GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: Agents Inspect Mystery Bubbling By Another Louisiana Salt Dome - Thousands Of Feet Of Bubbles, "We Found Foaming Residue,... Something's Happening"?!

February 22, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The state is taking a closer look at what residents say are bubbles in Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish.

The departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality took samples from Lake Peignuer today to find out what is causing the bubbles.

Last night, public officials, residents and other groups spoke out against AGL Resources, which wants to expand natural gas storage below salt caverns under the lake. Residents fear it could be another disaster waiting to happen--like the current sinkhole in Assumption Parish.

Residents near Lake Peigneur are already on edge since a 1980 accident involving an oil drilling rig. A miscalculation sent the rig's drill directly into the salt mine instead of under the lake. The whirlpool that was created swamped several acres of land and was strong enough to swallow barges from a nearby canal.

Fast forward to today--this is AGL's second attempt to get its permit. Several concerned residents want AGL's permit denied.

"We have unknown bubbling, it's definite. There's no two ways about it," Nara Crowley, President of Save Lake Peignuer, Inc. said.

Crowley is worried that the bubbles indicate big problems, and she's against AGL's proposed expansion of an underground natural gas storage facility.

"They should deny this permit. We should have the environmental impact statement we've always asked for because that's all we've ever asked for, and stop this project," Crowley said.

"If we get a big sink hole what's going to happen? We don't know. The previous accident in 1980 took in 150 acres of land, What's this one going to do," concerned resident David Lecompte said.

DNR says that its investigation into the bubbles is not related to AGL's permit process. But what they find out could have an effect.

"We want to get to the bottom of it too, and discover if this is something that requires some action, or if it's something that ends up being harmless. It might be something that needs to be acted on," Patrick Courreges, Department of Natural Resources, Director of Communications said. - KATC.

WATCH: State Officials Investigate Bubbling Lake Peigneur.

DNR Agents See Foam, Not Bubbles At Lake Peigneur.

The state Department of Natural Resources sent field agents to Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish on Thursday to investigate reports of bubbling at the lake, where natural gas is stored in massive underground caverns scoured out of a large salt dome.

Residents in the area have reported sporadic bubbling in the past and have raised concerns that similar bubbling was observed in the Bayou Corne area in northern Assumption Parish before a large sinkhole developed there last year.

The Bayou Corne sinkhole is believed to be related to the collapse of a large underground storage cavern in a salt dome.

DNR spokesman Patrick Courreges said field agents did not directly observe bubbling at Lake Peigneur on Thursday but did see foam on the lake’s surface.

“We found foaming residue on the top,” he said. “... The foam is the result of something happening.”

Courreges said it is too early to speculate on what might be causing the bubbling and that DNR will follow up on any future reports in an attempt to determine the cause through observation and testing of gas or other substances in the bubbles.

Save Lake Peigneur President Nara Crowley said residents have observed 79 instances of bubbling at the lake since 2006.

The group has been fighting a plan to expand natural gas storage operations under the lake.

Crowley said the latest instance of bubbling seems to have gone on longer than any other episode, with bubbles observed for several hours on Wednesday and on Thursday morning.

She said that lines of bubbles stretched for a few thousand feet across the lake.

Prior tests at the lake have not identified the source or reason for the bubbling.

Atlanta-based AGL Resources, which owns the two natural gas storage caverns, has maintained the bubbles are not coming from the gas storage caverns and that tests have confirmed the stability of those caverns.

AGL is seeking permits to scour out two new salt caverns under Lake Peigneur.

The company’s plans have been met with vocal opposition from residents in the area and environmental groups. - The Advocate.

WATCH: Lake Peigneur Bubble Concerns.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake Rocks Southest Of Wairoa, New Zealand - Swarm Of Quakes Have Been Recorded Near Wairoa In Hawke's Bay, 20 In Just 24 Hours?!

February 22, 2013 - NEW ZEALAND - An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand at 18:21:49 GMT on Friday , the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The tremor was located at 39.420°S 177.604°E with a depth of 22.7km (14.1miles).

USGS earthquake map and location.

The epicentre was at a distance of  47km (29miles) southeast of Wairoa, New Zealand; 59km (37miles) east of Napier, New Zealand; 66km (41miles) east of Taradale, New Zealand; 69km (43miles) northeast of Hastings, New Zealand; and 317km (197miles) northeast of Wellington, New Zealand.

USGS intensity shakemap.

NOAA's West Coast and Alaska Tsunamic Warning Center did not issue a watch, warning or advisory on the quake.

Meanwhile, an overnight spate of small earthquakes in northern Hawke's Bay has been followed by two sharper jolts on Saturday morning (New Zealand local time).

Swarm Of Earthquakes Have Been Recorded Near Wairoa In Hawke's Bay.

The Hawke's Bay town of Wairoa has been rocked by more than 20 earthquakes in the past 24 hours - a pattern that could be in play for days, scientists say.

According to Geonet, the strongest shakes only measured "light" on the intensity scale but the tremors were unlikely to let up for a couple of days.

Geonet data centre manager Kevin Fenaughty said the event was known as an "earthquake swarm."

Earthquake swarms are events where a local area experiences sequences of many earthquakes striking in a relatively short period of time.

SHAKY GROUND: This Geonet graphic shows how widely the quakes were felt across Hawke's Bay.

"This activity really burst into life yesterday evening soon after 5.30pm, with six noticeable quakes occurring within 45 minutes," he said.

Since then, further pulses of activity were recorded between 9.45pm and 10pm, 12.45am and 1.45am, and most recently between 7.20am and 9.30am.

