Doomsday Weapon: Russia’s New Missile Shocks and Dazzles US, China

Russia’s advanced RS-26 intercontinental ballistic missile has raised admiring eyebrows of military experts everywhere, the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper wrote.

In a Chinese television program aired earlier this month a local defense expert hailed the unique characteristics of the Russian ICBM and the fear it had instilled in the hearts of foreign militaries, 

Rossiiskaya Gazeta wrote.

“Russia’s new RS-26 missile travels along a continuously changing trajectory and as such it has no analogues in the world,” the expert said.

When asked about the US missile defense system, he said that it was “absolutely useless” against the RS-26.

“This one is even better than the famous Topol-M missile… Its warheads are supersonic and change their course all the time. Some of them will penetrate any existing missile defense shield and will hit their target,” the expert added.

When asked whether the new Russian ICBM had caught the Americans flatfooted, the expert said that not only the Americans were clueless but that the Chinese too now had something to worry about.

“Russia is 100-percent safe now, unlike everybody else,” he emphasized.

What makes the RS-26 so special is that even though it weighs just 80 tons, compared to the 120-ton heft of its RS-24 Yars predecessor, the Rubezh packs a frightening 1,2 megatons into its four 300 kiloton warheads.

With a potential range of 11,000 kilometers the RS-26 can hit targets all across the United States.

Moreover, its booster stage is down to under five minutes, which means that NATO radars in Europe will have no time to register the launch.

Adding to NATO air defenders’ worries, during the descending section of its trajectory, with only a few hundred kilometers left to the target, the missile’s warheads suddenly take a dive, lose altitude, and continue the approach as a cruise missile.

These new Russian ICBM warheads were developed in response to America’s plans to deploy a global missile defense system along Russia's borders.

The RS-26 Rubezh is expected to become operational in 2016. - SputnikNews

New moon Supermoon, Total Solar Eclipse, spring tides

A new moon Supermoon will black out the sun in Indonesia, currently in the news for strong earthquakes and volcanic eruptions almost daily.

The activity of the volcano seems to have picked up. Sinabung increases its activity after the big pyroclastic flow on 26 Feb which burned the remaining houses left from the previous damaged village (Simacem)...- this and the occurrence of highly hybrid tremors means there is deformation of the lava dome that grows continuously and increases the intensity of rock falls followed by pyroclastic flows." - VolcanoDiscovery

Total solar eclipse to sweep across Indonesia

The phenomenon, which occurs when the moon moves directly between the earth and sun, begins at 6:20 AM Wednesday, March 9 local time (11:20 PM GMT Tuesday, March 8).

According to NASA, the moon will black out the sun over Indonesia's main western island of Sumatra, before moving across Sulawesi and Borneo, and then over to the Maluku Islands. - CNN

First of year’s 6 supermoons March 9

We’ll have six supermoons in 2016. Depending on your time zone, the first of the bunch is to fall on March 8 or 9, 2016. Moreover, this upcoming supermoon will totally cover over the sun’s disk, to stage a total solar eclipse over Indonesia during the morning hours on March 9, and a partial solar eclipse for Hawaii and Alaska in the late afternoon on March 8. By the time you read this post, it’s possible the eclipse will be over. Its maximum point comes at 01:59 UTC on March 9, 2016 … that is, during the night of March 8 for those in the contiguous United States.

Likewise, the new moon supermoon comes during the night of March 8 for those in contiguous U.S. timezones. What, you say? Supermoon? But the moon isn’t anywhere near full on this date! That’s right. This isn’t a full supermoon. Rather, it’s a new supermoon

Spring tides accompany March 2016’s supermoon. Will the tides be larger than usual at the March, April and May new moons? Yes, all new moons (and full moons) combine with the sun to create larger-than-usual tides, but perigee new moons (or perigee full moons) elevate the tides even more.

