Tag Archives: radiation

Cold War Subs: USS Nautilus (SSN-571), still fighting after 67 years! First born in land-locked Idaho?

Video December 1, 2021 Hutchins AAron

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Jimmy Ivy the Third.

After 67 years, the world’s first nuclear powered submarine is still afloat, and heading for a $36-million (estimated) refurbishment, so it can continue its job as the U.S. Submarine Force Museum’s centerpiece.

15OCT2021, USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Jimmy Ivy the Third.

Former USS Nautilus, now HS Nautilus, is the only nuclear powered submarine that silly-vilians (civilians) are allowed to visit (?unless you count the prototype Nautilus buried in the Idaho desert? see more below).

15OCT2021, USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Abel Gonzalez.

Officials with the Submarine Force Museum claim that more than 100-thousand people tour the retired trend-setting submarine every year.

U.S. Navy video, 15OCT2021, ceremony for Nautilus as it is hauled away for preservation maintenance onboard Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut:

It is hoped the estimated $36-million refurbishment will allow SSN-571 to continue in its job as museum ship for at least 30 more years.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tristan B. Lotz.

On 14APR2021, HS (Historic Ship) Nautilus had a change of command, that’s correct, even retired ships have what is called an Officer in Charge of Historic Ship.

30SEP2014, the 60th Anniversary ceremonies for HS Nautilus. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Tim Comerford.

January 2012, USN video report on the 50th anniversary of SSN 571’s maiden voyage, which incorrectly states the first nuclear powered voyage was in 1954 which it was not (it was actually 1955, it was launched in 1954):

In 2002, Nautilus underwent a $4.7-million refurbishment.

U.S. Navy poster by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Randall Ramaswamy.

Six years after decommissioning, the freshly painted anchor of Nautilus, after it began museum ship operations at its original home port of Naval Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut. Photo dated 08AUG1986, USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Joan Zopf.

On 11APR1986, Nautilus officially began its new job as museum ship.

Shoved into position at Pier 33, Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut, 06JUL1985. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Joan Zopf.

Large harbor tugs Negwagon (YTB 834) and Metacom (YTB 829) work to bring 571 home, New London Naval Base, Connecticut, 06JUL1985. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Joan Zopf.

Two types of Viet Nam era gun boats lead 571 out of the Miraflores Locks, Panama, 21JUN1985. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Joan Zopf.

From the Pacific to the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, 21JUN1985. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Joan Zopf.

Nautilus in the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal, 21JUN1985. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Joan Zopf.

28MAY1985, USN photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate John Kristoffersen.

28MAY1985, HS NAUTILUS (SSN 571) being towed away from San Francisco by large harbor tugs SKENANDOA (YTB 835), foreground, and PUSHMATAHA (YTB 830). USN photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate John Kristoffersen.

On 28MAY1985, Nautilus left California for New London, Connecticut, arriving in July 1985.

27MAY1985, Mare Island, California. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Steve Miller.

14MAY1985, Mare Island, California. USN photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate John Kristoffersen.

Assigned new duty as National Historic Landmark-Museum Ship on 20MAY1982, and began refurbishment at Mare Island, California.

Nautilus developed a hull vibration that rendered its sonar useless, It was decommissioned and stricken from active duty records on 03MAR1980.

10NOV1966 collision with USS Essex (CV-9)! The conning tower (aka sail) of Nautilus came into contact with the hull of the carrier Essex during anti-submarine war games off the North Carolina coast.

Essex was refueling when Nautilus, which was playing the ‘bad guy’, decided to make an attack run on Essex. Both ships suffered damage and had to return to their home ports for repairs. One person was wounded on Nautilus (a broken arm?), reportedly nobody was hurt or killed on Essex.

Silent, color USN film of Vice Admiral Rickover (‘father’ of USN nuclear power) receives Distinguished Service Award aboard Nautilus, 17JAN1961:

Silent, color USN film showing that Nautilus 571 supplied electrical power for the keel laying of Lafayette 616 on 17JAN1961:

First submarine under the North Pole ice cap (yep, there used to be a year-round ice sheet on the Arctic Ocean), it should be pointed out that compasses do not work once you get into the Arctic Circle. This is silent, USN color film (which looks like there should be audio because the Captain is talking to the camera), Captain congratulating crew upon reaching ’90 degrees North’ (notice the cake), and writing his official letter to the President of the U.S., during the secret mission called Operation Sunshine, August 1958:

According to Maritime Executive, “Sailing via the North Pole was impossible until the 1950s.”

