Quantcast
Channel: Family Survival Protocol - Microcosm News » Chagos Archipelago
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Earth Watch Report – Tuesday October 23rd, 2012

0
0

Earthquakes

USGS

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  3.3 2012/10/22 23:27:33   63.405  -151.294 7.8  CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/10/22 23:05:07   -4.860   133.972 10.0  NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
MAP  2.8 2012/10/22 21:50:02   19.130   -64.730 59.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  3.2 2012/10/22 21:39:45   51.472  -178.154 13.2  ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP  2.5 2012/10/22 21:39:33   56.422  -158.152 73.9  ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP  2.6 2012/10/22 21:38:07   19.387  -155.239 3.8  ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP  4.4 2012/10/22 19:23:04   51.982  -175.044 71.6  ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP  2.9 2012/10/22 15:11:31   18.684   -64.357 81.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  5.1   2012/10/22 14:46:43   2.865   147.691 15.1  FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA REGION
MAP  2.7 2012/10/22 12:37:58   44.910  -125.348 27.9  OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP  4.8   2012/10/22 11:58:24   50.157   156.840 40.8  KURIL ISLANDS
MAP  2.8 2012/10/22 10:46:13   19.524   -64.168 77.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  5.2   2012/10/22 09:56:00  -56.339   -25.749 46.0  SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.6   2012/10/22 09:27:10   38.020   141.889 53.9  NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP  3.6 2012/10/22 08:19:10   58.245  -155.136 6.1  ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP  3.2 2012/10/22 05:26:30   19.664   -64.264 63.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  3.4 2012/10/22 03:43:35   51.720   176.289 36.6  RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  2.5 2012/10/22 02:04:22   61.065  -155.867 15.3  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.8   2012/10/22 01:43:21   39.083   142.305 66.3  NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP  4.6   2012/10/22 01:02:25   4.220   124.547 319.6  CELEBES SEA
MAP  3.6 2012/10/22 00:49:45   52.669  -169.341 49.7  FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  4.8   2012/10/22 00:32:11  -16.473  -174.764 37.7  TONGA

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  3.2 2012/10/21 23:47:35   31.301  -115.584 10.0  BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP  3.0 2012/10/21 23:28:42   19.065   -66.457 38.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  3.0 2012/10/21 23:26:25   52.399  -169.027 29.1  FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  2.8 2012/10/21 23:03:14   40.310  -124.522 19.1  OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  5.0   2012/10/21 20:44:20   12.655   -88.147 92.1  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  3.6 2012/10/21 20:40:08   40.901  -123.934 21.9  NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  5.5   2012/10/21 20:28:20   12.683   -88.106 65.6  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  4.3 2012/10/21 19:14:21   -5.441   128.202 365.0  BANDA SEA
MAP  2.6 2012/10/21 19:05:23   18.719   -64.368 40.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.7   2012/10/21 16:38:20   27.753   59.395 10.0  SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
MAP  4.5   2012/10/21 16:13:23   24.956   56.139 33.0  NEAR THE COAST OF OMAN
MAP  4.6   2012/10/21 15:30:45   -7.346   128.594 158.5  KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
MAP  2.8 2012/10/21 15:21:02   36.281  -120.840 9.8  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  4.3 2012/10/21 15:07:31   19.521   -69.823 17.9  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/10/21 13:54:03   61.786  -152.024 60.3  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.4 2012/10/21 13:32:03   10.128   -85.525 41.1  COSTA RICA
MAP  5.1   2012/10/21 11:57:28   53.434   142.634 9.9  SAKHALIN, RUSSIA
MAP  4.7   2012/10/21 11:40:38  -37.617   -73.440 16.5  BIO-BIO, CHILE
MAP  4.4 2012/10/21 10:58:29   38.182   74.130 156.0  TAJIKISTAN
MAP  3.1 2012/10/21 10:51:50   19.045   -63.914 93.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/10/21 10:44:16   35.631   -97.214 4.7  OKLAHOMA
MAP  2.7 2012/10/21 09:58:34   19.379  -155.241 3.4  ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP  4.6   2012/10/21 08:43:54   52.208   176.552 31.8  RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/10/21 07:54:47   13.783   96.225 30.0  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  3.1 2012/10/21 07:51:34   36.307  -120.847 10.9  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.6 2012/10/21 07:37:47   36.309  -120.849 10.2  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  2.7 2012/10/21 07:18:06   19.058   -64.332 56.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.9 2012/10/21 07:18:03   36.306  -120.858 8.0  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  2.8 2012/10/21 07:15:12   17.934   -65.782 13.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  5.3   2012/10/21 06:55:10   36.310  -120.856 9.2  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  4.6   2012/10/21 06:27:45   21.072   122.075 156.1  TAIWAN REGION
MAP  4.4 2012/10/21 02:41:15   -8.021   108.224 71.0  JAVA, INDONESIA
MAP  3.4 2012/10/21 02:27:11   60.313  -144.676 11.3  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  5.7   2012/10/21 01:25:23   66.296   -18.685 9.9  ICELAND REGION
MAP  3.3 2012/10/21 00:52:32   19.728   -65.603 63.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.8   2012/10/21 00:10:36   66.372   -18.554 10.2  ICELAND REGION

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  4.8   2012/10/20 23:30:06   -5.409   68.581 10.0  CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO REGION
MAP  2.9 2012/10/20 23:17:14   19.317   -63.807 90.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  6.2   2012/10/20 23:00:33  -13.565   166.601 35.6  VANUATU
MAP  4.8   2012/10/20 22:46:38   49.920   88.493 16.8  RUSSIA-MONGOLIA BORDER REGION
MAP  3.0 2012/10/20 22:38:56   32.520  -115.645 12.4  BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP  4.3 2012/10/20 22:14:56  -17.537  -178.958 515.7  FIJI REGION
MAP  4.5   2012/10/20 21:51:11   6.756   -73.051 165.2  NORTHERN COLOMBIA
MAP  4.6   2012/10/20 21:48:51  -21.486   -66.713 208.0  POTOSI, BOLIVIA
MAP  4.7   2012/10/20 17:31:58   37.471   69.174 10.4  TAJIKISTAN
MAP  4.9   2012/10/20 16:29:51   -3.546   100.573 35.8  KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
MAP  2.9 2012/10/20 13:39:50   19.491   -64.202 72.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.8   2012/10/20 10:56:40   2.593   -79.848 10.0  SOUTH OF PANAMA
MAP  4.5   2012/10/20 10:38:20   7.378   91.870 30.3  NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.9   2012/10/20 08:49:39   24.447   122.525 78.8  TAIWAN REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/10/20 07:51:21   18.013   -66.621 14.0  PUERTO RICO
MAP  3.2 2012/10/20 07:28:58   18.809   -64.316 51.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  3.0 2012/10/20 06:03:41   18.969   -65.828 17.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.4 2012/10/20 03:42:06   10.936   -74.136 49.7  NEAR THE NORTH COAST OF COLOMBIA
MAP  2.5 2012/10/20 03:34:17   51.132  -176.232 13.9  ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP  3.1 2012/10/20 03:25:11   61.093  -150.397 37.7  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/10/20 02:49:16   30.113   130.983 24.9  KYUSHU, JAPAN
MAP  4.3 2012/10/20 00:25:52  -32.208   -71.931 21.4  OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE

………………….

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit Alexandria early on Friday morning.

Hatem Oada, head of the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research, said in a statement to the state-run MENA news agency that regional seismic networks indicate the tremor hit at 5:35 am, Cairo time. No damages or injuries have been reported.

The epicenter of the quake was in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Delta. This region is not typically seismically active, Oada said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattles Vanuatu

AFP

SYDNEY, Oct 21, 2012 (AFP) – - A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the South Pacific island of Vanuatu Sunday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

The quake struck at 10:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday) 500 kilometres (310 miles) northwest of the capital Port Vila at a depth of 35 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey said.