A 4.8 was recorded at 7.21 this morning, at a depth of 67km, just 40km south of Wairoa.

According to reports, it was felt as far north as Waitoa, near Morrinsville, and as far south as Poukawa, below Havelock North.

Fenaughty said the duration of a swarm could not be predicted, but past experience with this part of New Zealand suggests that this one is of the order of days.

It could then recur at a later date after a break in the activity.

Another characteristic of swarms was that no single earthquake in the sequence was obviously the main shock.

It is unlikely the quakes would get bigger than the 4.8 recorded to date, but it could not be ruled out, Fenaughty said.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate.

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

USGS historic seismicity.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (greater than 120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were underthrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet". - USGS.

AUSTRALIAN WEATHER ANOMALIES: Lightning Storms, Flash Floods And High Winds Lash Melbourne Suburbs!

February 22, 2013 - AUSTRALIA - Flash and lashing rain saw homes damaged in Melbourne's north and west as a storm hit the suburbs overnight.

The wild weather flooded a police station, caused a supermarket roof to collapse and grounded flights at Melbourne Airport.

Residents in South Morang and Mernda are cleaning up today after flash flooding hit some homes and streets.

More than 50mm of rain bucketed down in Melbourne's outer north last night in little more than a few hours.

And the Bureau of Meteorology is warning there is a possibility of more storms later this afternoon.

'I took this photo shortly after 8pm at Melbourne Airport looking towards Sunbury.'  © Aaron Stanley, Taylors Hill.

Sunbury FoodWorks manager Ben Duffy said last night there was ''an extreme bang then the roof went''.

His was one of 130 requests for help the State Emergency Services received since noon yesterday when the thunder and lightning first struck.

Mr Duffy expects the damage bill to exceed $50,000.

"I know people always say this but I have never seen anything like it before," he said.

"I couldn't see three feet in front of me, the car park flooded, water was half way up my car."

The damage caused by the storm in Melbourne has left FoodWorks in Sunbury, a bit worse for wear.

Lightning strike seen from Doreen. © Aaron Lowe.

Shoppers and staff were evacuated ten minutes before part of the roof fell in.

"We'll be here all night cleaning up, everyone is just getting around like wet rats at the moment," Mr Duffy said.

Sunbury was the worst hit with emergency receiving about 30 pleas for help.

"We had quite a few reports of trees over roads and reports of low-level flooding in homes and residential streets," SES spokesman Lachlan Quick said.

Lightning can be seen from Westfield Shoppingtown in Doncaster. © James Demetrie.

"There was some flash flooding in the South Morang and Mernda area after about 50mm of rain fell during the storm.

"Thankfully there have been no injuries and no reports of SES crews having to rescue people from flood waters, which means people are not driving through the floods."

Lightning stopped planes from landing and taking off at Melbourne Airport, causing long delays.

Airport spokeswoman Anna Gillett said it was a normal safety procedure because of the wild weather.

While Epping police station was closed due to storm damage.

Weather Bureau senior meteorologist Phil King said 60mm had fallen in Mernda - 47mm fell in one hour.

"That's above our flash-flood warning of 25-30mm an hour," Mr King said.

Sunbury had 30mm of rain in 20 minutes.

"These storms are producing some really heavy rain that will continue throughout the night."

Melbourne is expected to hit a top of 31C today.

The weekend is expected to bring more settled weather before more storms are predicted for Monday and Tuesday.

The mercury is set to reach a maximum of 33 tomorrow and 32 on Sunday.

Afternoon showers are expected on Sunday.

To report damage, contact the SES on 132 500.  - Herald Sun.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Strong Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Rocks Southeast Of Suncho Corral, Argentina!

February 22, 2013 - ARGENTINA - A massive Argentina earthquake today 2013 has struck the country. The terremoto en Argentina hoy, a temblor registering 6.1 magnitude, erupted roughly two hours ago. No reports of damage have yet to be detailed by local news.

USGS earthquake map and location.

Today’s Argentina earthquake had a substantial depth, officials tell news. The quake erupted today Friday, February 22, 2013 shortly after 9 am local time. But it began roughly three hundred miles below ground level.

USGS population exposure.

Officials indicate to news that the quake was seventeen miles east of Suncho Corral. The quake was forty-one miles northwest of Anatuya and forty-eight miles west of Quimili. The quake also began sixty-eight miles east of Santiago del Estero.

USGS uncertainty shakemap.

USGS estimated population exposure.

Today’s quake is near the May temblor of last year. That Argentina quake struck the Santiago del Estero region as well. The quake was thirty-two miles northwest of Anatuya. USGS also reported that the quake roughly one hundred fifty miles southeast of San Miguel de Tucuman. The quake was also approximately five hundred miles northwest of Buenos Aires.

USGS shakemap.

In June, another quake was forty-six miles west of San Antonio de los Cobres. The quake also began roughly one hundred miles west of Salta and one hundred ten miles west of San Salvador de Jujuy. The tembor began roughly five hundred miles south of La Paz, Bolivia, officials told news at the time. - LA Late.

Tectonic Summary - Seismotectonics of South America (Nazca Plate Region).

The South American arc extends over 7,000 km, from the Chilean margin triple junction offshore of southern Chile to its intersection with the Panama fracture zone, offshore of the southern coast of Panama in Central America. It marks the plate boundary between the subducting Nazca plate and the South America plate, where the oceanic crust and lithosphere of the Nazca plate begin their descent into the mantle beneath South America. The convergence associated with this subduction process is responsible for the uplift of the Andes Mountains, and for the active volcanic chain present along much of this deformation front. Relative to a fixed South America plate, the Nazca plate moves slightly north of eastwards at a rate varying from approximately 80 mm/yr in the south to approximately 65 mm/yr in the north. Although the rate of subduction varies little along the entire arc, there are complex changes in the geologic processes along the subduction zone that dramatically influence volcanic activity, crustal deformation, earthquake generation and occurrence all along the western edge of South America.

