Last update: September 2, 2011 at 12:02 pm by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell
to read more, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/02/massive-earthquake-on-the-subduction-slopes-of-the-unpopulated-alaskan-islands/
By Kristen Hays and Erwin Seba | Reuters – Wed, Aug 31, 2011
Later on Wednesday, Anadarko Petroleum Corp joined BP saying it has evacuated non-essential workers from three platforms in the Gulf.
Royal Dutch Shell also was preparing to evacuate some workers and expected to decide whether to move forward with that during the day, spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh said.
Shell was monitoring the system over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and the eastern Gulf. The National Hurricane Center said the weather formation had a 30 percent chance of becoming a cyclone in the next two days.
Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp, ConocoPhillips and Apache Corp also said they were monitoring the system.
BP, the biggest oil producer in the Gulf with eight company-operated oil and gas platforms, said it was evacuating from five platforms more than 500 “nonessential” workers, or those not directly involved in production, such as cooks.
The platforms involved are Thunder Horse, the world’s largest with capacity to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil per day, and Na Kika, Mad Dog, Holstein and Atlantis.
“Essential personnel remain on board to continue safe operations and prepare the platforms for potential shut-in and full evacuation in the event it becomes necessary,” the company said in a statement.
Anadarko said the workers were taken from the Gunnison, Nansen and Boomvang platforms.
“We will continue to monitor the path of the weather and are prepared to evacuate all personnel and shut in production if necessary,” Anadarko said in a statement.
Shell is the second-largest producer in the Gulf, operating six oil and gas platforms.
Mexico’s state oil monopoly Pemex said it was monitoring the weather but not yet taking any emergency or precautionary steps.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center gives the disturbance, which would be called Lee if it becomes a tropical storm, a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, but said it could develop further when it reaches the western Gulf.
for more, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-firms-start-u-gulf-evacuations-due-weather-005732473.html
By Marice Richter | Reuters – Wed, Aug 31, 2011The Texas Forest Service has declared this to be the worst fire season in the state’s history. Forest service officials, along with firefighters in communities across the state have responded to 20,155 fires that have burned a record 3.5 million acres since last November 15.
Six of the 10 largest wildfires recorded in Texas occurred in April and 20 of the 40 largest were recorded this year, according to the forest service. Fires this year have destroyed 3,000 structures, including 679 homes.
The danger is not over as new fires continued to break out due to hot, dry weather and extreme drought that persists throughout most of the state.
In North Texas, firefighters were still trying to control a massive fire that erupted in a lakefront community west of Fort Worth on Tuesday.
Central Oklahoma remained under a red flag fire warning on Wednesday, the day after a wildfire destroyed 33 homes in northeast Oklahoma City.
Evacuations at Possum Kingdom Lake, about 75 miles west of Fort Worth, resumed Wednesday afternoon when the wind picked up and fanned the flames that firefighters had some success in containing overnight.
“As soon as the wind picked up, the fires started spreading quickly again,” said John Nichols, a spokesman for the Texas Forest Service.
The fire destroyed at least 39 homes and buildings and burned more than 6,200 acres by Wednesday evening. Property owners in several neighborhoods around the lake were evacuated by boat to a hotel on another area on Tuesday because roads were cutoff by the flames.
But as the fire again quickly spread on Wednesday, those evacuees were again forced to flee, along with others from neighborhoods that were unaffected on Tuesday.
“Fortunately we were able to move our car yesterday before it got too bad,” said resident Laura Kirklen. “We heard a local church was sending a bus for some of those who had no other way out.”
Firefighters were battling the fast-moving fire from the ground and air. Heavy air tankers, single-engine aircraft and helicopters were dumping water on the fires. Possum Kingdom Lake was the sight of the state’s fifth largest recorded wildfire in April, when more than 160 homes were destroyed and over 126,000 acres were burned during two weeks.
for more, go to: http://news.yahoo.com/wildfires-again-rage-texas-oklahoma-234909723.html
Last update: September 1, 2011 at 11:25 pm by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell
UPDATE : This earthquake occurred near the Santa Susana section (Santa Susana fault) from Sierra Madre fault zone.
UPDATE : USGS has just updated the earthquake data. The initial reported 4.1 was later revised to 4.2 and is finally revised to 4.3. Instead of a vert spectacular depth of 0.1 km, they have now recalculated the depth at 7.4 km.
