Tag Archive: Biological Hazard in Ireland


Earth Watch Report – Sunday July 22, 2012

Filed under: Asteroids, Biological Hazard, Diseases, Drought, Earthquakes, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Disaster Watch, Landslides, meteors, Solar Activity, Space, Storms, Volcanic Events — Leave a comment
July 22, 2012

Earthquakes

 

 

RSOE EDIS

 

 

 

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
22.07.2012 04:30:35 3.4 North America United States Alaska Clam Gulch There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 03:20:21 3.9 South-America Argentina Salta San Antonio de los Cobres There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 03:20:45 4.7 Pacific Ocean – East Tonga Tongatapu Havelu VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 02:25:27 4.7 Pacific Ocean Tonga Tongatapu Havelu VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 01:30:40 2.0 North America United States Nevada Topaz Lake There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 01:16:31 2.7 North America United States Alaska Salcha VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 01:31:05 3.1 Caribbean British Virgin Islands Road Town VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 01:15:20 4.2 Europe Russia Kuril’sk There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 00:56:05 4.2 Asia Russia Kuril’sk There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 01:15:46 2.5 Asia Turkey Denizli Kale VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 01:16:07 2.9 South-America Chile Antofagasta Calama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 23:30:29 2.7 North America United States Alaska Susitna VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
22.07.2012 01:20:39 3.2 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Canterbury Tai Tapu VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 GEONET Details
22.07.2012 00:10:22 2.0 Europe Italy Umbria Monte Grimano VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 00:10:43 4.8 Pacific Ocean – East Tonga Vava`u Hihifo There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 23:20:22 4.9 Pacific Ocean Tonga Vava`u Hihifo There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 23:10:23 4.2 Europe Greece South Aegean Kamarion There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 23:10:54 2.8 Europe Italy Emilia-Romagna San Prospero VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 23:11:18 3.1 Europe Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sieroszowice VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 21:45:39 3.0 North America United States Alaska Old Harbor VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 22:05:26 3.5 South-America Chile Antofagasta Tocopilla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 02:20:27 3.0 Middle-East Lebanon Nabatîyé Habbouch VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
22.07.2012 00:11:14 3.1 Caribbean Dominican Republic La Altagracia Boca de Yuma VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 22:05:47 2.1 Asia Turkey Amasya Dedekoy VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 22:06:07 2.9 Asia Turkey Mu?la OEluedeniz VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 20:15:57 2.3 North America United States Alaska Ruby VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 22:06:30 4.6 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia East Nusa Tenggara Kisba Dua There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 20:00:22 2.6 Europe Greece Peloponnese Areopolis VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 20:00:58 2.3 Asia Turkey Konya Kuyulusebil VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 19:45:30 2.4 North America United States Alaska Seward VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 19:30:35 2.0 North America United States California Coalinga VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 20:01:23 3.2 Middle-East Lebanon Nabatîyé Habbouch VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 20:01:48 2.7 Europe Greece Epirus Samonida VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 22:06:52 4.5 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia East Nusa Tenggara Kisba Dua There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 19:30:59 3.4 Caribbean Puerto Rico Hatillo Hatillo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 22:07:15 4.6 Indian Ocean Maldives Kudahuvadhoo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 20:02:17 2.9 South-America Chile Valparaíso La Ligua VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 18:30:37 2.1 North America United States California Descanso VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 18:56:11 4.6 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia East Nusa Tenggara Kisba Dua There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 18:21:04 4.6 Indonesian archipelago Indonesia East Nusa Tenggara Kisba Dua There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 18:56:43 3.4 Middle-East Iraq Arb?l Rawanduz VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 18:57:07 2.5 Asia Turkey Antalya Buyukbelkis VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 17:50:50 2.4 North America United States California Markleeville VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 17:55:19 2.8 Europe Greece Attica Agia Pelagia VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 17:55:43 2.5 Asia Turkey Mu?la Kargi VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 17:56:11 2.3 Asia Turkey Mu?la OEluedeniz VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 17:56:35 2.5 Asia Turkey Mu?la Yatagan VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 16:55:19 2.5 Asia Turkey Mu?la OEluedeniz VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
21.07.2012 16:00:30 3.2 Middle America Mexico Baja California Alberto Oviedo Mota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
21.07.2012 15:50:27 3.7 South-America Chile Antofagasta Tocopilla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details

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Volcanic Activity

New Zealand : Tongariro volcano alert at new high

By Matthew Backhouse and Kieran Campbell

An aerial view over the Tongariro National Park. Photo / Greg Bowker

Expand

An aerial view over the Tongariro National Park. Photo / Greg Bowker

A “sudden rise” in volcanic activity at Mt Tongariro has prompted scientists to lift its volcanic alert status for the first time.

But local businesses and conservation authorities remain unconcerned as they seek to reassure visitors it is “business as usual” at National Park.

GNS Science this afternoon lifted Mt Tongariro’s volcanic alert status from level zero to level one, and increased the aviation status from green to yellow.

It said a series of more than 20 “small” volcanic earthquakes had been recorded at Tongariro since July 13 – more than the average of two per year according to historic seismic data.

The quakes, below a magnitude of 2.5 and between 2-7km deep, were recorded in a cluster zone between Emerald Crater and Te Maari craters.

The sequence of earthquakes soon declined but restarted on Wednesday and increased in number yesterday and today.

GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said it was the first time the alert level had been lifted at Tongariro since the alert system was introduced.

“It’s displaying some form of unrest. We don’t know exactly what’s driving it, if we did we’d be saying.”

To get a clearer picture, GNS would deploy portable seismic recorders around the epicentres of the earthquakes and conduct sampling of selected hot springs, crater lakes and fumaroles in the area.

“We’ve got our permanent networks out giving us data in real time… (and) we want to compliment that with some more data, just to add to our knowledge.”

Mt Tongariro is a volcanic complex that lies to the north of Ngauruhoe and consists of numerous craters and vents.

There are six alert levels of volcanic action, increasing in seriousness from zero to five. Alert level one indicates “signs of volcano unrest”.

For the alert level to be lifted to two – “minor eruptive activity” – there would need to be an eruption and there was no indication that would happen.

The aviation status yellow also acts as a warning of increased unrest.

Department of Conservation local conservation analyst Harry Keys said GNS Science was dealing with the matter and the department did not need to take any action at this stage.

The popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing passed close to Te Maari craters, where the most recent ash eruptions took place from 1855 to 1897.

But there was no hazard at the moment and the crossing would remain open to the public.

“There are public safety matters if the volcano starts getting active, but at the moment the volcano is not getting active and it may not ever get active,” he said.

“We’ve got everything ready if we have to do anything. We will then go to the next stage, but at the moment we’re not doing anything.”

Dr Keys said he would not expect more or fewer visitors at the moment.

“It’s definitely business as usual. People might make their own decisions, but there’s no reason at the moment they should make any decisions about what they’ve planned.”

National Park Business Association chairman Murray Wilson said the only problem with volcanic activity was when it interrupted visitor flows.

He had been at a regional tourism meeting today but the issue was not even raised.

“It’s just a fact of life around here and I don’t think anyone around the place will be to excited about that – it’s probably more of a technical response than a physical response.”

Mr Wilson said “media hype” had been the biggest issue the last time neighbouring Ruapehu had erupted in the 1990s.

“The people around here depend on uninterrupted visitor flows. Last year we had interrupted visitor flows because of the Rugby World Cup – as soon as the rugby started, people tended to stay at home and go to the rugby matches.”

He did not think there would be much impact unless it was “over-reported and people get worried”.

– APNZ

By Matthew Backhouse and Kieran Campbell | Email Matthew

Strong quake hits off east coast of New Zealand

  AP

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A strong earthquake has struck off the east coast of New Zealand, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-5.8 temblor struck Saturday off the east coast of the North Island at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles).

New Zealand is prone to earthquakes. In February 2011, a strong quake in Christchurch killed 185 people and destroyed much of the city’s downtown area.

