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News of Earth Changes, climate shifts, weather anomalies, volcanoes, etc

October Weather Extremes

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October 2011 Global Weather Extremes Summary
Published: 8:16 PM GMT on November 05, 2011
October 2011 Global Weather Extremes Summary

October was a relatively calm month so far as global weather extremes were concerned. The biggest story for the United States was the unprecedented snowstorm that struck the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on October 29-30th. Unusual warmth occurred in Europe at the beginning of the month and in southern Africa towards the end of the month. Extreme flooding affected Central America, Italy, and Southeast Asia.

Below are some of the month’s highlights.

NORTH AMERICA

The most intense October snowstorm on record left between 22 and 27 dead and 2.5 million without electricity from Virginia to Maine when a classic northeaster cyclone moved up the Atlantic Coast on October 29th and 30th. As of this writing, a week later, some 800,000 are still without power in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Amazing snow totals of over two feet affected the hardest hit portions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire (see Jeff Masters and my blog of Oct. 30). At the peak of the storm on Saturday evening, Windsor, Massachusetts received 26.0” of snow in just a six-hour period.

Unisys surface analysis map for 8 p.m. EST October 29th, around the time when the snow was falling at its heaviest in southern New England.

Concord, New Hampshire had 22.2” in a 15-hour period between 4pm Oct. 29 and 7am October 30. This was the 2nd greatest 24-hour snowfall on record for this city that has experienced many formidable snowstorms since records began there in 1871 (the record 24-hour snowfall was 25” during the famous blizzard of December 26-27, 1969).

Heavy wet snow toppled trees onto parked cars in Worcester, Massachusetts. The storm has become the 14th billion-dollar natural disaster in the U.S.A. so far this year. Photo by Adam Hunger/AP.

In spite of some significant rainfall during the month, portions of western Texas and the Texas Panhandle experienced several intense dust storms reminiscent of the 1930s ‘Dust Bowl’ era. Amarillo, and Lubbock, Texas as well as Dodge City, Kansas remained on track for their driest calendar year on record. In contrast, much of Ohio and Pennsylvania have already achieved their wettest year on record. As of Nov. 1st Williamsport, Pennsylvania has recorded 63.18” (old record 61.27” in 1972), Scranton 54.02” (old record 53.71” in 1945), Harrisburg has recorded 67.59” (old record 59.67” in 1863), Cleveland, Ohio has measured 55.81”(old record 53.83” in 1990), and Binghamton, New York 61.86” (old record 49.33” in 2006).

Hurricane Jova roared ashore on Mexico’s west coast between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta on October 12th with 100mph wind gusts and killing five.

An amazing nighttime video capture of Hurricane Jova’s winds as the storm came ashore north of Manzanillo, Mexico on October 12th. Photo/video taken by wunderground blogger Mike Theiss at Tenacatita, Mexico.

The coldest temperature measured in the northern hemisphere during October was -61.4°F (-51.9°C) at Summit, Greenland.

SOUTH AMERICA and CENTRAL AMERICA

Extreme flooding in El Salvador and Guatemala resulted in the deaths of at least 105 people the week of October 13-20. It was one of the worst natural disasters in recent history for El Salvador. One location, Huizucar, in El Salvador recorded an astonishing 59.57” (1513mm) of precipitation in the ten-day period of October 10-20.

Map of precipitation totals across El Salvador the period of October 10-20. El Salvadoran National Hydrological Service.

Winds of 75mph in mid-October whipped up fallen volcanic ash (that had accumulated as the result of the eruption of Chile’s Puyehue volcano) closing airports in Argentina and Uruguay.

EUROPE

The United Kingdom recorded its warmest October temperature on record when a reading of 85.8°F (29.9°C) was observed at Gravesend, Kent on October 1st. This surpassed the previous warmest October temperature of 84.9°F (29.4°C) set at Cambridgeshire on October 1, 1985. Wales also broke its warmest October day on record with an 82.8°F (28.2°C) reading at Hawarden, Flintshire on October 1st (previous record was 79.5°F (26.4°C) at Ruthin, Denbighshire on October 1, 1985). Stephen Burt writes me, “At least as noteworthy was the fact that 1 October became the hottest day of the year quite widely in central southern England and in western and northern England. In central southern England, within the last 100 years, the hottest day of the year has never occurred later than 8 September.” The month was the 8th warmest October on record for the U.K. since 1910.

