Worsening Weather, Earthquakes, Vortices, Volcanoes, CMEs ... What's Up?

[thorfourwinds]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bkYXn6UfZPs

Dr Richard Fisher, the director of Nasa's Heliophysics division, is very clear in the quotes, and our reporter, Andrew Hough, was very careful to check his facts with Dr Fisher before publishing. It sounds like a lot of serious people think that this is a real danger.

Apparently the concern is in 2013, the sun will reach a stage of its cycle when these large events are more likely.

This might strike you as a bit strange, as you've probably heard (as have I) that the sun has been especially active for the last half-century or so and is expected to die down in the next couple of years -- I spoke to Marcus Chown, the physicist and author of We Need to Talk about Kelvin, who said

"Solar activity has been abnormally high for the past 50 years, but the extremely feeble start to the latest 11-year cycle suggests this activity is coming to an end and things are going to be quiet on the Sun for quite a few years."

Dr Ruth Bamford, a plasma physicist at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, agrees:

"The sun has been particularly quiet for the last few years in a protracted solar minimum. It has just woken up, as it were, and started its usual 11-year cycle a bit later than most."

So what's going on?

Well, something similar has happened before. In 1859, a huge solar storm burned out telegraph wires across Europe and the United States. Dr Stuart Clark has written a book, The Sun Kings: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began, about when that happened.

He says that the "Carrington flare", as it was known, "smothered two-thirds of the Earth's skies in a blood-red aurora a night later, and crippled all of global navigation and global communication, such as it was at that time. Compasses span uselessly and the telegraph network went down as phantom electricity surged through the wire."

The sun had indeed been running at a record high for the latter half of the 20th century, and has now died down to its lowest level for a century. But Dr Clark warns that "average levels of solar activity has fallen does not mean that the Sun is immune from large flares or even giant ones. Low average levels of activity may even promote the giant flares.

"Perhaps like earthquakes, when there are constant flares/tremors the energy is dissipated evenly over long periods of time. But in periods of quiet, that energy can build up and then suddenly be released in a giant event. This remains speculation, however."

Dr Clark says that the largest flares are often shortly after the peak.

Of course, if a proper 'Carrington event' happens again, it has the potential to be far more problematic now than in 1859 when electric communication was barely in its infancy.

Dr Clark says "There is absolutely no reason to believe that we are heading for solar armageddon in 2013, but sooner or later we should expect there to be another Carrington event and that is what these scientists [at NASA] are trying to prevent. Legislation in the US has just passed Congress to help harden the grid against solar flares."

So -- it's a real thing, and we should be concerned. But preventive measures can be taken -- satellites can be sent offline during big flares, power grids and communication networks can be shielded against electromagnetic radiation and so on.

As Dr Bamford says: "The extreme events like the 1859 Carrington Event are 1-in-100-year probabilities, about the same probability as a storm of the level of Katrina hitting New Orleans -- and New Orleans did not build their defences to withstand the extreme-magnitude.

The Katrina catastrophy is small compared to getting hit with solar flares."

[thorfourwinds]

Earth-Directed Coronal Mass Ejection From the Sun Released Today

CME Released on 15 March 2013

The ESA and NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these images of the sun spitting out a coronal mass ejection (CME) on March 15, 2013, from 3:24 to 4:00 a.m. EDT. This type of image is known as a coronagraph, since a disk is placed over the sun to better see the dimmer atmosphere around it, called the corona. Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO

On March 15, 2013, at 2:54 a.m. EDT, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space and can reach Earth one to three days later and affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 900 miles per second, which is a fairly fast speed for CMEs. Historically, CMEs at this speed have caused mild to moderate effects at Earth.

The NASA research models also show that the CME may pass by the Spitzer and Messenger spacecraft. NASA has notified their mission operators. There is, however, only minor particle radiation associated with this event, which is what would normally concern operators of interplanetary spacecraft since the particles can trip on board computer electronics.

Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later. Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they connect with the outside of the Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs such as this one have usually been of mild to medium strength.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (http://swpc.noaa.gov) is the United States Government official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

Updates will be provided if needed.

[sky otter]

BRACE YOURSELF
Climate Change Has Already Doubled Risk Of Katrina-Sized Storm Surges: Study

Storm Surge Risk Amplified By Climate Change, Study Finds
Posted: 03/18/2013 4:57 pm EDT


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/storm-surge-risk_n_2902823.html

[thorfourwinds]

From our friend, George Ure.

Quake Up Call?
As we are quickly sliding into the Good Friday - Easter earthquake window that some have been predicting, including Ure's truly. 

Not only would such a quake this year fit with things like , predictions from people like Patrick Geryl and some of the buzz on earthquake boards, it would dovetail with quakes hitting on auspicious dates such as Boxing Day (2004) and Good Friday (1964). 






In fact, some researchers have pointed out more. 

Perhaps it's because holidays (from holy days) tend to arise from astrologically or astronomically significant times of the year.

Whatever the underlying mechanics, we had a 6.2 magnitude "warm-up" quake overnight down in the mountains of Guatemala on Monday, not too far south of Mexico. 

If you have some topographical resource handy, take note of the location:  Where mountains rise, not far east of the Pacific rim fault lines in the ocean west of the quakes.





Seems to me I recall in some of Clif's work imagery of a breakup of the land bridge between North and South America, but it's too early to put that many brain cells in motion.

Remember, I told you back in November that I had expected that after Dec. 2012 turned into a bust that I expected that the mechanics of disaster globally would shift-forward toward the May 20-22 area which is Clif's hot range.