X-rays illuminate the origin of volcanic hotspots

by Staff Writers
Paris, France (SPX)

SHAKE AND BLOW

This is an illustration showing how the mantle plumes can be emitted from the core-mantle boundary region to reach the Earth’s crust. Due to the lateral displacement of the tectonic plates at the surface, the mantle plumes can create a series of aligned hot spot volcanoes. A mid ocean ridge and a subducted plate are also shown. Credit: ESRF/Denis Andrault/Henri Samuel. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Scientists have recreated the extreme conditions at the boundary between Earth’s core and its mantle, 2,900 km beneath the surface. Using the world’s most brilliant beam of X-rays, they probed speck-sized samples of rock at very high temperature and pressure to show for the first time that partially molten rock under these conditions is buoyant and should segregate towards the Earth’s surface.

This observation is a strong evidence for the theory that volcanic hotspots like the Hawaiian Islands originate from mantle plumes generated at the Earth’s core-mantle boundary. The results are published in Nature dated 19 July 2012.

The group of scientists was led by Denis Andrault from the Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans of University Blaise Pascal in Clermont, and included scientists from the CNRS in Clermont and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.

Most volcanoes are situated where continental plates are pushed or pulled against each other. Here, the continental crust is weakened, and the magma can break through to the surface. The Pacific “Ring of Fire”, for example, exhibits such plate movements, resulting in powerful Earthquakes and numerous active volcanoes.

Volcanic hotspots are of a completely different nature because most of them are far away from plate boundaries. The Hawaiian Islands, for example, are a chain of volcanoes thought to have their origin in a mysterious hot spot beneath the Pacific ocean floor. Every island in the chain starts as an active volcano fed by the hot spot that eventually rises above the ocean surface. As plate tectonics move the volcano away from the hotspot, it becomes extinct.

The hot spot will in the meantime create another volcano: the next island in the chain. The Hawaiian Islands are one of many examples of this process, like the Canary Islands, La Reunion or the Azores.

The nature of the hot-spot source and its location in the mantle have remained elusive to the present day. One explanation is narrow streams of magma conveyed to the Earth’s surface from the boundary between the Earth’s core of liquid iron and the solid mantle of silicate rock. Whether the lowermost mantle expels such streams of magma called mantle plumes is one of today’s major controversies among geologists.

What material can be stored at the core-mantle boundary and become sufficiently light to rise through 2900 km of thick solid mantle? This was the question Denis Andrault and his colleagues addressed when they set out to recreate in a laboratory the conditions found at the core-mantle boundary.

They compressed tiny pieces of rock, the size of a speck of dust and ten times thinner than a human hair, between the tips of two conical diamonds to a pressure of more than one million bar. A laser beam then heated these samples to temperatures between 3000 and 4000 degrees Celsius, which scientists believe is representative of the 200km-thick core-mantle boundary. The samples are extremely small compared to the natural processes occurring in the Earth.

However, the melting processes are very well reproduced experimentally. Therefore, the observations can be confidently transferred from micron scale in the experiments to kilometre scale in the deep mantle.

Beams of X-rays at the ESRF, focused to a diameter of one 1000th of a millimetre, were used to map these samples and identify where the solid rock had melted. “Obviously, these tiny samples produce weak interaction signals, and this is why it is important to have the most brilliant X-ray beams for this type of experiments, says Mohammed Mezouar, the scientist responsible for the high-pressure beamline ID27 at the ESRF.

Once regions with molten rock had been identified, another X-ray technique was used at the ESRF to compare the chemical compositions of previously molten and solid parts. “It is the iron content which is decisive for the density of molten rock at the core-mantle boundary. Its accurate knowledge allowed us to determine that molten rock under these conditions is actually lighter than solid,” says Denis Andrault.

Gravity makes the light liquid rock from a hotspot move slowly upwards like a bubble in water until it reaches the surface where the magma plume will form a volcano. The hotspots of liquid occur in the relatively thin boundary region between the solid lower mantle and the liquid outer core of the Earth where the temperature rises over a distance of just 200 kilometres from 3000 to 4000 degrees. This steep rise is caused by the vicinity of the much hotter core and induces a partial melting of the rocks.

The results of the experiment are also of great significance for the understanding of the early history of the Earth, as they provide an explanation why many chemical elements playing a key role in our daily life gradually accumulated from the Earth’s inside to its thin crust, close to the surface.

“We know less about the Earth’s mantle than about the surface of Mars. It is impossible to drill a hole of even 100 kilometres into the Earth, so we have to recreate it in the laboratory. This is important knowledge, because active hot spot volcanoes like those in Iceland can be dangerous and disruptive for the daily lives of people far away”, concludes Denis Andrault.

Related Links
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

 

Excessive Heat Warning

 

KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
OMAHA/VALLEY NE
DES MOINES IA
HASTINGS NE
TOPEKA KS
ST LOUIS MO
PADUCAH KY

Heat Advisory

 

FORT WORTH TX
OMAHA/VALLEY NE
HASTINGS NE
MEMPHIS TN
SPRINGFIELD MO
NORMAN OK
TULSA OK
GOODLAND KS
SIOUX FALLS SD
NORTH PLATTE NE
WICHITA KS
ST LOUIS MO

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

 

MEDFORD OR
BOISE ID
POCATELLO ID

Fire Weather Watch

 

BOISE ID

 

 

 

21.07.2012 Extreme Weather China Capital City, Beijing Damage level
Details

 

 

Extreme Weather in China on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 17:59 (05:59 PM) UTC.

Description
At least 12 people died during torrential rainstorms which battered much of northern and southwestern China from Friday night to Saturday, state media reported. In Beijing, strong winds blew off rooftops killing two people and injuring six others, the Beijing Emergency Medical Center reported. Heavy rain flooded roads and caused 223 flights to be cancelled in the capital, as the Beijing Meteorological Bureau issued its second-highest rainstorm alert for the first time since 2005. The report said Beijing received 95 mm of precipitation on average as of 7:00 pm (1100 GMT), and heavy rainfall is expected to last until Sunday morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

20.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Portugal Atlantic Ocean – North, [Island of Madeira ] Damage level
Details

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in Portugal on Thursday, 19 July, 2012 at 19:09 (07:09 PM) UTC.

Back

Updated: Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 02:51 UTC
Description
The Interior Ministry sent a military transport plane with 83 firefighters to Madeira, where the flames briefly threatened the outskirts of the region’s capital and popular tourist destination Funchal on Wednesday night. Interior Minister Miguel Macedo also flew to Madeira to coordinate the efforts.

 

 

21.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Missouri, [Near to Ash Grove] Damage level
Details

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 18:11 (06:11 PM) UTC.

Description
Firefighters from several departments started fighting a fast-spreading brush fire east of Ash Grove near U.S. 160 at Farm Road 43. Firefighters were dispatched at about 9 a.m. to fight a brush fire that was originally reported to be two acres in size. Crews from Everton, Bois D’Arc, Willard, Ash Grove and Walnut Grove worked to prevent the fire from spreading to a field with a machine shed in it. The fire spread to the outer edge of U.S. 160 close to at least one home. It wasn’t the peace and quiet for sleeping Stan Pyle planned on. “I work night shift at French’s, and I actually got home and got to bed. My wife just woke me up and said there’s a fire across the street, and my son and I hook up all the garden hoses we had,” Pyle says. Ash Grove and Walnut Grove firefighters were the first on the scene. “We had approximately two acres when we first got here, but the winds pushed it pretty fast on us,” says Ash Grove Fire Chief Anthony Monnig.

 

21.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Washington, [Near to Horseshoe Bend] Damage level
Details

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 11:03 (11:03 AM) UTC.

Description
Firefighters contained a brush fire that threatened homes south of Horseshoe Bend Thursday afternoon. Officials tell us that about 10 to 20 homes on Horseshoe Bend Hill were evacuated. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management said a lot of resources were put on the Summit Fire to keep it from spreading and destroying homes. Fire departments from Horseshoe Bend, Eagle and the BLM responded. Six fire engines, five structure protection units, two water tenders, one bulldozer, two helicopters and one plane were called to the scene. Windy conditions and dry brush fueled the fire, which burned around 100 acres. One outbuilding was lost in the fire. The fire was reported around 2:20 p.m. “When you do get a grass fire that burns hot and fast, those homes are usually in the direct path of that,” said Nevil Humphreys of the Eagle Fire Department. The fire burned to within about a quarter-mile of Highway 55, but the road remained open to traffic. Boise County Sheriff’s deputies went door-to-door urging residents near the fire to evacuate their homes.

