tagged w/ U.S. Geological Survey
-
CNN...
.
Strong earthquake strikes Chile; no serious damage reported
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 2:40 AM EDT, Tue April 17, 2012
Click link to play video
.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: A 72-year-old man died of a heart attack in an evacuation
A journalist describes what it felt like
The Canadian prime minister is okay
Chile is on the so-called "Ring of Fire"
.
(CNN) -- A strong earthquake struck coastal Chile near the port city of Valparaiso late Monday, causing mudslides and some minor damage, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The 6.7-magnitude quake knocked out some power and phone lines in the region, authorities said.
The temblor was felt in the capital city, Santiago, located 69 miles from the epicenter. A CNN en Español anchor held onto his desk as the quake rattled the studio during a newscast in Huechurba, a suburb of the capital.
"We could feel the ground shaking," said journalist Richard Madan. "It felt like we were standing on a subway track but multiply that by about 200."
Madan, of CNN's Canadian affiliate CTV, is in Santiago as part of the traveling press for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit there.
Both he and the Canadian delegation were okay, Madan said.
No tsunami warning was issued, according to Chile's Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service, and a preventive evacuation for the area has been lifted. A 72-year-old man died of a heart attack during the evacuation, according to regional Mayor Raul Celis.
Quake rattles Chile, no tsunami warnings
The same part of the country was hit with an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in February 2010, killing hundreds of people.
Chile is on the so-called "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines circling the Pacific Basic that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
.
CNN en Español's Jose Manuel Rodriguez contributed to this report.
.CNN...
.
Strong earthquake strikes Chile; no serious damage reported
By the CNN... more
-
-
CNN...
.
Strong earthquake hits off Antarctica's coast
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:58 PM EST, Sun January 15, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The quake struck Sunday morning near Antarctica's Shetland Islands
The USGS reports it struck at a depth of 6.2 miles
A U.S. agency warns there's a "small possibility of a ... regional tsunami"
.
(CNN) -- A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday off the coast of Antarctica, prompting a warning that there was a "small possibility" it could trigger a tsunami.
The tremor was centered in waters south of South America's southern tip, about 334 miles (539 kilometers) west of Coronation Island and 388 miles northeast of Palmer Station in Antarctica, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
It hit at 9:40 a.m. local time (8:40 a.m. ET) on Sunday, according to the federal agency, and had an estimated depth of 6.2 miles.
Afterward, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center released a statement saying that there appears to be no threat of "destructive widespread tsunami" because of the quake.
But the agency did state "there is a small possibility of a local or regional tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a few hundred kilometers from the earthquake epicenter.
"Authorities in the region near the epicenter should be made aware of this possibility," the warning center added.
.CNN...
.
Strong earthquake hits off Antarctica's coast
By the CNN Wire... more
-
-
CNN...
Work halted at 4 more Ohio fluid-injection wells in wake of quake
From Maggie Schneider, CNN
updated 6:18 PM EST, Sun January 1, 2012
.
Officials have shut down fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area.
.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Ohio officials order the closure of four fluid-injection wells near Youngstown
This comes amid a probe looking at links between "fracking" and recent quakes
"We need to get more information," an official says of any possible connection
A magnitude 4.0 quake struck Saturday, one of 11 to occur in the past year
.
(CNN) -- Work has been halted at four more fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area, a state official said.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer had announced on Friday that one such well -- which injects "fluid deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains -- was closed after a series of small earthquakes in and around Youngstown.
Then on Saturday, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck that released at least 40 times more energy than any of the previous 10 or more tremors that had rattled the region in 2011.
Andy Ware, deputy director of Ohio's natural resources department, told CNN on Sunday that Zehringer and Gov. John Kasich subsequently have ordered the closure of four other nearby injection wells as well.
The decision comes as authorities investigate a possible link between the earthquakes and hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. That controversial drilling technology involves injecting water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressure to crack the shale and allow the oil or gas to flow.
Last Friday's order affecting the first well in Youngstown came six days after a magnitude 2.5 earthquake that struck that area around 1:24 a.m. on December 24. After Saturday's larger earthquake, scientists recommended that operations stop at all wells within a 5-mile radius of that original site.
"We need to get more information," Ware said.
The epicenter for Saturday's tremor was 5 miles northwest of Youngstown, 6 miles southeast of Warren and 55 miles east-southeast of Cleveland, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. According to the preliminary estimate, the earthquake struck 1.4 miles deep.
There was a lot of shaking "and a rumbling sound," said Jimmy Hughes, a former Youngstown police chief running for sheriff of Mahoning County. "I could see the house move. ... It seemed like the ground was moving. "
Ohio is far from the edges of Earth's major tectonic plates, with the nearest ones in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. Geological Survey explains on its website. Still, there are many known faults in this region, with the federal agency noting that it is likely there are additional "smaller or deeply buried" ones that haven't been detected.
While earthquakes are not unprecedented in the area, the rate of them in the past year has been unusual. That fact led Zehringer, the Ohio department head, to act late last week.
"While conclusive evidence cannot link the seismic activity to the well, Zehringer has adopted an approach requiring prudence and caution regarding the site," the natural resources department said Friday in a press release, explaining its decision to shut the first well.
Ben Lupo -- CEO of D&L Energy, an independent natural gas and oil exploration, production and marketing group that oversees the first well that was closed -- recently told CNN affiliate WKBN that there's full cooperation with experts, though he expressed grave doubts that the injection wells were to blame for the quakes.
"We have approximately 1,000 wells between Ohio and Pennsylvania and we've never had a problem ... with an earthquake or spill," Lupo said.
