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

Oil Sands Tragedy
Canada's oil sands industry is under fire for the deaths of 122 waterfowl that had landed in three companies' tailings ponds, where waste from oil extraction is dumped.  Syncrude said many of the birds that landed at its Mildred Lake site in east-central Alberta had to be euthanized, and cited extreme fog as a leading factor in the tragedy.  It claims its waterfowl deterence system was operating at the time.  That company was earlier fined $3 million for the deaths of more than 1,600 ducks that landed on one of its tailings ponds in 2008.  Regulators say oil sands operators are required to operate bird deterrents, like noise cannons, to scare wildlife from toxic areas.  Oil sands mining creates a slurry of toxic substances that include bitumen, toluene, heavy metals and other chemicals harmful or fatal to birds.  Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada says the deterrence systems just aren't enough.  "The only way to keep birds and animals safe in, really, what is a toxic brew of chemicals is to get these tailings ponds off the Alberta landscape," Hudema told the industry news service Oilprice.
Groundwater Warming
Climate change over the past 40 years has raised the temperature of water in the ground from the surface down to about 200 feet, according to a new long-term study of groundwater flows in Western Europe.  Measurements taken around the German cities of Cologne and Karlsruhe during that period reveal the groundwater warmed significantly, following the warming pattern of the local and regional climate.  "Global warming is reflected directly in the groundwater, albeit damped and with a certain time lag," said Peter Bayer, senior assistant at ETH Zurich's Geological Institute.
Nocturnal Adaptation
Days in northern Kenya have become so hot under climate change that some residents have turned nocturnal to escape the heat.  Nightfall has become something to celebrate in Atheley and other villages, where afternoon readings in excess of 104 degrees Fahrenheit became common for the first time this year.  The Thompson Reuters Foundation reports this has made farming, going to school and other daily activities a struggle.  Vill bfown agers now take refuge in circular huts, waiting for sunset before venturing outside.  Students attend classes between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., then return at dawn for an additional two-hour session.  New solar lighting technology, which charges up during the broiling daylight hours, has allowed the remote villages to adapt to nocturnal life.
Lava Destruction
The creeping lava flow from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano claimed its first home, igniting the structure as its residents watched nearby.  The home in Pahoa was evacuated long before a finger of lava from the main flow arrived.  The leading edge of the lava, which can reach temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, later pushed through a fence surrounding the community's waste and recycling center.  A storage shed and a cattle-feeding shelter have also burned.
Earthquakes
A sharp quake caused minor damage near the epicenter in southern Kansas.  It was widely felt.
*      Earth movements were also felt in Britain's Channel Islands, southeastern Philippines, Tokyo, Hawaii's Kona Coast, Greece's Gulf of Cointh, northern  Chile and the San Francisco Bav Area.
Malodorous Moscow
The entire Russian capital became enveloped in the foul smell of sulfur, hydrogen sulfide and oil products, prompting at least one resident to ask if the gates of hell had opened up beneath Moscow.  A thick fog accompanied the stink, which seeped into apartments, offices, stores and even the underground metro.  Officials in the emergency ministry said faulty air filters at a refinery in southeastern Moscow were responsible for the stench.  But state controlled Gazprom which operates the refinery, denied the claim.  Air in southwestern Moscow briefly contained 2.5 times the maximum permissible levels of styrene, a toxic and mutation-causing chemical used for polymer production, according to city-run watchdog MosEcoMonitoring.
Sonar Jamming
Researchers studying the sonic connection between bats and their insect prey found that at least one species of the flying mammals can use its sonar echolocation to confuse other bats targeting the same meal.  A University of Maryland scientist studying how a particular moth is able to jam the sonar of big brown bats by making ultrasonic clicks when being hunted also found that other bats make sonar-jamming sounds.  In follow-up research, William Conner of Wake Forest recorded Mexican free-tailed bats generating high-frequency interference to gain the uper hand in hunting.  "They use it at the moment of truth, when the hunter is zeroing in on its prey," Conner says.  He adds that the bats get into "one will jam the other and the other will jam back."