2012 Global Disaster Already Begun Do You Have Survival Plan

Is Earth facing some kind of global catastrophe?

Some believe that it's so close to the End of Days that they are investing in an underground bunker community. Can your family afford to make yourselves a future survival plan? If not, you might just "miss the bus" to the next Age, because Vivos™ (The Underground Shelter Network for Long-Term Survival of Future Catastrophes) won't be mailing anyone a Golden Ticket without a hefty price tag to escape the proposed coming danger.

Have you been paying attention to the news lately?

How big will the hurricane, earthquake, comet or tsunami need to be for you to pack some Trojans up too?

Tell me, where in Nature are there traces of immortality? Rather, we tend to find recurring patterns or cycles. Every day, more evidence surfaces, supporting the human race nearing the end of a cycle, as well.

Just as water becomes vapor, we too will have a new beginning.

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Tectonic Earthquake Basics and How Tsunamis Form

The term tsunami has been adopted by the scientific community in recent years to define the powerful and destructive waves that are caused by earthquakes, landslides, and other similar events that have the ability to suddenly displace large amounts of water. The term tidal wave was used to mean the same thing prior to the introduction of tsunami, but fell out of favor due to tides being - by definition - caused by a gravitational effect.

Having said that, tsunami isn't exactly a spot-on term for what needs to be described either. Tsunami is a Japanese term literally meaning harbor wave - but it's not like harbors are the only places on the coast that have need for worry when a large submarine earthquake hits in close proximity. In any case, these are the generally accepted definitions and I'm not one to question or dispute its place.

In order to understand how tsunami are formed, you have to first understand how earthquakes are triggered - as earthquakes are responsible for most devastating tsunami. An earthquake is the result of the sudden release of large to enormous amounts of built-up energy in the Earth's surface due to plate tectonic friction. Tectonic plates are fragments or sections of the Earth's lithosphere, and can be thought of to float on the bed of magma comprising the lower asthenosphere.

Tectonic Plate Boundaries

These tectonic plates are about 50 miles thick and are continually moving, exhibiting a combination of three movement-relationships with their neighboring plates. The locations at which these movements occur are known as tectonic plate boundaries:

Convergent plate boundary. This is where tectonic plates will collide with each other, resulting in either a subduction zone or a continental collision. A subduction zone is where one plate will move beneath the other, and a continental collision is when two plates collide, resulting in a formation of a mountain range.

Transform plate boundary. This is where tectonic plates will slide past each other, at times resulting in the build-up of potentially earthquake-triggering friction due to "getting caught" on irregular geometry.

Divergent plate boundary. This is where tectonic plates will move in opposite directions creating a gap where magma rises, gets cooled by the seawater, and solidifies into rock, replacing the lithosphere that is lost in convergent plate movement.

All three forms of plate boundaries have the ability to trigger earthquakes, although divergent plate boundaries move apart on one end, transform and convergent plate boundaries must also occur simultaneously on the remaining ends. This built-up energy caused by friction at the tectonic plate boundaries is what triggers an earthquake when the stress is suddenly released.

And when the released stress is in a convergent plate boundary, where one tectonic plate is violently and suddenly pushed upward, it can displace a monumental volume of water. Where one tectonic plate is pushed upwards, it is called a reverse or thrust fault, and when it's pushed downwards, it's called a normal fault. Although thrust faults are one of the chief causes of tsunami, normal faults can't usually generate enough energy.

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Will Bangkok Floods Continue Until 2012 ...?

Bangkok - Floods continue to hit parts of Bangkok, Thailand. In fact, according to Prime Minister (PM) Yingluck Shinawatra of Thailand, Bangkok could be partially flooded by the year 2012.

Thailand's worst flooding in half a century has killed at least 562 people. In some areas of Bangkok, the flood began to shrink. But according to Yingluck, it took several weeks before the whole of Bangkok are free from flooding.

"I personally want to see people happy in the new year, but I'm not sure about the western regions, where it is difficult to drain the water," said Yingluck told reporters in Bangkok when asked whether flooding will continue through 2012.

It is said Yingluck, Bangkok's eastern regions will likely be free from flooding before next year.

"The general situation is stable because of flood waters flowing into the sea, but how quickly the flood dries up depends on the contour of each region," said the younger sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is as reported by AFP on Tuesday (15/11/2011).

