Sciency Thoughts

Friday, 24 May 2013

Yemeni oil pipeline blown up by unknown bombers.

A section of Yemen's main oil pipeline, carrying crude from the Safer Oil Field to the Port of Hodeida, on the Red Sea, was blown up in the the Sarwaj District of Marib Province early in the morning of Friday 24 May 2013, halting the flow of oil from the country. It is unclear who was responsible for the act; Yemen has a number of groups involved in different levels of conflict with the central government and one-another, including Al Qaeda-lined Sunni extremists, Shia groups, tribal factions demanding greater autonomy and militants loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was ousted in 2012.

Marib Province, Yemen. Google Maps.

Hydrocarbons account for about 70% of Yemen's national income and 90% of exports, but the industry has been a frequent victim of the county's ongoing instability, as pipelines and facilities are an obvious target to anyone trying to gain concessions from the central government. This has led to a weakening economy and fuel shortages in the country, which has provoked further instability. The Yemeni government has responded to these attacks with increasing violence, which seems to be worsening the situation.

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Northeast California shaken by Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake.

A Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake struck northeastern California on Wednesday 23 May 2013, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake occurred at a depth of 11 km, to the east of Lake Almanor in Plumas County, roughly 275 km northwest of San Francisco. There are no reports of any damage or casualties, but the quake was apparently felt across much of northern California and in parts of western Nevada.

Map showing the location of the 23 May California Earthquake. Google Maps.

California is America's most Earthquake-prone state, being bisected by the San Andreas Fault, which is the boundary between the Pacific Plate, which is moving northeast, and North American Plate, which is moving southwest. This is actually nowhere near Plumas County, but the area is still affected by the tectonic movement; the two plates do not move smoothly past one-another, but rather continuously stick together than break apart, which has lead to a large number of smaller stress related faults that criss-cross the state.

Witness accounts can help geologists to understand Earthquakes and the underlying structures and processes that cause them. If you felt this quake (or were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

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Thursday, 23 May 2013

Uranium mine in northern Niger attacked by suicide bomber.

Thirteen workers at uranium mine operated by French company Areva were injured when the site was attacked by a suicide bomber on Thursday 23 May 2013, killing one worker and injuring fourteen more; the bomber was also killed. The man, described as wearing a military uniform, drove a vehicle into a crown of worker at the Somair Mine in Arlit, before detonating a bomb in the vehicle. A military barracks a nearby Agadez was attacked by another car bomber, an attack which was followed up by an assault by insurgents with small-arms; a total of 21 people are reported to have died in this attack, including 18 soldiers. A Nigerien government spokesman has suggested the attack was carried out by either al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) or splinter group Mujao (the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa).

The Areva-owned Somair Mine in Arlit, Niger. Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images.

The Sahel region has seen a sharp rise in militant Islamic attacks since the downfall of the Gadaffi Regime in Libya, which led to a flood of small arms into the area. Neighboring Mali was the subject if a major uprising in 2011, with militant groups seizing control of much of the north of the country, and only being expelled with the help of the French military. Since this event French owned facilities in the region have been on high alert against reprisal attacks, and troops from France have been deployed to protect some potential targets.

Ariva own majority shares in three uranium mines in Niger, though they are currently negotiating to sell one of these to the China National Nuclear Corporation. The company extracted about 4500 tonnes of Uranium in Niger in 2011, including roughly 3000 tonnes from the Somair facility.

See also Over 60 feared dead in Darfur gold mine collapse, Oil spill in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Uranium mining to begin in Tanzania, Double pipeline explosion in northeast Libya and Tourists attacked on Erte Ale volcano.

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One child dead and another missing following Minnesota landslide.

One child is known to have died and another is missing following a landslide at Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul, Minnesota, at about 1.15 pm local time (6.15 pm GMT) on Wednesday 22 May 2013. The children, described as fourth graders (i.e. 9-11 years old) from Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, were on a school trip to the park, where they were hunting for fossils, when part of the hillside collapsed, sweeping them into a water-filled pit. Two fire-fighters were injured by a second landslide during rescue attempts, which freed three children, though one child later died in hospital. Attempts to find the missing child were forced to stop overnight due to safety concerns as the hole filled with water which needed to be diverted, but have now restarted, though they are now being described as a 'recovery' effort rather than a rescue.