As a result of his research, Patrick developed a unique way of looking at earthquakes, since they should presage a major East-changer which gets us to this morning's email that he was kind enough to share, especially because of an uptick in (so far low level) earthquake in the La Palme/el Hierro/Canary Islands area:

"I am currently researching May 4 as a possible date... March 27 - 28... Still big dates for quake activity... Gloom & doom approaching...   Patrick"

There are several ways (linguistically) that the Global Coastal Event could show up and unfortunately precision in future predicting, even using the latest techniques and blending in some of the old so as to arrive as what is a "best practices" model, is frustratingly imprecise. 

That said:

Best guess is still that we will have a global coastal 'something' around late May to early June.  It could be caused by:

   •   La Palme/ el Hierro / Canary Islands landslide, which would scrub the US East Coast off up to about 150-feet, or so. 

OR...

   •   The source may be a northwest Pacific basin undersea break (mega quake larger than Japan. 

OR...

   •   It could be the RV'er concept of breaking-up bolide in which case discussed impact areas might include...

   •   Indian Ocean

   •   Gulf of Mexico to landside Mexico

   •   Multiple large enough fragments to mess up world

   •   Note this from one reader on this bolide stuff:

   •   "Note: "George in a line about 1/2 way down this article, they say " but if it comes in 3 weeks, pray". Don't you find that a bit curious? 

Large asteroid heading to Earth? 'Pray, says NASA' Coincidence?

   •   And, whatever all this aggregates to, people on the US west coast should get (roughly concurrent to this) a large (9+ plus likely) kind of earthquake and...

   •   The tsunami language should be willing out all over the place.
   
   
Not that we have to wait that long for things to begin to fall apart.

And that is the word from George.







Let's take an interesting look at earthquakes in history that occurred between 26 March and 4 April - essentally considering Good Friday and Easter Sunday quakes, with others sprinkled in. 

Today in Earthquake History


26 March

M7.4 - California, 1872
The was one of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States and the most devastating effects of this earthquake occurred at Lone Pine, where 52 of 59 houses (mostly constructed of adobe or stone) were destroyed and 27 people were killed. A few fatalities also were reported in other parts of Owens Valley. One report states that the main buildings were thrown down in almost every town in Inyo County. About 100 kilometers south of Lone Pine, at Indian Wells, adobe houses sustained cracks. Property loss has been estimated at $250,000.


M7.7 - Venezuela, 1812
City of Caracas destroyed. Severe damage. 26,000 killed. ?From the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Significant Earthquake Database.


M6.8 - Guinea, 1984
Eleven people injured and many buildings destroyed (VIII) on Karkar. Minor ground fissures and two holes 3-7 meters in diameter and 2 meters deep occurred.


27 March

1964 Good Friday

The Prince William Sound, Alaska 9.2 earthquake, the second biggest earthquake ever recorded, is surpassed only by the 1960 Chile 9.5 quake.

The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.[2] Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 143 deaths.

Lasting nearly three minutes, it was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the second most powerful ever measured by seismograph.[3] It had a magnitude of 9.2, making it the second largest earthquake in recorded history.[2][4]

The initial seismic waves from the Good Friday Earthquake were so powerful that buildings as far away as Seattle, Washington swayed. The ground in Houston, Texas, was briefly lifted by four inches (10 cm), and lifted by as much as 2.5 inches (6 cm) in Florida. For two weeks, the entire planet vibrated like a giant gong as the seismic waves cirlced the globe.

This quake altered more of the earth's crust than any other earthquake on record. More than 25,000 square miles (40,233 square km) of land north and west of the fault had shifted to the southeast. Much of this land dropped between 2.5 and 7.5 feet (.75 and 2.3 meters). Much of the ground south and east of the fault had lifted an average of six feet (1.8 meters), with the maximum being 38 feet (11.6 meters) at Montague Island.

Undersea ground in a line from Ninchinbrook Island to the Trinity Islands--parallel to the faultline--lifted as much as 50 feet (15.2 meters). This is what caused the tsunamis that devestated Valdez, Seward, Kodiak, and many other towns. Anchorage shifted laterally six feet (1.8 meters), Valdez 33 feet (10 meters), and Seward 47 feet (14.3 meters).

For three days after the quake, almost 300 aftershocks shook Southcentral Alaska. Eighteen months passed before the aftershocks finally ceased, which numbered more than 10,000.

What are the chances of such a disaster striking Alaska again?

The answer is, pretty good. Alaska is one of the world's most seismically active areas.

11% of the world's earthquakes occur in Alaska, and three of the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded in world history were in Alaska.

The only reason that the total death toll for the Good Friday Earthquake didn't even come close to the large December 26, 2004 Asia 9.0 earthquake is because Alaska is so sparsely populated.

Alaska's population has grown greatly since 1964, so if the same quake was to happen again, the death toll would easily be much higher.


28 March
M8.6 - Indonesia, 2005

At least 1,000 people killed, 300 injured and 300 buildings destroyed on Nias; 100 people killed, many injured and several buildings damaged on Simeulue; 200 people killed in Kepulauan Banyak; 3 people killed, 40 injured and some damage in the Meulaboh area, Sumatra. A 3 meter tsunami damaged the port and airport on Simeulue. Tsunami runup heights as high as 2 meters were observed on the west coast of Nias and 1 meter at Singkil and Meulaboh, Sumatra. At least 10 people were killed during evacuation of the coast of Sri Lanka.

The 2005 Sumatra earthquake, referred to as the Nias Earthquake by the scientific community, was a major earthquake on 28 March 2005, located off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Approximately 1300 people were killed by the earthquake, mostly on the island of Nias. The event caused panic in the region, which had previously been devastated by the massive tsunami triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, but this earthquake generated a relatively small tsunami that caused limited damage. It was the third most powerful earthquake since 1965 in Indonesia.