USGS historic seismicity.

Most of the large earthquakes in South America are constrained to shallow depths of 0 to 70 km resulting from both crustal and interplate deformation. Crustal earthquakes result from deformation and mountain building in the overriding South America plate and generate earthquakes as deep as approximately 50 km. Interplate earthquakes occur due to slip along the dipping interface between the Nazca and the South American plates. Interplate earthquakes in this region are frequent and often large, and occur between the depths of approximately 10 and 60 km. Since 1900, numerous magnitude 8 or larger earthquakes have occurred on this subduction zone interface that were followed by devastating tsunamis, including the 1960 M9.5 earthquake in southern Chile, the largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the world. Other notable shallow tsunami-generating earthquakes include the 1906 M8.5 earthquake near Esmeraldas, Ecuador, the 1922 M8.5 earthquake near Coquimbo, Chile, the 2001 M8.4 Arequipa, Peru earthquake, the 2007 M8.0 earthquake near Pisco, Peru, and the 2010 M8.8 Maule, Chile earthquake located just north of the 1960 event.

Large intermediate-depth earthquakes (those occurring between depths of approximately 70 and 300 km) are relatively limited in size and spatial extent in South America, and occur within the Nazca plate as a result of internal deformation within the subducting plate. These earthquakes generally cluster beneath northern Chile and southwestern Bolivia, and to a lesser extent beneath northern Peru and southern Ecuador, with depths between 110 and 130 km. Most of these earthquakes occur adjacent to the bend in the coastline between Peru and Chile. The most recent large intermediate-depth earthquake in this region was the 2005 M7.8 Tarapaca, Chile earthquake.

Earthquakes can also be generated to depths greater than 600 km as a result of continued internal deformation of the subducting Nazca plate. Deep-focus earthquakes in South America are not observed from a depth range of approximately 300 to 500 km. Instead, deep earthquakes in this region occur at depths of 500 to 650 km and are concentrated into two zones: one that runs beneath the Peru-Brazil border and another that extends from central Bolivia to central Argentina. These earthquakes generally do not exhibit large magnitudes. An exception to this was the 1994 Bolivian earthquake in northwestern Bolivia. This M8.2 earthquake occurred at a depth of 631 km, making it the largest deep-focus earthquake instrumentally recorded, and was felt widely throughout South and North America.

Subduction of the Nazca plate is geometrically complex and impacts the geology and seismicity of the western edge of South America. The intermediate-depth regions of the subducting Nazca plate can be segmented into five sections based on their angle of subduction beneath the South America plate. Three segments are characterized by steeply dipping subduction; the other two by near-horizontal subduction. The Nazca plate beneath northern Ecuador, southern Peru to northern Chile, and southern Chile descend into the mantle at angles of 25° to 30°. In contrast, the slab beneath southern Ecuador to central Peru, and under central Chile, is subducting at a shallow angle of approximately 10° or less. In these regions of “flat-slab” subduction, the Nazca plate moves horizontally for several hundred kilometers before continuing its descent into the mantle, and is shadowed by an extended zone of crustal seismicity in the overlying South America plate. Although the South America plate exhibits a chain of active volcanism resulting from the subduction and partial melting of the Nazca oceanic lithosphere along most of the arc, these regions of inferred shallow subduction correlate with an absence of volcanic activity. - USGS.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Numerous Sightings Of Fireballs Across The Globe - Copper Green Fireball Streaks Straight Down Over California; Florida Fireball Meteor Streaks Through Sky In Sunshine State; Mystery 'Loud Booms' Felt, Heard Over The Midlands, South Carolina; Daytime Fireball Breaks Up Over Brazil; Separate Daytime Fireball Recorded Just 250km West Of Chelyabinsk, 4 Days Before Massive Overhead Explosion In Russia; Dramatic Video Captures The Moment Sonic Boom From Russian Meteor Terrifies Schoolchildren By Smashing Windows Of Sports Hall!

February 22, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Several Southland residents late Thursday reported witnessing a bright light zoom across the sky.

Dozens of sky watchers told the American Meteor Society that they saw the fire ball. People in Ventura, Anaheim, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Paso Robles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara posted on the group's website.

In an email to NBC4 News, Laguna Hills resident Patric Barry said he spotted the meteor out of his living room window at about 10:35 p.m.

"I saw a light and looked directly at the meteor as it came down in the ocean off Corona Del Mar. Bits came off, and it was bright white," he wrote.

The sightings come days after Bay Area residents were treated to a light show of their own when a fireball was seen streaking across the sky. - NBC Los Angeles.

Copper Green Fireball Streaks Straight Down Over California - February 21, 2013.

21 February 2013 - Brittney Mcconnell, Pleasanton, CA 22:30 PST

Between 5-10 seconds duration. Lime green color with orange trail. Sun white hot in brightness but also lime green. No fragmentation observed, just the flaming trail behind it. It wasn't heading straight down but angled at about 30 degrees. I estimate that it landed in the Pleasanton/Sunol area.

21 February 2013 - Mark S. Dobkin, Costa Mesa, CA USA, Approx. 22:30 PST

2-3 seconds duration - I was facing West. East-West direction. Bright white ball of fire, then broke up. I was stationary in my car, so did not hear any sound. As bright as moon, but not as large. Considerably larger than Venus. Fragmentation observed. Fairly large. One of the largest I have seen.

