Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (March 14, 2014)

New Ozone Threats
Four mysterious and previously unidentified man-made compounds have been found that can destroy Earth's upper-atmosphere ozone, possibly preventing the ozone hole from healing.  The production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases came under restriction worldwide in the mid-1980s after the compounds were found to be creating the hole above Antarctica.  A total global ban on production came into force in 2010.  But researchers say the four newly discovered chemicals, also powerful greenhouse gases, may be leaking from insecticide production and from solvents used in cleaning electronic components.  Scientists now caution that many others probably exists.  "They might well add up to dangerous levels, especially if we keep finding more," said Johannes Laube at the University of East Anglia.  Since the ozone-killing chemicals take decades to break down in the atmosphere, their impact on climate and the ozone hole is long-lasting.
Smog Drones
Outbreaks of smog around Beijing have become so acute that officials are testing a new, more efficient type of drone to be used to spray smog-clearing chemicals, primarily around airports.  The South China Morning Post reports that drones equipped with parasails can carry about 1,500 pounds of the unspecified smog-busting compounds, which are said to have the capacity to cleanse the air in a 3-mile radius.  The vehicles will reportedly spray chemicals that "freeze pollutants," causing them to fall to the ground.  But environmental advocates warn that such a process would simply coat the city's surfaces with still-toxic pollutants. They add that the government is tackling the symptom rather than the root cause of pollution.
Great White Voyager
A great white shark, tagged off Jacksonville, Fla., appears to be headed for British coastal waters in an epic trans-Atlantic journey researcheers say is the first ever observed in the species.  The satellite tracked fish, named Lydia, was observed crossing the mid-Atlantic ridge, which is roughly the midway point between North America and Europe.  "No white sharks have crossed from west to east or east to west," said Dr. Gregory Skomal, senior fisheries biologist with Massachusetts Marine Fisheries.  Lydia has zigzagged approximately 20,000 miles across the western Atlantic since being tagged last March.  One scientist monitoring her movements with the Ocearch project speculates that the fish is pregnant.  "If I had to guess, I would guess that Lydia.......has been out in the open ocean, gestating her babies and that this spring she will lead us to where those baby white sharks are born ------ the nursery," Chris Fischer told the BBC.
Earthquakes
Parts of southern Oregon and northwestern California were jolted for 20 seconds by a quake centered 50 miles offshore.
*     Fracking operations were halted along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border after tremors struck the typically quake-free area.
*    Earth movements were also felt in south-central Alaska, coastal Los Angeles and from the Flordia Keys to northern Cuba.
Russian Eruption
Far East Russia's Karymsky volcano spewed ash high above the Kamchatka Peninsula.  The volcano has been among the most active in the region since 1996.
Tropical Cyclones
At least three people were killed when Cyclone Lusi lashed the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, causing buildings to collapse.  Lusi then took aim on northern New Zealand late in the week as a weakening tropical storm.  The region was set to receive drought-breaking rains along with widespread severe conditions.
*    Tropical Storm Gillian drenched parts of northeastern Australia's Cape York Peninsula as it churned the Gulf of Carpentaria.
*    Tropical Storm Hadi developed briefly over Queensland's Great Barrier Reef without threatening the mainland.
Long-Haul Salmon
California's severe drought has wildlife officials considering whether to move millions of hatchery-raised Chinook salmon by tanker trucks to the ocean.  The unusual move would be necessary because the Sacramento River and its tributaries have become too shallow and warm for the fish to migrate safely on their own.  The fish are typically released down the water ways from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery near Red Bluff in April and May.  But low water levels this year could have depleted the food supplies needed during the trip and make the salmon far too vulnerable to predators.  The Sacramento Bee reports that fall-run Chinook salmon from the Sacramento River and its tributaries compose the bulk of the wild-caught salmon available in California markets and restaurants.  Unless the rest of March proves unusually wet, trucking the fish to the Pacific may be the only way to preserve the run.