The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA has more than 127 seal and sea lion patients on site – double its normal amount for this time of year. Included in those numbers are 30 malnourished California sea lion pups that were transferred from Southern CA rescue centers that are over-run with patients. The unusual morbidity event is one of the worst in recent years. Read more at
http://www.MarineMammalCenter.org/socal .
The mass stranding of sea lions at Californian shores doesn’t seem stopping anytime soon and condition has deteriorated even more. The stranding(s) spiked in January and have intensified in recent weeks, the numbers have already surpassed total number of an average year. By March 13th, there were 517 pups admitted to marine mammal rehabilitation centers and by April 4, the number has risen to1100Wired. Authorities still don’t know what is the exact cause of the stranding. NOAA’s marine mammal stranding coordinator for the state of California, Sarah Wilkin said,
“We’re still getting strandings of animals at kind of equal rates to what they had been. We don’t know how long the event is going to go on.”
According to the National Marine Mammal Foundation it is a crisis of epic proportions (CBS8) and announced a challenge grant to help pay for sea lion’s care. Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) for California sea lions in California from January 2013 through the present. NOAA reports live sea lion strandings are nearly three times higher than the historical average.
At island rookeries off the Southern California coast, 45 percent of the pups born in June have died, said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service based in Seattle. Normally, less than one-third of the pups would die.
It’s gotten so bad in the past two weeks that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an “unusual mortality event.” That will allow more scientists to join the search for the cause, Melin said.
Even the pups that are making it are markedly underweight …. Rescuers have had to leave the worst of them in an effort to save the strongest ones, she said.
Routine testing of seafood is being done by state and federal agencies and consumer safety experts are working with NOAA to find the problem.”No link has been established at this time between these sea lion strandings and any potential seafood safety issues,” NOAA said in a statement.
Given that the FDA has refused to test seafood for radiation, we’re not that confident that the government is looking that hard to see if Fukushima fallout is the cause.
From the beginning of this year through last Sunday, 948 sea lion pups came ashore in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, according to figures from NOAA.
“There really isn’t an oceanographic explanation for what we’re seeing,” Melin said. “We’re looking at disease as a possibility and also at the food supply, and it could be some combination.”
”They’re very sick,” said Keith Matassa, who runs the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. His team is nursing 115 sea lions back to health. “A normal sea lion at this age — 8 to 9 months old — should be around 60, 70 pounds,” said Matassa.
“We’re seeing them come into our center at 20 to 25 pounds, and really they look like walking skeletons.”
This underfed sea lion pup is inside an Animal Control truck after being picked up on the sand. It was taken to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center for treatment and feeding until it is big enough and old enough to survive on its own.
JULISSA RIVERA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
….
Researchers puzzled over spike in sick sea lions
Sick sea lions are turning up in record numbers along Southern California’s coastline. Director David Bard and Lauren Palmer of the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro say scientists are looking at a number of theories.
By John Boxley, Producer, NBC News
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — Along Southern California’s pristine coastline, ailing sea lions are turning up in record numbers.
“We have a lot of little pups this year,” said veterinarian Lauren Palmer, who is nursing them back to health. Most are about eight months old, she said, and appear dehydrated and malnourished, having trouble adjusting to life away from mom. For some reason many pups are leaving their mothers early. It’s not clear why.
Usually, around this time of year, there might be a dozen sick sea lions in San Pedro, said David Bard, operations director for the San Pedro Marine Mammal Care Center. But so far, the care center has taken in nearly 200 and counting. Last week alone, there were 50 new cases.
“It’s a pretty big spike,” he said.
The last big spike was in 2009 when the care center took more than 500 sick animals, but most of those were elephant seals. Researchers say that was due to El Nino conditions.
Looking for answers
During a tour of the facility, Bard pointed to a group of new arrivals.
“You can see the activity level of these fellows is a little low, they don’t have as much energy,” he said. There were about 20 pups inside a small pen area, each looked quite lethargic.
So, what’s happening to the sea lions this year? So far nobody knows. There are plenty of theories, however, such as food shortages, climate change or simply an increase in the number of sea lion births.
“We are not seeing a disease outbreak among these animals or any obvious underlying cause,” Bard said.
Recovering sea lions get fed fish at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach after 18 rescues in two days. These sea lions will soon be released into the wild after their rehabilitation is complete.
Southern California is seeing an increase in the stranded sea lion pups — and scientists aren’t sure exactly what’s causing it.
“The overall numbers we’re seeing this year are just very, very elevated,” said Sarah Wilkin, who studies sea lion populations for the National Marine Fishery Service for California. “For these facilities to be so overwhelmed at this time of year is very strange.”
This is typically the slow season for stranded sea lions, according to Wilkin. Not this year.
“I get in here at 5:45 a.m. and the first thing I do is take care of our most critical patients,” said Kirsten Sedlick, the animal care supervisor at the center. Sedlick said the center has squeezed in 10 times the normal number of rescues. It has been so swamped the center declared a state of emergency.
The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is at 10 times its normal capacity due to an increase in stranded sea lion pups. A caretaker said it’s likely only 80 percent of the animals will survive.
Malnourished sea lions pups line the floors of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.
EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Researchers puzzled over spike in sick sea lions
Sick sea lions are turning up in record numbers along Southern California’s coastline. Director David Bard and Lauren Palmer of the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro say scientists are looking at a number of theories.
By John Boxley, Producer, NBC News
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — Along Southern California’s pristine coastline, ailing sea lions are turning up in record numbers.
“We have a lot of little pups this year,” said veterinarian Lauren Palmer, who is nursing them back to health. Most are about eight months old, she said, and appear dehydrated and malnourished, having trouble adjusting to life away from mom. For some reason many pups are leaving their mothers early. It’s not clear why.
Usually, around this time of year, there might be a dozen sick sea lions in San Pedro, said David Bard, operations director for the San Pedro Marine Mammal Care Center. But so far, the care center has taken in nearly 200 and counting. Last week alone, there were 50 new cases.
“It’s a pretty big spike,” he said.
The last big spike was in 2009 when the care center took more than 500 sick animals, but most of those were elephant seals. Researchers say that was due to El Nino conditions.
Looking for answers
During a tour of the facility, Bard pointed to a group of new arrivals.
“You can see the activity level of these fellows is a little low, they don’t have as much energy,” he said. There were about 20 pups inside a small pen area, each looked quite lethargic.
So, what’s happening to the sea lions this year? So far nobody knows. There are plenty of theories, however, such as food shortages, climate change or simply an increase in the number of sea lion births.
“We are not seeing a disease outbreak among these animals or any obvious underlying cause,” Bard said.
The Pacific Marine Mammal Center declared a state of emergency Monday due to the influx of malnourished and dehydrated sea lion pups coming ashore on Orange County beaches.
The facility on Laguna Canyon Road — the only marine mammal care center for Orange County — admitted 18 sea lions Saturday and Sunday. Twelve came in on Saturday, the largest single-day total in the center’s 42-year history, according to a press release.
As of Sunday, the center had 86 animals in its care, 84 of them sea lions.
“The last time the center received this many sea lions this early in the season was 1998,” said Melissa Sciacca, PMMC’s director of development.
Most of the malnourished or dehydrated animals are 8 to 9 months old, Sciacca said.
Los Angeles County is also seeing an increase in admitted sea lion pups.
Officials at PMMC and Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro could not speculate what may be responsible for the recent sea lion surge.
Marine Mammal Center facing emergency after 18 pups rescued.
A malnourished sea lion pup huddles with others at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach after 18 rescues in two days. The patient count was up to 84 sea lions.
After a record-breaking number of sea lion pup rescues, leaders of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center said their organization is facing a state of emergency.
The nonprofit group rescued 12 severely malnourished and dehydrated sea lions from Orange County beaches Saturday, the most rescues in a single day the organization has ever seen. Teams rescued six more Sunday, bringing the total of marine mammal patients in the group’s converted barn facility in Laguna Canyon to 86 – 84 of them sea lions.
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How to help
To cover the costs of care, the center is asking for donations. Donors may visit pacificmmc.org or call 949-494-3050 to give.
If you see a stranded marine mammal
•Maintain a distance of 50 yards from it. Do not approach it to encourage it back to the ocean, feed it or pour water on it.
•Call the Pacific Marine Mammal Center at 949-494-3050 to report the animal and its location.
•Keep other beachgoers, including dogs, away from the animal.
Source: Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Typically, the center doesn’t encounter animals in need of medical attention until April or May. This year, higher numbers of starving sea lions began coming to shore in January, said center spokeswoman Melissa Sciacca, and the numbers are reaching epidemic proportions.
“It’s certainly alarming,” she said. “We’re just doing everything we can to give each and every pup that strands a chance.”
Each of the weekend’s rescues was an 8- or 9-month-old sea lion pup. A variety of reasons could lead the malnourished pups to come ashore, Sciacca said, such as the pup becoming separated from its mother or a stop in the mother’s milk supply.
If the pace of stranded sea lions remains at roughly nine times more than normal, Sciacca said, the facility will not have the resources to keep up.
A moderate earthquake shook a wide area of Southern California on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor struck at 9:55 a.m. PT in a remote, mountainous area northeast of San Diego and was estimated to be magnitude 4.7 (earlier reports gave it a magnitude of 5.1). The quake’s center was 16 miles south of Palm Desert, Calif. There were no initial reports of damage or injuries.
Several smaller seismic events were also reported around the same time.
According to Leslie Gordon of the USGS, the initial magnitude reports are generated by computer and automatically sent out. Those reports are revised after data are reviewed by USGS seismologists.
The quake was “a little tricky to analyze” because of a small quake that preceded the larger event, said USGS seismologist Susan Hough. That threw off some of the instruments, she said, and so the depth of the quake as well as its precise epicenter and relation to known faults in the area remained unclear.
The quake was felt sharply in the local area, The Associated Press reported, and also rolled through downtown Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.
Some Twitter users reported that they slept through the quake, while other reported being startled awake.
Kristen Nicole (@KristenNicole25) tweeted: “Apparently there was an #earthquake in #SoCal this morning. People said they felt it in #LA… Not this girl.”
Twitter user Anayeli (@iamanayeli) reported the quake woke her up in Riverside. ”At least I won’t be late for class!,” she wrote.
Terry Raposa said on her Facebook account that she felt the quake in Lake Elsinore.
“Slam and then felt sea sick! LOL!,” she wrote, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
NBCLosAngeles.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published on Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:14 PM EDT
Guatemala volcano: At least 17 villages near the Volcan del Fuego, six miles from the colonial city of Antigua, are being evacuated. The eruption of the volcano could cause a disruption in airline flights in and out of Guatemala.
By Alberto Arce and Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, Associated Press
Plumes of dark smoke rise from the Volcan de Fuego ( Volcano of Fire) as seen from Palin, south of Guatemala City, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Officials are carrying out “a massive evacuation of thousands of people” in five communities.
(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Guatemala City
A long-simmering volcano outside one of the Guatemala‘s most famous tourist attractions exploded into a series of powerful eruptions Thursday, hurling thick clouds of ash nearly two miles (three kilometers) high, spewing rivers of lava down its flanks and forcing the evacuation of more than 33,000 people from surrounding communities.
Guatemala’s head of emergency evacuations, Sergio Cabanas, said the evacuees were leaving some 17 villages around the Volcan del Fuego, which sits about six miles southwest (16 kilometers) from the colonial city of Antigua. The ash was blowing south and authorities said Antigua was not currently in danger, although they expected the eruption to last for at least 12 more hours.
The agency said the volcano spewed lava nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) down slopes billowing with ash around Acatenango, a 12,346-foot-high (3,763-meter-high) volcano whose name translates as “Volcano of Fire.”
“A paroxysm of an eruption is taking place, a great volcanic eruption, with strong explosions and columns of ash,” said Gustavo Chicna, a volcanologist with the National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. He said the cinders spewing from the volcano were settling a half-inch thick in many places.
He said extremely hot gases were also rolling down the sides of the volcano, which was entirely wreathed in ash and smoke. The emergency agency warned that flights through the area could be affected.
There was a general orange alert, the second-highest level, but a red alert south and southeast of the mountain, where, Chicna said, “it’s almost in total darkness.”