Distances to the populated locations :
6 km (4 miles) SE (133°) from Newhall, CA – 8 km (5 miles) SSE (164°) from Santa Clarita, CA
7 km (5 miles) NNW (328°) from San Fernando, CA – 8 km (5 miles) NNE (14°) from Granada Hills, CA
39 km (24 miles) NW (326°) from Los Angeles Civic Center, CA
UPDATE : LIVE Seismograph from ABC7 so you cabn watch for eventual aftershocks
UPDATE : Recorded Seismograph video of the mainshock – courtesy ABC7 station
UPDATE : Additionally, local authorities will also inspectlocal bridges and buildings. Earthquake-Report.com is almost convinced that there will be no major damage as residential houses have not yet reported any damage more than 1 hour after the quake.
UPDATE : Santa Clarita officials will inspect city buildings for damage, including City Hall, city libraries and the Metrolink train station, Ortiz said.
UPDATE : The Los Angeles Fire Department has not received any calls of damage as far as 50 minutes after the quake happened.
for more, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/01/moderate-earthquake-in-the-greater-los-angeles-area/
Last update: September 1, 2011 at 9:43 am by By Armand Vervaeck
New Activity, Unrest or activity change
BAGANA Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) – Satellite map – summit elev. 1750 m
Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Darwin VAAC reported that on 23 August an ash plume from Bagana rose to an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted 93 km SW.
Volcano Information : Bagana volcano, occupying a remote portion of central Bougainville Island, is one of Melanesia’s youngest and most active volcanoes. Bagana is a massive symmetrical lava cone largely constructed by an accumulation of viscous andesitic lava flows. The entire lava cone could have been constructed in about 300 years at its present rate of lava production. Eruptive activity at Bagana is characterized by non-explosive effusion of viscous lava that maintains a small lava dome in the summit crater, although explosive activity occasionally producing pyroclastic flows also occurs. Lava flows form dramatic, freshly preserved tongue-shaped lobes up to 50-m-thick with prominent levees that descend the volcano’s flanks on all sides.
RANAKAH Flores Island (Indonesia) – Satellite map – summit elev. 2350 m
CVGHM reported that observers of Anak Ranakah, a lava dome that formed in 1987 at the base of the large older lava dome of Ranakah, noted white plumes rising up to 10 m high during January-24 August. Seismicity initially increased in December 2010, but increased again during June-August. Based on visual observations and seismic data analyses, CVGHM raised the Alert Level to 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
Volcano Information : A new lava dome, named Anak Ranakah (Child of Ranakah) was formed in 1987 in an area without previous historical eruptions at the base of the large older lava dome of Gunung Ranakah. An arcuate group of lava domes extending westward from Gunung Ranakah occurs on the outer flanks of the poorly known Poco Leok caldera on western Flores Island. Pocok Mandosawa lava dome, at 2350 m the highest point on the island of Flores, lies west of Anak Ranakah.
TAMBORA Sumbawa Island (Indonesia) – Satellite map – summit elev. 2850 m
Based on visual observation and seismic data, CVGHM reported an increase in activity at Tambora during the previous five months. Ground-based observers at an observation post in Tambora village noted dense white plumes rising 50-75 m above the caldera rim during April and June, but no plumes during May or July. In August dense white plumes rose 20 m above the caldera rim. Seismicity started to increase in April and continued to increase through August. On 30 August the Alert Level was raised to 2 (on a scale of 1-4).
Volcano Information : The massive Tambora stratovolcano forms the entire 60-km-wide Sanggar Peninsula on northern Sumbawa Island. The largely trachybasaltic-to-trachyandesitic volcano grew to about 4000 m elevation before forming a caldera more than 43,000 years ago. Late-Pleistocene lava flows largely filled the early caldera, after which activity changed to dominantly explosive eruptions during the early Holocene. Tambora was the source of history’s largest explosive eruption, in April 1815. Pyroclastic flows reached the sea on all sides of the peninsula, and heavy tephra fall devastated croplands, causing an estimated 60,000 fatalities. The eruption of an estimated more than 150 cu km of tephra formed a 6-km-wide, 1250-m-deep caldera and produced global climatic effects. Minor lava domes and flows have been extruded on the caldera floor at Tambora during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Gunung Tambora picture courtesy Pirata Alado – http://www.panoramio.com/photo/36914449
PAPANDAYAN Western Java (Indonesia) – Satellite map – summit elev. 2665 m
On 26 August CVGHM reported that Papandayan showed minor to no changes in recent seismicity, deformation, geochemistry, and visual observations; therefore the Alert Level remained at 3 (on a scale of 1-4). Seismicity remained high, but stable, and was dominated by shallow volcanic earthquakes. Deformation measurements showed no change, and water temperatures in multiple fumarolic areas and lakes remained relatively unchanged. Sulfur dioxide gas emissions decreased from 8 tons per day on 12 August to 6 tons per day on 23 August. Carbon dioxide in the soil at a 1 m depth in multiple areas did not increase. Visitors and residents were advised not to venture within 2 km of the active crater.
