Extremely hot, and now also smoke over Moscow / Hiti og reykur í Moskvu

Smoke over Moscow:

Acquired July 27, 2010, this natural-color image shows haze over Moscow as fires burn in the east-southeast.

Hitabylgja og svo reykur frá gróðureldum til viðbótar í Moskvu !

Traffic pollution may increase risk of dying from heart disease / Líkur á dausfalli vegna hjartasjúkdóma aukast nærri stórum umferðargötum

Traffic pollution may increase risk of dying from heart disease | Dr. Cutler

Líkur á dauðsfalli vegna hjartasjúkdóma voru 29% meiri fyrir þá sem búa nærri miklum umferðaræðum. Líkurnar minnkuðu ef þeir einstaklingar fluttu fjær umferðaræðum.

Arizona State University Mars camera yields best Red Planet map ever

Arizona State University Mars camera yields best Red Planet map ever: "(Arizona State University) The best Mars map ever made is now available online for planetary scientists and armchair astronauts alike. And citizen scientists invited to help make it even better."

Kort, myndir, af yfirborði Mars.

China oil spill after pipe blast 'worse than thought' / Olíuslys í Kína

Fréttin / BBC news:

BBC News - China oil spill after pipe blast 'worse than thought'

Myndir / pictures:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10673250

Einnig var í fréttum að Kína hefur tekið fram úr BNA sem sú þjóð sem notar mesta orku í heiminum.
Also in the news that China has surpassed USA as the nation who uses the most energy.
Sjá / see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10703518

Rannsókn á áhrifum gosösku á hafið / Volcanic ash team back at sea to gather more data

Alþjóðleg rannsókn á áhrifum gosöskunnar á lífríkið í hafinu er hafin.
Þessi frétt hér að neðan kemur frá BBC, Mbl.is var síðan með smá frétt, væntanlega unna úr þessari. Þekki ekki og virðist ekki koma fram í fréttinni hvort Íslendingar með í þessari rannsókn, mögulega, eða með aðra sjálfir ?

A team of scientists has returned to the North Atlantic to get more data on how the Icelandic volcanic eruption has affected the region's marine biology.

By Mark Kinver, Science and environment reporter, BBC News

They are assessing whether iron within the vast volcanic ash cloud entered the ocean, causing an extended bloom of tiny organisms known as phytoplankton.

The team, in the middle of a five-week cruise, have recorded "enhanced levels" of iron in samples they have collected.

The latest project follows an earlier cruise, carried out in the spring.

The international team of researchers are hoping to measure if trace elements from the ash have had an impact on the region's phytoplankton blooms.

"A hundred million cubic metres of ash was produced by the volcano - that must have gone somewhere and a large part has fallen into the ocean - so that is a significant iron source," said lead scientist Eric Achterberg, from the UK's National Oceanography Centre.

Professor Achterberg explained that the team had limited time to analyse data collected on their first cruise before they headed out to sea again.

"The guys only had six or seven weeks to pack and remobilise for the next cruise," he told BBC News.

However, he added that they did manage to glean some initial information: "For example, when they were right underneath the volcanic ash cloud in Iceland, they found that the iron levels were very high.

"But we have not got a really large-scale picture yet - there is so much data."

The area of the North Atlantic in which the researchers are collecting samples normally has very low inputs of iron and other nutrients from the atmosphere.

It was therefore assumed that phytoplankton were growing in a sub-optimum manner.

"The original objective for this cruise was to go out... and look at the conditions in the ocean after the massive spring bloom," explained Professor Achterberg.

"The hypothesis was that the system would have run out of iron by this point."

However, he added that the eruption in March could potentially change this.

"What we are doing is taking samples from the ocean, the atmosphere, and we are looking at biological growth in the ocean.

"We are seeing some enhanced levels (of dissolved iron) below the "mixed layers" of 20-40 metres deep.

"It may be a result of the volcanic ash, but we really need to have a better look at this on a wider scale."