A rescue worker tends to an injured student in Lilydale Park. TwinCities.com

The children were apparently part of a larger group following a path through an area known as the Brickyards of St. Paul, which is described as a site formerly used by the Twin City Brick Company (i.e. brick clay was extracted here), which is a popular spot for fossil hunting, with permits to collect being sold by the St Paul Parks and Recreation Department.

The ground has variously been described as 'mud and gravel' or 'sandstone' in the local press, suggesting these are probably poorly consolidated sediments, and the area had received about six days more-or-less continuous rain prior to the incident. Cliffs and steep inclines made up of loose sediments can be extremely dangerous after rainfall, and the presence of fossils can be regarded as a danger sign under these circumstances; if people keep removing fossils and they are still available then they must be being washed out from somewhere, implying active erosion is occurring. Sadly no advice on this hazards seems to have been available to the school or local people in the area prior to this incident.

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Eruption on Mount Turrialba, Costa Rica.

At about 4.50 am local time (10.50 am GMT) seismic activity (Earthquakes) began around Mount Turrialba, a 3340 m stratovolcano (cone-shaped volcano) in Cartago Province, Costa Rica, which then began to emit stream and CO₂ according to Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (Oviscori). At about 8.30 (2.30 pm GMT) the volcano began a full eruption, producing a 4 km ash column from two fissures, blowing to the west and southwest and covering local farms with ash. Authorities have recommended an evacuation of the immediate area due to the danger of toxic gas emissions, though many people are apparently unwilling to leave crops and livestock.

Twin ash columns emerging from Mount Turrialba. Oviscori.

Turrialba forms part of the Cordillera Central, a range of volcanic mountains running through central Costa Rica and forming part of the Central American Arc. These volcanoes are fueled by the subduction of the Cocos Plate, which underlies part of the east Pacific Ocean, beneath the Caribbean Plate, on which Central America lies, along the Middle American Trench, which lies off the south coast of the country. As the Cocos Plate is subducted it is gradually melted by the heat and pressure of the Earth's interior, with some more volatile minerals rising through the overlying Caribbean Plate as volcanic magma.

The boundary between the Caribbean and Cocos Plates. Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Tuesday, 21 May 2013

At least 10 South African miners injured by rubber bullets in confrontation at Rustenburg mine.

At least 10 miners have been hospitalized after security guards fired rubber bullets in a confrontation at Rustenburg Chrome Mine, 120 km northwest of Johannesburg, which is operated by German company Lanxess. About 500 workers had gathered at the mine where workers are striking in demand of higher wages. The mining company claim only two people were injured after shots were fired into the ground by guards acting in self defense, after stones were thrown at managers injuring two of the guards, but this contradicts reports by local police and hospitals.

The Rustenburg Chrome Mine. Lanxess.

The Lanxess mine is one of a number of mines in the area that have been hit by wildcat strikes, fueled by rivalry between two unions operating in the area. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has close links to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and does not support the strikes, while the newer Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) is fighting for higher wages for its workers, something the ANC and some mine-owners claim may cause companies to pull out of South Africa (although, given current high demands for metals globally it seems likely that mines could be swiftly leased to knew companies in the event of this happening).

The ongoing dispute has led to a number of confrontations between miners and authorities, most notably in August 2012 when 34 Amcu members were killed when police opened fire at the Lonmin operated Marikana Platinum Mine, also in Rustenburg. Tensions have been high this month after Mawethu Stevens, an Amcu negotiator who persuaded Lonmin to recognize Amcum was gunned down in a bar by unknown assailants. South African President Jacob Zuma has promissed an enquiry into the Marikana massacre.

See also At least 20 miners killed in North Kivu mine collapse, Over 60 feared dead in Darfur gold mine collapse, Uranium mining to begin in Tanzania, Two Sierra Leonean artisanal miners killed by soil cave-in and Massacre at Lonmin Marikana Platinum Mine, Rustenburg, South Africa.

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US professor killed in Nepal landslide.

An associate professor from Montana State University was killed by a landslide in the remote Arun Valley in Nepal on Monday 20 May 2013. Betsy Palmer, 54, who taught statistics and research methods was leading a group of students studying economic development and education issues when the incident occurred. Ms Palmer was airlifted to hospital in Katmandu, but died of her injuries shortly after. She is survived by her Nepalese husband and two young children. There are no reports of any further casualties or injuries. The cause of the landslide is unclear.

Betsy Palmer. Montana State University.