Currently almost all regions except Bangkok flooded the heart of Bangkok is the center of business and government. On November 14, yesterday, some residents had protested by blocking the main road. Residents angry that Bangkok's suburbs continue to flood while downtown Bangkok is free from flooding.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-Moon and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United States (U.S.) Hillary Clinton, will visit Bangkok, to see the flooding that occurred in Thailand.

The visit was planned to take place next week. Both figures were intended to examine what is required by Thailand in order to overcome the crisis they are experiencing floods. So reported the AFP on Sunday (11/13/2011).

Prime Minister (PM) Yingluck Shinawatra said Thailand, they will visit Thailand on 16 to 17 November. They will discuss the crisis and rehabilitation plans of the Government of Thailand after the flood.

Previously, due to this flood, AM Yingluck forced to cancel its presence in Asia Pacific Economy Cooperation Forum (APEC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Yingluck prefer to focus on overcoming the crisis that hit the country.

The crisis in Thailand is indeed said to be the worst in five decades. Flooding has reportedly killed 533 people and caused losses Thailand billions of dollars.

Flooding even make the King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej health declined. Dirudung sense of worry from the severe floods that hit Thailand, King Bhumibol had reportedly fainted.

According to Princess Chulabhorn, King Bhumibol continue to see news about the flood. Princess Chulabhorn added, "The King looked very worried. Has never talked much, but his worries are evident from the current physical condition".

Parties to the Royal Palace itself does not issue an official report on this matter. While the Siriraj Hospital, the place where King treated all this time, not willing to provide information about the health condition of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

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An Earthquake Bombarded Three Asian Country

An Earthquake Bombarded Asia , Manila , Japan , China this three asian country was bombarded by an earthquake today. An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked the East China Sea, at 10:59 pm Beijing time on Tuesday (8 / 11). Similarly, reported China Earthquake Network Center (Cenc).

The epicenter is known to have a depth of 220 kilometers was recorded at 27.7 degrees north latitude and 125.9 degrees east latitude. The earthquake was located about 270 kilometers of the Diaoyu Islands, 480 kilometers from Taipei, and 520 kilometers from the city of Wenzhou in eastern Zhejiang Province.

TOKYO, An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale (SR) shook the waters of Okinawa Island, Japan, Tuesday (08/11/2011). However, there is no concern about the tsunami, the agency said the U.S. and Japan. The quake occurred in the East China Sea, 218 kilometers west of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Earthquake sources exist at a depth of 222 kilometers.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage caused by the earthquake which occurred at 11:59 local time. Japan, located at the junction of four tectonic plates, has 20 percent of the strongest earthquakes recorded in the earth every year. The tsunami disaster on March 11 resulted in about 22,000 people dead or missing, and triggered a crisis in the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power, in the northeast of the country.

MANILA - The earthquake that struck the southern Philippine city wounded at least 10 people and destroyed 25 homes and shops, said the rescue team, today. An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck the small town of Valencia on Mindanao island on Monday and menghancurksn 23 homes, a hardware store and a grocery store in this town of 150,000 people, the local civil defense office said.

The victims were due to hit objects and debris that fell when the earthquake occurred at 17:43 local time (16:43 GMT), but none were seriously injured, said a civil defense official. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale while the Filipino seismologists said the quake was magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale.

Winchell Sevilla, a seismologist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Manila, said the quake was caused by a local movement of about one kilometer below the earth's surface. "The movement is very shallow and even 5.2 on the Richter scale of energy released can cause damage stout," he told AFP.

Sevilla said the quake was felt in other areas on the island of Mindanao, although there were no immediate reports-lapora more about the damage. Philippines is located in the "Network Earthquake" Pacific - a network around the Pacific Ocean yag characterized by active volcanoes and long trenches on the ocean floor tectonics, in which frequent eruptions and earthquakes.

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Turkish Earthquake killing 138 people and injured 350 others

An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale on Sunday, killing 138 people and injured 350 others in eastern Turkey, the Turkish prime minister said.

Ninety-three people were killed in Van province and 45 in the district of peas, said Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters when reviewing the damage caused by the strong earthquake. Information previously mentioned that 70 people were killed, including 50 in the Erics, 100,000 people in a district in the same area, Van.

