Arctic Ozone at Record Low: Scandinavia is Toast

Damage to Arctic Ozone Layer Reaches Record High

Record depletion of Arctic ozone layer is causing increased UV radiation in Scandinavia: AWI

Ozone-depleting chemicals such as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and extended cold stratospheric temperatures have depleted 40% of the ozone in the stratosphere this week, against a previous high of 30%.

OMI Npole Image. Click images to enlarge.

OMI Global Image.

“Over the past few days ozone-depleted air masses extended from the north pole to southern Scandinavia leading to higher than normal levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation during sunny days in southern Finland. These air masses will move east over the next few days, covering parts of Russia and perhaps extend as far south as the Chinese/Russian border. Such excursions of ozone-depleted air may also occur over Central Europe and could reach as far south as the Mediterranean.”  Said Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association (AWI).

Atmospheric researcher Dr. Markus Rex of AWI was quoted as saying that the damage to the Arctic ozone layer is “unparalleled.”

The Arctic Ozone Hole. Image Source: AWI

“Such massive ozone loss has so far never occurred in the northern hemisphere, which is densely populated even at high latitudes,” AWI researcher Markus Rex said. More …

Related Links

• Arctic Ozone Loss Ahoy!
• Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
• Dynamics of the Arctic ozone layer – January 1 to March 23 for both years (4 MB, QuickTime)

US Weather Forecast: Thunderstorms, Strong Winds, Flooding, Fire

Severe weather forecast for much of the U.S.

Click image to enter NWS portal.

Low pressure system over Chicago with cold front to Dallas moving east

• Risk of severe weather in conjunction with thunderstorms
• “A second storm moving onshore over the Pacific Northwest will move to the Upper Mississippi Valley by Tuesday evening. High elevation snow and low elevation rain will move into parts of the northern High Plains, northern and central Rockies on Tuesday.”

A large area of the Southeast and Midwest at risk of severe weather

• Primary target: Parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
• Secondary target:  All or parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.

“Parts of the risk area and the central Plains area have also been alerted to driving problems from high winds that will dominate the Plains and the Southeast.

“Forecasters said winds would range from 15-25 mph with gusts to 35-40 mph to areas of 30-35 mph winds gusting to around 50 mph, to sustained winds of 45-55 mph with gusts to 75 mph in western Wyoming. High winds will cause difficulties in South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.”

Wildfires:

“Officials hope to avoid a repeat of the wildfire outbreak experienced Sunday in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Kansas. Wildfire details included:

• Colorado – Baca County fire near Walsh burned only 30 acres but burned into Walsh and forced evacuation of 120 homes, contained Sunday evening; Crystal Wildland Fire in Larimer County burned approximately 4,500 acres and is 5 percent contained
• New Mexico – White Fire near Ruidoso burned 2,000-3,000 acres and destroyed at least 4 homes
• Kansas – Grassland wildfire in Grant Haskell and Stevens counties burned approximately 9,000 acres, 3 homes destroyed, 100 percent contained in Grant County, 70 percent in Stevens County and 80 percent in Haskell County
• Oklahoma – Guymon Fire burned 7,500 acres and destroyed 12 homes
• Texas – Fire near Midland burned 500 acres and threatened houses and oil field equipment; Justiceberg fire in Garza County burned 2,000 acres, threatens more than 20 homes; Bates field fire in Ector County burned 2,500 acres but no structures lost, evacuees being allowed to return; smaller fires included Willow View fire in Hardeman County, South Road fire in Yoakum County and Rancho Real fire in Real County.” [Drought Information Update: Drought worsens with limited precipitation in March]

Flooding

NOAA’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service showed 111 gauge sites at some level of flooding.

• 13 sites were at Major Flood levels,
• 23 sites at Moderate Flood
• 75 sites at Minor Flood

Additionally

• 109 sites were at Near Flood

Major flooding is occurring on Devils Lake, Stump Lake, The James River, the Wild Rice River, the Minnesota River, the Cottonwood River and the Mississippi River. Details available at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/index.php?stage=7

Related Links

• US Severe Weather Forecast: T-Storms, Tornadoes [April 4, 2011]
• Red Flag Warnings in Seven States
• Deadly EF2 Tornado Strikes Louisiana Town
• Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley
• U-S Attacked by Continued Severe Weather
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• US Wildfire Pattern Consistent with Drought
• National Fire Stats Falsified?
• Denver wildfire forces evacuation of 10,000 homes
• Fierce Storm Dumps 160mm of Rain over SoCal
• Wildfires Wreaking Havoc Across the U.S.
• World on Fire

UPDATE: Japan Nuclear Disaster

UPDATE 12:00UTC

TEPCO has revealed that it had found radioactive iodine-131 at 7.5 million times the legal limit in seawater samples taken on Saturday near the stricken Fukushima NPP.