Silent, black & white USN film of the crew of Nautilus supposedly preparing for their secret attempt to travel under the (then) thick ice sheet of the Arctic Ocean, called Operation Sunshine. The film information does not give a location or date, heck, it might not even have anything to do with the Arctic trip despite the title of the film claiming it to be part of the ‘secret mission’:

Silent, color USN film with a ‘slate’ date of “17 JAN”, supposedly 1955, which is the day USS Nautilus went ‘nuclear’, becoming the world’s first SSN:

Silent, color USN film of taxpayers being seated for the commissioning of Nautilus as a USS (United States Ship), 30SEP1954:

Sailing the Thames River, Connecticut, January 1954.

Launching into the Thames River, Connecticut, January 1954.

The General Dynamics-Electric Boat built Nautilus was christened/launched on 21JAN1954, commissioned as a United States Ship (USS) on 30SEP1954, first sailing under nuclear power in January 1955 making it the world’s first SSN (Submersible Ship Nuclear).

The S2W nuclear powerplant for Nautilus was born in the Arco Desert of Eastern Idaho, in 1953, on a USN base then known as the National Reactor Testing Station (now known as Idaho National Laboratory).

Photo via Idaho national Laboratory.

The prototype S1W Reactor (aka Submarine Thermal Reactor) remained in use in the Eastern Idaho desert until 1989, training sailors to operate nuclear powerplants on ships. While the reactor was built in a section of submarine hull, the Navy did not build an entire Nautilus sub and then bury it in the Arco Desert (!that would’ve been too cool if they did, but there are the remains of the nuclear powerplant of a nuclear powered bomber out there!).

Silent, color USN film of President Harry S. Truman taking part in the official keel laying ceremony, New London, Connecticut, 14JUN1952:

Did you know that at one point, Eastern Idaho had the highest concentration of nuclear power plants in the world?

Cold War Boats: FIBERGLASS & WOOD, USS AVENGER (MCM-1), KEEL LAYING TO COMMISSIONING.

MOSKVA CLASS SUBMARINE HUNTERS, STOP CALLING THEM AIRCRAFT CARRIERS!

March 2020: SOMETHING RISES THROUGH THE SEADRAGON’S ICE, USS TOLEDO!

Fukushima, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Idaho trains Korean anti-Nuclear Combat Teams!

Image November 6, 2021 Hutchins AAron

06 November 2021 (15:56-UTC-07 Tango 06) 15 Aban 1400/30 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1443/02 Ji-Hai (10th month) 4719

Idaho National Laboratory photo by Meghan Fujimoto, 22OCT2021.

The U.S. Army’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency has revealed that from October 18th through the 22nd, Republic of Korea (RoK, South Korea) anti-nuclear combat team conducted training on the U.S. Navy owned Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Learning how to use a collimator with a detector when finding a specific radiological source overwhelmed by other radiological sources. INL photo by Meghan Fujimoto.

It’s called the Nuclear Infrastructure, Assessment and Characterization Course, and is taught mainly on the INL’s Idaho Falls campus. This is, according to the U.S. Army, part of twice a year training of anti-nuclear units, this being the seventh time since 2018.

RoK NCT unit conducts decontamination of victims on INL’s Idaho Falls campus. INL photo by Meghan Fujimoto, 20OCT2021.

U.S. units are called Nuclear Disablement Teams (NDT), the RoK units are called Nuclear Characterization Teams (NCT), they have slightly different missions.

RoK NCT personnel train on how to detect a ‘suspected uranium conversion facility’ (covert uranium enrichment operation) on the INL’s Idaho Falls campus. INL photo by Meghan Fujimoto.

The U.S. NDT focus on finding and disabling nuclear facilities/weapons, while the RoK NCT include other CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) operations.

Nuclear Infrastructure, Assessment and Disablement Course at the Idaho National Laboratory, 13-24SEP2021. Photo via INL.

Another U.S. Army NDT unit completed the Nuclear Infrastructure, Assessment and Characterization Course (NIACC) in September 2021.