The March 9 extra-close new moon will accentuate the spring tide, giving rise to what’s called a perigean spring tide. If you live along an ocean coastline, watch for high tides caused by the March, April and May 2016 new moons – or supermoons.

Will these high tides cause flooding? Probably not, unless a strong weather system accompanies the perigean spring tide. Still, keep an eye on the weather, because storms do have a large potential to accentuate perigean spring tides. - EarthSky

Around each new moon (left) and full moon (right) – when the sun, Earth, and moon are located more or less on a line in space – the range between high and low tides is greatest. These are called spring tides. Image via physicalgeography.net

North Korean cargo ship seized by the Philippines

Situation could only get worse before it gets better. Will Kim allow allow his ships to be taken without response?

North Korean Cargo Ship Seized by the Philippines Under Strict New UN Sanctions

The Philippines said on Saturday it had seized a North Korean freighter that was covered by harsher United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear program.

Manila will also deport the vessel's 21 North Korean crew and will await a UN inspection team, foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose said.

"In compliance with the United Nations resolution, the North Korean ship in Subic will be impounded and not allowed to leave port," he said.

The cargo ship Jin Teng was one of the first sanctioned North Korean ships to enter a foreign port since the UN Security Council unanimously passed tightened sanctions on Wednesday. A total of 31 North Korean ships are on the UN's watchlist.

"The world is concerned over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and as a member of the UN, the Philippines has to do its part to enforce the sanctions," said Manolo Quezon, deputy presidential spokesman told reporters.

The ship, which was flying the flag of Sierra Leone, arrived on February 27 and was unloading palm kernels.

"We have sent teams to guard the ship until we get the formal order from the government," said Commander Armand Balilo, coast guard spokesman.

On Friday, the coast guard barred the ship from leaving port, citing safety deficiencies found during an inspection.

The inspection was conducted after the UN Security Council passed the resolution against Pyongyang. The resolution said the 31 ships were "economic resources controlled or operated by Ocean Maritime Management and therefore subject to the asset freeze".
- ViceNews

EXTREME: Atoyac River in Mexico that crosses 8 towns VANISHES OVERNIGHT

River VANISHES overnight after an earth tremor opens up a 30m crack that it is now pouring in to leaving 10,000 without water in Mexico

- Atoyac river is believed to have vanished into a giant 100ft long crevasse
- Unclear how much of river, which crosses eight municipalities, dried up
- Locals claimed to have heard a loud noise, felt the whole earth trembling
- The huge crevasse started around 1.8 miles from the source of the river

Thousands of Mexicans were astonished when they woke up to discover their local river had vanished overnight.

The Atoyac River, the sole source of water for 10,000 in the state of Veracruz, is thought to have disappeared into a crevasse following an earthquake tremor.

It is unclear how much of the river, which crosses eight municipalities in the mountainous area of central Mexico, was affected by the suspected sinkhole.

Residents of San Fermin, in Veracruz state, woke up to find their local river had dried up (pictured) overnight

It is unclear how much of the Atoyca river (file photo) was affected by the suspected sinkhole

The river, which flows through eight municipalities in a mountainous area of central Mexico, is thought to have vanished into a crevasse (pictured)

Residents of San Fermin, where the crack opened up, claimed to have heard a loud noise and feeling the whole earth trembling beneath them during the night.

Local woman Juana Sanchez said: 'First we realised that the taps were not running so we went to look and saw a crevasse in the riverbed where the water was vanishing instead of going its normal course.
'
Civil Protection officers were called out and found that the crevasse was around 30 metres (100ft) long.

The director of Emergencies for Civil Protection, Ricardo Maza Limon, confirmed the crevasse had been caused by a 'geological fracture'.

Local officials said in a statement: 'These cracks open in the land and continue to open and create more cracks.'

It is unclear how much of the river (pictured) was affected by the 30m long suspected sinkhole

Locals claimed to have heard a loud noise and feeling the whole earth trembling beneath them

The crack starts around 1.8 miles from the source of the river which supplies water to thousands of families, as well as the sugar plantations which provide most locals' income.