21 February 2013 - Chloe Michaels, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA 10:30 PST

2-3 seconds duration. I could only view it from my window. North-West direction. It was a white ball and streak of light, with a tail. As bright as the moon.

21 February 2013 - Kris, Los Angeles, CA 22:50

2/3 seconds duration. North-West direction. Green color, as bright as Venus. I'm curious as to what that was.

21 February 2013 - Jasmine Brown, Los Angeles, CA, U.S. 22:35

7 seconds duration. I was facing West. It went from orange color to bright blue, heading straight down. I couldn't hear any sound. The piece itself looked as though it came off of something. It went so fast, I was pulling out of the parallel driving spot to head for work. I turned and went the other way in case it hit the ground. I've seen a few fly across but this was heading straight to the ground without disappearing in mid-air.

21 February 2013 - Nick Bishop, Sacramento, CA, United States, Approx 22:50

2 seconds duration. I was looking south in a vehicle. Meteor started at approx 165 degrees and moved nearly directly vertically downwards. Maybe 5 degrees of horizontal movement to the west. Green (exact color of burning copper), with orange/red debris trailing behind, which rapidly (1/4 second) burnt out. Brighter than the Sun, less bright than the moon. Very rapid movement, hard to judge size but it seemed to be quite small. Object totally disintegrated before reaching the horizon.

21 February 2013 - Joe, Fresno, CA, USA 22:31 PST

3 seconds duration. I was driving, traveling west. I was looking forward, but something suddenly caught the corner of my eye out my driver's side window, which was facing outward south. The meteor appeared to be coming from the east/southeast, headed west/northwest. Fluorescent green, no noise. As bright as the moon. There didn't appear to be any fragmentation. It had a long tail. Very large object, equivalent to approximately 1/6 the size of the moon.

- Lunar Meteorite Hunters.

Early Morning Meteor Blazes Over Maine, Maryland And Massachusetts - February 21, 2013.

21 February 2013 - Charlene Libby, Buxton, Maine USA 3:54 EST

2-3 seconds duration. Southeast/Southwest direction. I was facing Southwest. It was green, with no noise and as bright as Venus. It had a visible long tail.

21 February 2013 - Robert Ahti, Seabrook, New Hampshire, USA 3:50 EST

5 seconds duration. The meteor was heading in a southwesterly direction. I was facing west. It was green. I'd say it was of medium brightness. It was very large compared to shooting stars I've seen over my years.

21 February 2013 - Vinny, Westford, Massachusetts, USA 3:45 EST

2/3 seconds duration. I was facing Southeast. It was bright white with a tail. I reckon it was the size of a basketball. I'd say it was as bright as Venus. I've seen shooting stars but this one was very large and amazing to see. As it went beyond the tree line you could still see the brightness.

21 February 2013 - Paul L., Weymouth, MA, U.S.A 3:50 EST

3 seconds duration. East to West direction. Bright yellow color, brighter than the Moon. My first :)

21 February 2013 - Robert Dahler, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA 3:54 EST

3-4 seconds duration. It went overhead from south to north. I was facing Northwest. It was green to blue in color, no sound on this one. Brighter than Venus, and a bit larger than a softball. Saw one as a kid, in '78 or '79 about the size of a small car wheel with the sound of a 1000 sparklers tied together.

- Lunar Meteorite Hunters.

A fireball that was probably a sporadic meteor (not the
one pictured) lit up the sky in Florida's East Coast on
Sunday. © Wikimedia Commons.

Florida Fireball Meteor Streaks Through Sky In Sunshine State - February 20, 2013.

A meteoric fireball lit up the East Coast of Florida Sunday evening, only two days after a large meteor wreaked destruction in Russia, and a smaller fireball touched down in California.

The Florida meteor, sighted just before 6 p.m., was also tiny, experts told The Florida Times-Union.

But Thomas Webber, director of the Museum of Science and History's Bryan-Gooding Planetarium, said meteors and smaller meteorites strike the Earth "every hour of every day," so they're not rare.

But Sunday's sighting, though small, was bigger than most.

"This one wasn't grain-of-sand size, which what most of them are," Webber said to The Florida Times-Union.

"When we get something a little bigger, that maybe has a silicate coating that ablates off as it travels though the atmosphere and takes some of the heat with it, they can appear much brighter and last a lot longer."

Thirty people reported Sunday night's meteor on the "Fireball Log" at www.amsmeteors.org, with comments ranging from "I saw flames coming from it as it was falling" from a Delray Beach resident to "Was scared" from a Miami resident. Only one Jacksonville sighting appeared on the site. Several people called Coast Guard stations, including at Mayport, the paper reported.

After the Russian meteor made headlines across the world, Webber said people may be a bit on edge.

"There's an awareness and there might be a little trepidation now," Webber told The Florida Times-Union. "People are a little on edge. When something is on our mind, we tend to see it more." - Traveler's Today.

Mystery 'Loud Booms' Felt, Heard Over The Midlands, South Carolina - February 20, 2013.

News19 has gotten multiple reports of loud booms in Several Midlands neighborhoods.

The reports began coming in around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

We heard from worried residents in Sumter, Wedgefield, Manning, and Bishopville. The noise was so loud that windows rattled and homes shook.

Reports also came out of Summerton, Eastover, Mayesville, and Sandy Run.

We made several calls to try and find out what caused the sounds, and the State Emergecny Management Agency says it wasn't an earthquake.

