Unusual tremors felt in Texas experts puzzled

December 6, 2012 – CORSICANA, TEXAS  — Reports of earthquake-like tremors starting Tuesday afternoon and continuing until early Wednesday can’t be confirmed as true earthquakes, but experts can’t say what it is, either. “We started getting calls at 3:09 p.m. (Tuesday),” said Eric Meyers, Navarro County Emergency Coordinator. “The first calls were north of Corsicana in the Hickory Hollow area with two separate residents out there reporting unusual tremors being felt along with a rumbling type of noise.” After checking with the U.S. Geological Survey website, Meyers also checked with the National Weather Service and state emergency management offices. “About two hours later, approximately five o’clock, there were additional reports in the same area of heavier tremors, the same vicinity, the same residents,” Meyers said. Another report came from the western part of the county, near Navarro Mills. After the second round of reports, Meyers posted it on Facebook and suddenly there were more reports, but coming from all over, including Streetman, Purdon, Pursley and Dawson. Some of the reports came from as far away as Freestone and Limestone counties. The line runs about 50 to 60 miles long, and the tremors didn’t act like any other thing except perhaps earthquake booms, which are shallow sometimes undetectable tremors similar to what’s been happening locally. The range and the description of houses “popping” and shaking didn’t seem to fit anything, including the disturbances reported around fracking drill-sites. “This is an unexplained event likely of a natural origin,” Meyers said. “We can’t come up with a point of origin or a cause or explanation of why this is happening.” Still, the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey, located in Golden, Colo., didn’t see anything on its monitors, according to Don Blakeman, an earthquake analyst at the center. “We had a call earlier, apparently folks have been feeling something out there for about a day, but we couldn’t find anything, we didn’t see anything on our records,” Blakeman said. “That doesn’t mean something hasn’t happened, but we don’t know what it is.” If the tremors had been as large as the small quakes that took place around Dallas they would have been detected on their equipment, Blakeman said. “Little earthquakes don’t automatically trigger the computer’s earthquake location,” he said. “If we have an exact time, though, we can scan the records for it.” Many tremors aren’t necessarily earthquakes but can have man-made causes, both men said. “We were trying to determine what was going on, any type of military exercises at a higher level than locally, we worked on this throughout the night and we eliminated everything we could think of and continued to do some through today,” Meyers said. “We went through the process of elimination on what it could be and ruled out all these different things,” he said. “Whatever it was hasn’t occurred since 4 a.m. Wednesday. It’s unusual, to say the least.” –Corsicana Daily Sun

Attack on Syria: 8000 U.S. troops near Syrian shores of aircraft carrier Eisenhower

DAMASCUS - Thursday, the American aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, carrying 8,000 soldiers and eight squadrons of bombers arrived off the coast of Syria in the middle of a storm. According to the website of RT reports this morning that the news is likely to be a prelude to military action against the Syrian government. According to the Times, the Obama administration is preparing to launch the attack against the Damascus government even if the Whitehouse has not said anything about it. According to the explanations of the Times the U.S. government would come into action if Assad was using the chemical weapons. But the question is how did you send forces into Syria and is prepared to intervene to take a chance, it is as if you already knew, then, that Assad will use them. In fact everything is a farce and probably someone will use chemical weapons blaming Assad, should this be the casus belli wanted by the U.S.. According to the Israeli website DEBKAfile has reached the aircraft carrier the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which includes marine 2500. "We have special forces for operations in the right place and we should not send other", said an anonymous U.S. official who said that U.S. forces are ready in and which are already close to Syria. According to DEBKAfile, if the U.S. decides to attack Syria would at this very moment at least 10,000 men available, 17 warships, 70 fighter-bombers, 10 cruisers equipped with cruise missiles. Some of these ships are also equipped with the AEGIS system, able to break down the missiles with which Syria would respond. "The muscles are already there ready for the fall," said a U.S. official at the London Times By the way the American military presence in the vicinity of Syria. "It's premature to say what can happen and if a decision was made ​​to intervene. Has not been done, we have not reached that decision. There are so many options but military action can be launched quickly, in a matter of days."