The Atoyac also feeds into the larger Cotaxtla River which authorities report is also much lower than usual due to the sinkhole.
Limon told locals they are working with the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) to 'carry out a scientific investigation'.

Emergency plans are also underway to work out how to solve the now dramatic water shortage. - DailyMail

US Navy deploys several ships to South China Sea as tensions rise

Amid so many distractions, is anyone wondering at all if we have passed the point of no return in this part of our planet?

US Navy deploys several ships to South China Sea as tensions rise

In a "show of force," the U.S. Navy dispatched an aircraft carrier and five escort ships to the South China Sea amid rising tensions between the U.S., China and other Southeast Asian nations claiming territory in the disputed region, multiple defense officials confirmed to Fox News Friday.

The dispatch sends a signal to China that the U.S. Navy will continue to conduct freedom of navigation patrols even as China continues to "militarize" islands, those officials say.

The Navy Times reported Thursday the U.S. sent the USS John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship. The deployment comes after Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned China over the militarization of its claimed artificial islands.

The Stennis was joined by the Japan-based cruisers Antietam and Mobile Bay and destroyers Chung-Hoon and Stockdale, according to the Navy Times. The command ship USS Blue Ridge, is also in the area and is heading for the Philippines. Officials said the Antietam was conducting a separate patrol from the Stennis.

Tensions have increased over the last month after it was learned that China had placed surface-to-air-missiles on one of the Paracel Islands. Since the incident, U.S. Pacific Command Chief Adm. Harry Harris has sea that China is militarizing the region.

“In my opinion China is clearly militarizing the South China Sea,” Harris testified on Feb. 24. “You’d have to believe in a flat Earth to believe otherwise.”

Islands Disputed in the South China Sea | Graphiq

The U.S. has completed patrols within the 12-mile limit of China’s artificial islands. Last October, the destroyer Lassen went through the region and on Jan. 30, the destroyer Curtis Wilbur sailed near Trinton Island, part of the Paracel Islands.

Carter took a harsh tone Tuesday speaking at a conference in San Francisco. He said if China doesn’t heed the warning to stop militarizing the region, the U.S. was prepared to increase military deployments to the Asia-Pacific region and would spend nearly $425 million to pay for more joint military exercise with countries that feel threatened by Beijing.

“China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea,” China said in a speech in San Francisco. “Specific actions will have specific consequences.”

Meanwhile, a Philippine official said he spotted five Chinese coast guard and navy ships at the Jackson Atoll last week that have not been previously stationed there before. However, by Wednesday the ships were gone.

China also announced Friday it will boost defense spending 7 to 8 percent in 2016, its smallest increase in six years. However, it will still have the world’s largest standing military in the world.

The U.S. and other Southeast Asian governments with rival claims, have expressed alarm over China's island construction, saying it raises tensions, threatens regional stability and could violate freedom of navigation and overflight.

Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have conflicting territorial claims in the Spratlys. - FoxNews

Uncertainties surrounding Asteroid near-Earth flyby March 7 or 8 or 9 and why

There have been conflicting reports and agitated internet chatter about near-Earth Asteroid TX68 passing by Earth on March 7 (but time uncertainty is still 2 days). Now scientists are saying it could brush by Earth at a distance close enough to threaten orbiting satellites!

Uncertainty Surrounds Asteroid Near-Earth Flyby Next Week

A decent-size asteroid will zoom past Earth next week, but astronomers aren't sure exactly when the flyby will happen, or just how close the space rock is going to get.

The latest observations suggest that the 100-foot-wide (30 meters) near-Earth asteroid 2013 TX68 will come within about 3 million miles (5 million kilometers) of Earth's surface on March 8, NASA researchers said. But it's also possible that the space rock will get much, much closer — 15,000 miles (24,000 km) or so, which is inside the planet's ring of geostationary satellites.

