Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (April 12, 2013)

Greenhouse Gas Fuel
Scientists say they have developed two processes to use the carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas pollution created by burning fossil fuels as an alternative fuel itself.  Laboratory-scale experiments have been successful in doing that by using the three most abundant and inexpensive resources available ---- sunlight, carbon dioxide and water.  A full-scale commercial facility would use a field of mirrors to focus sunlight onto a central reactor.  In it, CO2 captured in calcium oxide panels placed in smokestacks of coal-fired power plants would be the initial fuel source.  The concentrated sunlight would break down the stored CO2 with water to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are two componets of "synthesis gas" or "syngas."  It can easily be converted to hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.  Researchers from the University of Minnesota say the technolgy could allow "carbon-neutral" energy production, in which the same amount of CO2 released into the air from burning fossil fuels is captured and put back into "synfuels."
South Seas Eruption
Residents on the Vanuatu island of Tanna have been alerted to the possibility of more explosive eruptions from Yasur volcano.  The mountain is a popular desination for tourists wanting to see lava spewing from its nearly circular summit crater.  But vulcanologists say Yasur is exhibiting the potential for blasts that could send lava bombs falling far from the crater.  Raining ash is also an increased threat.  Yasur has been erupting nearly continuously for more than 800 years, although it can usually be approached safely.  Its lava glow at night was apparently what attracted Capt. James Cook to approach Tanna in 1774.
Ocean Heat Bank
A new study warns that the surface of the Earth could see a sharp increase in average temperatures if the world's oceans, which store much of the excess heat generated by human-induced global warming, begin to release that excess energy back into the atmosphere.  Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Climate Change, a team of Spanish climate scientists found that between 2000-2010, the oceans absorbed much of the overall warming that occurred on the planet.  By storing heat in this way, the oceans have moderated the surface impact of ever-higher greenhouse gas emissions.  But that dampening effect could be the result of temporary changes in oceanic current patterns, says the study's lead author, Virginie Guemas.
Tropical Cyclones
Mauritius and Reunion received pounding surf from Cyclone Imelda, which passed well to the northeast of both Indian Ocean islands.
*  Cyclone Victoria formed south of Java and was a threat to only shipping during its life span.
Bird Flu Alert
Human bird flu deaths spread across parts of eastern China, but there has been no evidence the avian virus was transmitted from human to human.  The new H7N9 strain has killed at least nine people since it emerged last month.  It had never before infected humans, according to health officials.  The patients all initially suffered from fevers and coughing, which eventually developed into severe pneumonia.  Tens of thousands of birds have been slaughtered to halt the spread of the disease, especially in Shanghai.  Officials in that financial hub closed all of the city's live poultry markets, emptying food stalls.  The move came after the virus was detected in birds at three sites.  Chinese authorities say the H7N9 virus remained sensitive to the drug Tamiflu, and those diagnosed early can be cured.
Earthquakes
Two villages in western Iran were virtually leveled by a powerful temblor that killed 37 people and injured nearly a thousand others.
*  Earth movements were also felt in eastern Indonesia's Papua province, south-central Burma and the far northern Philippines.
A Loud Emergence
Eerie ssounds like those out of a science fiction film are about to ring ears across the eastern United States.  Every 17 years at this time, like clockwork, Brood II cicadas crawl out of the ground from North Carolina to New England.  The bugs live underground for nearly two decades, feeding off fluids that gather near the roots of plants.  they will eventually emerge by the billions when the temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit.  The Brood II, red-eyed cicada is smaller than the larger common cicada, which has green eyes and comes out every year.  They last emerged in 1996 and will fill the air with high-pitched buzzes that can be so loud they disrupt outdoor events.  But their periodic emergence and return to the ground help aerate the soil, and they return nutrients to the earth when they die.  They also provide food for birds and other animals.  The 1.5-inch-long insects do not sting or bite.  They spend their brief two-week lives above ground climbing trees, shedding their crunchy skins and reproducing.