The USGS had earlier put the magnitude at 6.6.

Vanuatu lies on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a zone of frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates.

It has been rocked by several large quakes in recent years, averaging about three magnitude 7.0 or above incidents every year without any major damage.

ajc/jw

Follow thewest.com.au on Twitter

Mýrdalsjökull – earthquakes during the last 48 hours
(Preliminary results)

Earthquake location   23 Oct 00:15 GMT

Map of earthquake epicentres

Time and magnitude of earthquake   23 Oct 00:15 GMT

Graph showing earthquake timing and magnitude

ICELAND EARTHQUAKE Swarm Oct 19-20. 2012

Published on Oct 22, 2012 by EQForecaster

Biggest earthquakes during the last 48 hours
Size Time Quality Location
5.2 21 Oct 01:25:15 Checked 19.3 km NNE of Siglufjörður
4.9 20 Oct 22:53:46 38.3 116.8 km NE of Kolbeinsey
4.8 21 Oct 00:10:20 Checked 20.4 km NNE of Siglufjörður
4.4 21 Oct 01:03:42 90.0 20.1 km NNE of Siglufjörður
4.3 21 Oct 02:20:01 90.0 27.5 km NNE of Siglufjörður
4.1 21 Oct 00:10:21 90.0 16.6 km NE of Siglufjörður

Icelandic Met Office

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/

Verdict set for Monday in Italy quake scientists trial

by Staff Writers
Rome (AFP)

A verdict in the trial of seven top Italian scientists for manslaughter for underestimating the risks of an earthquake which killed 309 people in L’Aquila, central Italy, in 2009, is expected on Monday.

“The verdict is expected on October 22,” said Enzo Musco, a lawyer for Professor Gian Michele Calvi who is one of the defendants.

The prosecutor’s office has asked for sentences of four years in prison for each of the seven who were all members of the Major Risks Committee.

The committee met in the central Italian city on March 31, 2009 — six days before the powerful earthquake devastated the region — after a series of small tremors in the preceding weeks had sown panic among local inhabitants.

Prosecutor Fabio Picuti said the experts had provided “an incomplete, inept, unsuitable and criminally mistaken” analysis after that meeting, which reassured locals and prevented them from preparing for the quake.

The experts had said after their meeting that they could not predict an earthquake but urged local authorities to ensure safety rules were respected.

The seven include Enzo Boschi, who at the time was the head of Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology.

The La Repubblica daily on Friday also reported on a separate case against an engineer who lost his daughter in the earthquake but was put on trial for failing to respect anti-quake regulations in one of his constructions.

Diego De Angelis, 67, was convicted on Thursday and sentenced to three years in prison.

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

LISS – Live Internet Seismic Server

GSN Stations

These data update automatically every 30 minutes. Last update: October 23, 2012 03:49:10 UTC

Seismograms may take several moments to load. Click on a plot to see larger image.

