Russia's Krasheninnikov volcano erupts for the first time in 600 years
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The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching
The Great Barrier Reef has suffered its biggest annual drop in live coral in two out of three areas monitored by scientists since 1986, a new report has revealed. The Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims) report is the first to comprehensively document the devastating impacts of the early 2024 mass coral bleaching event – the most widespread and severe on record for the Great Barrier Reef. In the months that followed that event, scientists described a 'graveyard of corals' around Lizard Island in the north and a study recorded the death of 40% of corals at One Tree Island in the south. Aims has conducted annual in-water surveys of the world's biggest reef system since 1986, checking the health and extent of corals. Sign up: AU Breaking News email This year's survey report found that in the reef's northern section – between Cooktown and the tip of Cape York – bleaching, two cyclones and associated flooding had caused coral cover to fall by 25%. In the southern section, from Mackay to just north of Bundaberg, coral cover had fallen by 30%. The northern and southern zones suffered the highest annual drops on record. Coral cover fell by 13% in the central section, which had escaped the worst of the heat in 2024. Dr Mike Emslie, who leads the long-term reef monitoring program at Aims, said coral cover was becoming more volatile. 'It has been a pretty sobering year of surveys with the biggest impacts I have seen in the 30-plus years I have been doing this,' he said. 'This volatility is very likely a sign of an unstable system. That's our real concern. We're starting to see record highs in coral cover that quickly get turned around to record falls.' Coral bleaching describes a process whereby the coral animal expels the algae that live in its tissues and give it its colour and much of its nutrients. Without its algae, a coral's white skeleton can be seen through its translucent flesh, giving off a bleached appearance. Mass coral bleaching over large areas, first noticed in the 1980s around the Caribbean, is caused by rising ocean temperatures. Some corals also display fluorescent colours under stress when they release a pigment that filters light. Sunlight also plays a role in triggering bleaching. Corals can survive bleaching if temperatures are not too extreme or prolonged. But extreme marine heatwaves can kill corals outright. Coral bleaching can also have sub-lethal effects, including increased susceptibility to disease and reduced rates of growth and reproduction. Scientists say the gaps between bleaching events are becoming too short to allow reefs to recover. Coral reefs are considered one of the planet's ecosystems most at risk from global heating. Reefs support fisheries that feed hundreds of millions of people, as well as supporting major tourism industries. The world's biggest coral reef system – Australia's Great Barrier Reef – has suffered seven mass bleaching events since 1998, of which five were in the past decade. With relatively benign impacts from cyclones and bleaching in the five years before the 2024 event, coral cover had reached record levels in some places. But that recovery, Emslie said, was largely driven by fast-growing acropora corals that were more susceptible to heat stress. 'We had said it could all get turned around in one year and, low and behold, here we are,' he said, adding that coral cover was now mostly back in line with long-term averages. The 2024 and 2025 events were part of an ongoing global mass coral bleaching event that led to more than 80% of the planet's reefs being hit with enough heat to cause bleaching, affecting corals in at least 82 countries and territories. A study last year found ocean temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef were likely at their hottest for at least 400 years and were an 'existential threat' to the Unesco World Heritage-listed reef. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Widespread mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef was first seen in 1998 and happened again in 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025. Emslie said: 'These impacts we are seeing are serious and substantial and the bleaching events are coming closer and closer together. 'We will ultimately get to a tipping point where coral cover can't bounce back because disturbances come so quickly that there's no time left for recovery. 'We have to mitigate the root causes of the problem and reduce emissions and stabilise temperatures.' The Aims report comes a month before the federal government is due to reveal its emissions reduction target for 2035. The Albanese government promised Unesco last year it would 'set successively more ambitious emissions reduction targets' that would be 'in alignment with efforts to limit global temperature increase to 1.5C'. Last week, the Climate Change Authority, which will advise the government on what target to set, released a report that said holding warming 'as close as possible to 1.5C' was key to addressing the threats facing the reef. Richard Leck, head of oceans at WWF Australia, said the government needed to set a target consistent with 1.5C. 'This is the one action the government can take to give the reef a fighting chance.'