Readers report unusual object in the sky over Malta

Several readers contacted our website this evening to report an unusual object, possibly a comet, crossing low in the night sky. 

Edward Zammit, who lives in Mellieha, said that at about 8.45 he saw a comet in the sky crossing from north to the west of Malta. "It wasn't a shooting star, I saw it passing for about 15 seconds until is was hidden by nearby building," he said. 

Markatia Bugeja reported that she had just seen 'the most wonderful asteroid passing over Malta at enormous speed.' 

"I think it fell into the sea. It was a huge ball of fire with a long tail, it was amazing," she said, hoping that somebody had grabbed a picture. 

Robert Bonello, said he had seen what appeared to be a 'mega shooting star or meteorite with a yellow tail behind it...extremely fast, beautiful but scary. 

He asked if anyone could give an explanation. 

Christopher Azzopardi said he had seen a ball of fire flying overhead. He said he was not sure whether it was a meteor but it was big and fast. 

Marianna Petropoljac said she was in Sliema when she saw an object at about 9.05. "It appeared from the side of the tower and headed towards Valletta. We live on the 6 th floor and it looked quite large, like a bright reddish ball with a very short and thin tail. After about 15-20 sec it disappeared into the sky." 

A reader also reported sighting the unusual object from Pembroke. 

The police confirmed that they had received similar reports but had no further information. 

No unusual aircraft movements were reported.

http://www.sott.net/article/254368-Readers-report-unusual-object-in-the-sky-over-Malta

Two enormous sinkholes swallow roads in Bay Area, California

Two giant sinkholes formed in separate Bay Area communities during the heavy rain from a powerful storm that passed through the Bay Area over the weekend. 

In one instance, a giant sinkhole swallowed two lanes of a street in a residential neighborhood in Lafayette Sunday. 

High water levels and a clogged storm drain in Lafayette Creek destroyed a portion of Mountain View Drive Sunday, creating a sinkhole where the road once was, Lafayette City Manager Steven Falk said. 

Erosion of the road accelerated when the heavy current of the creek clogged the storm drain with large debris, including branches and a bureau, some time between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., Falk said. 

Water began to run over the top of the road, forcing its closure soon after. Around 3 p.m. Sunday, the road collapsed onto the storm drain and left a hole 80 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 15 feet deep, Falk said. 

GIant sinkholes: Signs of Geological changes along the New Madrid Fault?

December 04, 2012 - UNITED STATES - The most powerful earthquakes in the history of the United States happened along the New Madrid Fault in 1811 and 1812.  Those earthquakes were reportedly felt more than 1,000 miles away.  Scientists assure us that one day we will once again see very powerful earthquakes along the New Madrid fault.  It is only a question of when it will happen. Today, the New Madrid fault zone covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.  However, a major earthquake of magnitude-8.0 or greater would likely have a dramatic effect all the way from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.  When most Americans speak of the “big one”, they think of what may happen along the coast of California someday, but the truth is that a New Madrid earthquake could potentially do far more damage.  So is there evidence that the New Madrid fault zone is waking up?  Yes, there is.  According to Bloomberg, there has been “a sixfold increase in the number of earthquakes that have shaken the central part of the U.S. from 2000 to 2011″.  

Ohio Sinkhole Devours Four Football Fields Of Land, Stretch Of State Highway 516 Near Dover.

That is why so many people are so concerned about the monster sinkholes that have appeared in the region in recent months.  For example, a massive sinkhole down in Louisiana is now over 8 acres in size and it has forced hundreds of people to flee from their homes.  You can see video of the Louisiana sinkhole right here.  Over in Ohio, a giant sinkhole has suddenly formed that is more than 30 feet deep and that is the size of four football fields.  That sinkhole caused part of State Route 516 to collapse and authorities say that it will likely be closed for many months.  You can see video of the gigantic sinkhole in Ohio right here.  Are these monster sinkholes an indication that major earth changes are coming along the New Madrid fault?  

