systems in the mall to help with the evacuation, which he described as orderly. No injuries were reported. Brisley said firefighters were focusing on making sure the building was safe, and that the water damage could be addressed by mall workers. Mall personnel couldn’t be reached for additional comment Friday afternoon. It’s estimated that up to 3 inches of rain fell on south Charlotte in approximately 45 minutes, said Rodney Hinson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C. Hinson said additional rain was likely to pass over Charlotte Friday night. |
Flood Warning
LAKE CHARLES LA TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
| 21.07.2012 | Landslide | Austria | Province of Styria, Thoerl | |
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Landslide in Austria on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 16:54 (04:54 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Mudslides unleashed by torrential rains killed one man, wrecked houses and cut off villages in the Austrian province of Styria, authorities said on Saturday. Police in the southeastern province said they had found the body of a 47-year-old local man swept away by a mudslide on Friday night in the town of Thoerl. Several small communities near Liezen were stranded by blocked roads. Austrian broadcaster ORF said helicopters evacuated around 20 people from the area after mudslides up to 10 meters (30 feet) high made travel by road impossible. A further 360 people had to leave their homes in the town of Sankt Lorenzen for fear of more slides given unrelenting rainfall, authorities said. |
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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases
| 20.07.2012 | Epidemic | Sierra Leone | Eastern Province, [Kenema District] | |
|
Epidemic in Sierra Leone on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 18:17 (06:17 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Director of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Amara Jambai, has yesterday disclosed that the outbreak of Lassa fever in Kenema district. Lassa fever is a viral disease which is carried by rats. It is spread from infected rodents to humans through direct contact with urine and droppings of an infected rat. Speaking to journalists at the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr. Jambai said the outbreak, which started in three districts but has extended to other parts of the country, should be a serious concern to the government and people of Sierra Leone. | |
| Biohazard name: | Lassa Fever Outbreak |
| Biohazard level: | 4/4 Hazardous |
| Biohazard desc.: | Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | confirmed |
| 21.07.2012 | Epidemic | Sierra Leone | Northern Province, [Port Loko, Kambia, Pujehun and Kailahun districts] | |
|
Epidemic in Sierra Leone on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 18:20 (06:20 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Director of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Amara Jambai, has yesterday disclosed that the outbreak of cholera in Port Loko, Kambia, Pujehun and Kailahun districts and the Western Area has claimed 62 lives so far. Speaking to journalists at the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr. Jambai said the outbreak, which started in three districts but has extended to other parts of the country, should be a serious concern to the government and people of Sierra Leone. Dr. Jambai explained adding that 26 cholera deaths have been reported in Kambia, 22 in Port Loko, nine in Pujehun and another nine in the Western Area which sum up to 62 cholera cases reported since January to date. “We have set up cholera treatment units at Macaulay Street and Connaught hospital with three more to follow. Also, we have provided technical assistance, drugs and rapid diagnostic test kits at various locations across the country,” he added to highlight measures his department has put in place to curtail the situation. He however warned that despite efforts by the health ministry to cub the outburst, people should be more careful about their food and water sources and should endeavour to always keep their environment clean. | |
| Biohazard name: | Cholera Outbreak |
| Biohazard level: | 2/4 Medium |
| Biohazard desc.: | Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | confirmed |
| 21.07.2012 | Epidemic Hazard | Philippines | Davao Region (Region XI), Davao City | |
|
Epidemic Hazard in Philippines on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 08:22 (08:22 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| A one-year-old boy from Davao City has been found positive for the Enterovirus-71 (EV-71), the mysterious illness that killed dozens of children in Cambodia. Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the screening and confirmatory tests done at the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) revealed that of the eight suspected Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) patients, one was tested positive of the virus similar to the ones in Cambodia. Ona clarified, however, that the boy has no history of travel outside the country. “The virus is similar to Cambodia but this case is the mild one,” Ona told reporters in a press conference Friday. EV-71 causes diarrhea; rashes; and hand, foot and mouth disease; and is sometimes associated with severe central neurological disease. The virus, which was earlier tagged as a “mystery disease” in Cambodia, caused the deaths of 52 children there. Based on the details of the case, the official said the boy had developed fever and rashes on his hands, soles of feet, mouth and buttocks last July 6. He was brought for consultation at a local health facility but was subsequently sent home and has since recovered very well, Ona said. Although the victim’s family members have no sickness, they are still being closely monitored for possible manifestation of symptoms such as high fever, chest and muscle pain, sore throat and headache, Ona said.
