Saturday, 3/23: Update from Weather Observer in Dixie County: "Compass heading, 220-223 SW from my home and over the Gulf seems to be the spot they target and the night spraying has been on the up-tick. The jets spray an "X" pattern of aerosols and in 30 minutes it has spread out and moved to the east. (over Alachua County and points east) . Then they start over and repeat the maneuver in the same location to the Southwest. This goes on all day and often into the night. On Thursday (3/21) the jets were spraying at UNUSUALLY LOW low altitude. The associated "booms" were very low frequency but very loud at the same time with rapid percussions followed by more loud but low frequency rumbles. I used to live by an Air Force base and I know sound barrier when I hear it and this was not it. The description of the artificial clouds would most closely fit the description of gravity waves with "white-caps" but they were not normal gravity waves as cataloged by the National Weather Service. "
Satellite images and weather products from NASA satellites confirm the report of significant aerosol dumps over north Florida, Georgia and the Gulf of Mexico. More significant is the strong electromagentic resonance associated with the artificial aerosol cloud formations that meteorologists might otherwise call “gravity waves”. Citizens with property damage claims due to glass breakage or losses related to the man-made concussion could have no recourse since no military or other organization has stepped forward with first hand knowledge of the source of the complaints. (video)
Residents across north central Florida reported booms and shaking that rattled windows shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday. An official at a state warning point hotline for the Florida Department of Emergency Management said the agency had been told it was "the military running special ops drills." Although the official said the calls were primarily coming from Levy, Gilchrist and Alachua counties - between Gainesville and the Gulf Coast - the booms were reported as far south as DeBary.
The website for the Pinecastle Bombing Range in the Ocala National Forest just west of Volusia County stated no live bombing activity was planned this week. The Gainesville Sun reported they sounded like some sort of sonic booms. A Gainesville television station reported viewers as far south as Tampa said they heard the "booms."
meets a deep need in the world.**
Frederick Buechner
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
3/28/13 -
5.6 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.0 TONGA REGION
5.0 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
Canary Islands quake cluster continues - largest were a pair of 4.1 quakes.
California - Four San Francisco Bay Bridge quake safety bolts fail test. Of the span's 96 bolts, which range in length from 9 to 17 feet, 32 snapped when stress meant to simulate the lateral motion of a large earthquake was introduced.
Quake expert pulls Tokyo fault claim - The leader of a team of earthquake researchers admitted Thursday that they made an erroneous announcement confirming the presence of an active fault near Tokyo, Japan, after mistaking what appears to be a concrete column buried in the ground as natural stone.
Earthquake preparedness: Where to store your emergency supplies - Residents of Oahu, Hawaii flocked to the supermarket in 2011 to stock up on emergency supplies after a severe earthquake in Japan set off tsunami waves. Experts say Oregon could face even worse damage when a powerful quake strikes the Northwest, as they predict it's bound to do. The concern stems from regular warnings from various state agencies that Oregon is overdue for a major earthquake, possibly one with a magnitude of 8.0 or larger.
One of the best solutions, according to officials with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, is to keep supplies in a number of areas. They recommend keeping a disaster supply kit in the car and then both a "go-kit" and a seven-day supply of necessities at home. The gallons of water and canned food you've purchased won't do much good if, after the quake, the place you've stored them is inaccessible.
Major earthquakes usually produce major tsunamis and those who live in a tsunami inundation zone have to think outside their homes for storing emergency supplies. The city of Cannon Beach, for example, has set up a system under which people can rent space inside storage units so they won't have to carry their items uphill in the event of a tsunami. It's a dollar per gallon of storage space. One storage location is already open and the city hopes to unveil two more sites this year.