Searching for the location of a large radiological source during September’s NIACC training at the INL. Photo via U.S. Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command.

World War 3: U.S. ARMY’S ‘NEW’ COUNTER THREAT FINANCE OPERATIONS! NO MORE SPECIAL FORCES?

Biden’s War: ‘REBELLIOUS’ SNAKE RIVER (FLORIDA, IDAHO, MONTANA, NEVADA, OREGON) DEPLOYS TO KUWAIT! POLITICIAN BEGS IDAHOANS TO RESIST THE WILL OF BIDEN!

WMD, August 2021: IDAHO’S ALL HAZARDS ENVIRONMENT TRAINING

Vehicle I-D: KOREAN 대한민국 K1

Fukushima FallOut, Five Years Later: I-N-L ADMITS ITS RADIATION DETECTORS DON’T WORK! MORE W-I-P-P PROBLEMS!

Fukushima FallOut, 2012: RADIATION MYSTERY AT IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY, CESIUM & COBALT

I-N-L History:

HTRE-3, photo by Alexander Hutchins, April 2011

ANCIENT NUCLEAR POWERED JET ENGINE FOUND IN IDAHO DESERT, PROOF OF ANCIENT ALIEN VISITORS?

Lead-lined train in the Arco desert in Eastern Idaho. Photo by Alexander Hutchins, April 2011.

GHOSTLY NUKE TRAIN ROLLIN’ ‘CROSS IDAHO DESERT

Fukushima, Idaho

WMD: Idaho’s All Hazards Environment

Video August 23, 2021 Hutchins AAron

“Idaho National Lab has access to training aids for radiological scenarios, safety staff and training facilities for the scenarios we presented to the students. We worked in radiologically contaminated environments and in high radiation fields.”-Captain Daniel W. Arguello, 1st Area Medical Laboratory, 44th Medical Brigade, 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, U.S. Army

U.S. Army photo, 17AUG2021.

In the middle of the Arco Desert, in Eastern Idaho, lies the U.S. Department of Energy’s 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The INL has offices in the city of Idaho Falls (known as Idaho Falls Campus), but the actual 890 square mile site (known as Desert Site Facilities) is located in the Arco Desert, about 50 miles west of Idaho Falls. It’s interesting that Google Maps does not show the actual INL site, just the offices in Idaho Falls. Google Maps does show EBR-1, the world’s first nuclear reactor (and site of the world’s first deadly nuclear meltdown), which is part of the 890 square mile INL site.

Due to the decades of radiation contamination on the INL site, it has become the logical choice for training military personnel on how to deal with radiation contamination environments: “The focus of the training is to train Army and sister service personnel to respond to accidents and incidents involving radiation or radioactive materials, conduct radioactive source recovery operations and provide radiological site assessments of areas suspected to be contaminated with radioactive material.”-First Lieutenant Joshua D. Salazar, 1st Area Medical Laboratory, 44th Medical Brigade, 20th CBRNE Command, U.S. Army

In the middle of August, 2021, the annual Radiological Hazards Operations Course (known to FEMA as a HOT [Hands On Training] Course) was taught by the U.S. Army’s First Lieutenant Joshua D. Salazar and Captain Daniel W. Arguello. They are with the 20th CBRNE Command, which is headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The training is a way of preparing for future warfare: “Through this course, these outstanding health physicists are helping to keep our military ready to fight and win in an all hazards environment.”-Colonel Matt Grieser, 1st Area Medical Laboratory, 44th Medical Brigade, 20th CBRNE Command, U.S. Army

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) used to be known as INEEL, before that INEL, before that ERDA and before that NRTS. The name changes coincide with changes in government agencies and contractors who run the site. You can actually take a tour of the historical and deadly site.

July 2021: More than 2-thousand drums of nuclear waste being sent from INL to WIPP

May 2021: INL meets agreement to store used naval nuclear fuel

INL to overhaul test reactor

2020: Sisters remember living on INL Arco desert site during World War Two

2017: INL groundbreaking for new Spent Fuel Handling Facility

Radiation Fall-Out 2016: $1.6-billion estimated cost for new spent fuel handling facility

I-N-L ADMITS ITS RADIATION DETECTORS DON’T WORK!

Radiation Fall-Out 2015: I-N-L ADMITS “NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHAT’S GOING ON.”