Shaw Air Force Base hasn't reported any unusual flying activity and the Lynn Douglas with the Columbia Airport says she knows of no sonic booms in the Midlands. - WLTX.

Separate Daytime Fireball Recorded Just 250km West Of Chelyabinsk, 4 Days Before Massive Overhead Explosion In Russia.

Online video of an unusual phenomenon in the sky, filmed from the highway between Ufa and Orenburg. The the video was shot last night, February 11, 2013, near the village of Bulgakovo in the Ufa area.

"This was a bright, luminous body, visible for long distances," said Professor Ufu, RU director of the Ufa "Planetarium", Anatoly Denisov. Have not been able to determine to what meteor shower this bolide belonged. It is possible that it did not belong to any particular shower; such fireballs are sporadic. - PROUFU.

WATCH: Meteorite fall on the road P-314'''' Ufa and Orenburg.

Dramatic Video Captures The Moment Sonic Boom From Russian Meteor Terrifies Schoolchildren By Smashing Windows Of Sports Hall.

Schoolchildren pictured practicing their karate moves on each other - Seconds later sonic boom from meteor smashes windows of hall - Children cover their ears with hands and run away in terror  It was a terrifying moment which left nearly 1,500 people injured and caused more than £20 million worth of damage.  But few images have been able to capture just how much every day life was turned upside down following the enormous Russian meteor than this video.  These pictures show young Russian schoolchildren practicing their karate moves on each other in a sports hall, completely unaware that their day was about to be completely transformed.  As they continue with their class in Chelyabinsk, a sudden change of light can be seen through the large windows on the left of the picture.  Seconds later, the windows of the sports hall completely blow out - resulting in the school children running away in complete terror.

WATCH: Russian meteorite terrifies schoolchildren.

Many place their hands to their ears as they run for cover. Their instructors look towards the windows in horror.  It is believed the windows were smashed out after a sonic boom - which was the sound of the shock waves created by the meteor traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound.  The meteor injured nearly 1,500 people and caused widespread property damage in Chelyabinsk on Friday, with health officials yesterday saying that 46 of the injured remain hospitalised.  The debris narrowly missed a direct and devastating hit on the industrial city which has a population of 1.13 million but spread panic through its streets as the sky above lit up with a blinding flash.  Scientists yesterday claimed the meteor is the biggest space rock to have hit earth in more than a century. 

The 100,000 tonne rock, measuring around 55 feet in diameter, created a huge hole in a frozen lake when it crashed into the ground.  As it raced through the sky, the 50-foot wide chunk of space rock compressed the air ahead of it, creating the enormous temperatures that meant it exploded in a fireball somewhere between 18 and 32 miles above the ground at around 9.20am local time on Friday.  Although some debris fell to earth, 'whipping up a pillar of ice, water and steam' and creating a 20-foot-wide crater, the damage in nearby towns was actually caused by shockwaves created by the meteor breaking the sound barrier and then exploding.  Scientists have found more than 50 tiny fragments of the meteor, allowing them to uncover information about its contents.  Local residents have been more interested in the black market value of the fragments since the dramatic incident, as a 'gold mine' has been kickstarted for the valuable pieces.  As they search for their own pieces of the meteor, rocks have already been put on the internet for sale, and police are warning all purchasers to prepare for possible fraud.  Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office said: 'We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years.'  He told the Wall Street Journal: 'When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones.'

Viktor Grokhovsky, who led the expedition from Urals Federal University, said that 53 fragments of the meteor have been plucked from the ice-covered Chebarkul Lake.  He said they are less than a centimeter (half an inch) in size, about 10 per cent iron, and belong to the chondrite type, the most common variation of meteorites found on Earth.  Divers inspecting the lake have found nothing at the bottom, but Mr Grokhovsky said a fragment as large as 50-60 centimeters (20-24 inches) could eventually be found there.  Workers in the city remained busy replacing acres of windows shattered by a powerful shockwave caused by the meteor's strike, which NASA said released 500 kilotons of energy, the power equivalent to more than 30 Hiroshima bombs.  The local governor estimated the damage at 1 billion rubles (£21.5million) and said he hopes the federal government will provide at least half that amount.  On Saturday, divers searched the waters beneath the ice for traces of space rock but surfaced empty handed, leaving some experts questioning whether the hole was indeed formed by a piece of falling debris. - Daily Mail.

WATCH: Dramatic dash cam footage of meteorite explosion.

Daytime Fireball Breaks Up Over Brazil - February 20, 2013.

Dr. Marcelo Souza, professor of physics in Campos Dos Goytacazes, called me and reported that witnesses had just seen this event from Campos Dos Goytacazes, Vitoria, and Cabo Frio, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brasil approximately 20 minutes prior. It has now been confirmed that there was a single bolide seen by many persons in north Rio de Janeiro State, Brasil.

Campos Dos Goytacazes Brasil Sentinel Allsky Network is currently checking for video capture.

Dirk Ross, LunarMeteorite*Hunter, Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Marcelo Souza, IFF-R.J. and Sentinel Allsky established the Brasil Allsky Network, the FIRST in South America, last year.

Ross says, "This event, along with the recent Russia and other large events demonstrates that Brasil needs to take the threat of an asteroid impact more seriously and expand the Brasil Allsky Network nationwide for detection".

Ross is hoping that Sao Paulo State will soon establish the second network.

Eyewitness Report

"Avistei hoje, às 1312 UTC, em vitória, es, um metero cruzando o céu, sentido norte para sul. O meteoro foi visto por cerca de 5 segundos por mim. Mais 4 testemunhas, que estavam no local, também avistaram. Uma das testemunhas, que avistou um pouco antes, deve ter visto o mesmo por cerca de 12 segundos antes dele se desintegrar na atmosfera.

