Skywatch-Media News & Entertainment

Greenland's Glaciers in Serious Trouble

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:02:17 +0000

ILULISSAT, Greenland (AFP) — One of the world's largest glaciers, on the west coast of Greenland, is shrinking at an alarming rate as a result of global warming -- with potentially dire consequences.

Ilulissat, a UNESCO-listed glacier, is shedding ice into the sea faster than ever before, according to one of Denmark's top experts on glaciology.

Andreas Peter Ahlstroem, a researcher with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland institute, told AFP that the glacier has receded by more than 15 kilometres (10 miles) since 2001.

"Its calving rate (breaking off of ice) has never been so rapid," he said.

San Andreas fault giving off mysterious tremors

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:38:14 +0000

LOS ANGELES - Scientists have detected a spike in underground rumblings on a section of California's San Andreas Fault that produced a magnitude-7.8 earthquake in 1857.

What these mysterious vibrations say about future earthquakes is far from certain. But some think the deep tremors suggest underground stress may be building up faster than expected and may indicate an increased risk of a major temblor.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, monitored seismic activity on the fault's central section between July 2001 and February 2009 and recorded more than 2,000 tremors. The tremors lasted mere minutes to nearly half an hour.

Once-in-a-century' drought affecting Texas

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:39:02 +0000

A "once-in-a-century" drought is baking a big swath of Texas, says John Nielsen-Gammon, state climatologist and a professor at Texas A&M University. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The drought is "zeroing out" crops and forcing ranchers to liquidate their herds. It’s also crimping summer recreation.

Some Hill Country swimming holes like the Pedernales and Blanco rivers have gone underground in places. The Guadalupe River, normally a paddling paradise, has dwindled to a trickle above Canyon Lake.

Meteor lights up Mid-Atlantic Area Skies

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:30:54 +0000

Scores of people in Maryland and Pennsylvania who lingered outdoors into the early morning hours Monday were startled by the brilliant flash of a meteor that soared over the Mid-Atlantic states.

Many more were rattled in their beds by the sonic boom that followed the flash. Sam Luther witnessed both events from a camp on the Susquehanna River near Delta, Pa.

"We were sitting by the campfire on the river talking when the entire sky lit up for 3-5 seconds," he said in a post to TheBaltimore Sun's Weather Blog. "It was as if it were daylight outside. ... Approximately 60-90 seconds after the sky had lit up, we heard a thunderous series of sonic boom sounds accompanied by tremors."

Both phenomena were almost certainly caused by the entry of a relatively large meteor into the Earth's atmosphere. To produce a fireball bright enough to attract widespread attention, geologists say, the meteor would have to be perhaps a few yards in diameter.

A Weather Blog poster named Diane was outside her home near Port Deposit when the fireball appeared. "The whole yard lit up. I looked up to the sky to see a huge fireball with a long trail. It made no noise until about 30 seconds later, at that point there was a loud boom followed by the whole house shaking. ... I will never forget this amazing and a little scary sighting."

Baltimore Sun

London Now Days Away from Swine Flu Epidemic

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:29:53 +0000

LONDON is just days away from a swine flu epidemic experts have warned, as the number of deaths in the UK doubled in just 48 hours, bringing total number in London to five.

Figures collated from doctors and NHS services in the capital indicate 180 cases of the flu per 100,000 people in the city.

In medical terms, when this figure hits 200 London will officially have an epidemic on its hands.

Actual cases of swine flu are so abundant that suspected cases are now no longer being sent for lab tests.

Obama Warns of Swine Flu Resurgence

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:07:17 +0000

BETHESDA, Md. — The Obama administration warned Americans on Thursday to be ready for an aggressive return of the swine flu virus in the fall, announcing plans to begin vaccinations in October and offering states and hospitals money to help them prepare.

“The potential for a significant outbreak in the fall is looming,” President Obama said via telephone link from Italy to the White House’s H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Summit, held at the National Institutes of Health.

UFO RELEASES INTELLIGENT MOVING SPHERES!!

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:00:27 +0000

Filmed in May over Mexico City, uploaded on July 5th, this video has already generated almost a quarter million views on Youtube. The best action is around the 5-minute mark.

Britain Losing Fight Against Swine Flu

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:59:37 +0000

Britain has abandoned efforts to prevent the spread of swine flu after an explosion of infections.

With hundreds of new cases of the A(H1N1) virus confirmed every day and seven deaths, the virus is spreading faster in Britain than in any other European country.

El Nino weather menace looms for frail economies

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:03:36 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A nascent El Nino weather cycle threatens to wreak more economic havoc and disrupt raw material production across a wide swath of the world, evoking memories of the killer edition of 1998.

The timing could not be worse. This El Nino appears to be developing as the world is struggling to emerge from the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Eleven years ago, a damaging El Nino occurred in the middle of the Asian financial crisis which roiled financial markets.

"El Nino is a little bit like recession: you are in it before you can say you have one. If it continues as it is now, the historians will say the El Nino started in May," said David Jones, head of climate analysis in Australia's Bureau of Meteorology. Jones said they could declare an El Nino in weeks.

Tropical Rain Band is Moving Northward

services@earthfrenzyradio.com (Skywatch Media) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:57:32 +0000

The rain band near the equator that determines the supply of freshwater to nearly a billion people throughout the tropics and subtropics has been creeping north for more than 300 years, according to research published in Nature Geoscience.

If the band continues to migrate at just less than a mile (1.4 kilometers) a year, which is the average for all the years it has been moving north, then some Pacific islands near the equator – even those that currently enjoy abundant rainfall – may be drier within decades and starved of freshwater by midcentury or sooner.

Global warming? Maybe. But if it is, the arid event could happen even sooner than current projections.