Radiation Fall-Out 2014: I-N-L VIOLATES OWN RULES!

2011: ROBOT FROM I-N-L NOW WORKING AT FUKUSHIMA NUKE DISASTER SITE

I-N-L OFFICIAL STATEMENTS are OMINOUSLY SIMILAR TO STATEMENTS MADE BY JAPANESE NUCLEAR OFFICIALS

IDAHO MAN ESCAPES FUKUSHMIA DAIICHI NUCLEAR PLANT

Lead-lined train in the Arco desert in Eastern Idaho, photo by Alexander Hutchins, April 2011.

GHOSTLY NUKE TRAIN ROLLIN’ ‘CROSS IDAHO DESERT

HTRE-3, photo by Alexander Hutchins, April 2011.

ANCIENT NUCLEAR POWERED JET ENGINE FOUND IN IDAHO DESERT, PROOF OF ANCIENT ALIEN VISITORS?

Technology

Solar flares to sink U.S. Navy?

June 22, 2021 Hutchins AAron

“I study solar flares and I spent my career modeling them. We generally think of flares in terms of their size or their brightness, but we often ignore the part about their duration.”-Jeff Reep, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

On 15JUN2021, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory published a story concerning the expected increase in duration of solar flares, and the possibility that entire U.S. Navy (USN) fleets could be affected.

In a recent scenario a USN fleet was hit by a solar flare, destroying its electrical infrastructure and causing havoc to its electronic communications. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is working on a way to allow fleet commanders to conduct real-time forecasting of such solar flares, and to determine how long they will last. (Forecasting the Remaining Duration of an Ongoing Solar Flare)

21JUN2021, Indian Ocean. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer Third Class Jason Tarleton.

The USN scientists argue that how long a solar flare lasts is as important as how intense the flare is, yet we still can’t determine how long such solar events will last. The research is part of a NASA program called Living With A Star.

U.S. MILITARY WARNS, SUN WILL INTERFERE WITH YOUR HI-DEF TV

Technology

U.S. military warns, Sun will interfere with your hi-def TV

June 22, 2021 Hutchins AAron

Towards the end of February 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense’s American Forces Network (AFN) warned that this year’s solar activity will interfere with television signals.

Specifically; the solar phenomena known as Sun Fade, Sun Transit or Sun Outage, is expected to target signals from AFN’s Riverside, California, broadcast center at various times this year.

Misawa, Japan, AFN center. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Candace Williams.

AFN officials said, so far this year their satellite TV broadcasts to Europe were targeted from February to March, and Japan and Korea were targeted in March. They advise there is nothing you can do to fix the reception on your expensive high-definition television, except wait until the solar phenomenon ends.

U.S. NAVY CORRECTLY PREDICTS RADIOLOGICAL CHANGES WITH THE SUN

Technology

U.S. Navy correctly predicts radiological changes with The Sun

June 22, 2021 Hutchins AAron

“What happens on the Sun has significant effects on the Earth’s upper atmosphere, which is important for communication and radar technologies that rely on over-the-horizon or ground-to-space radio frequency propagation…”-Christoph Englert, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Space Science Division

“They can cause damage to satellites and other space objects. The high energy particles themselves are microscopic, but it’s their speed that causes them to be dangerous to electronics, solar panels, and navigation equipment in space.”-J. Martin Laming, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

In the mid-1990s, a scientist with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory postulated that outer layers of our star were different than first thought. Since then, J. Martin Laming has jointly published many solar studies: “It’s satisfying to learn that the new observations demonstrate what happens ‘under the hood’ in the theory, and that it actually happens for real on the Sun.”-J. Martin Laming, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

“We estimate that the Sun is 91% hydrogen but the small fraction accounted for by minor ions like iron, silicon, or magnesium dominates the radiative output in ultraviolet and X-rays from the corona. If the abundance of these ions is changing, the radiative output changes.”-Christoph Englert, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

The Sun’s magnetic waves change the chemical compounds in each of its own layers. The final result can be visually observed only during a solar eclipse.

Ozone Hole, 2003 NASA/PBS-Nova program warns the Earth’s magnetic field is flipping out! What is causing it?

Technology, U.S.

Rogue One ExEval: Oregon mass-casualty event!