The earthquake occurred at 16:09:36 UTC (23:09:36 local time) on 28 March 2005. The hypocenter was located at 2°04?35?N 97°00?58?E, 30 kilometres (19 mi) below the surface of the Indian Ocean, where subduction is forcing the Indo-Australian Plate to the south-west under the Eurasian plate's Sunda edge. The area is 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Sibolga, Sumatra, or 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) northwest of Jakarta, approximately halfway between the islands of Nias and Simeulue. Seismic recordings give the earthquake a moment magnitude of about 8.6[1] and effects were felt as far away as Bangkok, Thailand; over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) away.[2]


M6.0 - Ecuador, 1996
At least 27 people killed, 100 injured, several thousand homeless and considerable damage and destruction to homes, bridges and water pipes in Cotopaxi, Pastaza and Tungurahua Provinces. Land- slides blocked several roads in the epicentral area. Minor damage (VI) at Ambato, Latacunga and San Miguel de Salcedo. Felt (IV) at Quito; (III) at Ibarra; (II) at Cuenca and Guayaquil. Felt in many parts of Ecuador.


M6.2 - Idaho, 1975
This earthquake shifted several ranch houses on their foundations and toppled many chimneys in the Ridgedale area of the sparsely populated Pocatello Valley.


M6.9 - Turkey, 1970
Over 1,000 killed. One of the world's deadliest earthquakes. ?More than 12,000 houses were destroyed or severely damaged in the Gediz-Emet area of Kutahya Province. Over 50 percent of the buildings were damaged in 53 villages in the area. A large amount of the damage was caused by landslides and fires triggered by the earthquake. Some damage occurred at Bursa and Yalova.

It was felt at Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and as far east as Erzincan. It was also felt on Chios (Khios) and Lesvos, Greece. Strong aftershocks caused considerable additional damage. A total of 61 km (38 mi) of predominantly normal (vertical, extensional or "pull-apart") faulting was observed in several zones in the Gediz area with a maximum offset of 275 cm (9 ft) on the Ayikayasi Fault. A large part of the fault displacements may be due to creep after the earthquake, rather than from the quake itself. Numerous landslides and changes in thermal springs occurred in the epicentral area.


M6.4 - Turkey, 1969
This strong earthquake hit the Alasehir region of western Turkey. The shock centered near the Anatolia fault system, which lies in the active Alpide seismic belt. Eleven people were killed and over 7,000 houses destroyed or moderately damaged. Foreshocks preceded this earthquake on March 22 and 23.

The March 23 event alone destroyed 1,776 houses, according to reports. Alasehir, known in classical times as Philadelphia, sustained less property damage than surrounding villages. A total of 1,328 houses and office structures collapsed. Roads sank and reports were made of boiling water gushing from ground cracks. Thousands here and in surrounding villages were made homeless by the earthquakes. ?
(From Significant Earthquakes of the World 1969 and Earthquake Information Bulletin, Volume 2, Number 1.)


M7.1 - Chile, 1965
About 400 persons were killed or missing, 350 were injured, and extensive property damage was reported throughout the area. The mining village of El Cobre completely disappeared after the shock shattered a 230-foot dam, cascading two million tons of water and mud into the town. There was extensive damage to bridges, roads, and public utilities, and structural damage to thousands of buildings in Santiago and Valparaiso. At Llay-Llay, almost every building was heavily damaged by the earthquake and ensuing fires. Several other towns north of Santiago reported extensive property damage. ?(From United States Earthquakes, 1965.)


M9.2 - Alaska, 1964
Local time: March 27 05:36:14 p.m. ?This great earthquake and ensuing tsunami took 128 lives (tsunami 113, earthquake 15), and caused about $311 million in property loss. ?Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman. ?The second Largest Earthquake in the World, since 1900.


29 March

M6.6 - India, 1999
Local time: March 29. ?At least 61 people killed and 125 injured in the Chamoli district; 34 killed and 177 injured in the Rudraprayag district; 5 killed and 60 injured in the Tehri Garhwal district; 19 injured in the Bageshwar district; 13 injured in the Pauri Garhwal district, India. Over 21,100 houses destroyed. Many landslides blocked roads in the epicentral area.


M6.4 - Ethiopia, 1969
The earthquake completely razed the town of Sardo, killing 24 persons and injuring 165. There were 100 huts destroyed in the village; all were made of mud. The 300 surviving villagers were moved to the nearby town of Loggia, 50 kilometers west. Damage and reported felt area were restricted to an apparent radius of about 30 kilometers. Several aftershocks were noted, but none were damaging. ?(From Earthquake Information Bulletin, Volume 2, Number 1.)


M7.9 - Spain, 1954
The earthquake occurred in the south of Spain, and caused property damage at Malaga. Felt at Madrid, Granada and Cadiz, Spain; Tangier, Spanish Morocco, and Casablanca, French Morocco. The depth was 640 kilometers. ?(From United States Earthquakes, 1954.)


M7.0 - Hawaii, 1868
Foreshock of the 7.9 earthquake on April 03, 1868. ?One of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States. ?At Kahuku, a stone house was destroyed, the chimney of the Mission parsonage was thrown down, and the walls of the stone church were cracked. At Kona, stone walls were thrown down, masses of rock were thrown off the cliff at the bay, stone buildings were damaged, and the cisterns of the Kona Plantation were cracked. At Waiohinu, walls were shaken down, and the stone church was cracked from top to bottom. Also slightly felt at Hilo.