CU/ANWB, Willy Bob, Antigua and Barbuda

 ANWB 24hr plot

CU/BBGH, Gun Hill, Barbados

 BBGH 24hr plot

CU/BCIP, Isla Barro Colorado, Panama

 BCIP 24hr plot

CU/GRGR, Grenville, Grenada

 GRGR 24hr plot

CU/GRTK, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

 GRTK 24hr plot

CU/GTBY, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

 GTBY 24hr plot

CU/MTDJ, Mount Denham, Jamaica

 MTDJ 24hr plot

CU/SDDR, Presa de Sabaneta, Dominican Republic

 SDDR 24hr plot

CU/TGUH, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 TGUH 24hr plot

IC/BJT, Baijiatuan, Beijing, China

 BJT 24hr plot

IC/ENH, Enshi, China

 ENH 24hr plot

IC/HIA, Hailar, Neimenggu Province, China

 HIA 24hr plot

IC/LSA, Lhasa, China

 LSA 24hr plot

IC/MDJ, Mudanjiang, China

 MDJ 24hr plot

IC/QIZ, Qiongzhong, Guangduong Province, China

 QIZ 24hr plot

IU/ADK, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA

 ADK 24hr plot

IU/AFI, Afiamalu, Samoa

 AFI 24hr plot

IU/ANMO, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

 ANMO 24hr plot

IU/ANTO, Ankara, Turkey

 ANTO 24hr plot

IU/BBSR, Bermuda

 BBSR 24hr plot

IU/BILL, Bilibino, Russia

 BILL 24hr plot

IU/CASY, Casey, Antarctica

 CASY 24hr plot

IU/CCM, Cathedral Cave, Missouri, USA

 CCM 24hr plot

IU/CHTO, Chiang Mai, Thailand

 CHTO 24hr plot

IU/COLA, College Outpost, Alaska, USA

 COLA 24hr plot

IU/COR, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

 COR 24hr plot

IU/CTAO, Charters Towers, Australia

 CTAO 24hr plot

IU/DAV,Davao, Philippines

 DAV 24hr plot

IU/DWPF,Disney Wilderness Preserve, Florida, USA

 DWPF 24hr plot

IU/FUNA,Funafuti, Tuvalu

 FUNA 24hr plot

IU/FURI, Mt. Furi, Ethiopia

 FURI 24hr plot

IU/GNI, Garni, Armenia

 GNI 24hr plot

IU/GRFO, Grafenberg, Germany

 GRFO 24hr plot

IU/GUMO, Guam, Mariana Islands

 GUMO 24hr plot

IU/HKT, Hockley, Texas, USA

 HKT 24hr plot

IU/HNR, Honiara, Solomon Islands

 HNR 24hr plot

IU/HRV, Adam Dziewonski Observatory (Oak Ridge), Massachusetts, USA

 HRV 24hr plot

IU/INCN, Inchon, Republic of Korea

 INCN 24hr plot

IU/JOHN, Johnston Island, Pacific Ocean

 JOHN 24hr plot

IU/KBS, Ny-Alesund, Spitzbergen, Norway

 KBS 24hr plot

IU/KEV, Kevo, Finland

 KEV 24hr plot

IU/KIEV, Kiev, Ukraine

 KIEV 24hr plot

IU/KIP, Kipapa, Hawaii, USA

 KIP 24hr plot

IU/KMBO, Kilima Mbogo, Kenya

 KMBO 24hr plot

IU/KNTN, Kanton Island, Kiribati

 KNTN 24hr plot

IU/KONO, Kongsberg, Norway

 KONO 24hr plot

IU/KOWA, Kowa, Mali

 KOWA 24hr plot

IU/LCO, Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile

 LCO 24hr plot

IU/LSZ, Lusaka, Zambia

 LSZ 24hr plot

IU/LVC, Limon Verde, Chile

 LVC 24hr plot

IU/MA2, Magadan, Russia

 MA2 24hr plot

IU/MAJO, Matsushiro, Japan

 MAJO 24hr plot

IU/MAKZ,Makanchi, Kazakhstan

 MAKZ 24hr plot

IU/MBWA, Marble Bar, Western Australia

 MBWA 24hr plot

IU/MIDW, Midway Island, Pacific Ocean, USA

 MIDW 24hr plot

IU/MSKU, Masuku, Gabon

 MSKU 24hr plot

IU/NWAO, Narrogin, Australia

 NWAO 24hr plot

IU/OTAV, Otavalo, Equador

 OTAV 24hr plot

IU/PAB, San Pablo, Spain

 PAB 24hr plot

IU/PAYG Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands

 PAYG 24hr plot

IU/PET, Petropavlovsk, Russia

 PET 24hr plot

IU/PMG, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

 PMG 24hr plot

IU/PMSA, Palmer Station, Antarctica

 PMSA 24hr plot

IU/POHA, Pohakaloa, Hawaii

 POHA 24hr plot

IU/PTCN, Pitcairn Island, South Pacific

 PTCN 24hr plot

IU/PTGA, Pitinga, Brazil

 PTGA 24hr plot

IU/QSPA, South Pole, Antarctica

 QSPA 24hr plot

IU/RAO, Raoul, Kermandec Islands

 RAO 24hr plot

IU/RAR, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

 RAR 24hr plot

IU/RCBR, Riachuelo, Brazil

 RCBR 24hr plot

IU/RSSD, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

 RSSD 24hr plot

IU/SAML, Samuel, Brazil

 SAML 24hr plot

IU/SBA, Scott Base, Antarctica

 SBA 24hr plot

IU/SDV, Santo Domingo, Venezuela

 SDV 24hr plot

IU/SFJD, Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland

 SFJD 24hr plot

IU/SJG, San Juan, Puerto Rico

 SJG 24hr plot

IU/SLBS, Sierra la Laguna Baja California Sur, Mexico

 SLBS 24hr plot

IU/SNZO, South Karori, New Zealand

 SNZO 24hr plot

IU/SSPA, Standing Stone, Pennsylvania USA

 SSPA 24hr plot

IU/TARA, Tarawa Island, Republic of Kiribati

 TARA 24hr plot

IU/TATO, Taipei, Taiwan

 TATO 24hr plot

IU/TEIG, Tepich, Yucatan, Mexico

 TEIG 24hr plot

IU/TIXI, Tiksi, Russia

 TIXI 24hr plot

IU/TRIS, Tristan da Cunha, Atlantic Ocean

 TRIS 24hr plot

IU/TRQA, Tornquist, Argentina

 TRQA 24hr plot

IU/TSUM, Tsumeb, Namibia

 TSUM 24hr plot

IU/TUC, Tucson, Arizona

 TUC 24hr plot

IU/ULN, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

 ULN 24hr plot

IU/WAKE, Wake Island, Pacific Ocean

 WAKE 24hr plot

IU/WCI, Wyandotte Cave, Indiana, USA

 WCI 24hr plot

IU/WVT, Waverly, Tennessee, USA

 WVT 24hr plot

IU/XMAS, Kiritimati Island, Republic of Kiribati

 XMAS 24hr plot

IU/YAK, Yakutsk, Russia

 YAK 24hr plot

IU/YSS, Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, Russia

 YSS 24hr plot

**********************************************************************************************************

Volcanic Activity

Lava Dome on Top of Mount Merapi Collapses

SP/Imron Rosyid Taufikur

Mount Merapi erupting in 2010. (JG Photo/Boy T Harjanto). Mount Merapi erupting in 2010. (JG Photo/Boy T Harjanto).

Solo, Central Java. A lava dome that formed on top of Mount Merapi following its 2010 eruption has collapsed, prompting volcanology officials to issue a warning on Friday of a possible deadly cold lava stream on the mountain slope.

Tri Mujianto, from the Merapi mountain observatory in Jrakah, in the Selo subdistrict of Boyolali, said the lava dome had disappeared but he could not say precisely when.

“The dome is now no longer there but we were not able to monitor when it collapsed. Some [of the material] may have fallen inside [the crater] while some may have flowed into the channel of Apu River,” he said.

They have not been able to determine the cause of the collapse, as there has been no rain in the crater area for days. They also haven’t been able to estimate the volume of cold lava in the collapsed dome.

Tri said the alert status for Merapi remained at the normal level but warned that should rains fall over the crater, cold lava stream may flow down through natural river channels. A cold lava stream is congealed lava and other volcanic mud and debris flushed down the slopes of a volcano by heavy rains.

“Entering the rainy season, the frequency of cold lava stream is rising. We have checked the conditions at the craters several times and it appears to still be very much unstable. People on the slopes of Merapi, especially those living on the banks of rivers originating from the peak, should remain alert,” he said.

Meanwhile, Subandriyo, the head of the Volcanology office in Yogyakarta, said that parts of the lava dome facing Boyolali district had collapsed, and ventured that it was due to its fragile condition.

“The collapse was not directly recorded because there were so many small deflagrations. On the scale, they did not even reach one kilometer down the slope,” Subandriyo said.

He warned that rains with intensity of more than 20 millimeters and lasting more than two hours were enough to trigger flash floods of cold lava down the mountain’s slope.

Related articles

Merapi Victims Mend Their Villages and Lives 10:00am Jun 7, 2012

The Hidden Past of Indonesia’s Gunung Lawu 7:11pm Feb 29, 2012

Documentary Tells Stories Of Mt. Merapi’s Impact 6:02pm Dec 11, 2011

Battling Merapi’s Mudflows an Uphill Battle 10:36pm Nov 20, 2011

Hungry Monkeys Eye Merapi Villagers’ Crops 11:04pm Nov 15, 2011

Volcanism in the American Southwest

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communications and Publishing
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr, MS 119
Reston, VA 20192
John Bwarie 1-click interview
Phone: 626-318-5547Leslie Gordon 1-click interview
Phone: 650-329-4006
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Experts in volcano hazards and public safety have started a conversation about volcanoes in the southwestern United States, and how best to prepare for future activity. Prior to this meeting, emergency response planning for volcanic unrest in the region had received little attention by federal or state agencies.Though volcanic eruptions are comparatively rare in the American Southwest, the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah host geologically-recent volcanic eruption deposits and are vulnerable to future volcanic activity. Compared with other parts of the western U.S., comparatively little research has been focused on this area, and eruption probabilities are poorly understood.“A volcanic eruption in the American southwest is an example of a low-probability, but high-impact event for which we should be prepared to respond,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “No one wants to be exchanging business cards during an emergency, and thus a small investment in advance planning could pay off in personal relationships and coordination between scientists and first responders.””The goal of the conference is to increase awareness of volcanism and vulnerabilities in the American Southwest, and to begin coordination among volcano scientists, land managers, and emergency responders regarding future volcanic activity,” said Dr. Jacob Lowenstern, one of the organizers of the conference, and the U.S. Geological Survey Scientist-In-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. “This is the first time these federal, state, and local agencies have met to discuss their roles, responsibilities, and resources, should an eruption occur.”The “Volcanism in the American Southwest” conference on Oct. 18-19 in Flagstaff, Ariz. was organized by the USGS, Northern Arizona University, University at Buffalo, and New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, the meeting included interdisciplinary talks, posters, and panel discussions, providing an opportunity for volcanologists, land managers, and emergency responders to meet, converse, and begin to plan protocols for any future volcanic activity.

More information about the meeting, including presentation abstracts, is online.

……………………….

20.10.2012 05:44 PM Sunda Strait, Indonesia Mt. Anak Krakatoa Volcano Volcano Activity 0602-00= Caldera 2009 No. 0 Details

Volcano Activity in Indonesia on Saturday, 20 October, 2012 at 17:44 (05:44 PM) UTC.

Description
Indonesia issued today an official alert at the straight of Sunda for the increasing activity of Mt. Anak Krakatoa. Dense clouds surrounding the mountain blind it from human eyes while fishers and tourists must remain at a distance of two kilometres, said Andi Suardi, head of the watch deport in Hargopancuran. Just 30 days earlier, Anak Krakatoa spewed lava and other material 2,000 meters high above the peak; there have been since hundreds of quakes in the area and black clouds continue to veil the mouth of the mountain. Situated between Sumatra and Java Islands, Anak Krakatoa emerged from sea late in the 1930s and from 1950, growing an average of five meters per year. Science has confirmed another five active volcanos and the authorities have activated the alert in their vicinity, and Indonesia has more than 400 volcanos and some 130 remain active.