Video June 21, 2021 Hutchins AAron

Oregon Air National Guard photo by First Lieutenant N. Daniel Delgado.

During the middle of June 2021, Oregon Air National Guard personnel responded to a mass-casualty CBRNE (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Explosive) event at a place called Camp Rilea.

Oregon ANG photo by First Lieutenant N. Daniel Delgado.

Thankfully it was a training event, known as ‘Rogue One’ ExEval (sometimes meaning Exploitation Evaluation, or Exercise Evaluation, or External Evaluation, they can’t seem to make up their minds as I’ve seen all these used in military press releases), which takes place every two years (biennial).

Oregon ANG photo by First Lieutenant N. Daniel Delgado.

Crews were sent out to look for ‘victims’ who needed decontamination.

Oregon ANG photo by Staff Sergeant Sean Campbell.

A victim is brought in for decontamination.

Oregon ANG photo by First Lieutenant N. Daniel Delgado.

Oregon Air National Guard video by Major Samuel Lee, showing what you can expect if you become a victim and need to be decontaminated:

Oregon ANG photo by Staff Sergeant Sean Campbell.

Even the rescuers/responders are checked for contamination.

Oregon ANG photo by Staff Sergeant Sean Campbell.

Pacific Ring of Fire, May 2021:

WARNINGS FOR ALASKA, HAWAII & WASHINGTON

May 2021:

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer Second Class Brigitte Johnston.

FEMA REGIONS PREP FOR DISASTER & SPEND YOUR MONEY LIKE IT’S WATER

CBRNE, 2019: FEMA REGION 4, FEMA REGION 6, CONTAMINATION EVENTS!

July 2019: ARKANSAS HIT BY UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE, USAF SCRAMBLED!

CBRNE, 2017: UTAH’S SECRET(?) WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION EVENT IN EAST IDAHO!

International

Pacific Ring of Fire, 19-25 January 2020

January 28, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of links to seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, days 19 to 25 of Gregorian January 2020.

Earth’s $40-Billion Weather Disasters of 2019: 4th Most Billion-Dollar Events on Record

World risks ‘disaster’ as reuse of natural resources declines

ARGENTINA: 4.8 quake

5.5 quake

CANADA: 4.5-magnitude earthquake strikes off Vancouver Island

FIJI: 4.3 quake, 24 January

JAPAN: new Nankai trough quake tsunami predictions

Animals are thriving in nuke disaster area

Diet considers an extra 4.47 trillion yen (U.S.$40.8-billion) for disaster recovery efforts

MEXICO: Yet another quake hits Oaxaca

NEW ZEALAND: 5.4 quake northwest of Wellington

RUSSIA: 5.6 earthquake – Near East Coast of Kamchatka

UNITED STATES:

Alaska; 6.1 quake Andreanof Islands

6.2 Magnitude earthquake felt in Adak

U.S. Coast Guard investigating reason why a group of S-O-S radio towers are now in a communications ‘dead-zone’

Arizona; Mesa settles lawsuit from massive 2014 flooding; homeowners receive $1.6M payout

California; Quake and aftershock near Barstow

Pacific Gas & Electric opens new Vacaville Emergency Response Center

Granada Hills Struck by 3.6 Magnitude Shake

Folsom Dam Raise Project groundbreaking, at the Folsom Point Boat Launch near Dike 8, 21JAN2020. In a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers directed project the Folsom Dam is going to be raised as part of a plan to both increase water storage and prevent future flooding.

Hawaii; Minor earthquake – Honaunau-napoopoo

Mauna Loa Volcano Activity Update

Idaho; 3.4 quake Soda Springs area

Oregon; Could you survive for two weeks if ‘The Big One’ hits?

Utah; Small earthquake hits Box Elder County

Washington; All of Lewis County Now Included in Flood Watch

King County’s Flood Warning Center shutdown, this report doesn’t give a clear reason why but says Flood Warning employees will still be monitoring the ongoing flooding.

Property owners in Island County hit with surprise U.S.$50 flood insurance surcharge, blamed on FEMA

Washington National Guard’s Homeland Response Force toured the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Western Regional Center in Seattle: “The information provided by these resources is critical to anticipating weather’s effects on hazardous material incidents and our response operations during an incident.”-Sergeant First Class James Peters

Washington National Guard also showed-off its disaster response communications equipment, along with AT&T’s First Net.