Dr. Won-Young Kim, one of the Columbia University experts asked by the state to examine possible connections between fracking and seismic activity, said that a problem could arise if fluid moves through the ground and affects "a weak fault, waiting to be triggered." He explained the underground waste "slowly migrates" and could cause issues miles away, adding that the danger could persist for some time as the fluid travels and seeps down toward the fault.
"In my opinion, yes," the recent spate of earthquakes around Youngstown is related to a fluid-injection well, Kim stated -- though there has been no definitive determination, by the state or other authorities, indicating as much.
There have been "moderately frequent" reports of earthquakes in northern Ohio since the first recorded one was reported in 1823, the federal agency noted. A 1986 tremor, measuring magnitude 4.8, caused some damage. Another in 1998 measured a 4.5 and was centered in northwest Pennsylvania.
.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt contributed to this report.
.CNN...
Work halted at 4 more Ohio fluid-injection wells in wake of quake
From... more
-
-
CNN...
.
5.8-magnitude quake hits New Zealand
December 22nd, 2011
08:37 PM ET
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its website.
.
______________
______________
MAJOR UPDATE:
.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/23/new-zealand-earthquake-christchurch
The Guardian...
.
New Zealand's Christchurch hit by series of earthquakes
The initial quake measured 5.8 magnitude, and prompted the evacuation of public buildings and the airport
guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 22 December 2011 21.00 EST
.
A series of strong earthquakes struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, ten months after an earlier quake devastated the city centre.
The US Geological Survey said the initial quake measured 5.8 magnitude but there was no tsunami alert issued and there were no immediate reports of widespread damage in the city.
One person was injured at a city mall and was taken to a hospital, and four people had to be rescued after being trapped by a rock fall, Christchurch police said in a statement.
Local reports suggested the quake rattled buildings, sending goods tumbling from shelves and prompted holiday shoppers to flee into the streets.
The first 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon, 16 miles (26 kilometres) north of Christchurch and 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) deep, the US Geological Survey said. Minutes later, a 5.3-magnitude aftershock hit, and about an hour after that, the city was shaken by another 5.8-magnitude temblor. Both aftershocks were less than 3 miles (5 kilometres) deep.
The city's airport was evacuated and all shopping centres shut down as a precaution.
Warwick Isaacs, demolitions manager for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, said most buildings had been evacuated "as an emergency measure."
Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake in February that killed 182 people and destroyed much of the downtown area.
The area has recorded more than 7,000 earthquakes since a magnitude-7 quake rocked the city on 4 September, 2010. That quake did not cause any deaths.
Rock falls had occurred in one area and there was liquefaction when an earthquake forces underground water up through loose soil in several places, Isaacs told New Zealand's National Radio.
"There has been quite a lot of stuff falling out of cupboards, off shelves in shops and that sort of thing, again," he said.
Isaacs said his immediate concern was for demolition workers involved in tearing down buildings wrecked in previous quakes.
"It ... started slow then really got going. It was a big swaying one but not as jolting or as violent as in February," Christchurch resident Rita Langley said.
"Everyone seems fairly chilled, though the traffic buildup sounds like a beehive that has just been kicked as everyone leaves (the) town (centre)."
The shaking was severe in the nearby port town of Lyttelton, the epicentre of the 22 February quake.
"We stayed inside until the shaking stopped. Then most people went out into the street outside," resident Andrew Turner said. "People are emotionally shocked by what happened this afternoon."
About 15,000 homes were reported without power after electricity lines were felled in the city's eastern suburbs. Sewerage services were also cut. Hundreds of miles of sewer and fresh water lines have been repaired in the city since the February quake.
One partly demolished building and a vacant house collapsed after Friday's quakes, police said.
Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale said the quakes came at the worst possible time for retailers, with people rushing to finish their Christmas shopping.
Despite the sizable quakes, there was no visible damage in the central business district, where 28 stores have reopened in shipping containers after their buildings were wrecked by the February quake, he said.
.
______________
______________
.
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/12/23/1324610241691/Christchurch-earthquake-006.jpg
.
______________
______________
.
.
SECOND MAJOR UPDATE:
.
Latest updates: Christchurch earthquakes
Updated 4:52 PM Friday Dec 23, 2011
PHOTO: Damaged buildings in central Christchurch. File photo / Mark Mitchell
Large earthquakes have shaken Christchurch this afternoon.
The first hit shortly before 2pm, with a magnitude of 5.8 and a depth of 8km. The second struck at 3.19pm and has been measured at magnitude 6.0, 6km deep.
.
.
______________
______________
.
http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201152/SCCZEN_220211NZHMMQUAKE7_460x230.JPGCNN...
.
5.8-magnitude quake hits New Zealand
December 22nd, 2011
08:37 PM ET... more
-
-
CNN BREAKING NEWS...
.
6.9 magnitude earthquake hits Peru
October 28th, 2011
03:15 PM ET
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Peru on Friday, some 32 miles south of Ica, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
.
Please add updates - thanks!CNN BREAKING NEWS...
.
6.9 magnitude earthquake hits Peru
October 28th, 2011... more
-
-
CNN...
.
7.3-magnitude quake strikes in Pacific, near Fiji islands
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 15, 2011 5:42 p.m. EDT
t1larg.fiji.earthquake.map.jpg
.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The U.S. Geological Survey says its depth was 626 kilometers, or 390 miles
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a "destructive tsunami was not generated"
The quake's epicenter was estimated as 74 miles south-southwest of Fiji's Ndoi Island
.
(CNN) -- A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck early Friday in the Fiji islands region of the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
According to the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, "a destructive tsunami was not generated, based on earthquake and historical tsunami data."
The quake struck at a depth of 626 kilometers, or about 390 miles below the earth's surface, the Geological Survey said on its website. Its epicenter was 74 miles south-southwest of Fiji's Ndoi Island, 281 miles south-southeast of the Fijian capital, Suva, and 264 miles west of Nuku'alofa in Tonga, according to the U.S. agency's estimations.
