Entire Crops Destroyed, Sink Holes, Flooding, Birds Falling to the Ground...Signs of the Times.

Short, powerful hail storm destroys entire crops in northern Colorado

WELD COUNTY, Colo. — Near Greeley, the farm fields are still muddy from the big hail storm and possible funnel clouds that spewed rain and destruction on the eastern plains.

The Platte River Valley is like the food-basket of the Front Range, but the weekend storm left crops looking battered, broken and destroyed.

“The hail only lasted about 12 minutes,” said Dave Petrocco owner of Petrocco Farms. “The storm began about 5:00 p.m. and cut a path about two miles wide across the land we farm here. As far as you can see we lost everything from onions, to pumpkins, to squash of all types. Our peppers were all set for harvest as were our beans, beets, lettuce and cabbage. Now, in a heartbeat it is all wiped out.”

Petrocco says losses such as this are not covered by insurance and he doesn’t quite know how to process a whole growing season lost. Farmers know they always run the risk of a loss when success depends on Mother Earth.

“We plant seeds in green houses, take seedlings into the field, plant them and care for them all summer. We have a huge investment in having a bountiful crop and when something like this happens it is devastating. At first you try to just accept the act of nature, but when all is said and done, the loss is tremendous. We all just hope to have enough put away to take a year’s loss, so we can come back next spring and do it all again,” said Petrocco.

The area hit is just north and east of Gilchrest, and south of Greeley. It’s just west of Highway 85.

The river bottom land is fertile and always yields a fine harvest—which was set to begin in days—but this year’s crop is pretty much a total loss for Petrocco Farms and others nearby.

James Werning farms just down the road a piece. He is growing seed corn and most of his rows of corn look as if someone thrashed them.

“In a few days we will know if the corn cobs will get pollinated… that is when the silk turns brown. If they do, we can salvage some, but if not we’ll cut and plow stalks under and wait for next year,” said Werning.

A farmer’s lot in life, the constant battle with nature. If it isn’t drought, it’s flooding or insects, and every so often hail on the plains.

But for those who plow, they know the risks and still they plant. But when it comes to next year, it is still about having funds to make things happen.

source: http://kdvr.com/2013/08/06/short-powerful-hail-storm-destroys-entire-crops-in-northern-colorado/

Don't Flip Out, but the Sun's Magnetic Field Is About to Flip

Our star is on the cusp of a once-in-11-years event, when its magnetic field undergoes a complete reversal. What does that mean for us?

The sun is about to undergo what sounds like a massive upheaval. In the next few months, scientists say, our star will experience a complete reversal of its magnetic field. The sun's north magnetic pole will become its south pole, and vice versa, in an event that will reverberate throughout the entire solar system. 

Although this kind of solar about-face can't help but have a certain apocalyptic, cats-and-dogs-living-together aspect to it, the phenomenon is perfectly normal—and benign. There will likely be small influences on weather patterns and, interestingly, temporarily less lightning in thunderstorms. Meanwhile, astronauts working on the International Space Station will be afforded a little extra protection against cosmic radiation. "This happens every 11 years," solar physicist Todd Hoeksema says. "We've survived all the last ones." 

In Flux 

The imminent field inversion is a natural part of the sun's approximately 11-year solar cycle of magnetic activity. The sun is currently going through what is known as solar maximum, when extra magnetic activity translates into greater chances of space weather-spawning events such as flares and coronal mass ejections, which can bombard the Earth with radiation and solar material. These events can trigger auroras—a nice bonus—but also disrupt satellite operations and even damage power grids on the ground (though the sun's current cycle has been the weakest in a century). 

The polarity reversal, expected in the next three to four months, will mark the midpoint of solar maximum. Over the following five and a half years, the sun's average magnetic storminess will die down to a solar minimum, after which things will ramp right back up again. 

Hoeksema and his colleagues monitor the magnetic activity at the sun's poles from Stanford University's Wilcox Solar Observatory. Hoeksema, who is the observatory's director, said that the sun's polar magnetic fields have been weakening, will zero out, and then return with opposite polarities. The north pole has apparently already switched over, essentially giving the sun two south poles for the moment. But the south pole will soon catch up, and the polarity reversal will complete itself. 

The magnetic flip comes about as a result of strong, local magnetic fields associated with sunspots bursting out around the sun's equator and then migrating poleward. This so-called magnetic flux "eats away at the existing polar field and gradually over a period of a couple years erodes all of it," Hoeksema says. "Then more flux comes up and turns the polar field into the other direction." 