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, 12-18 JANUARY 2020: “THE FIRE BREATHING DRAGON OF CLOUDS.”

CLIMATE CHANGE, 19-25 JANUARY 2020: OPERATION SUDDEN RESPONSE

International

“The fire breathing dragon of clouds.”: Pacific Ring of Fire, 12-18 January 2020

Video January 20, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of links to seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, days 12 to 18 of Gregorian January 2020.

According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, the overwhelming majority of volcanic eruptions taking place the third week of January are on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

ARGENTINA: 5.0 quake near border with Chile

AUSTRALIA: ‘Experts’ say murderous Mega Fire was preventable!

Fires followed by floods

Australia and Japan sign hydrogen agreement

CHILE: “It is clear to many of us that the Coquimbo region has an unusual, increasing seismicity that may be preparing the area for a very large earthquake near the end of the present century.”

ECUADOR: Galapagos volcano eruption spews lava

FIJI: 5.2 mag quake recorded in Ono-i-Lau region

INDONESIA: Krakatau volcano explosive activity continues

JAPAN: Slow-motion interplate slip detected in the Nankai Trough

Japan military planes arrive in Australia to help fight bushfires

Court halts nuclear reactor restart citing volcano, earthquake risks

Wildlife Is Still Reeling from the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

MEXICO: Yet another quake hits the Oaxaca area

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand Volcano Eruption Death Toll Rises to 20

What will the next decade of quakes look like?

Early morning 4.2 magnitude earthquake felt by many in lower North Island

PHILIPPINES: Taal;

Gray pineapples: Volcano devastates farms

Imagine this is what SuperVolcano Yellowstone will do to most of the entire North American continent!

RUSSIA: 5.5 quake hits near Kamchatka

THAILAND: Japanese scientists observe ‘plasma bubbles’ in upper atmosphere

UNITED STATES:

Pic by Cassandra Eichner of a Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud (PyroCB) taken over the Pacific Northwest on 08AUG2019, during the FIREX-AQ field campaign from the cockpit of the NASA DC-8 aircraft.

Between July and September 2019 the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, NASA, and other federal agencies, conducted studies of pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCbs) clouds. The PyroCbs (pyro means fire) are formed by intense wildfires, NASA calls them “the fire-breathing dragon of clouds.”

PyroCbs were first identified in the late 1990s, while scientists were trying to find out what was causing clouds in the upper atmosphere when the ‘natural’ weather conditions weren’t correct for such formations and there was no volcanic activity. Since then studies show such dragon clouds can pump as much particulates into the upper atmosphere as a volcano: “They act as giant chimneys, transporting smoke from the ground to high altitudes. Intense PyroCbs can inject smoke into the lower stratosphere, where it can persist for weeks or months.”-Dave Peterson, Naval Research Laboratory, one of the first meteorologists to notice the PryoCbs phenomenon in the late 1990s

The data collected from the 2019 FIREX-AQ missions is now being studied to see how cloud water droplets and ice particles change in the presence of smoke.

Alaska; 3.7 quake 15JAN2020

School district considers rejecting millions in FEMA earthquake funding due to required insurance!

California; Tech company spent U.S.$30-million to see if ‘earthquake lights’ could warn of temblors. It didn’t work

Magnitude 3.3 earthquake jolts Gilroy, Aromas area

Warnings of future flooding in burn areas of Santa Barbara County

Hawaii; Flooding Event Greatest Since Hurricane Lane

Oregon; Can Scappoose Industrial Airpark survive a major disaster?

Sneaky ‘Sneaker’ Waves?

Utah; 4.0 quake in Beaver County

Washington; PacifiCorp to lower Yale Reservoir because earthen dam is “likely to liquefy in the event of an earthquake”

Despite threat from Cascadia Event, Seattle has big plans for a new city extension, right along the coast line!

VANUATA: What is Early Action Rainfall Watch?

Disposable diapers were banned at the end of 2019 (to “save the world”), now there’s a push to re-educate people how to use old fashioned washable diapers!

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, 06-11 JANUARY 2020: MEGA-FIRE!