It happened just after 7:30 a.m. Friday, or 3:30 p.m. ET. Initially, it was reported as 7.2 magnitude.
Besides the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Japan Meteorological Agency also did not release any tsunami warnings or advisories as a result of the quake.
.CNN...
.
7.3-magnitude quake strikes in Pacific, near Fiji islands
By the CNN... more
-
-
Estimated 6.8-magnitude quake strikes off coast of Papua New Guinea
,
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 31, 2011 10:01 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: The Japan Meteorological Agency lifts any tsunami-related warnings or advisories
Earlier, the agency had said "there is a very small possibility" of a tsunami
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and Australia's similar agency reports no such threats
The earthquake hits 81 miles east of Wewak, New Guinea, says the U.S. Geological Survey
.
(CNN) -- A preliminary 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Monday morning off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The quake struck around 9:39 a.m. and was centered 131 kilometers (81 miles) east of Wewak, which is on the northern coast of the Pacific nation, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Its depth was reported at 16 kilometers (9 miles).
The Japan Meteorological Agency -- which had an identical measure for the quake's strength -- noted on its website that "there is a very small possibility of a destructive local tsunami" as a result. It said any tsunami likely would not be over half a meter (20 inches) high.
"However at some coasts, particularly near the epicenter, high tsunamis may arrive (larger) than our estimation," the agency said on its website.
But within about two hours after the quake struck, the Japanese agency reported there were no such warnings or advisories still in effect.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue any threats or warning, noting on its website that there was no danger of a tsunami striking Hawaii. Similarly, the Australia tsunami warning center said there was no threat to that nation.Estimated 6.8-magnitude quake strikes off coast of Papua New Guinea
,
By the CNN... more
-
-
Time...
Posted by Tara Thean Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 3:57 pm
The effects of this spring's extreme flooding of the Mississippi River have been – pardon the pun – spilling over into every possible corner of the area's residential, commercial, and agricultural life over the last two months. And it looks like the environment hasn't escaped either: researchers from the University of Michigan predict that the largest Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” on record will result from the flooding.
The dead zone is forecast to be between 8,500 and 9,421 square miles – an area roughly the size of New Hampshire, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The zone is a threat to aquatic organisms as well as the humans who depend on them in the gulf's booming seafood industry.
"Stream flows were nearly double normal during May, delivering massive amounts of nutrients to the Gulf, and that's what drives the dead zone," said Donald Scavia, Special Counsel to the U-M President for Sustainability and director of the Graham Sustainability Institute.
Scavia noted that the most likely 2011 scenario is a Gulf dead zone of at least 8,500 square miles. This estimate far surpasses the 6,000-square-mile average of the past five years, as well as the current record, set in 2002, of 8400 miles.
The oxygen-starved Gulf dead zone is largely caused by farmland runoff containing fertilizers and livestock waste from as far away as the Corn Belt. Nitrogen and phosphorus from these sources flow down the Mississippi River and into the Gulf in late spring and summer each year, prompting explosive algal blooms, which later die and sink to the ocean floor. As they decompose, the algae provide bottom-dwelling bacteria with organic matter to feast on. Oxygen is consumed in the process, producing an oxygen-starved region in bottom and near-bottom waters: a dead zone.
This year, nitrogen and phosphorus have been seeping from Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers into the Gulf in alarmingly high amounts. In May 2011, 164,000 metric tons of nitrogen were transported to the northern Gulf, according to the U.S. Geological Survey – a 35% climb from average May nitrogen estimates in the last 32 years. The Gulf has seen a shocking 300% increase in nitrogen content since 1960.
Increased stream-flow rates and agricultural runoff are the main culprits, Scavia said.
"Yes, the floodwaters really matter, but the fact that there's so much more nitrogen in the system now than there was back in the '60s is the real issue," he explained.
Scavia called the growth of the Gulf dead zones an “ecological time bomb.”
"Without determined local, regional and national efforts to control them, we are putting major fisheries at risk,” he said.
Gulf fisheries recorded a high dockside value of $629 million in 2009, and nearly 3 million recreational fishers – who took 22 million fishing trips – contributed a further $1 billion to the Gulf economy. The Gulf of Mexico/Mississippi River Watershed Nutrient Task Force aims to reduce the size of the dead zone to around 1,900 square miles.
Nutrient load models can be complicated by short-term weather patterns moving water masses or mixing up the water column, say researchers at Louisiana State University.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be worried. "While there is some uncertainty regarding the size, position and timing of this year's hypoxic zone in the Gulf, the forecast models are in overall agreement that hypoxia will be larger than we have typically seen in recent years," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a statement.
Gulf Restoration Network Director of Science and Water Policy Matt Rota is frustrated with the EPA's handling of the expanding dead zone, which he calls “another harsh reminder that our country must work aggressively to clean up the Mississippi River.”
“The EPA must stop dragging its feet in addressing the Dead Zone,” he said, explaining that the Gulf Restoration Network petitioned EPA to address the Dead Zone in 2008. “Almost three years later, the EPA still hasn't responded to this petition, and the Dead Zone continues to plague the Gulf impacting wildlife and coastal communities.”
The actual—as opposed to estimated—size of the 2011 Gulf dead zone will be released after a NOAA-supported monitoring survey led by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium between July 25 and August 2.
Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/14/scientists-predict-record-gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-due-to-mississippi-flooding/#ixzz1PQ6t1opFTime...
Posted by Tara Thean Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 3:57 pm
The effects... more
-
-
Musk Oxen Live to Tell a Survivors’ Tale - The New York Times
Photo: A holdover from the Pleistocene era, the musk ox has managed to hang on while most of its brethren disappeared at the end of the last ice age.
