GLOBAL VOLCANISM: Costa Rica's Rincon de la Vieja Volcano Ejects Vapor And Ash - OVSICORI Experts Warn Visitors From Getting Too Close To The Crater!

A vapor and ash column on March 9, 2016 was visible from several communities in the surroundings of Rincón de la Vieja National Park,
located 270 km northwest of Costa Rica’s capital, San José. © OVSICORI/Jorge Viales

March 11, 2016 - COSTA RICA - Experts from the National University's Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) on Thursday reported that Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, located in Guanacaste province, has seen increased vapor activity and explosions.
Strong explosions were recorded on Wednesday at 1:54 p.m. On Thursday at about noon, a tall column of vapor and ash was visible on top of the volcano's crater.

Local residents told OVSICORI that ash had fallen on the roofs of their homes in an area six kilometers around the volcano, mainly in communities north of the crater in Upala and Buenos Aires.

Volcanologist Javier Pacheco on Thursday said activity at the volcano had been low in the past 15 years, but monitoring equipment recorded an increase in deposits of volcanic material in the crater.

Ash, mud and vapor explosions intensified last year, but inspections in recent months found that material mostly fell in the area surrounding the crater. Some of this material also fell on rivers located north of the volcano, mostly carried by rain during the past rainy season, Pacheco said.

OVSICORI experts recommend that visitors avoid getting too close to the volcano's crater. The region is a popular destination for tourists attracted by the volcano as well as several lodging options including hot springs resorts.

Costa Rica's volcanoes in recent years have seen a noticeable increase in eruptive activity.

Among them are the Turrialba and Irazú volcanoes in Cartago, and Poás and Arenal volcanoes in Alajuela. - Tico Times.

WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Record Numbers Of Rhinos Poached In Africa In 2015 - Report!

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos (stock image) were murdered across Africa in the past year.

March 11, 2016 - AFRICA - The number of African rhinos killed by poachers in 2015 increased for the sixth year in a row.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos were murdered across the continent in the past year.

This is the highest its been since 2008 when South Africa banned trade in rhino horns, leading conservation body IUCN said on Wednesday.

The slaughter has been driven by demand for their horn in countries such as China and Vietnam, where they are prized for their purported medicinal properties.

The horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails, but it is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases.

Trade in rhino horns was banned in 1977 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The international treaty was set up in 1973 to protect wildlife against over-exploitation, and ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

However, the practice was only banned in 2008 in South Africa, which is said to be home to 20,000 rhinos or 80 per cent of the world's rhino population.

IUCN Director General Inger Andersen said despite stepped up surveillance by field rangers there had been 'alarming increases in poaching over the past year in other vitally important range states, such as Namibia and Zimbabwe' both of which adjoin South Africa.

Demand for rhino horn from South East Asia is being illegally supplied by sophisticated transnational organised crime networks, the IUCN said.

They are sold for about $60,000 a kilo on the black market, making it more expensive than cocaine.

'The extensive poaching for the illegal trade in horn continues to undermine the rhino conservation successes made in Africa over the last two decades,' said IUCN expert Mike Knight.

On the plus side, poaching in Kenya decreased over the past two years and went down for the first time in South Africa in 2015.

According to experts, there were between 19,000 and 21,000 white rhinos in Africa last year and between 5,000 and 5,500 black ones. - Daily Mail.

 

EARTH CHANGES: Monumental Signs Of The Times - SOTT Earth Changes Video Summary For February, 2016!

Massive sinkhole swallows up car with family in China.

March 11, 2016 - EARTH - Sinkholes swallowing cars and people, meteor fireballs raining down, and volcanoes erupting all over the place - for the shortest month of the year, February 2016 sure was eventful...

Last month, there were many spectacular volcanic eruptions in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Indonesia and Japan. Elsewhere, the Earth literally opened up to kill a man in Arizona, while a giant fissure swallowed a river in southern Mexico. Major earthquakes included a 6.4 magnitude tremor in Taiwan that toppled buildings and killed 33 people, while another strong quake (5.9M) struck Christchurch, New Zealand, which is still rebuilding after a devastating earthquake struck the South Island city in February 2011.

A lot of spectacular meteor fireballs were caught on camera last month. On just one day, February 6th, there were 3 notable meteor events: NASA recorded a massive overhead explosion in the South Atlantic Ocean; a second meteor shook homes when it exploded over Denmark and sent meteorites to the ground; and a third meteor did likewise in southern India, killing a man who had the misfortune of becoming the first official case of 'death-by-meteor'. The bolide that exploded over the South Atlantic was the largest to hit the planet since the Chelyabinsk event, almost three years to the day.

The month of February saw massive stranding of whales.

Those strange 'sky sounds' were heard in North America last month, notably in the US Northeast and Quebec. Deluges brought flash-flooding to Mauritius, Fiji was flattened by its strongest ever storm, Peru was hit by devastating mudslides, and there were heavy snowfalls in parts of the US and Pakistan. Ottawa, Canada received its biggest single-day snowfall in over 100 years. Incredibly, it also snowed in Guatemala and Honduras for only the second time (the first occasion was in 2013), while Costa Rica, 10 degrees north of the equator, received its first ever snowfall.

An increasingly erratic Jet Stream coupled with a record-strong El Nino brought weather extremes to the US, with the US Southwest experiencing a record heatwave for this time of year, the US Northeast experiencing record cold temperatures mid-month, and the US South experiencing both unseasonal tornado outbreaks and blizzards. In what appears to be an increasing trend, sea life continues washing ashore in droves on beaches around the world. We also have several clips of animals going on the rampage, including the somewhat symbolic sight of a bear attacking people in Turkey.


WATCH: These were the signs of the times in February 2016.

- SOTT.

 

FIRE IN THE SKY: Bright Meteor Streaks Over Black Sea Near Ukraine! [VIDEO]

© YouTube/asteroid457

March 11, 2016 - UKRAINE - Bright meteor streaks over Black Sea caught by video observation stations in Mayaki and Odessa, Ukraine on 9th March 2016.


WATCH: Bright meteor over Black Sea.

- YouTube.