Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (Oct. 24, 2014)

Alaskan Warming
The United States northernmost settlement of  Barrow, Alaska, has warmed during October a remarkable 12.96 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 33 years because of shrinking summertime sea ice.  Researcher Gerd Wendler of the University of Alaska's International Arctic Research Center says he is "astonished" by his finding, published in the Open Atmospheric Science Journal.  "I think I have never, anywhere, seen such a large increase in temperature over such a short period," he told the Alaska Dispatch News.  Climate records show Barrow's average annual temperature has risen by almost 5 degrees since 1979.  But the warming was far more pronounced during October, when the loss of sea ice in the adjacent Beaufort and Chukchi seas was at the highest.  Wendler and colleagues caution that analysis of weather records from 1921 to 2012 shows a much more modest average annual rise at Barrow.
Tropical Cyclones
Bermuda suffered a direct hit from the eye of Hurricane Gonzalo, which brought maximum winds of 110 mph.  Remnants of the storm later buffeted the United Kingdom.
*     While Hurricane Ana drenched the Hawaiian Islands, the storm's eye passed well offshore.
*     Tropical Storm Trudy drenched southern Mexico.
Earthquakes
Interior Alaska was rocked by an unusually strong quake centered about 40 miles west-northwest of Fairbanks.  No significant damage was reported.
*     Earth movements were also felt in far southern New Zealand and along the Ecuador-Colombia border region.
Magnetic Flip
Earth's magnetic field has the potential to reverse within less than a century, and scientists say there is evidence the poles are now moving toward such a flip.  Scientists from Italy, France, Columbia University and the University of California, Berkley, say they made the conclusions by looking at paleomagnetic data in sediment around the volcanoes of southern Italy.  Ash layers from prehistoric eruptions captured and stored magnetic field information in sediment as it accumulated at the bottom of an ancient lake.  Those layers reveal the last magnetic reversal occurred approximately 786,000 years ago, long before humains walked the planet.  The flip happened after more than 6,000 years of instability, including two intervals of low magnetic field strength that lasted about 2,000 years each.  Such a quiet period in modern times could expose Earh's surface to harmful levels of solar radiation, possibly increasing the rates of cancer and disrupting electrical power grids, scientists caution.
'Pharma' Pollution
The growing use of antide-pressant drugs around the world aptpears to be harming the health of some bird populations, according to a new British study.  Researcher Kathryn Arnold of the University of York found that starlings feeding on worms containing small amounts of the drug Prozac, absorted by the invertebrates around sewage treatment facilities, lost interest in mating and had altered feeding habits.  "Females who'd been on it were not interested in the male birds we introduced them to.  They sat in the middle of the cage, not interested at all," said Arnold.  "Compared with the control birds who hadn't had any Prozac, they ate much less and snacked throughout the day," she told the British magazine Radio Times.  While the number of starling deaths linked to antidepressant exposure is very small, Arnold's findings join a growing body of evidence that suggests potent pharmaceuthicals flushed into the environment could be causing a global wildlife crisis.
Philippine Lava
A new flow of lava emerged from the philippine volcano Mayon, ending two days in which no lava was seen flowing.  "It's already erupting, but not explosive," said Renato Solidum, executive director of the geophysical agency Phivolcs.  "Currently, the activity is just lava coming down.  If there is an explosion, all sides of the volcano are threatened."  The agency warned residents that Mayon is in a "state of unrest" due to movement of lava that could create an explosive eruption.
Squid Attack
The two-man crew aboard a Greenpeace mini-submarine in the Bering Sea got one of the greatest thrills of their lives when a pair of Humboldt squids savagely attacked their submersible vehicle.  The unnamed researchers remained safe inside the sub as it was pummeled by the jumbo squids, or red devils---- a name given to them because of the red color the cephalopods turn when in hunting or attack mode.  A video of the attack, posted on Vine, shows the squids colliding into the sub and its attached equipment before dashing off in a puff of ink.  Humboldt squids have tentacle suckers lined with sharp teeth that can tear their prey apart.  Some marine biologists say the squid attack may have been set off by the lights on the Dual Deep Worker vehicle.