Dublin, Ireland, reported 82.2mm of rainfall in 24 hours on October 24th, its wettest October day since 1954. Two people died in flooding as a result. The coldest temperature measured in the U.K. during October was -3.3°C at Santon Downham, Suffolk on October 20th. The highest wind gust measured was 77mph at Killowen, County Down on October 17th.

Incredible flash flooding struck much of Italy on October 26th killing at least nine and devastating towns in the Liguria region near Genoa and also in central Tuscany. An amazing 450mm (17.72”) of rain fell in just four hours at Quezzi, Liguria. The torrential rains also affected extreme southeastern France where up to 600mm (23.62”) of rain in 12 hours were reported.

A flooded street in Genoa during the intense rainfall of October 26th. Photo by Luca Zennaro/EPA

AFRICA

An extreme heat wave affected Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia during the last week of October. All-time absolute maximum temperatures were recorded in Harare (98.1°F/36.7°C) and Bulawayo (101.3°F/38.5°C), Zimbabwe; Livingston (106.3°F/41.3°C), Zambia; and Francistown, Botswana where the 107.8°F (42.1°C) was just shy of the national record for Botswana of 108.3°F (42.4°C) recorded at Gomo in January 1932.

The hottest temperature observed was 112.3°F (44.6°C) at Buffalo Range, Zimbabwe on October 25th. This was also the warmest temperature observed in the southern hemisphere during October.

ASIA

The big story in Asia during October was (and still is!) the flooding in Thailand where Bangkok remains submerged as of this writing and the situation seems to be getting worse as flood waters continue their march toward the heart of the city. For details on the Bangkok flood see my previous blog. Some 507 people have died in Thailand so far as a result of the floods.

In Burma (Myanmar), over 100 people died in the city of Pakokku, which rests on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in central Burma, on October 21-22 when a flash flood swept away 2000 homes in Pakokku and four other towns in the Magwe Division.

The main bridge of Pakokku, Burma (Myanmar) swept away by floodwaters on October 22nd. Photo taken by unidentified resident of Pakokku.

Heavy rains also pelted the South China island province of Hainan in early October as the result the passage of Tropical Storm Nalgae. The city of Haikou apparently recorded 13.13” (333.6mm) of rain in 24 hours and 20.35” (517mm) in 48 hours, the greatest accumulations on record for the site.

The warmest temperature in the northern hemisphere and the world during October was 113.7°F (45.4°C) measured at Mecca, Saudi Arabia on October 1st.

AUSTRALIA

Temperatures were close to normal in most of Australia during October and precipitation was considerably above normal (152% of normal nation-wide to be precise) making this the 17th wettest October in over 112 years of record.

The normally wet top station of Bellenden Ker, Queensland measured 58.82” (1494mm) of precipitation during the month, the highest such figure ever measured during October at any site in Australia. 17.32” (440mm) of this total fell on the singe day of Oct. 19th, the 2nd greatest calendar day measurement for October in Australian history (record is 21.70”/551.2mm at Pacific Heights, Queensland on Oct. 8, 1914).

Map of rainfall deciles for October, 2011. It was the 3rd wettest October on record for Western Australia. Map courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The warmest temperature measured during the month was 111.2°F (44.0°C) at Wyndham Aero, Western Australia on October 12th. The coldest temperature was 18.0°F (-7.8°C) at Thredbo, New South Wales on October 3rd.

ANTARCTICA

The coldest temperature in the southern hemisphere and the world during October was -98.5°F (-72.5°C) recorded at Dome Fuji on Oct. 14th.

KUDOS Thanks to Maximiliano Herrera for global temperature extremes data and Stephen Burt for the U.K. extremes.

Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian

Earthquake off Coast of Guatemala

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Moderate deep earthquake close to the Guatemala coast

Last update: November 17, 2011 at 2:09 pm by By 

Earthquake overview :  A moderate deep earthquake occurred at 7:30 local Guatemala time. The depth of the hypocenter will make this earthquake being felt in a wide.

To read the full story as it happened, we advise our readers to start at the lower part of the page (earthquake data).