The situation in Erics more serious, said Erdogan, adding that many apartment buildings collapsed, raising fears that the death toll will rise. USGS (United State Geological Survey) was initially measured the quake was magnitude 7.3, but was later downgraded to 7.2 on the Richter scale. Many buildings collapsed in the Erics and Van, officials said.

Turkey is earthquake-prone country on several fault lines. In 1999 two strong earthquakes shook the industry and highly populated areas in the northwest of Turkey, about 20,000 people were killed. And strong in the City gampa Caldiran in Van province killed 3840 people in 1976, as quoted by AFP.


Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said, about 10 buildings collapsed in the city of Van and about 25 to 30 buildings collapsed in the city of pea. "We estimate about 1,000 buildings were damaged and hundreds of lives lost. The death toll could increase to reach 500 or 1,000 lives, "said General Manager Mustafa Erdik Kandilli Observatory in a press conference yesterday.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took to the city of Van to see firsthand the condition of the victim. "Many buildings collapsed, many people were killed. We're waiting for emergency assistance, it is very urgent, "said Zulfikar Arapoglu, Mayor pea like NTV television reported.

After a major earthquake, Turkey still rocked by aftershocks of up to 20 times. Residents are anxious to run outside and stand in the streets. NTV television images showed the room was shaking and furniture fell to the ground and people running out of buildings.

Dozens of emergency workers and residents to crawl on top of buildings in Van to find people trapped under buildings. In other locations, the vehicle seemed crushed by debris on the road. Xinhua news agency reported, 30 people were killed in the peas, and about 80 buildings had collapsed in the city. In the city of Van, about 50 people were injured were taken to hospital.

"We urgently need tents and rescue teams. We do not have ambulances. And we only have one hospital. We had many killed and wounded, "said Arapoglu. According to the Turkish Red Crescent, which consists of 25 buildings and one apartment building collapsed student dorm in pea. Turkish Red Crescent has sent tents, blankets and food to the region.

In Hakkari, about 100 km (60 miles) south of the city of Van, a Reuters correspondent said the building where he was rocked for about 10 seconds when the earthquake occurred.

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How and Why There Are An Earthquake

An earthquake is a vibration or shocks that occur in the earth's surface due to the release of energy from the sudden that creates seismic waves. Ordinary earthquakes are caused by movement of the earth's crust (the Earth's plates). The frequency of a region, refers to the type and size of earthquakes in the experience during the period of time. The earthquake was measured using a seismometer.

Moment magnitude is the most common scale in which earthquakes occur for the entire world. rickter scale is the scale have been reported by the national seismological observatories in the measure on the local magnitude scale magnitude 5. the same scale over the range of their number is valid. earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more most of the nearly invisible and her seven great more potential to cause serious damage over large areas, depending on the depth of the earthquake. The largest earthquake of historic magnitude telahvlebih of 9, although there is no size restriction. The last major earthquake magnitude 9.0 or greater is a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2011), and it is Japan's biggest quake since records began. The intensity of vibration measured on the modified Mercalli Scale.

There Are 2 Types Of An Earthquakes :

1. Volcanic earthquakes (Fire Mountain) This earthquake occurred as a result of magma activity, which usually occurs before the volcano erupted. If the higher activeness it will cause an explosion that will also cause earthquakes. The earthquake was only felt around the volcano.
2. Tectonic earthquake: An earthquake is caused by tectonic activity, that is tectonic plates shift suddenly has the power of the very small to very large. This earthquake generated a lot of damage or natural disasters on earth, a strong earthquake vibrations can spread throughout the earth. Tectonic earthquakes are caused by perlepasan [power] that occurs due to plate tectonic plate shifts like a rubber band is stretched and released abruptly. Power generated by the pressure between the rocks known as tectonic disability. Theory of Tectonic plate (plate tectonics) explains that the earth is composed of several layers of rock, most areas of the crust layer it will drift and float in layers like snow. Stir gently so that the layer-break berpecah and collide with each other. This is what causes the occurrence of tectonic earthquakes.

Most earthquakes are caused from the release of the energy produced by the pressure carried by the moving plates. The longer the pressure was becoming enlarged and eventually reached the state where the pressure can not be detained again by the edge of the slab. That's when an earthquake will occur.