Meantime, two HFMD patients were found negative of human Enterovirus while the five others will be further tested for Coxsackie A16, which is also associated with HFMD, the health official said. The health official said there is no vaccine on EV-71 yet, so the “approach is to monitor the cases.” Ona, however, reiterated that the incident should not come as a surprise to the public since EV-71 is not new to the Philippines. “This virus could have been here all along… Maybe, this specific strain has not been examined before, therefore, it has not been identified in the past,” Ona said. The DOH had already related in the past that there have been cases of human Enterovirus in the country but that they are not the fatal ones like those found in Cambodia. Meanwhile, the health department strongly urged the public to always maintain personal hygiene and cleanliness as this would be the best way against the virus. “Prevention relies on individual personal hygiene and hand washing; shared toys or teaching tools in daycare should be cleaned, washed and disinfected as they easily become contaminated,” said Ona. |
|
| Biohazard name: | Enterovirus-71 (EV-71) |
| Biohazard level: | 3/4 Hight |
| Biohazard desc.: | Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | confirmed |
Botanical compound could prove crucial to healing influenza
by Staff Writers
Blacksburg VA (SPX)
 Illustration only.
|
Building on previous work with the botanical abscisic acida, researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) have discovered that abscisic acid has anti-inflammatory effects in the lungs as well as in the gut. The results will be published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.
“While the immune effects of abscisic acid are well understood in the gut, less was known about its effects in the respiratory tract. We’ve shown definitively that not only does abscisic acid ameliorate disease activity and lung inflammatory pathology, it also aids recovery and survival in influenza-infected mice,” said Raquel Hontecillas, Ph.D., study leader, assistant professor of immunology at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, and co-director of NIMML.
Influenza accounts for anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 deaths per year in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is difficult to treat if not caught immediately; antivirals usually become ineffective after the virus incubation period has passed and resistance to antiviral drugs poses a serious public health problem in the face of outbreaks.
Abscisic acid, however, has been shown to be most effective at about seven to ten days into the infection, targeting the immune response rather than the virus itself, which many researchers feel is a safer way to reduce flu-associated fatalities.
“Most drugs for respiratory infections target the virus itself, rather than the inflammatory responses caused by the virus. Abscisic acid activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, a receptor that aids in reducing inflammation, through a newly identified pathwaya but it does so without the side effects of other agonists like thiazolidinediones, which are known to have strong adverse side effects.
The development of complementary and alternative Medicine approaches that modulate the host response has great promise in decreasing respiratory damage caused by influenza or other respiratory pathogens,” said Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Ph.D., director of NIMML and professor of nutritional immunology at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.
From this and previous research, it’s clear that abscisic acid could yield a novel new way to combat inflammatory disease, both in the gut and the respiratory tract. By using host-targeted strategies to mediate disease, alternate pathways can be established to activate immune responses without the deadly side effects of many drugs currently on the market.
Related Links
Virginia Tech
Epidemics on Earth – Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola
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Solar Activity
2MIN News July 21, 2012: Raining Fire, Ionic Earth, Quake Watch
Published on Jul 21, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers
TODAYS LINKS
Hot June: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120720204929.htm
No French Fracking: http://phys.org/news/2012-07-france-shale-gas-environment-minister.html
REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]
HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]
SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]
SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]
Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]
SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]
SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]
iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]
NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]
JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/
LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php
Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]
TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]
GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]
INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]
NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/
PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]