The Kreitzer family lives in one of the homes that was evacuated. They were all out of the house when the fire started. Ingrid Kreitzer said their neighbor alerted them to the fire. “He called and he said, ‘You know, I think you probably should come up. It looks like it might be coming closer. You might just want to come down and hose anything in case it jumps over,'” Kreitzer said. She said with all the recent fires, her family had been creating a fire plan in case of the wildfire. Crews on the scene told us homes they saw had good defensible space, helping to keep them safe. “We were able to get in there, limb up some brush and what not,” said Paul Story, a firefighter who came in with his crew from Salt Lake to help with recent fires. “It was very minimal effort on our part, and so the homeowner did a good job in that regard.” Humphreys said the fire is human-caused and remains under investigation. No homes were destroyed in the fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worst drought in five decades ravages US

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP)

Weather forecasters see no end in sight to the worst US drought in five decades, a blistering heatwave that has wilted crops across America’s crucial breadbasket and sent grain prices soaring.

Farmers are mulling cutting down crops and thinning livestock herds as meteorologists said the country’s central breadbasket, the world’s largest source of both soybeans and corn, faces another month of stifling, rainless heat.

Top US agriculture official Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday he was designating 39 more counties in eight states as “natural disaster areas,” making farmers there eligible for low-cost emergency loans. Nearly 1,300 counties across 29 states have been designated natural disaster areas this year.

Vilsack also met with President Barack Obama Wednesday to review options to deal with the drought.

Meanwhile, a World Bank official said they were watching to see how the drought could impact global food supplies, after sharp surges in food prices in 2008 and 2010 dealt harsh blows to poor, food-importing nations.

“While it’s too early to be overly concerned, the Bank is monitoring the situation closely for potential impacts on our clients,” said Marc Sadler, team leader for the World Bank’s Agricultural Finance and Risk Management Unit.

“Global stocks in most of the tradable grains are lower now than they have been historically… we don’t have as much in the larder as we used to.”

More than 60 percent of the continental United States has been under drought and extreme heat conditions since June, according to Mark Svoboda of the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Temperatures have topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) for days in a row in many places, with the central plains running three to four degrees Fahrenheit above normal this month.

Svoboda said the drought was as tough as the worst in the 1930s and 1950s, although those benchmarks were multi-season, multi-year disasters while the current situation only dates to May.

But, he pointed out, the timing of the lack of rain and the heat has been particularly devastating, coming just at the peak of the growing season with the epicenter the central US farm belt east of the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Atlantic coast.

It has hit corn, soybeans, and crops like hay needed to feed cattle especially hard.

Farmers are now looking at cutting their losses — chopping down fields of half-mature, ear-less corn to feed the stalks to cattle.

“The jury is still a little bit out on it. We are in that process right now, making that decision,” said Steve Foglesong, who raises cattle and farms corn in Astoria, Illinois.

“From the road the corn looks green, but there are no ears on it.”

Foglesong said the next two weeks will be crucial, but weather forecasters were not encouraging.

“The worst of the drought is right in the middle of the nation, the corn belt. It’s just been bone dry,” said Carl Erickson, a meteorologist at Accuweather.

“Unfortunately across the central plains, the Mississippi valley, it looks like the overall pattern will remain in place for the rest of the month and into August,” he said.

“Once you get into a pattern like this, it almost feeds on itself.”

Joseph Glauber, chief economist for the Department of Agriculture, said their surveys show that 38 percent of the corn crop, and 30 percent of the soybean crop, are considered in “poor” or “extremely poor” condition.

That compares to 9 percent and 8 percent respectively this time last year.

In the last big drought, in 1988, corn yields fell by more than 20 percent, Glauber noted. Although the department will wait until early August before reaching a conclusion about the crops, he said: “It’s evolving as we speak. Every week these crop conditions have gotten worse.”

Corn prices have soared by 50 percent since May, while the rate for soybeans, which develop later than corn and might be able to bear up under another few weeks of rainless conditions, has surged 26 percent.

Ironically, in a way, beef and other meat prices have fallen. Glauber said some ranchers facing higher feed prices appear to be reducing their herds, pushing livestock into the market.

Foglesong said that in addition, from what he can tell the heat wave has been so intense around so much of the country that consumers have curtailed their summer barbecues, also hitting demand for steaks, ribs and other products.

Over the longer term, Glauber said, the herd reductions will mean tighter supplies and higher prices for meat on top of the grains.

Svoboda said that the crops aren’t the only problem. The drought has already fed devastating wildfires in the west, and if it keeps on, he predicts cities will start running into limits on their water supplies, which could lead to water use controls.

Related Links
Climate Science News – Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

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Storms / Flooding / Landslides

 

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
09W Pacific Ocean 21.07.2012 21.07.2012 Tropical Depression 265 ° 56 km/h 74 km/h 4.57 m JTWC Details

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Vicente (09W)
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 19° 30.000, E 116° 36.000
Start up: 21st July 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 71.98 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:
Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h		 Wind
km/h		 Gust
km/h		 Category Course Wave Pressure Source
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h		 Wind
km/h		 Gust
km/h		 Category Course Wave
feet		 Pressure Source
22nd Jul 2012 05:07:48 N 19° 24.000, E 115° 30.000 19 83 102 Tropical Storm 290 ° 10 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h		 Gust
km/h		 Source
23rd Jul 2012 12:00:00 N 20° 42.000, E 110° 30.000 Tropical Storm 93 120 JTWC
23rd Jul 2012 00:00:00 N 20° 30.000, E 112° 0.000 Tropical Storm 83 102 JTWC
24th Jul 2012 12:00:00 N 20° 54.000, E 108° 6.000 Tropical Storm 93 120 JTWC
25th Jul 2012 12:00:00 N 21° 24.000, E 106° 6.000 Tropical Storm 65 83 JTWC
26th Jul 2012 12:00:00 N 22° 6.000, E 104° 12.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 JTWC

 

 

21.07.2012 Tropical Storm North Korea MultiProvinces, [Provinces of Kangwon, North Gyeongsang and South Hwanghae] Damage level
Details

 

 

Tropical Storm in North Korea on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 03:31 (03:31 AM) UTC.

Description
Tropical storm Khanun destroyed scores of houses, buildings and transportation infrastructure in southern parts of North Korea this week, killing at least seven people in the reclusive state, state-run media reported on Friday. It weakened quickly over North Korea before Khanun’s remnants dissipated over China. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that flooding triggered by Khanun caused significant damage and casualties in the southern regions of North Korea. It said at least seven people were killed in Kangwon Province, but few other details about casualties were released. “Many hectares of farmland were inundated in Kangwon province and some dwelling houses, public buildings, railways, roads, bridges, breakwaters, electric supply and communication networks were destroyed,” KCNA said in its report, adding that some areas saw up to 200 millimeters (7.8 inches) of rain. “The water supply system was paralyzed in Wonsan and Munchon cities, suspending the provision of drinking water to citizens.” In South Hwanghae province, several houses were destroyed in Haeju City and Jaeryong County while large areas of cropland were submerged in Unchon County. The report did not say whether there were casualties in South Hwanghae province, or in any other regions of North Korea. In South Korea, Khanun also caused flooding, power outages, and affected major transportation systems. One fatality was reported in North Gyeongsang province when the wall of a home collapsed, officials said.

 

21.07.2012 Flash Flood USA State of North Carolina, Charlotte Damage level
Details

 

 

 

Flash Flood in USA on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 03:20 (03:20 AM) UTC.

Description
A North Carolina mall was evacuated Friday when a thunderstorm that produced heavy rain caused the ceiling to collapse, officials said. The ceiling at SouthPark collapsed around 5 p.m., said Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Rob Brisley. He said by the time firefighters were dispatched to the mall, an evacuation was already under way. Brisley said firefighters also pulled the alarm systems in the mall to help with the evacuation, which he described as orderly. No injuries were reported. Brisley said firefighters were focusing on making sure the building was safe, and that the water damage could be addressed by mall workers. Mall personnel couldn’t be reached for additional comment Friday afternoon. It’s estimated that up to 3 inches of rain fell on south Charlotte in approximately 45 minutes, said Rodney Hinson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C. Hinson said additional rain was likely to pass over Charlotte Friday night.

 

 

Flood Warning

 

LAKE CHARLES LA
TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL

 

 

 

21.07.2012 Landslide Austria Province of Styria, Thoerl Damage level
Details

 

 

Landslide in Austria on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 16:54 (04:54 PM) UTC.