Earthquakes usually occur on the border of the plate slabs. The most severe earthquakes typically occur at plate boundaries compressional and translational. Focus earthquakes likely to occur because the material layer is sandwiched lithosphere into a phase transition at a depth of more than 600 km.

Several other earthquakes can also occur due to movement of magma inside the volcano. Such earthquakes can be a symptom of impending volcanic eruptions. Some earthquakes (rarely however) also occur due to accumulated an enormous mass of water behind the dam, such as the Caribbean Dam in Zambia, Africa. Others (also rare) can also occur due to fluid injection or akstraksi from / into the earth (eg in some geothermal power plants and in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Lastly, earthquakes can also occur from detonation of explosives. This can make scientists to monitor nuclear weapons tests conducted secret government. the earthquake that caused by humans is called also seismisitas induced

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Does Indonesian Archipelago is The Atlantis Island

Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned by Plato in his Timaeus and Critias. In his notes, Plato wrote that Atlantis lay "beyond the pillars of Hercules", and has a navy conquered Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately the year 9500 BC. After failing to attack the Greeks, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in just one night".

The island of Atlantis as is known is a mysterious island that has so far its existence is not known with certainty. Before we discuss why Indonesia is part of the lost island of Atlantis is missing. We must know the beginning of the Atlantis itself or the Early History At the island of Atlantis.

Atlantis is generally regarded as a myth created by Plato to illustrate political theory. Although the functions of Atlantis story clearly visible to most experts, they are debating whether and how much Plato's account was inspired by older traditions. Some experts say that Plato describes the events that have passed, such as the Thera eruption or the Trojan war, while others claim that he was inspired by contemporary events like the collapse of Helike the year 373 BC or the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415-413 BC. (Source: id. wikipedia.org)

In the classical era of the lost island of atlantis is often discussed, but most of them do not believe it and sometimes make jokes. The story of Atlantis is less known in the Middle Ages, however, in the modern era, the story of Atlantis was rediscovered. And now are busy talking that Indonesia is part of the island or the lost city of atlantis.

There are dozens - even hundreds - the proposed location of Atlantis. Several hypotheses are archaeological or scientific hypothesis, while others are based on physics or other. Many of the proposals that have similar characteristics to the Atlantis story (water, major disasters, the relevant time period), but none has been demonstrated as the true story of the history of Atlantis.


Islands in Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula that we observe today is a relic that was sunk from the Lemurian continent of Atlantis, the high peak mountains of volcanic eruptions that became the volcanic islands of this region, the site of a true paradise in all ancient traditions. The submerged part of the continental area now forming the seabed is muddy and shallow in the South China Sea. This region is surrounded by Indonesia and forms the boundary between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

Then, as now, Indonesia formed the separation of the New World of the Ancient World, what the ancients (ancient / old) called Ultima Thule ("Ultimate Divide"? Separation Perfect). Thule is also related to what our parents named as the Pillars of Hercules, which according to Plato, is placed "right in front of Atlantis" (hyper ten Heraklei Nyssai).

Pillars of Hercules which is also the border who can not pass between the Old World and New World, also called East and West. Both are separated by an arc of volcanic islands in Indonesia, is really the limit of tectonic plates that make up the Old World and New World. Fortify this navigation, in the Atlantis also explicitly mentioned in the description of Plato and other ancient sources on Atlantis.

Is Indonesia a former kingdom of Atlantis? That's all back to what you see and believe

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Does Bali earthquakes Will Spread Throughout The Others Indonesian islands

The shock of the earthquake that occurred in Bali twice on Thursday, October 13 yesterday, causing 71 buildings on the island is corrupt. Public fear of earthquakes Bali will soon spread throughout the island in few days, this is because Indonesia is famous for the effects of successive earthquakes.

A total of 39 houses damaged inhabitants mild-moderate, 16 mild-moderate schools were damaged, slightly damaged four houses of worship, 7 slightly damaged a government office, two shops were slightly damaged, and 3 hospitals / health centers.

Previously, two earthquakes rocked Bali. The first quake occurred at approximately 10:16 pm with the strength of SR 6.8. Earthquake centers dotted in 143 kilometers southwest of Nusa Dua with coordinates 9.89 degrees south latitude and 114.53 degrees east longitude.

