Category Archives: Earth Stuff

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

Dangerous WInds Hit L.A.

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Wind storm disrupts traffic, flights and power in Los Angeles 

A portion of a broken tree is pictured following a wind storm in Pasadena, California, December 1, 2011. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES | Thu Dec 1, 2011 4:39pm EST

(Reuters) – A powerful wind storm with gale-force gusts left much of the Los Angeles area strewn with toppled trees and downed power lines on Thursday, slowing rush-hour traffic and knocking out electricity to over 300,000 customers.

An hourlong power outage at Los Angeles International Airport forced nearly two dozen inbound commercial flights to be diverted to other airports, and flight delays lingered after electricity was restored at about 8 a.m. local time, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.

Utility crews were out in force, working to restore electricity and remove uprooted trees and fallen limbs that littered neighborhoods throughout the region, blocking streets in many places.

Authorities said at least one house in Los Angeles, and an apartment building and gas station in Pasadena were hit by fallen trees, but no one was reported hurt.

Janelle Brown, 38, said the house she and her husband moved into a week ago in Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighborhood, narrowly escaped a direct hit from a large 100-year-old pepper tree that was uprooted in the middle of their backyard overnight.

“We woke up this morning, looked out the window, and realized it was gone,” she told Reuters, adding she and her husband never heard it fall.

“We lay in bed until 1:30 in the morning listening to the cracks and the pops and the wind rattling the windows, and then finally fell asleep,” she said.

Brown, a novelist, said some branches from the tree came to rest on top of her house, and “there’s a little bowing in the roof, but from what we can tell, we got lucky.”

Public schools in Pasadena and 11 other districts in San Gabriel Valley, northeast of Los Angeles, were closed for the day, though the Los Angeles Unified School District said it would remain open.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest public utility, reported nearly 129,000 of its customers were without electricity Thursday morning.

Southern California Edison, which serves areas outside the city of Los Angeles, said outages that began Wednesday night had affected more than 213,000 homes and businesses.

Winds gusting to speeds ranging from 40 to 60 miles per hour and higher were clocked throughout the Los Angeles area starting Wednesday night and through the early morning hours of Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Gusts of 97 miles per hour were recorded overnight at Whitaker Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The winds had largely died down by daybreak, but forecasters said blustery weather was expected to return, with sustained winds ranging from 45 to 60 miles per hour and gusts of up to 85 possible through Friday.

The Weather Service said the wind storm was produced by the combination of a low-pressure system that materialized over the California-Nevada border area and a zone of surface-high pressure originating in the Great Basin.

The advent of high winds put fire departments throughout the region on alert for a high risk of wildfires.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

from:    http://www.theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-120111-damaging-winds-los-angeles.html

Eruption -Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador

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Orange Alert after renewed eruption activity of the Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador

Last update: December 1, 2011 at 5:06 pm by By 

Both, the Tungurahua volcano and the neighboring Sangay volcano  are belonging to the most active volcanoes of Ecuador.  Although the volcano has an almost permanent state of activity, authorities had to call an Orange alert after incandescent flows and some violent explosions.

Recent and current Activity

Tungurahua during an earlier active period – image by Armand Vervaeck taken during an earlier visit – This picture was taken from Chalet Swiss above Baños

December 1
Since this morning the intensity of emissions (gas and ash) tends to decrease, said the Geophysical Institute of Ecuador in a report.  Seismic activity associated with emanations is continuing. Ashfall and 8 minor explosions were reported in the villages surrounding the volcano. No pyroclastic flows or expulsion of incandescent rocks from the crater have been seen recently. Emergency services have told villagers to stay away from river valleys if it would be raining, as the recent pyroclastic flows can create dangerous land/mud/slides of pyroclastic material.

November 30
A total of 638 families living in three parishes in the Tungurahua volcano area received  relief by the SNGR. People living near the the volcano are used to the activity as there is always some continuing seismic activity.However, the authorities decreed on Sunday an orange alert due to the sudden increase in eruptive activity.

November 29
Various relief agencies in the province provide help to the inhabitants of Cotaló, Cusúa, Bilbao, Chacauco, Pillate and other sectors affected by the volcano into reaching evacuation trucks which will transport them to shelters in in La Paz and Riobamba.
The ‘Guadalupe’ Center which is monitoring Tungurahua reported constant explosions (windows rattled at the center)  + an ash cloud which rose to more than two kilometers.