30 March

M7.3 - Alaska, 1965
One of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States, the 1965 Rat Islands earthquake occurred at 05:01 UTC, on 4 February. It had a magnitude of 8.7 and triggered a tsunami of over 10 m on Shemya Island,[1] but caused very little damage.


31 March

The 2006 Borujerd earthquake occurred in the early morning of March 31, 2006 in the South of Borujerd with massive destruction in Borujerd, Silakhor and Dorood areas of the Loristan Province in Western Iran. The centre of the earthquake was in Darb-e Astaneh village in South of the Borujerd City.

A lighter foreshock happened the night before, and people stayed outside overnight and this reduced the number of casualties significantly. However, the mainshock at 4:47 a.m on March 31, shook Borujerd, Dorud and other towns and villages on Silakhor Plain for more than 55 seconds. The earthquake measured 6.1 on the Richter Scale.

This powerful earthquake shook the entire land of Loristan Province and most areas of Hamedan Province, Markazi Province and destroyed many villages in Khorramabad, Alashtar and Arak County as well. More than 180 aftershocks followed the main earthquake in April, May and June and people had to stay outside for several weeks.


M5.7 - California, 1986
Six people were treated for minor injuries. Slight damage (VI) in the Fremont area and power outages in parts of Fremont and San Jose. Felt (V) at many cities in the southern San Francisco Bay area including Alameda, Cupertino, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, San Jose, San Leandro, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Union City. Felt throughout much of central California from Santa Rosa to San Luis Obispo and east to Yosemite National Park. ?(From Significant Earthquakes of the United States, 1986 - June 1989.)

M6.0 - Nicaragua, 1931
The earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city of Managua. 2,500 dead. One of the world's deadliest earthquakes.


1 April

M8.1 - Alaska, 1946
One of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States. ?

This major earthquake caused only minor damage to buildings on Unimak Island, but it generated a tsunami that devasted the lighthouse and swept away its five occupants. The height of the wave at the lighthouse was estimated at about 35 meters. Tsunami damage also occurred at Dutch Harbor and Ikatan Island in the Aleutian Islands, on the west coasts of North and South America, and in Hawaii. At Hilo, Hawaii, the tsunami took 159 lives and caused $26 million loss to property. The tsunami caused one death in California.


2 April

M - Bangladesh/India, 1762
A very destructive and violent earthquake felt all over Bengal, Arakan, etc., chiefly and most severely in the north part of the east coast of the Bay of Bengal. In Calcutta, water in tanks rose 6 feet; direction said to have been north and south; lasted ten minutes. At Ghitotty, 18 miles above Calcutta, river rose more than 6 feet perpendicularly.

At Dacca, water rose so suddenly as to carry up hundreds of boats, and many lives were lost. Chittagong suffered very severely; great explosion heard at first; openings in the earth were formed 10 to 12 cubits in length, and chasms were filled with water. Water was spouted out like a fountain together with fine sand or mud; earth continued to sink day by day little by little. Sixty square miles said to have been permanently submerged. At Dollazari houses fell; cavity opened 200 cubits in length and filled with water. Two volcanoes said to have opened on the Seeta Kunda Hills.

At Nahar Charcak the island clove asunder and was swallowed up by the waters. Minor shocks continued up to the 19th. To this severe earthquake is attributed an elevation, of varying amount, of the coast of Arakan, stated to extend over more than 100 miles in length. Oysters were found adhering to a pinnacle of rock, about 40 feet high, on a line about 13 feet above the second line of beach (that produced in 1766), which itself marked in a similar way. ?(From Southeast Asia Association of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Series on Seismology, Volume II - Thailand, June 1985.)


3 April

M7.3 - Costa Rica, 1983
Five people died from heart attacks, one person killed by a collapsing house, and several people injured in southeastern Costa Rica. Also felt strongly in southwestern Panama. ?From Significant Earthquakes of the World, 1983.


M7.9 - Hawaii, 1868
Local time: April 02?This earthquake caused 77 deaths (tsunami, 46; landslide, 31). It knocked almost all wooden houses off their foundations in the Keiawa, Punaluu, and Ninole areas. In those areas, straw houses supported by posts in the ground reportedly were "torn to shreds." At Kau, the more substantial houses and every stone wall were thrown down. At Waiohinu, a large stone church collapsed within 10 seconds of the onset of shaking. The shock "ruined" the few stone buildings in Hilo and shook down almost every wall. Brooks became muddy.

One of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States and the largest historical earthquake in Hawaii.


4 April

M7.5 - India, 1905
One of the deadliest earthquakes in Indian history. Over 19,000 deaths. Damage in the Kangra area and at Dehra Dun One of the world's deadliest earthquakes.


Easter Sunday

The 2010 Baja California earthquake (also known as 2010 Easter earthquake, 2010 Sierra El Mayor earthquake, or 2010 El Mayor – Cucapah earthquake) was an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude on the moment magnitude scale.

It started 26 kilometers (16 mi) south of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi).[3] It occurred at 3:40:41 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) (22:40:41 UTC) on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, and it is said to have lasted about a minute and a half. The strongest shaking was felt in the ejido of Alberto Oviedo Mota, municipality of Mexicali, at Mercalli intensity scale VIII (Severe).