Teresa Marroquin, disaster coordinator for the Guatemalan Red Cross, said the organization had set up 10 emergency shelters and was sending hygiene kits and water. “There are lots of respiratory problems and eye problems,” she said.
At least 17 villages near the Volcan del Fuego, six miles from the colonial city of Antigua, are being evacuated. The eruption of the volcano could cause a disruption in airline flights in and out of Guatemala. A long-simmering volcano outside one of the Guatemala’s most famous tourist attractions exploded into a series of powerful eruptions Thursday, hurling thick clouds of ash nearly two miles (three kilometers) high, spewing rivers of lava down its flanks and forcing the evacuation of more than 33,000 people from surrounding communities. Guatemala’s head of emergency evacuations, Sergio Cabanas, said the evacuees were leaving some 17 villages around the Volcan del Fuego, which sits about six miles southwest (16 kilometers) from the colonial city of Antigua. The ash was blowing south and authorities said Antigua was not currently in danger, although they expected the eruption to last for at least 12 more hours.
The agency said the volcano spewed lava nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) down slopes billowing with ash around Acatenango, a 12,346-foot-high (3,763-meter-high) volcano whose name translates as “Volcano of Fire.” “A paroxysm of an eruption is taking place, a great volcanic eruption, with strong explosions and columns of ash,” said Gustavo Chicna, a volcanologist with the National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology. He said the cinders spewing from the volcano were settling a half-inch thick in many places. He said extremely hot gases were also rolling down the sides of the volcano, which was entirely wreathed in ash and smoke. The emergency agency warned that flights through the area could be affected. There was a general orange alert, the second-highest level, but a red alert south and southeast of the mountain, where, Chicna said, “it’s almost in total darkness.” Teresa Marroquin, disaster coordinator for the Guatemalan Red Cross, said the organization had set up 10 emergency shelters and was sending hygiene kits and water. “There are lots of respiratory problems and eye problems,” she said.
In the summer of 2002, pinyon pines began dying in large numbers from drought stress and an associated bark beetle outbreak. This aerial photo was taken near Los Alamos, N.M. Credit: Craig D. Allen, USGS.
As temperatures rise and droughts become more severe in the Southwest, trees are increasingly up against extremely stressful growing conditions, especially in low to middle elevations, University of Arizona researchers report in a study soon to be published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences.
Lead author Jeremy Weiss, a senior research specialist in the UA department of geosciences, said: “We know the climate in the Southwest is getting warmer, but we wanted to investigate how the higher temperatures might interact with the highly variable precipitation typical of the region.”
Weiss’ team used a growing season index computed from weather data to examine limits to plant growth during times of drought.
“The approach we took allows us to model and map potential plant responses to droughts under past, present and future conditions across the whole region,” explained Julio Betancourt, a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey who co-authored the study along with Jonathan Overpeck, co-director of the UA Institute of the Environment. Betancourt holds adjunct appointments in the UA department of geosciences, the UA School of Geography and Development, the UA School of Natural Resources and the Environment and the UA Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research.
“Our study helps pinpoint how vegetation might respond to future droughts, assuming milder winters and hotter summers, across the complex and mountainous terrain of the Southwest,” Betancourt said.
For this study, the researchers used a growing season index that considers day length, cold temperature limits and a key metric called vapor pressure deficit to map and compare potential plant responses to major regional droughts during 1953-56 and 2000-03.
A key source of plant stress, vapor pressure deficit is defined as the difference between how much moisture the air can hold when it is saturated and the amount of moisture actually present in the air. A warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor, and during droughts it acts like a sponge sucking up any available moisture from the ground surface, including from plants.
Both droughts – with the more recent one occurring in warmer times – led to widespread tree die-offs, and comparisons between them can help sort out how both warming and drying affected the degree of mortality in different areas.
Weiss pointed out that multiyear droughts with precipitation well below the long-term average are normal for the Southwest. He said the 1950s drought mainly affected the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and southern High Plains and happened before warming in the region started. The 2000s drought centered on the Four Corners area and occurred after regional warming began around 1980.
The actual causes of physiological plant stress and tree death during droughts are being investigated by various research teams using models and field and greenhouse experiments. One possibility is prolonged embolism, or the catastrophic disruption of the water column in wood vessels as trees struggle to pump moisture from the soil in the heat of summer.
The other is carbon starvation as leaves shut their openings, called stomates, to conserve leaf water, slowing the uptake of carbon dioxide needed for photosynthesis. Stomatal closure is triggered by deficits in the ambient vapor pressure, which controls the rate of evaporation for water and is very much influenced by temperature.
“When the air is hotter and drier, it becomes more difficult for plants to conserve water while taking up carbon dioxide,” Weiss explained. “As plants become starved of carbon, it also weakens their defenses and renders them more susceptible to insect pests.”
To make matters worse, Weiss said, the size of the “atmospheric sponge” grows faster during increasingly hotter summers like those over the last 30 years, absorbing even more moisture from soil and vegetation.
“When warmer temperatures combine with drought, relatively stressful growing conditions for a plant become even more stressful,” Weiss explained. “You could say drought makes that atmospheric sponge thirstier, and as the drought progresses, there is increasingly less moisture that can be evaporated from soil and vegetation to fill – and cool – the dry air.”
“In a sense, it’s a vicious circle. Warmer temperatures during droughts lead to even drier and hotter conditions.”
The researchers mapped relatively extreme values of vapor deficit pressure for areas of tree die-offs during the most recent drought determined from annual aerial surveys conducted by the U.S. Forest Service.
“Our study suggests that as regional warming continues, drought-related plant stress associated with higher vapor pressure deficits will intensify and spread from late spring through summer to earlier and later parts of the growing season, as well to higher elevations,” the authors write. This could lead to even more severe and widespread plant stress.
The results are in line with other trends of warming-related impacts in the Southwest over the past 30 years, including earlier leafout and flowering, more extensive insect and disease outbreaks, and an increase in large wildfires.
“We’re seeing climatic growing conditions already at an extreme level with just the relatively little warming we have seen in the region so far,” Weiss said. “Our concern is that vegetation will experience even more extreme growing conditions as anticipated further warming exacerbates the impacts of future droughts.”
Weiss added: “We also know that part of the regional warming is linked to human-caused climate change. Seeing vapor-pressure deficits at such extreme levels points to the conclusion that the warmer temperatures linked to human-caused climate change are playing a role in drying out the region.”
Betancourt said: “We have few ways of knowing how this is going to affect plants across an entire landscape, except by modeling it. There is not much we can do to avert drought-related tree mortality, whether it is due to climate variability or climate change.”
Instead, Betancourt suggested, land managers should focus on how to manage the regrowth of vegetation in the aftermath of increased large-scale ecological disturbances, including wildfires and drought-related tree die-offs.
“Models like the one we developed can provide us with a roadmap of areas sensitive to future disturbances,” Betancourt said. “The next step will be to start planning, determine the scale of intervention and figure out what can be done to direct or engineer the outcomes of vegetation change in a warmer world.”
NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Super Typhoon Sanba on Sept. 13 at 12:47 a.m. EDT. AIRS infrared data found an eye (the yellow dot in the middle of the purple area) about 20 nautical miles wide, surrounded by a thick area of strong thunderstorms (purple) with very cold cloud temperatures. Credit: Ed Olsen, NASA/JPL Tropical Storm Sanba exploded in intensity between Sept. 12 and 13, becoming a major Category 4 Typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured infrared data that showed a large area of powerful thunderstorms around the center of circulation, dropping heavy rain over the western North Pacific Ocean.
NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Super Typhoon Sanba on Sept. 13 at 0447 UTC (12:47 a.m. EDT). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured an infrared image of Sanba and found an eye about 20 nautical miles (23 miles/37 km) wide, surrounded by a thick area of strong convection (rising air that forms the thunderstorms that make up the storm) and strong thunderstorms. Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning center noted that the AIRS imagery showed that there was “no banding outside of this ring, consistent with an annular typhoon.” On Sept. 13 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Sanba’s maximum sustained winds were near 135 knots (155 mph/250 kmh). Sanba had higher gusts into the Category 5 typhoon category. The Saffir-Simpson scale was slightly revised earlier in 2012, so a Category 4 typhoon/hurricane has maximum sustained winds from 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph /209 to 251 kmh). A Category 5 typhoon’s maximum sustained winds begin at 137 knots (157 mph /252 kmh). Sanba was located about 600 nautical miles (690 miles/1,111 km) south of Kadena Air Base, near 16.8 North latitude and 129.5 East longitude. It was moving to the north at 9 knots (10.3 mph/16.6 kmh) and generating wave heights of 40 feet. Sanba is expected to continue on a north-northwesterly track through the western North Pacific and move through the East China Sea, passing close to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan on Sept. 15. Provided by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center search and more info website
Rare Reversal Last Occurred with Hurricane Katrina
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GettyImages
People brave the rain and strong winds for a walk along the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans early in the day on August 28, 2012 in Louisiana, where Hurricane Isaac made landfall. Starting in the late afternoon, the river reversed course and began flowing away from the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of the time, rivers large and small are as consistent as the tides, flowing from their headwaters to their mouths, where they empty into oceans, lakes, seas and valleys. For nearly 24 hours during Hurricane Isaac, however, exactly the opposite happened in the mighty Mississippi River.
The category 1 storm’s intense winds and storm surge, which came ashore near New Orleans on Aug. 28, pushed salt water from the Gulf of Mexico up the fresh water river as far north as Baton Rouge, more than 200 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, surging the river there more than 8 feet over its previous height.
During the night in Belle Chase, La., just south of New Orleans, the U.S. Geological Survey’s stream gage measured the river flowing backwards at 182,000 cubic feet per second. Normally, the river flows at about 125,000 cubic feet per second toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Play Video
Cantore Talks About Isaac
“One of the unique things about Isaac was that, unlike most storms that tend to blow on through, Isaac ended up hanging around for a while,” said USGS Public Affairs Officer Alex Demas. “Because it hung around for a while, the storm surge built up enough momentum that it was able to push the river back up its channel.”
The Mississippi last flowed backward during 2005’s devastating Hurricane Katrina, when it crested at 13 feet above its previous level. At its highest point during Isaac, the river crested at 12.4 feet above its previous level.
“We saw an impact as far as 300 miles upstream from the mouth,” from Isaac’s surge up the river, said Greg Arcement, the director of the USGS Louisiana Water Science Center in Baton Rouge. “It had actually quite an impact when you think about it.”
What had officials concerned wasn’t just the impacts from storm surge, however. By the time Isaac arrived, severe drought throughout the Midwest had left the Mississippi several feet below its normal levels, which meant that salt water moving upstream from the ocean might easily overpower the depleted fresh water in the river.
Keeping Salt Water from Moving Up
Salt water is heavier than fresh water. When surging salt water meets fresh water that’s been laid low by a months-long drought, the salt water can travel upstream to places it normally doesn’t, explains Suzanne Van Cooten, Ph.D., a hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center.
“It’s very similar to how a cold front and a warm front work,” she said. “It basically works like a wedge — as the column of fresh water gets shallower because we’re in low flow, it has less weight. So the salt water is able to push underneath the fresh water and just move on up, because it doesn’t have as much weight to displace.”
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Denser salt water flows upstream along the bottom of the Mississippi River, underneath the less dense fresh river water.
That creates what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls a “salt water wedge.” If it moves up far enough along the Mississippi, the wedge can threaten cities and towns that rely on the river for their drinking water as well as industrial water supplies.
To prevent that, the Corps periodically builds a saltwater barrier sill, a kind of underwater levee, made from earth along the banks of the river and sandbars exposed by the drought. The sill stops the toe of the wedge from moving forward.
“It’s basically a speed bump at the bottom of the river, to prevent the salt water from moving upstream,” explains Dave Ramirez, the lead hydraulic engineer with the Corps’ New Orleans District.
The Corps builds these sills about every 7 to 8 years, and they work well in normal conditions. Fears rose sharply that Isaac would destroy this one when the storm approached, however.
