Earth Observatory has a satellite image of the heaviest snowfall to occur in China in the past several decades. The image shows part of the North China Plain near the city of Shijiazhuang. Small cities and towns are easy to spot in this image.
China is rapidly modernizing, and the country is generating three times as much trash compared to 20 years ago. In some areas the trash is accumulating rapidly, and could become a serious health hazard.
One of the largest wind farms in the world is being built in Texas. A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd., a Chinese company, will provide turbines costing $1.5 billion.
An article on the Reuters website reports that coal use is expected to increase by 55 percent over the next 15 years with India and China contributing strongly to the rise.
A few years ago a building boom stretched the capacity of United States drywall makers and some contractors bought drywall manufactured in China. Now many of those homes are having corrosion problems as gases are released from the drywall – and some homeowners insurance companies are not renewing coverage.
Some fossils found in northeastern China could be the “missing link” in pterosaur evolution. The Darwinopterus, named after Charles Darwin, has characteristics of both earlier and more recent Mesozoic reptile species.
A new prehistoric mammal has been discovered in the Liaoning Province of China. The creature, named Maotherium asiaticus, is helping scientists learn about the evolution of the middle ear.
A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that glaciers in the Himalayas are melting rapidly and could be gone by 2035. The loss of meltwater from these glaciers will be an enormous problem for agricultural economies downstream.
Taiwan was hit hard by Typhoon Morakot which has caused flooding and many landslides. Here is a very short YouTube video of the Shiaolin Landslide. For more details about the slide visit Dave Petley’s “On The Slide” blog.
Dave’s Landslide Blog has a summary of landslides that occurred last week. A rockfall in New Zealand, landslides in China, the Philippines, India and Taiwan, plus a lahar in the Philippines.
Typhoon Morakot, which is expected to make landfall in China, has doubled in size in less than two days. The cloud top grew to about 1,700 km (1,056 miles) across. The infrared satellite image at right shows Morakot’s cold clouds (depicted in purple and blue) over the East China Sea on August 6th.
Some locations in Asia and Africa are being used as dump sites for other countries’ unwanted electronics. This is causing contamination issues in these areas, as well as health problems for people who explore the dumps in search of precious metals.
One of NASA’s most famous images is known as the “Satellite Photo of Earth at Night.” It really isn’t a photo, instead it is a compiled image that maps the location of permanent lights on Earth’s surface. It is not a map of population, instead it is more a map of electricity use.
Shown at right is heavily illuminated Europe in contrast with the less illuminated Africa.
These are some photos taken of the full solar eclipse that occurred on July 22, 2009. See pictures of its “diamond ring” appearance at Patna, India, a brilliant red crescent in China, and a step-by-step progression from Guwahati, India.
CNOOC (China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas) Sinopec (also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) agreed to purchase a 20% stake in a group of oil fields off the coast of Angola from Marathon Oil Corporation for $1.3 billion. The companies are moving to secure future oil supplies.
A total solar eclipse will occur on July 22, 2009. It will have a longer duration than any other solar eclipse of the 21st Century because the moon will be near perigee.
The eclipse will be visible through southern Asia (India, Nepal, China, Japan) and over the Pacific Ocean. The event has attracted many tourists to areas where the total eclipse is expected to be visible.
The animation at right shows how the shadow of the eclipse will pass over Asia and the Pacific.
One way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released from a coal-fired power plant is the “carbon capture and storage” process. This process captures carbon dioxide from the plant’s emissions and pumps it into underground storage. There are projects in the United States, Australia, China and Europe to develop this technology.
The air in China’s Shizuishan City is heavily polluted from factories. The government is trying to alleviate the problem while still keeping the economy growing.
Earth Observatory has a satellite image of the Chongqing Landslide that occurred in southwestern China earlier this month. This 12 million cubic meter landslide affected homes, roadways, an iron ore mine, and buried dozens of people.
“Scientists have discovered a unique beaked, plant-eating dinosaur in China. The finding, they say, demonstrates that theropod, or bird-footed, dinosaurs were more ecologically diverse in the Jurassic period than previously thought, and offers important evidence about how the three-fingered hand of birds evolved from the hand of dinosaurs.” Quoted from the NSF press release.
Dave’s Landslide blog has lots of photos, maps and updates on the Chongqing Landslide that happened early this month at an iron ore mine in southwestern China. The slide buried a few dozen people.
This is another short article that features Vince Matthews, State Geologist of Colorado, and his presentations that focus on the world demand for resources and energy.
It has now been one year since the major earthquake which occurred on May 12, 2008, in the Sichuan province of China. This article reviews the event, along with some local viewpoints.
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Hobart King
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