MASS MAMMAL DIE-OFF: "We Don't Know What's Causing The Upswing" - Mystery Surrounds Rise In Dolphin Deaths Along United States East Coast?!

August 05, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Officials are trying to determine the cause of a sharp increase in dolphin deaths in Virginia and other East Coast states.

Aug. 1, 2013: From right, Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team members Krystal Rodrique of
Virginia Beach, Va. and intern Liz Schell of Durango, Co. load a deceased male dolphin onto a metal
stretcher on Ocean View Beach in Norfolk, Va. (AP)

Five beached dolphins were found in Virginia alone on Thursday. In July, nearly four dozen dead dolphins were found, mostly in Norfolk and along the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay. That's up from the typical six or seven usually picked up in July by the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team.

"We've had a steady number coming in at the beginning of the summer, and starting last week, the numbers spiked," Susan Barco, research coordinator for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, told The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/11x9uEv). "We're just trying to keep our head above water."

Delaware and Maryland also have seen an uptick in dolphin deaths. According to The Press of Atlantic City, 10 dead dolphins were picked up in Delaware between June and early July, when in a typical year only five or six are recorded. In Maryland, authorities said a spike had been noticed but exact numbers of deaths were not known.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has sent inquiries to stranding centers along the East Coast to determine whether spikes have been seen elsewhere.

In New Jersey, initial necropsy results have pointed to pneumonia, but Maggie Mooney-Seus, spokeswoman for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, was not ready to connect Virginia's die-off to what may be affecting dolphins in other states.

"We don't know at this point what has caused the upswing," she said. "Virginia is higher than New Jersey, but we don't know anything particular because we're still collecting data."

Virginia's stranding team says the elevated numbers are reminiscent off the mass deaths that occurred in 1987, when more than 750 carcasses washed ashore from New Jersey to Florida. A few years later, morbillivirus -- similar to measles -- was determined to be the culprit, as dolphins exhibited symptoms associated with measles and pneumonia.

"It's eerily familiar," Barco said of the recent strandings. "That is one virus we're looking for now."

In Virginia this year, the response team has collected the remains of 87 dolphins. The team typically picks up around 60 dolphins in an entire year.

On Thursday, Krystle Rodrique, a volunteer with the stranding team, and Liz Schell, an intern, worked to dig up the tail of a dead dolphin as waves crashed in, hampering their efforts. The team documents where the animals were found and takes photos.

Rodrique cradled the corpse, setting it down lightly on a wooden deck. Despite her gloves, the smell -- a mix of pet store and rotting fish -- will remain on her hands.

"You get used to the smell, but I never can really get it off my hands," she said. "I try to scrub them over and over again."

The sooner workers find the dolphins, the better chance they have of figuring out what is causing the deaths.

Barco said teams haven't seen any physical trauma that would indicate entanglements or sonar damage, as midfrequency naval sonar has been linked in the past to whale and dolphin deaths. Ted Brown, a spokesman for the Navy's Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, said "there has been no change or increase in sonar use that could be related" to the recent surge.

Barco said her team of 60 volunteers, eight staff members and six interns are logging extra hours and have postponed its annual dolphin count in order to keep up with the deaths. The program is funded by grants, donations and contracts, and she says it's short on time and money.

"I just put in for overtime that we can't afford to pay. We don't have a lab like some places do, so we're working out of a tent," Barco said. "This event is going to stretch us." - FOX News.

Tsunami hit east coast of US on the 13th of June - NOAA reports

NOAA has released an article here, http://oldwcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/previous.events/06-13-13/index.php, which has been picked up by a number of media sites such as NPR, MYFOXNY, NBC and Yahoo. It explains that on the 13th of June, 2013, a six foot tsunami hit the east coast of New Jersey. As a result, three people were washed off a jetty and divers in the water were carried away, over a submerged reef into an inlet.

This may be a minuscule and rare event, but I consider it to be a 'hit' for Dr. Simon Atkins forecast for a tsunami hitting the east coast. See my entry here in relation to his forecast. '88% chance of Atlantic Tsunami Event - Update from Climate Risk Scientist Doctor Simon Atkins'

NOAA reports that continental slumping of the shelf east of New Jersey, may have been the cause of this tsunami. NOAA also confirm that their tide gages did pick this event up at the time and that other ocean observation centers also picked up similar results.

Dr. Simon Atkins has responded to this event and confirms it's a hit on his forecast.

Hurricane Sandy Changes Coastline in New Jersey, NASA Photos

On October 29, 2012, lives were changed forever along the shores of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and in the two dozen United States affected by what meteorologists are calling Superstorm Sandy. The landscape of the East Coast was also changed, though no geologist would ever use the word “forever” when referring to the shape of a barrier island.