“The toe of the wedge was about up to river mile 89 [before the storm], which is about the limit of where we want to see it,” said Ramirez, explaining that the wedge was about 89 miles up the river from the mouth of the Mississippi. “We didn’t really know if the sill would hold, because we’ve never had a salt water wedge during a hurricane.”
Thankfully, Isaac left the sill undisturbed. After the storm passed, Ramirez and his team inspected the salt water wedge and determined that it had actually regressed 20 miles back downstream, where he said it was expected to remain for the next few weeks.
After six days of heavy rains, floodwaters are threatening Sindh and the army has moved in to rescue people in the worst-hit areas. The death toll of rain-related mishaps has crossed 100, as 18 more people died on Wednesday. After record-breaking rain in Jacobabad and Kashmore, thousands of people are stranded in the low-lying areas, where, according to reports, five to six feet water has accumulated. Torrents coming downhill from Balochistan have played havoc with ten union councils in the Thull taluka of Jacobabad. As hundreds of houses collapsed due to flooding, at least 18 people, including women and children, were reported to have died. Another 78 were reportedly injured. On Wednesday, hundreds of army personnel were dispatched to the rain-hit areas, including RD-44 and Bahoo Khoso, where thousands of people have been stranded for the past five days. In Ghotki, a teenage girl was crushed by a wall in the Katcho Bhindi area. A three-year-old girl, Kariman, drowned in rainwater in Rehmoonwali. Rainwater has also entered the Shahi Wah and Pat Feeder canals, breaching both in at least four places. The water is now heading towards the outskirts of Jacobabad. Relief camps have been set up in Shikarpur, Jacobabad and Kashmore. The people are, however, reluctant to go to the camps as neither food nor medicines are available. The district administrations have arranged cooked meals for the rain-hit people, but instead of being distributed among them, the food is being taken away by the influential.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas students relax on inflatable pool toys in floodwater at UNLV in Las Vegas Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012. Storms drenched parts of the Southwest on Tuesday, delaying flights and stranding motorists in the Las Vegas area and flooding two mobile home parks in Southern California.
LAS VEGAS – Intense thunderstorms swept through the Las Vegas area on Tuesday, flooding washes, delaying flights, snarling traffic and prompting helicopter rescues of stranded motorists in water-filled intersections, authorities said.
Television news video showed yellow school buses inching along roads after school in areas east of downtown Las Vegas, and muddy brown water up to the lower sills of picture windows of stucco homes in other neighborhoods.
In southeast Las Vegas, authorities recommended that the residents of about 45 homes damaged by flooding should leave in case the damage start electrical fires. The Clark County Fire Department was going door-to-door Tuesday night suggesting that residents leave their homes, said county spokesman Dan Kulin.
A Twitter photo showed dozens of cars swamped by water up to their headlights in a parking lot outside the Thomas & Mack sports arena at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
But after responding to numerous 911 calls, officials in Clark County, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Las Vegas said no serious injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings before and after almost an inch of rain was reported at McCarran International Airport just before 2 p.m. Meteorologist Michael Staudenmaier said more than 1.75 inches of rain were reported in downtown Las Vegas.
September 11, 2012 was the wettest September day on record in Las Vegas, according to weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. The city received 1.18″ of rain.
Firefighters responded to more than 20 calls about people in stalled cars, Kulin said.
A Las Vegas police helicopter was dispatched during the height of the storm to pluck several people from swamped vehicles on area roadways, Officer Bill Cassell said.
The Las Vegas area is crisscrossed with concrete-lined flood control channels and pocked by lake-sized water retention basins. Since 1985, Clark County Regional Flood Control District officials say they’ve spent $1.7 billion constructing about 573 miles of storm drains and 90 basins.
Police officer Jose Hernandez noted that homeless people sometimes live in normally dry tunnels beneath key areas like the Las Vegas Strip. After rains fall, the channels and tunnels fill quickly as water flows west to east across Las Vegas toward the Lake Mead reservoir on the Colorado River.
Crews searched in vain along a wash northeast of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, after at least two callers separately reported that they saw a person in the water during the height of the storm.
Departures were postponed and arrivals were delayed after the airport ordered a stop on fueling operations during lightning, airport spokeswoman Linda Healey said.
Staudenmaier said the rainfall amounts put the region on pace to exceed the 4.5 inches of rain it normally gets in a year.
Between early July and early September 2012, flooding claimed an estimated 137 lives in Nigeria and forced thousands more to relocate, according to Reuters. In addition to the challenges posed by heavy rains, Nigerians had to cope with the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in neighboring Cameroon, which further swelled the Benue River. Flooding from the dam release was blamed for 30 deaths in Nigeria, Agence France-Presse reported.
These images show a stretch of the Benue River in eastern Nigeria, around the city of Lau. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured the top image on September 8, 2012. For comparison, the bottom image shows the same area nearly three years earlier, on September 23, 2009. These images use a combination of visible and infrared light to better distinguish between water and land. Water varies from electric blue to navy, vegetation is bright green, and clouds range in color from nearly white to pale blue-green.
In 2009, the Benue River was a relatively thin river bordered by small, isolated water bodies. Three years later, the river had spilled over its banks, engulfing the small lakes on either side. Flood waters often carry heavy loads of sediment, and such sediment might account for the relatively light shades of blue along part of the river.
Despite thousands of displaced residents, no major damage to agriculture and industry had yet been reported, Reuters stated.
An Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo risks spreading to major towns if not brought under control soon, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.
The death toll has more than doubled since last week to 31, including five health workers dying from the contagious virus for which there is no known treatment. Ebola causes massive bleeding and kills up to 90 percent of its victims.
“The epidemic is not under control. On the contrary the situation is very, very serious,” Eugene Kabambi, a WHO spokesman in Congo’s capital Kinshasa told Reuters by telephone.
“If nothing is done now, the disease will reach other places, and even major towns will be threatened,” he said.
The disease has so far struck in the towns of Isiro and Viadana in Orientale province in the north east.
In August, 16 people in neighboring Uganda died of the disease, although health experts said the two epidemics are not connected and have blamed the Congolese outbreak on villagers eating contaminated meat in the forests which cover the region.
(Reporting by Jonny Hogg; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by David Lewis and Robin Pomeroy)
MessageToEagle.com – ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile presents a beautiful Herschel’s Ray commnonly known as the Pencil Nebula – a part of the Vela Supernova Remnant.
This peculiar cloud of glowing gas is part of a huge ring of wreckage left over after a supernova explosion that took place about 11 000 years ago. This detailed view was produced by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope.
Despite the tranquil and apparently unchanging beauty of a starry night, the Universe is far from being a quiet place. Stars are being born and dying in an endless cycle, and sometimes the death of a star can create a vista of unequalled beauty as material is blasted out into space to form strange structures in the sky.
Click on image to enlargeWide-field view of the sky around the Pencil Nebula. Credits: ESO
This new image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the Pencil Nebula against a rich starry background. This oddly shaped cloud, which is also known as NGC 2736, is a small part of a supernova remnant in the southern constellation of Vela (The Sails).
These glowing filaments were created by the violent death of a star that took place about 11 000 years ago. The brightest part resembles a pencil; hence the name, but the whole structure looks rather more like a traditional witch’s broom.
The Vela supernova remnant is an expanding shell of gas that originated from the supernova explosion. Initially the shock wave was moving at millions of kilometres per hour, but as it expanded through space it ploughed through the gas between the stars, which has slowed it considerably and created strangely shaped folds of nebulosity.
The Pencil Nebula is the brightest part of this huge shell.
Click on image to enlargeThe Pencil Nebula, a strangely shaped leftover from a vast explosion. Credits: ESO
This new image shows large, wispy filamentary structures, smaller bright knots of gas and patches of diffuse gas. The nebula’s luminous appearance comes from dense gas regions that have been struck by the supernova shock wave. As the shock wave travels through space, it rams into the interstellar material.
At first, the gas was heated to millions of degrees, but it then subsequently cooled down and is still giving off the faint glow that was captured in the new image.
By looking at the different colours of the nebula, astronomers have been able to map the temperature of the gas. Some regions are still so hot that the emission is dominated by ionised oxygen atoms, which glow blue in the picture. Other cooler regions are seen glowing red, due to emission from hydrogen.
The Pencil Nebula measures about 0.75 light-years across and is moving through the interstellar medium at about 650 000 kilometres per hour. Remarkably, even at its distance of approximately 800 light-years from Earth, this means that it will noticeably change its position relative to the background stars within a human lifetime.
Even after 11 000 years the supernova explosion is still changing the face of the night sky.
Less than two decades after wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, viral diseases like mange threaten the stability of the new population.
Humans had killed off gray wolves in the region by the 1930s, but in 1995, U.S. wildlife officials tried to restore the native population by bringing 31 wolves captured from Canada into the national park.
The new wolf community initially expanded rapidly, climbing to more than 170 at its peak. But researchers from Penn State University say that the most recent data show the number of animals has dipped below 100.
“We’re down to extremely low levels of wolves right now,” researcher Emily S. Almberg, a graduate student in ecology, said in a statement. “We’re down to [similar numbers as] the early years of reintroduction. So it doesn’t look like it’s going to be as large and as a stable a population as was maybe initially thought.”
The researchers point to pathogens as the culprit in the population’s instability. By 1997, all of the new wolves at the park that were tested for disease had at least one infection, including canine distemper, canine parvovirus and canine herpesvirus. Starting in 2007, wolves inside the park were testing positive for mange — an infection in which mites burrow under the skin causing insatiable scratching and so much hair loss that infected wolves often freeze to death in the winter.
A group of wolves known as Mollie’s pack was the first in Yellowstone to show signs of mange, in January 2007, but they recovered from the disease by March 2011. Meanwhile, another group, called the Druid pack — once one of the park’s most stable new packs — was decimated by the end of winter 2010 after showing signs of mange just half a year earlier, the researchers said.
“It was in a very short amount of time that the majority of the animals [in Druid] became severely infected,” Almberg said in a statement. “The majority of their hair was missing from their bodies and it hit them right in the middle of winter. The summer before it got really bad, we saw that many of the pups had mange.”
The Penn State researchers found that distance made a difference in the spread of the disease. For every six miles between a pack of mangy wolves and an uninfected pack, there was a 66 percent drop in risk of disease for the healthy pack, the researchers said. Thus the high wolf densities afforded by protection within Yellowstone may come at the cost of some population stability, the researchers wrote in their paper in the current issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
Mange was introduced into the Yellowstone ecosystem in 1905 in an attempt to accelerate wolf eradication during an era when wildlife officials tried to cut down predator populations. When the wolves were gone, the disease likely persisted among regional carnivores, like coyotes and foxes, the researchers said.
“Many invasive species flourish because they lack their native predators and pathogens, but in Yellowstone we restored a native predator to an ecosystem that had other canids (animals in the dog family) present that were capable of sustaining a lot of infections in their absence,” said Almberg. “It’s not terribly surprising that we were able to witness and confirm that there was a relatively short window in which the reintroduced wolves stayed disease-free.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services is looking for piece of equipment containing potentially dangerous radioactive material that was lost Tuesday by an oil and gas crew in a rural part of West Texas. The sealed radioactive source, a small stainless steel cylinder approximately 7 inches long and an inch across, contains Americium-241/Beryllium….The cylinder is stamped with the words “danger radioactive” and “do not handle” along with a radiation warning symbol. Anyone who sees it should stay at least 25 feet away and notify local law enforcement. This type of device is used to evaluate oil and gas wells and is usually stored in a protective shielding. A Halliburton crew was transporting it from a well outside of Pecos to another well south of Odessa. On arrival, the crew noticed the shielding was not locked and the device was missing. DSHS is assisting law enforcement with the search and investigating the loss of the radioactive material.
Czech police say they have discovered two possible sources of methanol poisoning that has killed at least 18 people. About 400 liters (106 gallons) of illegal alcohol was seized and two male suspects arrested in the northeastern part of the country where most victims lived. Around 500 bottles and several barrels of illicit booze have been found in a garage in the eastern city of Zlin on Thursday. Methanol tests still have to be conducted. Health Minister Leos Heger said Thursday a majority of alcohol samples taken elsewhere that have been tested so far contained dangerous levels of methanol that is mainly used for industrial purposes. About two dozen people are hospitalized, some in critical condition after drinking vodka and rum laced with methanol.
