Category: Natural Disasters

It’s official: Potatoes can grow on Mars

An experiment simulating conditions on Mars demonstrated that the hearty tubers can thrive even under the harsh conditions on the Red Planet. Two years after a humble potato patch co-starred in “The Martian,” scientists have found that fictional astronaut Mark Watney’s strategy for surviving on the Red Planet could actually work.

San Jose flood: Rock Springs still ravaged two weeks later

Some areas are recovering faster than others, and the Rock Springs neighborhood that was first to flood will be last to return to normal Rob Souza’s backyard cottage, destroyed by a falling oak tree during the Coyote Creek floods, waits for demolition in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Marie Perry watches from her Rock Springs homeless camp as nearby residents, many now homeless themselves, salvage what they can from their flood-damaged homes in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

Solar explosion captured in stunning new footage

Solar explosion that missed Earth is captured in stunning new footage as Nasa prepares a probe destined for the sun to study ‘dangerous activity’ A solar flare that erupted from the sun in the early hours of Monday morning has been captured in a stunning new video. The flare missed Earth on its flight path but could have knocked out communications and navigation systems had it reached the planet’s magnetic field.

FEATURE-Cartoons and calendars help Bolivian farmers dampen fire risk

A mix of high-tech satellite data and brightly colored cartoons is helping subsistence farmers around Riberalta in Bolivia’s northern Amazon pick the best time to burn off their land and reduce the risk of uncontrolled blazes, as persistent drought makes wildfires a hot issue in Latin America. “Fire is a real problem with these communities – it’s something they’re very concerned about,” said Veronica Ibarnegaray, program director at Bolivia’s Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza , explaining that slash-and-burn farming for crops and cattle is largely to blame.

Landsat 8 Images Show Rains Reviving Central Coast Reservoirs

Images captured by a satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base four years ago show the dramatic difference in water levels for two Central Coast reservoirs due to recent rains. Lake Nacimiento is now at 86 percent full, while Lake San Antonio – virtually dry before – sits at 32 percent full, as of Friday, according to Monterey County Water Resources Agency.

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Something absolutely mind-blowing happened on the International Space Station recently, and fortunately, video captured it all. Researchers on the ISS were able to catch the rare moment when blue lightning filled a storm cloud far below, and you can watch the video below.

Sinking land concerns California

Land in California’s Central Valley is sinking so much from over-pumping of groundwater during the drought that officials said Thursday they will press for new laws to limit drilling. The sinking threatens to curtail as much as one-fifth of water deliveries through the vital California Aqueduct to San Joaquin Valley farms and millions of Southern California residents, state water managers said.

The Latest: Tornado damages New Orleans NASA facility

An official at NASA’s Michoud facility in New Orleans says it suffered some damage during Tuesday’s tornado but the deep-space equipment being built there does not appear to be damaged. Steve Doering was there when the wind started picking up and says it sounded like a freight train coming down.

Timber a viable option for high-rise buildings in quake zones

Jon Tanner, chief executive of the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association says a wooden building weighs less than a steel concrete structure with obvious benefits in both construction and resilience in an earthquake. After all it is standard for aircraft components to be monitored for performance real time – so why not buildings in quake zones? But Callaghan Innovation’s apparent sole focus on finding more earthquake resistance through concrete technology, and particularly how to prevent steel rods from rusting when water gets through from earthquake cracks, is a one trick structural pony.

NZ scientist discovers huge undersea eruption

The vast plume measures 30km long and 20km wide, not far from a newly-formed island and just 33km off the coast of Tonga’s main island Tongatapu . Photo / Nasa A Kiwi scientist has unexpectedly discovered what appears to be a huge undersea volcanic eruption near the main island of Tonga.

A Proposal For Juno To Observe The Volcanoes Of Io

To accomplish its science objectives, NASA’s Juno spacecraft orbits over Jupiter’s poles and passes repeatedly through repeatedly hazardous radiation belts. Two Boston University researchers propose using Juno to probe the ever-changing flux of volcanic gases-turned-ions spewed by Io’s volcanoes.

Big telcos may take wi-fi away from rural families: provider

A small internet provider helping to end the data drought in regional southern Queensland says it could soon be outbid by larger internet companies on digital spectrum access, thanks to a review by the Australian Communications and Media Authority . Toowoomba-based company Red WiFi has been using elevated positions on silos, water tanks and sheds to install dishes that stream wireless internet across rural communities, offering unlimited data to hundreds of families.

Another strong winter storm expected to hit Bay Area overnight

As the Bay Area endures its wettest January in 15 years, yet another winter storm with predicted significant rainfalls and high winds with the potential to take down trees and power lines is expected to hit the region Saturday night into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Steady rain could begin as early 8 p.m., with the heaviest downfalls expected between 2 and 4 a.m. as the storm comes in from the north, said Brian Garcia, a forecaster in the service’s Monterey office, on Saturday.