Another Dark Day for Global Climate, Environment

Canadian ‘Regulators’ approve 3-phase Suncor oil sands expansions

Canadian regulators have approved a 3-stage expansion at Suncor Energy’s Firebag oil sands project with an additional output of 188,000 barrels of bitumen a day, said Suncor.

Oils sands in Alberta, Canada. The three largest oil sand deposits are: the Athabasca Oil Sands, Cold Lake Oil Sands, and Peace River Oil Sands.

“The production phases, given the green light by the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, would follow the C$3.6 billion ($3.6 billion) phase 3 expansion being built now and scheduled to be in service next year, said Suncor, Canada’s largest oil company.” Reuters reported.

Suncor pumps steam into the earth to liquefy ans separate the extra-heavy crude from the oil sands at Firebag and then pumps the oil to the surface.

Related Links:

• Suncor lives to pollute another day!
• US Govt Sues BP America
• Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal
• Canada Makes Pollution Progress
• Syncrude duck deaths now triple initial tally
• Buffet the Climate!

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution
• Suncor website

AVATAR !!!

CANADA’s AVATAR SANDS

The largest oil exporter to the United States,  Canada extracts about 50 percent of its crude oil supplies from the dirty oil sands.

High Res (5.3 MB PDF)

Related Links:

• Dirty Oil Sands
• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks…
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs

Protesters block runway at Scotland’s airport

‘Plane Stupid’ protesters break through Aberdeen airport’s fence to block runway

Plane Stupid climate activists break through the perimeter fence at Aberdeen airport before setting up a barricade on an aircraft taxiway. Photograph: Plane Stupid. Creative Commons License.

Flights at Aberdeen airport one of Scotland’s main airports were disrupted this morning when a dozen protesters from the Plane Stupid campaign group cut through the airport’s perimeter fence at about 02:00 to  protest plans to expand the airport.

Airport operator BAA said flights to Amsterdam, London and Paris had been affected by the climate change activists.  Plane Stupid members locked themselves inside a “wire fortress” on a runway, as two protesters unfurled a banner on the terminal building.

“There have been two cancellations and some flights to and from the airport have been delayed due to the action,” A BAA spokeswoman told reporters.

Plane Stupid environmental activists managed to shut down London’s Stansted Airport for several hours in December 2008.

Protesters were dressed as golfers imitating Donald Trump, the New York property magnet, who is building a $1.5bn golfing resort north of Aberdeen and reportedly supports the airport’s expansion.

Ironically, Donald Trump was forced to resign last week from the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts, just days before the casino company filed for bankruptcy.

A  Plane Stupid members from Edinburgh reportedly said: “We have been failed by the generation of Donald Trump and [Scottish politician] Alex Salmond.

“Despite a catalogue of scientific reports warning them that they can’t keep on with aviation growth, they continue with disregard for all of us who will end up dealing with the impacts of the climate crisis.

“The reality is that our generation’s future is vanishing so that people like Donald Trump and his super-rich friends can jet into Aberdeen for a round of golf.”

Related News Links:

• Climate protesters delay flights at Scottish airport
• Climate change protest disrupts flights at Aberdeen airport

Related Links:

• Plane Stupid Scotland shuts Aberdeen airport
• Plane Stupid breached security at UK’s  Stansted airport forcing dozens of flights to cancel.

Palin’s Polar Pests Love Their Cubs, Too!

Main Entry: It’s All About Big Oil, Stupid!

IS THIS RELATIONSHIP ANY LESS IMPORTANT THAN THE ONE BELOW?

Bristol Palin , the 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is seen holding her brother Trig at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio, August 29, 2008. REUTERS/John Gress. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• It’s All About Big Oil, Stupid!

• Arctic ice cover second-lowest on record
• 3 million acres of spruce killed in Alaska in 15 years
• Hilarious Polar Bear News!
• The Billionaires’ contribution to CO2 pollution

• How Much Carbon Dioxide Does Your Money Make?
• Look me straight in the eye & tell me you can’t …
• Arctic ice cover second-lowest on record
• The real games are in Alaska

• Death by Lethal Pollution
• Bering Sea Drilling Revisited!
• Arctic Marine Mammals on Thin Ice
• Our Oceans Are Dying

• How McCain the “war criminal” turned Psywar Stooge Against American Servicemen
• Must Israeli Politicians Bewail at Pearl Harbor Memorial to Become PM or President?

