Tag Archives: Arctic

Arctic Earthquake

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Mw6.6 earthquake hits Jan Mayen in the Arctic with some damage

Last update: August 30, 2012 at 3:25 pm by By

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : Mw6.6
UTC Time : 13:43:24 UTC on August 30th, 2012
Local time at epicenter : 12:43:24 UTC on August 30th, 2012
Depth (Hypocenter) : 8km
Geo-location(s) : 93km NW away from Olonkinbyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

There has been reports of some damage and a rockslide, but no injuries among the 44 people living there.

A M5.2 aftershock also hit around 8 mins after the mainshock.

UPDATE:- This is reported to be one of the largest Norwegian earthquakes on record.

In 2008, a M6.2 was reported in Svalbard.

According to NORSAR “The largest earthquakes in historical times in Norway and surrounding offshore areas occurred in the Rana region in 1819, M 5.8, in the Vøring Basin in 1866, M 5.7, in the outer Oslofjord in 1904, M 5.4 and in the Viking Graben in 1927, M 5.3. The last earthquakes above M 5 include an M 5.3 event in the Vøring Basin in 1988, in an area with almost no earlier seismicity, and an M 5.2 event in the northeastern North Sea in 1989.”

The Oslofjord earthquake of 1904 is the best known earthquake causing damage in Norway.

So it looks like another earthquake record has been broken – as will continue to occur as better recording of earthquakes through time continues worldwide leading to better hazard maps in the future.

Further damage is yet to be confirmed as well as a possible tsunami caused by underwater landslide.

 

Beerenberg Volcano – over 2200m above sea level (Wiki Commons) – erupted in 1970 and 1985.

SUMMARY:-

A major earthquake has hit off Jan Mayen Island in Norway in the Arctic Ocean.

The Amazing coastline of Jan Mayen with the Beerenberg Volcano

44 people currently live on the small island of which the main export is gravel and also doubles as a telecommunications base for Norway.

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/08/30/mw6-6-earthquake-hits-jan-mayen-in-the-arctic-with-some-damage/

 

 

Ozone Hole in Arctic

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Earth’s First Arctic Ozone Hole Recorded

Wynne Parry, Senior Writer LiveScience
Date: 02 October 2011 Time: 01:01 PM ET
stratosphere clouds over Arctic
Stratospheric clouds above the Arctic.
CREDIT: Ross J. Salawitch, University of Maryland

The high atmosphere over the Arctic lost an unprecedented amount of its protective ozone earlier this year, so much that conditions echoed the infamous ozone hole that forms annually over the opposite side of the planet, the Antarctic, scientists say.

“For the first time, sufficient loss occurred to reasonably be described as an Arctic ozone hole,” write researchers in an article released Oct. 2 by the journal Nature.

Some degree of ozone loss above the Arctic, and the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole, are annual events during the poles’ respective winters. They are driven by a combination of cold temperatures and lingering ozone-depleting pollutants

The reactions that convert less reactive chemicals into ozone-destroying ones take place within what is known as the polar vortex, an atmospheric circulation pattern created by the rotation of the Earth and cold temperatures. This past winter and spring saw an unusually strong polar vortex and an unusually long cold period.

This year’s record vortex persisted over the Arctic from December to the end of March, and the cold temperatures extended down to a remarkably low altitude, the researchers write.

At altitudes of about 11 to 12 miles (18 to 20 kilometers), more than 80 percent of the ozone present in January had been chemically destroyed by late March.

The same dynamics create the infamous ozone hole over Antarctica. But above the South Pole, ozone is essentially completely removed from the lower stratosphere ever year. Above the North Pole, however, ozone loss is highly variable and has, until now, been much more limited, writes the international research team led by Gloria Manney of the California Institute of Technology.

Countries agreed to end their production of the substances ultimately responsible for destruction of the ozone in 1987 with the Montreal Protocol. However, these pollutants, including chlorofluorocarbons, still linger in the atmosphere. Ozone loss is expected to improve in the coming decades as atmospheric levels of these chemicals decline.

On the Earth’s surface, ozone is a pollutant, but in the stratosphere it forms a protective layer that reflects ultraviolet radiation back out into space. Ultraviolet rays can damage DNA and lead to skin cancer and other problems

to rea more, go to:   http://www.livescience.com/16337-arctic-ozone-hole.html