Protective Bubble 

The sun's magnetic field influences a vast, bubble-like region of space dubbed the heliosphere, which extends for billions of miles, beyond even far-out Pluto. With a polarity switcheroo in the offing, the heliosphere has been seeing some changes recently. 

The heliosphere is electrically molded by the current sheet, a vast plane of weak current created by the sun's slowly rotating magnetic fields. The current sheet extends out from the sun's equator across the solar system, like a skirt from the waist of a twirling dancer. The current sheet "acts like a big deflector shield," Hoeksema says, helping to protect Earth and the other planets from high-energy intruders known as galactic cosmic rays—particles that are shot out of supernovas and other violent celestial phenomena. 

Within Earth's magnetic field, all but the highest-energy galactic cosmic rays are kicked aside. But for astronauts and satellites in orbit, cosmic rays can be bad news. Like atomic bullets, cosmic rays damagingly pierce matter, including our bodies' cells as well as machine components. 

During solar maximum, the current sheet's shape becomes rumpled compared to near solar minimum. "At this point in the cycle when polarity is reversing, the current sheet extends all the way to the [sun's] poles," Hoeksema says. "What that does is affect how cosmic rays from the galaxy enter the heliosphere and make their way to Earth." The effect is beneficial: An expanded, wavy current sheet keeps more cosmic rays at bay and protects astronauts. "The sun is shielding the whole heliosphere, so we see fewer cosmic rays now than at solar minimum." 

Weird Weather 

Besides being good news for astronauts, fewer cosmic rays in the neighborhood could also have an impact on our weather. Cosmic rays ionize Earth's upper atmosphere, which affects the formation of clouds, storms, and lightning. Terrestrial storms might be a bit less intense, therefore, around solar maximum, Hoeksema says, but the overall connection remains speculative. 

Intriguing examples of correlations among the state of the current sheet, cosmic-ray peppering, and climate do exist. "Locally around the world you see places where the weather changes with a 22-year cycle related to these cosmic rays," Hoeksema says. He pointed to drought records in the southwestern United States and tree-ring records from a variety of places, such as the Pacific coast. 

Overall, the polarity reversal is "changing things on the scale of the whole solar system," Hoeksema says. But don't expect anything cataclysmic here on Earth. 


Read more: Don't Flip Out, but the Sun's Magnetic Field Is About to Flip - Popular Mechanics
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THE FOLLOWING VIDEO

Published on Aug 11, 2013

The first 10 days of August has been both strange and extreme with some dramatic and intense moments. With so much going on I'll be posting around every 10 days now. The work is getting hard to do each week without missing much. Also Check out the new channel Last Message (By 2011Message) for his series 2013 Is Strange.

North Korea In Preparation For "Missile Test". China Concerned About Escalation.

North Korea may be preparing to test missile, South Korea says

Published April 07, 2013

Associated Press

• 

SEOUL, South Korea –  A top South Korean national security official said Sunday that North Korea may be setting the stage for a missile test or another provocative act with its warning that it soon will be unable to guarantee diplomats' safety in Pyongyang. But he added that the North's clearest objective is to extract concessions from Washington and Seoul.

North Korea's warning last week followed weeks of war threats and other efforts to punish South Korea and the U.S. for ongoing joint military drills, and for their support of U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang's Feb. 12 nuclear test. Many nations are deciding what to do about the notice, which said their diplomats' safety in Pyongyang cannot be guaranteed beginning this Wednesday.

Tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang led South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff to announce Sunday that its chairman had put off a visit to Washington. The U.S. military said its top commander in South Korea had also canceled a trip to Washington. The South Korean defense minister said Thursday that North Korea had moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, possibly to conduct a test launch.

His description suggests that the missile could be the Musudan missile, capable of striking American bases in Guam with its estimated range of up to 4,000 kilometers (2,490 miles).

Citing North Korea's suggestion that diplomats leave the country, South Korean President Park Geun-hye's national security director said Pyongyang may be planning a missile launch or another provocation around Wednesday, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing.

During a meeting with other South Korean officials, the official, Kim Jang-Soo, also said the notice to diplomats and other recent North Korean actions are an attempt to stoke security concerns and to force South Korea and the U.S. to offer a dialogue. Washington and Seoul want North Korea to resume the six-party nuclear talks -- which also include China, Russia and Japan -- that it abandoned in 2009.

The roughly two dozen countries with embassies in North Korea had not yet announced whether they would evacuate their staffs.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague suggested that North Korea's comments about foreign diplomats are "consistent" with a regime that is using the prospect of an external threat to justify its militarization to its people.

"I haven't seen any immediate need to respond to that by moving our diplomats out of there," he told the BBC on Saturday. "We will keep this under close review with our allies, but we shouldn't respond and play to that rhetoric and that presentation of an external threat every time they come out with it."