November 28

At 02:00 on 28 November an explosion ejected incandescent material that fell on all flanks, and generated a pyroclastic flow that descended the Achupashal drainage. Starting before 0500 until 0900 an almost constant roar was heard and incandescent blocks traveled 1 km down the flanks, especially towards the W and NW.
Three pyroclastic flows were noted on the S flank.
Windows vibrated at the Tungurahua Observatory (OVT) in Guadalupe (14 km N). During the day, an ash plume rose 3 km above the crater and drifted in multiple directions. White ashfall was reported in Manzano, Choglontús (SW), Pondoa (8 km N), and Runtún (6 km NNE). In the evening incandescent blocks that were ejected 300 m above the crater rolled 400-500 m down the flanks. On 29 November an explosion detected at 0611 produced a small pyroclastic flow that traveled 500 m. Another pyroclastic flow at 0955 traveled 1 km W. Gas-and-ash plumes rose 4 km above the crater and drifted SE and W. According to a news article, people in high risk areas on the flanks, in communities such as Cusúa, Juive, Palictahua, and Manzano, evacuated voluntarily.

November 27
IG reported that increased seismicity from Tungurahua was detected at 15:40 on 27 November, and at 16:50 the seismic network recorded 4 volcano-tectonic earthquakes. Two small explosions at 17:01 and 17:05 were followed by a large explosion at 17:18.
Pyroclastic flows descended the Achupashal, Chotanpamba, and Mandur drainages on the NW and W flanks. Two more large explosions were detected at 17:31 and 17:35.
Incandescent blocks traveled 1 km down the flanks, and roaring noises and sounds resembling “cannon shots” were reported. Ashfall was reported in Manzano (8 km SW), Bilbao (8 km W), and Pillate (8 km W), ash and tephra fell in Cotaló (8 km NW), and tephra fell in Cusúa (8 km NW).
At 19:05 a pyroclastic flow descended the S and SW flanks.

Tungurahua volcano action a few years ago – picture taken by Armand Vervaeck from a cemetary at Ambato, Ecuador

Global Volcanism Program information
Tungurahua, a steep-sided andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano that towers more than 3 km above its northern base, is one of Ecuador’s most active volcanoes.

for more, and updats, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/12/01/orange-alert-after-renewed-euption-activity-of-the-tungurahua-volcano-ecuador/

PPhillipines Earthquake

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Strong earthquake in the Philippines

Last update: November 30, 2011 at 1:23 am by By 

Earthquake overview : A strong earthquake occurred in the Philippines at 00:27 UTC. Preliminary data are reporting the epicenter at 152 km from Dagupan, Luzon


Shaking map Philippines November 30 earthquake – image courtesy USGS

Update : the epicenter of the earthquake is almost on top of the subduction fault line along the coast

Update : An intensity II (Phivolcs scale) has been reported in  Quezon City; Manila; Mandaluyong City; Ortigas, Pasig; Makati City; Obando, Bulacan; Baguio City

Update : Phivolcs reports a magnitude of 6.0 at a depth of 16km. The epicenter following Phivolcs is 94 km from Paluig.

Update : MMI Values and nearest cities (K stands for 1000 people) :
V    Bolitoc    3k
V    Bani    3k
V    Palauig    3k
V    Lucapon    6k
V    Ilio-ilio 2k
V    Masinloc 28k
IV    Agoo 29k
IV    Castillejos 27k
IV    Binmaley 57k
IV    Binmaley 44k
IV    Binmaley 68k
V = moderate shaking, IV = light shaking
Moderate and light shaking are seldom generating damage.

Update : 196,000 people will have experienced a moderate MMI V shaking, 1,032,000 people a light shaking and much more a weak shaking

Update : WAPMERR, the theoretical damage engine confirms our own estimates and reports to expect 0 injured and 0 killed people.

