Earthquakes
Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, KURIL ISLANDS
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 07:15 AM
Depth 101 km GEO: Longitude 157.190 GEO: Latitude 50.620
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 4.7 earthquake, Fiji region
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 08:17 AM
Depth 252.9 km GEO: Longitude -176.656 GEO: Latitude -21.282
Source
USGS
Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 09:37 AM
Depth 14 km GEO: Longitude 93.890 GEO: Latitude 38.160
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 5.7 earthquake, Alaska Peninsula
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 14:10 PM
Depth 32 km GEO: Longitude -157.545 GEO: Latitude 55.180
Source
USGS
Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 15:40 PM
Depth 50 km GEO: Longitude 141.700 GEO: Latitude 37.190
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 5 earthquake, Southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 16:00 PM
Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude 103.500 GEO: Latitude -6.260
Source
GEOFON
Magnitude 5.1 earthquake, Kuril Islands
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 18:33 PM
Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude 147.990 GEO: Latitude 43.320
Source
GEOFON
Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, Eastern Siberia, Russia
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 19:13 PM
Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude 163.000 GEO: Latitude 61.040
Source
GEOFON
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake, SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 19:55 PM
Depth 55 km GEO: Longitude 169.910 GEO: Latitude -21.970
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 4.5 earthquake, IRAN-IRAQ BORDER REGION
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 21:41 PM
Depth 20 km GEO: Longitude 47.020 GEO: Latitude 32.500
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 4.7 earthquake, Off East Coast of Honshu, Japan
UTC Date / Time Mar 10 23:25 PM
Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude 144.160 GEO: Latitude 39.710
Source
GEOFON
Magnitude 4.7 earthquake, PAPUA, INDONESIA
UTC Date / Time Mar 11 02:23 AM
Depth 160 km GEO: Longitude 138.600 GEO: Latitude -4.370
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
UTC Date / Time Mar 11 05:00 AM
Depth 10 km GEO: Longitude 59.080 GEO: Latitude 28.260
Source
EMSC
Magnitude 4.6 earthquake, SEA OF OKHOTSK
UTC Date / Time Mar 11 05:40 AM
Depth 428 km GEO: Longitude 146.960 GEO: Latitude 48.000
Source
EMSC
Caribbean plate stress: Cuba and Jamaica rattled by tremors
The Earthquake Unit at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies says tremors from a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that occurred in Cuba this morning were felt in several parishes in Jamaica.
This is the second earthquake felt in Jamaica in consecutive days following the 3.4 magnitude quake recorded near Yallahs, St Thomas, yesterday.
A release from the unit says this morning’s earthquake occurred at 3:34 and was felt in Clarendon, St Catherine, St Mary and Kingston and St Andrew.
There are no reports of any damage or injuries.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Santiago de Cuba province.
http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=35809
5.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Alaskan peninsula
March 10, 2012 – ALASKA – A 5.6 magnitude earthquake was reported just off the coastline of the Alaskan peninsula at 5:10 am. The earthquake registered at a depth of 17.7 km or 11.0 miles below the surface and struck the ocean floor. The epicenter of the earthquake was 819 km (508 miles) SW of Anchorage, Alaska and 1455 km (904 miles) W of JUNEAU, Alaska. Both seismicity and volcanic activity has been steadily increasing along the Alaskan region over the last several weeks. People in high-risk areas should stay alert for the potential occurrence of seismic episodes.
Storms
Global Weirding Hits Hawaii — with Hail Stones
Deadly, devastating tornadoes in the northeastern U.S. are again setting records this year, and arriving earlier than ever. Meanwhile, frigid conditions have killed hundreds across Europe, while spring-like conditions exist in vast areas of North America. Now folks in Hawaii are seeing something previously unheard of: golf ball sized hail stones on the North Shore of Oahu and in some other areas across the state.
http://www.newser.com/story/141480/global-weirding-hits-hawaii-with-hail-stones.html
Hawaii Pummeled By ‘Severe Weather’ As La Nina Turns To El Nino
Meteorologists are taking note of the extreme weather conditions that continue to cloud Hawaii’s normally sunny climatic disposition. “Feet of rain” has fallen in some areas. Hanalei, Hawaii, received 35.97 inches of rain in just over two days. Multiple landslides have blocked highways throughout the state. Violent thunderstorms produced hail with diameters up to 2 inches in Kailua and Kaneohe. Not only is it HIGHLY UNUSUAL for hail to fall over Hawaii, but some stones that measured as large as three inches are likely record-breaking. “What is going on in Hawaii is a symptom of the change from La Niña to El Niño coming on.”
Tornado
A rare tornado touches down on Oahu
msnbc.com staff reports: A rare tornado blew roofs off homes and left other damage in its path through the Hawaiian communities of Lanikai and Enchanted Lake on Oahu, weather officials confirmed Friday.