Keep this page open or return regularly as we will be back with more details when they become available

Update 13:59 UTC  : NO damage or injuries are expected due to this earthquake

Update 13:59 UTC  : The current earthquake is the third earthquake in the same area in less than 1 hour. The other 2 were respectively 4.6 and 5.0

Update 13:59 UTC  : Based on the I Have Felt It reports from USGS, we can report that the earthquake was experienced as a MMI II-III shaking

Update 13:49 UTC  : false alarm as the earthquake was very deep (96 km) which weakens the shaking very much

Update : focal depth is unknown at the moment (varies strongly depending on the source)

Update : Epicenter approx. 30 km inland of the Guatemala coast

Update : Seismogical agencies are currently calculating the earthquake data. Preliminary readings are mentioning 5.0 to 5.5 magnitude range.

for more and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/11/17/strong-earthquake-close-to-the-guatemala-coast/

What Are Those Lines in the Gobi Desert?

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Symbols in China Desert Are Spy Satellite Targets, Expert Says

Natalie Wolchover, Life’s Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Date: 15 November 2011 Time: 05:41 PM ET


A strange zigzag pattern in the Gobi Desert in China. Coordinates: 40.452107,93.742118. Credit: Copyright 2011 Google - Imagery copyright Cnes/Spot Image, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye
A strange zigzag pattern in the Gobi Desert in China. Coordinates: 40.452107,93.742118.
CREDIT: Copyright 2011 Google – Imagery copyright Cnes/Spot Image, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye

Newfound Google Maps images have revealed an array of mysterious structures and patterns etched into the surface of China’s Gobi Desert. The media — from mainstream to fringe — has wildly speculated that they might be Chinese weapons-testing sites, satellite calibration targets, street maps of Washington, D.C., and New York City, or even messages to (or from) aliens.

It turns out that they are almost definitely used to calibrate China’s spy satellites.

So says Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, which operates many of the cameras used during NASA’s Mars missions. Hill works with images of the Martian surface taken by rovers and satellites, as well as data from Earth-orbiting NASA instruments.

The grids of zigzagging white lines seen in two of the images — the strangest of the various desert structures — are spy satellite calibration targets. Satellite cameras focus on the grids, which measure approximately 0.65 miles wide by 1.15 miles long, and use them to orient themselves in space. [Gallery: Mysterious Structures In China’s Gobi Desert]

The existence of these calibration targets may seem suspicious or revelatory, but Hill said it really isn’t; China was already known to operate spy satellites, and many other countries (including the United States) do so as well. In fact, the U.S. also uses calibration targets. “An example I found just now is a calibration target for the Corona spy satellites, built back in the 1960s, down in Casa Grande, Ariz., [at coordinates] 32° 48′ 24.74″ N, 111° 43′ 21.30″ W,” Hill told Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience.

The 65-foot-wide white lines that make up China’s grids are not made of reflective metal as many news sites have suggested. “They have gaps in them where they cross little natural drainage channels and the lines themselves are not perfectly filled in, with lots of little streaks and uneven coverage. I think it’s safe to say these are some kind of paint,” Hill said, noting that if they were made of white dust or chalk, the wind would have caused them to streak visibly.

The calibration targets are larger than might have been expected, he said, suggesting that the satellite cameras they are being used to calibrate have surprisingly poor ground resolution.

Another strange image taken not far away shows a Stonehenge-like arrangement of objects radiating outward, with fighter jets parked at its center. “This is almost certainly a calibration/test target for orbital radar instruments,” Hill said. “Since a significant amount of radar return is due to differences in surface roughness, they’re probably testing ways of making the areas around planes ‘bumpy’ enough that the planes are partially masked.”

In other words, the Chinese military probably uses radar instruments to send signals down at the target from above, and determine how much radar bounces back to the instruments from the fighter jets, and how much gets scattered by the Stonehenge-like arrangement of bumps surrounding them. From this, the country’s radar experts can learn how best to hide China’s military operations from other countries’ satellites, and possibly get clues for how to find carefully hidden objects in other countries. However, the fact that the planes are made out of metal will increase their radar return and make it very hard to completely mask them, Hill said.

Since the initial reports of these structures became widespread, industrious readers of the gadget blog Gizmodo have spotted a few more interesting structures in China. One, Hill said, appears to be a weapons testing zone, perhaps for evaluating explosives. Elsewhere, a giant grid resembles a Yagi antenna array. Instruments like this can be used for any number of things, such as weather tracking, space weather tracking and high-altitude atmospheric research.