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Magnitude 6.8 Quake Hits Japan

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Eastern Honshu, Japan about 25 km ENE of Morioka

The quake caused substantial damage to buildings, collapsed power lines and left as many as 10,000 homes and businesses without electricity.

Cars were buried in a landslide, according to local news reports, and the tremor triggered dozens of fires. Fujitsu Ltd. in Iwate reported that its “semiconductor production machines were partially damaged.”

About 130 people needed hospital treatment, thousands more trapped in stranded trains, motorways closed and train services canceled. the tremor was felt widely in southern Hokkaido and in the main island of Honshu as far south as Tokyo.

According to witness reports, the quake caused strong shaking lasting up to 40 seconds in areas near the epicenter in northern Japan.

Japan sits atop the Eurasian, Pacific, Philippine and North American tectonic plates whose movements cause numerous earthquakes. The country experiences about 20 percent of the world’s major earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

People clean up the pieces of glasses shattered by a strong earthquake at an auto dealership in Karumai, Iwate prefecture Thursday, July 24, 2008. A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 struck off the northern Japanese coast early Thursday, injuring at least 91 people, causing blackouts and landslides, officials said. (AP Photo/Kyodo News). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Did you know?

With a total of 203 earthquakes measuring 6.0 Mw or greater, 1995 experienced the largest number of quakes for the period 1980 to 2007 [2007 was runner up with 195 large quakes.] With a total of 110 quakes so far [as of July 23,] 2008 could prove a record-breaking year for large tremors. [The stats are based on USGS data.]

Historic Seismicity

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green [USGS]

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green [USGS]

Quake Details:

- Magnitude: 6.8

- Date-Time: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 15:26:20 UTC [Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 12:26:20 AM at epicenter]

- Location: 39.807°N, 141.467°E

- Depth: 111 km (69.0 miles) set by location program

- Region: EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN

- Distances:

• 30 km (20 miles) ENE of Morioka, Honshu, Japan;
• 75 km (50 miles) S of Hachinohe;
• 120 km (75 miles) E of Akita;
• 485 km (300 miles) NNE of TOKYO

- Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 3.8 km (2.4 miles); depth fixed by location program

The Mainshock was followed by a magnitude 5.1 aftershock almost exactly 11 hours later at 11:27:42 AM (time at epicenter).

Location of aftershock: 39.576°N, 141.385°E
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Distance: 25 km (15 miles) SE of Morioka, Honshu, Japan [455 km NNE of TOKYO]

Related Links:

• Powerful Offshore Quake Strikes Japan’s Eastern Coast [July 19, 2008 quake]
• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Honshu, Japan [June 14, 2008]

Blind Monks of the Environment

Original Entry: The Exponential Growth Economy Elephant in the Corner!

What’s a Hydrokong?

A Shrinking World Series

Is it a mega-tropical storm system, or an extra-tropical cyclone (ETC), i.e., a non-tropical, large-scale low pressure storm system like a Nor’easter?

“Hydrokong” is a colossal atmospheric phenomenon. It’s an extreme precipitation event which is enhanced by circulation changes that increase and concentrate the distribution of water vapor.

Hydrokong! The Storm System as it appeared over the central United States June 12, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

Globally, as total precipitation increases, the duration or frequency of precipitation events decreases. However, warmer temperatures and regional variation can significantly affect those offsetting behaviors. For example, reduced total precipitation in one region, the Western United States, can significantly increase the intensity of precipitation in another region, the Midwest. Hydrokongs essentially create two extreme events, droughts in one region and flooding caused by mega-intense precipitation in another. As the global temperatures rise, more hydrokongs should be expected.

Another Hydrokong in the making? A new System as it appeared over the central United States June 27, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

An aviation color enhancement of a floater [updated periodically] satellite image GEOS Eastern U.S. Imagery, NOAA SSD. For full size image right-click on the image and select “View Image.”

In the words of Brian Pierce, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, describing the aftermath of flooding last week: “We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring.”

