Dolphins in Cape Codd Beaching Themselves

More than a hundred dolphins have now beached off Cape Cod as mammals continue to get inexplicably stranded on the region's beaches.

Three died on Friday, meaning that of 116 common dolphins that have beached since January 12, 84 have died, though rescuers have managed to save the rest.

This year’s strandings dwarf the average of 37 common dolphin strandings annually over the last 12 years, and no one can explain why the numbers have mysteriously spiked this year.

Scientists have theories, ranging from geography, weather changes or behaviour of their prey.

Mike Booth of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which is leading rescue efforts, said dolphins remain close off the Cape and more strandings are possible.
Massachusetts lawmakers held a Congressional briefing on the issue Friday and campaigned for federal funding to hep the staff and some 300 trained volunteers, the Cape Cod Times reported.

Friday’s death came after ten dolphins approached Wellfleet, and four beached. Three died and one was rescued.


Although this time of year is known to be 'high season' for dolphin stranding near Cape Cod, IFAW aren't sure why so many dolphins are beaching now.

One theory is that the marine creates get stranded during low tides while hunting for food. When the tide goes out, the dolphins become stranded.

Katie Moore, a Cape Cod dolphin rescue veteran of 15 years told CNN, that this is only the second time she has seen this many dolphins washing ashore.

'Sometimes they come up one at a time, other times we see them 10 at a time,' she said.

IFAW's stranding coordinator B. Sharp said: 'This might be the largest dolphin stranding geographically speaking that we've had.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096617/Rescuers-continue-struggle-rescue-hundreds-dolphins-mysteriously-beaching-Cape-Cod.html#ixzz1klBs7Ukv

Solar Storm on the Sun

Solar flare 2012 was the worst solar storm in a decade. This time the scientists were only 13 minutes off on the predicted time of the solar storm. Following 11 years of considerable calm, the sun has woken up again to send out flares after strong flares in all directions and now earth-bound sentinels can feel the stirrings in the atmosphere and their surroundings in the form of geomagnetic storms.
The prediction was utilized and timely warnings were sent out to satellite operators and power connection operators to shut off sensitive systems. Geomagnetic storms that are stirred by solar flares can adversely affect the power supply, and interfere with satellite communication. They can even fry satellites and leave them useless. Following the warning, some airlines of Canada and Europe changed the routes of polar flights as the north pole and surrounding area was mostly the target of charged particles called CME (coronal mass ejection) and X rays hurled out by the sun.
Yesterday sun spewed the most powerful solar flare of this season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) rated the flare an X1.7-class eruption. The scientists rate flares according to classes defined by alphabets and while X-class flares are the most powerful type of solar storm, M-class storms falling within the mid-range and C-class flares are the weakest ones. Luckily earth was not in the target range of this massive flare.
Dean Pesnell, SDO Project Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, stated, “It’s a great week for Space Weather!
Scientists are excited about this solar activity and their thrill can be felt. Facebook update of officials from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center read, “Region 1402 is Alive!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another huge X-ray event is in progress.”
Radiation levels are climbing right now and is expected to peak in the later months of 2012 and 2013. What we are experiencing in the form of spectacular northern lights is just the beginning, claim the scientists.
Doug Biesecker, a physicist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, said, “The radiation storm will almost certainly be weaker. The coronal mass ejection seems to be headed well away from Earth, which is good because this one seems like a bigger beast than the last one, but that’s still preliminary.”
The exact prediction of solar flares has become more important in our age as much of the world’s networks are interconnected and the population has become increasingly reliant on technology that use satellite communication. Solar flares hamper satellite communication due to the geomagnetic storm stirred up by the flares, so being pre-informed is of paramount importance.
Strong flares as this one can disrupt satellite communication. Even weaker flares interfare with earth’s magnetic field and cause brilliant auroras that are more popularly called the Norther and Southern Lights.
CME that is large enough can trigger a big geomagnetic storm in the earth’s atmosphere, affecting radio communication, air flight schedules, communication, and power outages.

http://nvonews.com/2012/01/28/solar-flare-2012-was-the-worst-solar-storm-in-a-decade/

First Hybrid Sharks found off Australian Coast

World's first hybrid shark is found off Australia - and interbreeding could make them stronger

• Two shark species mate in waters off Australia
• 57 hybrids found by researchers
• New hybrids 'could replace' two parent species

By ROB WAUGH

Last updated at 8:31 AM on 4th January 2012

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Scientists have found the world's first hybrid sharks in waters off Australia - a discovery that researchers said could have implications for the whole world.