In Mexicali, Calexico and Guadalupe Victoria it rated VII (Very Strong), while in Ensenada and Tijuana it measured VI (Strong).[1] Most of the damage in this earthquake occurred in the twin cities of Mexicali and Calexico on the Mexico–United States border.[4] Four people were killed and 100 people were injured.[2]


6 April 2010   Easter Sunday

Northern Sumatra, Indonesia

The April 2010 Sumatra earthquake was a 7.8 Mw earthquake[3] that occurred on April 7, 2010, at 5:15 AM local time (April 6, 2010, 22:15 UTC) near Banyak Islands, off the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. A tsunami watch was issued according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu[4] which was later canceled.[5] A 40 cm surge was reported in the Banyak Islands an hour after the quake, along with 62 injuries.[6] Power outages were reported throughout the province of North Sumatra[7] as well as in Aceh.[8][9] This quake is one of the sequence of large earthquakes along the Sunda megathrust in 2000s.

In Simeulue Regency, 21 were hospitalized in Gunung Putih, Teluk Dalam subdistrict,[10] and 41 were injured in Teupah Selatan subdistrict. Some of the injured were treated at Simeulue general hospital in Sinabang.[11]



Well, the clock's ticking on Holidays... 

   •   First day of Passover    Tuesday, March 26, 2013
   •   Maundy Thursday    Thursday, March 28, 2013
   •   Holy Saturday    Saturday, March 30, 2013
   •   César Chávez Day    Sunday, March 31, 2013
   •   Easter Sunday    Sunday, March 31, 2013

Peace Love Light

Liberty & Equality or Revolution

[Littleenki]

Great post Thor, excellent insight...Id guess Ishtar got her reputation for a good reason. Whole lotta shakin going on!

Cheers!

[zorgon]

Listing Earthquakes is all fine and dandy. And naturally EQ's will kill more people today than in the past because of simple population density.

Also I see a lot of people freaking out over EQ chains of 4.0 or less on various forums and websites. ATS had one thread where people were going nuts seeing over 100 quakes a day in the islands of Alaska...

But a simple check on USGS history of the area shows this to be NORMAL activity.

So lets have a quick refresher course on magnitude...

Richter magnitude scale

The Richter magnitude scale (often shortened to Richter scale) was developed to assign a single number to quantify the energy released during an earthquake.

The scale is a base-10 logarithmic scale. The magnitude is defined as the logarithm of the ratio of the amplitude of waves measured by a seismograph to an arbitrary small amplitude. An earthquake that measures 5.0 on the Richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times larger than one that measures 4.0, and corresponds to a 31.6 times larger release of energy.

Since the mid-20th century, the use of the Richter magnitude scale has largely been supplanted by the moment magnitude scale in many countries. However, the Richter scale is still widely used in Russia and other CIS countries. Also worth noting is that earthquake measurements under the moment magnitude scale in the United States—3.5 and up, on the MMS scale—are still usually erroneously referred to as being measured under the Richter scale in the general public, as well as the media, due to the familiarity with earthquakes being measured by the Richter scale instead of the MMS scale.

So lets forget everything BELOW a 5.0 

Now I can predict that there will be at LEAST 4 5.0 quakes somewhere in the world tomorrow  (and it doesn't matter which day you read this )

What we need to look at is FREQUENCY OF THE BIG ONES

Need a list of all the big ones over the last 10-20 years and compare that rate to today to see if there is any MAJOR INCREASE

If there is, the "Houston we have a problem..."

I have shown the ice core sample chart above a few posts back. That is a long term chart over 400,000 years. In the METHANE thread I have more detail of how methane being released today at increasing rates can cause problems. Both in global warming and stress on the plates. As the gas escapes, the pressure is less on those plates allowing (or triggering) them to move

Global Warming is REAL  make no mistake about that. What is FALSE is that it was/is caused by us. This is a NATURAL cycle. True we are likely adding to the problem rather than helping it... but in the end one really BIG volcano would produce as much pollution as mankind has done for the last 100 years total

Here is a temp map on a shorter scale  from 2500 BC to 2007 AD...  It shows the 'Mini Ice Age' in Europe that forced the invention of the fireplace for those old castles



Notice the VOLCANOES and their relation to temp changes

I created a discussion thread alongside the METHANE thread. Seems people care more about girls igniting their farts than what the gas release implies...

But as more ice melts, more and more trapped methane hydrate will leak into the air...

If that happens... you are all going to PRAY those chemtrails work

[The Matrix Traveller]

Global Warming is REAL  make no mistake about that. What is FALSE is that it was/is caused by us. This is a NATURAL cycle. True we are likely adding to the problem rather than helping it... but in the end one really BIG volcano would produce as much pollution as mankind has done for the last 100 years total

100% Correct Z

Our input is very, very, small, its NOT so much the chemicals and Gasses we are adding
into the water and Atmosphere, but rather it is The "ENERGY" we are Producing,
and "Pumping" Directly into our Environment !

A small car is dumping up to 280,000 Watts under full throttle on a hill.

280 to 300 K/Watts.

A domestic Oven dumps about 3,000 Watts just to give you a comparison.

3 K/Watts

Do the Sums on the Global Dumping of "ENERGY" into our Environment, and you will desperately,
want to flee this Environment...   

[thorfourwinds]

FOR THE RECORD
28 March 2013
Significant Earthquake Activity Worldwide

27 March 2013

TAIWAN   6.0     02:03:20 UTC
LAT:   23.840     
LON:  121.135    
DEPTH:   20.7 km

Strong earthquake hits central Taiwan –
1 death, at least 94 injured + a lot of damage


UPDATE: March 28th, 09.40 UTC. Chinese medias are currenty reporting a number of 94 injuries caused by the quake in Taiwan.

- 21 injuries and the death from Nandou Country - 66 injuries from Taichung Country - 7 injuries from Changhua Country. There are no damage reports from China.

UPDATE: 13:09 UTC : The number of injuries rises again. Now at least 86 people are confirmed injured.