Volcano Information : Papandayan is a complex stratovolcano with four large summit craters, the youngest of which was breached to the NE by collapse during a brief eruption in 1772 and contains active fumarole fields. The broad 1.1-km-wide, flat-floored Alun-Alun crater truncates the summit of Papandayan, and Gunung Puntang to the N gives the volcano a twin-peaked appearance. Several episodes of collapse have given the volcano an irregular profile and produced debris avalanches that have impacted lowland areas beyond the volcano. Since its first historical eruption in 1772, in which a catastrophic debris avalanche destroyed 40 villages, only two small phreatic eruptions have occurred from vents in the NE-flank fumarole field, Kawah Mas.
ETNA Sicily (Italy) – Satellite map – summit elev. 3330 m
Sezione di Catania – Osservatorio Etneo reported that nine days after the previous episode, the New SE Crater produced its twelfth paroxysmal eruptive episode of 2011 during the early morning of 29 August. The event was preceded by an explosion at 2252 on 27 August, and a series of ash emissions from the New SE Crater almost 15 hours later. Weak Strombolian activity visible during the evening on 28 August intensified during the night.
At 0115 on 29 August lava overflowed the rim through a breach in the E crater rim and traveled towards the Valle del Bove. Strombolian activity progressively intensified and two vents within the crater emitted pulsating lava fountains up to 100 m high. The lava fountains again increased in height and a dense plume rose a few kilometers above the summit before drifting toward the SSE. At the same time, a small lava flow issued from the area affected by the collapse of a portion of the cone’s ESE flank during the 20 August paroxysm. At 0220 the SE flank of the cone fractured and exposed a line of new eruptive vents down to the base of the cone that produced lava fountains. A broad lava flow fed by the vents descended into the Valle del Bove, somewhat to the S of the lava flow emitted earlier during the episode. The lava fountaining from the vents within the crater turned into ash emission just after 0220, whereas the lowest vent on the new eruptive fracture continued to produce incandescent jets until 0250. Ash emission continued at a diminishing rate until about 0315.
Read also : Another beautiful eruption of Mt Etna (Italy) on August 29 2011 + videos
Volcano Information : Mount Etna, towering above Catania, Sicily’s second largest city, has one of the world’s longest documented records of historical volcanism, dating back to 1500 BC. Historical lava flows cover much of the surface of this massive basaltic stratovolcano, the highest and most voluminous in Italy. Two styles of eruptive activity typically occur at Etna. Persistent explosive eruptions, sometimes with minor lava emissions, take place from one or more of the three prominent summit craters, the Central Crater, NE Crater, and SE Crater. Flank eruptions, typically with higher effusion rates, occur less frequently and originate from fissures that open progressively downward from near the summit. A period of more intense intermittent explosive eruptions from Etna’s summit craters began in 1995. The active volcano is monitored by the Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Volcanologia (INGV) in Catania.
KILAUEA Hawaii (USA) – satellite map – summit elev. 1222 m
During 24-30 August, HVO reported that the level of the lava-lake surface in the deep pit within Kilauea’s Halema’uma’u crater periodically fluctuated but remained below the inner ledge 75 m below the crater floor. At Pu’u ‘O’o’ crater, lava from sources on the E and S portions of the crater floor fed a lava lake that was formed during 25-26 August. A new source opened at the W edge of the crater floor during 29-30 August, and lava quickly spread N and S along the base of the W crater wall.
Volcano Information : Kilauea, one of five coalescing volcanoes that comprise the island of Hawaii, is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Eruptions at Kilauea originate primarily from the summit caldera or along one of the lengthy E and SW rift zones that extend from the caldera to the sea. About 90% of the surface of Kilauea is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the volcano’s surface is younger than 600 years. A long-term eruption from the East rift zone that began in 1983 has produced lava flows covering more than 100 sq km, destroying nearly 200 houses and adding new coastline to the island.
for more information, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/01/active-volcanoes-in-the-world-from-24082011-to-30082011/
| Posted by: JeffMasters, 4:38 PM GMT on August 31, 2011 |
Figure 2. The morning run of the GFS Ensemble prediction. The ensemble prediction was done by taking a lower-resolution version of the GFS model and changing the initial distributions of temperature, pressure, and humidity randomly by a few percent to generate an ensemble of 20 different computer projections of where Katia might go. The operational (highest-resolution) version of the GFS model (white line) is usually more accurate, but the ensemble runs give one an idea of the uncertainty in the forecast. Very few of the ensemble members are currently showing a threat to the U.S. Canada is more at risk than the U.S., according to this model.