Update : A tsunami has NOT to be feared

Update : Earthquake-report.com does not expect any serious damage out of this earthquake

Update : Luckily the epicenter is at least 80 km out of the coast

Update : USGS has just disclosed the data from this earthquake. USGS reports a magnitude of 6.0

Update : EMSC reports a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 at a depth of 80 km. Other agencies are still calculating the data

to read more, and for updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/11/30/strong-earthquake-in-the-philippines/

Dr. Jeff Master’s Review of 2011 Hurricane Season

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Posted by: JeffMasters, 4:08 PM GMT on November 28, 2011 +16
Wednesday marks the final day of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, and it was another very odd year. The season featured a huge number of named storms–nineteen–tying 2011 with 2010, 1995, and 1887 as the 3rd busiest year for tropical storms. Only 2005 and 1933 had more named storms since record keeping began in 1851. However, 2011 had an unusually low percentage of its named storms reach hurricane strength. The year started out with eight consecutive tropical storms that failed to reach hurricane strength–the first time on record the Atlantic has seen that many storms in row not reach hurricane strength. We had a near-average average number of hurricanes in 2011–seven–meaning that only 37% of this year’s named storms made it to hurricane strength. Normally, 55 – 60% of all named storms intensify to hurricane strength in the Atlantic. There were three major hurricanes in 2011, which is one above average, and the total Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE)–a measure of the destructive potential of this season’s storms–was about 20% above average. The rare combination of near-record ocean temperatures but unusually dry, stable air over the Atlantic is no doubt at least partially responsible for 2011’s unusually high count of named storms, but near-average number of hurricanes and ACE. Both 2010 and 2011 had nineteen named storms, making it the second busiest 2-year period in the Atlantic behind 2004 – 2005. Even when one considers that 2 – 4 tropical storms from both 2010 and 2011 would likely have been missed before the advent of satellites, the tropical storm activity of 2010 – 2011 is still very remarkable (in 2011, Tropical Storm Franklin, Tropical Storm Jose, and the unnamed 19th tropical storm of September 1 would probably have been missed before satellite technology came along, since they were all weak, short-lived storms that did not impact land or shipping.)


FIgure 1. Tracks for the Atlantic tropical cyclones of 2011.

Another below-average hurricane season for the U.S.
For the second consecutive year, despite a near-record number of named storms in the Atlantic, the U.S. had far fewer strikes by tropical storms and hurricanes than average. Favorable steering currents steered most of the storms in 2010 and 2011 past Bermuda and out to sea. During 2010, only one tropical storm hit the U.S., despite a season with the 3rd highest number of named storms–nineteen. Only two named storms hit the U.S. in 2011: Tropical Storm Lee, which hit Louisiana with 60 mph winds, and Hurricane Irene, which hit North Carolina on August 27 with 85 mph winds, and made two additional landfalls in New Jersey and New York the next day. Tropical Storm Don hit Texas on July 29 as a tropical depression and did not count as a landfalling named storm, according to post analysis by NHC. Wind shear and dry air from the Texas drought made Don rapidly weaken before landfall on Padre Island National Seashore north of Brownsville. During the 15-year active hurricane period from 1995 – 2009, 33% of all named storms in the Atlantic hit the U.S., and 30% of all Atlantic hurricanes hit the U.S. at hurricane strength. The U.S. averaged seeing six named storms per year, with four of them being hurricanes and two being intense hurricanes. Thus, the landfall of only three named storms in a two-year period is a major departure from what happened the previous fifteen years. The past six years is the first six-year period without a major hurricane strike on the U.S. since 1861 – 1868. The last major hurricane to hit the U.S. was Category 3 Hurricane Wilma of October 2005. One caveat to keep in mind, though: Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav of 2008 both hit the U.S. as strong Category 2 hurricanes, and had central pressures characteristic of Category 3 hurricanes. Had these storms occurred more than 65 years ago, before the Hurricane Hunters, Ike and Gustav would likely have been classified as Category 3 hurricanes at landfall (assuming that few quality wind observations would have been available at landfall, which is usually the case.)


Figure 2. The scene in Nassau in the Bahamas at daybreak on August 25, 2011 during Hurricane Irene. Image credit: Wunderblogger Mike Theiss.

Figure 3. The eye of Hurricane Irene as seen by hurricane hunter and wunderblogger LRandyB on August 24, 2011, when the hurricane was approaching the Bahama Islands.

