Earthweek: a diary of the planet
Arctic migrants
An Inuvialuit hunter high in the Canadian Arctic came across the first beaver anyone in the region has ever killed — another sign that climate change is driving the species northward. “We saw something walk toward us and it was a beaver. So I drove up to it and I shot it,” said Richard Gruben, vice president of the Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Association. The invading beavers pose a significant threat to the Arctic ecosystem because of the way they reshape the landscape with dams. Gruben said that some lakes already have dried up because of beaver dams.
Tropical storms
Parts of the United States, from the Florida panhandle to east Texas, were buffeted by Tropical Storm Cindy, the first named storm of the 2017 hurricane season to strike the U.S. mainland. At least one death was attributed to the storm: A 10-year-old boy on an Alabama beach was struck by a log that was hurled ashore by a large wave. The storm also spawned a tornado in
Birmingham, Alabama. Also this week, Tropical Storm Bret drenched Trinidad and northern parts of Venezuela before losing force over the far southern Caribbean.
Volcanic swarm
The supervolcano that lies directly beneath Yellowstone National Park was hit by more than 460 tremors between June 12 and June 20, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. The strongest registered a magnitude of 4.4 and was felt by more than 100 people in the area. The observatory added that lesser swarms are common and make up about half of the total seismic activity around the park. The volcano last erupted 70,000
years ago and has the potential to blanket most of the United States in ash should it produce another cataclysmic explosion.
Savanna invasion Non-native plants that have been brought in by visitors or planted for decoration around tourist lodges threaten to spread across East Africa’s Serengeti-Mara landscape, where they could disrupt the annual migration of 2 million grazing animals. A survey by an international team of researchers reveals that the invasive plants are now on the edges of the vast savannas, home to Africa’s famed wildebeest, zebra and gazelle populations. The researchers say that if the plants were to spread and displace native vegetation, it would mean less forage for the wildlife.
Weird from the deep
A global team of scientists aboard the Australian research ship Investigator says it has uncovered hundreds of weird and previously undiscovered marine species. Fishing nets and trawling sleds collected marine life from the abyss beneath where the Australian continental plate drops off more than 13,000 feet. Of the roughly 1,000 species collected, more than a third were new to science. The more bizarre discoveries could be considered grotesque to some, but the researchers say they are beautiful examples of nature’s diversity.
Earthquakes
At least four people are believed to have been swept to their deaths in a remote western Greenland village by a tsunami that was created when a 4.1 magnitude earthquake caused a landslide to crash into the ocean. The tsunami injured several others and caused damage in Nuugaatsiaq, as well as in two nearby villages. Earth movements also were felt in the Greek island of Lesbos, southern Japan, Guatemala and along the Georgia-South Carolina border.
Tropical exodus
A fisheries expert warns that tropical waters are emptying out as climate change drives more and more fish toward cooler waters. University of British Columbia marine biologist Daniel Pauly says that marine species are moving away from the equator at a rate of about 30 miles per decade as they try to remain in an environment ideal for feeding and spawning.