Friday, August 30, 2013

[californiadisasters] On This Date In California Weather History (August 30)

2012: Thunderstorms erupted in the mountains above Cathedral City.
Major flash flooding in Cathedral City included 1'-2' of rapidly moving water, closing several
roads.
Water forced mud and debris into several businesses in town, causing significant damage.
A thunderstorm produced 1.53" in one hour at March AFB in Riverside.
Flash flooding in Moreno Valley went into a few homes.
A rescue was needed to save a stranded motorist.
Several roads and freeways were closed because of water and/or mud.

2008: A large and severe thunderstorm produced flash flooding and severe hail in the San Jacinto Mountains.
Flash floods up to three feet deep carried rocks and mud and covered many roads in Idyllwild-Fern Valley.
The storm dropped hailstones in size from marbles to walnuts (1.5" in diameter).
Hail injured two during an already progressing search and rescue operation at Suicide Rock.
These are the only documented injuries resulting from direct hail impact in California history.
Also, a helicopter made an emergency landing.
Another thunderstorm produced a minor flash flood in Forest Falls.

2007: Latest in the season Fresno has ever had a low temperature of 80°or better, low temperature for the day was 81°.

1998: Strong thunderstorms developed each day starting on 8.29 and ending on 8.31.
1.5" of rain fell at Apple Valley, 0.77" fell in only 45 minutes at Wrightwood, and 0.68" fell in only 30 minutes at Forest Falls.
Homes and roads were flooded with four to six feet of water in Hesperia and Apple Valley.
Rock slides occurred in Mill Creek.
Roads were flooded in Sugarloaf and Forest Falls.
Flash flooding was also recorded in Hemet.
Severe thunderstorm wind gusts of 86 mph hit Sage (south of Hemet).
Gusts of 50 mph were recorded at Rialto and gusts of 45 mph hit San Marcos.
Trees and power lines were downed.
Record heat occurred near the coast as well on these same days.
Temperatures hit 112° in Yorba Linda, 110° in Hemet and Riverside, and over 100° in most of Orange County.
It was 114° in Dulzura on 8.29.

1998: The high temperature at Hawthorne, NV was 102°.

1972: Hurricane Hyacinth moved as far west as 125 West before recurving to the northeast.
The remnants made landfall between Los Angeles and San Diego on 9.3 with winds of 25 mph and rainfall of up to one inch in the mountains from 8.29 to 9.6.
This tropical cyclone holds the distinction of traveling the farthest west before recurving and making landfall in Southern California.
This occurred during the El Niño of 1972-73.
Only 0.44" was measured in San Diego.

1972: A cloud burst associated with Tropical Storm Gwen off the coast of southern California dropped 0.99" of rain falling 14 miles southwest of Coalinga in the Bear Canyon Jupiter area resulting in flash flooding.

1967: Hurricane Katrina crossed the southern tip of Baja California, then traversed almost the entire length of the Gulf of California before making landfall again and rapidly weakening.
More than two inches of rain fell on this day and on 8.31.
2" fell at La Quinta and the city was cut off for several hours.
150 homes were damaged by floods in Palm Desert and Indian Wells.
Numerous roads were washed out in the Coachella Valley.
The Fort Irwin road north of Barstow was flooded, isolating the army base on this day.

1966: The low temperature in Fresno plunged to 49°, setting an all-time record low for the month of August.
This is also the earliest in the season Fresno has seen a low temperature in the 40s.

1957: It was 52° in Palm Springs, the lowest temperature on record for August.
This also occurred on 8.27.1954.

1909: A heavy thunderstorm in the San Bernardino Mountains produced flood waters that damaged businesses in San Bernardino.

1906: The high temperature at Lovelock, NV was 102°.

Source: NWS Hanford, Reno, & San Diego

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Re: [Geology2] Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

This one is way cool, too! I'm surprised more is not being done to figure out what it is.

On Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 6:49 AM, Lin Kerns <linkerns@gmail.com> wrote:

Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Possible volcano or shale gas fire has been burning for more than a year

CBC News

Posted: Aug 28, 2013

The people of Eagle, Alaska, are getting worried about an underground fire 40 kilometres outside of town that's been burning and spewing noxious smoke for more than a year. (Ed Christensen/National Parks Service)

Residents of Eagle, Alaska, are getting worried about possibly toxic gases wafting into town from a mysterious underground fire on a nearby mountain that's been burning for almost a year.

The CBC radio show Airplay spoke at length with Pat Sanders about the fire burning underground on a mountaintop just outside Eagle, Alaska. Click here to listen to the entire interview.

Nobody seems to know exactly what's burning. Experts suspect it's either a volcano forming or natural gas or oil burning in underground shale deposits. Whatever it is, the fire has been burning on a remote mountaintop, about 40 kilometres north of the community since last October at least.

When the wind is right, residents can smell noxious smoke all over town.
Extreme heat
Pat Sanders, a ranger who works in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, said measurements have been taken showing there's extreme heat coming out of fissures in the ground.

"[It's] 285 degrees Celsius and that one wasn't even smoking," Sanders said. "There's a lot of heat involved and it's still very, very active and we don't know [what] it's going to do or how far it extends but we've taken a progression of pictures throughout since October of last year and the changes in the landscape are just dramatic."

Environmental protection agencies have promised air monitors for people in Eagle. They say the sulphur dioxide gases that drift into town are raising health concerns.
Sanders said the fire started with an underground explosion last fall but the effects are visible on the surface. The fire zone used to cover about 5 acres, but it's grown to about 30 after burning all year, Sanders says.

"[There's] huge orange rocks steaming and smoking and some yellow sulphur rock. It actually looks like a bomb has gone off somewhere."

Aerial photos suggest a volcano forming but geologists say it's likely an underground shale gas fire. Sanders said the air monitors will be welcome, although there's no indication when they might be coming.

"We're happy for that because we don't know how much sulphur dioxide on windy days we are actually breathing".

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/08/28/north-yukon-fire.html
--

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Re: [Geology2] Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

Utterly fascinating!

On Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 6:51 AM, Lin Kerns <linkerns@gmail.com> wrote:

Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

Date: Aug 29, 2013 | Author: Joelle Renstrom

A new study conducted by scientists at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln confirms that the red cliffs of Zion National Park in Utah were the result of an earthquake that ripped through North America during the early Jurassic period. That was just under 200 million years ago, if you're counting, or more importantly, the period often characterized by the presence of dinosaurs.

This massive earthquake tore through the expansive sand sea of North America (which at that time was part of Pangaea, the single supercontinent), disturbing the water-soaked sand buried below and causing it to erupt through the sand like a volcano or geyser. Archaeologists have found evidence of these blowouts in the Navajo Sandstone of the American Southwest. The sand sea, or Jurassic dune field, occupied nearly 250,000 square miles, from Wyoming to California, for roughly 15 million years.
<SNIP>

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[Geology2] Volcano-chaser travels the globe and braves terrifying eruptions to capture stunning pictures

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2405758/Volcano-chaser-Martin-Rietze-braves-volcanic-eruptions-capture-stunning-pictures.html
--

Vei8-Volcanoes of the World Webcams
Roxxfoxx~~Adventures in Geology
Penguin News Today
Penguinology: The Science of Penguins
Gentoo Penguins of Gars O'Higgins Station, Antarctica
Canis lupus 101
Through Golden Eyes
Follow me on Pinterest!

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[Geology2] Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

Date: Aug 29, 2013 | Author: Joelle Renstrom

A new study conducted by scientists at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln confirms that the red cliffs of Zion National Park in Utah were the result of an earthquake that ripped through North America during the early Jurassic period. That was just under 200 million years ago, if you're counting, or more importantly, the period often characterized by the presence of dinosaurs.

This massive earthquake tore through the expansive sand sea of North America (which at that time was part of Pangaea, the single supercontinent), disturbing the water-soaked sand buried below and causing it to erupt through the sand like a volcano or geyser. Archaeologists have found evidence of these blowouts in the Navajo Sandstone of the American Southwest. The sand sea, or Jurassic dune field, occupied nearly 250,000 square miles, from Wyoming to California, for roughly 15 million years.