'Unique opportunity'

If the ash from the eruption added a significant amount of iron to the ocean, the team hope to collect data to confirm that it did trigger extended phytoplankton blooms.

"It is something that we are hoping to see," said Professor Achterberg.

"This would also mean that the phytoplankton would take up more atmospheric CO2 than what it usually does in a normal year."

The expedition - aboard the RRS Discovery, a Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) vessel - is part of a climate change project that is looking at the efficiency of phytoplankton to absorb atmospheric CO2 and sequester it in the deep ocean.

He went on to say that the cruise, which was originally planned five years ago, provided a "totally unique opportunity".

"Never, at this scale, have people been able to do this.

"Firstly, we do not get that many volcanic eruptions on this scale, and secondly, it is only recently that we have been able to take the iron sampling and carry out analysis in the manner that we can do now.

"It has luckily come together in a very nice manner."

Professor Achterberg said that the team hoped to make the results available "within months" of returning from the current cruise, which is scheduled to end in mid-August.

Almennilegt – sektað vegn rykmyndunar við byggingarframkvæmdir / Good – builder fined for violating dust control measures > $100k

Frétt sem segir frá verktaka í Arizona sem var sektaður um yfir 100 þúsund dollara vegna þess að hann gætti ekki að sér varðandi rykmengun við framkvæmdirnar !

Meðal þess sem verktakar eiga að sinna, en þessi gerði ekki, er:

• setja upp hreinsitæki fyrir farartæki/vinnuvélar;
• hreinsa strax öll óhreinindi sem berast meira en 50 fet frá vinnusvæðinu;
• hafa vatnsúðara í gangi þegar jarðefni er flutt;

Hvernig væri að koma svona reglum í gagnið hérlendis !

Arizona Builder Fined More than $100K for Violating Dust Control Measures

EPA has fined Summit Builders Construction Co., based in Maricopa County, Arizona, $105,610 for allegedly failing to comply with Clean Air Act regulations. In addition to the monetary fine, Summit also is required to take steps to minimize the generation of dust at its construction sites.

“Air pollution from particulate matter directly impacts the health of the community. It’s an especially serious issue in Maricopa County, where air quality does not meet the federal standard,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest region. “EPA will not tolerate companies who fail to comply with dust control regulations. We are working closely with local air quality agencies to enforce rules to protect the community from airborne dust.”

U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke for the District of Arizona added, "Air quality is a concern for many who live in and travel through Maricopa County. The resolution of this case provides for positive measures which will help improve air quality in the future."

In 2006 and 2007, the Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAD) inspected five commercial construction projects in Maricopa County and uncovered eight violations for failing to perform various measures required to reduce particulate matter emissions. These included failure to install a trackout control device to remove particulate matter from vehicles; failure to immediately clean up dirt that is tracked more than 50 feet beyond the site; failure to operate a water application system during earthmoving operations; and failure to comply with the dust control plan.

In addition to the penalty, Summit is required to train employees in basic dust control, document that training, and employ qualified dust controls at larger work sites for two years.

Maricopa County exceeds the national health standard for particulate matter, PM-10 (one-seventh the width of a human hair), and has been classified by the EPA as a serious non-attainment area. In May 2010, EPA denied Arizona’s claim that dust storms caused the high pollution readings in Phoenix. Because of this, Arizona must submit an adequate plan to EPA on how the state plans to come into attainment for PM-10. Failure to do so will result in a freeze to the state’s federal transportation funds.

EPA notes that particulate matter affects the respiratory system. Particle pollution is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets in the air. When breathed in, these particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs, and is linked to a variety of significant health problems, ranging from aggravated asthma to premature death in people with heart and lung disease. The elderly, children, and people with chronic lung disease, influenza, or asthma are especially sensitive to high levels of particulate matter, the agency said.

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Snæfellsjökull að hverfa ? / Snæfellsjökull dissapearing ?

Í nýlegu viðtali á RÚV (http://www.ruv.is/frett/snaefellsjokull-ad-hverfa) talaði Helgi Björnsson um hversu hratt Snæfellsjökull hefur minnkað og hvernig árið í ár sé honum ekki hliðhollt.