The right place to store supplies really depends on the type of home or apartment where a person lives. Storing them in a garage might be a good idea, because many garages are built on concrete floors and therefore will be more stable during a big quake. If no garage is available, then keeping items in a closet or storage room also works. The key thing, is accessibility and braced shelving. "The most important thing is to store your supplies in such a way that they won't fall." OEM also recommends keeping emergency supplies for up to seven days at your place of work. "That way, if you're at your office when this happens, you'll have supplies for a week." People are advised to keep their supplies near their desk and not in a locked supply closet. "You don't want your things locked away in case the person with the key isn't there."
People shouldn't put off preparing for a disaster just because they don't know where they should store their supplies. "Keep your supplies where you live your life. Disaster preparation is so personalized." People should keep their supplies wherever they can find space, and the most important thing is that people are actively thinking about and doing what they can to prepare for a disaster. "Preparedness is really about giving yourself options."
The Office of Emergency Management recommends preparing the following disaster supply kits to have on hand in the event of an earthquake or other major disaster: A "grab and go" kit that can be kept at home and at work, a household disaster supply kit with larger items, and a car disaster supply kit.
A personal/office disaster supply kit should include:
- Medications, a first-aid kit and doctors' names and contact information
- Sturdy shoes, a change of clothes, and a blanket
- Cash (ATMs won't work if the power goes out)
- Flashlight, extra batteries and light bulbs
- Bottled water
- Snack foods high in water and calories (FEMA suggests items like protein bars and dried fruit)
A household disaster supply kit should hold include:
- Water (a minimum of one gallon per person or pet per day, for at least seven days)
- Canned or packaged food, and a can opener
- A portable or hand-cranked radio with extra batteries
- Comfortable, warm clothing
- Blankets or sleeping bags
- Copies of vital documents such as insurance, bank account information
- Flashlights
- Pet food, if needed
A car disaster supply kit should include:
- The most necessary items from your personal disaster supply kit
- An additional six-pack of water
- A tire repair kit, jumper cables, flares
- Seasonal supplies like blankets, hats and mittens for the winter and sunscreen and hats for the summer.
Oregon stockpilers ready for overdue earthquake - Oregon might not get an earthquake for half a century, but residents are fortifying their basements anyway. A retired banker from Portland has six months' worth of food, 50 gallons of water, tools, medicine and liquor stockpiled underneath his house. Every few months he changes the water, takes an inventory and adds more items. "If you have a major quake here, a lot of the Portland area is just not prepared, and stores would be emptied in a matter of days and they wouldn't be restocked for weeks. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when."
There is up to a 40% chance that a magnitude 8 or above earthquake will strike off the coast of Oregon within the next 50 years, according to a study released by Oregon State University. The 2011 Japanese earthquake was a magnitude 9. The Cascadia Fault runs from Northern California to British Columbia. Every 300 years or so, the Cascadia Fault causes a massive earthquake — the last one was the year 1700.
"A very large magnitude earthquake is inevitable, and we are very ill-prepared and we must prepare for it if we are going to survive it." The most basic survival tip is to follow the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross' recommendation and have essentials to keep you alive for a minimum of 72 hours. After any disaster, there will be a lot of people in need. Emergency services won't be able to reach them all. Creating an emergency kit and having "bug-out bags" on hand will help you survive — even if you can't get help. "You need to take care of yourself, and you need to take care of your neighbors. You might have to be the person who helps rescue your neighbor." Emergencies often bring out the worst in people. "They will go in and take what they want; they will do what they want; they will say these are extraordinary circumstances and they require extraordinary measures."
There are times when all the preparation can be too much. When people in the present are going without because they're spending so much money planning for the future, it could be an indicator of going overboard. "If your prepping is hurting the people you love, then you're probably going a little too far."
Earthquake Protection Strips Give New Meaning to “Band-Aid Solution” - The idea of gluing fabric on a building to protect it from the sheer force of an earthquake doesn't sound very comforting. However, when SRF was put to the test in the Great Tohoku Earthquake on 11 March, 2011, it passed with flying colors.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Scientists Image Deep Magma Beneath Pacific Seafloor Volcano - Since the plate tectonics revolution of the 1960s, scientists have known that new seafloor is created throughout the major ocean basins at linear chains of volcanoes known as mid-ocean ridges. But where exactly does the erupted magma come from?