Germany said its embassy in Pyongyang would stay open for at least the time being.

"The situation there is tense but calm," a German Foreign Office official, who declined to be named in line with department policy, said in an email. "The security and danger of the situation is constantly being evaluated. The different international embassies there are in close touch with each other."

Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry said it was considering a plan to evacuate its diplomats. A statement released by the ministry on Saturday said that its embassy in Pyongyang has been preparing a contingency plan to anticipate the worst-case scenario, and that the Indonesian foreign minister is communicating with the staff there to monitor the situation.

India also said it was monitoring events. "We have been informed about it," said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for India's external affairs ministry. "We are in constant touch with our embassy and are monitoring the situation. We will carefully consider all aspects and decide well in time."

Seoul and Washington, which lack diplomatic relations with the North, are taking the threats seriously, though they say they have seen no signs that Pyongyang is preparing for a large-scale attack.

Kim Jang-soo said the North would face "severalfold damages" for any hostilities. Since 2010, when attacks Seoul blames on North Korea killed 50 people, South Korea has vowed to aggressively respond to any future attack.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo had planned to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in Washington on April 16 for regular talks. But tensions on the Korean Peninsula are so high that Jung cannot take a long trip away from South Korea, so the meeting will be rescheduled, a South Korean Joint Chiefs officer said Sunday. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office policy.

The top U.S. military commander in South Korea, Gen. James Thurman, will not make a planned trip to Washington this week to testify before Congress because of tensions with North Korea. In an email Sunday to The Associated Press, Army Col. Amy Hannah said Thurman would remain in Seoul as "a prudent measure." He was scheduled to testify on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The U.S. Defense Department has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that had been planned for this week because of concerns the launch could be misinterpreted and exacerbate the Korean crisis, a senior defense official told The Associated Press.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/07/south-korea-says-north-may-be-preparing-to-test-missile/#ixzz2PoRjOvIv

US seeks to ease tensions with North Korea by postponing missile test

Test launch of a Minuteman 3 intercontinental missile next week delayed until next month to avoid exacerbating crisis

North Korea: experts call for dialogue – and say China must play a part

Washington postpones planned missile test as Switzerland offers to act as mediator with Pyongyang

• Justin McCurry in the Korean DMZ
• The Guardian, Sunday 7 April 2013 14.57 EDT

South Korean tourists look towards North Korea from the border city of Paju at the weekend. Photograph: Yonhap/AFP

This 2.5-mile-wide strip of land is all that stands between about 1 million heavily armed troops ranged either side of the border between North and South Korea.

The atmosphere inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ), established after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, mirrors the current state of cross-border relations: prolonged tension, occasional flare-ups, and a return to the status quo.

That precarious arrangement has prevented the two Koreas from going to war again, but it has failed to bring a real and lasting peace, say experts who believe the time has come for the US and its allies to consider a new approach to North Korea unthinkable just a week ago: dialogue.

On Sunday, Washington postponed a planned intercontinental missile test, giving encouragement to observers who have urged a more moderate tone in recent days. The initial high-octane response – which included flying B2 bombers over the peninsula– has only made a bad situation worse, so the current thinking goes.

"There has been a ratcheting down of deterrence gestures by the US, and that has helped cool the situation a little," said John Delury, a North Korea analyst at Yonsei University in Seoul.

Delury believes more aggressive diplomatic gestures could help ease the situation further, but only if the political will exists to begin even limited engagement with the regime. "This whole crisis has shown us how little we really know about Kim Jong-un, and we're not going to learn any more unless we talk," he said. "And talking isn't the same as backing down."

At the weekend, the South Korean media reported calls from both sides of the political divide in Seoul for the administration to send an envoy to Pyongyang to lay the foundation for talks.

A key new appointment in Pyongyang may have given the South an ideal negotiating partner: Pak Pong-ju, an economic reformer and pragmatist who became the North's premier last week. "He is someone everyone can work with, including China," said Delury.

There are clear signs that China's approach to its unpredictable ally is changing. It quickly signed up to UN sanctions after the North conducted its third nuclear test in February. Last week it voiced serious concern over the sudden escalation in rhetoric and urged calm on all sides.

read more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/07/north-korea-dialogue-china

Korean Peninsula. Foal Eagle 2013. China Mobilizing.

Navy moves ship off coast of Korean Peninsula, White House looks to 'reassure' allies

Published April 01, 2013

FoxNews.com

• 
  Dec. 5, 2010: The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain approaches the aircraft carrier USS George Washington for a fueling at sea. (Navy)

The U.S. military has moved a Navy ship capable of intercepting missiles to waters off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, as threats from North Korea's Kim Jong Un escalate and the White House signals it wants to head off any potential conflict by flexing America's military might. 

