Earthwatch: A Diary of the Planet

Eruptions

Volcanic ash rained over the Sicilian city of Catania when Mt. Etna erupted with spectacular columns of lava. The volcano has been in an eruptive phase for more than a week, also shooting ash and volcanic rock from its southeast crater. Skiers on the mountain’s slopes have witnessed bursts of yellow-orange flames over the snow.

Philippine officials raised the alert level on the country’s Mayon Volcano after earth tremors and other indi-cations that magma within the mountain was rising. Manuel Realuyo of the Provincial Disaster Management Office reported that more than 5,000 residents who live within four miles of the crater have been ordered to evacuate.

*

Earthquakes

Turkey’s northwestern province of Bolu was struck by a magnitude 5.0 temblor that injured one child and damaged several homes. A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck the Kashmar region of Khorassan province in eastern Iran, damaging at least 100 homes in three communities. Earth movements were also felt along the China-Tibet border and in East Java, northern Japan, Taiwan, the southern Philippines, New Zealand’s North Island, northern Nicaragua and the Mojave Desert of Southern California.

*

Alaskan Road Kills

More than 470 moose in central Alaska have been killed by trains and automobiles this winter because of record-breaking snowfall in the region. The moose have been plodding through snow as deep as 10 feet in the largest accumulation since the winter of 1989-90. They are unable to forage beneath the deep snowpack and wander into towns in search of food. Railroad workers have taken to carrying rifles and firecrackers to frighten the hungry animals off the tracks. The moose are frequently belligerent, charging humans. Alaska’s state troopers have worked with volunteers to collect moose carcasses from the state’s highways and butcher them for distribution to charitable organizations.

*

Antarctic Baby Boom

Antarctica is experiencing a baby boom of Adelie penguins near Japan’s Syowa Antarctic expedition base, because of unusually mild weather and favorable feeding conditions. The number of penguin chicks leaving nesting areas 16 miles south of the base this season suddenly jumped 40% after the December hatching season. Yutaka Watanuki, associate professor at Hokkaido University, said, “Fine weather has prevailed this season and ice did not close up holes through which food is caught.” During the 1998-99 season, extreme weather conditions created thick ice, and many of the penguin chicks died of starvation because their parents were forced to forage at unusually long distances.

*

Additional Sources: U.S. National Earthquake Information Center and the United Nations World Meteorological Organization.