A platform elevator at a construction site in southern China has dropped 30 floors in a free fall, killing 19 workers. The accident happened Thursday in Wuhan city in Hubei province. A government notice posted by local Wuhan newspapers on their official microblogging sites says the elevator fell 100 meters (328 feet). It says the municipal government is halting all construction in Wuhan for security checks. Work safety is a big problem in China, where regulations are routinely ignored.
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Bambang Muryanto and Arya Dipa, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Bandung | Archipelago | Tue,
Mount Merapi, located in Yogyakarta, emitted high-pressure gas on Sunday afternoon that caused its crater wall to collapse and volcanic ash to fall on its western slope, as smoke billowed up to 1 kilometer into the sky.
As the gas discharge was not followed by other dangerous volcanic activity, the phenomenon was regarded as a small-scale volcanic eruption and the volcano’s alert status remained normal.
“Mount Merapi’s status remains normal because there was no dangerous volcanic activity,” said Volcanic Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTK) head Subandriyo on Monday.
According to Subandriyo, the incident was due to the accumulation of gas produced by the volcano’s magma. As the gas’ exit fumarole was too narrow, the volcano eventually released all the buildup of very high pressure gas by erupting, which caused the crater wall to collapse and this emitted a massive rumble.
“The incident can be called a small-scale ‘volcanic eruption’,” said Subandriyo.
In Bandung, West Java, Geological Disaster Mitigation and Volcanology Center head Surono said the collapse of the crater wall of Mount Merapi on Sunday was a natural process. The collapse was not due to an increase in volcanic activity of the most active volcano in Indonesia.
The lava dome collapsed because rocks and eruption material from the 2010 eruption were still not completely set and stable. “The force of gravity or the weight of the rocks has caused the crater wall to collapse,” Surono said in a text message on Monday.
The lava dome collapsed on Sunday at 6:02 p.m. local time. According to Surono, officers at the Babadan observation post, located more than 5 kilometers from the mountain park, heard a rumbling sound which was a result of the collapse.
They also observed smoke billowing at a height of 1,000 meters above the peak, slanting westward. Surono added that a slight ash cloud occurred, followed by the smell of sulfur. “Based on a report, a rain of ash took place in Jurang Jero and Srumbung. The smoke was not emitted from an eruption, but rather by the collapsed crater dome,” Surono said.
Surono urged residents living around the volcano to remain calm and not panic due to unclear rumors. “Information on volcanic activity can be obtained from the Yogyakarta BPPTK,” added Surono.
Subandriyo said the amount of gas pressure was unclear, as his office was unable to conduct the measurements. The crater emitted thick smoke mixed with gas and ash and rose up to 1 kilometer. Its shape resembled a pyroclastic flow.
According to Subandriyo, the phenomenon was the first after it erupted in 2010. “The volcanic magma is currently rich with gas. This did not occur before the 2010 eruption,” he said. He added that in the past month, the crater dome of the 2,800-meter tall volcano often collapsed because the structure of the dome was not yet stable and due to the drought.
He also called on residents living along the slope of the mountain to remain calm because the status remained remains normal. However, he has advised trekkers not to approach the peak as it was quite dangerous. “Climbers should only hike up to Pasar Bubrah,” said Subandriyo. Pasar Bubrah is located around 400 meters from the peak.
Yoto, a resident in Jengglik hamlet, Ngablak district, Magelang, Central Java, who was at the western slope of Mount Merapi, said he heard a loud rumble coming from the peak of the mountain on Sunday afternoon. “I heard the rumble at around 6 p.m.” he said.
According to him, the gas emission led to ash rain which lightly covered Purwosari hamlet, Ngablak village.
Jamin, head of Kali Tengah Kidul hamlet, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, located around 4 kilometers from the peak, said he also heard the rumble on Sunday afternoon.
However, the incident did not cause residents to evacuate due to the ash rain. “I heard the rumble, but residents remained calm. We are used to hearing these rumbles,” said Jamin.
Mount Merapi, located in Yogyakarta, emitted high-pressure gas on Sunday afternoon that caused its crater wall to collapse and volcanic ash to fall on its western slope, as smoke billowed up to 1 kilometer into the sky. As the gas discharge was not followed by other dangerous volcanic activity, the phenomenon was regarded as a small-scale volcanic eruption and the volcano’s alert status remained normal. “Mount Merapi’s status remains normal because there was no dangerous volcanic activity,” said Volcanic Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTK) head Subandriyo on Monday. According to Subandriyo, the incident was due to the accumulation of gas produced by the volcano’s magma. As the gas’ exit fumarole was too narrow, the volcano eventually released all the buildup of very high pressure gas by erupting, which caused the crater wall to collapse and this emitted a massive rumble. “The incident can be called a small-scale ‘volcanic eruption’,” said Subandriyo. In Bandung, West Java, Geological Disaster Mitigation and Volcanology Center head Surono said the collapse of the crater wall of Mount Merapi on Sunday was a natural process. The collapse was not due to an increase in volcanic activity of the most active volcano in Indonesia.
The lava dome collapsed because rocks and eruption material from the 2010 eruption were still not completely set and stable. “The force of gravity or the weight of the rocks has caused the crater wall to collapse,” Surono said in a text message on Monday. The lava dome collapsed on Sunday at 6:02 p.m. local time. According to Surono, officers at the Babadan observation post, located more than 5 kilometers from the mountain park, heard a rumbling sound which was a result of the collapse. They also observed smoke billowing at a height of 1,000 meters above the peak, slanting westward. Surono added that a slight ash cloud occurred, followed by the smell of sulfur. “Based on a report, a rain of ash took place in Jurang Jero and Srumbung. The smoke was not emitted from an eruption, but rather by the collapsed crater dome,” Surono said. Surono urged residents living around the volcano to remain calm and not panic due to unclear rumors. “Information on volcanic activity can be obtained from the Yogyakarta BPPTK,” added Surono. Subandriyo said the amount of gas pressure was unclear, as his office was unable to conduct the measurements. The crater emitted thick smoke mixed with gas and ash and rose up to 1 kilometer. Its shape resembled a pyroclastic flow. According to Subandriyo, the phenomenon was the first after it erupted in 2010. “The volcanic magma is currently rich with gas. This did not occur before the 2010 eruption,” he said. He added that in the past month, the crater dome of the 2,800-meter tall volcano often collapsed because the structure of the dome was not yet stable and due to the drought.
He also called on residents living along the slope of the mountain to remain calm because the status remained remains normal. However, he has advised trekkers not to approach the peak as it was quite dangerous. “Climbers should only hike up to Pasar Bubrah,” said Subandriyo. Pasar Bubrah is located around 400 meters from the peak. Yoto, a resident in Jengglik hamlet, Ngablak district, Magelang, Central Java, who was at the western slope of Mount Merapi, said he heard a loud rumble coming from the peak of the mountain on Sunday afternoon. “I heard the rumble at around 6 p.m.” he said. According to him, the gas emission led to ash rain which lightly covered Purwosari hamlet, Ngablak village. Jamin, head of Kali Tengah Kidul hamlet, Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, located around 4 kilometers from the peak, said he also heard the rumble on Sunday afternoon. However, the incident did not cause residents to evacuate due to the ash rain. “I heard the rumble, but residents remained calm. We are used to hearing these rumbles,” said Jamin.
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Greece’s hottest day this year is forcing authorities to shut down the Athens Acropolis six hours before schedule in the interests of visitor health, the site’s guards said on Monday.
The country’s top monument was to shut down at 1100 GMT instead of its normal 1700 GMT closing time, a guard told AFP.
The ancient citadel is perched on a rocky plateau rising amid a sea of concrete in the Greek capital of over four million, offering precious little shade to thousands of tourists who visit it daily.
Temperatures in Athens were set to exceed 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) at the close of this year’s hottest week that earlier forced authorities to make air-conditioned halls available to the public.
The environment ministry said air pollution was also above warning levels in various parts of the capital as it warned people with respiratory problems and heart trouble to stay indoors.
Looking for relief from the heat over much of the Lower 48 states? Head to coastal Alaska where they are experiencing the coldest first half of July on record!
Through the first 14 days of July, the average temperature in Anchorage was 53.1 degrees factoring in daily highs and lows, which makes it the coldest first half of the month on record according to the National Weather Service in Anchorage.
Should this temperature trend continue, it could threaten the record for the coldest July ever, which occurred in 1920 and had an average temperature of 54.4 degrees.
Typically this stretch of time is the warmest of the year. Instead, temperatures in the city of Anchorage are running 5.3 degrees below average.
Somedays have even turned out colder than cities on the Arctic Coast such as Barrow. On July 12th, the high temperature topped out at 54 degrees in Anchorage, while temperatures soared to 62 in Barrow (a whooping 15 degrees above average.)
Not only has it been cool, but residents of the Alaska city haven’t seen much sunlight due to overcast skies and a persistent flow off the ocean. Rainfall through the first 14 days is running slightly above normal at 120 percent. But the clouds and cool temperatures have been the bigger story.
The reason for the cool weather along the coast has been due to jet stream position. Normally it will fluctuate northward sending storms into western Alaska and allowing ridging to build over the southern and central part of the state at times.
Well this summer it’s been consistently farther south sending storm after storm into the Gulf of Alaska, keeping a cool southeast flow of air aimed on the southern coast.
While heavy rain isn’t common with this kind of a storm track, the flow will keep clouds and cool temperatures in the offing as long as it persists.
Anchorage hasn’t been the only southern city feeling the chill. Homer, Alaska is running 5 degrees below normal for the month thus far while Palmer is running 3.8 degrees below average.
Residents of Anchorage and the southern coast shouldn’t expect any big warm ups anytime soon as this pattern of storms moving into the Gulf of Alaska looks to persist at least through next weekend.
Since early June, the Midwest and parts of the northern and central Plains have faced a devastating drought. The lack of substantial rainfall has had severe effects on corn production and has resulted in desertlike conditions for some areas. Paired with the recent heat wave, the situation has become a disaster for corn growers and has significantly driven down yields in the United States for 2012.
Some parts of the nation are better off than others when compared to a week ago, in terms of dryness and drought. However, some areas, including part of the corn belt, have gotten worse.
Waves of downpours have greatly eased the drought in portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia in recent weeks, while dry conditions have gotten worse in parts of the corn belt.
Even though the recent heat wave has ended, weeks of drought and days of 100-degree temperatures have already taken a toll on this year’s corn crop in a large part of the Midwestern United States.
Spotty downpours will grace northern and eastern areas of the corn belt into August, but not enough rain will fall on a large part of the corn belt, leading to a disaster.
A 640-acre wildfire on California’s Central Coast has forced evacuations of about 50 homes in rural San Luis Obispo County. State fire spokeswoman Tina Rose says the fire covering about one square mile was burning Monday in grass, brush and oak woodlands, forcing the evacuation of homes on Parkhill Road near Highway 58 about five miles east of the town of Santa Margarita, where an elementary school has been opened as a shelter. The evacuation order will remain in effect overnight. More than 200 firefighters are battling the blaze with help from six aircraft. It was 20 percent contained. Firefighters are being challenged by the fire’s location in very rough terrain. Wind gusts up to 21 mph are being reported in the area and temperatures were in the mid-70s.
A surfer struggles to keep upright on a large, rough wave off the Southern California shore at El Segundo Beach in El Segundo, Calif., Friday, Dec. 15. 2006. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
While Fabio should weaken as it heads northward in the eastern Pacific, Southern California will feel some impacts.
Fabio will encounter cooler Pacific water and stronger wind shear, causing the system to weaken into a remnant area of low pressure by Wednesday.
However, rough surf, increased clouds and spotty showers are in store for Southern California Wednesday night and Thursday as the remnants of Fabio move into Southern California or the northern part of Baja California.
Large swells up to 4-6 feet will be stirred by the remnants of Fabio.
Showers will be more likely in Southern California on Wednesday night, especially in the higher elevations. Flash flooding could be a concern in the Southern California mountains if any heavier downpours develop.