The predators are a cross between the common blacktip shark and the Australian blacktip shark. 

Scientists say interbreeding between the two species is a sign the animals are adapting to warmer waters. They have also warned it could make the sharks stronger.

A hybrid black tip shark containing both common and Australian black tip DNA in Australian waters. The mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world

Leading researchers in marine biology discovered 57 animals along a 200 kilometre stretch of ocean from Queensland to New South Wales.

Dr Jess Morgan, of the University of Queensland, said it was unusual for sharks to breed this way: 'Sharks physically mate, which is usually a good way to make sure you don't hybridize with the wrong species.'

 

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Simpendorfer said that if the hybrid proved to be stronger than the two pure breeds, it might eventually replace them, 'We don't know whether that's the case here, but certainly we know that they are viable, they reproduce and that there are multiple generations of hybrids. 

'Certainly it appears that they are fairly fit individuals.'

Colin Simpfendorfer, of James Cook University's Fishing Research Centre, agreed: 'The results of this research show that we still have a lot to learn about these important ocean predators.'

Scientists said on January 3, 2012 that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with warmer waters

Dr Jennifer Ovenden of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries said: 'Hybridization could enable the sharks to adapt to environmental change, as the smaller Australian black tip currently favours tropical waters in the north while the larger common black tip is more abundant in sub-tropical waters along the south-eastern Australian coastline.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081647/Worlds-hybrid-shark-Australia--interbreeding-make-stronger.html#ixzz1iwg0O960


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081647/Worlds-hybrid-shark-Australia--interbreeding-make-stronger.html

FireBall Spotted over Ontario

Researchers at the Royal Ontario Museum and University of Western Ontario are asking for the public’s help to find fragments of meteoric fireball that were seen in the southern Ontario sky on Monday evening.

The UWO astronomers say fragments of the meteor likely fell just north of Peterborough, near the town of Selwyn near the eastern end of Upper Stony Lake.

The cameras recorded a slow-moving fireball, estimated to be no bigger than a basketball, around 6 p.m. on Monday near Lake Erie, which then moved north-northeast, said Peter Brown, the director of UWO’s Centre for Planetary and Space Exploration.

The cameras were able to track the fireball’s descent for about 10 seconds travelling at 14 km per second. The meteor continued to penetrate deep into the atmosphere at an altitude of about 30 kilometres, which meant the fireball was “massive,” Mr. Brown said.

“The long duration of 10 seconds, along with the deep penetration and low velocity are all rare things. It suggests strongly that some rocks survived and made it to the ground,” he said.

Scientists are not often able to link meteors a particular orbit of the solar system, but Mr. Brown said this meteorite is linked to the orbit between Jupiter and Mars.

“When we can put it into a spatial context, it forms a powerful data set,” he said. He described finding a meteorite from the fireball captured by video as the equivalent of studying samples brought back from a space mission – where knowing where the object comes from helps to inform scientific understanding.

Most of the meteorites date back to the inception of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago, said Ian Nicklin, the ROM’s mineralogy technician.

“They come from asteroids that were formed the same time as celestial planets such as the Earth,” he said. “A lot of them really haven’t changed much since that time, so they really are a glimpse back into our earliest periods of the solar system.”

Meteor recovery is rare in southern Ontario, Mr. Nicklin added. Most of the meteors crash into water bodies or in remote communities to the north.

“The last time we had a meteor like this was in 2009, when we put out a similar press release, and a lady came forward with a fragment that crashed into her SUV,” Mr. Brown said.

The fragments would likely be dark matte in colour and weigh no more than a few grams. The outer crust would appear melted and charred. People who think they may have found a meteorite fragment should contact the ROM, which is leading the recovery.

Thousands of Birds Crash LAnd into WAL-MART Parking Lot

A Walmart parking lot in Cedar City, Utah was the site of mass carnage when thousands of birds crashed into the pavement Monday night, reports Brian Ahern at The Spectrum. 

Wildlife officials believe that the flock of migrating Grebes, a duck-like aquatic bird, was confused by storm clouds that made the parking lot look like a flat body of water.  

Though at least 1,500 birds perished in the crash-landing, rescue crews managed to save more than 2,000 birds as of late Tuesday and have been releasing them in a nearby pond, according to the AP. 

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-14/news/30515089_1_birds-parking-lot-wildlife-resource#ixzz1iv11rTua


http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-14/news/30515089_1_birds-parking-lot-wildlife-resource