December 13, 2010
Musk Oxen Live to Tell a Survivors’ Tale
By NATALIE ANGIER
Among the various large, charismatic and visibly winterized mammals that one might choose as a mascot for life in the Arctic belt, polar bears are, let’s face it, too hackneyed, reindeer too Rudolph, caribou too Sarah Palin’s target practice, and woolly mammoths too extinct.
There’s a better choice, though few may have heard of it. According to Arctic biologists, the quintessential example of megafaunal fortitude in the face of really bad weather is the musk ox, or Ovibos moschatus, a blocky, short-legged, highly social ungulate with distinctively curved horns and long hair that looks like shag carpeting circa 1975.
Ovibos’s common name is only partly justified. The males do emit a musky cologne during mating season, but the animal is not an ox. Nor, despite its back-of-the-nickel silhouette, is it a type of buffalo either. Its closest living relations are thought to be goats and sheep, but taxonomically and metaphorically, the musk ox is in an icy cubicle of its own. Once abundant throughout the northern latitudes worldwide, today they are found only in Arctic North America, Greenland and pockets of Siberia and Scandinavia. The musk ox is a holdover from the Pleistocene, the age of the giant mammals memorialized in natural history murals everywhere — the mammoths and mastodons, the saber-toothed cats, the giant ground sloths, the 400-pound beavers. Yet while a vast majority of the frost-fitted bigfoots disappeared at the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago, Ovibos hung on, as stubbornly as the ox it is not.
Scientists are now seeking to understand how, exactly, the animal has managed to persist through repeated climate shifts and habitat upheavals. Researchers see in the musk ox’s story clues to help guide efforts to conserve other large land mammals now at risk of extinction. They also hope to raise the profile of a species they consider magnificent, at once stalwart and supple, a page of living prehistory whose social and behavioral complexities they have just begun to decode.
“There’s evidence that they have an elephantlike social structure, and even some form of culture,” said Joel Berger, a researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society and a professor at the University of Montana. So why is everybody flying to Africa to see elephants when we’ve got this marvelous species living in our own backyard?
In a presentation last week at the Bronx Zoo, where the wildlife society is based, Dr. Berger described preliminary results from field studies of the musk ox that he has performed with Layne Adams of the U.S. Geological Survey and other collaborators. He talked about the challenges of catching animals to weigh and measure them, check their teeth, take their blood and furnish them with G.P.S. collars. One group of musk ox in Cape Krusenstern National Monument in Alaska had such bad, broken teeth you’d think they were subsisting on a diet of Pepsi and Snickers bars, said Dr. Berger, and the researchers worried that the population was unhealthy and on its way out.
Yet after suffering several seasons of declining numbers, the brown-toothers rebounded this year to match in fecundity and offspring survival a group living in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve that had exemplary teeth. The cause of their rotten dentition remains a mystery, but the Krusenstern clan clearly was not biting the dust.
For all their storied past as co-prancers with mastodons, musk oxen are not huge animals. Adult males stand about four feet high and weigh around 600 to 700 pounds, less than half the weight of the average draft horse. Yet they look hulky as a result of their spectacular double-layered fur coat. The long, shaggy outer layer they keep year round, not only to help shield them against the brutal cold of an Arctic winter, when temperatures can plunge 40 degrees or more below zero, but also to deter the insect pests of an Arctic summer.
“You’ll see caribou in summertime trotting across the countryside trying to get away from all the mosquitoes and biting flies,” said Jim Lawler, a biologist with the National Park Service’s Arctic Network in Fairbanks. “But the musk ox just stand there with clouds of mosquitoes hovering above them. It’s hard to penetrate that fur.” For added insulation, musk oxen grow a second fur layer each winter, an undercoat called qiviut that is said to be many times warmer than wool and softer than cashmere — and how obliging of the animals to shed that qiviut in spring for use in scarves.
With their stubby legs, musk oxen are not migratory like caribou or great dashers like reindeer. Their basic approach to winter management is: Don’t just do something — stand there. “You’ll see them in a big storm, drifted over, covered with snow,” said Dr. Lawler. “They’re almost part of the scenery.” They lapse into a state of what might be called hibernation al fresco, as their oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production drop and their metabolic rate slows by about a third. “They’re basically shutting down some of their machinery so they can survive on less food,” said Dr. Lawler, who has studied musk ox energetics.
Whatever their occasional resemblance to the scenery, musk oxen are by no means as dumb as a post. “They live in loosely knit family-bonded societies,” said Dr. Berger, and they keep track of who’s who. The group is, after all, essential to their survival. When confronted with predators like wolves, a herd of musk oxen will famously circle the wagons, the adults forming a wall of horns facing outward, the vulnerable young safely shielded behind them. They also seem to have a keen memory for where the best foraging grounds may be found in the spring, the optimal mix of grasses and willow twigs to maximize the performance of the microbes at work in their ruminant gut. Musk oxen turn out to be very efficient at extracting calories to put on the fat they need to survive the long winter fast.
Historical records and genetic evidence alike suggest that the musk ox is a Rasputin, “the comeback kid of the Quaternary,” said Ross MacPhee, curator of vertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. “They undergo periods where they really bolster their numbers for a few years, then they go down to an almost complete collapse, then later they come back like gangbusters.”
As a result of passing through repeated population bottlenecks, in which only a handful of individuals survived to spawn subsequent generations, today’s 100,000 musk oxen are thought to be notably homogenous, lacking in the sort of genetic diversity once thought critical to a species’ long-term prospects. “It would be hard to argue that musk ox are on their way out the door,” said Dr. MacPhee. “They are not weak sisters.”
Just ask that saber-toothed cat fossilized under the floor.