***********************************************************************************************************

Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Wave snatches Polish woman to her death in Spain

by Staff Writers
Barcelona (AFP)

A huge wave dragged a Polish woman to her death as she walked on a Spanish beach with a friend on Friday in a storm that also left a young French man missing.

As the powerful storm smashed into northeastern Catalonia, a big wave snatched away the 37-year-old Polish woman in the holiday resort of Lloret del Mar in the early hours, emergency services officials said.

“She was walking along the beach with a friend when she was surprised by a wave that dragged her in,” said a police spokesman.

Her corpse was found five nautical miles down the coast near Blanes later in the morning, officials said, and she was identified by her clothes and jewellery.

The French man, described only as a young person, disappeared after going fishing in a rocky area of the coast of Roses, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) further north.

Only his fishing rod was recovered.

Emergency services were alerted by the French man’s friend after he went fishing in a rocky area known as Carretera de Canyelles and failed to return, an emergency services spokesman said.

“This morning we found his fishing rod in a rocky area and began a search of the land and sea with helicopters and specialized vehicles,” he said.

Catalonia’s emergency services declared a state of alert on Friday because of forecasts for the weekend of heavy rain, rough seas with waves higher than 2.5 metres (eight feet) and strong winds.

The authorities warned people to avoid breakwaters, coastal paths and beaches affected by the waves.

Storms also beat down on the neighbouring northern Spanish region of Aragon, causing floods in the province of Zaragoza.

Spain has been punished by extreme weather in the past year.

After the driest winter in 70 years, forest fires scorched more than 184,000 hectares (454,000 acres) of land in the first nine months of 2012, the largest amount in a decade, according to government figures.

Related Links
Water News – Science, Technology and Politics

Bitterly cold end to Labour weekend

Bitterly cold end to Labour weekend

New Zealand

While the roads remained clear of any snow, ewes and lambs picked their way through the icy crust

While the roads remained clear of any snow, ewes and lambs picked their way through the icy crust

By Hamish Clark

It’s been a bitterly cold end to Labour Weekend, with bad weather sweeping across the South Island.

Snow fell in Canterbury from Lake Tekapo up to Methven, while over on the West Coast, a tornado flattened an old theatre in the northern township of Hector.

The storm arrived at the break of dawn and blanketed the countryside. Temperatures dived in the wintry blast to near freezing – a turnaround on yesterday’s 20degC highs.

Five-to-10cm of snow covered the Canterbury Foothills, falling as far south as Twizel and Tekapo, cutting short holiday-makers’ long weekend away.

One by one, caravans, campervans and boats joined the queue home, although one classic bike was left on the side of the road.

“We have just come back from Twizel on the old motorbike and been in the snow,” says motorcyclist Grant Jones. “I have just blown a head casket on her, so she is on the trailer now until home.”

While the roads remained clear of any snow, ewes and lambs picked their way through the icy crust.

“[We have] few lambing ewes and a few sorry looking lambs,” says farming student Hamish Forrester.

Over on the West Coast, there was not much left of an old Hector theatre and dancehall north of Westport – a tornado flattened it in the middle of the night.

But if Tourism New Zealand ever wanted the perfect promo, this was it – visitors say they loved seeing the snow in Tekapo.

3 News

Central Australia baking in rare October heat

Brett Dutschke, Monday October 22, 2012 – 17:09 EDT Much of central Australia is baking in heat not experienced at this time of year in decades.

Temperatures have been reaching the high thirties each day for about a week, the longest it has been this hot at this time of year in more than 20 years.

Today is Yulara’s eighth day of reaching 35 degrees or more. In more than 20 years of record there hasn’t been a longer run of such heat at this time of year.

Alice Springs has reached at least 38 degrees in each of the past six days, beating the previous September/October record of four days, most recently set in 2008.

Across the border in far southwest Queensland, Birdsville has almost equalled its longest run of 40-degree days for this time of year. Sunday was the fourth day of 40 or more. This is only one day short of the October record of five days, set in 1988. Monday had only reached 39.4 degrees by 3:30pm. Birdsville’s records go back to the 1950s.

This heat has a few more days to go, at least until Wednesday in Yulara and Alice Springs and until Thursday in Birdsville, when a cooler southerly change is due. This change will drop temperatures by about 10 degrees.

Before the cooler change arrives Alice Springs is on target for nine consecutive days of 35 degrees, also a record for this time of year.

- Weatherzone

Today Snow Storm China Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, [Xinjiang-wide] Damage level Details

Snow Storm in China on Tuesday, 23 October, 2012 at 03:30 (03:30 AM) UTC.

Description
The persistent snow and rain hit the northwestern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, causing a dramatic temperature drop. This has resulted in the freezing of the road surface on several sections of Sayram Lake-Guozigou Highway, causing traffic congestion in the direction to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, northwest China.
22.10.2012 Extreme Weather Zambia Copperbelt Province, Lufwanyama Damage level Details

Extreme Weather in Zambia on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 14:32 (02:32 PM) UTC.

Description
A hailstorm has left a trail of destruction, damaging furniture and ripping off roofing sheets at Lumanto Basic School in Lufwanyama. The storm, which happened last Friday, damaged a 1×2 classroom block at the school, whose window panes and part of the wall collapsed. Lufwanyama district education board secretary Hilda Kulelwa confirmed the tragedy in an interview yesterday. Ms Kulelwa said the hailstorm struck when schoolchildren were on lunch break and no one was hurt. “We had a very strong wind yesterday (Friday) which ripped off iron sheets at Lumanto Basic School. The desks are also damaged. The storm struck as soon as the grade nines finished their practical examinations,” she said. Ms Kulelwa said the damage left by the hailstorm will affect the school timetable as some classes will have to be rescheduled until the affected block is rehabilitated. She said the matter has been reported to the district commissioner and the provincial education officer. And Lufwanyama district commissioner Alex Kalela said his office will write to the provincial permanent secretary, requesting for the rehabilitation of the school as soon as possible. “The children are writing their final examinations and we don’t want their timetable to be affected. We are appealing to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to quickly repair the roofs before the rains start,” Mr Kalela said.

***********************************************************************************************************

Storms / Flooding / Landslides / Tornado

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Sandy (AL18) Carib Sea 22.10.2012 23.10.2012 Tropical Depression 0 ° 74 km/h 93 km/h 3.66 m NOAA NHC Details

Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Sandy (AL18)
Area: Carib Sea
Start up location: N 13° 30.000, W 78° 0.000
Start up: 22nd October 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 68.44 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
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
23rd Oct 2012 05:01:30 N 12° 42.000, W 78° 36.000 0 74 93 Tropical Depression 0 ° 12 998 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
24th Oct 2012 00:00:00 N 14° 48.000, W 77° 54.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC
24th Oct 2012 12:00:00 N 16° 36.000, W 77° 30.000 Hurricane II 130 157 NOAA NHC
25th Oct 2012 00:00:00 N 18° 30.000, W 77° 6.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC
26th Oct 2012 00:00:00 N 22° 42.000, W 75° 48.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
27th Oct 2012 00:00:00 N 25° 42.000, W 75° 24.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
28th Oct 2012 00:00:00 N 28° 12.000, W 73° 36.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
AL19 Atlantic Ocean 23.10.2012 23.10.2012 Tropical Depression 355 ° 56 km/h 74 km/h 3.66 m NOAA NHC Details

Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: AL19
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 22° 18.000, W 51° 42.000
Start up: 23rd October 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 0.00 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
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
23rd Oct 2012 05:00:42 N 23° 0.000, W 51° 48.000 15 56 74 Tropical Depression 355 ° 12 1006 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
24th Oct 2012 18:00:00 N 27° 42.000, W 47° 6.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NOAA NHC
24th Oct 2012 06:00:00 N 26° 42.000, W 49° 36.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 NOAA NHC
25th Oct 2012 18:00:00 N 30° 0.000, W 40° 30.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 NOAA NHC
26th Oct 2012 18:00:00 N 33° 30.000, W 34° 0.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 NOAA NHC

……………………………

22.10.2012 Hailstorm South Africa State of Gauteng, [Ekurhuleni area] Damage level Details

Hailstorm in South Africa on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 14:30 (02:30 PM) UTC.