Photo of the New Jersey coastal town of Mantoloking, just north of where Hurricane Sandy made landfall, taken on October 31, 2012 shows the damages caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Credit: Aerial photography courtesy of the NOAA Remote Sensing Division.

Two aerial photographs show a portion of the New Jersey coastal town of Mantoloking, just north of where Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Both photographs were taken by the Remote Sensing Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The after image on October 31, 2012; the before image was acquired by the same group on March 18, 2007. The images were acquired from an altitude of roughly 7,500 feet, using a Trimble Digital Sensor System.

Photo of the New Jersey coastal town of Mantoloking taken on March 18, 2007

Credit: Aerial photography courtesy of the NOAA Remote Sensing Division.

The Mantoloking Bridge cost roughly $25 million when it was opened in 2005 to replace a bridge built in 1938. After Sandy passed through on October 29, 2012, the bridge was covered in water, sand, and debris from houses; county officials closed it because they considered it unstable.



On the barrier island, entire blocks of houses along Route 35 (also called Ocean Boulevard) were damaged or completely washed away by the storm surge and wind. Fires raged in the town from natural gas lines that had ruptured and ignited. A new inlet was cut across the island, connected the Atlantic Ocean and the Jones Tide Pond.

Mike Carlowicz
NASA’s Earth Observatory

Here We Go Again! Up To 40,000 New Yorkers Could Be Forced To Evacuate As NorEaster Storm Brings Freezing Temperatures, Rain And Wind Gusts To 55 MPH To Devastated East Coast

~~~NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg warns thousands of people are in need of shelter including 20,000 in public housing

~~~Superstorm Sandy killed at least 113 people in the US // Almost 2million still have no power as cold weather sets in

~~~Hundreds of thousands of commuters today face tricky journeys into the city as public transport remains patchy

~~~Concerns rising that New York and New Jersey voters won't get to polling stations on tomorrow's Election Day

By MARK DUELL

PUBLISHED: 09:34 GMT, 5 November 2012 | UPDATED: 14:22 GMT, 5 November 2012

Up to 40,000 New Yorkers may need to be relocated as the city prepares for freezing temperatures and more rain and wind from a ‘nor'easter’ storm.

It is expected to hit New York and New Jersey with gusts of up to 55mph by Wednesday. The strongest winds are forecast for Long Island, with 40mph more likely for New York City. There is also the chance of more beach erosion, coastal flooding and trees weakened by Superstorm Sandy being felled.

Up to four inches of rain is expected along with snowfall in more inland mountainous areas and a tidal storm surge of up to 5ft is possible, forecasters say.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said tens of thousands of people were in need of shelter, including 20,000 in public housing. Almost 2million people still have no power as cold weather sets in - a week after Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast, killing at least 113 in the US.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters today faced tricky journeys into the city as public transport remained patchy. Rail service was reduced and the subway was at 80 per cent of its normal service. Most schools were due to reopen today, but some lacked power and others were being used as shelters.

Shocked: A representative of the Salvation Army walks past homes destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in Breezy Point, Queens, New York

Helping out: Corporal Thomas Cavallo and Lance Corporal Corey Shaw are pictured emptying rubbish on the street in Staten Island, New York

Aid: A US Marine is seen throwing a sofa on the street in Staten Island, New York, as he helps with disaster relief efforts for the devastated community

Throwing away: Mike Lavelle tosses a chair that was destroyed by flooding from Sandy into a huge pile of debris in Breezy Point, a neighbourhood where 80 homes were destroyed by a raging fire that is still without power

Devastated: Mike Lavelle and his wife Diane discard furniture from their Breezy Point home in the wake of Sandy

The challenges were more severe for tens of thousands of people unable to return to their homes and many more living without power or heat, with the next storm hitting by the middle of this week. Hurricane Sandy killed 69 people in the Caribbean before turning north and hitting the US at 80mph.

Concerns are also rising that voters won't get to polling stations on tomorrow’s Election Day. Many voting centres were rendered useless by the record surge of seawater in New York and New Jersey. 

More...

• A little kindness goes a long way: Heart-warming photos show how Eastcoasters rocked by Sandy came together in their time of need with random acts of generosity
• Ben Stiller doles out pancakes at New York shelter... as Alec Baldwin comforts students left homeless by Superstorm Sandy
• New York subways set to return to almost full service TODAY as new pictures reveal the scale of the task in clearing out tunnels

New Jersey will allow people displaced by the storm to vote by email. In New York City, 143,000 voters will be reassigned to different polling sites. Both states are normally easy Democrat wins.

About 1.9million homes and businesses across the US remained in the dark last night as the pressure mounted on power providers to restore electricity to areas hit hardest by the storm. In New York, utilities came under pressure to restore heat and light to 650,000 customers.