The sinkhole down in Louisiana is of particular concern because it has been venting natural gas.  A few days ago it reportedly “burped” which sounds kind of ominous.  Could we see some kind of an “explosion” at some point? Many of those living in the area may not be able to return to their homes for quite a long time.  The following is from a recent Huffington Post article…

At the eight-acre, Bayou Corne sinkhole in Assumption Parish, owners of slab houses are waiting for methane-gas monitors to be installed in December. The sinkhole deepened in November and coughed up debris and hydrcarbons late in the month. Cypress trees fell into the gap. Residents are watching natural gas being flared from the site and are ventilating homes while bayous around them bubble.

Sadly, even most Americans that are living in that part of the country don’t really understand how incredibly massive and how potentially destructive this fault zone actually is.  The following is from a recent report from WREG in Memphis, Tennessee…

Many people don’t realize that north Alabama lies in the impact zone of the New Madrid fault line, a sleeping giant that is approximately twenty times larger than California’s famed San Andreas fault.  The biggest earthquake in U.S. history happened in the New Madrid seismic zone in 1812, and in just the last few weeks, activity along the fault line is starting to heat up. 

If the earthquakes that happened along the New Madrid fault zone in 1811 and 1812 happened today, the devastation would be unimaginable.  Back then, there were not that many people living in the area.  But even so, the destruction was incredible…

Accounts of the 1812 quake vary since there were no measuring instruments at the time, but most geologists say evidence shows it was at least a magnitude 8 earthquake, and possibly a 9 or higher.  The shaking was so intense that church bells started ringing as far away as Boston and New York. Chimneys toppled from the Deep South to Canada, and President James Madison was awoken by the violent shaking as he slept in the White House. Eyewitnesses said it even caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for a time.

Unfortunately, there are now indications that the fault zone is becoming more active as a recent Examiner article explained…

Tuesday evening, two shallow earthquakes, although small, were felt in Mt. Carmel, Ill. as well as five miles outside Edmond, Okla. Illinois had the largest at 3.6 magnitude, leaving Oklahoma with a smaller 2.9 magnitude quake as reported by the USGS.

The fact that both of these quakes were shallow and follow on the heels of Kentucky’s 4.3 just 10 days ago makes the questions begin to fly. Is the New Madrid waking up? Is it gearing up for ‘the big one’? When Ky. Experienced a 4.3 two weeks ago, it was felt across 10-12 states. Although it didn’t knock runners off their feet, it did alarm many. Knoxville was among the cities that felt the quake. The shaking was not minor in many areas, and it scared people as walls shook and many began to pray.

This is something that I have written about previously, and we all need to keep our eyes open for more reports about earthquakes in the middle part of the country.  When the “big one” does finally hit the New Madrid fault zone, it will be one of the biggest news stories ever. We are talking about a catastrophe that would be so immense that it would be hard to imagine.  According to ABC News, a study by the Mid-America Earthquake Center found that in the event of a major earthquake along the New Madrid fault, “nearly 750,000 buildings would be damaged, 3,000 bridges would potentially collapse, 400,000 breaks and leaks to local pipelines and $300 billion in direct damage and $600 billion in indirect losses would occur.” You can ready much more about the New Madrid fault right here.

All of this is even more frightening when you consider that there are 15 nuclear reactors along the New Madrid fault zone. In the event that the “big one” strikes, we could be looking at Fukushima times 15.

We have been blessed to have avoided a major earthquake like that for so long in the middle part of the country, but there is no guarantee that the New Madrid fault zone will always be stable. There are even some that believe that eventually we will see an earthquake of magnitude-9.0 or higher along the New Madrid fault.  Such an earthquake could literally change the face of the entire continent.  We are talking about an event that could potentially change the course of the Mississippi River and create bodies of water where none existed previously. We seem to be moving into a time of increased seismic activity on the earth, and many scientists are convinced that the New Madrid Fault zone is definitely overdue for a major earthquake.