The strongest, deadliest and longest-lived storms of 2011
The strongest hurricane of 2011 was Hurricane Ophelia, which peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds and a central pressure of 940 mb on October 2, when it was just northeast of Bermuda. Ophelia hit Southeast Newfoundland as a tropical storm with 70 mph winds on October 3, but caused little damage. The strongest hurricane at landfall was Hurricane Irene, whose 120-mph eyewall winds raked Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, Cat Island, Eleuthera, and Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Wind gusts as high as 140 mph were reported in the Bahamas.The longest-lived storm of 2011 was Hurricane Phillipe, which lasted 15 days, from September 24 to October 8. The most damaging storm was Hurricane Irene, which caused an estimated $7.2 billion in damage from North Carolina to New England, according to re-insurance broker AON Benfield. Irene was also the deadliest storm of 2011, with 55 deaths in the Caribbean and U.S.

Figure 3. Pre-season Atlantic hurricane season forecasts issued by seven major forecast groups. The average of these forecasts called for 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 intense hurricanes, and an ACE index 150% of normal. The actual numbers were 19 named storms, 7 hurricanes, 3 intense hurricanes, and an ACE index 120% of normal.

Pre-season hurricane forecasts did a decent job
The pre-season Atlantic hurricane season forecasts issued by seven major forecast groups were generally decent. The average of these forecasts called for 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 intense hurricanes, and an ACE index 150% of normal. The actual numbers were 19 named storms, 7 hurricanes, 3 intense hurricanes, and an ACE index 120% of normal. Phil Klotzbach and Bill Gray of Colorado State will be releasing their end-of-season verification and summary of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season on November 30.


Figure 4. Portlight volunteers at work in Pink Hill, North Carolina, after Hurricane Irene.

Portlight disaster relief efforts for 2011
My favorite disaster relief charity, Portlight.org, has posted a summary of their efforts during the hurricane season of 2011. Portlight mobilized in the wake of Hurricane Irene to help out in North Carolina, Delaware, and Maryland on cleanup efforts, food, and supply distribution. Portlight also provided financial assistance to survivors, including a commercial fisherwoman and single mother of two who lost her boat and home in the storm, after having been diagnosed with breast cancer two days before Irene struck. See the portlight blog for the full story; donations are always welcome.

Landslides fr/September Earthquake — Sikkim/Darjeeling

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Earthquake induced landslides in the Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayas

Last update: November 25, 2011 at 7:37 pm by By 

 

Aftermath of the 18th September 2011 Sikkim earthquake

By : Indranil Chakraborty, Dr. Saibal Ghosh, Debasish Bhattacharya & Anjan Bora, Engineering Geology Division, Geological Survey of India, Eastern Region, Kolkata

Introduction

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) 1, a strong earthquake of Magnitude M: 6.8 shook Sikkim and Darjeeling areas of India and adjoining Nepal at 18.11 hours IST on 18th September 2011 with its epicenter (27.7oN, 88.2oE) lying near the Sikkim-Nepal border, about 68 km northwest of Gangtok, Sikkim with the depth of its hypocenter at about 10 km. As per the USGS estimates 2, the epicenter of this strong earthquake (6.9 Mw) lies slightly west of the location shown by IMD. This earthquake was widely felt in Sikkim, West Bengal to Rajasthan in the west and the northeastern states of India, and also in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. This major earthquake triggered several landslides in the region and a large number of which were studied during a recent post-earthquake fieldtrip (22-29 September 2011) to the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas. The fieldwork was planned within four days’ of the event to the worst-affected areas in Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayas that are accessible by roads. The aim of this study was to rapidly assess the damage caused by these earthquake induced landslides along with collection of the relevant landslide-related attributes for inventory and further study.
It is also pertinent to mention here that moderate to heavy monsoon rainfall prior to the occurrence of 18th September 2011 earthquake, during and post earthquake event is reported from some areas, which perhaps also contributed to some extent in lowering the shearing strengths of already-loosened (due to earthquake shaking) slope forming mass and ultimately triggered some landslides at selected locations just immediately after the earthquake shock. Due to this reason, it was considered wise to name these landslides as earthquake induced landslides instead of the co-seismic landslides in truest sense. Although, present field observation took due care not to mix up with landslides that are triggered by rainfall prior to 18th September earthquake.