While the second quake occurred at 14:52 pm with the strength of SR 5.6. The point of the quake was at 9.76 LS, BT 114.53 or 131 kilometers badat power Nusa Dua, Bali.

There are an issues about the massive earthquake that will hit Jakarta, of course, geologists have a different view with psychics perspective. Geologists claim is difficult to predict when the time of the earthquake in a region, including to determine when Jakarta will be hit by a large magnitude earthquake.

A number of psychics predict there will be a more powerful earthquake followed by tsunami that hit Jakarta.

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Bali Was Rocked By Earthquake

Bali was rocked by earthquake

Bali was rocked by an earthquake 6.8 on the Richter scale, According to the report, the earthquake made ​​people panic because the tremor was very strong. According to the Meteorology and Geophysics, Bali residents felt the quake was not large enough caused potential tsunami, while the epicenter was 143 km southwest of Nusa Dua, Bali.

The depth of the earthquake is mentioned 10 kilometers, while the earthquake occurred at 10:16 pm and is felt by not only Bali, but also a number of areas in East Java and West Nusa Tenggara.

Till today there are more 10  number of East Java regions involved in the Bali vibrated following the earthquake which magnitude 6.8 SR. the earthquake shakes also created panic in Yogyakarta .

Denpasar city and surrounding residents scrambled to leave the workplace and their homes during an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, Some schools and office buildings in the area and Jalan Gatot Subroto Nitipraja also suffered cracks, as well as in the office of the Bureau of Housing ANTARA Bali.

Strength of the quake was also felt by civil servants in the Bali provincial government offices in the area of ​​Renon, Denpasar. Thousands of civil servants ran out to save themselves when disaster strikes. Some parts of the walls and roof of the Bali provincial government offices were also damaged by the shaking of the earth.

From Bangli and Gianyar regency also reported that local people panicked when it happened. Community activities left to save themselves.

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Ice Conditions Key To Antarctic Ice Breakup

We recently read in the news that the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March was strong enough to send waves that snapped a Manhattan-sized chunk of ice off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf some 8,100 miles away.

That’s true, but as pointed out at the end of this piece, there’s more to this story than just the strength of the earthquake. Though it’s not making it into the headlines, the condition of the ice in the region was also key. Specifically, the lack of nearby sea ice, coastal ice (also called fast or landfast ice) and pack ice made the portion of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf that broke off particularly susceptible to the incoming waves from the tsunami.

“The recent calving from the Sulzberger Ice Shelf suggests that, while the rifts provide the ice-shelf front with a zone that is weakened with respect to stress, and while tsunamis arrive episodically to cause vibrational disturbances to these rifts, some additional enabling condition must be satisfied before a given tsunami can lead to the detachment of an iceberg.

The timing of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan coincided with the typical summer sea-ice minimum . As observed in the MODIS imagery and confirmed in the ASAR imagery, the region north of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf was devoid of either fast or pack ice at the time of predicted arrival of the tsunami. Fast ice is an important factor in ice shelf stability . Additionally, the absence of sea ice meant that the energy associated with the tsunami incident on the ice-shelf front was not damped by sea-ice flexure.

With a distant tsunami source, over an irregular ocean bathymetry, and taking into account the dispersion of high-frequency components of the tsunami outside the shallow-water approximation, a complex pattern of dispersed waves is predicted in the wake of the leading front of the tsunami , As these waves interacted with the ice shelf over a period of hours to days, flexural modes may have been resonantly excited, each with the potential to trigger iceberg calving , in a pattern reminiscent of the delayed response of harbors documented in the far field during the 2004 Sumatra tsunami

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Our Planet and Sun

What causes the sun to vary? 

We live in the extended atmosphere of a magnetic variable star that drives our solar system and sustains life on Earth. Our Sun varies in every way we can observe it. The Sun gives off light in the infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and at x-ray energies, and it gives off magnetic field, bulk plasma (the solar wind) and energetic particles moving up to nearly the speed of light, and all of these emissions vary. These variations occur on timescales from milliseconds to billions of years. Most of these variations are related to the solar magnetic field, which is caused by the moving plasma inside the rotating Sun, which make a dynamo. 