2013 TX68 was discovered in October 2013 by astronomers working with the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. The asteroid orbits the sun every 780 days or so; two years ago, 2013 TX68 flew by Earth at a distance of 1.3 million miles (2 million km).

However, observations of the asteroid remain limited, which explains the uncertainty associated with its orbit.

2013 TX68 isn't particularly big as far as space rocks go, and it wouldn't do serious, widespread damage if it did hit Earth. (Most researchers think asteroids must be at least 0.6 miles, or 1 km, wide to cause problems for humanity on a global scale.)

But a collision between 2013 TX68 and Earth would be dramatic: The asteroid would probably explode above Earth's surface in an airburst twice as powerful as the 2013 Chelyabinsk event, which damaged buildings and injured more than 1,200 people in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, NASA officials said.

Scientists think the Chelyabinsk airburst was caused by a near-Earth object about 65 feet (20 m) wide. - Full story on Space.com

No need to panic: 100ft asteroid predicted for close brush with Earth

Scientists are urging people not to panic after learning a 100ft-wide asteroid could be about to brush by the Earth at a distance close enough to threaten orbiting satellites.

The space rock, named 2013 TX68, is expected to make its nearest approach to Earth early this month.

But the precise timing of its visit and trajectory will not be known until after the event.

The asteroid could shoot past the Earth inside the ring of communications and GPS satellites located in fixed positions 36,000km miles above the equator, say experts.

At the other limit of its predicted path range it could remain as far out as 40 times the distance to the moon.

US scientist Sean Marshall, from Cornell University in New York, who studies near-Earth objects (NEOs) such as comets and asteroids said: "Should this asteroid come closer than the geostationary satellites, it would be a rare occurrence - that only happens about once per decade for large asteroids. What we know for sure is that it will not collide with Earth this month, so do not panic."

He added: "The large uncertainty in TX68's orbit makes it difficult to plan observations in advance, but hopefully it will be seen by some of the automated asteroid survey telescopes.

"However, it is possible that TX68 will be so far from Earth that it will be too faint to be seen. If TX68 is detected this month, that would greatly reduce the uncertainty in its orbit and allow astronomers to calculate its future trajectory much more accurately."

Geostationary satellites are further away than the International Space Station, which orbits at 400km above Earth. - Independent

From EarthSky:

Uncertainties, still, for asteroid 2013 TX68

Asteroid 2013 TX68 passes closest in early March. Astronomers know it will pass safely, but its precise distance at its closest still is unknown.

Expected position in the sky of asteroid 2013 TX68 as of March 1, 2016, about 30 minutes after sunset. The space rock will be difficult to observe even with telescopes, especially if the asteroid passes at a great distance. At present, its distance at closest approach is not known. Illustration by Eddie Irizarry using Stellarium.

Asteroid 2013 TX68 may pass by Earth around the evening of March 7 (according to clocks in the Eastern Time zone), but the time uncertainty is still 2 days. That means the space rock may be passing by our planet sometime between the evenings of March 5 and 9. The asteroid is travelling at a speed of 34,279 miles per hour (55,166 km/h).

Why is there so much uncertainty about this object?

It’s the scenario that astronomers have always cautioned us about … the fact that asteroid 2013 TX68 is approaching Earth from the sun’s direction. In late February, the space rock was still approaching Earth from this direction, although the asteroid was actually at a greater distance from us than our star. In other words, it has been in the daytime sky, and astronomers can’t observe it.

The uncertainty of the exact date of closest approach as well as the precise orbit, is due to the fact that asteroid 2013 TX68 was just observed during 10 days (including the newly found pre-discovery images). That is still a short time to define an orbit precisely. After it was observed and tracked for those few days in 2013, the asteroid passed into Earth’s daytime sky and could no longer be observed.