Study area & Seismicity

The study area falls within the Lesser and Higher Himalayan regions with an elevation ranging from 65 m (around Dudhia, Darjeeling District) through 800-1200 m around Ranipul, Mangan, 1400 m around Darjeeling, 1800-2200 m around Gangtok, Pelling, Ravangla to 2800–3200 m around Kyangsla (near Nathula) with elevations increasing gradually from south to north. In the Lesser Himalayas towards south, the slope is gentler and in the undulating stretches, numerous streams and rivulets flow along the depression and finally join with the trunk streams. In the Higher Himalayan terrain, the topography is highly rugged, characterized by steep slopes with prominent gully erosion. The Tista-Rangit water divide is the main north-south water divide within the Sikkim Himalayas. Another north-south water divide is between Lachen Chu & Lachung Chu which starts at about 3000 m and slowly increases up to 6700 m. North of Dikchu, steep ridges on the eastern side are there but of smaller extent as the Tista valley is sub-divided by the water divide between Lachen Chu and Lachung Chu. On the western part long ridges are present – these are Talang Chu and Zemu Chu water divide. Geologically, the mountainous regions of the Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas are part of the active Himalayan Fold-Thrust Belt (FTB), which is geologically and structurally complex exposing a number of overturned (towards south) and thrusted sequence of variably metamorphosed pelitic and psammitic rocks over Mesozoic (Gondwanas) and foreland rocks composed of Tertiary (Siwaliks) sediments in the south3.
As per the Seismic Zonation Map of India4 the state of Sikkim comes under Seismic Zone IV – a zone of considerable vulnerability. The nearby region in the further north comes under Zone V and is highly susceptible to moderate to major earthquakes. In this area, most of the previous earthquakes were of shallow focus (< 40 km) and are commonly of 4.5 to 5.5 Magnitudes on the Richter scale. The regional distribution of earthquakes and lineaments/faults in Sikkim and adjoining Darjeeling areas indicates that a number of past moderate (M 5.0 to 5.9) and slight (M 3 to 5) earthquakes5 are clustered around the Tista Lineament trending NW-SE direction. Northern extension of the Tista lineament cuts across the NE-SW trending Kanchanjungha lineament. Another NW-SE trending lineament marked as a fault along the Tista River between Lachen and Chungthang (and further southeast) appears to have been the cause of some high Magnitude earthquakes in the region6.

Fig. 1: Map showing locations of 18 September 2011 Sikkim earthquake induced landslides observed along important road-corridors in Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayas (in background multi-spectral IRS P-IV Satellite’s LISS III image of 2005 was used). The locations are plotted using Geographic Coordinates in Latitudes/Longitudes using WGS 84 global datum and UTM projection parameters.

Earthquake induced landslides

Due to the 18th September 2011 Sikkim earthquake (M: 6.8), several “new” and a few “reactivated” landslides have occurred right from the Himalayan foot-hill region (e.g., Dudhia in Kurseong Sub-division, Darjeeling District, West Bengal) up to the higher Himalayan range in the higher reaches of Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayas. The new landslides that occurred in the lower elevations are mostly concentrated within the terrace deposits of trunk streams such as Tista, Rangit and Balason etc. and within the old colluvial deposits on the lower reaches of slope adjacent to trunk streams (e.g., Jorethang-Rishi-Legship section along the right bank of Rangit river). In the slopes having steep relief, the frequencies of rock/debris fall are more than to slides, whereas field observation clearly indicated that proximal to epicentral region, frequencies of both rock fall and rock slides are much higher than the debris/soil slides and the same are more concentrated towards the crest of steep ridges. Recent field observation of the landslide-related damages further indicated that lithology and geomorphology also played a significant role in causing these earthquake induced landslides. The debris-laden slope which is made of loose unconsolidated material and the slope covered by thin unconsolidated scree deposits have been more prone to failure by this earthquake. Frequency of rock fall and rockslides are more in areas which are generally vulnerable due to steep slope, weathered and fractured lithology and unfavourably jointed and kinematically-unstable slopes.

for more, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/11/25/earthquake-induced-landslides-in-the-sikkim-darjeeling-himalayas/

El Hierro Update

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El Hierro Volcano (Canary Islands) : Red alert – A Sunday full with volcano action (including images and videos)

Last update: November 28, 2011 at 12:22 am by By 

This is the most recent El Hierro Volcano eruption report

 Data Update 27/11 – 23:50 

– A total of 16 earthquakes today
– Only 6 earthquakes were M 1.5 or greater
– the extremely shallow El Golfo 1.9 earthquake from this morning was not followed by other shallow quakes(luckily)
– harmonic tremor wad severe to very strong today and is still continuing that way around midnight. The IGN graph shows very strong tremor in between 20:00 and 21:00 and very strong again with a lot of powerful bursts from 22:00 on until the time of this update.

