The Mercury
By: Steve Newman
Climate Change Trigger
The Earth may be on the verge of a massive, cascading release of methane similar to one that caused a global warming that ended the last "snowball" ice age, according to a team of California scientists. Writing in the journal Nature, lead researcher Martin Kennedy of University of California, Riverside suggests the same kind of warming could be about to occur, not over thousands of years, but within a human lifetime. Methane is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide (CO2), and 10,000 gigatons of frozen methane are stored in the world's oceans and permafrost. The current trend of accelerated permafrost melting as the Arctic warms rapidly could release vast amounts of methane into the atmosphere, triggering a sudden climate change. Kennedy worries that rising CO2 levels could drive enough warming to destabilise the Earth's stored methane reserves. "Unzippering the methane reservoir could potentially warm the Earth tens of degrees," Kennedy wrote.
Earthquakes
A powerful aftershock of the May 12 Sichuan, China, temblor killed an additional eight people and injured 917 others across Sichuan and the neighboring provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi. The 6.4 magnitude jolt was the strongest aftershock to rock the region since the initial quake left more than 88,000 people dead or missing.
- A 5.5 magnitude quake killed at least 14 people and injured 65 others in central Colombia, where the shaking triggered landslides that buried some of the victims in cars.
- Earth movements were also felt in Panama, Guatemala, northern Iran and Guam.
Toxic Sun Block
Sunscreen lotions used by swimmers around the world are contributing to a phenomenon known as coral bleaching, threatening the coral and the myriad of marine life that depend upon it.
A new study sponsored by the European Commission found that even tiny amounts of cream-based UV filters used to protect the skin from the sun's rays caused bleaching of coral reefs.
The chemical compounds join climate change, industrial pollution and high UV radiation due to the "ozone hole" as a leading threat to coral reefs.
An estimated 4000 to 6000 tonnes of sunscreen are released annually in waters around coral reefs, with 25 per cent of its ingredients on skin released into water over the course of a 20- minute swim, the report said.
Overfishing Crisis
A leading ocean conservation group says more than 80 per cent of the world's fisheries are now at risk from overfishing.
A report by Oceana points to studies by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation that found only 17 per cent of the world's known fish stocks are underexploited or moderately exploited. Fish in parts of the Atlantic, western Indian Ocean and the northwest Pacific are the most overfished, according to Oceana.
The group says the World Trade Organisation must act quickly to scrap unsustainable subsidies that encourage exploiting Earth's oceans.
Volcanoes
Explosions from within Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano sent ash soaring high above the Andes, but the activity was not considered a threat to those living in the area. Vulcanologists warned people living along nearby riverbanks to be alert for lava flows should the mountain erupt. Clouds of searing heat cascaded down the slopes of Indonesia's Mount Semeru, on the island of Java, prompting officials to warn nearby residents to stay clear of the volcano.
Scot Beavers Return
Beavers will soon be living in the lakes and streams of Scotland for the first time since before Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed in 1587.
The beaver was hunted to extinction across Scotland in the 16th century, and the government says it plans to capture about four beaver families in Norway then release them in the lochs of Argyll's Knapdale Wildlife Reserve.
When the animals are released next spring, it will mark the first time that native mammals have been reintroduced into the wild anywhere in Britain. Scottish Natural Heritage says it will closely monitor the beavers over the following five years to determine their impact on the local environment and economy before any decision is made on a wider reintroduction. "By bringing these useful creatures back to their native environment, we will have the chance to restore a missing part of our wetland ecosystems and re-establish much-needed natural processes," said Allan Bantick, chairman of the Scottish Beaver Trial Steering Group.
Pacific Typhoon
An area of disturbed weather between Guam and the northern Philippines gradually strengthened into Typhoon Nakri over the open waters of the western Pacific.
Distributed by: Universal Press Syndicate www.earthweek.com © MMVIII Earth Environment Service