Are Extreme Precipitation Events Earth’s Natural Defense Mechanisms?

Related Links:

• Nature’s Defense Mechanisms
• www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php [Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service!]
  

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Mt. Kurikoma Coughs, Still Comatose!

The Year of Volcanoes, Too?

Steam, hot volcanic plumes rise near Mt. Kurikoma

Japan’s Self-Defense Forces personnel observed Monday hot volcanic plumes about seven kilometers southwest of the summit of Mt. Kurikoma, a 1,627-meter-high volcano located on the border of Miyagi, Iwate and Akita prefectures, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Aerial observation from a helicopter showed plumes rising from several spots near both Hanayama in Kurihara, and Yu no Hama hot-spring spa.

Sadato Ueki of Tohoku University’s Research Center for the Prediction of Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions said the plumes might be volcanic gases rising to the surface, or steam coming from underground hot water channels whose course was diverted by the powerful Mw 6.8 quake Saturday. The Iwate quake struck about 22km NW of the Mt. Kurikoma summit.

“There’s a possibility that volcanic gases that had been confined below ground are gushing out through fissures in the mountain created by the earthquake,” he said. However, he ruled out increased volcanic activity on Mt. Kurikoma, because the plumes were very far from the volcano’s summit.

Kurikoma volcano last erupted in 1950.

MT. KURIKOMA is a dormant stratovolcano stretching across three prefectures (states) of Miyagi, Iwate and Akita, standing high at an altitude of 1,627.7m.

Kurikoma volcano seen from the SSE with its summit at the right-center, the satellitic cone of Daichimori on the left, and Higashi-Kurikoma on the right. On the opposite side of the volcano, the summit is cut by a 4-km-wide caldera breached to the north that is partially filled by the Tsurugi-dake central cone, once mined for sulfur. (Caption: Source) Image Copyright: Shingo Takeuchi (Japanese Quaternary Volcanoes database, RIODB, http://www.aist.go.jp/RIODB/strata/VOL_JP/index.htm). See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Coordinates: 38° 57′ 0″ N, 140° 46′ 48″ E
Decimal: 38.95°, 140.78°

Related Links:

• 2008: Year of the Expected Unknowns!
• Will 2008 be year of the tornadoes, too?
• 2008: Year of the Fire

• Volcanoes
• Philippines Taal Volcano Could Erupt Anytime!
• Volcanoes, Santorini Eruption and Crops Failure in China

Schwarzenegger Proclaims Water Emergency in Nine Counties

A Shrinking World Series

Could California Turn to Desert by 2011?

Water, water, my bloody kingdom for a drop of water. ~ King Conan

Water Emergency in Calif

As most of the croplands in the Central U.S. is submerged under floodwater, the heart of California’s farming area is feeling the heat. Gov. Schwarzenegger who proclaimed last week a drought in California, declared yesterday a state of emergency in nine counties in Central Valley.

“Just last week, I said we would announce regional emergencies wherever the state’s drought situation warrants them, and in the Central Valley an emergency proclamation is necessary to protect our economy and way of life,” Mr Schwarzenegger said.

“Central Valley agriculture is a $20 billion a year industry. If we don’t get them water immediately the results will be devastating,” he added. “Food prices, which are already stretching many family budgets, will continue to climb and workers will lose their jobs—everyone’s livelihood will be impacted in some way.”

“His declaration covers Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties and directs California’s Department of Water Resources to work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to deliver more water through the State Water Project to where it is most needed.” Reuters reported.

Conservation Action:

• Water rationing is imposed in Long Beach, Roseville and the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which serves 1.3 million people in the San Francisco Bay area.

• Water agencies serving about 18 million people throughout Calif have declared a water supply alerts.

• Officials are planning for reduced water use through this year because lower water supplies are anticipated next year.

• Schwarzenegger is asking lawmakers to back a “comprehensive solution” to expanding water and says he needs $11.9 billion bond to finance water projects. (Source)

Coyote Dry Lake, Mojave Desert. Image: Jeff T. Alu via Wikimedia. This file is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

Coyote Dry Lake is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert located about 24 km northeast of Barstow, and north of Interstate 15 in southern California. The lake measures about 10 km long and about 6 km wide at its widest section.