_____
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/12/14/science/14ANGI1/14ANGI1-articleLarge.jpgMusk Oxen Live to Tell a Survivors’ Tale - The New York Times
Photo: A... more
-
-
10/31/10 Updates: Updates: 449 Dead, 270 Injured, 96 Missing after 7.7 Earthquake Triggers Tsunami, Followed by Two Volcano Eruptions, In Indonesia | Videos | Photos
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FOR THE LATEST UPDATES, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE MOST RECENT SUBMISSIONS.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ORIGINAL NEWS STORY...
112 dead, 500 missing after 7.7 quake triggers tsunami
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/26/indonesia.quake/index.html?hpt=T1
At least 112 dead, more than 500 missing after Indonesia quake
From Andy Saputra, CNN
October 26, 2010 1:29 p.m. EDT
Indonesian resorts destroyed
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- At least 112 people were killed and 502 others were missing after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Sumatra on Monday and triggered a tsunami, Indonesian officials said Tuesday.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake generated a "significant" tsunami. Some of the missing may include people who are unaccounted for after fleeing to higher ground, said Henri Dori Satoko, the head of the Mentawai Islands parliament.
Although communication with remote areas was difficult, some witnesses in West Sumatra reported seeing a wave 6 meters (nearly 20 feet) high. Other reports described the tsunami as being about 3 meters (almost 10 feet) high.
Satoko said at least one village with a population of about 200 people was swept away, with only 40 people recovered.
Eight to 10 Australians on board a tourist vessel who had been feared missing were reported to be safe, Satoko said. "All foreign tourists are safe.".
The numbers of dead and injured were in flux because information was trickling in from remote parts of Indonesia, a country made up of myriad islands. The area believed hardest-hit was the Mentawai Islands, a popular surfing destination. In particular, Pagai Island was thought to have been affected, said Ita Balanda, a program manager for World Vision in Padang.
Large waves were keeping rescue crews and aid workers from reaching the area. An Indonesian Red Cross assessment team had set out for the island but was forced to turn back because of high seas and debris in the water, said Gayat, spokeswoman for the agency, who like many Indonesians only uses one name. She said the team will try again Wednesday morning.
The trip takes 10 hours, even under good conditions, Balanda said.
The quake struck at 9:42 p.m. Monday, triggering a tsunami warning that was later lifted when sea level readings indicated the threat had diminished or was over for most areas. Its epicenter was 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Padang, at a depth of 20.6 kilometers (12.8 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The magnitude was revised upward from a preliminary magnitude of 7.5.
"Big, slow, long earthquake last night, and a couple tremblers afterward," WavePark Mentawai Surfing Resort said on its website. "Turns out it was a 7.5 about 70 [kilometers] south of us." The resort said it saw "about six waves on the beach after about 20 minutes" but none was higher than usually seen during high tide.
"No damage here, but reports of damage to other resorts and charter boats further south," the posting said.
"The local residents in the Mentawai Islands reported seeing a tsunami as high as 3 meters [that] reached as far as 600 meters inland," said Mujiharto of the Indonesian Health Ministry.
The Perfect Wave, a surf travel company that said it had 32 clients in the area, also described the wave in a statement as about 3 meters (10 feet) high, and said it washed through a bay where two boats with clients on board were docked. One boat hit the other, which caught on fire, and all the guests jumped overboard. Nine guests and five crew members were washed into the jungle and took more than an hour to make their way to safety, the company said.
All those aboard were picked up by a third boat and were safe "apart from suffering some smoke inhalation and minor scratches," the statement said.
A surf guide aboard the third boat reported "there was a lot of debris floating in the water including bar stools and other pieces of furniture from Macaronis Resort," the company said. "No news on the state of the village at Silabu."
The resort, where six clients were staying, is "all but gone," the statement said.
"It's very difficult to access the coast right now because the sea is quite bad," said Gilles Bordessoule, owner of the Siloinak Surf Resort. He said his property was unaffected, but his staff was attempting to help the Macaronis Resort, which was "completely destroyed" along with two others. Two of the Macaronis guests are missing, he said.
He said the only means of communication with the affected area is by satellite phone, which is how he found out about the resort and received some other information. The fate of the other 130 kilometers (80 miles) of coastline is unknown, he said.
Bordessoule said he had been in contact with authorities and residents of the area and was told between 150 and 180 people are dead and body bags are needed.
World Vision's Balanda said her organization is working with the Indonesian government and the United Nations to figure out how to get to the hardest-hit area. Indonesian government resources have been sent to central Java, where Mount Merapi was erupting, she said, but said her group hopes one or two helicopters will be freed up to help with the quake and tsunami response. She said she is receiving information from a local nongovernmental organization as well as others in the region.
The Perfect Wave said it was working to obtain replacement passports for its clients and organize flights home.
The city of Padang and the Mentawai Islands are at the meeting place of two tectonic plates, making them vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis.
On December 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Sumatra. A tsunami generated by that earthquake killed more than 225,000 people in 14 countries -- mainly India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Indonesian region of Banda Aceh was hard-hit: About 150,000 died there.
CNN's Sarita Harilela and Brian Walker contributed to this report.10/31/10 Updates: Updates: 449 Dead, 270 Injured, 96 Missing after 7.7 Earthquake... more
-
-
Study shakes up scientists' view of San Andreas earthquake risk
Researchers find major quakes on the southern section, on average, every 88 years — three times as often as previously thought. It's the strongest evidence yet that we're overdue for a massive quake.
San Andreas fault study
Photo: Sarah Robinson, 23, a graduate student at Arizona State University, runs along a trench at the Bidart Fan sector of the San Andreas fault in June 2009. She is on a team of geologists trying to construct a history of earthquakes on the San Andreas fault by reading lines of sediment in the earth. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times / June 1, 2009)
___
By Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times
August 21, 2010
Southern California is long overdue for a major earthquake along the San Andreas fault, according to a landmark study of historic seismic activity released Friday.