A U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News that the Navy had moved the U.S. destroyer to a location near South Korea. The ship, the USS McCain, is equipped with the Aegis defense system and is capable of shooting down missiles. Officials initially misidentified the ship but later clarified the USS McCain had been dispatched.

The defense official said the decision is not part of the ongoing joint military exercise with South Korea but part of the Navy's general movements. The Navy had the same type of ship in this location as recently as December. 

But, the positioning comes after the Pentagon dispatched two F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea to join Seoul forces in a training exercise, and after other demonstrations of U.S. capability last week. 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Kim Jong Un's steadily escalating threats follow a "pattern," but one that must be taken seriously. He said the U.S. is now taking "prudent" measures to "reassure our allies, demonstrate our resolve to the North and reduce pressure on Seoul to take unilateral action." 

This would include efforts to boost missile defense, last week's rare flight of B-2 bombers to South Korea and likely the decision Sunday to deploy F-22 Raptors to Osan Air Base in South Korea. 

With analysts warning that the biggest threat from North Korea is that it could start a war by going too far and provoking South Korea, Carney suggested the shows of strength are aimed at deterring the North from crossing that line. 

"We believe this has reduced the chance of miscalculation and provocation," Carney said of the B-2 flights and other actions. 

Carney, though, said that despite the "harsh rhetoric" out of Pyongyang, the U.S. is not seeing changes to the country's "military posture," such as any "large-scale" mobilizations or positioning of forces. 

"This pattern of bellicose rhetoric is not new, it is familiar," Carney said. "We take it very seriously, we take prudent measures in response to it." 

The F-22 flight came after North Korea warned that the Korean Peninsula had entered "a state of war." 

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed to Fox News that the F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base in South Korea from Japan on Sunday to support ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills. 

"This exercise has been planned for some time and is part of the air component of the Foal Eagle exercise," spokesman George Little told reporters Monday. 

Read more: FOX

 

DESRON 15, ROK Navy Conclude Foal Eagle 2013 

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzman and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW) Declan Barnes, Commander Task Force 70 Public Affairs  

Official U.S. Navy file photo.

PACIFIC OCEAN - U.S. forward-deployed naval ships from Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 and Republic of Korea (ROK) navy forces concluded their participation in exercise Foal Eagle 2013 (FE 13), March 21.

Foal Eagle 2013 was an integrated exercise involving U.S. military and ROK forces to include USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USS Lassen (DDG 82) of DESRON 15.

Both nations worked closely to increase readiness to defend ROK, protect the Asia-Pacific region and maintain stability in the Korean Peninsula. The exercise focused on strengthening military-to-military relationships and improving command and control in areas such as air, undersea and surface warfare.

"This exercise is a bellwether of our interoperability and ability to achieve desired effects in the joint and combined battle space around the Korean peninsula," said Capt. Paul Lyons, DESRON 15 commodore. "ROK [Navy] sailors and U.S. 7th Fleet Sailors were able to interact and work closely with one another, furthering our level of understanding and cohesion as we work shoulder-to-shoulder to achieve unity of effort against a common purpose."

The U.S. Navy continues to conduct key military exercises with ROK to improve the capabilities of both Armed Forces since the ROK/U.S. treaty was signed Oct. 1, 1953, which ensures peace and security in the region.

"Power projection of the U.S.-ROK alliance and continued support of our agreements is extremely important," said Cmdr. Scott McClelland, Lassen's commanding officer. "Because we do not have any forward-deployed naval forces in ROK, the U.S. Navy must support these types of exercises to ensure the interoperability of naval forces is maintained at the highest levels."

While in port, DESRON 15 ships and ROK Navy sailors participated in sports tournaments, local community service projects, ship tours and conducted military-to-military engagements, including the liaison exchange of ROK and U.S. Navy sailors who embarked on board their counterpart's ship to participate in the exercise.

Prior to FE13, the ship's crews worked extensively by conducting internal drills to refresh and gain tactical skills that helped in executing the exercise.

"This kind of training is truly invaluable for our Sailors," said Cmdr. Thomas Dixon, USS McCampbell commanding officer. "This exercise is the perfect opportunity to strengthen our Sailors' bilateral operability, capabilities and understanding, as well as interact with our ROK counterparts on both a personal and professional level."

