• Antarctica hit by 30 000 earthquakes in 3 months

    More than 30 000 earthquakes have been registered in the Bransfield Strait, an ocean channel between the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, since the end of August 2020, according to the University of Chile. The strait is now expanding 15 cm (6…

  • Snow piling up at an unprecedented rate in Japan

    The season's most powerful cold air mass is bringing remarkably heavy snow to wide swaths of Japan on Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Meteorologists said the snow is falling at an unprecedented rate due to the combination of unseasonably cold Siberian air and…

  • Rare M4.4 earthquake under dormant Mauna Kea volcano, Hawai’i

    The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) recorded a shallow M4.4 earthquake beneath Mauna Kea's northwest flank at 19:27 UTC (09:27 HST) on Monday, December 14, 2020. The epicenter was located about 20 km (12 miles) SE of Waimea, and 52 km (32 miles) WNW of…

  • Total solar eclipse of December 14, 2020

    A total solar eclipse will take place at 16:13 UTC on December 14, 2020, and be visible from the South Pacific, Chile, Argentina, and the South Atlantic. Observers from southern South America, the Pacific, and those currently in Antarctica will experience a partial…