Samples taken on Monday showed the radioactive level at 5 million times the legal limit. The new samples also  contained radioactive cesium-137  at 1.1 million times the legal limit, the company said.

Why have oceans if you couldn’t…

Japan to dump 11,500 tons of “low-contaminated water” into the Pacific ocean

Workers at Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP have begun dumping “low-radioactive” water  into the ocean allegedly to free up  storage room for  more highly radioactive water.

TEPCO says they are dumping 11,500 tons of radioactive-water, currently held at the crippled Fukushima NPP storage facilities, into the Pacific ocean so that the more radioactive-water that is leaking from Reactor 2 can be stored in its place.

Does that mean when even more highly radioactive water is found at the site they can dump the second load into the ocean?

Meanwhile in Germany…

“A decision has been taken to shut down eight plants before the end of this year and they definitely won’t be reactivated. And the remaining nine will be shut down by the end of the decade,” a German deputy environment minister, told Reuters on Monday.

“Japan has shown that even if there is a miniscule occurrence, the residual risk is too high to justify the continuation of nuclear power […] It is better to go for other energy services in a civilized country,” Juergen Becker said.

What is a lethal dose of radiation from a single Exposure?

Studies of the 1945 atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki show that 100 percent of victims whose bodies were exposed to 600,000 millirems (6,000 mSv) died from radiation. About 50 percent of victims who received  450,000 millirems (4,500 mSv) of radiation also died.

(Note: Rem is a unit of ionizing radiation equal to the amount that produces the same damage to humans as one roentgen of high-voltage x-rays.  Source: MIT)

1 rem = 10 mSv  (1 Sv = 100 rem)

Background Radiation in millirems per year (mrem/yr)

• Average background radiation (US):  300
• Higher altitudes (e.g, Denver): 400

“Safe Levels” of Radiation (U.S.)

Limits above natural background radiation levels (average 300 millirems per year) and medical radiation:

• Occupation Limit: Maximum of 5,000  (the limit for a worker using radiation)
• Average Natural Background: 300

[Note: Lifetime cumulative exposure should be limited to a person’s age multiplied by 1,000 millirems, e.g., a 70-year-old person, 70,000 millirems.]

Adults

• Max single dose for an adult: 3,000
• Annual total dose: 5,000

Under 18

• Max single dose for a person aged under 18 years: 300 millirems (whole body equivalent)
• Annual total exposure: 500

Fetal Exposure

• Maximum limit for fetal exposure during gestation period:  50 millirems per month above background levels

Medical

• Single Chest X-ray (the whole body equivalent): 2 millirem

Air Travel

• Coast-to-coast US round trip flight: 12 millirems

*Note:  Radiation dose of about 2,000 millisieverts (200,000 millirems) cause serious illness.

Half-life of some radioactive elements

[NOTE: Half-life is the time taken for a radioactive substance to decay by half.]

• Cesium-134 ~ 2  years
• Cesium-137 ~ 30 years
• Iodine-131 ~ 8 days
• Plutonium-239 ~ 24,200 years

• Ruthenium-103 ~ 39 days [Ruthenium is a fission product of uranium-235.]
• Ruthenium-106 ~ 374 days
• Strontium-90 ~ 28.85 years  [Strontium-90 is a product of nuclear fission and is found in large amounts in spent nuclear fuel and in radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.]

• Uranium-234 ~  246,000 years
• Uranium-235 ~ 703.8  million years
• Uranium-238  ~ 4.468 billion years

Related News Links

• Japan to dump 11,500 tons low-radioactive water
• Japan seeks Russian help to end nuclear crisis

Fire-Earth Links

• Fukushima Radiation Leak NOT Fixed
• Radiation Leak Found at Fukushima
• Japan Nuclear Disaster Update – Apr 1

• Japan Nuclear Disaster Update – March 31
• Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Update – March 30
• Tokyo Water Radiation “TOO HIGH” for Infants
• FUKUSHIMA NPP: No 4 REACTOR ON FIRE, NEW EXPLOSION ROCKS No 2

• M6.4 Shock Strikes Off Fukushima Coast
• TOKYO AREA QUAKE WARNING
  Large Earthquake Could Strike Tokyo Area – Megaqauke measuring up to 9.2Mw could strike Tokyo / Chiba Area:  FIRE-EARTH Forecast

• FIRE-EARTH Forecasts: Japan Earthquakes
  As Many as 4 Large Earthquakes [Megaquakes measuring ≥8.0] Could  Strike Japan Region by 2015

• M6.5 Aftershock Strikes Offshore Miyagi
• Significant Seismicity in Tohoku Region, Japan
• Japan Earthquakes: FIRE-EARTH Forecasts and Recent History