Description
Ekurhuleni metro police ran for cover as hail the size of golf balls shattered their car windscreens and side mirrors, spokesman Kobeli Mokheseng said. The hail “came down like a ton of bricks” for about five minutes on Saturday between 2pm and 3pm, he said. “Metro police officers who were patrolling… ran for cover following heavy rain and winds blowing uncontrollably,” said Mokheseng. He said metro police were still assessing the damage, and that no one was hurt. The hail appeared to have been heaviest in Edenvale, Midrand, Germiston, Boksburg and Benoni. People took to the social networking site, Twitter, to express their dismay at the damage it caused. “What a scary experience yesterday really bad weather hail were so big damaged my younger sister’s kids playroom,” a Twitter user wrote. “Tennis ball sized hail at our place on Saturday crazy.” Another Twitter user wrote: “Talk about hail damage… 12 windows KO!!!!”. “Every car in the East Rand that wasn’t under cover or was on the road is damaged. Mine has 3 dents on boot,” wrote another person. “My mom’s Clio took a beating… Hail damage all over! It went right through the body work.” The Sunday Times showed a photograph of a Benoni man, Jimmy Sales, inspecting his car’s shattered rear windscreen under the headline “This weather is insane”. The newspaper carried an inset picture of a hailstone almost the size of a cricket ball which was among those which fell at the Glendower Golf Club, reportedly damaging several cars in the parking lot and gouging chunks out of the green.
22.10.2012 Flash Flood Bulgaria Province of Burgas, [Varvara and Ahtopol, Municipality of Tsarevo] Damage level Details

Okla. Interstate Reopens After Dust Storm

Associated Press

Overlay

Dust Storm Causes Big Pile-up

BLACKWELL, Okla. — Transportation officials say a stretch of Interstate 35 in northern Oklahoma is open again after a massive dust storm triggered a multi-vehicle accident.

(Weather Extra: Satellite Shows Blowing Dust in the Plains)

Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesman Cole Hackett said the 8-mile stretch of Interstate 35 reopened Thursday evening.

Transportation workers had been called in earlier Thursday to close the highway between U.S. 60 and Oklahoma 11. The area just south of the Kansas state line remained closed for several hours as crews cleared debris from the crash and waited for winds to die down.

weather.com

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said visibility was less than 10 feet as gusts as high as 55 mph blew dust over the roadway Thursday afternoon.

No one was killed in the multi-vehicle accident, though Blackwell Police Chief Fred LeValley said nine people were injured.

In a scene reminiscent of the Dust Bowl days, choking dust suspended on strong wind gusts shrouded Interstate 35, which links Dallas and Oklahoma City to Kansas City, Mo. Video from television station helicopters showed the four-lane highway virtually disappearing into billowing dust on the harsh landscape near Blackwell, plus dozens of vehicles scattered in the median and on the shoulders.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Jodi Palmer, a dispatcher with the Kay County Sheriff’s Office. “In this area alone, the dirt is blowing because we’ve been in a drought. I think from the drought everything’s so dry and the wind is high.”

(MORE: The Dust Bowl 2012 vs 1930s)

The highway patrol said the dust storm caused a multi-car accident, and local police said nearly three dozen cars and tractor-trailers were involved. Blackwell Police Chief Fred LeValley said nine people were injured, but there were no fatalities.

State transportation workers were called into to close the highway between U.S. 60 and Oklahoma 11, an 8-mile stretch of the cross-country roadway.

The area is just south of the Kansas state line in far northern Oklahoma. Interstate 35 runs from the Mexican border in south Texas to Duluth, Minn.

A red flag fire warning was in place for parts of northern Oklahoma on Thursday, as is a blowing dust advisory.

The National Weather Service forecast for the area said winds would subside to 20 mph or lower overnight but that gusts as high as 28 mph could continue. Calm winds were expected by Friday night.

The area has suffered through an extended drought and many farmers had recently loosened the soil while preparing for the winter wheat season.

(PHOTOS: Drought Disaster 2012)

“You have the perfect combination of extended drought in that area … and we have the extremely strong winds,” said Gary McManus, the Oklahoma associate state climatologist.

“Also, the timing is bad because a lot of those farm fields are bare. The soil is so dry, it’s like powder. Basically what you have is a whole bunch of topsoil waiting for the wind to blow it away. It’s no different from the 1930s than it is now.”

Steve Austin, a Kay County commissioner, said visibility was terrible.

“It looked like a huge fog was over the city of Ponca City,” he said. “We’ve had dust storms before, but I don’t remember anything of this magnitude in years.”

Flash Flood in Bulgaria on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 09:57 (09:57 AM) UTC.

Description
There are no flooded and isolated settlements after the heavy rain in the coastal municipality of Tsarevo on Sunday. A bridge has been hit by a tidal wave on the road between the southeastern village of Varvara and town of Ahtopol, municipality mayor Georgi Lapchev said. He added that the road was closed and experts were working to restore the damaged section. He said there was a roundabout route. He noted that Sunday’s heavy rain caused damages and other settlements might experience problems as well.
22.10.2012 Flash Flood Indonesia State of Papua, [Panja district] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Indonesia on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 09:55 (09:55 AM) UTC.

Description
Flash floods in Papua in eastern Indonesia on Sunday night has displaced over 1,000 people and damaged over 200 houses and other public facilities, an official of disaster relief agency said here on Monday. Spokesman of the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that heavy rains at mountainous area led to overflow of Eranouli river and caused flash floods in Eranouli village in Panja district at about 21:00 pm Jakarta time (1400 GMT). “Over 200 houses and scores of office building have been damaged and about 1,000 people have escaped to higher grounds,” he said. The waters inundated the village by up to 2 meters high, said Sutopo. The waters also damaged a health clinic and a clean water facility, he said.
21.10.2012 Flash Flood India State of Sikkim, Chungthan Damage level Details

Flash Flood in India on Sunday, 21 October, 2012 at 10:50 (10:50 AM) UTC.

Description
A flash flood triggered by torrential rain has killed at least nine construction workers and left 15 others missing and feared dead in India’s remote northeast. Karma Zyatso, chief secretary of Sikkim state, says the workers, who lived in camps, were swept away by the swirling waters of a flooded river Friday in Chungthan, a small town in the mountainous region. Zyatso said Sunday that authorities had recovered nine bodies and were searching for the 15 missing workers, who were building roads.

………………………….

Eleven killed, 10 missing in Peru landslide

by Staff Writers
Lima (AFP)

At least 11 Peruvians were killed and 10 more are missing after a mudslide Wednesday slammed into a small village in a mountainous jungle region, officials said.

Those killed in the landslide include five children, Ronald Garcia, the provincial mayor, told RPP national radio network.

The avalanche of mud and rocks swept away 24 homes when it crashed into the village of El Porvenir, in the northern department of San Martin, at dawn.

The head of Peru’s Civil Defense Institute, Alfredo Murgueytio, told the daily El Comercio in an interview posted online that rescuers pulled 11 bodies from the rubble, and that 10 people are still missing.

Mayor Garcia said that some of the missing people may have fled into the hills to save their lives.

“Whole families are missing,” said Garcia. More than 80 families live in the village, he said.

El Porvenir residents are mostly coffee farmers, officials said.

Heavy rain in Peru’s Andean region in recent weeks has triggered several landslides.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

Today Tornado USA State of California, [Sutter, Yuba and Butte counties] Damage level Details

Tornado in USA on Tuesday, 23 October, 2012 at 03:29 (03:29 AM) UTC.

