• Activity at Mt. Etna

    Italy’s Mount Etna is currently in a period where short bursts of activity, each lasting a few hours, are interspersed with quiet periods lasting several days or weeks. Thirteen eruptive episodes, or paroxysms, had occurred by mid-September 2011. During a typical

  • Magnitude 6.6 – Near east coast of Honshu, Japan

    An earthquake magnitude 6.6 struck 108 km (67 miles) ESE of Hachinohe, 149 km (92 miles) ENE of Morioka, 177 km (109 miles) ESE of Aomori, Honshu, 574 km (356 miles) NNE of Tokyo (40.288°N, 142.727°E) according to USGS. Epicenter was 36.3 km (22.6 miles)

  • Semeru volcano showing signs of activity

    An active lava dome is growing inside the crater of Semeru volcano and there are 3 – 4 eruptions per day. It seems that the size and frequency is increasing in the past days according to VolcanoDiscovery research group that just got back from East Java.Semeru, the highe

  • Maria becomes third hurricane of 2011 season

    Maria, the 13th named storm of the season, has sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph), just above the hurricane-strength threshold. The storm is currently on a latitude about level with North Carolina and is spinning some 205 miles (330 kilometers) north-northwest of

  • Dust plumes over Red Sea

    Another dust storm blew off the coast of Africa and over the Red Sea on September 15, 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture the same day.Dust plumes travel in a generally clockwise direction

  • Magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Fiji

    Magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit Fiji region, 120 km (74 miles) SSW of Ndoi Island, Fiji, 425 km (264 miles) W of NUKU`ALOFA, Tonga, 453 km (281 miles) SSE of SUVA, Viti Levu, Fiji (21.559°S, 179.369°W). Epicenter was very deep

  • Magnitude 6.2 – Near the east coast of Honshu, Japan

    A very strong 6.2 magnitude aftershock struck at 17:00 (05:00 PM) local Japanese Time approx. 70 km out of the Honshu coast. A maximum moderate shaking was experienced, but tens of millions of people have felt this aftershock and are once again reminded at the

  • Magnitude 6.0 – East of the North Island, New Zealand

    Magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 453 km (281 miles) SSE of L’Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands, 512 km (318 miles) NE of Gisborne, New Zealand, 680 km (422 miles) ENE of Auckland, New Zealand (35.430°S, 177.878°W) at depth of 13.4 km (8.3 miles). GeoNet reported

  • Arctic sea ice hits record low

    The extent of the Arctic sea ice — has passed a new threshold. German researchers announced on Sept. 8 that the sea-ice cover had shrunk below its record minimum, set in 2007. Elsewhere, researchers said the race remained too close to call.The NSIDC proclaimed the