Stunned: A member of the FDNY inspects the damage to his home after Sandy swept through in the Breezy Point neighbourhood of Queens, New York

Unbelievable: Ginny Flanagan, 70, who lives in Breezy Point in Queens, New York returns to her damaged home in the devastated neighbourhood

Volunteering: Fabrizzio Avila, 15, bundles up from the cold as he rests near donated clothing in the Midland Beach neighborhood in Staten Island, New York

Sadness: A man wipes his eyes as he, Kathleen Beissel and her daughter Meaghan, 7, attend Sunday mass at the St Thomas More Catholic church in Breezy Point

More than half were served by the Long Island Power Authority, which was singled out for criticism. Tab Hauser, deputy mayor of the still-dark Village of Flower Hill on Long Island, said that not only has the clean-up been too slow, Long Island Power Authority ‘is doing nothing to prepare for the future’.

'Wires down, road hazards, car accidents, telephone pole fires, alarms going off. The power grid out here is really old and quirky. And when it shorts out, it causes chaos all over town'

New York City firefighter Lee Green, 45

He would like to see the utility consider underground lines and metal rather than wood poles. ‘Every year it's a Band-aid,’ he said. ‘This can happen next year and nothing will change.’

Lee Green, 45, a firefighter who owns a Westhampton Beach property management company on Long Island, said there were parts of the coastline ‘where the dunes are just completely wiped out’. 

He added that the fire service had been deluged with dozens of emergency calls around the clock. ‘Wires down, road hazards, car accidents, telephone pole fires, alarms going off,’ he said. ‘The power grid out here is really old and quirky. And when it shorts out, it causes chaos all over town.’

In New Jersey, about a quarter of the state remained without power. For many, that meant they had no heat. After a peak of 8.5million outages across 21 states affected by the massive storm, the rate of restoring power each day has eased as line crews must work on more difficult and isolated outages.

Staying warm: James Gasparino, left, a volunteer, and others gather around a fire for warmth in the New Dorp section of Staten Island, New York

Rubbish dump: A makeshift landfill is created near the waterfront as the huge clean up moves forward in the Midland Beach neighborhood in Staten Island, New York

Still standing: An American Flag waves over Breezy Point, Queens, where Hurricane Sandy hit and a fire erupted at the height of the storm, destroying homes

Repair work: A electrical worker cleans wiring at a substation as surrounding areas remain without power due to damage caused by Sandy in Hoboken, New Jersey

Recovery effort: Republican Governor Chris Christie (left) tried to reassure people that refineries and pipelines were back online and gas was being delivered; while New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (right) said tens of thousands of people were in need of shelter, including 20,000 in public housing

Another challenge was finding fuel, as power outages and supply disruptions closed many gas stations. 

In New Jersey, where residents were waiting for hours in line at gas stations, Republican Governor Chris Christie tried to reassure people that refineries and pipelines were back online and gas was being delivered. ‘We do not have a fuel shortage,’ he said at a news conference yesterday.

'We do not have a fuel shortage'

Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

Over the weekend, New Jersey gas stations were besieged by people carrying red gas canisters and miles-long lines of cars, despite a fuel rationing system based on license plate numbers. 

In Montclair, New Jersey, some stations ran out of fuel after pumping gasoline on Saturday for cars with odd-numbered plates. This left few stations with gasoline to serve motorists with even-numbered plates, who waited for hours yesterday.

The New York Harbor energy network was returning to normal yesterday with mainline power restored, but there were growing concerns about heating oil supplies with cold weather forecast.

WHEN COLD ARCTIC CONDITIONS MEET WARMER OCEAN AIR FROM GULF STREAM: WHAT IS A NOR'EASTER STORM?

What to expect: A storm threat index from the Weather Channel for the US

The nor'easter is a winter storm conceived by the meeting of cold arctic air with the warmer ocean air from the Gulf Stream.

The storms usually develop from a low-pressure system in the south, typically in the Gulf of Mexico, and are then pushed upward.

They often cause severe flooding along coastlines, erosion, and blizzard conditions - but just as dangerous is the bitter Arctic air that gets dragged along by the weather system.

The storms can come at any time of year, but are mainly seen in winter, where the conflicting wind conditions can quickly spiral into a hurricane.

Nor'easters usually bring massive amounts of precipitation, high winds and large waves - and with a full moon, when tides are at their highest, the storm surge could reach as high as 11ft.

'The total is greater than the sum of the individual parts,' said Louis Uccellini, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227995/Superstorm-Sandy-40-000-New-Yorkers-forced-evacuate-temperatures-plummet.html#ixzz2BPvHJtqf 

ALERT: Emergency Declared At Oyster Creek Nuke Plant

This could get ugly in a hurry.  Oyster Creek is the same design, but even older than Fukushima, and acccording to Reuters, just 6 more inches of water will completely submerge the cooling pump.