Researchers now have a better idea after capturing a unique image of a site deep in the Earth where magma is generated. Using electromagnetic technology, the researchers mapped a large area beneath the seafloor off Central America at the northern East Pacific Rise, a seafloor volcano located on a section of the global mid-ocean ridges that together form the largest and most active chain of volcanoes in the solar system. By comparison, the researchers say the cross-section area of the melting region they mapped would rival the size of San Diego County.
"Our data show that mantle upwelling beneath the mid-ocean ridge creates a deeper and broader melting region than previously thought. This was the largest project of its kind, enabling us to image the mantle with a level of detail not possible with previous studies." The northern East Pacific Rise is an area where two of the planet's tectonic plates are spreading apart from each another. Mantle rising between the plates melts to generate the magma that forms fresh seafloor when it erupts or freezes in the crust. . "It was really a surprise to discover that melting started so deep in the mantle -- much deeper than was expected."
The insights that electromagnetics provides will continue to grow as the technology matures and data analysis techniques improve (last week they announced the use of electromagnetics in discovering a magma lubricant for the planet's tectonic plates). "Electromagnetics is really coming of age as a tool for imaging the earth. Much of what we know about the crust and mantle is a result of using seismic techniques. Now electromagnetic technology is offering promise for further discoveries." They also have future plans to apply electromagnetic technology to map subglacial lakes and groundwater in the polar regions.
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical storms.
STRANGE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR -
Strange rings of grass cover great swathes of desert-margin land in southwestern Africa - These so-called fairy circles have variously been pinned on the presence of other, poisonous plants, on ants, and even toxic gases rising from below. But a German scientist says the one ever-present factor is sand termites. The creatures have engineered the rings to maintain a supply of water in their environment, he says.
The invertebrates (Psammotermes allocerus) first clear a patch of ground by eating the roots of short-lived, annual grasses. This bare, sandy earth then becomes an effective rain trap - with no vegetation, water cannot be lost through transpiration (the evaporation of water from plants). Instead, it collects, oasis-like, just below the surface where it can sustain the termites and a supply of perennial grasses at the margins of the circles. These are available to eat even in the driest seasons. The regime also drives wider benefits, with the insects becoming a valuable food resource for a whole range of other animals such as geckos, moles, aardvarks, jackals, spiders, ants and the like.
The termites' behaviour surpasses the accomplishments of that other great ecosystem engineer - the beaver. "We all admire the beaver for the way it can turn a linear river into a lake with a dam, but the termites turning the desert into a pattern of oases that allow permanent life even in drought periods for hundreds of years - that's much more fascinating. What is more, these termites do it on a large scale - over hundreds of square kilometres. They should replace the beaver as the text-book engineer."
Fairy circles appear in a narrow belt that skirts the eastern edge of the Namib Desert from Angola to South Africa. They have long fascinated foreign researchers, especially from Europe. The name is almost certainly derived from the terms used to describe the rings of mushrooms often seen in forested areas. In Germany, for example, such fungi circles are known as "hexenring" - "witches' rings".
Climate is a key controlling parameter in the location of the African features. Their occurrence hugs the isohyet of 100mm mean annual precipitation. "It's very pronounced; they're really adapted to that amount of annual precipitation. If the climate changed [to wetter conditions], this belt of occurrence would shift to a more arid part of the desert. If the climate got drier in general, they would shift towards the east, inland." Rival ideas still abound for the circles' formation. Some researchers still maintain they are just a natural pattern adopted by vegetation when competing for scarce resources. (photo)
HEALTH THREATS -
Valley fever cases in US Southwest rising fast - Coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, a fungal infection that causes influenza-like symptoms and often leads to hospitalization, has increased "dramatically" in the US Southwest in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
