Why Does Stromboli Erupt?
One volcano that volcanologists believe they understand fairly well is Italy’s Stromboli, which has been erupting every five to 20 minutes for thousands of years – but they long-standing ideas about Stomboli’s eruptions might be wrong.

Monitoring Changes in Thawing Permafrost
“Among the worrisome environmental effects of global warming is the thawing of Arctic permafrost. A new study approach, relies on chemical tracers in stream water.” Quoted from the University of Michigan press release.

Floating Glaciers
“This study presents the first detailed observation of the transition from grounded to floating glaciers, which is currently ongoing at Columbia Glacier, one of Alaska’s many tidewater glaciers. Tidewater glaciers flow directly into the ocean, ending at a cliff in the sea, where icebergs are formed. Prior to this study, Alaskan tidewater...

Silver in Meteorites and Earth History
“Tiny variations in the isotopic composition of silver in meteorites and Earth rocks are helping scientists put together a timetable of how our planet was assembled beginning 4.568 billion years ago.” Quoted from the NSF press release.

Gasoline Prices in Other Countries
An interesting article on the DailyFinance.com website includes a table showing gasoline prices in a number of other countries. Gasoline is really expensive in Scandinavia and costs less than water in Venezuela.

M7.3, 7.6, 7.4 Earthquakes: Moro Gulf, Off Mindanao, Philippines
USGS reports three largeearthquakes occurring offshore of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines at about 6:00 AM local time on Saturday. Although they were 7.3, 7.6 and 7.4 magnitude events they were fortunately about 400 miles deep (600 km) which reduced their impact at the surface.

Jellyfish Sting Lots of People in New Hampshire
Between 50 and 100 people were stung by jellyfish at Wallis Sands State Beach. There is speculation that a single jellyfish might have stung many of them. Lion’s Mane jellyfish image by USGS.

Extremely High Risk of Water Shortage in the United States
A study done for the Natural Resources Defense Council reports that climate change will impact the sustainability of water supplies in the United States. About 1100 counties in the lower 48 states will have higher risks of water shortages and over 400 counties will face extremely high risks of water shortages.

Stonehenge in Ohio?
A 2000-year-old circle of timbers that might have been used to mark astronomical events has been discovered northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio. Some people are calling it “Woodhenge”.

Penguin Mystery in Brazil
Hundreds of dead penguins are washing up on beaches in Brazil. They appear to have starved to death at sea.

Tropical Storm Bonnie Track Map
Tropical Depression Three strengthened and is now Tropical Storm Bonnie. Its projected track takes it into the Gulf of Mexico, directly towards the oil spill area. It is expected to arrive there early Sunday morning.

Well to Remain Capped Through Tropical Storm
NOAA forecasts that Tropical Depression Three will strengthen into a tropical storm and head directly towards BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil well. Fortunately the well will remain capped until after the storm passes.

NOAA to Re-open One-Third of Closed Gulf Fishing Area
“NOAA will re-open 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.” Quoted from the NOAA website.

Corals and Sponges in Deep Water off Newfoundland
CNN has a photo gallery of corals, sponges and other organisms photographed by a submersible robot working in water nearly 10,000 feet deep off the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Marine Well Containment Company
Four oil companies, Exxon, Chevron, Conoco and Royal Dutch Shell will contribute $250 million each to prepare a response system that can be used in the event of an offshore well accident. Their contributions will form a non-profit company named the Marine Well Containment Company.