Description
Tornadoes reportedly touched down Monday afternoon in three Northern California counties, knocking down some trees and power lines as a powerful storm blew over the region. Officials said no injuries were reported by the tornadoes, which were caused by the first storm of the season in Northern California. The National Weather Service said preliminary reports indicated that the tornadoes touched down in Sutter, Yuba and Butte counties. The unstable weather prompted the agency to issue a tornado warning for Placer County. Officials said they received reports from residents of toppled trees and power lines and damage to rooftops after shingles were ripped off by powerful winds.
22.10.2012 Tornado USA State of Pennsylvania, Fern Glen [Lancaster County] Damage level Details

Tornado in USA on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 09:47 (09:47 AM) UTC.

Description
Authorities have confirmed that a tornado caused a pavilion to collapse at a Lancaster County park, injuring 15 people and causing millions of dollars in damage. The EF-1 tornado touched down shortly after 8 p.m. Friday and over the next 10 minutes traveled about 16 miles from Fern Glen to Paradise in Lancaster County, packing maximum winds of 100 to 110 m.p.h., the National Weather Service said Sunday. Officials said several dozen people attending a baseball game near Paradise sought shelter at the 40-by-40-foot pavilion, but high winds collapsed it. Police said 10 to 12 people were injured, but the weather service put the injury total at 15. Authorities said most of the injuries were minor; one person had a broken bone. The tornado damage was sporadic and contained within a larger area of straight-line wind damage, weather observers said. Officials said 50 structures were damaged, including several barns that were destroyed. Two small high-tension towers and thousands of trees were toppled. The county emergency management office estimated damage at $3 million to $5 million.

************************************************************************************************************

Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

22.10.2012 Epidemic Hazard India State of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in India on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 09:49 (09:49 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 20 schoolchildren, who have fallen sick in some posh localities of the city, are attending their classes, posing a danger to others kids. Teachers suspect students are afflicted with chickenpox. With blisters over body, fever and tiredness, these students are going to school. The parents say they have to send their children to schools as their absence from the school would affect studies and they might miss the chance of writing their annual test because of falling short of minimum attendance necessary to appear in examination. “I know many children who are suffering from chickenpox, a woman teacher, residing in Arera Colony, told TOI. Instead of quarantining such kids, their parents were sending them to schools, which may trigger the spread of the contagious disease, she said. These kids, some from my locality, are from the posh localities, she said. The health officials should take some steps and visit schools.
Biohazard name: Chicken Pox
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: suspected
21.10.2012 Epidemic Hazard India Capital City, New Delhi Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in India on Sunday, 21 October, 2012 at 03:43 (03:43 AM) UTC.

Description
Hospitals in the city have reported cases of rickettsial disease caused by tick bites – a rare infectious fever that is common in hilly regions having a tropical climate. Though doctors said the disease “is very rare” in Delhi, AIIMS has reported at least two cases in its paediatric unit over the past six weeks. Serological reports from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) confirmed that these patients were afflicted with scrub typhus, a variant of rickettsia. Doctors at three private hospitals said they had sent samples to the NCDC and received confirmed reports. Serological tests to confirm the infection is not available in government and most private hospitals. The Director of Health Services (DHS) Dr N V Kamat said the city’s infectious disease surveillance programme was yet to be notified about the cases. Dr V K Paul, the head of paediatrics in AIIMS, said: “The disease is very rare and we do not often get patients suffering from the it in Delhi. But we have received confirmation from the NCDC that two of our patients were diagnosed with Scrub Typhus over the past six weeks.” Dr Atul Gogia, associate consultant of internal medicine in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said: “We have seen 8-10 cases of scrub typhus in the past month. We used to see a case once a year. This year, there has been a sudden jump. So we are sending every suspected, unexplained fever for tests.” Dr Gogia said patients have a characteristic black mark, known as eschar, left by the mite on the body accompanied by fever.
Biohazard name: Typhus (Scrub)
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

************************************************************************************************************

Solar Activity

3MIN News October 20. 2012: Contact the Australian Bureau of Meteorology re:Buoy 53046

Published on Oct 20, 2012 by

TODAY’S LINKS
OK Dust Storm: http://www.weather.com/news/dust-storm-shuts-down-interstate-20121018
Buoy Event: Google Sidapan Buoy Malaysian and look for recent news.

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]

CERES JPL: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=ceres;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb

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

Helioviewer: http://www.helioviewer.org/

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]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

US Wind Map: http://hint.fm/wind/

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

RADIATION Network: http://radiationnetwork.com/

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

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

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

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]

RAIN RECORDS: http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListIntensePrecipReports.aspx

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

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!]

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

3MIN News October 21. 2012: M9 Flare. 6.6 Quake. Magnetic Instability

Published on Oct 21, 2012 by

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]

CERES JPL: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=ceres;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb

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

Helioviewer: http://www.helioviewer.org/

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]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

US Wind Map: http://hint.fm/wind/

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

RADIATION Network: http://radiationnetwork.com/

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

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

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

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]

RAIN RECORDS: http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListIntensePrecipReports.aspx

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

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!]

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

2MIN News October 22. 2012

Published on Oct 22, 2012 by

TODAY’S LINKS
Central Australia Heat: http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/central-australia-baking-in-rare-october-h…
Cold/Tornado in NZ: http://www.3news.co.nz/Bitterly-cold-end-to-Labour-weekend/tabid/423/articleI…
Record Lava Height: http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/news-41/top-stories-169/lava-reaches-re…
France Floods: http://www.weather.com/news/france-floods-evacuations-20121021

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]

CERES JPL: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=ceres;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb

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

Helioviewer: http://www.helioviewer.org/

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]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

US Wind Map: http://hint.fm/wind/

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

RADIATION Network: http://radiationnetwork.com/

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

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

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

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]

RAIN RECORDS: http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListIntensePrecipReports.aspx

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

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!]

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

JUST IN: Solar Activity Ramps Up – Warning Issued  

by Mitch Battros – Earth Changes Media

Solar activity has increased to active during the past 24 hours, featuring a long duration M9.1 flare and six C flares.

The M9.1 flare was released by sunspot region 1598 on the east limb of the Sun and peaked at 18:14 UT on October 20th. A high-speed shock wave registered 516 kilometers per second (320 miles per second) observed at 18:15 UT. An associated CME was observed by LASCO C2 at 19:00 UT, but is not directed towards Earth.

Earlier today sunspot region 1596 produced a M1.3 (2003UT), C7.8 (0316UT), and C5.6 (0534UT). Both regions 1596 and 1598 maintain potential for further isolated M-class to X-class activity.

Solar wind speed is expected to increase slightly days one and two under the influence of a coronal hole wind stream. NASA and NOAA has issued a WARNING for high flying aircraft, the ISS, NSSO and NSTAC due to an increased possibility of satellite deep dielectric discharge.

In a flux of high energy charged particles, they penetrate the spacecraft or satellite’s outer surface and bury themselves in dielectric materials such as circuit boards and the insulation in coaxial cables. The buildup of charge will continue until the dielectric strength of the material is exceeded, when a sudden electrical discharge will occur. This miniature lightning stroke can cause permanent damage in the associated or nearby circuitry.

Watch for increased extreme weather events which include earthquake, volcano, tornado, and cyclone activity over the next 48 to 72 hours.