In a recent interview (http://www.ruv.is/frett/snaefellsjokull-ad-hverfa) Helgi Björnsson discussed how Snæfellsjökull is retreating rapidly and how this year will not be good for the “health” of the glacier.

  Snæfellsjökull on 17 July 2010 (Image from ESA MERIS MIRAVI)

Snæfellsjökull on 27 August 2007 (image from NASA Rapidfire).

Erfitt að sjá mun á þessum stutta tíma og í þessari upplausn.

Difficult to see any difference over such a short time span and low resolution.

Heat wave in early July 2010 / Hitabylgjan í byrjun júlí 2010

Víða í BNA og Evrópu var óvenju heitt í byrjun júlí. Kortið hér að neðan sýnir hitastigs-frávik fyrir vikuna 4 – 11 júlí 2010, samanborið við sömu dagsetningar árin 2000 – 2008.

Nýleg rannsókn vísindamanna við Stanford háskóla bendir til þess að í BNA verði hitabylgjur algengar og langvarandi innan 30 ára (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/su-hwc070810.php).

In parts of USA and Europe early July was unusually hot. The map below shows the temperature anomaly for the week of 4 – 11 July 2010, compared to the same dates in 2000 – 20008.

Recent studies by scientists at Stanford suggest that long heat waves will be common within the next 30 years (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/su-hwc070810.php).

Image from: NASA Earth Observatory by Jesse Allen, based on MODIS land surface temperature data available through the NASA Earth Observations (NEO) Website.

Flott skýjamunstur / Nice pattern in the clouds

Flott mynstur sést í skýjunum yfir austfjörðum á þessari gervitunglamynd frá því kl. 13:31 þann 16. júlí 2010. Væntanlega einhversskonar standandi bylgja (e. standing wave).

Satellite image from 13:31 on 16 July 2010 shows nice pattern in the clouds over the eastern fjords of Iceland. Likely some kind of standing wave pattern.

Myndir frá Everest sýna að mikið af ís hefur tapast / Everest photos 'confirm ice loss'

Mikið af ís hefur tapast á Everest, en það sýna myndir teknar nýlega og árið 1921 - sjá hlekk og myndir að neðan.

Everest photos 'confirm ice loss': "Photos taken by a mountaineer on Everest from the same spot where similar pictures were taken in 1921 reveal an 'alarming' ice loss."

Experts say comparing the 1921 photo (left) with the photo of 2010 proves that the ice mass is disappearing

Ísjakar brotna hratt af íshellunni við NA-Grænland / Icebergs brake off quickly, NE-Greenland

Ísjakar brotna hratt af íshellunni við norðaustur Grænland.
Icebergs brake off quickly off the iceshelf in NE-Greenland.

Myndirnar tvær fyrir neðan eru frá 13 og 14. júlí 2010. Fyrri daginn er íshellan nánast alveg heil, en daginn eftir má sjá að stór ísjaki hefur brotnað af.
The two images below are from 13 and 14 of July 2010. The first day shows a relatively whole iceshelf, while on the latter day a large chunk has broken off.

 

Images from NASA Rapidfire / Myndir frá NASA Rapifire.

Rigningar og flóð í Asíu / Rain and floods in Asia

Frá flóðasvæðum í Kína. Mynd: Nordic Photos

Á annað hundrað hafa látið lífið og mörg þúsund orðið heimilislausir vegna ofsaveðurs og flóða í austur Asíu síðasta sólarhring. Í Kína þurfti að sprengja stíflu til að bjarga hundrað þúsund manna borg.

Í morgun þótti hætta á að flóðvarnargarðar myndu bresta með þeim afleiðingum að borgin Tongcheng þurrkaðist út en þar búa hundrað þúsund manns.
From RÚV

Mikil rigning í Kína / Heavy Rain in China

Posted July 14, 2010

 Image from NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using near-real-time data provided courtesy of TRMM Science Data and Information System at Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.