O que vi foi basicamente um rastro iluminado, amarelado, cruzando o céu numa trajetória descendente e se desintegrando completamente."

Google translation

"I saw today at 1312 UTC, in victory, es, a metero across the sky, north to south. The meteor was seen by about 5 seconds for me. More 4 witnesses who were at the scene also spotted. One witnesses who saw a little before, must have seen it for about 12 seconds before it disintegrates in the atmosphere.
What I saw was basically a trail illuminated, yellow, streaking across the sky in a downward trend and disintegrating completely. "

Verified by Dr. Marcelo Souza - Name of eyewitness withheld as requested.

Marcelo de Oliveira Souza
D.Sc. in Physics - Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense
Louis Cruls Astronomy Club General Coordinator
Astronomers Without Borders National Coordinator in Brazil
UNAWE Program Coordinator in Brazil
Sidewalk Astronomers - Brazil National Contact
StarPeace Ambassador in Brazil

Another Witness:

20 February 2013 - "John"JB, Campos Basin, Brazil @ 10:30 approx local time 4-5 seconds duration. North to South direction. Orange colour. As bright as the Sun. Fragmentation: 3 or 4 large pieces. I did not note the time, but between 09:30 and 10:30 local time. Ship position: 22 - 09.0 S, 039 - 57.1 W. I was looking directly West and saw the whole event.

- Lunar Meteorite Hunters.

WATCH: A local TV report on this daytime fireball sighting in Brazil.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: Mount Etna Boils Over - Three Outbursts In 36 Hours!

February 22, 2012 - ITALY - After maintaining a low simmer for ten months, Italy’s Etna volcano boiled over on February 19–20, 2013, with three outbursts in 36 hours.

According to the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, each outburst (paroxysm) featured “emission of lava flows, pyroclastic flows, lahars, and an ash cloud.”

The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured Mount Etna on February 19 at 9:59 a.m.

Central European Time, about 3 hours after the end of the first paroxysm. The false-color image combines shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and green light in the red, green, and blue channels of an RGB picture.

This combination makes it easier to differentiate between fresh lava, snow, clouds, and forest.

In the image, fresh lava is bright red, as the hot surface emits enough energy to saturate the instrument’s shortwave infrared detectors but is dark in near-infrared and green light.

Snow is blue-green because it absorbs shortwave infrared light, but reflects near-infrared and green light. Clouds made of water droplets (not ice crystals) reflect all three wavelengths of light similarly and appear white.

Download large image  (771 KB, JPEG, 1157x1158)
Download large natural color image (3 MB, JPEG, 3471x3474)

Forests and other vegetation reflect near-infrared more strongly than shortwave infrared and green, and so appear green. Dark gray areas are lightly vegetated lava flows, 30 to 350 years old. - NASA Observatory.

WATCH: Dramatic new eruption on Mount Etna.

GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: Expert Declares That There Is Now Substantially More Than 50,000,000 Cubic Feet Of Gas Below The Giant Louisiana Sinkhole - Covering Two Square Miles, Enough To Do "Very Serious Damage"! UPDATE: Mysterious Bubbling Reported By Salt Dome, 50 Miles From The Sinkhole - Sheriff Asking Motorists To Stay Away!

February 22, 2013 - LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES - Opponents of expanding the underground natural gas storage facility under Lake Peigneur asked state regulators on Wednesday to carefully review what they argue has the potential to become another disaster on the scale of the growing sinkhole in Assumption Parish.  Comments at a public hearing on the project also harkened back to 1980, when a drilling rig pushed through the top of salt mine under Lake Peigneur and opened a hole that consumed the entire water body.  “This lake, this region, these resources have sacrificed enough,” state Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, told state Department of Natural Resources officials at the hearing. “... Protect the lake. It has suffered enough.” 

Image from the latest flyover of the Louisiana sinkhole.

Latest photos show oil sheen covering giant Louisiana sinkhole. See more HERE.
This photo was taken on February 20, 2013 using an Apple iPad.  By Assumption Parish Police Jury.

Mills was joined in opposition by residents in the area, other public officials and representatives from the Sierra Club, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.  Atlanta-based AGL Resources is proposing to scour out two new salt caverns for natural gas storage at its Jefferson Island Storage & Hub Facility, expanding on the existing two storage caverns there.  AGL has pointed to a record of no problems since the facility opened in the 1990s and maintains that the proposed expansion has been carefully studied to minimize environment impacts and ensure safe operations.  The proposed expansion has met strong opposition and is now beginning its second permitting attempt. The project was halted in 2006 when then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco called for an extensive environmental study of the project.  AGL responded with a lawsuit against the state that was settled in 2009 with some additional requirements, but not the environmental study that Blanco had sought.  The permitting process is moving forward again at a time when there are near daily news reports about the problems created by a large sinkhole related to a failed salt cavern at Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish.  “Coastal management can stop another disaster by denying this permit,” said Save Lake Peigneur President Nara Crowley, referring to DNR’s Office of Coastal Management. 

Sen. Fred Mills, R-New Iberia, speaks Wednesday at a public
hearing in New Iberia about the proposed expansion of a
natural gas storage facility beneath Lake Peigneur.
Advocate staff photo by BRYAN TUCK.