Gulf of Mexico disturbance a threat to develop
Surface winds over the Gulf of Mexico are rising today in advance of the approach of a tropical wave currently over the Western Caribbean, western tip of Cuba, and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. This wave is headed west-northwest at 10 – 15 mph, and is under a high 20 – 30 knots of wind shear. The wave is slowly beginning to build an increased amount of heavy thunderstorms, and this process will accelerate on Thursday when the wave enters the Gulf of Mexico. By Friday, when the wave will be near the Louisiana or Texas coast, wind shear is expected to drop to low to moderate levels, and the wave may be able to organize into a tropical depression. This process will likely take several days, and formation of a tropical depression is more likely Saturday or Sunday. NHC is giving the wave just a 10% chance of developing into a tropical depression by Friday morning. Regardless, this system will spread heavy rains to portions of the Gulf Coast by Friday, with the Upper Texas coast and the coast of Louisiana the most likely recipients of heavy rain. Strong onshore winds raising tides to 1 – 2 feet above normal are likely over Louisiana beginning on Friday, and coastal flood statements have been issued for the region. Three of our four top models for predicting tropical cyclone development forecast that a tropical depression will form this weekend or early next week, and I think it is at least 50% likely we will have Tropical Depression 13 on our hands by Monday. However, steering currents will be weak in the Gulf, and it is difficult to predict where the storm might go.The GFS model has a possible tropical depression forming by Sunday off the coast of Mississippi, then moving east-northeast over the Florida Panhandle on Monday. The ECMWF model forms the storm on Monday off the coast of Texas, and leaves the storm stalled out there through Wednesday. The UKMET model forms the storm Saturday off the coast of Louisiana, and leaves it stalled out there through Monday. If the storm did remain in the Gulf of Mexico for three days as some of the recent model runs have been predicting, it would be a threat to intensify into a hurricane.
Last update: August 30, 2011 at 8:47 am by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell
Earthquake overview : A weak but very shallow earthquake has frightened a lot of people living in downtown San Francisco.
Update : The fault line where the quake occurred is the Peninsula Section of the San Andreas Fault line.
Update : The current epicenter area has no historic earthquakes greater than 1.0 the last 7 days or NO quakes greater than 3.0 the last 40 years.
Update : The earthquake has been felt as far as Burlingame to the south, Martinez to the East and San Anselmo to the North.
to read more, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/08/30/weak-very-shallow-earthquake-frightens-downtown-san-fransisco/
Future Hurricane Katia track likely further north and east than Irene
| Published on August 29, 2011 11:15 am PT – By Kevin Martin – Senior Meteorologist – Article Editor and Approved – Warren Miller |
Click to view the long range track
(TheWeatherSpace.com) — Tropical Depression 12 has formed and should become Tropical Storm Katia within the next 12 or 24 hours.
Katia will be a very strong Hurricane within then next five or six days as it heads west-northwest through the Atlantic Ocean. There are factors to put this into perspective and one of those is the troughing expected along the Eastern U.S. as Katia moves into the Western Atlantic Ocean this weekend.
Right now this far out is a long shot, however looking at where I think the storm will be in five to six days time; including the intensity, have decided on a track similar to Hurricane Igor in 2010.
Igor moved northwest and then eventually northward into Bermuda Island. My reasoning would leave the Gulf of Mexico as the least probability in the forecast, giving the strongest one for Cape Cod to Bermuda Island and then into Nova Scotia.
Hurricane Katia will be about the size of Texas, much smaller than Irene was.
There are key factors such as a low out ahead of the system, and a low behind the system at the current time. This will help establish a healthy upper level outflow signature over the next couple of days and this will rapidly become a Hurricane, reaching Category Two in a couple days and shooting to Category Three and Four fast after day five.
fr/http://www.theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-08_29_2011_longrangekatia.html
fr/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desertin northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before, and ends on the day of, the American Labor Day holiday (August 29 to September 4, 2011). It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance.
Burning Man is organized by Black Rock City, LLC. In 2010, 51,515 people attended Burning Man.[5] 2011 attendance was capped at 50,000 participants and the event sold out on July 24th.
fr/http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/about_burningman/principles.html
The Ten Principles:
Radical Inclusion
Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.
Gifting
Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
Radical Self-reliance
Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.
Radical Self-expression
Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
Communal Effort
Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
Civic Responsibility
We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
Leaving No Trace
Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
Participation
Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
Immediacy
Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.
The northern motion is expected to continue Sunday. It currently has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
Little change in strength is forecast Sunday, but Jose could weaken Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Bermuda has issued a tropical storm warning, which means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. In this case, it means within the next 12 hours. Tropical storm conditions are expected on Bermuda beginning Sunday morning.