A National Weather Service team surveying damage and talking to witnesses determined a waterspout came ashore and was reclassified as a tornado in Lanikai about 7:30 a.m. The 20-yard-wide tornado traveled about 1.5 miles in 15 minutes to Enchanted Lake with wind speeds reaching 60 to 70 mph before dissipating, officials said.
Hawaii, known for its famous sunshine, has been hit with unusually harsh weather for about a week.
A 30-minute hail storm on Friday in Oahu was “unprecedented ,” Tom Birchard, senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu, told the Associated Press. Some of the hail stones have been unusually large for the islands — the size of marbles and discs more than a half inch long, weather.com reported.
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10628559-a-rare-tornado-touches-down-on-oahu
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT /CLIMATE CHANGE -
Great Lakes winter ice cover has decreased 71 percent since 1973
The average amount of ice covering the Great Lakes declined 71 percent over the past 40 winters, with Lake Superior ice down 79 percent. “There was a significant downward trend in ice coverage from 1973 to the present for all of the lakes.” Researchers used Coast Guard reports and satellite photographs taken from 1973 to 2010 to determine the ice coverage of all the lakes, with Lake Ontario ice dropping 88 percent while ice in Lake St. Clair (between Lake Huron and Lake Erie) diminished just 37 percent.
The findings don’t include the current winter, but 2011-12 will only speed up the decline. Only about 5 percent of the Great Lakes surface froze over this winter, the least since satellite photos first were taken from space. That compares to winters that saw as much as 94 percent ice coverage, such as in 1979. It’s also way down from the average winter of about 40 percent coverage. The results won’t be a surprise to Northlanders who have gazed out all winter over open water on the western tip of Lake Superior, where almost no ice has formed. Even in protected Chequamegon Bay, which usually freezes enough for trucks to drive on, strong ice never formed this winter, forcing the Madeline Island ferry to operate all season. That’s only the second time that’s ever happened. The results echo other studies that show much higher surface water temperatures on Lake Superior in recent years and far fewer days of ice cover.
Diminished ice can speed up wintertime evaporation, reducing water levels. It also may lead to increased and earlier algae blooms, which can damage water quality, and may accelerate erosion by exposing more shoreline to waves. The decline in ice cover probably is due to several factors, including cyclical climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña (unusually high temperatures and unusually low temperatures, respectively, in the Pacific), changes in the Arctic Oscillation and broader climate change.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
At least 145 people are missing and “presumed dead” after an avalanche hit a village in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province last week. Afghan officials had earlier Saturday put the death toll from the March 4 series of avalanches in Badakhshan’s Shekay district at 56. The UN said an avalanche in the area claimed 50 lives and warned of severe flooding over coming weeks due to melting snow. Afghanistan’s harshest winter in 15 years has claimed scores of lives, with the avalanches taking the toll to more than 90 in Badakhsh alone. “Access to Dispay village is possible only by road from neighboring Tajikistan but has been severely hampered by snow-blocked roads. Helicopter access is not possible as there is a high risk of triggering further avalanches.”
Volcanic Activity
MEXICO – The drills continue in all the communities surrounding the volcano Popocatepetl, said the director of Civil Protection, Jesus Morales Rodriguez, who said that the drills will be permanent in the area. The state official said they have instituted the Special Plan Popocatepetl, where they indicated that the performance of the drills need to be performed at least once every 15 days, at random to participatants in all communities. These actions were recommended to keep the community aware of the dangers and the need of evacuations should threatening conditions arise. According to the website of the National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) the current alert status is in phase two, in yellow, so that the conditions of the volcano are normal. The agency also disclosed that in the last 24 hours, 11:00 hours, Popocatepetl has registered 12 exhalations of low intensity, accompanied by water and gas emissions, without major changes. Because the probability remains moderate exhalations emission of ash and a slight glow seen at night, it is recommended the Civil Protection Directorate maintain a safety radius up to 12 km from the volcano, to keep traffic controlled between Santiago and San Pedro Nexapa Xalitzintla via Paso de Cortes. The public is also asked to continue to tune in for the latest status updates concerning the volcano’s activity. –Sexenio (translated)
Solar Activity
M8.4 SOLAR FLARE + CME RECORDED ON 10th March 2012. IT’S EARTH DIRECTED.wmv
Misc
NASA to launch 5 rockets quickly to track winds
NORFOLK, Virginia: Skywatchers along the East Coast may be able to see a NASA experiment meant to learn more about the little-understood jet stream current at the edge of space.
NASA plans to launch five rockets in five minutes from coastal Virginia on a clear night between March 14 and April 4.
They will release a chemical trail to track winds that circle the planet at up to 300 miles per hour (482 kph) in the thermosphere about 65 miles (105 kilometers) up.
Officials say the long, milky-white clouds should be visible for about 20 minutes from South Carolina to New Hampshire.
http://arabnews.com/variety/science_technology/article584821.ece