Description
Mudslides unleashed by torrential rains killed one man, wrecked houses and cut off villages in the Austrian province of Styria, authorities said on Saturday. Police in the southeastern province said they had found the body of a 47-year-old local man swept away by a mudslide on Friday night in the town of Thoerl. Several small communities near Liezen were stranded by blocked roads. Austrian broadcaster ORF said helicopters evacuated around 20 people from the area after mudslides up to 10 meters (30 feet) high made travel by road impossible. A further 360 people had to leave their homes in the town of Sankt Lorenzen for fear of more slides given unrelenting rainfall, authorities said.

 

 

 

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

 

 

20.07.2012 Epidemic Sierra Leone Eastern Province, [Kenema District] Damage level
Details

 

Epidemic in Sierra Leone on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 18:17 (06:17 PM) UTC.

Description
Director of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Amara Jambai, has yesterday disclosed that the outbreak of Lassa fever in Kenema district. Lassa fever is a viral disease which is carried by rats. It is spread from infected rodents to humans through direct contact with urine and droppings of an infected rat. Speaking to journalists at the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr. Jambai said the outbreak, which started in three districts but has extended to other parts of the country, should be a serious concern to the government and people of Sierra Leone.
Biohazard name: Lassa Fever Outbreak
Biohazard level: 4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.: Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

21.07.2012 Epidemic Sierra Leone Northern Province, [Port Loko, Kambia, Pujehun and Kailahun districts] Damage level
Details

 

 

Epidemic in Sierra Leone on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 18:20 (06:20 PM) UTC.

Description
Director of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Amara Jambai, has yesterday disclosed that the outbreak of cholera in Port Loko, Kambia, Pujehun and Kailahun districts and the Western Area has claimed 62 lives so far. Speaking to journalists at the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr. Jambai said the outbreak, which started in three districts but has extended to other parts of the country, should be a serious concern to the government and people of Sierra Leone. Dr. Jambai explained adding that 26 cholera deaths have been reported in Kambia, 22 in Port Loko, nine in Pujehun and another nine in the Western Area which sum up to 62 cholera cases reported since January to date. “We have set up cholera treatment units at Macaulay Street and Connaught hospital with three more to follow. Also, we have provided technical assistance, drugs and rapid diagnostic test kits at various locations across the country,” he added to highlight measures his department has put in place to curtail the situation. He however warned that despite efforts by the health ministry to cub the outburst, people should be more careful about their food and water sources and should endeavour to always keep their environment clean.
Biohazard name: Cholera Outbreak
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

 

21.07.2012 Epidemic Hazard Philippines Davao Region (Region XI), Davao City Damage level
Details

 

 

Epidemic Hazard in Philippines on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 08:22 (08:22 AM) UTC.

Description
A one-year-old boy from Davao City has been found positive for the Enterovirus-71 (EV-71), the mysterious illness that killed dozens of children in Cambodia. Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the screening and confirmatory tests done at the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) revealed that of the eight suspected Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) patients, one was tested positive of the virus similar to the ones in Cambodia. Ona clarified, however, that the boy has no history of travel outside the country. “The virus is similar to Cambodia but this case is the mild one,” Ona told reporters in a press conference Friday. EV-71 causes diarrhea; rashes; and hand, foot and mouth disease; and is sometimes associated with severe central neurological disease. The virus, which was earlier tagged as a “mystery disease” in Cambodia, caused the deaths of 52 children there. Based on the details of the case, the official said the boy had developed fever and rashes on his hands, soles of feet, mouth and buttocks last July 6. He was brought for consultation at a local health facility but was subsequently sent home and has since recovered very well, Ona said. Although the victim’s family members have no sickness, they are still being closely monitored for possible manifestation of symptoms such as high fever, chest and muscle pain, sore throat and headache, Ona said.

Meantime, two HFMD patients were found negative of human Enterovirus while the five others will be further tested for Coxsackie A16, which is also associated with HFMD, the health official said. The health official said there is no vaccine on EV-71 yet, so the “approach is to monitor the cases.” Ona, however, reiterated that the incident should not come as a surprise to the public since EV-71 is not new to the Philippines. “This virus could have been here all along… Maybe, this specific strain has not been examined before, therefore, it has not been identified in the past,” Ona said. The DOH had already related in the past that there have been cases of human Enterovirus in the country but that they are not the fatal ones like those found in Cambodia. Meanwhile, the health department strongly urged the public to always maintain personal hygiene and cleanliness as this would be the best way against the virus. “Prevention relies on individual personal hygiene and hand washing; shared toys or teaching tools in daycare should be cleaned, washed and disinfected as they easily become contaminated,” said Ona.
Biohazard name: Enterovirus-71 (EV-71)
Biohazard level: 3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Botanical compound could prove crucial to healing influenza

by Staff Writers
Blacksburg VA (SPX)


Illustration only.

Building on previous work with the botanical abscisic acida, researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) have discovered that abscisic acid has anti-inflammatory effects in the lungs as well as in the gut. The results will be published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

“While the immune effects of abscisic acid are well understood in the gut, less was known about its effects in the respiratory tract. We’ve shown definitively that not only does abscisic acid ameliorate disease activity and lung inflammatory pathology, it also aids recovery and survival in influenza-infected mice,” said Raquel Hontecillas, Ph.D., study leader, assistant professor of immunology at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, and co-director of NIMML.

Influenza accounts for anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 deaths per year in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is difficult to treat if not caught immediately; antivirals usually become ineffective after the virus incubation period has passed and resistance to antiviral drugs poses a serious public health problem in the face of outbreaks.

Abscisic acid, however, has been shown to be most effective at about seven to ten days into the infection, targeting the immune response rather than the virus itself, which many researchers feel is a safer way to reduce flu-associated fatalities.

“Most drugs for respiratory infections target the virus itself, rather than the inflammatory responses caused by the virus. Abscisic acid activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, a receptor that aids in reducing inflammation, through a newly identified pathwaya but it does so without the side effects of other agonists like thiazolidinediones, which are known to have strong adverse side effects.

The development of complementary and alternative Medicine approaches that modulate the host response has great promise in decreasing respiratory damage caused by influenza or other respiratory pathogens,” said Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Ph.D., director of NIMML and professor of nutritional immunology at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.

From this and previous research, it’s clear that abscisic acid could yield a novel new way to combat inflammatory disease, both in the gut and the respiratory tract. By using host-targeted strategies to mediate disease, alternate pathways can be established to activate immune responses without the deadly side effects of many drugs currently on the market.

Related Links
Virginia Tech
Epidemics on Earth – Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

 

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Solar Activity

2MIN News July 21, 2012: Raining Fire, Ionic Earth, Quake Watch

Published on Jul 21, 2012 by

TODAYS LINKS
Hot June: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120720204929.htm
No French Fracking: http://phys.org/news/2012-07-france-shale-gas-environment-minister.html

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos – as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT – as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI – as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it… trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can’t figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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Space

 

 

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name Apporach Date Left AU Distance LD Distance Estimated Diameter* Relative Velocity
153958 (2002 AM31) 22nd July 2012 0 day(s) 0.0351 13.7 630 m – 1.4 km 9.55 km/s 34380 km/h
(2011 CA7) 23rd July 2012 1 day(s) 0.1492 58.1 2.3 m – 5.1 m 5.43 km/s 19548 km/h
(2012 BB124) 24th July 2012 2 day(s) 0.1610 62.7 170 m – 380 m 8.78 km/s 31608 km/h
(2009 PC) 28th July 2012 6 day(s) 0.1772 68.9 61 m – 140 m 7.34 km/s 26424 km/h
217013 (2001 AA50) 31st July 2012 9 day(s) 0.1355 52.7 580 m – 1.3 km 22.15 km/s 79740 km/h
(2012 DS30) 02nd August 2012 11 day(s) 0.1224 47.6 18 m – 39 m 5.39 km/s 19404 km/h
(2000 RN77) 03rd August 2012 12 day(s) 0.1955 76.1 410 m – 920 m 9.87 km/s 35532 km/h
(2004 SB56) 04th August 2012 13 day(s) 0.1393 54.2 380 m – 840 m 13.72 km/s 49392 km/h
(2000 SD8) 04th August 2012 13 day(s) 0.1675 65.2 180 m – 400 m 5.82 km/s 20952 km/h
(2006 EC) 06th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.0932 36.3 13 m – 28 m 6.13 km/s 22068 km/h
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 16 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 17 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 19 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 21 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 23 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 25 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 27 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 29 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 29 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

 

 

 

 

Shockwaves Could Crinkle Space-Time Creating A New Kind Of Singularity 

MessageToEagle.com – Mathematicians have discovered a new way to crinkle up the fabric of space-time, at least in theory.

