than a reflection of your state of mind.**
Wayne Dyer
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.1 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
Yesterday -
12/14/10 -
5.0 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.0 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
5.0 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
5.3 SOUTH OF KERMADEC ISLANDS
VOLCANOES -
HAWAII - researchers studying the magma chamber that forms the Hawaiian Island chain say the molten rock lies much closer to the surface than previously thought. The discovery could help in predicting when Hawaiian volcanoes may erupt, and also suggests Hawaii has huge potential for geothermal energy production. Mmagma lies an average of 1.9 miles to 2.5 miles beneath the surface of Hawaii. "Hawaii was already unique among volcanic systems, because it has such an extensive plumbing system, and the magma that erupts has a unique and variable chemical composition. Now we know the chamber is at a shallow depth not seen anywhere else in the world." While that means the crust beneath Hawaii is much thinner than the crust in any other of the world's volcanic regions, Hawaiians have nothing to fear. "The crust in Hawaii has been solidifying from eruptions for more than 300,000 years now. The crust doesn't get consumed by the magma chamber. It floats on top."
There is one large magma chamber just beneath the entire island chain that feeds the Hawaiian volcanoes through many different channels. "Hawaii has huge geothermal resources that haven't been tapped fully." Scientists would have to determine whether tapping that energy was practical or safe. "You'd have to drill some test bore holes. That's dangerous on an active volcano, because then the lava could flow down and wipe out your drilling rig."
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical cyclones.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
INDONESIA - Extreme weather causes floods, landslides in Bali. Heavy rains led to floods and landslides on Monday in Sukasada village, and along the main route linking Singaraja to the provincial capital, Denpasar.
The village was inundated as of Monday afternoon. “This has been the WORST FLOODING WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS. Our village is located on the slope of the hills near Wanagiri and Ambengan, which is high enough. But we’re now threatened by floods and landslides. The weather is so unpredictable. Several houses were ruined and hundreds of villagers were evacuated to refugee camp outside Sukasada. Dozens of trees also fell. Landslides also occurred along the main road between Singaraja and Denpasar, including in Gitgit village, well known for its beautiful waterfalls. The main streets of the coastal city of Singaraja were also flooded. Floods and landslides were also reported in Denpassar, Kuta and in Karangasem, Klungkung and Jembarana regencies.
The Meteorology, Geophysics and Climatology Agency’s Bali office previously said the island would be in a transitional period between November and March. “Strong winds, torrential rains and tropical storms may occur across the island between these months…Sea waves might be three to five meters high in Bali’s waters, especially in the south." Seawater has penetrated Denpasar’s groundwater reservoir, especially in the densely populated Sesetan and Sidakarya areas. Seawater has polluted the city’s clean water supply. Buleleng and other coastal regencies are also vulnerable to abrasion and sea water intrusion. River ecosystems were also in critical condition due to the development of hotels, restaurants, villas along riverbeds. Only 162 of Bali’s 400 rivers are in good condition, while forests have been reduced from 30 percent to only 22 percent of the island’s total areas.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
CANADA - 237 people had been rescued by late Tuesday afternoon local time from their vehicles on a highway near Sarnia, Ontario, about 104km northeast of Detroit. Others were taken to safety by farmers and snowmobilers helping the effort, though it's not clear how many. There were no reports of deaths or injuries among the stranded. Police are sweeping the highway again just to be safe. The storm that had plagued the central US for days plodded eastward Tuesday with knifing winds, blowing snow and temperatures below freezing.
GEORGIA - It had not been this cold in Atlanta on a 14th of December in MORE THAN 90 YEARS. The low temperature in Atlanta hit 14 degrees Tuesday morning, breaking the previous December 14th record low of 15 degrees in 1917.
Highs near the freezing mark Tuesday were about 20 degrees below normal. "Protect pipes, pets, plants, and people. The deep freeze continues Wednesday, then the 50's for Thursday and Friday. But, its not going to last. It turns very cold again for the weekend and next week."
SPACE WEATHER -
On August 1, 2010, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted. Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves raced across the stellar surface, billion-ton clouds of hot gas billowed into space. Astronomers knew they had witnessed something big. It was so big, it may have shattered old ideas about solar activity. "The August 1st event really opened our eyes. We see that solar storms can be global events, playing out ON SCALES WE SCARCELY IMAGINED BEFORE."
Explosions on the sun are not localized or isolated events. Instead, solar activity is interconnected by magnetism over breathtaking distances. Solar flares, tsunamis, coronal mass ejections - they can go off all at once, hundreds of thousands of miles apart, in a dizzyingly-complex concert of mayhem. "To predict eruptions we can no longer focus on the magnetic fields of isolated active regions, we have to know the surface magnetic field of practically the entire sun." This revelation increases the work load for space weather forecasters, but it also increases the potential accuracy of their forecasts. "The whole-sun approach could lead to breakthroughs in predicting solar activity,. This in turn would provide improved forecasts to our customers such as electric power grid operators and commercial airlines, who could take action to protect their systems and ensure the safety of passengers and crew."
Researchers broke down the Great Eruption into more than a dozen significant shock waves, flares, filament eruptions, and CMEs spanning 180 degrees of solar longitude and 28 hours of time. At first it seemed to be a cacophony of disorder until they plotted the events on a map of the sun's magnetic field. "We saw that all the events of substantial coronal activity were connected by a wide-ranging system of separatrices, separators, and quasi-separatrix layers." A "separatrix" is a magnetic fault zone where small changes in surrounding plasma currents can set off big electromagnetic storms. Researchers have long suspected this kind of magnetic connection was possible. Much remains to be done. "We're still sorting out cause and effect. Was the event one big chain reaction, in which one eruption triggered another - bang, bang, bang - in sequence? Or did everything go off together as a consequence of some greater change in the sun's global magnetic field?"
Further analysis may yet reveal the underlying trigger; for now, the team is still wrapping their minds around the global character of solar activity. "Not all eruptions are going to be global, but the global character of solar activity can no longer be ignored." (video & photos)
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS:
-Tropical Nut & Fruit of Charlotte, NC, is voluntarily recalling all its products containing walnuts supplied by Atlas Walnuts, LLC after November 16, 2010 because they have the potential to contain Salmonella.
-McNeil Consumer Healthcare is recalling all lots of ROLAIDS Extra Strength Softchews, ROLAIDS Extra Strength plus Gas Softchews, and ROLAIDS Multi-Symptom plus Anti-Gas Softchews distributed in the United States following some consumer reports of foreign materials in the product, including metal and wood particles.