************************************************************************************************************

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
214869 (2007 PA8) 05th November 2012 13 day(s) 0.0433 16.8 1.5 km – 3.3 km 10.79 km/s 38844 km/h
(2011 UG21) 06th November 2012 14 day(s) 0.1784 69.4 340 m – 760 m 19.73 km/s 71028 km/h
(2010 WT) 07th November 2012 15 day(s) 0.1251 48.7 53 m – 120 m 6.53 km/s 23508 km/h
333358 (2001 WN1) 09th November 2012 17 day(s) 0.1285 50.0 370 m – 830 m 8.73 km/s 31428 km/h
330233 (2006 KV86) 11th November 2012 19 day(s) 0.1876 73.0 450 m – 1.0 km 23.35 km/s 84060 km/h
(2008 LH2) 12th November 2012 20 day(s) 0.1487 57.9 35 m – 78 m 5.10 km/s 18360 km/h
(2001 YM2) 12th November 2012 20 day(s) 0.0860 33.5 440 m – 980 m 9.26 km/s 33336 km/h
(2012 KF25) 15th November 2012 23 day(s) 0.1528 59.5 23 m – 51 m 9.75 km/s 35100 km/h
(1999 SF10) 19th November 2012 27 day(s) 0.0346 13.5 41 m – 92 m 4.08 km/s 14688 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

………………………..

22.10.2012 Event into space USA State of California, Novato Damage level Details

Event into space in USA on Monday, 22 October, 2012 at 09:50 (09:50 AM) UTC.

Description
A gray, 2-inch rock that hit a Novato home is the first confirmed chunk of the meteor that dramatically exploded over the Bay Area, a scientist said Sunday. Lisa Webber, 61, found the meteorite in her yard on Saturday, three days after the object fell onto the roof of her home on St. Francis Avenue. She had heard a strange sound at the time but didn’t think twice about it until she read a Chronicle story saying debris from the meteor would be found in a band stretching east of San Rafael toward Napa and Sonoma. Some have marveled at the potential cosmic significance of the fact that it hit a home belonging to a man of the cloth – Webber’s husband, Kent Webber, is pastor at Presbyterian Church of Novato. The space rock, in fact, had first hit the roof of his study, she said. “It’s just science – and it’s cool,” said Lisa Webber, an administrative nurse at UCSF Medical Center. “It’s wonderful. It’s like the heavens coming down, and history and this thing probably came from an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter – I mean, how cool is that?” Peter Jenniskens, a leading meteor hunter at the Seti Institute in Mountain View, confirmed that the space rock was indeed debris from the meteor that streaked over the sky Wednesday night.”The significance of this find is that we can now hope to use our fireball trajectory to trace this type of meteorite back to its origins in the asteroid belt,” Jenniskens wrote on his group’s website. At the time the object hit her roof, Webber thought the sound she heard had come from an animal that was rummaging on her property. She checked the roof, found nothing, and quickly forgot about it until she read The Chronicle on Friday night. That’s when she went searching through the yard and found a rock. She summoned her neighbor’s son, the two put a magnet to the object, and they stuck together. On Saturday, neighbor Luis Rivera climbed onto the roof and found an indentation left by the meteorite. “The surprising thing about it all is that it’s something from the orbit between Mars and Jupiter, and it ended up in Novato,” Rivera said. “And when Lisa was relating all of this to me, it took a while to sink in as to the odds of this happening.”

…………………..

Russia may build rocket to destroy Earth-threatening asteroids

by Staff Writers
Moscow (XNA)


illustration only

Russia could start building a space rocket capable of destroying asteroids threatening the Earth, chief of rocket and space corporation Energia said Friday.

“There are three large asteroids, including Apophis, whose orbits cross the Earth’s orbit and which could hit the Earth in the next several decades,” Vitaly Lopota told the state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

To change the orbit of a small planet of Apophis’ size, a 70-ton rocket was needed to “tow” an asteroid away from Earth or to destroy it with a thermonuclear blast, Lopota said.

Apophis was discovered in 2004. It will approach the Earth dangerously close, at about 30,000 km, which is less than one-tenth of the Moon’s distance from Earth, in 2029.

Experts calculate impact of a collision between Apophis and the Earth will be equal to a 1,700-Megaton explosion.

Lopota said existing Russian rocket carriers with RD-171 engines could be redesigned to produce a rocket capable of destroying an asteroid. Energia was ready to build such a rocket within three to five years, he said.

Currently, RD-171 engines made by NPO Energomash have been used on Zenit-3SL missiles employed in the Russia-Ukraine-Norway-U.S. joint project Sea Launch.

“We call them Tsar Engines, which no other country possesses,” Lopota said, referring to Russian artifacts, the Tsar Cannon and Tsar Bell, which were the world’s largest in their time.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
Roscosmos
Asteroid and Comet Impact Danger To Earth – News and Science

Astronomers Uncover A Surprising Trend in Galaxy Evolution

by Francis Reddy for Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt MD (SPX)


This plot shows the fractions of settled disk galaxies in four time spans, each about 3 billion years long. (full size chart) There is a steady shift toward higher percentages of settled galaxies closer to the present time. At any given time, the most massive galaxies are the most settled. More distant and less massive galaxies on average exhibit more disorganized internal motions, with gas moving in multiple directions, and slower rotation speeds. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

A comprehensive study of hundreds of galaxies observed by the Keck telescopes in Hawaii and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed an unexpected pattern of change that extends back 8 billion years, or more than half the age of the universe.

“Astronomers thought disk galaxies in the nearby universe had settled into their present form by about 8 billion years ago, with little additional development since,” said Susan Kassin, an astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and the study’s lead researcher. “The trend we’ve observed instead shows the opposite, that galaxies were steadily changing over this time period.”

Today, star-forming galaxies take the form of orderly disk-shaped systems, such as the Andromeda Galaxy or the Milky Way, where rotation dominates over other internal motions. The most distant blue galaxies in the study tend to be very different, exhibiting disorganized motions in multiple directions. There is a steady shift toward greater organization to the present time as the disorganized motions dissipate and rotation speeds increase. These galaxies are gradually settling into well-behaved disks.

Blue galaxies – their color indicates stars are forming within them – show less disorganized motions and ever-faster rotation speeds the closer they are observed to the present. This trend holds true for galaxies of all masses, but the most massive systems always show the highest level of organization.

Researchers say the distant blue galaxies they studied are gradually transforming into rotating disk galaxies like our own Milky Way.

“Previous studies removed galaxies that did not look like the well-ordered rotating disks now common in the universe today,” said co-author Benjamin Weiner, an astronomer at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “By neglecting them, these studies examined only those rare galaxies in the distant universe that are well-behaved and concluded that galaxies didn’t change.”

Rather than limit their sample to certain galaxy types, the researchers instead looked at all galaxies with emission lines bright enough to be used for determining internal motions. Emission lines are the discrete wavelengths of radiation characteristically emitted by the gas within a galaxy. They are revealed when a galaxy’s light is separated into its component colors. These emission lines also carry information about the galaxy’s internal motions and distance.

The team studied a sample of 544 blue galaxies from the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe 2 (DEEP2) Redshift Survey, a project that employs Hubble and the twin 10-meter telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Located between 2 billion and 8 billion light-years away, the galaxies have stellar masses ranging from about 0.3 percent to 100 percent of the mass of our home galaxy.

A paper describing these findings will be published Oct. 20 in The Astrophysical Journal.

The Milky Way galaxy must have gone through the same rough-and-tumble evolution as the galaxies in the DEEP2 sample, and gradually settled into its present state as the sun and solar system were being formed.

In the past 8 billion years, the number of mergers between galaxies large and small has decreased sharply. So has the overall rate of star formation and disruptions of supernova explosions associated with star formation. Scientists speculate these factors may play a role in creating the evolutionary trend they observe.

Now that astronomers see this pattern, they can adjust computer simulations of galaxy evolution until these models are able to replicate the observed trend. This will guide scientists to the physical processes most responsible for it.

The DEEP2 survey is led by Lick Observatory at the University of California at Santa Cruz in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., the University of Chicago and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington.

