Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (March 21, 2014)

Ice Breakthrough
Greenland's last remaining stable portion of ice sheet has now lost its grip due to climate change and is stable no longer, according to researchers.  Once thought to be immune to the effects of global warming, the Zachariae glacier began shrinking rapidly in 2003 and has since lost more than 10 billion tons of ice per year, retreating by more than 12 miles.  Three years of exceptionally warm weather just after the turn of the 21st century broke the blockage that had kept the river of ice in place, according to a report published in the journal Nature Climate Change.  Greenland's ice cap has become a yardstick for global ocean rise because if it melted entirely, global sea levels would rise by about 23 feet.
Fearsome Flashes
Ultraviolet (UV) flashes regularly given off by high-voltage transmission lines and their pylons could be scaring wildlife as well as disrupting migrations and other animal activities, researchers warn.  It's long been observed that many creatures for some reason steer clear of power lines, even though the cables don't pose serious physical barriers.  But by using UV-sensitive cameras aboard a helicopter, researchers from University College London captured seemingly magical balls of light bursting to life briefly along the power lines.  While UV light is invisible to humans, dozens of mammals have been found to be able to see it, including cattle, cats, dogs, rats, bats and hedgehogs.  The scientists say the flashes, or coronas, would appear far brighter to many animals than they do in UV-sensitive camera images.  The flashes are caused by electricity ionizing around the cables and towers.  They are a major cause of power loss during transmission over long distances, experts say.
Meteorite Rush
Residents of the South Korean city of Jinju have been scouring the surrounding hills and rice paddies in search of meteorites since a fireball shattered overhead earlier this month.  The country's science institute confirmed that two rocks found in the area were "ordinary chondrite" meteorites of high iron composition.  That sent off a rush of treasure hunters, looking for stones that can be sold to collectors for tens of thousands of dollars each.  The stones are believed to have come from the same chunk of space debris that exploded while entering Earth's atmosphere on March 9.  The government says it will designate any meteorites found as cultural assets to stop them from being taken out of the country.  The meteorites from Jinju are the first to be discovered on the Korean peninsula since one was found during the Japan occupation 71 years ago.
Dolphin Ice Tragedy
Canadian fisheries officials say about 40 white-beaked dolphins died after becoming trapped in jagged pack ice off the coast of Newfoundland.  The marine mammals struggled for days to stay alive in shallow water with no easy way to escape from ice that was hugging the shores of Cape Ray.  Footage taken by a resident and posted online shows the water tinted red with blood as the dolphins tried to get free.  White-beaked dolphins, which can weigh up to 660 pounds, are typically among the first marine mammals to arrive in the waters around Newfoundland as spring approaches, according to Wayne Ledwell of the region's nonprofit group Whale Release and Strandings.  He says his records show more than 400 whales, dolphins and porpoises have been reported trapped in the ice around Newfoundland since the 1970s.
Cyclone Lusi
Drought-weary farmers across northern New Zealand were disappointed by the meager rainfall brought by remnants of Cyclone Lusi.
*      Tropical storm-force Cyclone Mike brought gales and locally heavy rain to parts of the Cook Islands.
Earthquakes
A sharp temblor centered beneath northwestern Peru damaged a church and sent residents fleeing their homes.
*      Earth movements were also felt in northern Chile, eastern Taiwan, southern Japan's Kyushu Island, south-central Kansas and across the Los Angeles Basin.
Chimp Trust
Despite being hunted by humans for their meat, blasted solo into space and used extensively for medical research, chimpanzees appear to trust people more than they do baboons and members of their own species that they don't know.  But researchers from Emory University's Yerkes National Primate Research Center say that's only the case if the primate has had positive experiences with humans in the past.  Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, lead author Matthew Campbell says the animals are not "hardwired" to trust humans in the wild, but learn to do so by studying human gestures as they bond and form empathetic connections with people.  Campbell adds that the chimps still think that kind and caring humans are different from them, but "an OK kind of different."