Crowley and other residents cited a host of potential safety and environmental concerns and pointed to the continued bubbling at the lake.  Bubbling also was reported at Bayou Corne before the sinkhole developed there last year.  The bubbling at Lake Peigneur has been more sporadic, but Crowley said there have been 79 documented instances of bubbling at the lake in recent years, including three in the past week.  AGL Managing Director of Government Affairs Richard Hyde said in interview earlier this month that testing has not identified the precise cause of the bubbling but has confirmed that “it is not coming from our wells.”  Crowley has questioned the thoroughness of testing done so far and said the critical issue is that there is currently no explanation for the bubbling.  Opponents of the project have also raised concerns about how dredging for the project could impact water quality at the scenic lake and whether the up to 3 million of gallons of water a day needed to scour out the new salt caverns might draw down groundwater to the point where salt water would push in from farther south and contaminate local wells.  “Y’all are messing with our drinking water and the places where we live,” said Iberia Parish Councilman Marty Trahan, who represents the Lake Peigneur area.  AGL has maintained there would be no significant effect on water quality in the lake or in water wells.  The subject of Wednesday’s public hearing was a permit for dredging work needed to bring equipment into the lake for the cavern expansion work.  AGL needs two other state permits for the project — one to scour out caverns in the salt dome and another to use the scoured caverns for natural gas storage. - The Advocate.

Iberia Parish Councilman Marty Trahan speaks out Wednesday
at a public hearing in New Iberia against the proposed expansion
of a natural gas storage facility beneath Lake Peigneur.
Advocate staff photo by BRYAN TUCK.

Residents who live in Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish are worried active bubbling on the lake near their homes could be putting their lives in danger.

"They haven't told us anything, I don't know. But I wish somebody would give us some answers because it's a scary thought every night thinking what's going to happen," said Lake Peigneur resident Crystal Bell.
Homeowners are concerned the salt dome storage cavern collapse in Assumption Parish could happen to them.

The Department of Environmental Quality sent workers to the area to take samples of the mysterious bubbles on the lake surface.

Rodney Mallet, a spokesman for the agency, says thy have been getting complaints from residents there since 2007. However, he says the lab results have never showed anything DEQ believed was cause for alarm. - WAFB.

Lake Peigneur.

Residents opposing AGL Resources from expanding natural gas storage at Lake Peigneur will attend a Department of Natural Resources hearing tonight. They have fought the expansion for years saying they fear building underground caverns to store natural gas would contaminate the Chicot Aquifer. Also, they're concerned Lake Peigneur could become a sinkhole like the one at Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish that has forced people in about 150 homes to evacuate since August. The partial collapse of an underground cavern is believed to have caused the sinkhole.

Residents calim the lake has bubbled in the past and captured pictures of it bubbling again Wednesday afternoon. In December, AGL Resources told KATC, "We continue to remain committed to this expansion of a safe project that has been in operation for more than 15 years. We have met with local residents and elected officials and remain open to any opportunities to meet with members of the Iberia Parish Council," AGL Public Relations Specialist Kyle Bauer said. - KATC.

  A representative from the Jefferson Island Storage and Hub’s parent company AGL Resources gave a presentation Wednesday night at the onset of a public hearing in New Iberia Wednesday, but according to residents at the hearing, there was an important component missing.  What is causing the bubbling on Lake Peigneur?  “I don’t see how this agency can say this project has minimized or avoided all negative impacts without having an answer,” Lisa Jordan, supervising attorney for the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, said.  Jordan was one of two representatives from the clinic who joined more than a half dozen residents in voicing concerns regarding the company’s intent to create two additional natural gas storage caverns at the facility near Lake Peigneur.  AGL announced its plans to create the additional caverns in 2006 and residents have been fighting the process ever since. 

Jim Brugh of LAWCO addresses state officials and local residents
at a hearing of the Office of Coastal Management. The hearing
was concerning permits that would eventually allow the
Jefferson Island Storage Hub to expand its operations by
adding caverns in the salt dome deep underground.

About 50 people gathered at Willow Wood Park where residents from Erath, New Iberia and Abbeville spoke up.  The public hearing was held by the Department of Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management to get input on AGL’s coastal use permit application. The application is specifically for dredging, pipelines and other infrastructure needed to access the site with equipment that could be used to create the caverns.  There will be separate hearings on permits for the creation of the salt caverns and for the transformation of those caverns into natural gas storage facilities.  Nara Crowley, Save Lake Peigneur Inc. president, said there have been 79 “bubbling events” at the lake since 2005.  The most recent was Wednesday afternoon. The Vermilion and Iberia Parish sheriff’s offices as well as DNR were called out this morning when residents saw the lake was still bubbling. The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office is asking motorists to stay clear of the area until DNR and the Department of Environmental Quality assess the bubbling.  Crowley said this is the first time bubbling has continued into a second day.  Residents surrounding Lake Peigneur have long questioned the bubbling, but the disaster at Bayou Corne in nearby Assumption Parish has exacerbated concerns. 

“In the past, when Bayou Corne residents asked about the bubbling, the answer was, ‘It’s swamp gas,’” Gloria Conlin, of Abbeville, said. “To Lake Peigneur residents, that sounds familiar.”  Residents also raised concerns regarding the amount of water from the Chicot Aquifer that would be needed to create the caverns.  LAWCO regional manager Jim Brugh said the company knows of an arsenic plume within the aquifer east of his company’s wells in New Iberia.  The company only recently developed a new well field west of the plume that it estimated the arsenic wouldn’t reach for 50 years.  With accelerated draw down from AGL resources, Brugh said they couldn’t be so sure.  “We’re very, very concerned the plume will contaminate the wells,” he said.  State Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, questioned the need of caverns versus the impact on coastal resources.  He said natural gas storage is 16 percent higher than the five-year average while, “our coastal resources are among the most valued in the nation, yet the fastest disappearing on the planet.”  “Protect the lake,” Mills said, “she has suffered enough.”  Patrick Courrege, DNR communications director, said the comments given during last night’s public hearing will be reviewed by permit analysts who will recommend whether or not the permit should be granted.  He said the department should have a decision on the permit within 15 days. - The Daily Iberian.