CLIMATE CHANGE, 12-18 JANUARY 2020: “ON SCALE WE’VE NOT SEEN BEFORE”

International

Xmas bells are ringing!: Pacific Ring of Fire, December 2019

Video December 31, 2019 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of links to seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, December 2019.

Drones Now Reveal Earthquake Threats Deep in the Ocean

Scientist say it snows in the center of the Earth; snow made out of Iron!

AUSTRALIA: The perfect (fire) storm

Small earthquake at South West Rocks on (western christian) Christmas day

Residents rocked by earthquakes at Muswellbrook and Denman

CANADA: Forget a bus shutdown — here’s what getting around could be like after a major earthquake

Burst of earthquakes on (western christian) Christmas day near Vancouver Island raise fears of the Big One

320 years since the last Cascadia Megathrust doesn’t mean it’s overdue

CHILE: E xplosive activity of Nicanor Crater continues

4.2 quake 29DEC2019

6.0 quake 03DEC2019

CHINA: 4.9 quake, Hubei Province

Over 2,000 earthquake monitor stations to be built

5.2 quake injures 18 people

4.5 quake, Hebei Province

4.6 quake, Sichuan Province

COLOMBIA: The Christmas Eve (western christian Gregorian calendar) gift from the Earth to the people of Colombia was a reminder of Earth’s immense power and destructive potential. A magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck near the town of Mesetas.

COSTA RICA: northwest shakes with magnitude 5.5 quake

ECUADOR: 4.23 quake

Reventador erupts again

EL SALVADOR: Quake reported in San Salvador

FIJI: 5.2 quake near Lambasa, 27DEC2019

5.1-magnitude quake hits 116km W of Ceva-i-Ra, on the western christian day of Christmas

INDONESIA: Anak Krakatau erupts, spewing out 200-meter-high column of ash

Since just before the western christian day of
Christmas (eastern christian Christmas is in January) the area around Indonesia has been hit by swarms of quakes. Check website Volcano Discovery, at least 140 quakes greater than 2.6.

JAPAN: 5.2 quake, 30DEC2019

4.4 quake, 28DEC2019

Meteorological Agency says the country was hit by nearly double the usual number of typhoons this year.

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolts Aomori Prefecture

A Baby Volcano Was Just Discovered, and It’s so Kawaii!

Cost of the never ending recovery from the 2011 quake/tsunami to hit U.S.$14-billion by 2025!

KOREA: U.S. personnel at Osan Air Base practiced emergency responder training, 19DEC2019.

LAOS: The Lao National Earthquake Data Center is now operational after funding assistance from the People’s Republic of China.

MEXICO: Popocatepetl volcano spews smoke and ‘incandescent material’ on western christian Christmas Day

4 new webcams installed at El Popo, Colima volcanoes

4.4 quake, 29DEC2019

4.1 quake, 28DEC2019

4.3 quake, 28DEC2019

Revealed; the World Bank, along with Central America and Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Project, held a three day seminar in November for the purpose of preparing Latin American/Caribbean countries for the financial difficulties of dealing with a catastrophic natural disaster!

NEW ZEALAND: 5.2 quake, 29DEC2019

American woman dies from burns suffered in volcano eruption

New Zealand volcano: Police call off search for missing pair

Ancient volcano created hurricanes made of volcanic ash!

NICARAGUA: 4.2 quake, 08DEC2019

PANAMA: 4.0 quake, 20DEC2019

4.1 quake, 14DEC2019

U.S. Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel and Panamanian forces joined for an emergency response and humanitarian assistance exercise in the Darien Province, called Exercise Mercury. Panama is a highly valued regional security partner to the U.S. and the only country in Central America with a humanitarian assistance hub.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 4.8 quake, 30DEC2019

4.5 quake, 21DEC2019

PERU: 4.6 quake, 30DEC2019

PHILIPPINES: 5.2-magnitude quake hits 85km south of Sarangani

35 dead after typhoon hit on (western christian) Christmas day

RUSSIA: 4.4 quake, 29DEC2019

5.4 quake, 27DEC2019

Activity with Bezymianny’s lava dome, inside its summit caldera, has increased.

The History and Mystery of Russia’s ‘Valley of Death’

SINGAPORE: U.S. taxes spent on a Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) Course at the U.S. Navy’s Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific Headquarters in Singapore. Also in attendance were the Canadians and Singaporeans.