Hill noted that most of these structures are quite closer to each other. “I think we’re seeing some sort of military zone/test range, which explains the large amount of equipment and technology in an otherwise remote area,” he said. “Sometimes the truth can be just as interesting, if not more so, than the conspiracies that people come up with.”

 

from:    http://www.livescience.com/17052-mysterious-symbols-china-desert-spy-satellite-targets-expert.html

South Dakota Earthquake 11/14

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Magnitude 3.7 – SOUTH DAKOTA

2011 November 14 06:51:39 UTC

Earthquake Details

  • This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude 3.7
Date-Time
Location 43.050°N, 103.502°W
Depth 5 km (3.1 miles)
Region SOUTH DAKOTA
Distances 42 km (26 miles) S of Hot Springs, South Dakota
47 km (29 miles) WNW of Chadron, Nebraska
76 km (47 miles) W of Pine Ridge, South Dakota
293 km (182 miles) WSW of PIERRE, South Dakota
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 10.1 km (6.3 miles); depth +/- 3.1 km (1.9 miles)
Parameters NST= 79, Nph= 97, Dmin=126.9 km, Rmss=0.87 sec, Gp= 47°,
M-type=”Nuttli” surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=5
Source
  • Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
    Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc000

For more information, go to:    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0006rmy.php

Earthquake in Georgia

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Small earthquake strikes in northwest corner of Georgia

Published: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 9:25 AM     Updated: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 9:25 AM
quake
U.S. Geological Survey
A tiny earthquake struck in northwest Georgia this morning near the Alabama state line.The 1.9 magnitude earthquake struck at 5:49 a.m. about 7 miles northwest of Trion, Ga., the U.S. Geological Survey reports. The quake was about four miles deep, according to the survey.

Earthquakes of that magnitude are generally too weak to be felt.

Today’s small quake was located within the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, which includes a portion of northeast Alabama.
from:    http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/11/small_earthquake_strikes_in_no.html

But then, Consider this report:

11/13/2011 — Georgia earthquake near DORMANT VOLCANO — Vulcan Mining company @ location !

video here:

link:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-BjrCdtSGn8

 

A 2.7 magnitude earthquake struck the state of Georgia this past week — several people reported hearing some kind of “explosion”– then felt an earthquake.

I think I may have determined a “cause” or a likely “earthquake trigger” — and more specifically, why THIS area in particular can expect further movement .  Also, I think this may explain why some people heard an explosion of some kind.

Screenshot of the earthquake culprit below:

We see a chain of “old” dormant volcanic sites .. furthest to the south we see a massive supervolcano caldera.. several miles across.. 4 miles long / 2 miles wide

There is a MINE at the location in question — on Blue Hole Road @ Pigeon Mountain in Georgia…. the name of the mine is… seen on google earth street view —

VULCAN MINES !!

Check out the GATE TO THE MINE !

……….

In short — my opinion — the earthquake in Georgia was due to the old dormant supervolcano caldera, cone, and blasted out flank volcano .. located 19 miles west of the earthquake epicenter.

This is due to the global uptick in volcanic / tectonic activity.. literally, we are seeing volcanic areas which have been dormant for thousands of years are starting to show some activity — Pisgah, Black Hills, Volcano CA, Mono Lake, Yellowstone uplift, sites in Idaho, Utah, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have shown activity… this is just listing USA activity recently (past 2 months).

Now we can add Pigeon Mountain to the list .

 

for more on this, go to:   http://sincedutch.wordpress.com/

AND, as always, you decide…

Another San Antonio, TX Earthquake

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Earth moves again for San Antonians

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Updated 06:16 p.m., Saturday, November 12, 2011

SAN ANTONIO – A magnitude 3.3 earthquake shook a rural area south of San Antonio early Saturday morning.

The quake, with its epicenter about 44 miles southeast of the city, struck at about 4:35 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

No damage was reported.

A 4.8 magnitude quake that struck the area last month was the largest ever recorded since USGS began keeping track.

Experts say smaller earthquakes are not uncommon for the area.

Alan Dutton, chairman of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at San Antonio, has told the Express-News that the region generally gets a tremor every two to four years, more or less.