“We show that space-time cannot be locally flat at a point where two shock waves collide,” said Blake Temple, professor of mathematics at UC Davis.

“This is a new kind of singularity in general relativity.”

The results are reported in two papers by Temple with graduate students Moritz Reintjes and Zeke Vogler, respectively, both published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

Einstein’s theory of general relativity explains gravity as a curvature in space-time. But the theory starts from the assumption that any local patch of space-time looks flat, Temple said.

A singularity is a patch of space-time that cannot be made to look flat in any coordinate system, Temple said. One example of a singularity is inside a black hole, where the curvature of space becomes extreme.

Temple and his collaborators study the mathematics of how shockwaves in a perfect fluid can affect the curvature of space-time in general relativity.

In earlier work, Temple and collaborator Joel Smoller, the Lamberto Cesari professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan, produced a model for the biggest shockwave of all, created from the Big Bang when the universe burst into existence.

A shockwave creates an abrupt change, or discontinuity, in the pressure and density of a fluid, and this creates a jump in the curvature.But it has been known since the 1960s that the jump in curvature created by a single shock wave is not enough to rule out the locally flat nature of space-time.

Vogler’s doctoral work used mathematics to simulate two shockwaves colliding, while Reintjes followed up with an analysis of the equations that describe what happens when shockwaves cross.

He found this created a new type of singularity, which he dubbed a “regularity singularity.”

What is surprising is that something as mild as interacting waves could create something as extreme as a space-time singularity, Temple said.

Illustration of twisted space-time around Earth. Image credit: NASA

Temple and his colleagues are investigating whether the steep gradients in the space-time fabric at a regularity singularity could create any effects that are measurable in the real world.

For example, they wonder whether they might produce gravity waves, Temple said. General relativity predicts that these are produced, for example, by the collision of massive objects like black holes, but they have not yet been observed in nature. Regularity singularities could also be formed within stars as shockwaves pass within them, the researchers theorize.

MessageToEagle.com via University of California

See also:
Supercomputer Solves The Space-Time Dimensionality Riddle

 

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Biological  Hazards / Wildlife

 

 

21.07.2012 Biological Hazard Ireland Multiple areas, [Between north Galway and north Donegal] Damage level
Details

 

 

Biological Hazard in Ireland on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 03:26 (03:26 AM) UTC.

Description
The algal bloom identified off the west coast is continuing to kill fish and shellfish in significant concentrations from north Galway to north Donegal. Up to 80 per cent of stock has been affected on some oyster farms in Donegal, and it is also having a negative impact on sea angling tourism, the Marine Institute has confirmed. The bloom is caused by Karenia mikimotoi, a phytoplankton of the dinoflagellate group which caused a red tide in 2005 that killed wild fish and shellfish. Samples of this new bloom, first detected in May, are being collected for Marine Institute monitoring by the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopters. Marine Institute phytoplankton expert Joe Silke said the bloom was naturally occurring. It was not associated with pollution but contained a “toxic irritant” that damaged gills of shellfish, fish and invertebrates. Irish Farmers’ Association fish farm section chief executive Richie Flynn said if there was a “properly functioning” licensing system in place, farmers could take measures to move stock when such blooms occurred.
Biohazard name: Red Tide
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

 

 

 

 

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Articles of Interest

 

 

Odd Phenomenon Of The Red Rocks –
Why Did All The Stones Suddenly Change Color?

MessageToEagle.com – Some years ago, back in, 2005, over the slopes of Mount Gongga, China all rocks suddenly turned red.

In time, the entire region became known the “Red-Stone-Valley” and today it is a spectacular local tourist attraction.

For many years, scientists have wondered what caused the stones to unexpectedly change color?

Today, scientists can finally offer an explanation what is behind this strange phenomenon.

According to Guoxiang Liu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and his colleagues, the rocks became red as a result of a newly discovered variety of the algae Trentepohlia jolithus that suddenly expanded.

The stones suddenly changed color. Image credit: Guoxiang Liu

In their research paper, Liu and his colleagues write that ” Trentepohlia is a genus of subaerial green algae which is widespread in tropical, subtropical, and also temperate regions with humid climates”.The scientists state that the reason the algae Trentepohlia jolithus started to expand is due to global warming as well as various human activities.

“This new variety only grows on the native rock, both global warming and human activity have provided massive areas of suitable substrata: the rocks surfaces of the Yajiageng river valley floodplain were re-exposed because of heavy debris flows in the summer of 2005; plus human activities such as tourism and road-building have also created a lot of exposed rock!” Liu and his team write.

Red-Stone-Valley and the stones covered with Trentepohlia-carpets.

2A-2B: Red-stone Valley and the Yajiageng River; 2C: Red Trentepohlia-carpet in a cold winter; 2D: Trentepohlia growing on stone walls near the road; 2E: Red-Stone-Valley and Yajiageng River; 2F-2G: Red-Stone-Valley in foggy conditions; 2H: Tibetan Ni-ma stack with Trentepohlia growing on it. 2I: Red-Stone-Valley in winter. Image credit: PLoS One

Microscopic view of Trentepohlia jolithus. Image credit: PLoS One

Today, most of the rocks are covered with deep red colored algal carpets in the Yajiageng river valley.

@ MessageToEagle.com

See also:
Amazing Alien Landscape On Earth – Dallol Volcano

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes ‘FAIR USE’ of any such copyrighted material.]

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Comment

Earth Watch Report – Friday July 20th, 2012

Filed under: Asteroids, Biological Hazard, Diseases, Drought, Earthquakes, Extreme Weather, Flooding, Global Disaster Watch, Mass Animal Deaths, meteors, Solar Activity, Space, Storms, Tornado, Volcanic Events — Leave a comment
July 20, 2012

Earthquakes

 

RSOE EDIS

 

 

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
20.07.2012 09:45:33 2.5 North America United States Hawaii Pahala There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 10:00:20 2.7 Asia Turkey Tokat Yesilyurt VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 10:00:48 2.8 Asia Turkey Batman Sason There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 10:01:10 2.5 Europe Greece West Greece Selianitika VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 10:01:32 4.8 South-America Brazil Ceará Acarau VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 09:20:45 4.8 South America Brazil Ceará Acarau VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 09:10:32 4.9 Asia Japan Hutami There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 10:01:52 5.0 Asia Japan Hutami There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 08:55:26 5.8 Europe Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 08:57:37 6.3 Asia Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 08:30:31 2.5 North America United States Alaska Salamatof There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 08:55:48 5.9 Europe Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 08:35:22 6.1 Asia Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 08:56:09 3.4 South-America Chile Antofagasta Calama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 08:56:30 2.7 Europe Portugal Faro Sagres VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 07:55:28 2.5 South-America Chile Antofagasta Tocopilla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 07:55:52 3.4 Asia Turkey Karabük Gozyeri VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:45:32 3.3 Europe France Pays de la Loire La Ferriere VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:15:24 2.2 North America United States California Cloverdale There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 10:02:13 4.3 Asia Japan Miyagi Ishinomaki VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:45:54 2.9 South-America Chile Libertador General Bernardo O?Higgins Santa Cruz VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:46:18 3.0 Europe Greece Central Macedonia Sarti VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:46:43 2.2 Europe Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Rudna VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:47:04 2.1 Asia Turkey Kütahya Simav There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:47:25 2.1 Asia Turkey Kütahya Pazarlar There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 08:56:50 2.4 Europe Albania Lezhë Kurbnesh VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:47:43 5.3 Europe Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 06:00:28 5.3 Asia Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 05:45:26 3.7 South-America Chile Libertador General Bernardo O?Higgins Santa Cruz VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 05:45:59 3.7 South-America Argentina Salta San Antonio de los Cobres There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 05:46:25 2.2 Asia Turkey Kütahya Simav There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 05:46:46 2.1 Asia Turkey Mu?la Marmaris VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 05:47:08 2.4 Europe Greece North Aegean Samiopoula VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 04:40:21 2.5 Asia Turkey Mu?la OEluedeniz VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 04:40:45 4.6 Indonesian Archipelago Papua New Guinea Eastern Highlands Kainantu There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 03:45:21 4.6 Indonesian archipelago Papua New Guinea Eastern Highlands Kainantu There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 03:35:26 5.1 Europe Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 03:37:20 5.0 Asia Russia Sakhalin Severo-Kuril’sk VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 03:25:26 2.4 North America United States Alaska Nanwalek There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 03:35:45 2.6 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 03:36:02 2.6 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 03:36:53 3.0 Asia Taiwan Taiwan Daxi There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. EMSC Details
20.07.2012 02:45:48 4.3 Middle East Iran Razavi Khorasan Kashmar VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 02:35:24 4.4 Middle-East Iran Razavi Khorasan Kashmar VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 05:47:32 2.5 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 02:35:46 2.2 Asia Turkey ?zmir Foca VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 02:36:08 4.5 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia Papua Nabire VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
20.07.2012 02:15:26 4.5 Indonesian archipelago Indonesia Papua Nabire VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 02:36:58 2.1 Middle America Mexico Baja California Alberto Oviedo Mota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
20.07.2012 00:40:25 2.4 North America United States Hawaii Volcano There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details