Navajo Sandstone in Grand Staircase-Escalanta National Monument (Utah)

While scientists have known about the quake and resulting blow-outs for a while, the new study reveals intricacies and more detailed information than ever before. The affected sandstone remains impressively intact, to the point that scientists can spot patterns in it that correspond to seasons. In Zion National Park, scientists identified sand pipes — indications of the quake-induced sand eruptions — that reveal a year's worth of shifting and spewing that most likely corresponds to the main earthquake and its aftershocks. "The exposure is so complete you can see every detail," said David Loope, lead study author and sedimentologist.

The dunes were affected by monsoons and high winds, which helped form mud and limestone that have preserved fossils from Jurassic times. It's thought that these rains helped form the water-saturated sand that erupted after the massive earthquake. The dunes moved southeast by approximately three feet per year due to winds caused by Pangaea splitting up. As they pushed southeast, the dunes caused sand avalanches that buried and preserved the sand pipes and formations recently discovered.

Sand pipes in the Navajo Sandstone are evidence of earthquakes during the Jurassic period, scientists say.

Scientists still aren't quite sure what caused the earthquake. Earth's plates collided and overlapped in something called the "subduction zone," which is their best guess as to the cause of the quake, but that zone is roughly 300 miles west of Zion National Park, so the geographical areas don't quite match up.

I think there's a way to get a definitive answer to this question, and Michael Crichton's already thought of it. Once cloned and restored to a nice corner of the earth, all we have to do is teach dinosaurs to communicate (I think the T-Rex is a good candidate for sign language) and then they can tell us what happened. Though we should be ready to treat their PTSD.

http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/zion-national-park-shows-evidence-earthquakes-rattled-dinosaurs.html
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[Geology2] Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Possible volcano or shale gas fire has been burning for more than a year

CBC News

Posted: Aug 28, 2013

The people of Eagle, Alaska, are getting worried about an underground fire 40 kilometres outside of town that's been burning and spewing noxious smoke for more than a year. (Ed Christensen/National Parks Service)

Residents of Eagle, Alaska, are getting worried about possibly toxic gases wafting into town from a mysterious underground fire on a nearby mountain that's been burning for almost a year.

The CBC radio show Airplay spoke at length with Pat Sanders about the fire burning underground on a mountaintop just outside Eagle, Alaska. Click here to listen to the entire interview.

Nobody seems to know exactly what's burning. Experts suspect it's either a volcano forming or natural gas or oil burning in underground shale deposits. Whatever it is, the fire has been burning on a remote mountaintop, about 40 kilometres north of the community since last October at least.

When the wind is right, residents can smell noxious smoke all over town.

Extreme heat

Pat Sanders, a ranger who works in the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, said measurements have been taken showing there's extreme heat coming out of fissures in the ground.

"[It's] 285 degrees Celsius and that one wasn't even smoking," Sanders said. "There's a lot of heat involved and it's still very, very active and we don't know [what] it's going to do or how far it extends but we've taken a progression of pictures throughout since October of last year and the changes in the landscape are just dramatic."

Environmental protection agencies have promised air monitors for people in Eagle. They say the sulphur dioxide gases that drift into town are raising health concerns.

Sanders said the fire started with an underground explosion last fall but the effects are visible on the surface. The fire zone used to cover about 5 acres, but it's grown to about 30 after burning all year, Sanders says.

"[There's] huge orange rocks steaming and smoking and some yellow sulphur rock. It actually looks like a bomb has gone off somewhere."

Aerial photos suggest a volcano forming but geologists say it's likely an underground shale gas fire. Sanders said the air monitors will be welcome, although there's no indication when they might be coming.

"We're happy for that because we don't know how much sulphur dioxide on windy days we are actually breathing".