The largest quake ever recorded in Texas history happened Aug. 16, 1931. It had a magnitude of 5.8, and its epicenter was near Valentine, in Jeff Davis County in far West Texas.

from:   http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Earth-moves-again-for-San-Antonians-2266079.php

El Hierro Update

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11/12/2011 — El Hierro LARGE undersea eruption — CO2 makes geologist sick — nearby NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP !
Posted on November 12, 2011 by sincedutch
watch RAW video of the latest El Hierro eruption here:

Screenshot below is from the pinnacle point of the undersea eruption.. this was a major event.. since the volcano vent itself is a few hundred feet below the surface of the water..

Link to story on geologist getting sick from CO2 after eruption: http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/underwater-volcano-offshore-eruptions-in-canary-islands/2g5jq7z6?cpkey=354b68a2-91c6-4841-8ba2-4aa80bfdf63c

Screenshot of geologist who was made sick by the CO2 gasses:

It is worthy to note the NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP nearby this eruption!!!!

===========================================

FYI — the AD that appears on this video is NOT from me.. this video matched “canary island broadcasting” even though its public use RAW footage.. attempting an appeal on this “3rd party” notice.. til then.. THEIR ad appears.. either that or I have to take down these great shots of El Hierro erupting etc..

sorry, could not get a lot of the photos, but if you go follow the link below (story source), you can find them:

http://sincedutch.wordpress.com/2011/11/12/11122011-el-hierro-large-undersea-eruption-co2-makes-geologist-sick/

 

Winter Weather Forecast fr/Storm Central

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Welcome to Storm Central’s Winter Weather Forecast for the 2011-2012 Year. Now, Might I begin by saying this is going to be quite an active year just like last year. All aspects being in play have narrowed this down to another La Nina pattern for the United States. Now let me explain what the causes of La Nina would be:

La Nina: In the simplest terms La Nina is the warmer water in the Equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean. These situations of La Nina (Which means Girl in Spanish) can develop quickly. For example: We had a La Nina pattern for much of the Winter of 2010-2011 and into the spring time. This pattern, the La Nina effect, caused all the troubles with the Severe Weather and Tornado Outbreaks in both April 27-28 of April and the other Outbreak in May with the Joplin Tornado. Usually, La Nina creates a warmer type of pattern but as shown by last year this pattern can create negative impacts to the areas where their isn’t warmth. La Nina pattern affects other areas rather than the United States and can send negative positive impacts or negative impacts across the globe.

Since La Nina pattern is in effect once again, expect most of the same from last year to occur this year. Allot of the areas that were hit last year hard will once again be hit hard again.

The biggest player in all this would be the Greenland Blocking Pattern. The Greenland Block is the a big deal to the United States. It basically states if you get a Mild Winter with Little Snow to a Cold Winter with lots of snow. The Greenland High, Situated over Greenland affects Earth all the way around. Now When you have the greenland high in place, Jet Stream winds are forced over and around the high. With that can bring a sign of trouble for The United States if this plays out. Basically, the Pacific Jet Stream ushers in cold air from Alaska into Canada then can bring very cold air into the United States. With that, the Jet heads northward over the high and around it and into Europe where the chilly airmass could affect them two. Now remember, aside from Un Cut lows, the Pacific Jet Stream is where most of our seasonal and un seasonal Winter Storms come from. With that Greenland Blocking Pattern In affect, that would keep the warm air south and west in the United States and the cold air over the center, north and east in the United States. Keeping all that in mind, that means all the low’s would ride that Pacific Jet Stream. Not all go that south, some are un-cut and some do an Alberta Clipper style and go to the north with little moisture. But the ones that go south get moisture from the Gulf Of Mexico then ride northward are the dangerous storm complexes to watch as they dip far enough south, get moisture, then ride into the great lakes or Ohio Valley. These can produce Ice Storms to KY, AR,TN and blizzards to MO, IL, IN, OH and the whole East Coast.