California’s Last Chance: Do a U-Turn, or Turn to Desert!

Related news:

• Water squabbles irrigate tensions in Central Asia Reuters
• In Spain, Water Is a New Battleground The New York Times
• Water Shortage and ‘Africanization’ of Spain [Note: ‘Africanization’ is a weasel word for desertification]

Related Links:

• Drought Index

• Failing Ecosystems
• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
  
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Topsoil
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World

• Could California turn to desert by 2011?

feww

Food Riots Break Out in Bangladesh and Kenya

See Main Entry: We Need Food!

Why Didn’t China Prevent the Loss of 86,000 Lives?

China Regime: As Evil as Evil Comes!

Are Earthquake Predictions in China Political?

The following excerpts are from an article written by Wu Weilin, Epoch Times Staff [ May 28, 2008 ] Full Article

Was the recent devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China predicted before it struck? Did the Chinese regime ignore earthquake warnings and thereby caused the loss of more than 86,000 lives?

“On July 28, 2006, the Director of the China Earthquake Administration, Chen Jianmin, was speaking on a program of the regime’s mouth piece, China’s Central TV station. He stated with certainty that earthquakes were predictable. But immediately after the recent devastation in Sichuan, Chinese officials claimed that the prediction of earthquakes was a tough task worldwide. Another commentator said that earthquake prediction in China is a political issue.” Said Wu Weilin of Epoch Times.

[Wrapping it up!] Soldiers march to scatter disinfectant in Yingxiu town of Wenchuan county, the epicentre of the earthquake, Sichuan province May 26, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer The image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

What Happened to the Predictions?

“According to Chen, China has been predicting earthquakes since the Xingtai earthquake back in 1966, which killed 8,064 people. ‘Through continuous scientific research and information gained from many actual cases, we can make a prediction on a certain type of earthquake.’ However, after the earthquake in Sichuan took place, Zhang Ziaodong from the China Earthquake Networks Center held a press conference at China’s State Department on May 13. At the conference Zhang denied the quake in Sichuan was predictable and said that predicting earthquakes was a ‘difficult task worldwide.’”

Why did the Chinese media stay quiet about this important issue? “A frontline reporter disclosed that Beijing had sent out rules on reporting the earthquake, ‘To propagate positive, constructive news and forbidding criticism and introspective articles.’ Recently, according to our source, Beijing has officially banned discussing the subject of earthquake prediction in public.“

“However, more and more information has indicated accurate prediction on the quake had been presented to Beijing on many occasions. The communist military had also taken preventative measures based on the predictions.”

Predictions Had Saved Lives Before, Why Not This Time?

“Chen also said during an interview with CCTV two years ago, that following an accurate prediction, a quake that took place in China on February 4, 1975, only took 1,300 lives instead of 100,000. Chen also gave examples from overseas, how predicting earthquakes had cut down the number of deaths – only three died in California in 2003 and 40 in Japan in 2004, two countries where earthquake prediction was released before the event.

“By May 24, 2008, the Sichuan quake was estimated to have killed 60,560, injured 352,290, and 26,221 people were still missing, according to information released from China’s State Department. A Chinese social economist, He Qinglian, commented about the difference in speeches coming out of Beijing about quake prediction before and after Sichuan, ‘In China, earthquake prediction is pure science and earthquake forecasting announcement is pure politics. This is how it works in China, whether in the past or present.‘” [emphasis added.]

Related Links:

• The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse
• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• How Many More Survivors?
• Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence
• Why Was the Girl Removed from Family?

• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath
• Bigger China Disaster Unfolds

• China’s grieving quake parents start to voice anger
• Beijing’s quick response to disaster won’t cover cracks of corruption
• Almost five million left homeless, China says
• Corruption blamed for rising death toll in China
• Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools

• Earthquake Predictions In China Are Also Political

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Semeru Volcano: Alert Level III

Mount Semeru Volcano Restive, Alert Level III

May 22, 2008

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities on Thursday urged residents living around the slopes of Mount Semeru in Indonesia’s crowded East Java province to keep their distance from the active volcano, which appears to be heating up.