Will Peterson's new book devotes a chapter on Marinduque

May natanggap ako kahapon na isang masayang mensahe mula kay William Peterson, isang Australyano na kilala bilang manunulat sa Theater, Drama and Performance studies.  Kasalukuyang nagtuturo si Peterson sa Flinders University, Australia.

Ilang beses na ring bumisita si Peterson sa Marinduque noong mga lumipas na taon. Marami na siyang naisulat na may kinalaman sa ibat-ibang kultura sa Pilipinas. Bahagi ng nakasaad sa kaniyang profile ay ganito:

Primary duties involve teaching and curriculum development for undergraduate and honours subjects in theatre and performance, supervision of postgraduate students, and maintaining an on-going research profile, currently in the area of community-based performance in the Philippines, religious performance, intercultural performance, and performativity and audiences in Asia. 

Dr. William Peterson

Kalalabas pa lamang pala, kahapon din, ng bagong aklat ni Peterson na inilimbag ng University of Hawaii Press, at ayon sa kanya ay may isang chapter dito tungkol sa Marinduque:

Hi Eli. 

My book came out today from the University of Hawaii Press. I'll bring copies with me the next time I come to the Philippines and see that you get one. There's a chapter on Marinduque as that's where it all started for me!  Thanks for your support, especially at the very beginning!

Will Peterson

Sumusunod naman ang tungkol sa kanyang aklat na ang iba pang impormasyon ay mababasa sa link na ito:

Places for Happiness: Community, Self, and Performance in the Philippines
Author: Peterson, William;

Places for Happiness explores two of the most important performance-based activities in the Philippines: the processions and Passion Plays associated with Easter and the mass-dance phenomenon known as "street dancing." The scale of these hand-crafted performances in terms of duration, time commitment, and productive labor marks the Philippines as one of the world's most significant and undervalued performance-centered cultures. Drawing on a decade of fieldwork, William Peterson examines how people come together in the streets or on temporary stages, celebrating a shared sense of community and creating places for happiness.

The first half of the book focuses on localized and often highly idiosyncratic versions of the Passion of Christ. Peterson considers not only what people do in these events, but what it feels like to participate. The second half provides a window into the many expressions of "street dancing." Street dancing is inflected by localized indigenous and folk dance traditions that are reinforced at school and practiced in conjunction with religious civic festivals. 

Peterson identifies key frames that shape and contain the individual in the Philippines, while tracking how the local expands its expressive home by engaging in a dialogue with regional, national, and diasporic Filipino imaginaries.

Update tungkol sa Marinduque Airport

Ayon sa impormasyon, huling sinilbihan ng Zestair ang Marinduque Airport noong mga October 2012*. Kaya't halos tatlo at kalahating taon na palang hindi nagagamit ang Marinduque Airport ng mga lokal na pasahero at mga turista.

Dahil dito ay unti-unting nawala sa mapa ng mga pangunahing resort destinations ang umaakit sa mga turista para bisitahin ang islang-lalawigan ano mang araw sa buong taon, ang Bellarocca Resort, natagurian pa itong nag-iisang 6-star resort sa Pilipinas noon.

Sinamantala naman ng DOTC at CAAP para mailagay sa ayos ang paliparan sa pamamagitan ng paglaan ng sapat na pondo, at tinutukan nga ang pagkonkreto ng airport runway bukod pa sa mga pagpapaayos ng iba pang pasilidad ng paliparan.

Nagulantang na nga lamang ang mga Marinduqueno sa balitang ang kapitolyo ng Marinduque mismo ang naging dahilan kaya hindi matapos-tapos ang paglalagay sa ayos ng runway na isang national government project.

Bukod tanging pangyayari ito na local government ang humaharang sa pagpapagawa ng isang national government project. Matagal ding nalito ang mga taga-Marinduque tungkol sa bagay na ito.

Nagpahayag sa media ang mga opisyales ng Marinduque na bubuksan na raw ang airport bago dumating ang September 2014, Isang pangakong sumablay na naman.