So will we see one in the coming years? - Market Daily News.

Widespread reports of spectacular multi-colored fireballs in the skies over the earth

December 03, 2012 - SKY - Here are several initial eye-witness reports of spectacular multi-colored fireballs from across the globe courtesy of the Lunar Meteor Hunters.

"MULTI-COLORED" "FULL MOON-SIZED" FIREBALL OVER NE UNITED STATES - 28th of November, 2012.

28 November 2012 - Benjamin Lipiecki, Brighton, Massachusetts, USA 2340.

Half a second duration, maybe a whole second. Saw it when looking Northeast as it traveled right to left at a very steep angel. The fireball started blue, then increased in size and changed to red. I was outside for several more minutes and did not hear any sound. Bright enough to see VERY clearly in a major urban area. The fireball at least appeared larger than the moon. Did not see any fragmentation, but the fireball did get very large and looked like it exploded or burnt out. Was unlike anything I've ever seen or expected to see in the night sky. At first I thought I must have been seeing things, but a friend of mine across town saw it too, and three or four people on twitter seem to also have seen it.

28 November 2012 - Rick Shaffer, Reading, MA, USA 23:40:00.

1-2 seconds duration - East-Northeast. Light green color, no sound. Bright as the moon, moving in opposite direction I was travelling in. It appeared very large and close.

28 November 2012 - Christopher Gillis, WOBURN, MA 2340 hrs.

2-3 seconds duration. I saw it in the Northeast sky. I was facing East in my backyard with no lights around, looking slightly downward, and this ENORMOUS blue/white streak fell earthward in a distinct arc while trailing white evanescent particles. Easily as bright as the full moon. There was fragmentation and the streak took up a third of the sky lengthwise. The ball of this object was the same size as the full moon, and at least as bright. I have seen dozens of meteorites in my life, and this was by far the biggest. Please contact me by email or phone, because this should be a major event. Hundreds of people in New England must have seen it.

"RED FIRE" FIREBALL OVER GEORGIA, UNITED STATES - 29th of November, 2012.

29 November 2012 - Brendan, Snellville, GA 22:48 EST.

4 seconds duration - Observed falling almost straight down in the western sky. White colour. 10x brighter than Venus. It appeared to be like a bright oval, wobbling as it fell.

29 November 2012 - Teresa Cronon, Calhoun, GA 22:45 EST.

4 seconds duration - Facing South. It was traveling SE. Bright white w/ red fire following. Bright as the moon. It was the largest and closest meteor or fire ball that I have ever seen.

Bill Cooke of NASA confirms:

"Confirm bright event on November 30 at 03:35:50 UTC (November 29, 22:35:50 EST).Confirm slow and low event, seen in 4 cameras. Trajectory solution is as follows:

Start location: 86.267 W, 33.959 N at an altitude of 75.0 km

End location: 86.178 W, 33.757 N at an altitude of 37.5 km

Initial speed of 16.0 +/- 0.7 km/s

Decelerated to 9.2 km/s

"BLUE-GREEN" FIREBALL OVER HUNGARY AND POLAND - 29th of November, 2012.

29 November 2012 - Lukasz, RACIBORZ, POLAND 17:50:00.

6 seconds duration. I was facing SSE, it went from left to right (the meteor bearing was SW). There was no sound, it was bright white, with some green and a little blue. It looked like car headlights from about 200m away. 3-4 fragments fell off during its flight. It looked like it was going pretty slow (though I've never seen a meteor before). Its flight path was very flat, almost horizontal. It flew for 6 seconds and then suddenly disappeared (maybe hidden behind clouds).

The meteor over Hungary on 29 November 2012 has been categorized as a bolide by several local websites, with around 15 people reporting it HERE. 

The bolide was seen in a central part of Hungary, over an area marked by Ocsa, Tokol, Oroshaza, Nyiregyhaza, Budapest, Jaszapati, Jaszbereny. All witnesses describe fragmentation into 3-4 parts. The color was reported as bright white (xenon), with some green and blue. A report says its size was equivalent to the moon. Weather conditions at this time included a full moon and clear sky in the region. The most popular Hungarian news site also reported the event HERE. 