McCain, Fitzgerald, McCampbell and Lassen are part of the seven Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and more than 2,000 Sailors who comprise DESRON 15, which is forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, to support regional security and stability of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

SOURCE: NAVY

Border Patrol

China mobilizing troops, jets near Korea

BY: Bill Gertz
April 1, 2013 2:30 pm

China has placed military forces on heightened alert in the northeastern part of the country as tensions mount on the Korean peninsula following recent threats by Pyongyang to attack, U.S. officials said.

Reports from the region reveal the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently increased its military posture in response to the heightened tensions, specifically North Korea’s declaration of a “state of war” and threats to conduct missile attacks against the United States and South Korea.

According to the officials, the PLA has stepped up military mobilization in the border region with North Korea since mid-March, including troop movements and warplane activity.

China’s navy also conducted live-firing naval drills by warships in the Yellow Sea that were set to end Monday near the Korean peninsula, in apparent support of North Korea, which was angered by ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that are set to continue throughout April.

North Korea, meanwhile, is mobilizing missile forces, including road-mobile short- and medium-range missiles, according to officials familiar with satellite imagery of missile bases.

The missile activity is believed to be North Korea’s response to the ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises that last week included highly publicized flights by two B-2 strategic nuclear bombers near North Korean territory as part of annual military exercises.

North Korea’s government announced last week that since March 26 its missile and artillery forces have been placed on the highest alert status.

Specifically, Nodong medium-range missiles and their mobile launchers were spotted in satellite imagery, the officials said.

There are also indications North Korea will soon conduct a flight test of its new KN-08 road-mobile ICBM or its intermediate-range Musudan mobile missile. Test preparations had been detected in the past, the officials said.

A military provocation by North Korean forces against the South is not expected while the current war games are underway in South Korea, officials said.

However, the situation remains dangerous as hostilities could break out as a result of a miscalculation. South Korea’s government has said it would respond to any North Korean military provocation with force.

The Chinese military activities near North Korea were detected in Jilin Province, and intelligence reports from the area on March 19 indicated that PLA forces were ordered to go to “Level One” alert status, the highest level of readiness.

Large groups of soldiers were seen on the streets in Ji’an, a city in Jilin, amid reports that the PLA had been ordered to combat readiness status.

PLA heavy armored vehicles, including tanks and armored personnel carriers, were reported moving near the Yalu River that separates China from North Korea.

The troops were part of the 190th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, stationed in Benxi, in Liaoning Province. The movements are believed to be related to increased tensions in Korea.

Additionally, PLA troops and military vehicles were seen near Baishan, in Jilin province, around March 21.

Low-flying PLA air force jets, believed to be fighters, also were heard and seen at several border locations in China, including Yanji and Yanbian in Jilin, Kuancheng, in Hebei province, and Dandong, in Liaoning province.

Chinese forces along the border responded to some unknown event in North Korea near Siniju on March 21 that involved Chinese fighter jets flying over the area.

The officials said the Chinese military activities appear to be based on concerns about a new outbreak of conflict between North Korea and South Korea and the United States.

China’s military maintains a long-standing defense treaty with the North that obligates China to defend North Korea in the event it is attacked. The last time Chinese forces backed Pyongyang was during the Korean War when tens of thousands of Chinese “volunteers” drove south into the peninsula.

Chinese military spokesmen frequently refer to their relations with the Korean People’s Army, as the North Korean military is called, as ties “as close as lips and teeth.”

Other reports from China indicate that the heightened tensions have led to a disruption of trade between China and North Korea along the border between the two countries.

One sign of slowed commerce between China and North Korea was a Chinese Internet report from a restaurant owner in Dandong, China, a border city, who said commerce between the two countries was disrupted following North Korea’s Feb. 12 underground nuclear test.

Since that time, it has been more difficult for the goods from North Korea to reach China because the North Korean Customs Office closed frequently as a result of increased Chinese inspections of North Korean goods.

U.S. officials and private analysts said the slowdown may be a sign of Beijing’s displeasure at the North Korean nuclear test.

China also held up exports of crude oil to North Korea in February, according to customs data reviewed by Reuters news agency. The agency said in areport that it was the first time deliveries of oil were cut since early 2007.

However, in a sign of continuing close relations, the government of Jilin province announced March 27 that it plans to modernize railway links to North Korea to bolster cross-border economic and trade ties.

The China Tumen-North Korea Rajin Railway and China Tumen-North Korea Chongjin Railway will be upgraded under the Jilin government plan, China’s official Global Times reported.

Additionally, the Chinese plan to set up a special highway passenger line to connect Tumen to North Korea over the next several years.

Other reports from the region stated that North Korean cities in the northern part of the country were placed on “combat” alert and have conducted evacuation drills, officials said.