Panghaharang!

Hanggang naging laman na lamang ng mga pahayagan ang pagsampa ng reklamo sa Ombudsman ng Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), sa pamamagitan ng kanilang pangulo, Martin Dino at pangalawang pangulo, Dante Jimenez kasama si Mel Go, may-ari ng construction firm na kinontrata ng DOTC para sa pagkonkreto ng isang bahagi ng runway. 

Graft charges ang isinampa laban kay Gob. Carmencita Reyes at iba pang mga opisyales ng pamahalaang panlalawigan.  Ito ay sa kadahilan ng paghaharang diumano sa pag-deliver ng graba na gagamitin para makumpleto ang airport strip. ("for blocking the delivery of gravel to be used in completing an airport strip in the said province").

Sinabi ni Go:  "Ang proyekto ay naantala dahil sa personal na interes ng mga opisyales ng Marinduque."

*May 2013 ang huling biyahe ng Zestair sa Marinduque ayon kay Sheila Evano ng Bellarocca.

Pakikipagpulong ni Cong. Lord Allan Velasco sa mga opisyales ng CAAP hinggil sa pagseserbisyo ng Marinduque Airport

Update sa Marinduque Airport

Ito ang naging pahayag ni Congressman Lord Allan Velasco sa kaniyang facebook account ngayong araw:

Had a very informative meeting regarding resumption of Flights to Marinduque this morning with the Caap Dir. Gen. Hotchkiss; Deputy Dir. Gen. Joya and Acting Chief Raul Glorioso. Seems that as of date, no Airline has yet submitted an intent that they will fly to Marinduque anytime soon. But on a good note, that even if there is a portion of the runway that is not usable, the remaining length would be good enough to accommodate a 50 seater plane. Be assured that we will do what we can to make sure that flights to Marinduque will resume soon 🙏🏻😊

Nagkaroon si Cong. Velasco ng pakikipagpulong sa mga opisyales ng CAAP na sina director general Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III (Ret.), deputy director for operations Gen. Rodante Joya at acting department chief Raul Glorioso.

Ayon sa kanya, wala pa hanggang sa kasalukuyan na airline company na nakapagsumite na ng kanilang balakin na silbihan ang Marinduque. 

Ayon din sa kanya, bilang isa namang positibong pangyayari, kahit may bahagi ng runway na hindi maaaring gamitin, ang natitirang haba ng runway ay sapat na para silbihan ito ng isang 50-seater plane.

Dahil dito isasagawa ang kinakailangan para maibalik ang regular na biyahe ng mga eroplano sa Marinduque sa madaling panahon.

Precursors sa parating na malaking lindol

The New Yorker magazine noong nakaraang taon ang unang naglabas ng report tungkol sa katiyakan na wawasakin ng isang matinding lindol ang coastal Northwest ng America. Naireport din ito sa Fox News.

Ang malaking tanong nga lamang ay 'kailan'?

Ito rin kasi ang napag-usapan sa isang international meeting ng seismologists noong Marso 2011 sa Kashiwa, Japan.

Sa loob ng maraming dekada, hindi naniwala ang mga seismologists na maaaring makaranas ang Japan ng lindol na mas malakas sa magnitude 8.4. 

Pero noong 2005, sa ganun ding conference, ipinaglaban ng isang seismologist na Hapon, si Yasutaka Ikeda na maaring maganap ang isang magnitude 9.0 na lindol sa hinaharap - isang lindol na catastrophic dahil ang kilalang kahandaan ng Japan sa earthquake at tsunami preparedness, kasama na ang taas na aabutin ng mga tsunami, ay binatay aniya sa maling siyensiya, 'incorrect science'. 

Hindi nga siya nagkamali dahil ang magnitude-9.0 lindol na naganap sa Tohoki ay kumitil ng higit 18,000 katao, sinira ang northeast Japan, naging sanhi ng meltdown sa Fukushima power plant at ang halaga ng mga sinira ay ay US220 billion dollars.