Related Links
NASA’s Hubble website
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It

*************************************************************************************************************

Mysterious Booms / Rumblings

Many in Bay Area heard and saw bright meteor on October 17

October 17 meteor via Wes Jones.  Used with permission.
October 17 meteor via Wes Jones. Used with permission.
Many in and around San Francisco’s Bay Area heard a loud boom and saw a fireball streaking across the sky on October 17, 2012.

Looking for info on this weekend’s Orionid meteor shower? Click here.

A bright fireball, reportedly with hues of red and orange, streaked across the night sky visible from San Francisco’s Bay Area on Wednesday, October 18, around 8 p.m. local time (3UTC on October 18). Many say they heard a boom, which was so loud it “shook their homes,” some residents said, making them think it may be an earthquake.

If you observed it, you might want to tell someone what you saw. Here’s a place to report your meteor sighting.

Wes Jones in Belmont, California caught the meteor disappearing behind the trees while using a wide-field camera. Image copyright Wes Jones. Used with permission.

Belmont, California astronomer Wes Jones captured the fireball as it sailed across the sky on October 17, just as it was entering the trees.

Here is the capture data for the Wes Jones’ image above:

Camera: Interactiveastronomy Skyeye Camera
Camera Location: 122°16’31.73″ W, 37°31’1.17″ N
Altitude: 17 Meters
Exposure Duration: 30 seconds
File Write Time: 07:44:44 PM PDT 10/17/2012

Click here for live Interactiveastronomy Skyeye Camera feeds.

The video above is raw footage from the security camera at Lick Observatory, located in the hills above San Jose, California. Camera is a little out of focus. Round structure to the left is the 40-inch Nickel refracting telescope dome. Lights in the background are the San Jose cityscape. Video posted to YouTube by Erik Kovacs.

Screen grab from Google maps (not clickable) of area where October 17, 2012 meteorite might have fallen. One expert said it might have come down in the hills north of Martinez, California. If so, he said, hikers might be able to find pieces of the meteorite.

Jonathan Braidman, astronomy instructor at Oakland’s Chabot Space and Science Center, told SuiSunCityPatch.com that the meteor may have been “roughly the size of a car when it broke up over the Bay Area.” He said hikers might be able to find small pieces of the meteorite in the hills north of Martinez, California.

Was the October 17, 2012 meteor seen over the Bay Area associated with the Orionid meteor shower? If it were associated, it would have to have radiated from the same point in the sky as the Orionids. That point is in the the same famous constellation Orion the Hunter, shown here. Can anyone who saw the October 17 meteor tell us if it radiated from this constellation? More about this weekend’s Orionid meteor shower here.

Is the October 17, 2012 meteor associated with the Orionid meteor shower? That shower is coming up this weekend. Although I didn’t see it, and don’t know if its path could be traced back to the constellation Orion – which is the radiant point for all meteors in the Orionid shower – the answer is likely that the two are not associated. Meteors in annual showers are tiny, icy bits left behind by comets orbiting the sun. The Orionids, in particular, come from one of the most famous comets, Comet Halley, which last visited Earth in 1986. The meteor seen over the Bay Area on October 17, 2012 was more likely a larger, rocky meteor, just a random chunk of space debris that entered Earth’s atmosphere and vaporized due to friction with the air.

EarthSky’s meteor shower guide 2012

The October 17, 2012 meteor sighting is reminiscent of another meteor sighting earlier this year, when – on the morning of April 22, 2012 – many in Nevada and California saw a bright flash across the sky, and heard an audible boom, or explosion. The object was later called “a small asteroid” whose estimated weight was some 70 metric tons.

Read more about the April 22 meteor sighting in California and Nevada here

Wikimedia Commons image of a bollide or fireball – a piece of space debris entering Earth’s atmosphere and causing a particularly bright streak across the sky.

Astronomers use the word bolide to describe an exceptionally bright fireball such as this one. The term bolide – which comes the Greek word bolis, meaning a missile or to flash – is particularly applicable when the object is so bright it can be seen in broad daylight, when the object explodes in the atmosphere and when it creates audible sounds. In other words, all of these phenomena are known to occur, and astronomers even have a word for it.

Bright meteors or bollides were also seen in the U.K. and New Zealand in 2012. They are not uncommon, if you are considering the entire globe.

However, from any one spot on Earth, they are uncommon, Among astronomers, it’s sometimes said you might witness one bolide, or very bright fireball, in your lifetime. So if you saw this one, this was yours!

Bottom line: Many in San Francisco’s Bay Area saw an exceptionally bright meteor, and heard a loud boom, on the night of October 17, 2012. Photo and video in this post, plus information on the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks on the morning of October 21.

*************************************************************************************************************

Biological Hazards / Wildlife / Environmental Pollution

23.10.2012 Biological Hazard USA State of Florida, [Collier County beaches] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Thursday, 18 October, 2012 at 14:33 (02:33 PM) UTC.

Back

Updated: Tuesday, 23 October, 2012 at 03:43 UTC
Description
Concentrations of red tide have been detected from Charlotte County to Collier County. Hundreds of dead fish are washing ashore and a foul odor now fills the air at many beaches throughout Southwest Florida. Many residents and visitors are hoping that red tide is on its way out of town, but at Wiggins Pass State Park in Collier County, things aren’t looking too great. Thousands of dead fish remain in sight. But beachgoers we spoke with said they aren’t letting the toxic algae ruin their fun. “This is the first time I’ve seen this,” said Karl Udo, who has been visiting Southwest Florida from Germany for over 20 years. “It’s no good.” The toxic algae started to wash through Collier County beaches just last week, carrying with it the unpleasant stench. “You got to breathe through your mouth. So don’t take deep breaths through your nose,” said Liz Koch, who is visiting from Chicago. The latest tests done by county officials show that red tide is at medium levels throughout some of Collier’s beaches. The toxin can cause respiratory irritation, a concern for county officials with tourist season in sight.

………………….

21.10.2012 Environment Pollution USA State of New Mexico, [Kirtland Air Force Base] Damage level Details

Environment Pollution in USA on Sunday, 21 October, 2012 at 04:00 (04:00 AM) UTC.

Description
Crews working on an old Air Force fuel spill have found potentially cancer-causing chemicals beneath a southeast Albuquerque neighborhood, Kirtland Air Force Base announced. The New Mexico Environment Department said Friday that Air Force crews found the pollutant Perchloroethylene, or PCE, in water around 500 feet underground while installing test wells. However, officials say they don’t believe the recently discovered pollutant is connected to a decades-old Kirtland Air Force Base jet fuel spill threatening Albuquerque’s water supply that could be as large as 24 million gallons. Davis tsaid that the chemicals likely came from a dry cleaner. Jim Davis, head of New Mexico Environment Department Resource Protection, told reporters that the chemical is threatening groundwater and not residents in the neighborhood above the contamination. Still, the discovery could trigger action under the federal Superfund law, a program aimed at the nation’s most serious hazardous chemical contamination problems. New Mexico Environment Department Secretary David Martin praised crews for making the discovery.The department has launched a probe to see if any businesses that used PCE were located in the vicinity of the well clusters in the past. The Air Force is two years away from finalizing a cleanup plan in connection with a toxin-laden plume from a 40-year underground pipe leak was discovered at Kirtland Air Force Base. The spill was first discovered in 1999 when the Air Force noticed a pool of fuel coming up out of the ground at its old aircraft fuel storage center, which dates back to the 1950s. Air Force officials say the fuel was leaking from an underground pipe for at least 40 years as tests on elements in the plume — which contains the cancer-causing Benzyne and other harmful toxins — show it dates back to at least the 1970s. Less than half a million gallons have been pumped out of the ground.

*************************************************************************************************************

[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.]



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images