Vulcanologists upgraded the alert status of Mount Semeru volcano to level three, one level below a full state of alert, after the 3,676-metre-high volcano on Wednesday sent hot lava as much as 3,000 metres down its slopes.

Villagers and farmers were urged ‘not to conduct activity at a radius of 4 kilometres from the crater, especially around the south-east of the volcano’s slopes,’ said Surono, head of Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation at the directorate general of volcanology.

Surono, who like many Indonesians goes only by one name, appealed to residents living on the riverbanks along three different rivers to be cautious of threats posed by lava streams.

However, no immediate evacuation is being considered for residents living in a number villages in the potential danger zone, he said, adding that a team of experts is intensively monitoring Mount Semeru’s activity round-the-clock.

The Mount Semeru volcano, 780 kilometres east of Jakarta, is a popular tourist destination, especially for hikers. Semeru is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes.

The Indonesian archipelago, straddling the seismically active ‘Ring of Fire,’ has the world’s highest density of volcanoes. Of its 500 volcanoes, 128 are active and 65 are listed as dangerous. (Source) Copyright respective author or news agency.

The climb to the summit of Semeru is a 2-3 day walk. The mountain stages minor eruptions (like in the photograph) every 20 – 40 minutes. The photo was taken in late afternoon (August 2003) and simply involved walking from the campsite at the base of the climb to the summit around to the west so that the sun was at my back, then waiting for the eruption to start. The most striking aspect of the photo is the colour caused by the almost perpendicular rays of the sun hitting the cloud of dust and steam escaping a couple of thousand metres into the sky from the crater. The photo typifies the fact that Indonesia sits in the middle of the “Ring of Fire”. The many spectacles presented by the landscapes, the festivals and the people of Indonesia never cease to truly amaze me. Photo and caption credit: Campbell Bridge (via Trek Earth at:http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Indonesia/photo109462.htm)

Semeru: The Most Active Volcano of Java

Semeru also Gunung Semeru is the highest and one of most active volcanoes of Java. Known also as Mahameru (Great Mountain), it is very steep and rises abruptly above the coastal plains of eastern Java. Maars containing crater lakes have formed along a line through the summit. Semeru lies at the south end of the Tengger Volcanic Complex. The steep-sided volcano, also referred to as Mahameru (Great Mountain), rises abruptly to 3676 m above coastal plains to the south. Semeru’s eruptive history is extensive. Since 1818, at least 55 eruptions have been recorded (10 of which resulted in fatalities) consisting of both lava flows and pyroclastic flows. More than 500 people have been killed by Semeru’s eruptions during the last 30 years. Semeru has been in almost continuous eruption since 1967. (Source 1 and 2 )

Semeru is one of many volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Graphic courtesy of Darwin VAAC.

Semeru, a stratovolcano, has erupted at least 55 times since 1818. The eruptions are commonly moderate to moderately large (VEI of 2 to 3) and explosive. This photo, taken November 4, 1982, shows a small cloud associated with a Strombolian eruption (relatively low-level volcanic eruptions) . Photo by Jack Lockwood, U.S. Geological Survey. (Source)

Strombolian eruptions are relatively low-level volcanic eruptions, named after the Italian volcano named Stromboli, where such eruptions consist of ejection of incandescent cinder, lapilli and lava bombs to altitudes of tens to hundreds of meters. They are small to medium in volume, with sporadic violence. (Source). Credit: Wolfgang Beyer GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

Semeru eruptions are commonly moderate to moderately large (VEI of 2 to 3). Some of the eruptions produced lahars (a type of mudflow composed of pyroclastic material and water that flows down from a volcano). Semeru’s most recent eruption began in 1967 and has continued to the present. In August of 1994, explosions occurred at 15-20 minute intervals. In February of 1995, pyroclastic avalanches traveled about 0.6 mile (1 km) from the summit.

Semeru, 1985. A USGS Photo.