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Volcanic Activity

 

 

Today Volcano Activity New Zealand Northland, [Mount Tongariro Volcano] Damage level
Details

 

Volcano Activity in New Zealand on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 05:40 (05:40 AM) UTC.

Description
The volcanic alert level has been lifted for Mt Tongariro following a series of earthquakes. Small earthquakes were recorded beneath the central North Island mountain on July 13. They died down but flared up again on July 18 and increased in frequency yesterday and today. GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said the small earthquakes were all below magnitude 2.5, but they had increased monitoring due to the frequency. “Our historic seismic data has shown that these small volcanic earthquakes are common at Tongariro, but usually only occur at an average rate of 2 per year. We have recorded more than 20 since July 13.” Seismic activity indicating unrest was last detected at Tongariro during 2001. “Our routine volcano monitoring also includes the chemistry of the lakes, springs and fumaroles on Tongariro.” The most recent samples collected in May showed no anomalies, Mr Scott said. GNS Science had upgraded the volcanic alert level from zero to one, meaning activity had risen from typical background surface activity. Level two signals minor eruptive activity and level five indicates a large hazardous eruption in progress. Mt Ruapehu and White Island each have an alert level of one. The aviation colour code was also upgraded for Mt Tongariro from green to yellow, meaning the volcano is experiencing signs of elevated unrest above known background levels. This month’s quakes were clustered in a zone between Emerald Crater and the Te Māri craters at a depth of between two and seven kilometres. Volcanologists will set up portable seismic recorders around the eipcentres of the quakes and sample hot springs, crater lakes and fumarole in the area. Tongariro is made up of multiple volcanic cones constructed over a period of 275,000 years. There have been five reported eruptions from Te Māri craters and Red Crater between 1855 and 1896 and these have since been dormant.

 

 

 

19.07.2012 12:04 PM Batangas, Luzon, Philippines Taal Volcano Volcano Activity 0703-07= Stratovolcano 1977 No. 0 Details

 

 

 

Volcano Activity in Philippines on Thursday, 19 July, 2012 at 12:04 (12:04 PM) UTC.

Description
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded yesterday three volcanic tremors in Taal Volcano along with an increase in the water temperature in its main crater. The carbon dioxide emission of the main crater lake also rose to 627 tons per day on July 7, the agency added. In contrast, Mayon Volcano slumbered the whole day yesterday, with no tremor recorded and no danger of sudden eruption. However, both volcanoes are still under Alert Level 1. Meanwhile, at 6:15 a.m. yesterday, an earthquake swayed a remote town in Occidental Mindoro in contrast to the nine tremors that rocked the entire country on July 17. The solitary quake, which was a gentle magnitude 2.4, had an epicenter 11 kilometers deep at 26 kilometers southeast of Looc, Occidental Mindoro.

 

 

 

 

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

 

Excessive Heat Warning

 

TOPEKA KS

ST LOUIS MO
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
TULSA OK

Excessive Heat Watch

 

TULSA OK

Heat Advisory

 

MEMPHIS TN
ABERDEEN SD
TOPEKA KS
ST LOUIS MO
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
SIOUX FALLS SD
HASTINGS NE
NORTH PLATTE NE
LITTLE ROCK AR
WICHITA KS
TULSA OK
RAPID CITY SD
SPRINGFIELD MO
GOODLAND KS

 

 

At 107°F, Death Valley Sets Record for Hottest Daily Low

Death Valley. Photo: Ray Ordinario

While large parts of the United States battle high temperatures and drought, Death Valley, California, set an unusual new record last week, matching the hottest low temperature ever recorded on Earth. Jeff Masters on Wunderground.com says,

On Thursday morning, July 12, 2012 the low temperature at Death Valley, California dropped to just 107°F (41.7°C), after hitting a high of 128° (53.3°C) the previous day. Not only does the morning low temperature tie a record for the world’s warmest low temperature ever recorded, the average temperature of 117.5°F is the world’s warmest 24-hour temperature on record.

Flanked to the north, south, and west by the Sylvania, Owlshead, and Pinamint mountains, respectively, Death Valley National Park is largely cut off from predominantly south- or westward winds. As they rise up the outer edges of the mountains, water-laden winds from all around shed their water vapor. Normally, a large amount of sunlight’s energy is used to evaporate water vapor, but in Death Valley, the lack of moisture in the air and in the soil means that most of the sun’s energy feeds directly into its soaring temperatures.

This same lack of water usually drives desert temperatures down at night. The average low for July 12 from 1911 to 2008 is 87°F, and last year the warmest minimum temperature was 97°F.

Masters says,

Wednesday’s high of 128°F (53.3°C) was the 10th hottest temperature in U.S. history, and the hottest temperature measured in the U.S. since July 18, 2009, when Death Valley recorded another 128° reading. The only hotter temperatures in U.S. history were all measured at Death Valley, the most recent one being the 129° measured on July 6, 2007. The all-time high for Death Valley is the 134° reading of July 10, 1913.

Heat records like this always need to taken with a grain of salt, however, as there are places on Earth that are so hot or so remote that people don’t even want to venture in to set up the required monitoring equipment, according to CNN.

 

 

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

 

POCATELLO ID
MEDFORD OR
BOISE ID

 

 

 

 

 

20.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Greece West Greece, [Patras city area] Damage level
Details

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in Greece on Wednesday, 18 July, 2012 at 11:06 (11:06 AM) UTC.

Description
Authorities issued evacuation orders for villages in southwestern Greece on Wednesday where wildfires, aided by strong winds and soaring temperatures, have ravaged large areas. The blaze, burning mostly pine forest, sent smoke over the city of Patras, a port with some 220,000 inhabitants, where regional authorities have declared an emergency. Nine planes and one helicopter were involved in the firefighting effort at Argyra, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) east of Patras. Apostolos Katsifaras, regional governor for western Greece, said evacuation orders had been issued for villages in the rugged fire stricken area — likely to involve several hundred residents. “The conditions are very tough. We are using everything we have against the fire,” Katsifaras said. The state of emergency allows authorities to use additional resources, including Greece’s military.

 

20.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Portugal Atlantic Ocean – North, [Island of Madeira ] Damage level
Details

 

 

 

Forest / Wild Fire in Portugal on Thursday, 19 July, 2012 at 19:09 (07:09 PM) UTC.

