who you want to be, is what you do.**
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday, 7/24/13 -
5.2 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.1 TAIWAN
5.0 TAIWAN
5.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS. (Alaska)
6.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Mexico has lowered the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano a notch, just weeks after an increased level of explosive activity. Bright glow from the crater and a significant SO2 plume indicate that magma continues to rise within the volcano.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic Ocean -
Tropical storm Dorian is located about about 615 mi (990 km) W of the Cape Verde Islands. (maps)
In the Eastern Pacific -
Tropical depression Six-E is located about 950 mi (1530 km) WSW of the southern tip of Baja California. (maps)
The season's fourth named storm, Tropical Storm Dorian, is here. It currently appears that Dorian will be a potential threat to the Bahama Islands, Bermuda, and the U.S. East Coast next week. Born from a strong tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on Monday, Dorian formed UNUSUALLY FAR EAST FOR SO EARLY IN THE SEASON, at longitude 29.9°W. Only Hurricane Bertha, which became a tropical storm on July 3, 2008, formed farther to the east so early in the year.
Satellite images show that Dorian is a small but well-organized system with a moderate amount of heavy thunderstorms. A large area of dry air lies to Dorian's west, as seen on water vapor satellite images, but Dorian has moistened its environment enough that this dry air should not interfere with development for the next day. Dorian is under a low 5 - 10 knots of wind shear, which will tend to allow slow development. Ocean temperatures are barely adequate for maintaining strength of a tropical storm, about 26.5°C.
LANDSLIDE -
France cliff collapse video - Tourists and locals alike in the Normandy region of France are being warned to watch where they step after an estimated 30,000 tons of rock came crashing down onto the sand. The cliff collapse occurred last week near the city of Le Havre on France's northern coast. The cliff had been cordoned off last Monday after the mayor of nearby Saint-Jouin-Bruneval issued a warning that the cliff was unstable.
One beachgoer who continued to brave the area caught the landslide on video. The video shows a loud rumble before the first sign of the collapse, dirt falling down. The entire front-facing section of the cliff then comes tumbling down in a plume of smoke as onlookers can be seen running away. There were no reports of injuries in the collapse.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / FIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Arctic methane 'economic time bomb' - Increasing temperatures in the Arctic region are reducing sea ice cover and increasing the possibility of methane leaching from the sea bed. Scientists say that the release of large amounts of methane from thawing permafrost in the Arctic could have huge economic impacts for the world.
The researchers estimate that the climate effects of the release of this gas could cost $60 trillion (£39 trillion), roughly the size of the global economy in 2012. The impacts are most likely to be felt in developing countries they say. Scientists have had concerns about the impact of rising temperatures on permafrost for many years. Large amounts of methane are concentrated in the frozen Arctic tundra but are also found as semi-solid gas hydrates under the sea. Previous work has shown that the diminishing ice cover in the East Siberian sea is allowing the waters to warm and the methane to leach out. Scientists have found plumes of the gas up to a kilometre in diameter rising from these waters.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, even though it lasts less than a decade in the atmosphere. the researchers examined the impact of the release of 50-gigatonnes of methane over a decade. They worked out that this would increase climate impacts such as flooding, sea level rise, damage to agriculture and human health to the tune of $60 trillion. "That's an economic time bomb that at this stage has not been recognised on the world stage. We think its incredibly important for world leaders to really discuss what are the implications of this methane release and what could we indeed do about it to hopefully prevent the whole burst from happening."
The researchers say their study is in marked contrast to other, more upbeat assessments of the economic benefits of warming in the Arctic region. It is thought that up to 30% of the world's undiscovered gas and 13% of undiscovered oil lie in the waters. Transport companies are looking to send increasing numbers of ships through these fast melting seas. Investment in the Arctic could reach $100bn within ten years.
But according to the new work, these benefits would be a fraction of the likely costs of a large scale methane emission. The authors say a release of methane on this scale could bring forward the date when global temperatures increase by 2C by between 15 and 35 years.
New research suggests that permafrost is also melting in Antarctica. Scientists have found that ground ice in the McMurdo Dry Valley Regions has accelerated consistently between 2001 and 2012, rising to about ten times the historical average. The researchers say that rising temperatures do not account for this increased melting but is due to an increase in sunlight caused by changes in weather patterns.
"We are looking at a big effect, a possibly catastrophic effect on global climate that's a consequence of this extremely fast sea ice retreat that's been happening in recent years." Some scientists have cautioned that not enough is known about the likelihood of such a rapid release of methane. Even though it has been detected for a number of years, it has as yet not been found in the atmosphere in large amounts. But the evidence is growing. "We are seeing increasing methane in the atmosphere. When you look at satellite imagery, for instance the Metop satellite, that's gone up significantly in the last three years and the place where the increase is happening most is over the Arctic."
The authors say that the impacts of the extra methane would be felt most in developing countries which are more vulnerable to rising waters, flooding and the agricultural and health impacts of rising temperatures.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS
Olam Tomato Processors, Inc., announced the voluntary recall of three production codes of Chunky Salsa because it may contain large glass pieces.