WATCH: Fireball over Hungary.

"BRIGHT GREEN" FIREBALL OVER SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA - 30th of November, 2012.

30 November 2012 - Joanne Nabiac, NSW, Australia 10.46pm.

4 seconds duration - Southwest direction. Bright green and small explosion noise. Same brightness as the moon. Super fast, looked like it had a tail but it was the glow behind it. I have never seen anything like this. The "poof" noise sounded far, far away.

30 November 2012 - Jacquelyn Linnett, SURFERS PARADISE, GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. approx. 22.20AEST.

Approx.1 second duration - I was looking from the coastline, facing West. Seen from overhead high in sky, approx 45 degree azimuth, trajectory N to low SSW, 10 degree azimuth. Lime green [glow stick green colour], very bright [firework bright, but definitely not a firework, trajectory like a meteor]. No fragments seen. Round shape, no tail noticed, fast moving.

"LOUD HUM," AND "LIGHTS" OVER NARRAGANSETT BAY - 04th of December, 2012.

Rhode Island and Coast Guard officials say they haven't found anything after receiving reports about an explosion in Narragansett Bay. People on both sides of the bay in Barrington and Warwick and as far away as Somerset, Mass., reported hearing what sounded like an explosion at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. Some also reported seeing a light. Area police and firefighters tried to find the source of the noise and light during land and water searches, but officials say nothing was found. Coast Guard crews and local officials also searched Monday night for a boat reported to be in distress, but didn't find anything. TV stations reported receiving reports of an explosion followed by a loud hum. A Coast Guard spokesman says the Conimicut lighthouse near Warwick emits a hum pattern. - South Coast Today.

UNUSUAL OBJECT IN THE SKY OVER MALTA - 04th of December, 2012.

Several readers contacted our website this evening to report an unusual object, possibly a comet, crossing low in the night sky. Edward Zammit, who lives in Mellieha, said that at about 8.45 he saw a comet in the sky crossing from north to the west of Malta. "It wasn't a shooting star, I saw it passing for about 15 seconds until is was hidden by nearby building," he said. Markatia Bugeja reported that she had just seen 'the most wonderful asteroid passing over Malta at enormous speed.' "I think it fell into the sea. It was a huge ball of fire with a long tail, it was amazing," she said, hoping that somebody had grabbed a picture. Robert Bonello, said he had seen what appeared to be a 'mega shooting star or meteorite with a yellow tail behind it...extremely fast, beautiful but scary. He asked if anyone could give an explanation. Christopher Azzopardi said he had seen a ball of fire flying overhead. He said he was not sure whether it was a meteor but it was big and fast. Marianna Petropoljac said she was in Sliema when she saw an object at about 9.05. "It appeared from the side of the tower and headed towards Valletta. We live on the 6 th floor and it looked quite large, like a bright reddish ball with a very short and thin tail. After about 15-20 sec it disappeared into the sky." A reader also reported sighting the unusual object from Pembroke. The police confirmed that they had received similar reports but had no further information. No unusual aircraft movements were reported. - Times of Malta.

NASA: Strange Object Debris Coming, Will Hit Earth December 13th and 14th

The Geminid meteor shower peaks on Dec. 13th and 14th when Earth runs through a stream of debris from a strange object that some astronomers are calling a “rock comet.”

The 2012 Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of Dec. 13-14, The Geminids are a unique meteor shower in that their identified parent body is not a comet, but what seems to be an asteroid! Of the meteor showers with known parent bodies studied by meteor scientists, the Geminids are the only shower to have an asteroidal parent body; all others have a cometary origin. 3200 Phaethon measures 5.10 km in diameter which increases the ‘unique’ factor; considering the amount of debris we see, we would expect Phaethon to be a much larger body! 