Related News:

• Indonesia raises alert level for Java volcano Radio Australia
• Indonesia Raises Alert For Volcano On Java Island Javno.hr
• Heat clouds raise Indonesian volcano alert AFP

Related Links:

• Satellite picture by Google Maps
• Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: Semeru
• Indonesia Volcanoes and Volcanics [USGS]
• Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (VSI)

• Volcanoes
• Philippines Taal Volcano Could Erupt Anytime!
• The Power of Chaitén Volcano
• Volcanoes, Santorini Eruption and Crops Failure in China

• Chaitén Volcano Still Active
• Chaitén Volcano: No End Seen to Second Massive Eruption
• Chile: Volcano activity prompts mass evacuation
• Mt Ruapehu Eruption Alert

Philippines Taal Volcano Could Erupt Anytime!

UPDATE: Latest From TAAL and other Philippines Volcanoes

Taal May Erupt at Anytime

FEWW team believes there is a strong probability that the Taal Volcano, a Pelean-type active volcano on the island of Luzon, might erupt this month. Taal volcano is designated as one of the 16 Decade Volcanoes by International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI). Located about 50 km south of the capital, Manila, Taal is surrounded by populated areas.

Taal has erupted violently several times (the last eruption was in 1977). The current death toll caused by its activities stands at about 6,000.

More seismic activities in the region should be expected.

Taal Volcano Seen through Lake Taal (Photo: Jhun Taboga)

A cinder cone in an acidic lake on Taal Volcano (Credit: JG Moore of the US Geological Survey)

Major volcanoes of the Philippines

Pacific Ring of Fire

The Pacific Ring of Fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean. The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes. Ninety percent of the world’s earthquakes and 80% of the world’s largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a direct result and consequence of plate tectonics and the movement and collisions of crustal plates. (Source)

Plate Tectonics

World’s 14 major tectonic plates plus the Scotia plate. Mapped in the second half of the 20th century to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth’s lithosphere. The lithosphere is broken up into tectonic plates. The surface of the Earth consists of a further 38 [40] minor plates.

The largest of the major plates are

• African Plate, containing Africa – Continental plate
• Antarctic Plate, containing Antarctica – Continental plate
• Australian Plate, containing Australia (fused with Indian Plate about 50 million years ago) – Continental plate
• Eurasian Plate containing Asia and Europe – Continental plate
• North American Plate containing North America and north-east Siberia – Continental plate
• South American Plate containing South America – Continental plate
• Pacific Plate, covering the Pacific Ocean – Oceanic plate

See also

• Plates list.
• Detailed map showing the tectonic plates with their movement vectors.
• Plate motion based on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite data from NASA JPL

Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. The lateral movement of the plates is typically at speeds of 5 – 10 cm/yr. (Read more …)

Recent Earthquakes [Kurile through Kermadec trenches]

[Time at epicenter]

• Magnitude 4.8; Depth of 48.7 km; SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS; Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 10:03:52 PM
• Magnitude 5.6; Depth of 35 km; SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA; May 18, 2008 at 07:17:24 PM
• Magnitude 4.6; Depth of 74.1km; MINDORO, PHILIPPINES; Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 07:24:17 PM
• Magnitude 4.9; Depth of 10 km; SABAH, MALAYSIA; Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 02:26:41 PM
• Magnitude 4.9; Depth of 31.3 km; NIAS REGION, INDONESIA; Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 09:59:59 AM
• Magnitude 4.4; Depth of 242.4 km;KYUSHU, JAPAN; Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 07:15:06 AM
• Magnitude 5.2; Depth of 127.1 km, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES, Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 10:17:30 PM
• Magnitude 5.1; Depth of 151.2 km; SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS; Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 02:23:17 PM
• Magnitude 5.3; Depth of 150.4 km; NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA; Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 03:35:14 AM
• Magnitude 5.4; Depth of 35 km; SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS; Friday, May 16, 2008 at 11:06:51 PM
• Magnitude 5.3; Depth of 41 km; SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION; Friday, May 16, 2008 at 09:19:07 AM
• Magnitude 4.9; Depth of 606.3 km; FIJI REGION; Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 10:46:02 AM
• Magnitude 5.1; Depth of 35 km; TONGA; Friday, May 16, 2008 at 03:06:15 AM
• Magnitude 5.0; Depth of 25.8 km; KURIL ISLANDS; Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 08:20:43 AM
• Magnitude 5.2; Depth of 52.5 km; LUZON, PHILIPPINES; Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 05:48:32 AM
• Magnitude 5.2; Depth of 40.8 km; LUZON, PHILIPPINES; Depth of 40.8 km; Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 10:14:30 PM
• Magnitude 5.4; Depth of 35 km; NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA; Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 05:29:19 PM
• Magnitude 5.0; Depth of 36.7 km; TAIWAN REGION; Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 06:57:46 AM
• Magnitude 4.6; Depth of 509 km; SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS; Monday, May 12, 2008 at 04:34:05 AM