Nation's oldest nuclear plant on alert

(Reuters) - Exelon Corp declared an "alert" at its New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant due to a record storm surge, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said, warning that a further water rise could force the country's oldest working plant to use emergency water supplies to cool spent uranium fuel rods.

The alert came after water levels at the plant rose by more than 6.5 feet, potentially affecting the pumps that circulate water through the plant, an NRC spokesman said late on Monday.  A further rise to 7 feet could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool.

From National Geographic:

In the wake of Fukushima, the U.S. nuclear industry has pledged to bring additional backup equipment such as generators, pumps, hoses, and batteries to keep plants operating in case of loss of power or water, but that deployment is still under way.  Some critics have raised concerns about the safety of spent fuel at Oyster Creek and other nuclear plants, noting that the cooling pools where it is stored are not required to have backup power.  Spent fuel rods are still radioactive and continue to generate significant heat for decades.  Without cooling, the pools would boil away, leaving the fuel vulnerable to damage and to causing a radioactive release.  Exelon says it has "numerous, redundant backup cooling systems."

However, as discussed below by nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen, there is NO backup diesel generator for the spent fuel pool at Oyster Creek.

---

Don't skip this.  Arne Gunderson discusses Oyster Creek:

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/29/nuclear_plants_from_virginia_to_vermont

Interview runs 5 minutes.  Gunderson on Democracy Now yesterday:

"There is NO backup generator for the spent fuel pool at Oyster Creek."

"The biggest problem, as I see it right now, is the Oyster Creek plant.  Oyster Creek is the same design, but even older than Fukushima Daiichi unit 1.  It’s in a refueling outage.  That means that all the nuclear fuel is not in the nuclear reactor, but it’s over in the spent fuel pool.  And in that condition, there’s no backup power for the spent fuel pools.  So, if Oyster Creek were to lose its offsite power — and, frankly, that’s really likely — there would be no way cool that nuclear fuel that’s in the fuel pool until they get the power reestablished.  The most important lesson we can take out of the Fukushima Daiichi incident, especially with Hurricane Sandy, is that we can’t expect to cool these fueling pools."

What is the mysterious shake rattling New Jersey? Residents feel the earth move... but it's NOT an earthquake!!!

By NINA GOLGOWSKI

PUBLISHED: 22:37 GMT, 20 October 2012 | UPDATED: 12:32 GMT, 21 October 2012

• The U.S. Geological Survey has speculated the shake was from a sonic boom
• Local military base said military training is not responsible
• Lighthearted residents speculate 'Romney dropped his BINDERS’ and Gov. Chris Christie went jogging

A mysterious ground shake through parts of southern New Jersey rattled residents around 11am this morning leaving bewildered residents still without answers.

Both the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service reported no earthquake having occurred in the area and the nearby military base claiming to have had no training exercises that would have caused the tremors.

The USGS has since speculated that the shake felt by residents in southern counties for an estimated 15 seconds was from a sonic boom.

Reports: A map by the USGS shows the coloured counties where the shake was reported on Saturday, seen the most through the southern coast

The effect would be a 'thunder-like noise a person on the ground hears when an aircraft or other type of aerospace vehicle files overhead faster than the speed of sound or supersonic,' according to NASA.

An officer with the Sea Isle City Police Department said they had not confirmed it having been a sonic boom as reported by local news reports but told MailOnline it was a 'non-event.'

The shake was reported in several counties including Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean, Salem and Camden.

'I'm in [Little Egg Harbor] and my basement door shook violently for 15 sec or so long enough to creep me out. Sounded like someone was trying to get out,' a resident wrote on the Facebook page for Jersey Shore Hurricane News.

'My dog whelped two times before it happened I had thought he hurt himself. Then the huge noise boomed and my house shook slightly. It felt like it came from above,' a claimed Northfield resident wrote.

Last weekend Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst had advised residents of scheduled military training that could cause booms and ground tremors.

Base spokesman Pascual Flores told NBC News that wasn't the case for today.

'There currently is no training of any type that would have resulted in today's incident,' he said.

Eager to suggest other causes for the tremor, residents on Facebook pitched ideas consisting of: Fracking, ‘Romney dropped his BINDERS,’ Governor Chris Christie jogging, and 'Snookie fell off a barstool.'

Similar booms rattled the household just some weeks before:

Read more:

NBC 10 Philadelphia : Ground Shakes, Possible Sonic Boom in S. Jersey

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220793/Mysterious-ground-shaking-New-Jersey-rattles-residents-USGS-reports-earthquakes-area.html#ixzz29xVxI0io