The study, produced after several years of field studies in the Carrizo Plain area about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, found that earthquakes along the San Andreas fault have occurred far more often than previously believed.
For years, scientists have said major earthquakes occurred every 250 to 450 years along this part of the San Andreas. The new study found big temblors on the fault every 88 years, on average.
The last massive earthquake on that part of the fault was in 1857, leading scientists to warn that another such temblor is likely in Southern California.
"The next earthquake could be sooner than later," said Lisa Grant Ludwig, a UC Irvine earthquake expert and co-author of the study, which was published online in the journal Geology. "It was thought that we weren't at risk of having another large one any time soon. Well, now, it might be ready to rupture."
Other seismic experts described the revelation as a major change in the way they think about earthquake risks along the southern San Andreas fault.
Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, said the fault is "locked and loaded. It's been a long time since an earthquake has occurred on that fault — over 150 years."
To reach the new conclusion, scientists dug trenches deep into the Carrizo Plain. They used carbon dating and sophisticated imaging technology known as lidar to find signs of earth movements. They were able to detect earthquakes dating back to the 15th century, creating a far more complete record than had previously been known.
The research found that earlier examinations of the San Andreas had badly undercounted the number of major earthquakes. Those were based on observations made in the 1970s when scientists used measuring tape to look for evidence of past earthquakes.
"Now we have better techniques," Grant Ludwig said. "We can see there's actually more earthquakes."
Scientists now estimate that earthquakes occurred on that section of the fault in 1417, 1462, 1565, 1614 and 1713.
The finding adds weight to the view of many seismologists that the San Andreas has been in a quiet period and that a major rupture is possible. A 2009 study, which Grant Ludwig also participated in, suggested that the San Andreas was overdue for a rupture. But Friday's report offers a much more grim estimate of how frequently quakes have occurred on that segment of the fault.
The San Andreas fault is considered one of the most dangerous in Southern California, partly because it is so long that its southern section is capable of producing a temblor as large as magnitude 8.1.
By contrast, earthquake experts consider 1994's destructive 6.7-magnitude Northridge quake, which occurred on a different fault, to be a medium-sized quake.
The San Andreas is a sleeping giant. It's hard to imagine the power of a huge quake on the southern section because the last one occurred more than a century ago when the area was sparsely populated. Just 4,000 people lived in Los Angeles at the time.
The 1857 temblor, with an estimated magnitude of 7.9, is known as the Fort Tejon quake, but that's a bit of a misnomer because it is thought to have started farther north, way up in Parkfield in Monterey County. The quake then barreled south on the San Andreas for about 200 miles, through Fort Tejon near the northern edge of what is now Los Angeles County, then east toward the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County, near what is now the 15 Freeway.
The quake was so powerful that the soil liquefied, causing trees as far away as Stockton to sink. Trees were also uprooted west of Fort Tejon. The shaking lasted 1 to 3 minutes.
The study was conducted by scientists at UC Irvine and Arizona State University. As preliminary data went out for peer review, other earthquake scientists immediately took note.
The U.S. Geological Survey was so concerned that it dispatched its own team of investigators to the Carrizo Plain to look over the initial findings and review the evidence in the trenches.
"These investigators really were challenged by their scientific peers," said Ken Hudnut, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey. "And they made it through. They ran the gantlet and came through with a really solid paper."
Hudnut said the "Big One" wouldn't compare to most quakes Californians have endured. Such a large quake on the San Andreas, generally above a magnitude 7, would send enormous V-shape energy waves spreading out from the fault. If the earthquake energy hit the Los Angeles Basin, the soft sediment underneath it could actually amplify the waves, making the shaking worse.
Hudnut said the study offers both "bad news and good news," noting that it also concluded future earthquakes along that section of the San Andreas could be smaller than the 1857 quake.
"It's not the kind of news that ought to make people crawl into the fetal position. Rather, it's the kind of information that ought to once remind people about basic earthquake preparedness," Hudnut said.
Grant Ludwig said her research should motivate people to prepare.
"If you're waiting for someone to tell you when we're close to the next San Andreas earthquake, just look at the data," she said. "If we look at the only data we have, it's not very comforting. I'm preparing for that possibility."Study shakes up scientists' view of San Andreas earthquake risk
Researchers... more
-
-
* U.S. NEWS
* JULY 2, 2010
Florida Sees New Threat to Its Beaches
Deepwater Drilling Project in Cuban Waters Set to Launch Next Year Could Kick Off a Spate of Exploration in the Region
Photo: A Norwegian tanker approaching Havana last month. Several global oil companies have signed leases to explore in Cuban waters, where the U.S. Geological Survey has said there could be substantial stores of oil.
__________
Florida has long fought to prevent oil drilling anywhere near its white sandy beaches. But as the state continues to deal with oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill washing up on its shores, it faces a new threat: deepwater drilling in nearby Cuban waters.
Maria Ritter, a spokeswoman for Spanish oil company Repsol YPF SA, said it plans to drill off Cuba, about 60 miles south of Key West, Fla., early next year. If successful, this would likely kick off a spate of exploration. Only one deepwater well has been drilled in Cuban waters, by Repsol in 2004. The effort found oil but not enough to justify commercial development.
Since then, the U.S. Geological Survey has said there could be a substantial amount of untapped oil off the Cuban coast, whetting the appetite of several global oil companies that have signed exploration leases.
U.S. companies won't participate because of a longstanding trade embargo against Cuba. Repsol plans to use a floating drilling rig being refurbished in a Chinese shipyard, similar to the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by BP PLC that caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in April. Almost all parts and components in the rig to be used by Repsol are from non-U.S. companies.
