A severe drought believed to have been caused by the El Niño phenomenon has threatened water supplies in Bolivia, and has depleted the water level in Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is very close to reaching its lowest level ever recorded since 2003. [Felix Trujillo, Employee, National Meteorology and Hydrology Service]: “…The lowest level in […]
By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com, November 15, 2009 The International Commissions for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) ignored the advice of its scientists to end fishing of the Atlantic bluefin tuna. Instead ICAAT set a quota of 13,500 tons of fish, which is only a ten percent reduction from last year’s quota of 15,000 tons. […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Man-made ponds and rice fields irrigated using groundwater may be responsible for arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, a study has found. Arsenic is a naturally occurring chemical poisonous to humans and is known to cause skin lesions and cancers of the bladder, kidney, lung and skin. While it is known […]
The bushfires that swept through Victoria In February 2009 killed almost 200 people as record temperatures turned the bush into a tinderbox. The events, described as Australia’s worst peacetime disaster, have left thousands homeless, destroyed entire communities and transformed forests into ash. After the bushfires: Australia counts the cost Technorati Tags: drought,heat wave,wildfire,forest fire,Australia,global warming,climate […]
Distribution of 2003–2008 mass changes across the ice sheet. The period (2003–2008) was chosen to coincide with the GRACE and IceSAT epochs. Numbers indicate basin-integrated mass loss rates due to SMB and D (in Gt year–1). Numbers in the lower right corner represent the values for the whole ice sheet, indicating the dominant surface contribution […]
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer KOKONOGI, Japan – A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass. The fishermen leaned into […]
November 15, 2009 (AAP) – A total fire ban has been declared for much of NSW as the state prepares itself for temperatures of up to 40C on Monday. Temperatures of 39C have been forecast for western Sydney, while Broken Hill in the state’s far west will endure a blistering 41C day. … The ban […]
Cumulative SMB-D anomaly (2003–2008) and comparison with GRACE data (18). Short horizontal lines indicate GRACE uncertainty, dashed lines the linear trends. GRACE values are not absolute numbers, and the curve has been vertically shifted for clarity. The scatter plot in the inset shows a direct linear regression between the monthly GRACE values as a function […]
November 14, 2009 (AAP) — Fire crews are on standby across Victoria as a severe fire danger rating comes into effect in the north-west of the state. The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) have warned that high and very high fire danger ratings will be in place in […]
By JOHN ELDERNovember 15, 2009 THOUSANDS of muttonbirds – upon arriving in Australia to breed – have been found dead along the Victorian and NSW coasts in the past two weeks. The birds, properly known as short-tailed shearwaters, probably died from exhaustion and malnutrition following their migratory flight to Australia from the Arctic Pacific. The […]