- most of this people have only minor injuries
- at least 37 students were injured by trying to escape a school building during the quake

(THIS IS AGAINST EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS GUIDANCES)

- The government of the Chinese province of Fujian (closest to Taiwan), send rescue teams through the villages to check for damage to buildings. The quake prompted the activation of emergency plans in China. So far there are no damage reports from Fujian.

(Image courtesy and copyright Chinanews.com)

UPDATE: 11:40 UTC :The number of injured has increased from 19 to 44.- Schools are closed for the time being - a lot of damage in buildings and houses (mostly cracks in walls, broken windows, etc) and some roads have been blocked. The damage has not been calculated yet but will be considerable.

(Image courtesy and copyright cna.com.tw)

UPDATE: 07:52 UTC : The earthquake caused a lot of perturbation of the railway system as rails had to be inspected. Many trains have been canceled until after the inspection. Many Chinese mainland cities felt the shaking very well and people ran out of their office buildings.

The picture shows a damaged shop where a salesperson was crushed in between the shelves. She was only slightly injured.


People do not seem to learn what to do during an earthquake ! NEVER run out of the building while the shaking is going on, but hide against an inner wall or below a sturdy table or office with your hands on top of your head. Running away is VERY DANGEROUS. Even more, if the shaking gets worse you will not be able to walk normally.

UPDATE: 06:42 UTC : The military have set up an emergency center in Nantou to provide rescue assistance if needed.

UPDATE: 06:28 UTC : Interesting to notify is that people in China may have felt this earthquake stronger than in the capital Taipei.

The reason : the propagation of the earthquake waves. The waves have been moving in a North-Westerly direction towards the Chinese mainland.


UPDATE: 06:22 UTC : A 72 year old woman was the deadly victim of this earthquake. She was hit by  collapsing temple wall.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, 1 death has been registered in Nantou County. If the death is deemed to be not secondary (heart attack) then the earthquake will be classified CATDAT Red.

UPDATE: All classes at Taichung university have been suspended for the day. Apart from that, good news with most of the checks of roads completed without damage.

UPDATE: 'Coming from Malaysia and not having any earthquake experiences before, this one left a very deep impression. I was in class when the tremors came, and at first I thought the person behind me was shaking my seat, but then the lights started to swing and the room was swaying to the sides. It was so scary that I am still shaking as I'm typing this. All classes were suspended and one building suffered a lot of damage with cracks in the walls for every floor.' (– Jason, earthquake-report.com reader.)

(Image courtesy and copyright Weibo.com)

UPDATE: Some more information – a fire that was set off from the shaking has been contained. In addition, the previous elevator story was badly translated – in fact there have been 5 separate elevator incidents (2 in Nantou County, 1 in Taichung City and 2 in Changhua County), in which 2 people have been saved. It is unclear whether more people remain trapped.

In addition, a few minor power outages have occurred, and roads are being checked for landslides and additional effects.


UPDATE: 19 people have been injured – 4 in Nantou County, 14 in Taichung City and 1 in Changhua County. In addition an elevator stopped, trapping 5 people. 2 NASC people (search and rescue) have been sent to the epicentral region of the earthquake. Broken windows and fallen items in addition to cracking occurred.


UPDATE: A spectacular crack has occurred along the length of a high rise building in Nantou County.

Crack along the length of a building in Nantou County, Taiwan.

UPDATE: At least 1 person has been injured by a falling ceiling. An additional 3 people have been injured by a fire that broke out in Nantou County.

UPDATE: The PAGER model / USGS Shakemap has the highest intensity as IV (4) - light shaking. Although we would like to believe this, the shaking has already been felt at VI-VII, somewhere between the Taiwanese solution and the US solution.

UPDATE: The high speed railway is being currently checked for effects.

UPDATE: Renai Township has been pronounced as the epicentral region.
The earthquake hit close to that of the 21st September, 1999 earthquake of Mw7.7 which caused 2444 deaths and over $10 billion USD damage.

Resources:

Earthquakes Today

Current earthquakes world-wide, Thursday, 28 March 2013: past 24 hours

USGS

IRIS Seismic Monitor - Recent Earthquakes World Map

earthquakereport.com

[The Matrix Traveller]

Hi  thorfourwinds

Another example of your Excellent Posts. High Quality..


What I believe we have to do is take notice, come to understand this experience (World)
and change our Living Habits. This involves redesigning our buildings and "decentralize".

Changes will take place as they have done before.

Note these Earthquakes are in the Boundaries of "Tectonic Plates".

And its all to do with The "Thermal Cycle/s" involving the Earth.


It's Not so much the Temperature at the surface of the planet, but rather the behaviour
regarding the Flow of Energy, from within the Earth itself.

As Temperature rises slightly, the Earth expands a little, which brings about more activity
between the "Tectonic Plates".

NOT to be confused with the mechanics involving "Continental Drift" etc.


These temperature differences, tend to tear the Plates apart, rather than one sliding on another.


Japan is a typical example of this which can be seen by the tsunami configuration.

This is shown by its unusual wave fronts. (Water)

Some tsunamis produce Curved wave fronts while the Japanese tsunami had a Linear wave front.

Linear "Wave Fronts" are produced by the opening and closing action of an "Oceanic Trench" such as what
is around the Pacific Basin.


The one we need to look for, is when such an event takes place again, and water gets through to
the HOT stuff on a large scale, i.e. along a greater distance.

If this happens, then a "Chain Reaction" may take place, tearing the Plates apart, allowing access for
more seawater, to enter cycle upon cycle, until sea water stars to relocate under the Earth crust.