How do the Earth and Heliosphere respond?

Our planet is immersed in this seemingly invisible yet exotic and inherently dangerous environment. Above the protective cocoon of Earth’s lower atmosphere is a plasma soup composed of electrified and magnetized matter entwined with penetrating radiation and energetic particles. The Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the Sun’s outer atmosphere to create this extraordinary environment.

Our Sun’s explosive energy output forms an immense, complex magnetic fields structure. Hugely inflated by the solar wind, this colossal bubble of magnetism known as the heliosphere stretches far beyond the orbit of Pluto, from where it controls the entry of cosmic rays into the solar system. On its way through the Milky Way this extended atmosphere of the Sun affects all planetary bodies in the solar system. It is itself influenced by slowly changing interstellar conditions that in turn can affect Earth’s habitability. In fact, the Sun’s extended atmosphere drives some of the greatest changes in the near-Earth space environment affecting our magnetosphere, atmosphere, ionosphere, and potentially our climate.

What are the impacts on humanity?

Modern society depends heavily on a variety of technologies that are susceptible to the extremes of space weather — severe disturbances of the upper atmosphere and of the near-Earth space environment that are driven by the magnetic activity of the Sun. Strong electrical currents driven in the Earth’s surface during auroral events can disrupt and damage modern electric power grids and may contribute to the corrosion of oil and gas pipelines. Changes in the ionosphere during geomagnetic storms driven by magnetic activity of the Sun interfere with high-frequency radio communications and GPS navigation. During polar cap absorption events caused by solar protons, radio communications can be severely compromised for commercial airliners on transpolar crossing routes. Exposure of spacecraft to energetic particles during solar energetic particle events and radiation belt enhancements can cause temporary operational anomalies, damage critical electronics, degrade solar arrays, and blind optical systems such as imagers and star trackers used on commercial and government satellites.

Harsh conditions in the space environment also pose significant risks for the journey of exploration. Although space is a near-vacuum, the very-thinly-spread particles and fields are like an ocean that can affect the spacecraft and astronauts that travel through it. Like seafaring voyagers, space explorers must be constantly aware of the current space weather and be prepared to handle the most extreme conditions that might be encountered.

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Faster Flood Forecasting at SERVIR-Africa

In September 2010, SERVIR Science Coordinator Dr. Ashutosh Limaye made his first journey to the SERVIR-Africa node at the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development, or RCMRD, in Nairobi, Kenya.

In this part of the world, flood estimation is a hot topic. Limaye's discussions with the RCMRD team and stakeholders from the Kenya Meteorological Department and USAID’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network highlighted the importance of flood-potential mapping, flood forecasting and post-event flood mapping for the region.

A hydrologist by training, Limaye is attuned to the economic and public health ramifications of better hydrologic estimation in East Africa. "Rift Valley Fever is critical in that part of the world, where livestock transport and the livelihood of a vast population come to a grinding halt because of travel restrictions induced by the disease," he said.

Without a doubt, he said, improved stream flow and flood estimation can have multiple important applications in the SERVIR-Africa region, including flood and drought disaster forecasting and response; agricultural and food security impacts; and Rift Valley Fever risk mapping, to name just a few.

In response to these needs, SERVIR-Africa and the Kenya Meteorological Department are teaming to give decision-makers flood forecasts with longer lead-times. SERVIR-Africa has investigated various regional and global hydrologic models for flood modeling, which shows scientists where standing water will occur above a defined threshold. A team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and the University of Oklahoma in Norman pioneered the hydrologic modeling efforts in East Africa for SERVIR-Africa. They developed the hydrologic model based on the state-of-the-art Variable Infiltration Capacity model.

Limaye is enhancing those efforts by incorporating forecast components into the modeling system. For example, in the Nzoia watershed in Lake Victoria Basin, SERVIR-Africa is working with researchers at Goddard, Oklahoma University and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to implement and evaluate a higher resolution (approximately 1 km) distributed hydrologic model: the Coupled Routing and Excess Storage, or CREST, water balance model. In Lake Victoria Basin, the CREST model uses real-time rainfall data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite as a boundary condition to map streamflow, evapotranspiration and soil moisture.