Clouds will increase with some spotty showers farther north across central California on Thursday.
17.07.2012
Tornado
Poland
Greater Poland Voivodeship, [Region of Pomerania (Tuchola Forest area)]
A freak wave of tornadoes ripped through northern Poland on Sunday, wrecking houses and swathes of forest and leaving one person dead and another 10 injured. Tornadoes are not unknown in the European Union’s largest eastern country but the scope and power of Sunday’s twisters was unusual and comes in a summer already marked by flash floods, hailstorms and gales. Some 1,200 rescuers were working to remove fallen trees, unblock roads and restore utilities in the hardest hit Baltic region of Pomerania. Trees were uprooted, buildings damaged and power lines downed, while some 550 hectares of woodlands in the Tuchola Forest area were flattened. “I saw a black column coming our way,” an injured inhabitant of the Wycinki village, whose farm was destroyed by the tornado told state television. “It carried everything away with it … birds, debris, sucked up water from the lake.” A caravan with a family of three inside was seen flying through the air in the village of Stara Rzeka and breaking into pieces upon landing, but its occupants suffered no serious injuries. “The sole fatality was a 60-year-old man in the Pomeranian village of Wycinki who was crushed to death by his collapsing summer cottage,” fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told Reuters by telephone. The tornadoes were the latest outburst of violent weather that has battered Poland since the start of the month with hailstorms, gales, cloudbursts and flash floods. Meteorologists categorising the twister as a class two tornado with wind velocity of up to 200 km/h.
Flooding and landslides caused by record torrential rain on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu have killed six people and left 20 missing. Rescue workers had been unable to reach some of the areas where people were believed to be buried under landslides, television reports said on Thursday. Authorities in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto ordered about 48,000 residents to flee the city. Blackouts hit about 10,000 households in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the Kyushu Electric Power Company reported. Railway services and motor traffic were suspended, Kyodo said, while some bullet train services were temporarily halted in the island’s north and centre. The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall in some parts of the island had reached levels that have “never been experienced”. It said hourly rainfall in the morning topped 120mm in Aso and reached 120mm in Ubuyama. The agency warned of more heavy rain and landslides in northern parts of Kyushu before the downpours move north to the main island of Honshu later on Thursday.
17.07.2012
Flash Flood
India
State of North Bengal, [Area of Teesta, Jaldhaka and Torsa river basins]
Flash floods hit North Bengal with three main rivers – Teesta, Jaldhaka and Torsha – flowing over the danger levels at several places and displacing nearly 2,000 people from their homes. State Irrigation Minister Manas Bhunia on Monday visited North Bengal to take stock of the situation. “Heavy rainfall in parts of North Bengal pose a serious threat to river embankments. The rivers with its origin in Bhutan have not been maintained properly in the past resulting in a rise in their river bed. The work to repair breached embankments has started,” Bhunia said. He will visit Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday where uninterrupted rainfall has played havoc. Bhunia said he has informed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the situation over the phone. “Cooked food and tarpaulins have been distributed among those displaced,” he added. In the last three days, Jalpaiguri district has received 40mm, 102 mm and 81 mm rainfall, respectively, said disaster management department. During the same period, Darjeeling recorded 248 mm rainfall. Cooch Behar, too, has recorded heavy downpour in the last three days. The areas severely affected by rainfall include Nagrakata, Domohani, Fulbari, Hasimara. The administration is suspecting landslides.
Flood-battered Japan warily eyes typhoon
Fears it could heap further misery
AFP
Ukiha: Flood-battered southwestern Japan on Tuesday braced for a typhoon amid fears it could heap further misery on an area where at least 32 are dead or missing after record rainfall.
Typhoon Khanun was lashing the Amami island chain south of Kyushu where four days of torrential rain have sparked landslides and flooding, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Khanun – “jack fruit” in Thai – packing winds of up to 126 kilometres (78 miles) per hour, was moving west-northwest at 30 kilometres per hour and was expected to graze the west of Kyushu island through Wednesday afternoon, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Tuesday brought a lull in the rainfall for most of the region as the weather agency said there was up to 9.2 centimetres (3.6 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to 4.20pm (0720 GMT) in the north of Kyushu.
In hard-hit Minamiaso in Kumamoto prefecture, more than 670 people remained unable to return to their homes on Tuesday afternoon because of landslide fears.
“We started reconstruction work on damaged roads yesterday, but workers have been forced to step aside repeatedly by occasional rains,” said local official Hideki Kuraoka.
“Even a small amount of rain could trigger mudslides and more downpours are expected this afternoon. We remain on high alert,” he said.
Kuraoka said even though forecasters did not expect a direct hit from the typhoon, it was still a worry.
“We cannot know what damage will be caused by the typhoon,” he said. “We are being extremely vigilant about it.”
Most of the 400,000 people who were ordered or advised to leave their homes were allowed to return after authorities began lifting evacuation orders on Sunday.
Roads in Aso city remained flooded and inaccessible.
Troops who were called in to help over the weekend on Tuesday continued their search for three people officially recorded as missing.
They recovered a man’s body from a ditch in Aso on Tuesday, raising the total death toll from landslides and floods across the affected area to 29.
“The body belongs to a man, 55, who was one of the missing people,” said a Kumamoto official.
Aso, which sits at the foot of a volcano, has seen more than 80 centimetres of rain over the last few days, triggering huge mudslides that swamped whole communities and killed at least 21 people in the city alone.
An AFP photographer who visited the city said some people who had been evacuated from their homes were seeking shelter in municipal buildings.
In scenes reminiscent of last year’s devastating tsunami, families sat on mats on wooden floors, or gathered around televisions to watch the latest forecasts.
Other parts of Japan were dealing with soaring temperatures as the first really hot days of the sometimes punishing Japanese summer took hold.
The weather agency said temperatures of 39.2 degrees Celsius (102.6 Fahrenheit) were recorded in Tatebayashi, north of Tokyo, and 37.5 degrees Celsius in Hachioji, a city in western Tokyo.
On Monday, a man in his 80s died in central Niigata prefecture apparently from heat stroke, while nearly 700 people were taken to hospital due to heat exhaustion, local media said.
With the vast bulk of Japan’s nuclear power stations offline in the aftermath of the tsunami-sparked Fukushima disaster, the country is being urged to cut down on electricity usage and the excessive use of air conditioners is being discouraged.
Dorset landslide: Two bodies found in car hit by tunnel entrance collapse near Dorchester
The numbers on Cuba’s cholera outbreak continued to grow over the weekend, with officials reporting 12 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 170, and eight new suspected cases in the southeastern province of Granma. Cuba’s Public Health Ministry, in a statement published in the official news media on Saturday morning, declared that the outbreak was “decreasing” with 158 confirmed cases and three deaths confirmed. But the numbers provided by lead Granma province epidemiologist Ana Maria Batista during her appearance Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings on provincial television showed increases in all the categories. “The numbers show it is growing,” said Santiago Marquez, a physician in the Granma city of Manzanillo who has watched Batista’s nightly reports for more than a week and provided the details to independent journalists in Cuba and El Nuevo Herald. Batista reported 158 confirmed cholera cases in the province on Friday, 163 on Saturday – though her town-by-town breakdown added up to 164 — and six additional cases on Sunday for a total of 170, Marquez said.
She noted on Sunday that eight new cases of suspected cholera had been reported, and that 27 people were hospitalized on Saturday alone with diarrhea and vomiting, the key symptoms of the disease, according to the physician. More general cases of diarrhea and vomiting, which spike every summer with the rains and heat, rose from 5,680 in her Saturday report to 6,002 in her Sunday appearance, Marquez reported. About 97 percent of those already have recovered, she added. The number of Granma’s 13 municipalities where cholera has been reported rose from seven to nine, Batista noted. Appearing with Batista on provincial television Sunday, Deputy Director of Provincial Transportation José Mendoza González again advised residents to put off unnecessary travel in order to avoid spreading the disease. Cuban officials have repeatedly assured since early July that the cholera outbreak was under control and that the rising number of confirmed cases was because laboratories need a week or more to confirm a diagnosis of cholera. Dissidents and independent journalists have alleged that the cholera death toll stands at five to 15 but that the government has confirmed only three to avoid scaring tourists, one of the country’s main sources of hard currency. They have also reported cholera cases in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and other parts of the island.
The Health Ministry announcement published Saturday confirmed a few cases had been reported outside of Granma, but noted that all were people who had been in the province. It was not clear if the 158 cases it reported referred to all the island, or Granma province alone. Batista has made it clear her numbers are for the province only. The ministry announcement was only the national government’s second comment on the epidemic since July 3, when it confirmed three deaths and 53 cases caused by the bacteria Vibrio Cholerae but did not use the word cholera. Saturday’s statement did use the word.
This satellite image from Monday shows an iceberg, top center, breaking off from the Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland.
OurAmazingPlanet
A massive iceberg larger than Manhattan has broken away from the floating end of a Greenland glacier this week, an event scientists predicted last autumn.
The giant ice island is 46 square miles, and separated from the terminus of the Petermann Glacier, one of Greenland’s largest.
The Petermann Glacier last birthed — or “calved” — a massive iceberg two years ago, in August 2010. The iceberg that broke off and floated away was nearly four times the size of Manhattan, and one of the largest ever recorded in Greenland.
Although the new iceberg isn’t as colossal as its 2010 predecessor, its birth has moved the front end of the massive glacier farther inland than it has been in 150 years, Andreas Muenchow, an associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware, said in a statement.
Jason Box, a scientist with Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar Research Center, has also been monitoring the Petermann Glacier and in September 2011 he told OurAmazingPlanet that a growing crack likely would sever the glacier once warmer weather took hold during the summer months.
“We can see the crack widening in the past year through satellite pictures, so it seems imminent,” Box said at the time.
Muenchow said that the newest ice island broke away on Monday morning (July 16).
Although iceberg birth is a natural, cyclical process, when the process speeds up, there are consequences.
The floating ends of glaciers, known as ice shelves, act as doorstops. When these ice shelves suddenly splinter and weaken or even collapse entirely, as has been observed in Antarctica, the glaciers that feed them speed up, dumping more ice into the ocean and raising global sea levels.
“The Greenland ice sheet as a whole is shrinking, melting and reducing in size as the result of globally changing air and ocean temperatures and associated changes in circulation patterns in both the ocean and atmosphere,” Muenchow said.
NASA has released still images of a red sprite which Expedition 31 Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured April 30, 2012:
“‘Red sprites are short-lived, red flashes that occur about 80 kilometers (50 miles) up in the atmosphere. With long, vertical tendrils like a jellyfish, these electrical discharges can extend 20 to 30 kilometers up into the atmosphere and are connected to thunderstorms and lightning.”
These images of a red sprite were captured with a digital camera by Expedition 31 astronauts on the International Space Station as they traveled southeast from central Myanmar (Burma) to just north of Malaysia. The still images are part of a time-lapse movie collected from 13:41 to 13:47 Universal Time on April 30, 2012. View the footage here.
The sprite occurs about 6 seconds into the video, above a bright, wide lightning flash in the upper right quadrant.
Red sprites are difficult to observe because they last for just a few milliseconds and occur above thunderstorms-meaning they are usually blocked from view on the ground by the very clouds that produce them. They send pulses of electrical energy up toward the edge of space-the electrically charged layer known as the ionosphere-instead of down to Earth’s surface. They are rich with radio noise, and can sometimes occur in bunches.
For decades, pilots reported seeing ephemeral flashes above storms, but it was not until the 1990s that scientists were able to verify the existence of these electrical discharges. A sprite was first photographed by accident from an airplane in 1989, and observers on the space shuttle captured several more images with low-light cameras in 1990 and in subsequent missions. Viewers on the ground can occasionally photograph sprites by looking out on a thunderstorm in the distance, often looking out from high mountainsides over storms in lower plains.”