The Obama administration has sought a six-month ban on deepwater drilling in U.S. waters to reassess risks and establish new safety procedures if necessary. But any new rules wouldn't reach Repsol's project in Cuban waters.
A spill there, even one significantly smaller than the continuing BP spill, could turn into an economic and environmental nightmare for Florida. Some oceanographers say the oil would likely be carried up Florida's Atlantic Coast, the heart of its tourism industry.
"We have one of the world's largest coral reefs and a protected marine sanctuary there," said Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) "We should not be drilling there."
Cuba's state oil firm, Union Cuba Petroleo, could not be reached for comment. Ms. Ritter, the Repsol spokeswoman, declined to comment on the project beyond confirming plans for the rig. Repsol has operations in many parts of the world, including the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico.
Drilling off Florida in U.S. waters has been banned by federal moratorium for decades. To protect the state's tourism-based economy, Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate as an independent, is floating a proposal for an amendment to the Florida constitution to ban offshore drilling there permanently.
It's not clear what U.S. or Florida officials could do to stop oil exploration in Cuba. The U.S. controls coastal waters up to 200 miles from its shores, but under a 1977 treaty it agreed to divide the Straits of Florida equally with Cuba. That means Repsol can drill a deepwater well about the same distance from Key West, Fla., as the Deepwater Horizon was from the Louisiana coast.
The rig headed for Cuban waters has five rams in its blowout preventer, each designed to help shut off an out-of-control well. The Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer had only four.
In the event of a spill in Cuban waters, many ships, equipment and personnel from the U.S. Gulf Coast could be prevented from helping because of the embargo. But that may be changing. A Treasury Department spokeswoman said some U.S. firms involved in oil cleanup have been issued licenses to travel to Cuba in case oil from the continuing spill hits beaches there.
Cuba's efforts to promote offshore oil exploration appear close to paying off. Cuba imports about 110,000 barrels of oil daily and produces an additional 52,000 barrels, mostly from onshore and shallow-water fields, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Ms. Ritter said Madrid-based Repsol plans to drill a new well near the 2004 well as soon as the rig—called the Scarabeo 9—is ready. Construction of Scarabeo 9 is expected to be complete at the end of 2010 or early 2011, said a spokesman for Enis SpA, an Italian company that controls the rig. Repsol's partners on the well include Norway's Statoil ASA and the overseas arm of India's state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Eight other foreign oil companies hold offshore leases in Cuban waters.
[CUBAOIL]
—Angel Gonzalez contributed to this article.* U.S. NEWS
* JULY 2, 2010
Florida Sees New Threat to Its Beaches
Deepwater... more
-
-
There's a hole in this possible earthquake pattern
The Mogi doughnut hypothesis, developed by a Japanese seismologist, holds that earthquakes occur in a circular pattern over decades, building up to one very large temblor in the doughnut hole.
A seismic hot spot
Photo: Signs in Parkfield, Calif., alert tourists that they are passing over the San Andreas fault. The area is so prone to earthquakes that scientists have wired it extensively to collect data. The San Andreas, along with the Elsinore and San Jacinto faults, would be enclosed in Southern California's so-called Mogi doughnut hole. Northern California’s doughnut hole includes the San Andreas and Hayward faults. (Spencer Weiner, Los Angeles Times / July 18, 2010)
PART ONE…
By Rong-Gong Lin II and Hector Becerra, Los Angeles Times
July 18, 2010
As UC Davis physicist and geologist John Rundle ponders the map of recent California earthquakes, he sees visions of a doughnut even Homer J. Simpson wouldn't like.
The doughnut is formed by pinpointing the recent quakes near Eureka, Mexicali and Palm Springs.
Seismologists call the possible pattern a Mogi doughnut. It's the outgrowth of a concept, developed in Japan, which holds that earthquakes sometimes occur in a circular pattern over decades —building up to one very large quake in the doughnut hole. Rundle and his colleagues believe that the recent quakes, combined with larger seismic events including the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge temblors, could be precursors to a far larger rupture.
They just don't know exactly when.
The idea of predicting earthquakes remains controversial and much debated among California's many seismologists. But as technology improves and the understanding of how earthquakes distribute energy grows, experts are gingerly offering improved "forecasts," some of which have been surprisingly prescient.
For example, Southern California was hit earlier this month by a 5.4 quake that struck in the mountains about 30 miles south of Palm Springs — several weeks after seismologists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and elsewhere warned that pressure was building in the San Jacinto fault zone, which is where the temblor occurred.
That forecast underscores new thinking by seismologists about how earthquakes occur.
In the past, experts paid less attention to how one fault was connected to another and how one earthquake could increase the chances of a quake on another fault. But now they believe that these connections are extremely important and that this year's temblors along the Mexican border and near Palm Springs seem to support the concept.
"Previously we would identify a fault, map it and name it," said Lisa Grant Ludwig, a UC Irvine earthquake expert. "What we've really got here is a network of faults. Maybe that's what we need to be thinking: more big-picture."
Seismologists made the forecast about the quake risk south of the Palm Springs area after seeing signs that the 7.2 Mexicali temblor in April had placed more pressure on the San Jacinto fault system, which extends from the border northwest 100 miles toward Riverside and San Bernardino. They were particularly concerned because the San Jacinto fault system connects to the massive 800-mile-long San Andreas fault, which last triggered the "Big One" in Southern California in 1857, leaving a trail of destruction from Central California to the Cajon Pass in the Inland Empire.
David Bowman, a geology professor at Cal State Fullerton, said his research indicates that the Mexicali quake — the largest to strike the region in nearly two decades — was actually triggered by a much smaller quake on a unnamed fault line. The small quake's energy "jumped on another fault and kept on going," causing the much larger Mexicali temblor that was felt all the way to Fresno.