For flood forecasting, SERVIR-Africa is working with the Kenya Meteorological Department to incorporate their atmospheric model-based rain forecasts into the CREST model in place of observed Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data.

These rain forecasts will give decision-makers a longer lead time for flood forecasting, allowing more time for preparation and reaction. These forecasts will be available through the SERVIR-Africa website.

The SERVIR program is operated by the Earth Science Division's Applied Sciences Program in NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Three other NASA field centers work with Marshall and Goddard on the program: NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, Calif., NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. 

Nasa Gov

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Hurricane

In 2010, there were 14 named storms, of which 7 were hurricanes and 5 were major hurricanes (that is, category-3, 4 and 5 ones). Hurricane activity this year was about 1.5 times the median hurricane activity level.A hurricane is an intense tropical storm. Tropical storms form over warm tropical oceans when local sea surface temperatures are above 26.5°C (80°F) through a depth of at least 50 meters (160 ft). Under these conditions, evaporation from the ocean surface creates very high humidity in the atmosphere, which in turn generates thunderstorms.

A surefire way to kill a hurricane? Add something called “vertical wind shear” — essentially a change in wind speed and direction with height. It stops the storm from forming in its tracks by ripping it apart.  Another way to kill a hurricane? Whip up a wind across the deserts of northern Africa. Dust gets swept up into the air and helps damp down developing storms. (In fact, it’s the effect of the dust combined with vertical wind shear and super-dry air that’s the killer.)

There’s a school of thought that says that climate change should fuel more hurricanes and more intense ones, because as the planet warms, ocean waters warm and sea surface temperature rises.

In a paper published earlier this year in Science, Thomas R. Knutson, of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and co-authors suggest that we should expect an increase in the frequency of the strongest hurricanes in the Atlantic, roughly by a factor of two by the end of the century, despite a decrease in the overall number of hurricanes. “But we should not expect this trend to be clearly detectable until we near the end of the century, given a scenario in which CO2 [carbon dioxide] doubles by 2100.” The relationship will become more apparent as we improve our understanding and data and as the climate continues to warm.

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Help for the Environment

Earth

bout a decade ago, scientists discovered something about the "black earth" in the Amazon River Basin of Brazil that surprised them. They knew it was extremely fertile, unlike other soils in the region.
They discovered that this black earth, or "terra preta" in Portugese, gets its richness from charred wood called biochar that was added by indigenous people to their farmlands over 700 years ago.

The discovery sparked interest in biochar as both a medium for enriching soil and as a way to fight global warming by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

"We've been taking carbon stored underground for billions of years and putting it into the atmosphere," says Doris Hamill, a business development manager in the Strategic Relationships Office at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Making biochar is "basically the reverse of what we've been doing."

Plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and change it into plant matter. But when the plant dies, it is eventually broken back down to carbon dioxide. If that plant matter is converted into biochar, the carbon in it doesn't break down any further. Biochar's big benefit is its longevity -- it can last for thousands of years, said Hamill, who is working with local municipal officials to encourage use of the material in Virginia's Hampton Roads region.

"The best thing to do with biochar is put it into the soil, and it's very happy to be there. And when it's in the soil, it does a lot of good things," said Hamill. "It stays there for a long time, and provides a home for soil bacteria and other microbes that improve soil. Even small amounts of biochar are very, very good for the soil."


Make Your Own

Biochar can be created by anyone with a couple of steel barrels, some wood and a match. A biochar "pyrolyzer" built by Langley's fabrication shop consists of a large barrel with a smaller barrel upside-down inside. Biomass to be converted to biochar is placed in the smaller barrel. Wood and other organic fuel goes around it inside the larger barrel to supply the heat for charring.

Fire it up, close it up, hang out for a while, and you have biochar.

While you're waiting, you can ponder the pyrolysis process, in which water and other chemicals are driven out of the wood in an oxygen-free environment that lets the material char but not go up in flames. This same basic process was used to make charcoal three thousand years ago and is used today to make advanced composite materials for NASA missions.

"It's a very simple product," Hamill said. "There's no trick, there's no magic, there's no technology involved."

The biochar can then be augmented with fertilizer or other materials that enrich soil. Mixing biochar with the kind of fertilizer you can buy in a lawn and garden store reduces the amount you need to use by more than half, said Hamill, because it holds the fertilizer instead of letting it wash away. It also helps hold water in the soil.