Dozens of pet birds smuggled from southern China into Taiwan tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus and were destroyed, Taiwanese authorities said Tuesday. The smuggler bought the 38 birds in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and was caught at the Taoyuan international airport in northern Taiwan when he returned via Macau earlier this month, said the Centers for Disease Control. The birds later tested positive for the H5N1 virus and were killed, it said, adding that nine people who had contact with the birds had not shown any flu symptoms during a ten-day screening. Taiwan has no recorded cases of the deadly H5N1 strain, although in 2005 health authorities said eight pet birds smuggled from China tested positive for the strain and destroyed. The island has reported several outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu, a less virulent strain of the virus, in recent years. China is considered one of the nations most at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world’s biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans.
Biohazard name:
H5N1 – Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
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
17.07.2012
Biological Hazard
USA
State of California, [Leucadia and Encinitas, Encinitas beaches]
San Diego County area lifeguards reported a surge in the number of beachgoers stung by jellyfish on Sunday. One-hundred thirty people were stung at six beaches in Leucadia and Encinitas, Encinitas lifeguards said, while state lifeguards reported that 30 people were stung at Torrey Pines State Beach. Jellyfish follow plankton, their main source of food, as they move closer to shore during the summer, said Fernando Nosratpour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As they get closer to beaches, strong currents from along the coast push the fragile jellyfish to shore and break them up into little pieces. The most common types of jellyfish found around San Diego are the moon and the purple-striped jellyfish, Nosratpour said. The moon jellyfish is about 10 inches long and has short tentacles, while the purple-striped jellyfish is about 12 inches long and has long, thick tentacles, he said. Even after breaking up and dying, the purple-striped jellyfish’s tentacles can sting people, Nosratpour said. The moon jellyfish’s sting cells do not work after the jellyfish dies. Jellyfish generally do not attack people. People usually get stung when they rub up against them in the water or touch them once they’ve washed up on the beach. A small rash will appear where the sting occurred. Lifeguards recommend that people keep on eye out for jellyfish pieces in the water and sand. Sting rashes can be treated with diluted vinegar and usually disappear in an hour, although some people may have stronger reactions. Fresh water and sand can aggravate the rash. No one was hospitalized.
Biohazard name:
Jellyfish invasion
Biohazard level:
0/4 —
Biohazard desc.:
This does not included biological hazard category.
Eight firefighters along with two others were transported to the hospital for evaluation after a hazardous material fire south of Canyon Monday evening. According to the Canyon Fire Department, firefighters arrived to the fire at about 7 p.m., Monday and discovered there was a hazardous material involved. The Amarillo Hazmat Team, Amarillo/Potter/Randall EOC and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality all responded to help ensure the hazardous materials stayed inside the fire scene. Fire officials said the 10 people were transported to the hospital only as a precaution. There was no risk to the general public and the scene has now been neutralized. All 10 people taken to the hospital are fine, officials said.
Four people have been taken to hospital after being exposed to a chemical leak at the Port of Brisbane. The four wharf workers were treated by ambulance paramedics at the Patrick Container Terminal on Port Drive for headaches and nausea after being overcome by chemical fumes about 6am. They were taken to hospital for precautionary reasons only. A 150-metre exclusion zone has been established around 10 containers understood to have been unloaded from a Chinese vessel. It is understood six containers have been tested and cleared, but firefighters are assessing four more containers. ‘‘Firefighters in breathing apparatus are also conducting atmospheric testing in the area,’’ a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said. Business and traffic at the Port of Brisbane has been largely unaffected.
Search teams pulled the bodies of 10 people from the rubble of four buildings that collapsed yesterday in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria, as efforts to find other missing people continues, the official Middle East News Agency reported today citing a health official. Five casualties found so far by Civil Defense forces were hospitalized with injuries ranging from fractures to bruises and suffocation, Ahmed Al-Ansari, chairman of Egypt’s Ambulance, said according to the news service. An 11-story building collapsed yesterday afternoon, toppling three adjacent properties.
Sinister clouds hang low over Virginia as tens of thousands lose power in destructive thunderstorms
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GEOFON Sicily, Italy
Mar 28 23:17 PM
4.1 230.0 MAP
EMSC Sicily, Italy
Mar 28 23:17 PM
4.0 243.0 MAP
EMSC South Of Java, Indonesia
Mar 28 23:09 PM
4.8 56.0 MAP
USGS South Of Java, Indonesia
Mar 28 23:09 PM
4.8 51.3 MAP
GEOFON South Of Java, Indonesia
Mar 28 23:09 PM
5.0 10.0 MAP
EMSC Oaxaca, Mexico
Mar 28 22:33 PM
4.5 10.0 MAP
USGS Oaxaca, Mexico
Mar 28 22:33 PM
4.5 10.0 MAP
EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 28 21:55 PM
3.0 5.0 MAP
USGS Mona Passage, Puerto Rico
Mar 28 21:49 PM
2.5 15.5 MAP
GEONET Canterbury
Mar 28 21:40 PM
3.6 8.0 MAP
GEOFON Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 21:37 PM
4.5 82.0 MAP
EMSC Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 21:37 PM
4.6 100.0 MAP
USGS Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 21:37 PM
4.6 95.2 MAP
EMSC Crete, Greece
Mar 28 20:58 PM
3.4 20.0 MAP
EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 28 20:41 PM
4.6 2.0 MAP
EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 28 20:22 PM
2.5 4.0 MAP
USGS Dominican Republic Region
Mar 28 20:12 PM
3.5 43.0 MAP
EMSC Greece
Mar 28 19:47 PM
3.7 2.0 MAP
USGS Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Mar 28 17:42 PM
4.2 2.5 MAP
EMSC Spain
Mar 28 17:22 PM
3.3 30.0 MAP
EMSC Sweden
Mar 28 17:01 PM
2.4 1.0 MAP
USGS Kodiak Island Region, Alaska
Mar 28 14:50 PM
2.6 39.7 MAP
EMSC Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 13:45 PM
4.6 60.0 MAP
USGS Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 13:45 PM
4.6 64.2 MAP
GEOFON Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 13:45 PM
4.5 51.0 MAP
EMSC Czech Republic
Mar 28 13:41 PM
2.8 10.0 MAP
EMSC Sumbawa Region, Indonesia
Mar 28 13:07 PM
4.6 92.0 MAP
USGS Sumbawa Region, Indonesia
Mar 28 13:07 PM
4.4 79.4 MAP
GEOFON Sumbawa Region, Indonesia
Mar 28 13:07 PM
4.8 10.0 MAP
EMSC Kyrgyzstan
Mar 28 12:54 PM
3.8 3.0 MAP
GEOFON Fiji Islands Region
Mar 28 12:49 PM
4.5 591.0 MAP
EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 28 11:46 AM
3.0 9.0 MAP
USGS Unimak Island Region, Alaska
Mar 28 11:43 AM
2.6 41.6 MAP
USGS Baja California, Mexico
Mar 28 11:19 AM
2.9 12.3 MAP
USGS Southern California
Mar 28 10:09 AM
3.3 5.5 MAP
EMSC Turkey-syria-iraq Border Region
Mar 28 09:56 AM
2.5 9.0 MAP
USGS Virgin Islands Region
Mar 28 09:54 AM
3.4 32.2 MAP
EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 28 09:51 AM
2.5 3.0 MAP
EMSC Dodecanese Islands, Greece
Mar 28 09:11 AM
2.7 1.0 MAP
EMSC Dodecanese Islands, Greece
Mar 28 08:55 AM
3.4 20.0 MAP
GEOFON Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 08:54 AM
5.2 30.0 MAP
USGS Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 08:54 AM
5.2 20.2 MAP
EMSC Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
Mar 28 08:54 AM
5.2 10.0 MAP
GEOFON Pacific Antarctic Ridge
Mar 28 08:25 AM
5.5 10.0 MAP
GEONET Manawatu
Mar 28 07:59 AM
3.6 15.0 MAP
EMSC Armenia
Mar 28 07:43 AM
2.9 2.0 MAP
EMSC Crete, Greece
Mar 28 06:06 AM
2.4 1.0 MAP
USGS Off The Coast Of Oregon
Mar 28 05:42 AM
4.4 10.1 MAP
GEOFON Off Coast Of Oregon
Mar 28 05:42 AM
4.4 10.0 MAP
EMSC Off Coast Of Oregon
Mar 28 05:42 AM
4.6 10.0 MAP
EMSC Oaxaca, Mexico
Mar 28 05:39 AM
4.5 9.0 MAP
USGS Oaxaca, Mexico
Mar 28 05:39 AM
4.5 9.4 MAP
USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 28 05:14 AM
4.4 34.4 MAP
EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 28 05:14 AM
4.6 20.0 MAP
GEOFON Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 28 05:13 AM
4.5 10.0 MAP
EMSC Western Turkey
Mar 28 04:58 AM
2.8 12.0 MAP
EMSC Iran-iraq Border Region
Mar 28 04:50 AM
3.7 10.0 MAP
USGS Northern Alaska
Mar 28 04:15 AM
2.8 7.9 MAP
GEONET Bay Of Plenty
Mar 28 03:25 AM
3.3 5.0 MAP
EMSC Pakistan
Mar 28 03:19 AM
4.5 48.0 MAP
GEOFON Pakistan
Mar 28 03:19 AM
4.6 10.0 MAP
USGS Pakistan
Mar 28 03:19 AM
4.5 3.7 MAP
EMSC Crete, Greece
Mar 28 03:15 AM
2.5 1.0 MAP
USGS Baja California, Mexico
Mar 28 02:07 AM
3.1 5.3 MAP
EMSC Eastern Turkey
Mar 28 02:02 AM
2.4 9.0 MAP
EMSC Poland
Mar 28 01:51 AM
2.6 2.0 MAP
EMSC Near The Coast Of Western Turkey
Mar 28 01:46 AM
2.6 8.0 MAP
USGS Off The East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 28 01:27 AM
4.7 20.5 MAP
EMSC Off East Coast Of Honshu, Japan
Mar 28 01:27 AM
4.7 10.0 MAP
EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 28 01:20 AM
2.4 13.0 MAP
USGS Puerto Rico Region
Mar 28 01:16 AM
2.6 64.6 MAP
USGS Central California
Mar 28 00:30 AM
2.9 3.6 MAP
EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 28 00:20 AM
3.2 14.0 MAP
GEOFON Kermadec Islands Region
Mar 28 00:15 AM
4.9 33.0 MAP
EMSC Volcano Islands, Japan Region
Mar 28 00:13 AM
4.8 91.0 MAP
USGS Volcano Islands, Japan Region
Mar 28 00:13 AM
4.6 89.1 MAP
EMSC Aegean Sea
Mar 28 00:09 AM
2.8 8.0 MAP
Moderate quake hits Indonesia’s East Java
JAKARTA, (Xinhua) – A moderate earthquake measuring 5.1 in the Richter scale hit Indonesia’s East Java province at 06:09 local time on Thursday (2309 GMT on Wednesday), the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said here.
The tremor was centered at 129 kilometers southwest Jember city and at depth of 15 kilometers under seabed.
The alert level for a remote Alaska volcano has been raised again after scientists found another lava dome has formed in the crater in the last week.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Wednesday increased the level for Cleveland Volcano, a 5,675-foot peak on uninhabited Chuginadak Island about 940 miles southwest of Anchorage.
The status was raised earlier this year when the center detected two small, likely ash-poor eruptions through March 13, but lowered the alert level last week after 10 days of inactivity.
Scientists can’t actively monitor the volcano because there is no real-time seismic monitoring network on the volcano in the Aleutian Islands.
Authorities say sudden eruptions could occur at any time, and ash clouds 20,000 feet above sea level are possible.