Description
Wildfires have forced the evacuation of dozens of villagers from their homes in Madeira on Thursday, with the Portuguese authorities sending teams from the mainland to help overwhelmed local firefighters. Portugal had suffered from a severe drought this year before being hit by temperatures of up to 40C this week, which has triggered forest blazes on the mainland too. More than 300 firefighters were struggling on Thursday to put out wildfires near Tavira, a popular holiday destination in the Algarve region near the Spanish border. Authorities in Madeira have used planes and helicopters to combat the flames, including an aircraft sent by Spain’s civil defence. Portugal sent a military transport plane with 83 firefighters to Madeira, where the flames briefly threatened the outskirts of Funchal, the archipelago’s capital, on Wednesday night. The Portuguese interior minister, Miguel Macedo, is also in Madeira to co-ordinate the efforts. While Funchal was mostly out of danger on Thursday, television footage from the archipelago’s smaller island of Porto Santo showed houses catching fire and firefighters telling residents of Camacha to abandon the area. “The changing wind is strongly compromising the effort to put out the flames, and we only have five firemen there and one truck,” the local fire brigade chief, Afonso Nobrega, told the Lusa news agency. SIC television showed a local man shouting for help to get three women out of a building whose door was on fire. Enveloped in heavy smoke, local residents sprayed water on the outside of their homes while others fled. There have been no reports of deaths of serious injuries. This year’s drought, coupled with scorching weather, poses a threat that fires will escalate during the hottest period in late July and August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homeland Security: “Don’t want to be alarmists”

Published on Jul 19, 2012 by

On Daybreak, Anchor Lauren Lowrey asks some of your questions regarding the drought and water shortage to Indiana Department of Homeland Security and Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

 

Water shortage hits big business

Published on Jul 19, 2012 by

Big businesses are also affected by the drought and subsequent water shortage, especially those that need a lot of water to operate.

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Storms / Flooding / Tornadoes / Typhoon

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

 

BISMARCK ND

Flash Flood Watch

 

BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
STATE COLLEGE PA
NEW ORLEANS LA
JACKSON KY
SPOKANE WA
PENDLETON OR
MISSOULA MT
TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
LAKE CHARLES LA

Flood Advisory

 

NASHVILLE TN
BISMARCK ND
SPOKANE WA
NASHVILLE TN

Saskatchewan Mayhem!! 5 tornadoes in Canada!

Published on Jul 19, 2012 by

Storm chaser Greg Johnson documented 5 incredible tornadoes in central Saskatchewan near Wadena. The storms that produced these tornadoes passed over Greg’s family farm near Lintlaw, Saskatchewan. Fortunately there were no injuries and the damage was minimal.

This video was streamed live at http://live.TVNweather.com.

Typhoon Khanun sweeps across Korea, 1 dead

The entrance to the Cheonggyecheon stream in central Seoul is blocked on Thursday morning after typhoon Khanun hit the nation. Typhoon Khanun dumped heavy rains on the nation on Thursday morning, leaving one dead, tens of thousands of households without electricity and major transportation systems at a halt before it subsided in the afternoon. — PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

(THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Typhoon Khanun dumped heavy rains on the nation on Thursday morning, leaving one dead, tens of thousands of households without electricity and major transportation systems at a halt before it subsided in the afternoon.

The government said that the first tropical storm of this year left less-than-feared damage.

The Korean Meteorological Administration cleared most of the typhoon alerts and warnings nationwide as of 1pm (12pm Singapore time).

The state weather agency said that the typhoon reached Korea on Wednesday where it lost its power and turned into an extratropical cyclone in the seas off Sokcho, Gangwon Province. Still, torrential downpours and strong winds were expected to continue until late Thursday night in some parts of the country, it said.

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Radiation /  Nuclear

 

“High neutron flux” causes shutdown at New York nuke plant — “Neutrons are not equally spread around reactor core”

 

 

Title: Nine Mile Point Unit 1 shuts down
Source: The Post-Standard
Author: Debra J. Groom
Date: July 17, 2012

Officials with Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, the plant’s owner, originally thought the turbine that spins to make electricity had tripped. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said late Tuesday the shutdown was due to a high neutron flux in the plant’s reactor.

The cause of the condition is still under review.

[…]

Title: Four U.S. power reactors shut & NYC sweats during heat wave
Source: Reuters
Date: July 18, 2012

Constellation Nuclear Energy Group’s 630-megawatt Nine Mile Point 1 nuclear reactor in New York automatically shut on Tuesday due to high neutron flux — meaning neutrons are not equally spread around the reactor core.

Title: NRC: Event Notification Report for July 18, 2012
Source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Date: July 18, 2012

Facility: NINE MILE POINT
Region: 1 State: NY
Event Date: 07/17/2012
Event Time: 11:18 [EDT]

[…]

AUTOMATIC REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO HIGH NEUTRON FLUX

“On July 17 2012, at 1118 [EDT], Nine Mile Point Unit 1 experienced an automatic reactor scram due to high neutron flux as measured by the Average Power Range Monitoring system. The cause is currently under investigation.

[…]

 

 

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

 

 

S.Leone cholera outbreak kills 62 in less than a month

(AFP) – 1 day ago

FREETOWN — Sierra Leone’s health ministry on Wednesday said an outbreak of cholera in the west African country has killed 62 people in less than a month.

The western area, including the capital Freetown, and “three towns in the northern and southern parts of the country have now been declared cholera outbreak areas”, said a ministry statement.

“Emergency referral centres have been set up and hospitals and health clinics have been boosted with drugs to combat any escalation of the problem.”

Between June 23 and Tuesday, 62 people have died and 3,721 cases have been reported in the areas concerned, statistics showed.

The highest number of cases was in the town of Port Loko, where 21 children under the age of five have died.

“The outbreak has been traced to unsanitary conditions, acute water shortages in many parts of the country and migration from affected regions,” a health official said.

The Sierra Leone Red Cross has mobilised some 400 volunteers to control the spread of the disease and educate communities on how to prevent it.

A recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said the disease had also spread to neighbouring Guinea.

As the annual rainy season is getting underway, the water-borne disease has already left some 700 people dead in West and Central Africa with more than 29,000 cases reported, UNICEF said last week.

Mali and Niger have also been hard hit, with high levels of malnourishment as a result of a food crisis exacerbating the problem.

Poor water and sanitation systems give rise to the disease, an acute intestinal infection caused by ingesting contaminated food and water which causes acute diarrhea and vomiting and can kill in hours, according to the World Health Organisation.

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Climate Change

Nasa satellite pictures show massive iceberg breaking free from glacier

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Solar Activity

2MIN News July 19, 2012: Radiation Storm

Published on Jul 19, 2012 by

Thanks to everyone who shares info and articles with this community… your efforts help us all.

TODAYS LINKS
Dead Baby Crabs: http://www.inquisitr.com/278396/thousands-of-mystery-crabs-wash-ashore-in-haw…
Nuke Plant: http://enenews.com/high-neutron-flux-causes-shutdown-at-new-york-nuke-plant-n… and http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-limerick-nuclear-power-…
Death Valley: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2012/07/at-107f-death-valley-sets-r… [Thanks MrDaveJ420]
UFO Files: http://ufos.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ [Thanks p2sharri]

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos – as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT – as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI – as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it… trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can’t figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

  ALMOST X-FLARE :

Sunspot complex AR1520-1521 erupted again on July 19th, this time producing an M7-class solar flare that almost crossed the threshold into X-territory. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash: The explosion produced a bright coronal mass ejection: movie. The cloud should miss Earth. Although the explosion occurred on the other side of the sun’s western limb, our planet could feel some effects. The blast site is magnetically connected to Earth by backward-spiraling lines of magnetic force. Protons accelerated by the flare are being guided to us by those lines of magnetism, and a mild radiation storm is underway.  