Artist’s Concept of a Rock comet

Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983 using the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, and named after the Greek myth of Phaethon, son of the sun god Helios, due to its close approach to our Sun. 

Phaethon is technically classified as an asteroid — the first to be discovered via satellite. But how could an asteroid produce meteoroids that cause the Geminids? One theory is that Phaethon broke apart from another object, ejecting meteoroids as a part of the breakup. This doesn’t agree with other things we know, however. Another theory is that a collision with another object thousands of years ago could have produced debris that Earth now travels through. This theory appears to be unlikely as well, based on other evidence. Another theory assumes Phaethon to be a dead comet (the spent nucleus of a comet whose ices had been sublimated away) that produced debris in the past that now intersects Earth’s orbit. But no evidence for mass loss from the object has ever been reported…. until recently.

In 2009 the NASA spacecraft STEREO-A observed 3200 Phaethon to brighten by a factor of two, quite unexpectedly. This brightening at perihelion was likely due to a release of dust from the object, possibly due to heating and cracking of the surface rocks as Phaethon came close to the Sun. That brings us to the fourth theory, that Phaethon is a rock comet. The problem with this theory is that it doesn’t account for the amount of dust in the Geminid stream.

So what it comes down to is that the Geminid parent object is a mystery.

http://beforeitsnews.com/space/2012/12/nasa-strange-object-debris-coming-will-hit-earth-december-13th-and-14th-2450296.html

Strange “Vibrations” Detected Throughout The United States

Seen on multiple nodes managed by different institutions, feeding back to the CERI / Midwest USGS official charts across the region… what can only be described as low end vibrations, over a VERY large area.

NOT to be confused with earthquakes elsewhere around the planet, this is something I have not seen before over such a wide area.

Did the sensor network undergo some kind of damage?  Is there some kind of interference happening?  Is this a REAL detection of low frequency vibrations occurring?

Time will tell on this…

———–

Here is the main link .. .click on CERI, SLU, or any of the other ‘nodes’.. then select 11/30/2012 (most current charts).. and then compare to a few days or weeks, or months ago by clicking back through the charts (listed by date):

http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/seismic/heli/index.html

———–

use these links here to monitor earthquake activity nationally, and internationally:

http://sincedutch.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/11302011-list-of-earthquake-links-for-global-monitoring/

———–

The Live Internet Seismic Server also shows this activity.http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_anss.php

Read More Here

http://beforeitsnews.com

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'Polar Wander:' Earth's Outer Layers May Be Drifting Over Molten Core

The entire outermost part of Earth may be wandering over the planet's whirling molten core, new research suggests.

Knowing whether the Earth's outer layers are roaming in this manner is key to understanding the big picture of how the planet's surface is evolving overall, scientists added.

At various times in Earth's history, the planet's solid exterior — its crust and mantle layers — has apparently drifted over the planet's spinning core. To picture this, imagine that a peach's flesh somehow became detached from a peach's pit and was free to move about over it.

This movement of the Earth's outer layers is known as "true polar wander." It differs from the motion of the individual tectonic plates making up Earth's crust, known as tectonic drift, or the motions of Earth's magnetic pole, called apparent polar wander.

'Hot spot' landmarks

Past research suggested the Earth experienced true polar wander during the early Cretaceous period that lasted from 100 million to 120 million years ago. Determining when, in which direction and at what rate true polar wander is taking place depends on having stable landmarks against which one can observe the motion of Earth's outer shell, much like one can tell a cloud is moving by seeing if its position has changed relative to its surroundings.

Volcanic "hot spots," or areas of recurrent volcanism, are one potential landmark. Geologists have suggested these are created by mantle plumes, giant jets of hot rock buoying straight upward from near the Earth's core. Mantle plumes are thought to create long island chains such as the Hawaiian Islands as they sear tectonic plates drifting overhead.