In a Senate Committe Hearing on the sinkhole, geologist with CB&I, Gary Hecox indicated that there is substantially more than 50,000,000 cubic feet of gas below the surface of the hole and that it covers two square miles, enough to do "very serious damage".

The gas currently covers over 2 square miles, the extent is not well defined […] The gas across here is between 2 and 10 feet thick […] around 50-60 psi pressure […] it is enough to have large volumes come to the surface very rapidly if it’s uncontrolled. It’s enough to do very serious damage to anything on the surface if it’s not controlled. [...]

In the last month we’ve identified 20 new bubble sites on the western side of the sinkhole. We believe this is related not to necessarily more gas coming up,  but we can’t exclude that as a possible contributing factor […]

We’ve estimated the volume of gas in the MRAA as 50 million cubic feet in place. The picture says 200 million, that was a typo on my part. […] We’ll have an updated estimate probably by the end of next week […] and it’s probably going to be substantially bigger than the 50 million.

WATCH: Senate Committee Hearing.

WATCH: Latest flyover video - February 20, 2013.

FIRE IN THE SKY: 2013, The Year Of The Comet - Comet Lemmon Glows Much Brighter Than Was Expected, Putting On A Spectacular Light Show Over The Southern Hemisphere As It Moves Closer To The Sun!

February 22, 2013 - SPACE - At the moment there are three significant comets plunging toward the sun: Comet ISON, Comet Pan-STARRS, and Comet Lemmon. The most beautiful so far is this one:

"Comet Lemmon has a beautiful tail with lovely fine structure," says Phil Hart of Lake Eppalock, Victoria, Australia, who photographed it on Feb. 17th.

The comet is now slightly closer to the sun than Earth. Solar heating has turned it into a binocular object (magnitude +5.5 to +6) barely visible to the human eye, but dazzling through backyard telescopes, as shown in Hart's photo above.

Comet Lemmon's verdant color comes from two of the gases boiling off its nucleus: cyanogen (CN: a poisonous gas found in many comets) and diatomic carbon (C₂). Both substances glow green when illuminated by sunlight in the near-vacuum of space.

The combination of its colorful atmosphere and filamentary tail make this comet visually striking. Ultimately, Comet Pan-STARRS and especially Comet ISON could surpass it, but for now the most beautiful comet in the solar system appears to be a green Lemmon. More about Comet Lemmon: 3D orbit, ephemeris, light curves.


In Early February
Glowing much brighter than expected, Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) is gliding through the skies of the southern hemisphere about 92 million miles (0.99 AU) from Earth. Amateur astronomer Rolf Wahl Olsen sends this picture from his backyard in Auckland, New Zealand:

"I took this image of Comet Lemmon on the 28th of January," says Olsen. "It has become quite bright now and has also grown a beautiful tail." Discovered on March 23rd 2012 by the Mount Lemmon survey in Arizona, Comet Lemmon is on an elliptical orbit with a period of almost 11,000 years. This is its first visit to the inner solar system in a very long time. The comet is brightening as it approaches the sun; light curves suggest that it will reach 2nd or 3rd magnitude, similar to the stars in the Big Dipper, in late March when it approaches the sun at about the same distance as Venus (0.7 AU).

At the moment, the comet is glowing like a 7th magnitude star, just below the limit of naked-eye visibility. To capture the faint details of the comet's filamentary tail, Olsen used a 10-inch telescope, a sensitive CCD camera, and an exposure time of 1 hour 17 minutes. Complete photo details are given here. Lemmon's green color comes from the gases that make up its coma. Jets spewing from the comet's nucleus contain cyanogen (CN: a poisonous gas found in many comets) and diatomic carbon (C₂). Both substances glow green when illuminated by sunlight in the near-vacuum of space. Northern hemisphere observers will get their first good look at the comet in early April; until then it is a target exclusively for astronomers in the southern hemisphere.


In Late January
2013 could be the Year of the Comet. Comet Pan-STARRS is set to become a naked eye object in march, followed by possibly-Great Comet ISON in November. Now we must add to that list green Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6). "Comet Lemmon is putting on a great show for us down in the southern hemisphere," reports John Drummond, who sends this picture from Gisborne, New Zealand.

"I took the picture on Jan. 23rd using a 41 cm (16 in) Meade reflector," says Drummond. "It is a stack of twenty 1 minute exposures." That much time was required for a good view of the comet's approximately 7th-magnitude coma ("coma"=cloud of gas surrounding the comet's nucleus). Lemmon's green color comes from the gases that make up its coma. Jets spewing from the comet's nucleus contain cyanogen (CN: a poisonous gas found in many comets) and diatomic carbon (C₂). Both substances glow green when illuminated by sunlight in the near-vacuum of space.

Discovered on March 23rd 2012 by the Mount Lemmon survey in Arizona, Comet Lemmon is on an elliptical orbit with a period of almost 11,000 years. This is its first visit to the inner solar system in a very long time. The comet is brightening as it approaches the sun; light curves suggest that it will reach 2nd or 3rd magnitude, similar to the stars in the Big Dipper, in late March when it approaches the sun at about the same distance as Venus (0.7 AU). Northern hemisphere observers will get their first good look at the comet in early April; until then it is a target exclusively for astronomers in the southern hemisphere. - Space Weather.