The drills have been carried out in three-day to five-day intervals when power and water supplies were suspended as part of the exercises.

Chinese citizens living in border cities in China also reported hearing air-raid sirens as part of the exercises, officials said.

U.S. officials say China’s main fear for its fraternal communist client regime in North Korea is a collapse of order that leads to large-scale refugee flows into China.

Reports from inside North Korea also revealed that North Korean soldiers have been issued bread, instant noodles, sausages, milk, and dried fish that appeared to be supplied by the United Nations as aid meant for the civilian population.

READ MORE AT FOX

8.0 Earthquake. Indo-Australian Plate Fracturing. Movement Is Speeding Up. Be Globally Prepared.

The following is from the USGS site and they are supposed to be the most significant earthquakes in the past 30 days.  Notice that they are really only during the past week and 1/2, and these are only the "significant" ones.
HyperSmash.com

Significant EarthquakesPast 30 Days

1. M 6.6, 36km SSW of Lata, Solomon IslandsThursday, February 07, 2013 18:59:16 UTC
2. M 6.3, 144km W of Lata, Solomon IslandsWednesday, February 06, 2013 06:35:19 UTC
3. M 7.0, 27km NNW of Lata, Solomon IslandsWednesday, February 06, 2013 01:54:15 UTC
4. M 6.4, 114km WSW of Lata, Solomon IslandsWednesday, February 06, 2013 01:23:19 UTC
5. M 8.0, 76km W of Lata, Solomon IslandsWednesday, February 06, 2013 01:12:27 UTC
6. M 6.3, 70km WSW of Lata, Solomon IslandsWednesday, February 06, 2013 00:07:22 UTC
7. M 6.9, 15km SW of Obihiro, JapanSaturday, February 02, 2013 14:17:34 UTC
8. M 6.4, 67km SW of Lata, Solomon IslandsFriday, February 01, 2013 22:18:35 UTC
9. M 6.3, 47km WSW of Lata, Solomon IslandsFriday, February 01, 2013 22:16:36 UTC
10. M 6.8, 56km NNE of Vallenar, ChileWednesday, January 30, 2013 20:15:43 UTC
11. M 6.1, 61km SE of Kegen, KazakhstanMonday, January 28, 2013 16:38:53 UTC

Here these are in Earthquake 3D...

Here is the "Tectonic Summary " for the 8.0 event.  This will express what is going on with the plates and with the breaking up of certain plates with the collision of others.  The land is being reshaped and just because we live in the United States or somewhere that is not having the major earthquake action right now, prepare for it because it IS coming. In the following, the highlights are mine and I added definitions and highlights as well.

Tectonic Summary

Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most seismically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transgressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people. The last M7.5+ earthquake along the Alpine Fault was 170 years ago; studies of the faults' strain accumulation suggest that similar events are likely to occur again.

North of New Zealand, the Australia-Pacific boundary stretches east of Tonga and Fiji to 250 km south of Samoa. For 2,200 km the trench is approximately linear, and includes two segments where old (>120 Myr) Pacific oceanic lithosphere rapidly subducts westward (Kermadec and Tonga). At the northern end of the Tonga trench, the boundary curves sharply westward and changes along a 700 km-long segment from trench-normal subduction, to oblique subduction, to a left lateral transform-like structure.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 60 mm/yr at the southern Kermadec trench to 90 mm/yr at the northern Tonga trench; however, significant back arc extension (or equivalently, slab rollback) causes the consumption rate of subducting Pacific lithosphere to be much faster. The spreading rate in the Havre trough, west of the Kermadec trench, increases northward from 8 to 20 mm/yr. The southern tip of this spreading center is propagating into the North Island of New Zealand, rifting it apart. In the southern Lau Basin, west of the Tonga trench, the spreading rate increases northward from 60 to 90 mm/yr, and in the northern Lau Basin, multiple spreading centers result in an extension rate as high as 160 mm/yr. The overall subduction velocity of the Pacific plate is the vector sum of Australia-Pacific velocity and back arc spreading velocity: thus it increases northward along the Kermadec trench from 70 to 100 mm/yr, and along the Tonga trench from 150 to 240 mm/yr.

underthrust [ˈʌndəˌθrʌst]

n

(Earth Sciences / Geological Science) Geology a reverse fault in which the rocks on the lower surface of a fault plane have moved under the relatively static rocks on the upper surface Compare overthrust

The Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone generates many large earthquakes on the interface between the descending Pacific and overriding Australia plates, within the two plates themselves and, less frequently, near the outer rise of the Pacific plate east of the trench. Since 1900, 40 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded, mostly north of 30°S. However, it is unclear whether any of the few historic M8+ events that have occurred close to the plate boundary were under thrusting events on the plate interface, or were intraplate earthquakes. On September 29, 2009, one of the largest normal fault (outer rise) earthquakes ever recorded (M8.1) occurred south of Samoa, 40 km east of the Tonga trench, generating a tsunami that killed at least 180 people.