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Space
Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days) |
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| Object Name | Apporach Date | Left | AU Distance | LD Distance | Estimated Diameter* | Relative Velocity | |||
| 153958 (2002 AM31) | 22nd July 2012 | 0 day(s) | 0.0351 | 13.7 | 630 m – 1.4 km | 9.55 km/s | 34380 km/h | ||
| (2011 CA7) | 23rd July 2012 | 1 day(s) | 0.1492 | 58.1 | 2.3 m – 5.1 m | 5.43 km/s | 19548 km/h | ||
| (2012 BB124) | 24th July 2012 | 2 day(s) | 0.1610 | 62.7 | 170 m – 380 m | 8.78 km/s | 31608 km/h | ||
| (2009 PC) | 28th July 2012 | 6 day(s) | 0.1772 | 68.9 | 61 m – 140 m | 7.34 km/s | 26424 km/h | ||
| 217013 (2001 AA50) | 31st July 2012 | 9 day(s) | 0.1355 | 52.7 | 580 m – 1.3 km | 22.15 km/s | 79740 km/h | ||
| (2012 DS30) | 02nd August 2012 | 11 day(s) | 0.1224 | 47.6 | 18 m – 39 m | 5.39 km/s | 19404 km/h | ||
| (2000 RN77) | 03rd August 2012 | 12 day(s) | 0.1955 | 76.1 | 410 m – 920 m | 9.87 km/s | 35532 km/h | ||
| (2004 SB56) | 04th August 2012 | 13 day(s) | 0.1393 | 54.2 | 380 m – 840 m | 13.72 km/s | 49392 km/h | ||
| (2000 SD8) | 04th August 2012 | 13 day(s) | 0.1675 | 65.2 | 180 m – 400 m | 5.82 km/s | 20952 km/h | ||
| (2006 EC) | 06th August 2012 | 15 day(s) | 0.0932 | 36.3 | 13 m – 28 m | 6.13 km/s | 22068 km/h | ||
| (2006 MV1) | 07th August 2012 | 16 day(s) | 0.0612 | 23.8 | 12 m – 28 m | 4.79 km/s | 17244 km/h | ||
| (2005 RK3) | 08th August 2012 | 17 day(s) | 0.1843 | 71.7 | 52 m – 120 m | 8.27 km/s | 29772 km/h | ||
| (2009 BW2) | 09th August 2012 | 18 day(s) | 0.0337 | 13.1 | 25 m – 56 m | 5.27 km/s | 18972 km/h | ||
| 277475 (2005 WK4) | 09th August 2012 | 18 day(s) | 0.1283 | 49.9 | 260 m – 580 m | 6.18 km/s | 22248 km/h | ||
| (2004 SC56) | 09th August 2012 | 18 day(s) | 0.0811 | 31.6 | 74 m – 170 m | 10.57 km/s | 38052 km/h | ||
| (2008 AF4) | 10th August 2012 | 19 day(s) | 0.1936 | 75.3 | 310 m – 690 m | 16.05 km/s | 57780 km/h | ||
| 37655 Illapa | 12th August 2012 | 21 day(s) | 0.0951 | 37.0 | 770 m – 1.7 km | 28.73 km/s | 103428 km/h | ||
| (2012 HS15) | 14th August 2012 | 23 day(s) | 0.1803 | 70.2 | 220 m – 490 m | 11.54 km/s | 41544 km/h | ||
| 4581 Asclepius | 16th August 2012 | 25 day(s) | 0.1079 | 42.0 | 220 m – 490 m | 13.48 km/s | 48528 km/h | ||
| (2008 TC4) | 18th August 2012 | 27 day(s) | 0.1937 | 75.4 | 140 m – 300 m | 17.34 km/s | 62424 km/h | ||
| (2006 CV) | 20th August 2012 | 29 day(s) | 0.1744 | 67.9 | 290 m – 640 m | 13.24 km/s | 47664 km/h | ||
| (2012 EC) | 20th August 2012 | 29 day(s) | 0.0815 | 31.7 | 56 m – 130 m | 5.57 km/s | 20052 km/h | ||
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Shockwaves Could Crinkle Space-Time Creating A New Kind Of Singularity
MessageToEagle.com – Mathematicians have discovered a new way to crinkle up the fabric of space-time, at least in theory.
“We show that space-time cannot be locally flat at a point where two shock waves collide,” said Blake Temple, professor of mathematics at UC Davis.
“This is a new kind of singularity in general relativity.”
The results are reported in two papers by Temple with graduate students Moritz Reintjes and Zeke Vogler, respectively, both published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
Einstein’s theory of general relativity explains gravity as a curvature in space-time. But the theory starts from the assumption that any local patch of space-time looks flat, Temple said.
A singularity is a patch of space-time that cannot be made to look flat in any coordinate system, Temple said. One example of a singularity is inside a black hole, where the curvature of space becomes extreme.
Temple and his collaborators study the mathematics of how shockwaves in a perfect fluid can affect the curvature of space-time in general relativity.
In earlier work, Temple and collaborator Joel Smoller, the Lamberto Cesari professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan, produced a model for the biggest shockwave of all, created from the Big Bang when the universe burst into existence.
| A shockwave creates an abrupt change, or discontinuity, in the pressure and density of a fluid, and this creates a jump in the curvature.But it has been known since the 1960s that the jump in curvature created by a single shock wave is not enough to rule out the locally flat nature of space-time.
Vogler’s doctoral work used mathematics to simulate two shockwaves colliding, while Reintjes followed up with an analysis of the equations that describe what happens when shockwaves cross. He found this created a new type of singularity, which he dubbed a “regularity singularity.” |
What is surprising is that something as mild as interacting waves could create something as extreme as a space-time singularity, Temple said.
Illustration of twisted space-time around Earth. Image credit: NASA
Temple and his colleagues are investigating whether the steep gradients in the space-time fabric at a regularity singularity could create any effects that are measurable in the real world.
For example, they wonder whether they might produce gravity waves, Temple said. General relativity predicts that these are produced, for example, by the collision of massive objects like black holes, but they have not yet been observed in nature. Regularity singularities could also be formed within stars as shockwaves pass within them, the researchers theorize.