Update 27/11 – 23:30 
Jesus Perez Quintero, the person in charge for Safety at El Pinar was aboard of the Salvamar when the ship navigated to the eruption spot this morning and this afternoon (see also images Joke Volta and Ian Carson). 3 heavily shaking videos were recorded during this trip. Collecting fresh lava stones was very important for science, a risky task but also well planned.  We have embedded 1 video, the 2 others have to be viewed via the link below. These videos are the same than showed in the Avcan facebook site.  The Videos are courtesy Jesus Perez Quintero and Avcan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFrHnAmwt8s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHyBiEHjQAY

Update 27/11 – 19:56 – Ian Carson reports

I cannot commend enough the personnel of IGN who have been very informative and so helpful and wanting to impart knowledge and information. If this had been in the UK, we wouldn’t have got near to  the scientists or the stones. More pictures of Ian have been added to todays Picasa image report

Update 27/11 – 17:56 – Images made by Joke Volta 
Joke Volta was many hours in La Restinga today. She enjoyed being there and looking at the action. She paid a lot of attention at the Salvamar, the ship of the coast guard who went to the Jacuzzi to pick up the lava stones and pieces. Click on this image to see more pictures of what she has seen today.

Update 27/11 – 16:20 – Ian Carson reports from La Restinga 
– Scientists back confirmed been into Jacuzzi but lots of gas, sulfur and chlorine.
– Vent confirmed at 1.8 km from coast.
– Length of ship,’ Salvamar Adhara’ for comparison purposes is 21 meters.
– Steaming stones area bigger + brown stain.
– Rocks are hot when arriving at the surface, they have to use gloves to handle

Update 27/11 – 15:46 
We have to thank the Cabildo of El Hierro, Telefonica, The Presidencia of the Canary Islands, Ian Carson, Hans-Werner, Birgit, Jean-Patrick and ourselves for this great series of images from today’s activity (.. and the day is not over yet)

 

Click on the images to watch the Picasa group of photos we have uploaded today November 27 2011

Data Update 27/11 – 14:24 

– Joke just wrote us to make publicity for the Sunday El Hierro Volcano show !
– A pity for the backlight in all the webcams at the moment. The eruption is still taking place.
– 12 earthquakes since midnight
– Irregular but strong harmonic tremor on the IGN graph.
– while looking at the eruption webcam, ejected material can be spotted at regular times

Update 27/11 – 13:44 
Ian just had a talk with a geologist. He confirmed that the present erupted material (as can be seen also on the picture below) is pure lava. The Restingolita stones were mixed seabed stones with new lava.
What people are seeing today is “the next step” in the eruption process. Almost over said scientists a couple of days ago, never been that active since the beginning.

Update 27/11 – 13:44 
Below a really huge lava piece which was picked up this morning by the Coast Guard boat. The boat takes a big risk is getting so near to the eruption area. If ejected and still hot, the boat can be heavily damaged by this kind of magma.

 

Lava bombs picked up by the coast guard out of the El Hierro Las Calmas sea on November 27 – image courtesy Spanish Authorities

 

Update 27/11 – 11:49 
We have recorded the strongest part of today’s activity and time lapsed more than 1 hour recording into 8 minutes. Enjoy the activity of the El Hierro undersea volcano. The ship (after a few minutes) is a small coast guard ship taking pictures from the Restingolitas. We hope, together with you, that these pictures will arrive in the open internet later today.


YouTube Direkt

Data Update 27/11 – 10:52 
– 10 earthquakes since midnight UTC
– strongest earthquake being a M 2.3
– the remaining earthquakes having a magnitude 1.3 and 1.5
– a VERY IMPORTANT new fact we have seen tonight is a shallow earthquake at a depth of ONLY 1.9 km (providing the data is correct). If new earthquakes would occur at this depth, an eruption event in the El Golfo bay cannot be excluded.
– Harmonic tremor is medium to strong at some times. The graph below gives an overview of harmonic tremor from 8 AM to 10 AM UTC or local Canary island time.