Earthquakes that occur far from plate boundaries are known as intraplate earthquakes.

Across the North Fiji Basin and to the west of the Vanuatu Islands, the Australia plate again subducts eastwards beneath the Pacific, at the North New Hebrides trench. At the southern end of this trench, east of the Loyalty Islands, the plate boundary curves east into an oceanic transform-like structure analogous to the one north of Tonga.

Australia-Pacific convergence rates increase northward from 80 to 90 mm/yr along the North New Hebrides trench, but the Australia plate consumption rate is increased by extension in the back arc and in the North Fiji Basin. Back arc spreading occurs at a rate of 50 mm/yr along most of the subduction zone, except near ~15°S, where the D'Entrecasteaux ridge intersects the trench and causes localized compression of 50 mm/yr in the back arc. Therefore, the Australia plate subduction velocity ranges from 120 mm/yr at the southern end of the North New Hebrides trench, to 40 mm/yr at the D'Entrecasteaux ridge-trench intersection, to 170 mm/yr at the northern end of the trench.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D'Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake "doublet".

An intraplate earthquake is an earthquake that occurs in the interior of a tectonic plate, whereas an interplate earthquake is one that occurs at a plate boundary. ... By definition, intraplate earthquakes do not occur near plate boundaries, but along faults in the normally stable interior of plates. These earthquakes often occur at the location of ancient failed rifts, because such old structures may present a weakness in the crust where it can easily slip to accommodate regional tectonic strain.

Compared to earthquakes near plate boundaries, intraplate earthquakes are not well understood, and the hazards associated with them may be difficult to quantify.

The February 6^th, 2013 M 8.0 earthquake in the Santa Cruz Islands occurred as a result of shallow thrust faulting on or near the plate boundary interface between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of this earthquake, the Australia plate converges with and subducts beneath the Pacific plate, moving towards the east-northeast at a rate of approximately 94 mm/yr. 

The February 6^th earthquake is located approximately 700-750 km ESE of the Mw 8.1 Solomon Islands earthquake of April 1, 2007, and the Mw 7.1 Solomon Island earthquake of January 3, 2010. It is over 900 km to NNW of the February 2, 2012 Mw 7.1 Vanuatu earthquake, and approximately 200-300 km north of a series of earthquakes in October, 2009 along the Vanuatu Trench that included two earthquakes larger than magnitude 7 (Mw 7.8, Mw 7.4). 

This earthquake is located adjacent to a complex section of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary, where the Solomon Trench to the west is linked to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) Trench to the south by a short segment of dominantly strike-slip plate motion. The February 6^thearthquake is located at the northern end of the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) segment. To the north and west of this event, the plate boundary changes in character, is oriented more west-to-east, and connects the segment ruptured by this event with the continuation of the subduction zone along the Solomon Islands.

Over the month leading up to the February 6^th earthquake, there have been dozens of earthquakes in the epicentral region – over 40 M4.5 or larger in the preceding 7 days alone, 7 of which were larger than M6. Faulting mechanisms for these earthquakes suggest a mixture of strike-slip, normal and thrust faulting events. Within an hour of the February 6^th M8.0 mainshock, there were also two large aftershocks with magnitudes greater than M6. See a map of current aftershocks here.

This figure highlights the activity in the region of the February 6th, 2013 M8.0 earthquake over the week leading up to the event. Several earthquakes of M6 or larger, and dozens of smaller shocks, occurred in the same region over that time period. The upper panel plots the magnitude of these events versus time. Their locations and USGS W-phase moment tensors are plotted in the map below, colored by depth. Historic seismicity (all events prior to January 30th, 2013) from the EHB and USGS PDE catalogs are plotted with white circles, sized by magnitude. Slab contours for the Vanuatu slab, from the USGS Slab1.0 database, are shown with dashed lines, at 20 km intervals. (Click on image for larger version.)

This figure illustrates the dramatic transition in tectonics around the bend in the plate boundary adjacent to the February 6th, 2013 M8.0 earthquake. South of this earthquake (upper panels and cross-section A-B), the Australia plate subducts beneath the Pacific at the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) Trench. The location of the February 6th earthquake (center panels, cross-section C-D. 02-06-13 earthquake marked as a star) is very close to what could be considered the edge of the Vanuatu slab. Further west (lower panels, cross-section E-F), the plate boundary is oriented approximately W-E, plate motion is nearly parallel to the boundary, and fault motion is dominantly strike-slip.

