SPACEQUAKES - The five NASA THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a new type of weather surrounding the Earth. In what is being called the “spacequake,” a tremor in the magnetic field of the Earth can produce an earthquake out in space. A magnetosphere is formed around a celestial body, such as Earth, when a stream of charged particles from a star, such as our Sun, interacts with the magnetic field. “A spacequake is a temblor in Earth's magnetic field. It is felt most strongly in Earth orbit, but is not exclusive to space. The effects can reach all the way down to the surface of Earth itself." And, the spacequake can pack “the punch of an earthquake and [play] a key role in sparking bright Northern Lights."
“Magnetic reverberations have been detected at ground stations all around the globe, much like seismic detectors measure a large earthquake.” The total energy in a spacequake can be comparable to a magnitude 5 or 6 earthquake. “The action begins in Earth's magnetic tail, which is stretched out like a windsock by the million mph solar wind. Sometimes the tail can become so stretched and tension-filled, it snaps back like an over-torqued rubber band. Solar wind plasma trapped in the tail hurtles toward Earth.
On more than one occasion, the five THEMIS spacecraft were in the line of fire when these "plasma jets" swept by. "Clearly, the jets were going to hit Earth.” The plasma jets produced a spacequake, which shakes Earth’s magnetic field. “The jets crash into the geomagnetic field some 30,000 km above Earth's equator. The impact sets off a rebounding process, in which the incoming plasma actually bounces up and down on the reverberating magnetic field. Researchers call it "repetitive flow rebuffing." It's akin to a tennis ball bouncing up and down on a carpeted floor. The first bounce is a big one, followed by bounces of decreasing amplitude as energy is dissipated in the carpet.”
but rejoices for those which he has.**
Epictetus
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
7/28/10 -
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 OFF COAST OF OREGON
5.0 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
7/27/10 -
5.0 EASTERN XIZANG, CHINA
7/26/10 -
5.6 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.5 MORO GULF, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.1 MORO GULF, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.5 JUJUY, ARGENTINA
5.5 NEW GUINEA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical cyclones.
HEAVY RAINS, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
CHINA - Flooding in northeastern China has stranded 30,000 people in one town and washed 1,000 barrels of explosive chemicals into a river. In Kouqian town in Jilin province, residents were trapped when a reservoir and two rivers overflowed following torrential rain.
In Jilin city itself, containers of explosive fluid from a chemical plant were washed into the Songhua river. China is facing its worst flooding in more than a decade. Weeks of heavy rain have swollen rivers and caused damage, landslides and bridge collapses across a swathe of the country. 928 people have died because of the seasonal bad weather and another 477 are missing. Houses and buildings aere under water, and 80 people are trapped in a train station surrounded by water. Further to the south, in Wuhan city in Hubei province, workers were sandbagging river banks ahead of possible flooding where the Yangtze and Han rivers converge. Early on Wednesday, the massive Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river faced its second test of the season, as floods pushed the water in its reservoir to near capacity. Vast amounts of water have been released from behind the Three Gorges Dam in recent days. Engineers said the water level rose to 158m (518ft) at 0800 local time (0000 GMT) on Wednesday. The maximum capacity is 175m. Flow rates hit 56,000 cubic meters per second - a new high for the dam but lower than last week's peak of 70,000 cubic metres per second on the upper levels of the Yangtze. Authorities have warned communities downstream to prepare for rising water levels as the dam's huge spill gates release torrents of water.
(photo & map)
HEALTH THREATS -
Tropics remain most active areas for H1N1 - Pockets of West Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, and South and Southeast Asia continue to have the most active pandemic flu activity, while overall global flu activity remains low. Australia and New Zealand have seen recent increases in respiratory disease, mostly pandemic flu. Influenza B and H3N2 are dominating South Africa's flu season. The areas with highest H1N1 activity in Asia are India, Cambodia, and Singapore
Diabetes raises risk of H1N1 hospitalizations - Having diabetes triples a person's risk of being hospitalized for pandemic H1N1, according to a new study. Of 162 patients with lab-confirmed novel H1N1, 22 (14%) had diabetes (9 with type 1 and 13 with type 2). This was three times the 7.1 cases expected, based on population demographics. Also, the diabetic H1N1 patients had quadruple the risk of requiring intensive care compared with other H1N1 patients.
H1N1 hit organ-transplant patients hard - Of 237 cases of pandemic flu in those receiving organ transplants in 26 US, Canadian, and Dutch centers, 167 (71%) were hospitalized because of their infection. Of 230 patients for whom data were available, 73 (32%) had pneumonia, 37 (16%) were admitted to intensive care, and 10 (4%) died. The authors conclude, "Influenza A H1N1 caused substantial morbidity in recipients of solid-organ transplants during the 2009-10 pandemic" and that early antiviral therapy provided clinical benefit.