[Source: USGS]

Global earthquake epicentres, 1963–1998 (Image: NASA)

Philippines Other Major Volcanoes: Mayon Volcano

Mayon Volcano as viewed from Lingñon Hill in Daraga, Albay. Mayon, located between the Eurasian and the Philippine Plate, is a convergent plate boundary. It is the most active volcano in the Philippines, having erupted over 47 times in the past 400 years. Last eruption: 2006. (Copyrigh by Tam3rd via Wikimedia)

Canlaon Volcano

Canlaon, a stratovolcano, is located in the north central part of the island of Negros. Last eruption: 2006.

Weather clouds drape the sparsely vegetated summit of Kanlaon volcano (also spelled Canlaon). Kanlaon is the most active of the central Philippines and forms the highest point on the island of Negros. The massive 2435-m-high stratovolcano is dotted with fissure-controlled pyroclastic cones and craters, many of which are filled by lakes. Historical eruptions, recorded since 1866, have typically consisted of phreatic explosions of small-to-moderate size that produce minor ashfalls near the volcano. Photo courtesy of PHIVOLCS. Caption GVP

Ragang volcano

Ragang volcano (above and to the right of the center of image) is located in central Mindanao. Last eruption: 1916. Thanks mainly to the Filipino government and its education authorities, no other image of Ragnag Volcano could be found at the time of writing. NASA Space Shuttle image STS61A-40-71, 1985 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).

There are 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines: Babuyan Claro, Banahaw, Bulusan, Mount Biliran, Bud Dajo, Cagua, Camiguin de Babuyanes, Didicas, Hibok-Hibok, Iraya, Mount Iriga, Mount Kanlaon, Leonard Kniaseff, Makaturing, Matutum, Mayon, Musuan, Mount Parker (Cotabato), Pinatubo, Ragang, Smith Volcano, Taal.

See also: List of volcanoes in the Philippines

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The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse

Why was the quake nurse reduced to tears and had to beg the soldiers to rescue children?

If rescuing the children wasn’t their priority, and clearly it wasn’t, what were the soldiers ordered to do?

Anguished Chinese Nurse Serving in the Earthquake Disaster Area:

Please Rescue The Children!

Photo below was taken by Jason Lee of Reuters news agency (China). The caption reads:

“A nurse holding a general’s written order begs soldiers to rescue surviving children still buried in the ruins of another nearby school in the old city district near a mountain at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. The soldiers are not under the command of the general, whose written order reads: ‘Please arrange for rescue operations at this school as quickly as possible.’”

What were the orders soldiers own general gave them?

When did the authorities decide they couldn’t cope with too many quake survivors?

Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee (china) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

A close up of the nurse’s face. Her heartfelt agony speaks a thousand words!

[Reuters caption: A nurse cries as she begs soldiers to rescue surviving children still buried in the ruins of another nearby school in the old city district near a mountain at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

The Olympics can wait; the survivors can't!

"Although the time for the best chance of rescue, the first 72 hours after an earthquake, has passed [exactly as planned by CPC], saving lives remains the top priority of our work [believe what I say, not what I do, you 'ignorant peasants'],” the [doublespeaking] Chinese president, Hu Jintao, told the survivors. (Source)

To the CORRUPT Chinese Government: The World is Watching YOU!

“Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools”

“Three days after the quake struck, troops and fire engines queued idly along the roadsides waiting for orders.”

“‘I saw a doctor walking along the lines of bloody bodies, checking pulses and looking at wounds. If he shook his head the nurses were instructed not to take the person to the operating theatre but move them to another room to die. It was like a scene from a war film,’ she said.” (Source)

Related Links:

• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• Official worries over possible plague at Sichuan quake epicenter
• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath

• China Earthquake, Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence

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