MessageToEagle.com via University of California
See also:
Supercomputer Solves The Space-Time Dimensionality Riddle
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Biological Hazards / Wildlife
| 21.07.2012 | Biological Hazard | Ireland | Multiple areas, [Between north Galway and north Donegal] | |
|
Biological Hazard in Ireland on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 03:26 (03:26 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| The algal bloom identified off the west coast is continuing to kill fish and shellfish in significant concentrations from north Galway to north Donegal. Up to 80 per cent of stock has been affected on some oyster farms in Donegal, and it is also having a negative impact on sea angling tourism, the Marine Institute has confirmed. The bloom is caused by Karenia mikimotoi, a phytoplankton of the dinoflagellate group which caused a red tide in 2005 that killed wild fish and shellfish. Samples of this new bloom, first detected in May, are being collected for Marine Institute monitoring by the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopters. Marine Institute phytoplankton expert Joe Silke said the bloom was naturally occurring. It was not associated with pollution but contained a “toxic irritant” that damaged gills of shellfish, fish and invertebrates. Irish Farmers’ Association fish farm section chief executive Richie Flynn said if there was a “properly functioning” licensing system in place, farmers could take measures to move stock when such blooms occurred. | |
| Biohazard name: | Red Tide |
| Biohazard level: | 0/4 — |
| Biohazard desc.: | This does not included biological hazard category. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | |
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Articles of Interest
Odd Phenomenon Of The Red Rocks -
Why Did All The Stones Suddenly Change Color?
MessageToEagle.com – Some years ago, back in, 2005, over the slopes of Mount Gongga, China all rocks suddenly turned red.
In time, the entire region became known the “Red-Stone-Valley” and today it is a spectacular local tourist attraction.
For many years, scientists have wondered what caused the stones to unexpectedly change color?
Today, scientists can finally offer an explanation what is behind this strange phenomenon.
According to Guoxiang Liu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and his colleagues, the rocks became red as a result of a newly discovered variety of the algae Trentepohlia jolithus that suddenly expanded.
The stones suddenly changed color. Image credit: Guoxiang Liu
| In their research paper, Liu and his colleagues write that ” Trentepohlia is a genus of subaerial green algae which is widespread in tropical, subtropical, and also temperate regions with humid climates”.The scientists state that the reason the algae Trentepohlia jolithus started to expand is due to global warming as well as various human activities.
“This new variety only grows on the native rock, both global warming and human activity have provided massive areas of suitable substrata: the rocks surfaces of the Yajiageng river valley floodplain were re-exposed because of heavy debris flows in the summer of 2005; plus human activities such as tourism and road-building have also created a lot of exposed rock!” Liu and his team write. |
Red-Stone-Valley and the stones covered with Trentepohlia-carpets.
2A-2B: Red-stone Valley and the Yajiageng River; 2C: Red Trentepohlia-carpet in a cold winter; 2D: Trentepohlia growing on stone walls near the road; 2E: Red-Stone-Valley and Yajiageng River; 2F-2G: Red-Stone-Valley in foggy conditions; 2H: Tibetan Ni-ma stack with Trentepohlia growing on it. 2I: Red-Stone-Valley in winter. Image credit: PLoS One
Microscopic view of Trentepohlia jolithus. Image credit: PLoS One
Today, most of the rocks are covered with deep red colored algal carpets in the Yajiageng river valley.
@ MessageToEagle.com
See also:
Amazing Alien Landscape On Earth – Dallol Volcano
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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
Images like this will be common on area thermometers the next few days. Image courtesy of Photos.com.
MessageToEagle.com – There is a huge amount of space debris in orbit around the Earth and this is a problem.
Image credit: ESA
Trackable objects in orbit around Earth. Image credit: ESA
Image credit: ESA
Image credit: ESA
Image credit: ESA
MessageToEagle.com – The black hole in the galaxy M83 is now producing 3000 times more X-rays than it had been before it became mega-powerful!
From Reddit, 
Power lines are down across the Midwest and mid-Atlantic after winds sped up to 90 mph during Friday night’s storm. (Photo courtesy of Twitter user @Smoflake88)
Visualisation of a close-up region in our advanced 3D numerical simulations of a magnetic tornado in the solar atmosphere. The spiral lines represent the velocity field in the tornado vortex. The images contain the observed swirl signature (top, bluish) and the Sun’s surface (bottom, reddish). Image released June 27, 2012. CREDIT: Wedemeyer-Bohm et al./Image produced with VAPOR
Schematic view of the atmospheric layers of the Sun, the extent of simulated magnetic tornado, and the resulting net energy transport. Image released June 27, 2012. CREDIT: Wedemeyer-B�hm/Parts of the image produced with VAPOR