All Hell lets loose when this happens, and a transformation takes place, where the seas relocate
under the earths Crust, within about an 8 to 12 hour period, from start to finish.


When completed, we now have much more room to inhabit, so our "Population Explosion"
no longer exists, as before 4/5ths of the earths surface was covered in water.


LIFE has a strange way of doing things, so we need to learn from LIFE rather than fearing
for ourselves.

Perhaps we ALL need to TRUST LIFE a Little more rather than being at WAR against LIFE
all the time.


The Sun also plays a big role in all of this, BUT not in the way Science believes at present.

The Inner of our Planet also plays a big role in this too which is NOT understood at all by Science.

We All are about to be "Educated" about our "Environment", which will turn out to be far different
than believed by Science at present !   

[thorfourwinds]

Earth in Decline: Extreme Weather Events - May 2013, Part 1 - YouTube




Earth in Decline: Extreme Weather Events - May 2013, Part 1 - YouTube

[thorfourwinds]

Extreme Weather Phenomena Escalating Worldwide - YouTube

Published on May 7, 2013
Over the past year the world has experienced unprecedented and bizarre weather phenomena - from record breaking heat and cold to increasing earthquake activity worldwide. It's not just global warming, but rather, a system wide surge of strange weather activity. ??

This video compiles extreme earth changes and weather events, with footage including meteors entering the atmosphere, sinkholes opening up worldwide, the discovery of dark lightning, increasing volcano activity, and a uniquely unusual UFO sighting in Ireland.??

While this video does NOT imply extreme weather is a result of human activity - it does suggest that climate change is real and occurring all around us.

Whatever the source, one may ask - will extreme weather define our world's history for decades to come?

[thorfourwinds]

State of the Climate | Global Analysis - May 2013

Global Highlights

   •   The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for May 2013 tied with 1998 and 2005 as the third warmest on record, at 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20th century average of 14.8°C (58.6°F).

   •   The global land surface temperature was 1.11°C (2.00°F) above the 20th century average of 11.1°C (52.0°F), also the third warmest May on record. For the ocean, the May global sea surface temperature was 0.49°C (0.88°F) above the 20th century average of 16.3°C (61.3°F), tying with 2003 and 2009 as the fifth warmest May on record.

   •   The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the March–May period was 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F), tying with 2004 as the eighth warmest such period on record.

   •   The March–May worldwide land surface temperature was 0.97°C (1.75°F) above the 20th century average, the 11th warmest such period on record. The global ocean surface temperature for the same period was 0.45°C (0.81°F) above the 20th century average and tied with 2001 as the seventh warmest such period on record.

   •   The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the January–May period (year-to-date) was 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 13.1°C (55.5°F), the eighth warmest such period on record.


Select national information is highlighted below:

(Edit by thorfourwinds: Aa usual, most of the links provided by NOAA were invalid.) 
"ERROR 404
We apologize, but the page or resource for which you are looking could not be located."
(Of course, we fixed 'em.)

   •   According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, May was unusually warm across the country, with the greatest warmth in the north. Temperatures were 4°C (7°F) above average in northernmost Lapland and 2°–3°C (4°–6°F) above average in southern and western Finland.
      
   •   Norway observed one of its warmest Mays in the country's 113-year period of record, with a monthly average temperature 2.6°C (4.7°F) above the 1971–2000 average. Trøndelag region was record warm and Northern Norway was second warmest on record.
      
   •   Icelandobserved a monthly average temperature that was 0.5°C (0.9°F) below the 1961–1990 average, marking the coolest May since 2005.
      
   •   May 2013 ranked among the top five warmest Mays over the past century for Sweden. Several stations were record warm, including Sarna in northern Dalarna (records began in 1892) and Östersund / Frösön (records began in 1937) that were 10.4°C (18.7°F) and 10.5°C (18.9°F) above their respective averages. Many other stations reported near-record warmth for the month.
      
   •   The nationally-averaged monthly May temperature for Spain was 1.3°C (2.3°F) below the long-term mean, the coldest May on record since 1985 according to AEMet. The coldest anomalies were observed across the north of the country. The port city of Santander, Catabria on the north coast had its coolest May since records began in 1951.
      
   •   The Republic of Moldova had monthly temperatures that were 2.5–3.5°C (4.5–6.3°F) above normal, an event that occurs on average every 10 to 15 years, according to Moldova's national meteorological agency, Serviciul Hidrometeorologic de Stat.Meteo in Moldova pentru 7 zile, vremea prognoza meteo in Chisinau
         
   •   The nationally-averaged May maximum temperature for Australiawas 0.80°C (1.44°F) above the 1961–1990 average. Anomalies were highest over South Australia, with a monthly temperature of 2.38°C (4.28°F) above average, the fourth warmest May in its 104-year period of record. The May minimum temperature was record high for the state, at 2.57°C (4.63°F) above average, breaking the previous record set in 1921 by 0.32°C (0.58°F). Western Australia and the Northern Territory each had top 10 warm minimum May temperatures.
   •   
   •   At the South Pole station in Antarctica, the average May temperature was -62.4°C (-80.3°F), 4.5°C (-8.1°F) below average. Minimum temperature records were broken at this station on two days during the month.

The average global sea surface temperature for May was 0.49°C (0.88°F) above average, tying with 2003 and 2009 as the fifth warmest May on record. Prior to the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1st, sea surface temperatures in the Main Development Region of this basin were much warmer than average.