In each map, historic seismicity from the EHB and USGS PDE catalogs are plotted with white circles, sized by magnitude. Gray circles are highlighted in cross-sections to the left, where moment tensors from the global CMT catalog are also plotted for larger events.

You will need to go to the source to get a good look at the maps.

source: USGS

 IN THE FOLLOWING, THE HIGHLIGHTING IS DONE BY ME AND THE CAPITAL LETTER SECTIONS WITH HIGHLIGHTING ARE DONE BY ME.

"The northeasterly side is a complex but generally convergent boundary with the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is subducting under the Australian Plate, which forms the Tonga and Kermadec Trenches, and the parallel Tonga and Kermadec island arcs. It has also uplifted the eastern parts of New Zealand's North Island.

The continent of Zealandia, which separated from Australia 85 million years ago and stretches from New Caledonia in the north to New Zealand’s subantarctic islands in the south, is now being torn apart along the transform boundary marked by the Alpine Fault.

South of New Zealand the boundary becomes a transitional transform-convergent boundary, the Macquarie Fault Zone, where the Australian Plate is beginning to subduct under the Pacific Plate along the Puysegur Trench. Extending southwest of this trench is the Macquarie Ridge.

The southerly side is a divergent boundary with the Antarctic Plate called the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR). The westerly side is a transform boundary with the Arabian Plate called the Owen Fracture Zone, and a divergent boundary with the African Plate called the Central Indian Ridge (CIR). The northerly side of the Indo-Australian Plate is a convergent boundary with the Eurasian Plate forming the Himalaya and Hindu Kush mountains.

THE INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATE IS BREAKING APART AND A NEW PLATE IS BEING FORMED IN THE PROCESS.  DURING THIS PROCESS, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE A LOT MORE EARTHQUAKES AS WELL AS A LOT OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.  THE CORE OF THE EARTH IS DESTABILIZED. 

The northwest side of the Indo-Australian plate forms a subducting boundary with the Eurasian plate on the borders of the Indian Ocean from Bangladesh, to Myanmar to the south-west of Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java.

The subducting boundary through Indonesia is not parallel to the biogeographical Wallace line that separates the indigenous fauna of Asia from that of Australasia. The Eastern islands of Indonesia lie mainly on the Eurasian Plate, but have Australasian-related fauna and flora."

• Around Neogene (23.03 ±0.05 Ma until today or ending 2.588 Ma), Laurentia, in the form of North America, crashed into South America, forming the minor supercontinent America.
• Around 250 Ma from now, all continents may crash together, forming the major supercontinent Pangaea Ultima. Laurentia would be part of Pangaea Ultima.
• Around 450-600 Ma from now, Pangea Ultima will eventually rift apart. Laurentia may break off.

BUOYS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED TO MEASURE THESE EVENTS HAVE SUNK UP TO THREE METERS.  ONE INCH OF MOVEMENT CAN CAUSE A HUGE DIFFERENCE SOMEWHERE ELSE.  FROM WHAT I HEAR NOW, THE BUOYS HAVE RISEN IN SOME AREAS.

IN THE RING OF FIRE, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 50+ EARTHQUAKES PER DAY.  IT'S LIKE A TETER-TOTTER BACK AND FORTH AROUND THE RING OF FIRE. ONE THING HAPPENS AND IT EFFECTS SOMETHING ELSE AND THAT THINGS EFFECTS SOMETHING ELSE.  IT'S LIKE A RIPPLE.  

MAGMA IS MELTING THE GLACIERS AND CAUSING THE WATER TO BECOME LESS SALINE AND THE MAGMA IS ALSO CAUSING THERE TO BE LESS OXYGEN IN THE WATER AND THEREFORE THERE ARE THE HUGE NUMBER OF FISH DYING, ALONG WITH OTHER WATER LIFE. 

THE WEATHER CHANGES ARE HAPPENING, ALSO DUE TO THE CHANGES IN THE DESTABILIZATION OF THE EARTH'S CORE.  

THAT'S ALL OF MY BABBLING FOR TODAY, EXCEPT, HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF WHAT IS PREDICTED TO BE THE OUTCOME OF THE MAP OF THE GLOBE ONCE THE MOVEMENT IS COMPLETE.

FIRST...

SOURCE: http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/tectonic.htm

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Gordon-Michael Scallion Coast To Coast Interview April 2008
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SOURCE: http://www.myspace.com/safetyjoebackup/blog/455640957