 

 

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Space

 

 

  Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name Apporach Date Left AU Distance LD Distance Estimated Diameter* Relative Velocity
(2008 OX1) 20th July 2012 0 day(s) 0.1873 72.9 130 m – 300 m 15.35 km/s 55260 km/h
(2010 GK65) 21st July 2012 1 day(s) 0.1696 66.0 34 m – 75 m 17.80 km/s 64080 km/h
(2011 OJ45) 21st July 2012 1 day(s) 0.1367 53.2 18 m – 39 m 3.79 km/s 13644 km/h
153958 (2002 AM31) 22nd July 2012 2 day(s) 0.0351 13.7 630 m – 1.4 km 9.55 km/s 34380 km/h
(2011 CA7) 23rd July 2012 3 day(s) 0.1492 58.1 2.3 m – 5.1 m 5.43 km/s 19548 km/h
(2012 BB124) 24th July 2012 4 day(s) 0.1610 62.7 170 m – 380 m 8.78 km/s 31608 km/h
(2009 PC) 28th July 2012 8 day(s) 0.1772 68.9 61 m – 140 m 7.34 km/s 26424 km/h
217013 (2001 AA50) 31st July 2012 11 day(s) 0.1355 52.7 580 m – 1.3 km 22.15 km/s 79740 km/h
(2012 DS30) 02nd August 2012 13 day(s) 0.1224 47.6 18 m – 39 m 5.39 km/s 19404 km/h
(2000 RN77) 03rd August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1955 76.1 410 m – 920 m 9.87 km/s 35532 km/h
(2004 SB56) 04th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.1393 54.2 380 m – 840 m 13.72 km/s 49392 km/h
(2000 SD8) 04th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.1675 65.2 180 m – 400 m 5.82 km/s 20952 km/h
(2006 EC) 06th August 2012 17 day(s) 0.0932 36.3 13 m – 28 m 6.13 km/s 22068 km/h
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 19 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 20 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 20 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 20 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 21 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 23 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 25 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 27 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 29 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife

 

Today Epidemic Hazard India State of Gujarat, [Vadodara Region] Damage level
Details

 

Epidemic Hazard in India on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 03:30 (03:30 AM) UTC.

Description
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) has claimed seven lives in Gujarat. And according to the state government, about 18 people have been affected by CCHF. Replying to a question from Vadodara City MLA Bhupendra Lakhawala, the government said that after an incubation period of one to three days following a tick bite, flu-like symptoms appear, which may resolve in a week. In up to 75 per cent of cases, however, signs of hemorrhage appear three to five days after the onset of the illness if it is not contained properly. Officials said that symptoms characterizing the initial stage of CCHF include mood instability, agitation, and mental confusion. Other signs are nosebleed, bloody urine vomiting, and black stools. Liver becomes swollen and painful. Kidney failure and shock may occur, and sometimes acute respiratory distress syndrome is seen among CCHF patients. Recovery usually begins nine days after the appearance of symptoms. But in 30 per cent of cases, patients die in the second week of illness. The government’s reply stated that mammal and tick infection was common in sites of agriculture. Farm animals needed to be de-ticked before they are transported or delivered for slaughter. The government said that personal tick-avoidance measures had been recommended, such as the use of insect repellents, adequate clothing and body inspection for adherent ticks. The government said that the animal husbandry department had been roped in for implementing precautionary measures in areas where tick infestation had been reported. Areas where CCHF cases are reported are being thoroughly checked and made free of tick infestation, the government said. The government also said that a meeting involving private hospitals had been held. The meeting was chaired by health minister Jay Narayan Vyas.
Biohazard name: Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF)
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

 

 

Today Biological Hazard Ireland Multiple areas, [Between north Galway and north Donegal] Damage level
Details

 

Biological Hazard in Ireland on Friday, 20 July, 2012 at 03:26 (03:26 AM) UTC.

Description
The algal bloom identified off the west coast is continuing to kill fish and shellfish in significant concentrations from north Galway to north Donegal. Up to 80 per cent of stock has been affected on some oyster farms in Donegal, and it is also having a negative impact on sea angling tourism, the Marine Institute has confirmed. The bloom is caused by Karenia mikimotoi, a phytoplankton of the dinoflagellate group which caused a red tide in 2005 that killed wild fish and shellfish. Samples of this new bloom, first detected in May, are being collected for Marine Institute monitoring by the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopters. Marine Institute phytoplankton expert Joe Silke said the bloom was naturally occurring. It was not associated with pollution but contained a “toxic irritant” that damaged gills of shellfish, fish and invertebrates. Irish Farmers’ Association fish farm section chief executive Richie Flynn said if there was a “properly functioning” licensing system in place, farmers could take measures to move stock when such blooms occurred.
Biohazard name: Red Tide
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

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Thousand small fish found dead in Kasumi river Tokyo

Posted by Mochizuki

Fukushima Diary

Related to this article..10 thousand sardines found dead in South Kanagawa

On 7/17/2012, around one thousand of small fish such as Japanese dace were found dead for 500m of Kasumi river Aoume city Tokyo.
A citizen reported it to the city office at 17:15 of 7/17/2012.
According to their water-quality test, oxygen concentration is normal, chlorine or cyanogen were not detected.
Tokyo metropolitan government is going to check if a factory dumped waste water or agricultural chemical in the upper stream.

Last November, about 5000 of small fish such as Japanese dace were found dead at the same location too, but they could not identify the cause either.

H7N3 Control Measures Expand

MEXICO – The National Health, Food Safety and Food Quality Service (SENASICA) reported that as a result of the implementation of the National Animal Health Emergency Plan to contain and eradicate the outbreak of H7N3 avian influenza in Jalisco state, they have inspected 253 poultry farms, in 82 of which there was no presence of viruses, another 33 where the virus was confirmed, while the rest continue to be diagnosed. Senior editor, Chris Wright, reports.

SENASICA’s report, with information updated on 16 July, indicates that the 82 poultry farms which do not have the presence of exotic viruses have been issued an official certificate to allow them to move their products to market, since they do not represent a risk to poultry or consumers.

The farms that have confirmed the H7N3 avian influenza virus remain under quarantine and isolation, in order to control movement and prevent live birds, waste and litter from moving to virus-free regions.

SENASICA will keep the Emergency Plan in place on commercial farms and backyard poultry in the Los Altos region of Jalisco state, mainly in the towns of Acatic and Tepatitlan, with a flock of 16.5 million birds, primarily egg layers, of which 9.3 million are found within the surveillance area.

It has also expanded the scope of review into areas adjacent to the initial quarantine area in order to protect the birds in the buffer zone. As a method of control and eradication of the virus, 3.8 million birds have been depopulated under stringent animal health protocols established by international organizations.

This measure allows the containment of the virus in the area, said SENASICA.

They currently operate eight internal checkpoints and have increased to 43 the number of experts in the region carrying out the tasks of diagnosis, prevention, control and eradication of the virus.

SENASICA reiterates that the H7N3 influenza virus poses no risk to humans, whether they are in contact with birds or poultry products, such as meat and eggs, and that the control measures are intended to protect the commercial poultry production in the area.

National vaccine strategy in place

SENASICA conducted a working meeting with laboratories in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry involved in the production of H7N3 avian influenza vaccine to contain the H7N3 outbreak.

It was confirmed that three laboratories – Avimex, IASA and Ceva – will manufacture in Mexico some 80 million doses of the vaccine. Those will be available later this month to protect a population, initially, of 40 million birds. The production capacity of those companies may reach 350 million doses per month.

Domestic production of the vaccine is made from an H7N3 virus collected in 2006 by Mexican researchers from a wild migratory duck. When the current outbreak started, at the end of June, the duck virus was studied, finding that it could be used as vaccine seed and a pilot vaccine was prepared.

Earlier in the week, Merial Mexico indicated that the company is manufacturing 12 million doses of the vaccine in the European Union. These will be available for the Mexican poultry sector between late July and the first half of August.

 

Thousands Of Mystery Crabs Wash Ashore In Hawaii – Marine Biologists Baffled

 

mystery-crabs-hawaiiMillions of small purple crabs washed ashore on beaches in Hawaii, baffling marine biologists who cannot identify the pea-sized creatures. The crab-like visitors in Honolulu are possibly ’7-11′ or reef crabs in a larvae stage but local scientists are still unable to positively identify the creatures, WTVR reports. Reef crabs are common along the Hawaiian island but biologists readily admit to never having seen “anything like this” before and are searching for answers to the tiny purple crabs identity and their recent massive arrival by the thousands of the small animals on the beach.

Unfortunately many of the little purple crabs which washed ashore in Hawaii were already dead. Marine experts at the Waikiki Aquarium told Hawaii News Now that storms, influx of warm or cold water or pollution could have caused the arrival of the thousands of small purple crabs on the beach – but the Hawaiian islands have not experienced any of the three scenarios recently.

“If it was pollution it would have affected other species as well. So we really don’t know,” Waikiki Aquarium Director Dr. Andrew Rossiter told Hawaii New Now.

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources speculate that air bubbles which occur when the “seas get rough” could have gotten caught in the crab’s shell, prohibiting them from diving to get away from the tides, according to Hawaii News Now.

The dead crabs can grow to an six inches across if the are truly young Reef crabs, but the thousands of little dead purple crabs were less than an inch long when found.

Watch Video here

 

 

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