Lava dome grows inside Anak Krakatau volcano – rattled by 438 quakes
INDONESIA – An active lava dome is growing inside the summit crater of Krakatau volcano. Our tour expedition leader Andi just returned from a visit and reports that the dome is now about 100 m wide, and has 2 main active vents that eject jets of incandescent gas. At night, the glow from the dome is clearly visible from Rakata and Sertung islands, and a continuous intense solfatara plume is rising about 500 m above the summit…..
nuclear reactor has fatally high radiation, no water –Tuesday’s examination with an industrial endoscope detected radiation levels up to 10 times the fatal dose inside the chamber. 27 Mar 2012 One of Japan’s crippled nuclear reactors still has fatally high radiation levels and hardly any water to cool the No. 2 reactor, according to an internal examination Tuesday that renews doubts about the plant’s stability. Plant officials previously said more than half of melted fuel has breached the core and dropped to the floor of the primary containment vessel, some of it splashing against the wall or the floor. Particles from melted fuel have probably sent radiation levels up to dangerously high 70 sieverts per hour inside the container, said Junichi Matsumoto, spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co……
Fukushima Pref. deleted 5 days of radiation dispersion data just after meltdowns
The Fukushima Prefectural Government revealed on March 21 that it deleted five days of early radiation dispersion data almost entirely unread in the wake of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The data from the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI) – intended to predict the spread of radioactive contamination, information vital for issuing evacuation advisories – was emailed to the prefectural government by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The Nuclear Safety Technology Center sent the data hourly starting at 11:54 p.m. on March 12, 2011 – one day into the nuclear crisis. The Fukushima Prefectural Government, however, deleted all the data it received from March 12 to about 9 a.m. March 16……
Feds:San Onofre nuclear plant can’t reopen until problems fixed
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, citing serious concerns about equipment failures at the San Onofre nuclear plant, on Tuesday prohibited plant operator Southern California Edison from restarting the plant until the problems are thoroughly understood [?!?] and fixed. The plant has already been shut down for two months, the longest in San Onofre’s history, after a tube leak in one of the plant’s steam generators released a small amount of radioactive steam. Neither regulators nor Edison have said when they believe the plant will reopen. Since then, unusual wear has been found on hundreds of tubes…..
A tropical storm could hit New Zealand next week, a forecaster says.
Weatherwatch.co.nz said a tropical low forming 2000km north of New Zealand is set to track towards the North Island.
Head weather analyst Philip Duncan said the storm could strengthen into a tropical cyclone before its predicted arrival in New Zealand as early as Tuesday next week.
Before sunrise on March 27th, sky watchers up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States witnessed a strange apparition. A quintet of milky-white plumes appeared in the night sky, twisting in the winds at the edge of space. “It was pretty unreal and very exciting to see,” says eye-witness Jack Fusco, who sends this picture from Seaside Park in New Jersey:
An amazing sky show created by the rapid-fire launch of five rockets from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. It was an experiment named “ATREX” to study turbulent winds in the transition zone between Earth’s atmosphere and space….
Clintonville booms quiet down, frustrations remain
Residents still left wondering
by: Bill Miston
CLINTONVILLE – One week after noises and vibrations started waking and shaking residents in the small Waupaca County city, Clintonville experienced a fairly quiet Saturday night and Sunday morning with only three reports to police.
While there is an official cause on the books, (the United States Geological Service concluded Thursday a 1.5 magnitude earthquake shook the town shortly after 5 am Tuesday) some residents like Joanne Christiansen say rampant speculation is not helping bring normalcy back to their town.
“Everybody’s acting either like it’s a hoax,” said Christiansen, who moved back to Clintonville in October. “Or the people that are already here – that know that it happened – they have no idea. They’re very confused.”….
One-Third of U.S. Bird Species Endangered, Survey Finds
Habitat destruction, pollution and other problems have left nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species endangered, threatened or in serious decline, according to a study issued on Thursday. Described as the most comprehensive survey of American bird life, the report, “The U.S. State of the Birds,” analyzed changes in the bird population over the last 40 years. Citing surveys by government agencies, conservation organizations and citizen volunteers, the report said that the population of grassland birds had declined by 40 percent and birds in arid lands by 30 percent. It estimated that 39 percent of bird species that depend on American coastal waters were in decline.
The Hill: Republican bill would enroll seniors in same health plans as lawmakers
By Julian Pecquet
A group of Senate Republicans has introduced legislation that would end traditional Medicare and sign seniors up for the same private healthcare plans received by members of Congress.
Washington elites queue up to see nine justices on hot seat
By Janet Adamy and Jess Bravin
The hottest ticket in the capital is for a spot inside the Supreme Court to watch three days of arguments challenging the 2010 health-care law that begin here a week from Monday.
Well, now the news is that in Chicago the police will continue to
enforce, arrest, and prosecute citizens under this law as long as
it remains on the books.
Coming to Chicago in May is an upcoming NATO summit and it is
expected to bring with it huge numbers felonious camera carrying
members of the public, and you can bet the police will have their
own cameras trained on them.
Supreme Court rules out television cameras for healthcare arguments
By Sam Baker
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected calls to allow television cameras into its chambers during arguments over President Obama’s healthcare law.??
The court said it would release same-day audio recordings of the arguments, scheduled for March 26-28. It cited the “extraordinary public interest” in the case, which could lead to President Obama’s signature domestic achievement being struck down in the midst of the campaign season.
GOP Super PAC Men Seek to Overturn Donation Limits
Michael Beckel, News Report:
McCutcheon is a 44-year-old general contractor in Alabama. He’s the owner, founder and president of Coalmont Electrical Development. He’s a member of the Republican Party who admits he may have a bit of a libertarian streak. And he’s also the treasurer of a super PAC called the “Conservative Action Fund.” That’s a group that spent more than $43,000 opposing House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) in Tuesday’s GOP primary in Alabama, although it has mostly targeted Democrats with its attacks.
Democratic Senators Issue Strong Warning About Use of the Patriot Act
For more than two years, a handful of Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee have warned that the government is secretly interpreting its surveillance powers under the Patriot Act in a way that would be alarming if the public – or even others in Congress – knew about it. On Thursday, two of those senators – Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado – went further. They said a top-secret intelligence operation that is based on that secret legal theory is not as crucial to national security as executive branch officials have maintained. The senators, who also said that Americans would be “stunned” to know what the government thought the Patriot Act allowed it to do, made their remarks in a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. after a Justice Department official last month told a judge that disclosing anything about the program “could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States.”
Britain’s hopes of retaining its prized triple-A credit rating were dealt a blow last night after Fitch said the country was more likely than not to be downgraded.
The Global Economy is Now More Vulnerable to Oil Prices than Ever
This paper examines the impact of oil price changes on global economic growth. Unlike some recent studies, this paper finds that oil price rises have had significant negative impacts on world economic growth. A time-series analysis of the data from 1971 to 2010 finds that an increase in real oil price by 10 dollars is associated with a reduction of world economic growth rate by between 0.4 and 1% in the following year. As oil prices approach historical highs, the global economy may be vulnerable to another oil price shock.
Gold “Vulnerable” as U.S. Treasury Bond Market Sell-Off Worsens
The WHOLESALE-MARKET gold price twice rose within a few cents of $1650 per ounce in London Thursday morning, adding 0.9% from yesterday’s fresh 8-week low as industrial commodities ticked lower again.
The price of silver bullion rallied 2.3% to $32.40 per ounce, but remained over 5% down for the week so far, being “very much influenced” by the gold price according to one Swiss precious-metals dealer.
Europe’s Economic Crisis: Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Belgium Following Greece
It isn’t over until it is over. Of course, we are referring to Europe and its version of 1984. We find it profound that the bankers, politicians and bureaucrats of Europe can do what they have done with a straight face. Investor had a haircut shoved down their throats and the ECB, the European Central Bank and the IMF were exempt.
Retail sales suggest consumers shrugging off gas prices
Dave Prokupek doesn’t like the high price of gasoline either. But business is good enough at Smashburger that the chain where Prokupek is CEO opened its 150th restaurant Wednesday, and plans to open up to 75 this year, even though eating out is theoretically the first thing gas-strapped consumers would trim.
S&P 500 ends best week since December with quiet day
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 closed out its best week in three months with a slim gain on Friday as investors continued to propel equities near four-year highs.
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Economic growth showed signs of becoming more self-sustaining as the number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing activity in the Northeast picked up this month.
Secret “Occult Economy” Coming Out of the Shadows?
During December 2011 and January 2012, I wrote two articles dealing with the announcement of two different lawsuits being filed in U.S. District Courts regarding astronomical amounts of money in the forms of U.S. Bonds, Federal Reserve Notes, foreign government-issued bonds, and other financial instruments.
Appropriators warn legislative agencies of further funding cuts
By Debbie Siegelbaum
Members of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on The Legislative Branch are warning congressional agencies that the current atmosphere of economic austerity will likely not abate any time soon.
President Obama’s 2013 budget would add $3.5 trillion to annual deficits through 2022, according to a new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
It also would raise the deficit next year by $365 billion, according to the non-partisan office.
The CBO estimate is in sharp contrast to the White House claims last month that the Obama budget would reduce deficits by $3.2 trillion over the next decade.?
Foreign direct investment (FDI) shrank in February from a year earlier, the fourth straight fall, while investment from Europe witnessed a sharp decline, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Experts were not optimistic about the inflow of foreign investment into China as the European debt crisis continues and domestic economic growth slows down.
Banks relentless search for profits has racked up immense “collateral damage”. Investment banks have injured individuals and institutions of every stripe. Institutions include the country Greece whose books Goldman cooked; Jefferson County, Alabama, and many European cities devastated by risky derivatives; colleges like the University of Virginia and Harvard who have held cut-rate sales on private equity; and pension funds and others who sued for fraudulent trades.
Four Whistleblowers Who Sounded the Alarm on Banks’ Mortgage Shenanigans
Cora Currier, News Analysis:
“Buried in the sweeping mortgage settlement with banks, for which final documents were filed this week, are five whistleblower cases that shed light on the litany of foreclosure abuses by the banks. According to one suit, Bank of America allegedly passed bad loans on to the Federal Housing Administration. According to another, the bank allegedly denied qualified homeowners access to HAMP, the government’s loan modification program.”
Azerbaijan arrests 22 of their own citizens for allegedly being Iranian spies
The Azerbaijani government has announced the arrest of 22 of their own citizens who they claim are Iranian spies.
The tensions between Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan have only increased over recent months and this latest announcement is, without a doubt, not going to make anything less heated.
GOP senator dismisses ‘CliffsNotes’ explanation for killing citizens abroad
By Jordy Yager
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday demanded that the White House hand over documents that detail the administration’s legal case for killing U.S. citizens abroad who are believed to be terrorist threats.
U.K’s Cameron: No justification for Israeli attack on Iran
In interview to NBC’s Brian Williams, British Prime Minister says Iran could maintain a civilian nuclear project if it did away with the military aspects of its program.
US admits Israel is arming and training terrorist groups to create terrorism
Uploaded by 91177info on Feb 9, 2012
So much for this War on Terror! It is actually War OF Terror. This is proof THEY are creating terror directly and indirectly. This was shown live on US television !!
Deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists are being carried out by an Iranian dissident group that is financed, trained and armed by Israel’s secret service, U.S. officials tell NBC News, confirming charges leveled by Iran’s leaders.
The group, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, has long been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, accused of killing American servicemen and contractors in the 1970s and supporting the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran before breaking with the Iranian mullahs in 1980.
The attacks, which have U.S. Embassy in Tehran since 2007 and may have destroyed a missile research and development site, have been carried out in dramatic fashion, with motorcycle-borne assailants often attaching small magnetic bombs to the exterior of the victims’ cars.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Obama administration is aware of the assassination campaign but has no direct involvement.
Currency Wars: Iran’s banks to be blocked from global banking system
Swift, the body that handles global banking transactions, says it will cut Iran’s banks out of the system on Saturday to enforce sanctions.
Proposed UN Environmental Constitution For The World Would Establish An Incredibly Repressive System Of Global Governance
Most people have no idea that the United Nations has been drafting an environmental constitution for the world that is intended to supersede all existing national laws. This document has a working title of “Draft International Covenant on Environment and Development” and you can read the entire thing right here. Work on this proposed world environmental constitution has been going on since 1995, and the fourth edition was issued to UN member states on September 22nd, 2010. This document is intended to become a permanent binding treaty and it would establish an incredibly repressive system of global governance.
Occupy-Monsanto to Wear Bio-Hazmat Suits as They Protest a Genetically Modified Congress
News Report: The GCU will arrive at the metro station wearing bio-hazmat suits to assess whether Members of Congress and their staff have been victims of genetic crimes. The GCU will hold a banner that reads, “Congress is Genetically Modified,” as they circulate on Capitol Hill sidewalks. This day of action is part of a larger international call to ‘Occupy Monsanto’ taking place all over the globe including Spain, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and at least 28 cities throughout the US.
