Earthweek: a diary of the planet

For the week ending Friday, May 7.

U.S. warming

The U.S. National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration issued its latest calculations of what is now the climatic normal, based on temperature averages over three decades. The previous normals were based on weather data from 1981 to 2010. Because of the warmth of the past two decades, evidence of the climate emergency is evident in the 1991-2020 calculations. The average temperature in the 48 contiguous United States for the past 30 years is almost a half-degree higher than between 1981 and 2010.

Manatee Deaths

An average of seven manatee deaths have been reported each day in florida this year as the U.S. government and local marine mammal experts try to find what’s behind the spike in fatalities. About 675 manatee carcasses were found from January 1 to mid-April, compared with 637 all of last year. Recent algae blooms and pollution have killed off seagrass beds, which the manatees feed on. Development and habit loss are adding stress, as is chronic exposure to pesticides such as glyphosate, a key ingredient in roundup. Red tide outbreaks from fertilizers are also polluting manatee habitats.

Lava geyser

Iceland’s spectacular Geldingadalir- Meradalir volcanic eruption intensified, with fountains of lava shooting 1,000 feet into the air — clearly visible from the capital, Reykjavik. Scientists say the eruption is now behaving more as originally predicted.

Vanishing glaciers

A new study of the world’s glaciers reveals that they are melting at a faster pace than previously estimated, posing an increasing threat of inundation to coastal communities and low-lying islands around the world. The research found that other than the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, glaciers lost 676 gigatons of ice per year on average between 2000 and 2019. The losses were said to have accelerated sharply during the period as global heating became more acute. Some glaciers have already vanished, with others expected to do so by the end of the century. This is a particular threat in South Asia, where mountain glaciers are an important source of fresh water to rivers.

Wayward cetacean

A young gray whale, born in California’s coastal waters, has been wandering around the western mediterranean in recent weeks as the first of its species to ever appear there. Marine biologists believe it got lost while feeding in the Arctic’s Beaufort Sea and eventually wound up in the Atlantic rather than its Pacific home waters. while apparently healthy, the whale looks unusually thin because the mediterranean doesn’t have the kind of food it is used to. Experts hope the lost whale can make it down the Spanish Coast, through the Strait Of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic, where it has a better chance of survival.