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/08/28/north-yukon-fire.html
--

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[Geology2] Lava eruption could be imminent

Lava eruption could be imminent

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 28/08/2013

Reporter: Mark Willacy

Vulcanologists warn that the magma chamber beneath Japan's Sakurajima volcano is about 90-percent full which means a large lava eruption cannot be ruled out.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: It's been erupting constantly for nearly 60 years, spewing out smoke and ash and sending shivers through the more than half a million people who live nearby. Japan's Sakurajima volcano recently blasted 100,000 tonnes of ash more than five kilometres into the sky, reminding surrounding communities of its power and volatility. Vulcanologists warn that the magma chamber beneath the mountain is about 90 per cent full, meaning that a large lava eruption cannot be ruled out. The ABC's North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy travelled to Sakurajima in south-west Japan to see how people live with this rumbling giant.

MARK WILLACY, REPORTER: In legend, this belching giant was named for a beautiful goddess, the divine being venerated as the symbol of delicate earthly life. But Sakurajima is anything but delicate. It is the mother of all Japanese volcanos.

Just across the water from the city of Kagoshima, it is both a tourist drawcard and a troublesome neighbour. And for our visit on this perfect summer's day, the mountain is putting on yet another show.

Sakurajima is one of the world's most active volcanos. Some years it belches into life or erupts over 1,000 times and this bad-tempered beast is just eight kilometres from the 600,000 residents of Kagoshima.

And recently Sakurajima showered this city with 100,000 tonnes of ash, turning day into night and sending people scrambling for cover.

Its 500th eruption of the year sent plumes more than five kilometres into the sky and reminded everyone here just how vulnerable they are to the vagaries of this volcano. But mostly, Sakurajima is just a daily inconvenience.

HIROFUMI KIGUCHIYA, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, KAGOSHIMA CITY (voiceover translation): The most annoying thing is the falling ash. We cannot hang laundry outside. The clothes we wear get filthy and the ash gets in our eyes. People have to sweep it from the front of their houses almost every day.

MARK WILLACY: But the people who are most exposed to the volcano are those who live at its base.

You can understand why people may want to live here. It has a stunning coastline and a relaxed pace and this place is also famous for its fruit and vegetables. Saburo Yokomichi's family has been farming on Sakurajima for nearly 300 years and he's grown used to the volcano's terrible temper.

SABURO YOKOMICHI, SAKURAJIMA FARMER (voiceover translation): When I was a Year Three student at school, I experienced a huge eruption. The sky became like night from the ash and I saw lava flowing down the volcano. But I have become used to it. Me and the mountain are like friends.

MARK WILLACY: But Saburo Yokomichi wasn't around when the volcano last really blew its top. The 1914 eruption was the biggest in 20th Century Japan, generating a large lava flow as well as a tsunami and leaving about 60 dead.

SABURO YOKOMICHI (voiceover translation): My father and his family were evacuated to another island. I still think about a large eruption, but we have learned to coexist with the volcano.

MARK WILLACY: Vulcanologist Masato Iguchi has been studying Sakurajima for more than 30 years, and while he's not worried just yet about another big eruption, he does warn that pressure underneath the volcano is rising.

MASATO IGUCHI, VULCANOLOGIST (voiceover translation): The magma level deep within the volcano is back to about 90 per cent of what it was before the 1914 eruption so we do have to worry about a big eruption in the long-term.

MARK WILLACY: And while we were on Sakurajima, the volcano rumbles into life again, spewing out more ash and giving the people who live here some more cleaning to do. Across the small stretch of sea, the people of Kagoshima go about their business. They can only hope the goddess of the volcano can keep her temper for a little while longer.

Mark Willacy, Lateline.

Video available at source

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3836231.htm

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VOLCANO MADNESS

Friday, August 30, 2013

[californiadisasters] On This Date In California Weather History (August 30)

Re: [Geology2] Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Possible volcano or shale gas fire has been burning for more than a year

CBC News

Posted: Aug 28, 2013

Extreme heat

Re: [Geology2] Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

[Geology2] Volcano-chaser travels the globe and braves terrifying eruptions to capture stunning pictures

[Geology2] Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

Zion National Park Shows Evidence Of Earthquakes That Rattled Dinosaurs

[Geology2] Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Mysterious underground fire perplexes Alaska town

Possible volcano or shale gas fire has been burning for more than a year

CBC News

Posted: Aug 28, 2013

Extreme heat

[Geology2] Lava eruption could be imminent

Lava eruption could be imminent

Transcript

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