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Kamchatka is moving AWAY from Russia: Scientists are baffled as peninsula shifts 6.5ft southeast following magnitude 8.8 earthquake
Last week, Russia 's Kamchatka Peninsula was hit by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake –the sixth–largest ever recorded. The tremor released enormous amounts of destructive energy, triggering tsunami warnings as far away as Chile and the western United States. But when the activity had subsided, scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences were baffled to find that the peninsula had actually moved away from the mainland. In some places towards the peninsula's southern tip, the landmass had drifted as much as 6.5ft (two metres) to the southeast. That is similar to the movement caused by Japan 's 9–magnitude Tohoku earthquake in 2011 – the fifth–largest earthquake ever recorded. In a post on Telegram, the Russian Academy of Sciences wrote: 'We made a preliminary calculation based on the results of geodynamic observations. 'It turned out that we all went quite well to the southeast. 'The maximum coseismic displacements after the earthquake of July 30 were observed in the southern part of the peninsula.' Earthquakes occur along Earth's faultlines - points where the tectonic plates meet and move past one another. On average, the tectonic plates only move about 0.6 inches (1.5 centimetres) per year, but that movement isn't even and steady. In places like the Kamchatka Peninsula, where the Eurasian and Pacific plates meet, the plates become caught and lock against one another. When this happens, huge amounts of pressure are built up in the rocks along the faultline, which is ultimately released in the form of an earthquake. Scientists call this process elastic rebound, and it explains why landmasses move so quickly during periods of intense seismic activity. As the tectonic plates release pressure in the form of an earthquake, the two plates can slip past each other and often move several metres at a time. This process can actually continue for days or even weeks following the initial earthquake as the plates settle and adjust their positions. In the Kamchatka Peninsula earthquake last Wednesday, the release of such a large amount of built–up pressure allowed the entire peninsula to move up to 6.5 feet southeast. The earthquake released enormous amounts of energy, which triggered tsunamis that swept the nearby area (pictured), and led to tsunami warnings as far away as Chile and the western United States This process also explains why large earthquakes rarely arrive as isolated incidents but, rather, as sequences. The Kamchatka earthquake followed a 10–day sequence made up of 50 magnitude 5.0 or larger earthquakes, including three magnitude 6.6 tremors and a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on July 20. Similarly, large earthquakes are almost always followed by aftershocks – smaller earthquakes which follow in the wake of the main event. Professor David Tappin, lead tsunami expert at the British Geological Survey, told Daily Mail: 'They result from the sudden change in stress within and between rocks after the principal earthquake, as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. 'Aftershocks can happen in the days, months, or even years after the initial earthquake and are typically smaller than the main shock.' According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Kamchatka earthquake has already been followed by magnitude 6.9 and 6.2 aftershocks. The USGS says that the sequence remains active and that more aftershocks remain likely. The USGS predicts there is a 47 per cent chance of there being at least one magnitude 7.0 or larger earthquake in the month following the Kamchatka earthquake. These slips mean the aftershocks remain likely. This graph shows the likelihood that at least one earthquake of a given magnitude will occur within a month of last week's activity Within a year, there is a 13 per cent chance that the region will be hit by a magnitude 8.0 or larger event. Scientists believe that the flurry of activity following the initial earthquake has now also triggered two volcanic eruptions in the region. The Kamchatka Peninsula is situated directly above the Ring of Fire, a 25,000–mile chain of volcanoes that stretches around the Pacific Ocean. The Ring of Fire is home to over 425 active volcanoes, including 22 within the peninsula itself. Just hours after the earthquake, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the largest volcano in the region, exploded with a stream of lava and ash. On August 3, the Krasheninnikov Volcano then became the second volcano to suddenly erupt following the earthquake. As it erupted for the first time in over 500 years, the volcano sent a plume of ash 3.7 miles (6 km) into the sky. Scientists believe that these eruptions were triggered by the earthquake, which opened new faults in the rock and allowed more magma to escape towards the surface. Those changes in structural integrity and pressure may have pushed Klyuchevskaya Sopka and