Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (Dec. 13, 2013)

Warming Not Paused
New research finds that while the rate of surface warming of the planet due to climate change has slowed since 1998, the effects of warming are still advancing at a rapid pace.  Climate researchers from the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research say it is a myth that global warming has paused, owing to solid evidence that the world's oceans are now absorbing more than 90 percent of the excess heating of the planet.  Researcher Kevin Trenberth estimates that the oceans are accumulating heat equivalent to about six Hiroshima atomic bomb detonations per second on average.  Warming of the planet due to greenhouse emissions is still melting glaciers and ice caps, lifting ocean levels and creating some of the hottest periods on record around the planet.  Writing in the American Geophysical Union open-access journal Earth's Future, Trenberth and colleague John Fasullo say that "global warming has not stopped: it is merely manifested in different ways."  Greenhouse gas emissions continue to surge from polluting industry and transportation, setting the stage for even more intense warming in the decades ahead, researchers warn.
Sumatran Eruption
Indonesia's erupting Mount Sinabung volcano continued to spew ash and send lava down its slopes, keeping thousands of people who were forced from their homes weeks ago in temporary housing.  The Jakarta Post reports, 17,713 people have now been displaced by the ongoing eruptions and are staying at 31 evacuation camps.  The volcano has become increasingly active since September, erupting numerous times.  Ash from the blasts has destroyed thousands of acres of farmland.
World of Extremes
Scientists have located the coldest place on Earth, where the temperature plunged to minus 135.8 degrees Fahrenheit on Aug. 10, 2010.  The discovery was made after the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center analyzed thermal satellite images that pinpointed the spot in one of the many frigid pockets within the heart of Antarctica.  The coldest daily temperature on the planet is often recorded at Russia's Vostok research base, where the official planetary record low of minus 128.6 degrees occurred on July 21, 1983.  Unofficial thermal satellite observations revealed last year that Iran's Lut Desert had the world's all-time hottest temperature in 2005, when the mercury soared to an utterly astounding 159.3 degrees Fahrenheit.  That means the atmosphere has seen a swing of almost 300 degrees Fahenheit in temperature between the hottest and coldest spots on the planet.
Smoggy Humor
Another bout of record air pollution forced several Chinese cities to shut down expressways and cancel flights as toxic fog and smog gripped northern and eastern parts of the country.  Some official Communist Chinese media outlets were slammed by Internet users and other media after they tried to put a positive spin on the hazardous pollution.  The Global Times said smog could be useful in military situations, where it could hinder the use of guided missiles.  Broadcaster CCTV listed five "unforeseen rewards" of smog, including helping Chinese people's sense of humor.  "Is the smog supposed to lift if we laugh about it?"  retorted Beijing Business Today,  published by the city government's official Beijing Daily.  "Smog affects our breathing.  We hope it does not affect our thinking."
Tropical Cyclone
Category-1 Cyclone Madi churned the western Bay of Bengal for several days ---- the fourth successive cyclone to affect the region since early October.  It later made landfall as a minimal tropical storm before dissipating over far southern India.
Earthquakes
The U.S. southern Great Plains were jolted by a 4.5 magnitude quake centered just northeast of Oklahoma City.  Shaking was felt as far away as Wichita, Kan., but no reports of damage or injuries were received.
*     Earth movements were also felt along the Georgia-Tennessee border and on southern Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
Snowy Irruption
One of the largest influxes of Arctic snowy owls in history is in progress across the northeastern United States and the Great Lakes region.  Experts from Cornell University say a shortage of their favorite food up north, lemmings, or a bumper crop of young, is responsible for the "irruption."  An outcry over the killing of the impressive raptors in the name of aircraft safety at New York area airports prompted the Port Authority to switch to nonlethal methods to remove the snowy owls from JFK and LaGuardia airports.  The agency said five planes at the three main New York City airports had been struck by owls in recent weeks.  The birds appear to be attracted to airports because their open expanses in the midst of urban sprawl look similar to the owls' normal Arctic tundra homes.