The weekend of March 31st and April 1st includes a two day “Bail Out America” direct action training organized by the Backbone Campaign which will provide information on strategies and tactics and developing creative actions that advance the causes of Occupy.
House Dems demand meeting with Apple over privacy policy for iPhone, iPad apps
By Brendan Sasso
Two prominent House Democrats demanded a briefing with Apple over its privacy policies for mobile device applications in a letter to CEO Tim Cook on Thursday.
The Chicago-based hacker who took credit for a devastating computer attack on intelligence company Stratfor made his first appearance in a New York federal courtroom, after his March 5 arrest. Hammond, 27, faces federal charges of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, computer hacking and access device fraud… Hammond chuckled when his attorney, Liz Fink, asked a prosecutor if today was the Ides of March and said, “Et tu Brutus?” a possible reference to the betrayal Hammond might have felt at learning he and other hackers were undone by LulzSec leader-turned government informant [traitor] Hector Xavier Monsegur, known online as “Sabu.” Monsegur’s FBI handler was present but declined to comment after the proceeding.
4 more steam tubes fail in tests at troubled San Onofre nuclear plant’s Unit 3 reactor
Four more tubes that carry radioactive water at a Southern California nuclear power plant failed pressure tests, prompting new safety concerns, officials disclosed Friday. The four tubes in a massive steam generator failed Thursday in the Unit 3 reactor at the San Onofre coastal plant in northern San Diego County, Southern California Edison said. Three other tubes failed earlier tests, the company said Wednesday, bringing the total to seven.
Forty-five days after a radioactive water leak prompted a Southern California utility to shut down a nuclear reactor, investigators Friday sought to pinpoint why tubing in the plant eroded at an alarming rate while the prospect of an extended repair job raised questions about summertime power supply. Tests on massive steam generators at the troubled Unit 3 reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which was shut down as a precaution after the leak on Jan. 31, revealed seven alloy tubes that carry radioactive water are in danger of rupturing under high pressure. Traces of radiation escaped during the January leak.
UK nuclear sites at risk of flooding, report shows
As many as 12 of Britain’s 19 civil nuclear sites are at risk of flooding and coastal erosion because of climate change global warming, according to an unpublished government analysis obtained by the Guardian. Nine of the sites have been assessed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as being vulnerable now, while others are in danger from rising sea levels and storms in the future. The sites include all of the eight proposed for new nuclear power stations around the coast, as well as numerous radioactive waste stores, operating reactors and defunct nuclear facilities.
The Obama Flag: Who Decided That It Was Okay To Replace The Stars On The American Flag With The Face Of Barack Obama?
Democrat Party headquarters in Lake County, Florida has been flying an American flag with a face of Barack Obama on it. Yes, you read that correctly. The “Obama flag” features a huge picture of the face of Barack Obama in the area where the stars are usually located. To many Americans today, the American flag may be “just a piece of cloth”, but when I was young I was taught that one must never desecrate the American flag. The American flag is our highest national symbol. Millions of Americans have fought and died defending freedom and liberty under that banner. To see a photo of Barack Obama plastered on it is an absolute disgrace. Sadly, there are lots of these flags floating around. In fact, you can buy them online for $12.95. Down in Florida, the chairwoman of the Lake County Democratic Party took down the “Obama flag” after a group of veterans protested, but she also said that she is not promising that she will not put it back up and that she is going to consult an attorney about all of this.
Needless to say, a lot of veterans had steam coming out of their ears when they heard about the Obama flag. Korean war veteran Don Van Beck said that he was absolutely furious when he saw what they had done to the American flag….
It’s a dirty job: Police nationwide take on soaring Tide detergent theft
Law enforcement officials across the country are puzzled over a crime wave targeting an unlikely item: Tide laundry detergent.
Theft of Tide detergent has become so rampant that authorities from New York to Oregon are keeping tabs on the soap spree, and some cities are setting up special task forces to stop it. And retailers like CVS are taking special security precautions to lock down the liquid.
McCain sees another Solyndra in Navy biofuels spending
By Carlo Munoz
The Navy’s push to develop biofuels to run its fleet of planes and warships could devolve into a “Solyndra situation” for the Pentagon, a top Republican senator said today.
Department of Agriculture to offer beef without ‘pink slime’ to schools
By Mike Lillis
Facing increasing pressure over its embrace of “pink slime,” the Obama administration announced Thursday that it will offer schools ground beef absent the controversial product.
Norway Military Plane Lost During Exercise
C-130 presumed crashed; 5 missing
AP) – A Norwegian military transport plane with five people on board went missing today during an exercise and was feared to have crashed in northern Sweden, officials said. The C-130 was heading from Evenes in northern Norway to the Swedish city of Kiruna where it was supposed to pick up personnel. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane when it was about 50 miles west of Kiruna, a Norwegian military spokesman said.
A lawyer for an army private accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of pages of classified information has asked a military judge to dismiss the charges, arguing the government bungled the handover of documents to the defence. The request came during a pre-trial hearing for Private Bradley Manning at a military courtroom at Fort Meade, Maryland. Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, asked that charges against his client be dismissed because the government has “hopelessly” messed up the document turnover in the nearly two years Manning has been held.
State Dept. moves to fire author of book critical of Iraq reconstruction effort
Peter Van Buren, a foreign service officer who wrote an unflattering book about his year leading two reconstruction [sic] teams in Iraq, was stripped of his security clearance, banned from State Department headquarters for a time and transferred to a telework job that consists of copying Internet addresses into a file. Now the State Department is moving to fire him based on eight charges, ranging from linking on his blog to documents on the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks to disclosing classified information. Van Buren called the termination notice he received Friday the coup de grace in a series of blows he received since his book, “We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People” was published last fall.
CIA Chief: We’ll Spy on You Through Your Dishwasher
More and more personal and household devices are connecting to the internet, from your television to your car navigation systems to your light switches. CIA Director David Petraeus cannot wait to spy on you through them. Earlier this month, Petraeus mused about the emergence of an “Internet of Things” – that is, wired devices – at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm. “‘Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies,” Petraeus enthused, “particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft.” All those new online devices are a treasure trove of data if you’re a “person of interest” to the spy community.
HAZMAT situation: ‘Non-emergency significant event’ declared at Los Alamos –DP Road open after HAZMAT situation on Los Alamos property
With sirens blaring, emergency management vehicles raced down DP Road Wednesday, responding to a Hazmat situation at Enclosure 12 in TA-21. For two hours, DP Road was closed as the LANL Hazmat team, Los Alamos Fire and Police Department and FEMA assessed the situation. Most of DP Road was reopened around 1:45 p.m. as LAPD decreased its perimeter. Capt. Randy Foster said the initial call came into dispatch at 11:53 a.m. The road was closed east of 272 DP Road until the all-clear from the LANL Hazmat teams came in Wednesday evening. The situation has been categorized as a “non-emergency significant event” by the laboratory… Police said a voluntary evacuation was taking place on DP Road. Police said for those who are working on DP Road to remain inside if they chose to stay. Businesses along DP Road still were waiting for an all-clear signal as of 7:30 p.m. An automated 911 call was received at the Los Alamos Monitor at 1:05 p.m. advising all people on DP Road to shelter in place until the all-clear signal is sounded.
Whistleblower details unreported mercury spill at Hill AFB
A whistleblower’s claim that a 2007 spill of more than 60 pounds of mercury was not properly reported or cleaned up at this military base, where more than 24,000 military personnel and civilians work and live, has prompted a federal criminal investigation. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality has backed that claim, concluding after an investigation in September and October that the base violated permits because it failed to report the spill and cleanup, improperly stored the cleaned-up material, improperly labeled storage containers that were also not in good condition and failed to inspect containers storing the hazardous waste.
The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)
The spring air in the small, sand-dusted town has a soft haze to it, and clumps of green-gray sagebrush rustle in the breeze. Bluffdale sits in a bowl-shaped valley in the shadow of Utah’s Wasatch Range to the east and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. It’s the heart of Mormon country, where religious pioneers first arrived more than 160 years ago. They came to escape the rest of the world, to understand the mysterious words sent down from their god as revealed on buried golden plates, and to practice what has become known as “the principle,” marriage to multiple wives.
Syria’s turmoil has been laid bare on our TV screens for more than a year, but some networks are being accused of affecting rather than reflecting the conflict. Maria Finoshina reports now, on how there’s more to the coverage on the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera TV channel, than meets the eye.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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MessageToEagle.com – ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile presents a beautiful Herschel’s Ray commnonly known as the Pencil Nebula – a part of the Vela Supernova Remnant.
Since early June, the Midwest and parts of the northern and central Plains have faced a devastating drought. The lack of substantial rainfall has had severe effects on corn production and has resulted in desertlike conditions for some areas. Paired with the recent heat wave, the situation has become a disaster for corn growers and has significantly driven down yields in the United States for 2012. 
A surfer struggles to keep upright on a large, rough wave off the Southern California shore at El Segundo Beach in El Segundo, Calif., Friday, Dec. 15. 2006. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Stunning: Shelf clouds looming over central Virginia have provided quite a shock for local residents
Threatening: These remarkable pictures make the cloud look like an enormous wave
Amazing: But the shelf clouds are not dangerous, even though they are a sign of a nearby thunderstorm
Researchers puzzled over spike in sick sea lions
Sick sea lions are turning up in record numbers along Southern California’s coastline. Director David Bard and Lauren Palmer of the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro say scientists are looking at a number of theories.
By John Boxley, Producer, NBC News
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — Along Southern California’s pristine coastline, ailing sea lions are turning up in record numbers.
“We have a lot of little pups this year,” said veterinarian Lauren Palmer, who is nursing them back to health. Most are about eight months old, she said, and appear dehydrated and malnourished, having trouble adjusting to life away from mom. For some reason many pups are leaving their mothers early. It’s not clear why.
Usually, around this time of year, there might be a dozen sick sea lions in San Pedro, said David Bard, operations director for the San Pedro Marine Mammal Care Center. But so far, the care center has taken in nearly 200
and counting. Last week alone, there were 50 new cases.
“It’s a pretty big spike,” he said.
The last big spike was in 2009 when the care center took more than 500
sick animals, but most of those were elephant seals. Researchers say that was due to El Nino conditions.
Looking for answers
During a tour of the facility, Bard pointed to a group of new arrivals.
“You can see the activity level of these fellows is a little low, they don’t have as much energy,” he said. There were about 20 pups inside a small pen area, each looked quite lethargic.
So, what’s happening to the sea lions this year? So far nobody knows. There are plenty of theories, however, such as food shortages, climate change
or simply an increase in the number of sea lion births.
“We are not seeing a disease outbreak among these animals or any obvious underlying cause,” Bard said.
Starving Sea Lion Pups Stump Scientists
SeaWorld San Diego staffers rescued 11 sea lion pups in just 3 days
By Greg Bledsoe and R. Stickney
| Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 | Updated 11:20 AM PDT
The number of pups needing emergency care is so great that one rescue organization has declared a state of emergency. NBC 7′s Greg Bledsoe reports.
Sea Lion Pup Rescues
Lion Pup Under SUV
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An increasing number of California sea lion pups have been stranding along the coast of in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.
The number of pups needing emergency care is so great that one rescue organization has declared a state of emergency.
“We don’t know what the problem is now,” said Susan Chivers, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
“What we’re seeing is a lot of skinny pups which suggests they’re not getting sufficient nourishment, and dying of starvation basically.”
NBC 7 San Diego first reported on the unusual number of sea lion pups wandering ashore along San Diego’s coastline Monday.
SeaWorld San Diego staffers rescued 11 sea lion pups in just 3 days from locations like Mission Beach and .
The phenomenon has been happening for two weeks along beaches in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
On Monday, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach declared its own state of emergency after it performed 12 rescues Saturday – a single-day record for the organization.
Read Full Article Here
Recovering sea lions get fed fish at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach after 18 rescues in two days. These sea lions will soon be released into the wild after their rehabilitation is complete.