Scientists have treated hot spots as stationary features for decades. The idea was that material surrounding the mantle plumes roil about to form structures known as convection cells that kept the plumes straight and fixed in place. [50 Amazing Volcano Facts]

Later on, however, researchers began suggesting that mantle plumes could move about slightly, caught as they are in the flowing mantle layer under the crust. "From this point of view, the plumes are expected to move, bend and get distorted by the 'mantle wind,' resulting in hot spot drift over geologic time," said researcher Pavel Doubrovine, a geophysicist at the University of Oslo in Norway.

By allowing hot spot positions to meander slowly, Doubrovine and his colleagues have devised computer simulations that better match observations of the chains of islands created by each hot spot.

"Estimating hot spot drift in the geological past is not a trivial task," Doubrovine told OurAmazingPlanet. "It requires substantial modeling efforts."

The scientists then compared the way the Earth's outermost layers drifted in relation to the planet's axis of spin. The Earth's magnetic field is aligned with the core's axis of rotation, and researchers can tell how Earth's magnetic field was oriented in the past by analyzing ancient rock. Magnetic minerals in molten rock can behave like compasses, aligning with Earth's magnetic field lines, an orientation that gets frozen in place once the rock solidifies.

Current wandering

Using their simulations and the magnetic field rock record, the scientists identified three new potential instances of true polar wander over the past 90 million years. These include two cases in which the Earth's solid outermost layers traveled back and forth by nearly 9 degrees off Earth's axis of spin from 40 million to 90 million years ago. Moreover, the researchers suggest that Earth's outer shell has been undergoing true polar wander for the past 40 million years, slowly rotating at a rate of 0.2 degrees every million years.

Researchers suspect true polar wander is caused by shifting of matter within the mantle, due, for instance, to variations in temperature and composition. However, "we don't know yet what specific tectonic events may have triggered the specific episodes of true polar wander that we identified," Doubrovine said.

These new details regarding true polar wander could help shed light on what triggers it. In the future, the researchers plan to look even further in the past at how the planet's outermost layers have changed. Doubrovine and his colleagues Bernhard Steinberger and Trond Torsvik detailed their findings online Sept. 11 in the Journal of Geophysical Research — Solid Earth.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/polar-wander-earths-outer-layers-drifting-molten-core_n_1948876.html

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Collapses tunnel in Japan near to Mt. Fuji, 7 missing

December 2, 2012 – JAPAN - Japanese highway police found “several” burned bodies inside a vehicle after a tunnel collapsed about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tokyo. At least two cars remained trapped Sunday after the tunnel collapse, according to the East Yamanashi Fire Department. Fire officials said the section of concrete that fell was about 50 to 60 meters long and about 20 centimeters (8 inches) thick.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear, nor was the total number of people affected. The Sasago tunnel is on the Chuo Expressway. The cave-in occurred on the Tokyo-bound lanes, Otsuki police said. The road was temporarily closed, and authorities were working to rescue victims, police said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK aired images from the tunnel, showing smoke rising and a blue car with its side smashed in. Emergency vehicles were on scene. A journalist from NHK was driving through the tunnel at the time of the collapse. He told the broadcaster his car was damaged, but he was able to make it out unhurt. – CNN

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Something strange is happening at Yellowstone!

Strange signals from the Yellowstone caldera. The ancient volcano wants to get back alive? 

Something strange is happening at Yellowstone! Or, something strange is happening to the tools that monitor the seismic activity of the volcano more dangerous than the entire planet. Looking at the data of the ' observatory Norris Junction shows something very strange. Starting at 18:00 on 28 November 2012, the seismic recordings seem like crazy and completely out of scale (see below). Currently (December 2, 2012), the readings are not yet back to normal, but they mark particularly intense seismic activity.

What is happening to the Yellowstone Caldera ? The volcano wants to return to wake up? Or it is a simple malfunction of the instruments? Below, you can see the image of the seismic activity of the November 28, 2012, until 18:00 that seemed normal, until I started reading these "crazy". [ See original data ].

