Glacial Catastrophe
China’s leading glaciologist warned that an
”
ecological catastrophe
”
is looming in Tibet due to global warming, which will cause most
of the glaciers in the region to melt by 2100 if the trend is not
halted.
Glacial Catastrophe
China’s leading glaciologist warned that an “ecological catastrophe” is looming in Tibet due to global warming, which will cause most of the glaciers in the region to melt by 2100 if the trend is not halted.
Yao Tangdong made the stark prediction as the results of several surveys performed by scientists from China and the United States over a 40-month period were announced. The Sino-U.S. team told the China Daily it had discovered numerous ice islands at high elevations on the Tibetan Plateau that used to be connected by glaciers.
“Tibet’s glaciers have been receding over the past four decades due to global warming, but the alarming development has picked up rapidly especially since the early 1990s,” the paper said.
Tropical Cyclones
Minimal Tropical Cyclone 03A left 163 fishermen missing after it made landfall on the Arabian Sea coast near the India-Pakistan border. The storm uprooted trees and tore the roofs off some houses before it dissipated over Pakistan.
• Typhoon Ma-On churned the western Pacific to the southeast of Japan, while Tropical Storm Kay formed briefly off Mexico.
Earthquakes
A moderate earthquake along Nicaragua’s Pacific coast cracked a few walls and sent frightened residents into the street. There were no reports of significant damage or injuries due to the shaking.
• Earth movements were also felt in metropolitan Tokyo, western Japan, New Zealand’s North Island and southern Iran.
‘Tourist’ Seal Hunt
Norway announced plans to allow tour operators to ferry in seal hunters from Britain, Germany and elsewhere starting next January in an effort to bolster the country’s tourism industry. Despite cries of “barbarism” from environmental groups, Oslo says it considers seals a nuisance for the country’s fishing industry, and the fixed quota of 2,100 killings per year cannot be met by local hunters.
Animal-rights groups pointed out that Norway is the only nation to allow commercial whale-harpooning, and say it will be the target of further international outrage if images are seen of blood-soaked baby seals along its coastline.
Ozone Hole Update
New Zealand scientists announced that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is about 20 percent smaller in coverage this season.
Atmospheric scientist Stephen Woods at the country’s Antarctic base said his measurements confirm data from a NASA satellite that show the depleted layer of ozone has shrunk from last year’s record size. Wood advised that the levels of stratospheric ozone above the frozen continent were still much lower than before the hole began forming in the early 1980s due to fluorocarbon chemical pollution.
Overfishing
A scientific gathering in Kuala Lumpur warned that overfishing and lack of sustainable fishing policies are threatening global marine resources, with two-thirds of the world’s fish stocks already in serious decline.
A report delivered by the World Resources Institute said the main perpetrators of overfishing are fleets that target cod, tuna, swordfish and salmon.
Volcanoes
Eruptions of steam and ash within Washington state’s Mount St. Helens subsided, allowing seismologists to lower the alert status for the rumbling volcano. Rising lava inside the mountain’s dome was punctuated by an explosion, which sent ash soaring 4,500 metres into the sky. An eruption in 1980 destroyed more than 200 homes and devastated hundreds of square km of surrounding forest. The mountain remained dormant from that catastrophic event until late September.
• The collapse of a new lava dome at Volcan del Fuego (Volcano of Fire) sent columns of smoke and ash soaring over western Mexico. A light dusting of ash coated nearby communities as streams of lava poured down the mountain’s slopes.
Bear Breeding
Russian wildlife experts have sent the first shipment of wild bear cubs from the country’s Far East Primorye region to the Korean peninsula in an effort to bring it back from near extinction there.
Elena Starostina of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Far East department said that only five Himalayan bears still remain in Korea, and she hopes the transplanted cousins they’ve shipped in will help replenish the population. Ancient Koreans believed their people sprang from a love match between a god and a female Himalayan bear.
– By Steve Newman