"That fault the earthquake started on is so small, we don't even really know where it is. Yet that small earthquake — that would not have made the news at all — was able to jump onto another fault and become a magnitude 7.2 event," he said.
The big question is whether the Mexicali quake has made a destructive temblor in the L.A. area more likely. Experts see strong evidence that there is more pressure now on the San Jacinto and nearby Elsinore fault networks to the east of Los Angeles. The Elsinore fault zone is connected to the Whittier fault, which runs through densely populated sections of the L.A. area, including the San Gabriel Valley. As a result, there's a concern that a quake on the Whittier fault might be more likely.
The Mexicali quake has also turned into a treasure trove of data for earthquake experts. It comes at a time when quake technology has advanced in major ways. Sophisticated satellite images are being used to study creeping ground movement caused by tectonic pressure in advance of an earthquake.
New GPS ground monitoring equipment is tracking how far the ground has moved after a quake, allowing scientists to calculate locations of greater seismic stress. And research in the mountains west of Bakersfield, examining the tracks of earthquakes hundreds of years ago, is showing that catastrophic earthquakes — those as large as magnitude 8 — have occurred in Southern California more frequently than previously believed.
CONTINUED…There's a hole in this possible earthquake pattern
The Mogi doughnut hypothesis,... more
-
-
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries. Taiwan's interior ministry reported 11 minor injuries.
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/03/taiwan.quake/index.html?hpt=T2A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday morning, according to... more
-
-
eva2
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
January 3, 2010 11:21 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- About 20,000 people were left homeless Sunday, after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Tajikistan on Saturday, according to media reports in Russia and Tajikistan.
The quake shook Tajikistan's mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan province about 7:15 a.m. local time.
The 20,000 people were left homeless in the villages of Rog and Gishkon, where 1,050 mud dwellings were destroyed, according Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.
No fatalities were reported, Tajikistan's Asia Plus news agency said on its Web site, citing Azimjon Shamsiddinov, deputy head of the Vanj district, where the two villages are located.
The Vanj district was among the hardest hit, RIA Novosti said. A hospital, two schools, a recreation center and a prosecutor's office were destroyed in the district, about 400 kilometers (249 miles) southeast of Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, according to the news agency.
The U.S. Geological Survey classified the quake as a magnitude 5.3. It was centered 80 km (50 miles) north of Korough, Tajikistan, and was about 44.5 km (27.7 miles) below the Earth's surface, the USGS said
http://current.com/items/91825253_quake-leaves-20-000-homeless-in-tajikistan.htmJanuary 3, 2010 11:21 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- About 20,000 people were left homeless... more
-
-
Four endangered manatees have washed up dead within a few miles of the downtown Savannah riverfront in the past week, leading wildlife officials to speculate they may have been killed by a single large ship.
Clay George, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said Tuesday three of the manatee carcasses pulled from the Savannah River suffered deep propeller wounds. One had been sliced in half.
Examination of the fourth manatee Tuesday, the day after it was found beneath the Talmadge Bridge that spans the river from Savannah into South Carolina, revealed no lacerations. But the carcass had several broken bones that could have been caused by a ship, George said.
The manatees were discovered upstream from the bustling Port of Savannah, which cargo ships reach by navigating about 20 miles of the Savannah River from the Atlantic Ocean. Judging by the size of the cuts, the manatees appear to have been hit by a vessel the size of a tugboat or larger, George said.
"Container ships or some other large vessel would be an obvious place to start," George said. "We're not trying to blame anyone. Most likely it was an accident. I'd be very surprised if anyone on the vessel even knew what happened."
Though most frequently found in Florida, manatees migrate north to Georgia's shoreline waters and rivers each year from April to October.
A 2007 report by the U.S. Geological Survey identified boat collisions as the top long-term threat to manatees, which weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can be 10 feet long. In Florida, watercraft strikes killed 73 manatees in 2007 and have caused 60 deaths through July 31 this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
It's unusual for multiple manatees to turn up dead in the same place at roughly the same time, said Charles Underwood, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Jacksonville, Fla. But it can happen, he said, when manatees are trying to mate and may be distracted from approaching vessels.
Underwood said the agency has no recorded case in which a single boat or ship was proven to have killed multiple manatees at once.
Visitors strolling the downtown riverfront, a tourist hotspot packed with bars and souvenir shops, spotted the first two manatee carcasses in the river Friday. A boater spotted another later that day near Elba Island a few miles downriver.
George said the manatees could have been part of a mating herd, in which up to a dozen males pursue a single female. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photographed five manatees together in the river last week, he said.
Georgia Ports Authority spokesman Robert Morris said traffic to and from the port wasn't any heavier than normal last week with ships arriving and departing ahead of the storm. He called the manatee deaths "a tragic event."
"We want to work closely with the DNR to learn more about what caused the deaths of these four manatees and determine ways to alert river traffic in the future when manatees are sighted," Morris said.
Pleasure boats and Coast Guard cutters also frequent the Savannah River, and there's no precise evidence to indicate any particular type of large vessel.
PLEASE NOTE! Propeller Guard Can Help Reduce Manatee Injuries!
Boat Propeller Guards DO NOT elliminate injuries/death. However, they can help reduce manatee & other sea life (as well as humans) when used in conjunction with other precautions. Boat Propeller Guards are only effective when speedzone laws are obeyed.
http://myfwc.com/manatee/prop/
http://myfwc.com/manatee/prop/propguide.htm
Manatee FAQ Links:
http://www.savethemanatee.org/faqprotection.htm
http://www.floridaconservation.org/psm/prop/prop.htm
http://www.myfwc.com/manatee/
http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/aquatic_noise.phpFour endangered manatees have washed up dead within a few miles of the downtown... more
-