 

Harmic tremor on November 27 from 08:00 until 10:00 – image courtesy IGN

 

Update 27/11 – 09:14 
The activity at the eruption area gets even stronger than before. The webcam operator just zoomed out a little to have a wider scoop. Earthquake-report.com expects more action today. A stronger Jacuzzi and from time to time a swelling geyser type action.

 

Sunday morning action in the Las Calmas sea

 

Update 27/11 – 08:50 
The coast guard boat on the image will have the best pictures. What he does is however very risky as nobody can predict the start of a subaerial phase of the eruption.

 

Coast guard ship on the eruption site – screenshot courtesy Birgit Hartinger

 

Data Update 27/11 – 08:09 
– the action which started yesterday by floating smoking stones is continuing this morning,  hot pyroclastic material is floating to the surface. Just behind a weak Jacuzzi is formed. All this can be seen on the Telefonica eruption webcam.

for more information, updates, and missing videos. go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

Pre-Historic Undersea Islands Found

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Giant, Dinosaur-Age Islands Found in Deep Sea?

Odd rocks may have been from supercontinent Gondwana, research says.

A sonar image of the underwater land masses.
A sonar image shows the newfound deep-sea plateaus.

Photograph courtesy Joanne Whittaker

Richard A. Lovett

for National Geographic News

Published November 21, 2011

Giant, sunken pieces of an ancient continent from the time of the dinosaurs may have been discovered deep in the Indian Ocean, scientists say.

The two fragments, called microcontinents, are possibly leftovers from whenIndia, Antarctica, and Australia were part of a supercontinent known as Gondwana (see a map of Earth during this time.)

The plateaus, the combined size of West Virginia, have long been known to cartographers as the Batavia Seamount and the Gulden Draak—or Golden Dragon.

But not much else was known about the features, other than their location, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west of Perth, Australia (map).

Surprising Deep-Sea Island Discovery

To fill in the gaps, an international team of scientists recently mapped the seabed and dredged samples from as deep as 8,200 feet (2,500 meters).

What the scientists found surprised them. Rather than the normal basalt rock of most seabeds, the scientists pulled up chunks of granite, gneiss, and sandstone—rocks normally found on continents.

Some samples even contained fossils, said team member Joanne Whittaker, a marine geophysicist at the University of Sydney in Australia.

“It’s quite clear that these two plateaus are little fragments of Gondwana left behind as India moved away from Australia,” Whittaker said.

(See “Undersea Mountain Photos: Brittlestar Swarm, More Found.”)

Ancient Continent Pieces Once Rolling Terrain?

Scientists initially thought the plateaus had flat tops, a sign that they’d been above sea level long enough to have been eroded into plains.

But, as mapping continued, it became clear the plateaus’ physical features were rolling, ranging in elevation from as little as 2,600 feet (1,000 meters) to 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) below the surface. That would mean the highest plateau rises up to about 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) above a surrounding abyss.

The fossils found in the fragments were marine bivalves, a type of mollusk—indicating that the life-forms had lived in shallow water, not on land.

The animals were also discovered in the deeper regions of the plateaus, not the highest peaks, which may have once been islands. “It’s difficult to tell,” Whittaker said. “But that’s certainly something we’ll be looking at.”

Whittaker and colleagues will also try to match the rock samples with rocks on a nearby geological feature, the underwater Western Australian margin, which may help “pin exactly where these little pieces [of Gondwana] came from,” she said.

Few details are known about how the breakup of Gondwana formed the Indian Ocean about 130 million years ago, she added. (See a prehistoric time line.)

Gondwana Breakup Still a Mystery

Some of the story of the breakup will never be told, since the Gondwana portion of what is now India later collided with Asia.

“In India, the equivalent rocks are probably now squashed beyond recognition somewhere in the Himalayas,” Whittaker said.

As for whether dinosaurs might have once roamed the two plateaus, that depends on whether the features ever extended above sea level, and if so, when.