Storm Central’s Forecast:
-Storm Central is forecasting the La Nina Pattern with a weak to moderate Greenland Block during the Winter. As other outlooks have been, they have more of a strong blocking which would send very cold air all the way south to the Gulf Coast along with Precipitation. Below is an example of a real life situation with the Greenland Blocking Pattern. As you can see if you enlarge the graphic by clicking it, you see the pacific jet being marked in Purple with the Greenland High being over Greenland Itself. The effects on this situation would be a moderate blocking which would only send the jet stream as far south as Tennesse. Based on this patter, The west stays warm and the Midwest, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and whole East Coast stay very cold. Now this can move from side to side every week. That means just because your below the jet for that week and could be in the 4-’s with rain could mean you could be in the 30′s and snowing the next week. Some weeks, espically early winter when I forecast this to be way north with the core of cold staying North into Northern Midwest, you will see no action during this time. 
Effects on Weak/Moderate/Strong Greenland Blocking:
-Weak: Jet Stream stays to the north and the blocking is considered weak. Weak meaning the core of cold will stay to the north. This is the best time for Alberta Clippers to set down a good 4 inch snowfall in a day and be out of there. This is not a great lake producer as you need low pressures to move south of the lake to turn the winds off the lake therefore produce lake effect snowfall.

-Moderate: This Forecast for the blocking could be the worse out of all them for the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes. This would take any storm system south that has a good potential to pick up gulf moisture and then move northeastward and precipation. Depending on temperatures, this could be in the form of snow, rain, sleet, ice ect. Im sure everyone remebers the 2011 Blizzard or some call it the Ground Hog Day Blizzard of 2011. it took this type of path and gathered tons of moisture that moved northeast and dumped snow. Other factors caused the winds and we had a 20inch+ Blizzard for allot of areas. If this pattern takes shape we could see a repeat of the 2011 Blizzard. Now also this takes the core of cold air southward so portions of Missouri and Arkansas would be chilly two.

-Strong: This forecast is the worst for the South. This pattern would be a very strong blocking and would take systems south and then northeast again into KY, TN, WV and then into the East Coast with snow and ice. Very cold tempearures would reach all the way south to Missippi and Alabama. This realitively doesn’t occur for a long time with a long shot of cold air but the potential is their.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now, as most of you know me I love to talk and I’m hitting 1100 words and I am not even at the good part yet. Now for the Forecast!

Storm Central is predicting a big year once again. This years winter will include both the Moderate and Weak Blocking Pattern with timing being forecast later. The La Nina pattern will be in full force this year.

there is much, much more, including monthly maps and charts.  To access this information, go to:

http://stormcentral1st.com/?page_id=2279

Post Glacial Rebound Effect

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Hang On! Earth’s Surface Moving North

Andrea Leontiou
Date: 27 September 2010 Time: 01:05 PM ET
Earth from space.

As you read this, the Earth’s surface is shifting right underneath you, creeping very slowly toward the North Pole. Scientists say the shift is greater than they expected, but other than some minor effects on satellites, life will go on.

Researchers have found that the shift of water mass around the globe, combined with so-called post-glacial rebound, is shifting Earth’s surface relative to its center of mass by 0.035 inches (0.88 millimeters) a year toward the North Pole.

Post-glacial rebound is the response of the solid Earth to the retreat of glaciers and the resulting loss of the hefty weight. As glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, the land under the ice began to rise and continues to do so. Therefore, models predicted, the solid crust at the surface should be moving northward, in relation to the planet’s center of mass.

Now there’s hard data to support the model’s prediction.

To calculate the changes, scientists combined gravity data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites with measurements of global surface movements from GPS and a model developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that estimates the mass of Earth’s ocean above any point on the ocean floor.

Study researcher Xiaoping Wu of JPL in Pasadena, Calif., thinks the shift of Earth’s surface is largely due to the melted Laurentide ice sheet, which blanketed most of Canada and a part of the northern United States during the last Ice Age.

“The new estimate of shift is much larger than previous model estimates of 0.019 inches (0.48 millimeters) per year,” Wu said. “The motion of the center moving upward is not going to affect life on Earth. The motion is only less than one millimeter a year, so it won’t have any impact on life, but if it were something like one centimeter, then there would be a huge amount of changes,” Wu said.

While this movement will not have an impact on our day-to-day lives, it could impact spacecraft tracking and tell us more about how the Earth deforms under stress and the history of deglaciation.

“Satellites in space orbit around the center of mass record information from space and our corresponding instruments are located on the Earth’s surface, so this movement may affect how we track spacecrafts,” Wu said.

from:   http://www.livescience.com/10119-hang-earth-surface-moving-north.html