For a variety of reasons, large-scale biochar production doesn't make sense economically yet, she said. That's why Hamill is out in the community encouraging people to make their own.


Appearing At EarthFest

She's worked with the city of Hampton for about a year on a community biochar project. Master gardeners are testing different materials and mix ratios to enrich the biochar.

"We've come up with an initial small-scale method which involves a blender and some tablespoons and other kitchen things to produce something you could easily hand somebody to use," said master gardener Carol King.

For the many homeowners plagued by pine cones and gum balls, zapping them into useful biochar is the perfect solution, King said. "So this could be wildly popular!"

Hamill and her collaborators also are working on a "starter kit" that includes an instructional video, plans for making and using a pyrolyzer, safety tips and a global-warming primer.

A next step is involving 4-H students in a biochar project at Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton. The students will gather wood, make biochar, mix it with nutrients, and add it to plots of vegetation. They will see how plants enriched with biochar grow compared to those that do not.

Another Langley employee, engineer Gregory Hajos, plans to crew a biochar exhibit at EarthFest, a NASA public event Oct. 23 at Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton.

Hamill undertook the biochar project "on the side" as a way of using NASA resources to benefit the community, while fulfilling a personal goal -- "a desire," she said, "to help save the world from global warming."

http://www.nasa.gov/

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About Earth

Earth (or the Earth) is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the World, the Blue Planet, or by its Latin name, Terra.

Home to millions of species including humans, Earth is currently the only place where life is known to exist. The planet formed 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful solar radiation, permitting life on land.The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, have allowed life to persist during this period. The planet is expected to continue supporting life for at least another 500 million years.

  
Earth is the third planet from the Sun

The Earth's average distance from the Sun is 149,597,890 km (92,955,820 miles) or one astronomical unit (AU). Located between Venus and Mars, some people have called it the "third rock from the sun."  Our planet's rapid spin and molten nickel-iron core give rise to a magnetic field, which the solar wind distorts into a teardrop shape. The magnetic field does not fade off into space, but has definite boundaries. Just like the field around a magnet, ours is also polarized. When charged particles from the solar wind become trapped in Earth's magnetic field, they collide with air molecules above our planet's magnetic poles. These air molecules then begin to glow and are known as the aurorae, or the Northern and Southern Lights. 

earth's atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with traces of argon, carbon dioxide and water. This atmosphere affects Earth's long-term climate and short-term local weather; shields us from nearly all harmful radiation coming from the Sun; and protects us from meteors as well - most of which burn up before they can strike the surface. All of the things we need to survive are provided under a thin layer of atmosphere that separates us from the uninhabitable void of space. Earth is made up of complex, interactive systems that are often unpredictable. Air, water, land, and life - including humans - combine forces to create a constantly changing world that we are striving to understand.

Our close proximity prevents us from seeing Earth in its entirety To completely view our own planet, we must leave its surface and journey into space. From the vantage point of space we are able to observe our planet globally, as we do other planets, using similar sensitive instruments to understand the delicate balance among its oceans, air, land, and life. Viewing Earth from the unique perspective of space provides the opportunity to see Earth as a whole. Scientists around the world have discovered many things about our planet by working together and sharing their findings.

Earth interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. At present, Earth orbits the Sun once for every roughly 366.26 times it rotates about its axis, which is equal to 365.26 solar days, or one sidereal year.The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular to its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). Earth's only known natural satellite, the Moon, which began orbiting it about 4.53 billion years ago, provides ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt and gradually slows the planet's rotation. Between approximately 3.8 billion and 4.1 billion years ago, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment.

EarthFacts.net holds a collection of facts about the planet Earth and some of the lifeforms living on it, as well as some creatures that no longer exist on Earth. We know more today than ever before about our planet Earth and what’s going on around us. Science is always continuing to connect the dots through Earth research, study, and experimentation. As technology advances, we continue to learn and find more out about our planet Earth.

Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. The third planet from the Sun, it is the largest of the inner planets. Earth is the only planet known to support life and to have liquid water at the surface. Earth has a substantial atmosphere and magnetic field, both of which are critical for sustaining life on Earth. Earth is the innermost planet in the solar system with a natural satellite – our Moon

 

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