At the time of writing this post, the situation does not seem to change. In the following days, November 29 , November 30 and December 1 

the data is still out of range. Following the reading of 1 December. What is happening in Yellowstone? Looking in the network, there appears to be still no official explanation of the anomalies recorded in the seismic data of the caldera. The first hypothesis we could calm our hearts is that it is a malfunction of seismographs. The second hypothesis, much more disturbing, is that the volcano, after a long period of 74,000 years, has decided to resume its activities. 

The volcano is located under the Yellowstone National Park is about 70 km long, 30 km wide and is located 8 km deep beneath the earth's crust, potentially one of the largest volcanoes in the world. Since 2004 the level of the magma rose to a record pace of six centimeters per year and experts fear the possibility of an eruption, the third in the last 2.1 million years. Between 2007 and 2010, the volcano seems to have remained stalled, but overall the ground around the volcano has risen by about 25 cm. "This is a remarkable observation, especially in such a vast area," said Bob Smith , a professor of geology at the ' University of Utah . The lack of reliable data prevents to determine whether and what a certain period of risk: the fact is that in the case of an explosive eruption that would be a thousand times more powerful than the Mount St Helens and the potential to make uninhabitable two thirds the United States. Millions of people remain homeless, toxic fumes contaminate crops and water sources. 

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Vanuatu: the earth trembles, strong earthquake of M 6.4

December 2, 2012 Vanuatu , the archipelago, which has a volcanic origin located about 1750 km east of Australia , and 'was hit by astrong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 in the Richter scale tonight at 0:54 UTC.L 'seismic event and' took place at a depth 'of 29 km located at 111 km NW Vila.Per time are not given reports
of damage or injury. The last major earthquake in the region Vanuatu On 25 December 2010, a strong earthquake measuring
7.6 hit the island causing a tsunami. On 29 December 2010 a new earthquake of magnitude 6.8 hit the island. On 21 August 2011 another earthquake of magnitude 7.5 hit the island with dangerous tsunami. March 9, 2012 another earthquake of magnitude 7.1 hit the island. On 21 October 2012, a further 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck the island.

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Powerful 5.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska

USGS map.

December 01, 2012 - ALASKA - Residents on Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula in the state of Alaska were shaken awake at 11:00pm on Friday night as a 5.9 magnitude earthquake shook the region, but there are no immediate reports of any damages. The strong quake struck the Alaska Peninsula/ South Central region with a great deal of strength. It wasn’t like the mild succession of quakes that occurred Thursday.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says the quake was widely felt.


Jeff Antill wrote to us saying, “I felt and heard the 5.8 quake here in Anchorage. Our roof is heavy timbers and it makes alot of noise in even the smallest quakes. This one shook everything quite well.”

On the other hand, Chris Bryant says, “It wasn’t too bad. It felt like somebody was running on the deck outside. I only knew it was a quake because of the vibrations left over after the initial jolt.”

The Kodiak Police Department says there were no reports of damage or other problems early Saturday.
A quake of this size has the capacity to cause considerable damage under some circumstances.

The quick jolt occurred 69 miles north of Larsen Bay and 238 miles southwest of Anchorage. It was generated at a depth of 52.1 miles beneath the surface on the mainland across from Kodiak Island. The location of this earthquake was equidistant between the long quiet region of Devil’s Desk and Kaguyak Volcano. Devil’s Desk is a volcanic neck of a former stratovolcano now completely surrounded by Hook Glacier. Erosion has removed most of the stratovolcano. Wes Hildreth of USGS as well as others state that Devil’s Desk was active 292,000 years ago to the Holocene.

Kaguyak Volcano is another stratovolcano that had its last major eruption about 5,800 years before present, and has been largely quiet since that time with no recent eruptions or activity for at least the last 1,200 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement advising that there was no tsunami danger from this quake.

The U.S. Geological survey has detected 20 earthquakes today, 214 earthquakes in the past 7 days, 830 earthquakes in the past month, and 17,479 earthquakes in the past year.

The Alaska quake was first reported as having a 5.6 magnitude energy level, however, seismologist changed it to a 5.9 in the last hour. - Guardian Express.