Krasheninnikov into erupting. This has sparked concerns that Russia's recent earthquakes could trigger a wave of devastating volcanic eruptions along the Ring of Fire. However, earthquakes will only trigger eruptions in volcanoes which are close to eruption. That means scientists do not expect to see significantly increased rates of volcanic activity along the geological fault. The Earth is moving under our feet: Tectonic plates move through the mantle and produce Earthquakes as they scrape against each other Tectonic plates are composed of Earth's crust and the uppermost portion of the mantle. Below is the asthenosphere: the warm, viscous conveyor belt of rock on which tectonic plates ride. The Earth has fifteen tectonic plates (pictured) that together have moulded the shape of the landscape we see around us today Earthquakes typically occur at the boundaries of tectonic plates, where one plate dips below another, thrusts another upward, or where plate edges scrape alongside each other. Earthquakes rarely occur in the middle of plates, but they can happen when ancient faults or rifts far below the surface reactivate. These areas are relatively weak compared to the surrounding plate, and can easily slip and cause an earthquake.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mysterious change in Earth's rotation set for TODAY as scientists warn of catastrophic consequences
Earth's rotation is set to mysteriously speed up on Wednesday, a puzzling phenomenon that has left scientists concerned about its potential long-term effects. The change, influenced by the moon's gravitational pull, will cause the planet to spin slightly faster at its poles, shaving approximately 1.25 milliseconds off the usual 24-hour day. While too small for humans to notice directly, experts warn that if this acceleration continues unchecked, it could trigger catastrophic consequences. As the planet spins faster, increased centrifugal force would push ocean water away from the poles toward the equator. Even a modest increase, just one mile per hour, could raise sea levels by several inches in equatorial regions, threatening to flood low-lying coastal cities already vulnerable to rising waters. In extreme scenarios, where Earth spins up to 100 miles per hour faster, vast equatorial areas could be submerged as polar seas surge southward, dramatically reshaping coastlines and displacing millions. Beyond flooding, a faster spin would also shorten the solar day. Scientists warn that if acceleration persists, the day could shrink to just 22 hours. This rapid change would disrupt human circadian rhythms, effectively shifting internal clocks two hours earlier every day with no time to adjust, a biological upheaval with serious health consequences. Studies have shown even small time shifts, like daylight saving changes, are linked to spikes in heart attacks, strokes, and traffic accidents. A permanent, drastic shift could prove far more dangerous. NASA astronomer Dr Sten Odenwald added that faster rotation would intensify the Coriolis effect, which governs storm rotation, leading to more extreme weather. 'Hurricanes will spin faster and carry more energy,' he explained. Scientists track these minute changes using atomic clocks, which measure time by counting oscillations of atoms. This technology forms the basis of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the global time standard. In recent years, Earth has recorded a growing number of 'short days.' On July 19, 2020, the day was 1.47 milliseconds shorter than average, and June 30, 2022 came in at 1.59 milliseconds short. The current record was set just last year, on July 5, 2024, when Earth completed a rotation 1.66 milliseconds faster than usual, the shortest day recorded since atomic clocks were introduced in 1949. Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London who discovered this recent pattern, notes that Earth's rotation could speed up noticeably on specific dates this summer, including July 9, July 22, and August 5. Earth's rotation naturally fluctuates by tiny amounts over time due to forces such as earthquakes, ocean currents, melting glaciers, movement in the molten core and large weather patterns like El Niño. However, the recent spin-up has surprised researchers. Jones is now investigating internal Earth processes, such as shifting molten layers in the core, ocean currents, and high-altitude winds, that could be influencing this unexpected acceleration. Although scientists do not know the exact reason for the acceleration, they are studying what's happening inside the Earth. That includes shifting molten layers in the core, ocean currents, and high-altitude winds as they affect the Earth's spin. Earth is not solid all the way through. Its core is made of hot, swirling liquid metal. As that molten metal moves, it can change the planet's shape and balance, similar to how a figure skater spins faster by pulling in their arms. Ocean currents and jet streams, fast-moving ribbons of air in the atmosphere, also shift mass around the planet, causing small wobbles or changes in spin speed.