Naganap pa ang nasabing lindol habang may conference nga ang mga seismologists 200 miles away, sa Kashiwa.

Pero para kay Chris Goldfinger, isang paleoseismologist na naroon, at isa sa mga eksperto sa isang fault-line sa Amerika, ang nasabing lindol ay isang senyales lamang: isang preview para sa isang parating na malaking lindol. 

Imahe mula sa artikulo ng The New Yorker, 2015,
tungkol sa Cascadia subduction zone

Ang tinutukoy na fault-line ay ang Cascadia subduction zone na nasa 700 miles ang haba sa Pacific Northwest ng US,mula sa Cape Mendocino, California, hanggang sa Oregon at Washington, nagtatapos sa Vancouver Island, Canada.

Bumubuga ang lupa ng carbon monoxide (CO) ilang araw bago
dumating ang isang lindol ayon kay Ramesh Singh, geophysicist

May babala sa maaaring maganap sa na M-9.2 lindol sa Cascadia subduction zone

Habang sinusulat ito ay abala ang ilang mga seryosong mananaliksik tungkol sa kasalukuyang nagaganap sa nasabing Cascadia subduction zone. May mga kakaibang sumisingaw galing sa ilalim ng lupa na carbon monoxide (CO) gas. 

Sa loob ng nakaraang 5 araw ay kumalat na ang gas dala ng ulap sa West coast papunta sa mga bundok ng West/Midwest US.

February 28, 2016. Carbon monoxide emission sa Cascadia subduction zone

Sabi ni Michael Janitch, hindi ito 'chance'. Magma lamang ang may kapasidad na maging dahilan ng ganito kalaking gas release. Magkahalong seismic pressure at large plate movement lamang ang makakagawa nito sa napakalawak na lugar sa loob ng maikling panahon, aniya.

Makakabuti raw na tulad ng matagal nang babala ng mga scientist, makagawa rin ng pansariling kahandaan ang mga kinauukulan para sa kanilang kaligtasan.

Baka isang araw ay marinig na nga lamang natin iyung sinasabi nilang "cacophony of barking dogs" dahil ang mga aso raw ay higit na nakakaramdam ng pagdating ng malakas na lindol tulad nito.

February 28, 2016. CO emission sa South China

Kasabay naman ng nagaganap na carbon monoxide gas release sa Cascadia subduction zone ang gayun ding hindi pangkaraniwang nagaganap sa bahagi ng South China na malapit sa Pilipinas.

Related video:

UPDATE FROM NASA ABOUT THE CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) EMISSIONS DATA THEY HAVE RELEASED:

Erroneous CO emissions over California cause unrealistic CO concentration in GEOS-5 model

March 1, 2016

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Elevated carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations over California in the GEOS-5 products since February 25, 2016, are incorrect. They are a consequence of unrealistic emissions derived from satellite observations of fires, which led to elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO (as well as other species).

NASA's EOS-Terra spacecraft entered safe mode on February 18, 2016, during an inclination adjustment maneuver. This caused the MODIS instrument to enter safe mode, with the nadir and space-view doors closed. When the Terra MODIS transitioned back to science mode on February 24, 2016, the operating temperatures for the SWIR and LWIR (Short-wave Infrared and Longwave infrared) focal planes have not yet stabilized. As a consequence, some data products have been severely degraded. This includes the "Fire Radiative Power" fields that are used by GEOS-5 to compute emissions of CO, CO2, and carbonaceous aerosols by biomass burning.

GMAO is working to correct this problem. The GEOS-5 analyses will be re-run from February 24, 2016, using only the EOS-Aqua MODIS data, in order to exclude the unrealistic CO emissions. EOS-Terra observations will be re-introduced once the instrument has stabilized. 

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Fires, really? When?