Generally, higher-than-average temperatures in this region are one of the factors that help provide ideal conditions for an active hurricane season. For the 14th straight month, ENSO conditions across the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean remained neutral; however, below-average sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific did strengthen compared with the previous month.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, neutral conditions are favored through the Northern Hemisphere summer 2013. Elsewhere, record warm sea surface temperatures were observed in part of the northeastern Pacific, the western equatorial Pacific near the Philippines, sections of the Indian Ocean off of the southern Australian coast, and the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

No record cold ocean surface temperatures were observed across the globe during May. Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2013 from the weekly SST page.

[zorgon]

Worst floods in 50 years lay waste to China's Beichuan county- 30 believed buried alive
Posted on July 10, 2013

July 10, 2013 – BEIJING — Flooding in western China, the worst in 50 years for some areas, triggered a landslide Wednesday that buried about 30 people, trapped hundreds in a highway tunnel and destroyed a high-profile memorial to a devastating 2008 earthquake. Meanwhile, to the northeast, at least 12 workers were killed when a violent rainstorm caused the collapse of an unfinished coal mine workshop they were building, said a statement from the city government of Jinzhong, where the accident occurred. The accident Tuesday night came amid heavy rain and high winds across a swath of northern China, including the capital, Beijing. There was no immediate word on the chances of survival for the 30 or so people buried in the landslide in the city of Dujiangyan in Sichuan province, but rescue workers with search dogs rushed to the area, the official Xinhua News Agency said. State-run China Central Television said hundreds of people were trapped in a highway tunnel between Dujiangyan and Wenchuan – the epicenter of the earthquake five
years ago that left 90,000 people dead or missing.

Authorities were not able to make contact with the people, the report said. Mudslides and flooding are common in China's mountainous areas, killing hundreds of people every year. Deforestation has led to soil erosion and made some parts of China prone to mudslides after strong rains. In nearby Beichuan county, flooding destroyed buildings and wrecked exhibits at a memorial for the 2008 earthquake. The quake left the Beichuan county seat unlivable. The town was abandoned, and 27 square kilometers (10 square miles) of ruins were turned into a memorial and museum. The flooding also caused the collapse of an almost 50-year-old bridge in a neighboring county, sending six vehicles into the raging waters and leaving 12 people missing. Since Sunday, flooding in Sichuan has affected 360,000 people, damaging or destroying 300 homes and forcing at least 6,100 emergency evacuations, state media reported. –Charlotte Observer

Worst floods in 50 years lay waste to China's Beichuan county

At least 7 dead, 48 missing in west China flooding

[thorfourwinds]

On July 16, the sun unleashed a coronal mass ejection that is heading toward Earth. (courtesy: SDO)

Coronal mass ejection heading toward Earth, may spark Northern Lights


17 July 2013

By Nicole Mortillaro  Global News

TORONTO – If the skies are clear the next few nights, Canadians might get a light show.

On July 16, the sun unleashed an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME). A coronal mass ejection, a release of plasma and particles, can eject a billion tons of matter and travel at several million kilometres per hour. This CME should reach Earth on July 18.

When they reach Earth, the particles get trapped in our magnetic field, resulting in Northern Lights. Typically Northern Lights, or aurorae, are visible closer to Earth's poles. As Canadians, we are in a prime viewing location.

An Earth-directed CME can cause a geomagnetic storm, which funnels energy into our planet's magnetosphere for a few days. Aside from producing the Northern Lights, CMEs can also disrupt communication signals and cause electrical surges in power grids. In 1989, an Earth-directed CME caused a blackout in Quebec for several days.

Aurorae dance in the skies near Lake Diefenbaker, about 100 kilometres south of Saskatoon. (Garry Stone)

NASA said that typically, geomagnetic storms of this magnitude have been mild.

NASA has determined that this CME left the sun at 900 km/s. It may also pass by the MESSENGER spacecraft orbited Mercury as well as the Juno spacecraft that is on its way to Jupiter. NASA operators may put the spacecraft into safe-mode to protect their instruments.

[thorfourwinds]

Published on Nov 7, 2013
The strongest typhoon of the year has reached Eastern Samar in the Philippines, according to meteorologists.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated from villages in Haiyan's path amid fears the wind damage could be the worst in Philippines history.

President Benigno Aquino III assured residents in high-risk areas, including 100 coastal communities, of war-like preparations with three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

"No typhoon can bring Filipinos to their knees if we'll be united," he said in a televised address.

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said Haiyan's maximum sustained winds were 314km per hour (195 mph), with gusts up to 379km per hour (235 mph).

Local journalist Mike Cohen told Sky News: "We're seeing a lot of strong winds but not a lot of rain. The eye of the storm has not yet made landfall, this is just the outer wall of the storm and it's 600km across.

"There are already reports of some landslides and very strong storm surge entering towns and villages in the path of the storm."

Jeff Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is meteorology director at the private firm Weather Underground warned residents to prepare for "catastrophic damage".

"195-mile-per-hour winds; there aren't too many buildings constructed that can withstand that kind of wind. The wind damage should be the most extreme in Phillipines history,"

he said.

Local Philippines meterologists forecast lower readings, saying the storm's speed at landfall had sustained winds at 234km per hour (145mph) with gusts of 275km per hour (170.88 mph).

Haiyan is forecast to barrel through the Philippines' central region before blowing toward the South China Sea over the weekend, heading towards Vietnam.

The head of the government's main disaster response agency in the capital Manila said people are still being moved from communities prone to landslides and flooding.

These include residents of Bohol, many of whom are still living in tents after being made homeless following an earthquake last month

But there is hope that, as Haiyan is a fast-moving storm, flooding from heavy rain - which usually causes the most deaths from typhoons in the Philippines - may not be as bad.

Haiyan is the 24th tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year.