“Who knows? Whittaker said. At the moment, “anything’s possible.”

from:    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111121-dinosaurs-gondwana-ancient-rocks-science/?source=hp_dl1_news_gondwana20111122#

11/25 Solar Eclipse

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2011’s Last Solar Eclipse Shows Off for Southern Hemisphere

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 24 November 2011 Time: 11:14 AM ET
Photographer and skywatcher Bernt Olsen snapped this view of the partial solar eclipse of June 1-2, 2011 just during the "midnight sun" in Tromso, Norway. The partial solar eclipse was dubbed a "midnight" eclipse as its viewing path crossed the Internatio
Photographer and skywatcher Bernt Olsen snapped this view of the partial solar eclipse of June 1-2, 2011 just during the “midnight sun” in Tromso, Norway. The partial solar eclipse was dubbed a “midnight” eclipse as its viewing path crossed the International Date Line across far northern latitudes.
CREDIT: Bernt Olsen

The last solar eclipse of 2011 will put on a show for some in the Southern Hemisphere on Friday (Nov. 25), but Americans shouldn’t bother to look up from their Thanksgiving leftovers.

According to NASA, viewers in South Africa, Antarctica, Tasmania and most of NewZealand will see the partial eclipse at 06:20:17 Universal time (1:20 a.m. Eastern time). With a magnitude of 0.905, this is the largest partial eclipse of the year, hiding much of the sun.

Solar eclipses occur during new moons, when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. If the moon casts a shadow on the Earth during this phase, the result is an eclipse. From Earth, the result is that the moon seems to obscure the sun. (In contrast, lunar eclipses happen when a full moon passes into Earth’s shadow, obscuring our view of the moon. The next lunar eclipse will occur on Dec. 10, 2011.)

The number of solar eclipses varies each year between two and five. In 2011, there werefour solar eclipses. In 2012, astronomers predict just two. The next solar eclipse will be on May 20, 2012, and more Northern Hemisphere denizens will get a shot at seeing it: The eclipse will be viewable from eastern Asia to parts of the western United States.

from:    http://www.livescience.com/17179-nov-25-partial-solar-eclipse.html

Earthquake of Hokkaido, Japan

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Very strong earthquake near the Hokkaido Coast, Japan

Last update: November 24, 2011 at 11:43 am by By 

Earthquake overview : At 07:25 PM local time a very strong earthquake occurred at intermediate depth near the Hokkaido coast, Japan. JMA Japan has reported a weakening depth of 30 km. Max. reported intensity is 5- (on a scale from 0 to 7)

Update : The earthquake was felt as far as the Akita and Yamagata prefectures

Update :The earthquake happened in the Urakawa Oki area  of Hokkaido

Update : Nor JMA nor GDACS have called a tsunami risk

Update : Indirect damage by landslides is always possible, especially for road 235 and 236, close to the epicenter

Update : The area closest to the epicenter is mainly a wilderness area with very few villages and towns

 

Image from the wild Hokkaido coast – Panoramio image courtesy Yobito Kayanuma

 

Update : WAPMERR, the theoretical damage engine does not expect injuries, fatalities or major damagefrom this earthquake.

Update : Earthquake-Report.com does not expect serious damage as the epicenter is out in the sea and as we have an intermediate depth of 42 km (USGS) 30 km (JMA)

Update : this earthquake can be seen as a powerful aftershock from the cruel Tohoku earthquake and tsunami from March 11 earlier this year

Update :  5+ is seen by Earthquake-report.com as potentially dangerous
Shaking values from JMA Japan :

Snowy Few Days in New England

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Graphics: Heavy snow to slam the New England areas now through Wednesday

Published on November 22, 2011 7:35 pm PT
– By TWS Senior Meteorologist
– Edited by Staff Editor


(TheWeatherSpace.com) – Snowfall is starting across Eastern New York as a strong surface low moves into the area, which will bring heavy snowfall and high ice/sleet accumulations to the New England zones through Wednesday.

Latest radar imagery shows a band of heavy precipitation entering the Eastern New York areas. This will bring heavy snow across there andSouthern Vermont tonight, spreading north and east through New England, all the way into Canada by morning
.Very heavy snowfall is expected early Wednesday morning across the New England zones.

This snowfall will end as the day moves on and the associated surface low moves into the Atlantic, through the Long Island areas.

Gusty winds will bring near-blizzard conditions across parts of the coastal zones of Maine on Wednesday.

In addition to the snowfall, thundersnow in the heaviest bands is very likely.

TWS has developed three maps for this event and they are available at the links below.

Snowfall Forecast

Ice Forecast

Sleet Forecast

 

from:   http://www.theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-112211-new-england-snow-amounts.html