Moon ‘wobble’ to bring a surge of severe flooding in 2030s, NASA warns

Published

3 years ago

July 15, 2021

admin

A moon “wobble” will contribute to an increase in severe flooding in the mid-2030s, NASA has warned.

The moon’s orbit, which affects the Earth’s tides, has a natural “wobble” every 18.6 years that causes extremely high and low tides.

In a new study, published by Nature Climate Change, NASA’s Sea Level Change Science Team calculated that the next wobble in the mid-2030s will amplify rising sea levels caused by climate change.

Almost all of US mainland coastlines, as well as Hawaii and Guam, are likely to see high-tide flood numbers surge as they come under pressure from the higher seas.

But northern coastlines, including Alaska’s, will be spared for another decade or longer because these land areas are rising due to long-term geological processes, researchers found.

The study is the first to take into account all known oceanic and astronomical causes for floods, NASA said.

High-tide floods, also known as nuisance floods or sunny day floods, occur not because of storm surges from extreme weather or excessive precipitation, but instead when the tide rises into populated areas.

The floods can overwhelm storm drains, close roads and compromise infrastructure over time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said: “Low-lying areas near sea level are increasingly at risk and suffering due to the increased flooding, and it will only get worse.

“The combination of the moon’s gravitational pull, rising sea levels, and climate change will continue to exacerbate coastal flooding on our coastlines and across the world.”

“It’s the accumulated effect over time that will have an impact,” added Phil Thompson, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii and the lead author of the new study.

High tide floods are less dramatic and involve less water than hurricane storm surges, so they are often seen as a less pressing problem.

“But if it floods 10 or 15 times a month, a business can’t keep operating with its parking lot underwater,” Mr Thompson said.

“People lose their jobs because they can’t get to work. Seeping cesspools become a public health issue.”

The floods will also occur in clusters, which could last a month or longer at a time depending on the position of the moon, sun, and Earth, NASA said.

As the moon and Earth line up with each other and the sun in specific ways, some city dwellers could see flooding every day or two.

Ben Hamlington, who leads NASA’s Sea Level Change Team, said the study is vital for coastal urban planners, who may tend to focus on preparing for extreme weather events over chronic flooding.

“From a planning perspective, it’s important to know when we’ll see an increase,” Mr Hamlington said.

“Understanding that all your events are clustered in a particular month, or you might have more severe flooding in the second half of a year than the first – that’s useful information.”

The moon is currently in the tide-amplifying part of its 18.6-year wobble, but most US coastlines are yet to see enough sea-level rise to notice the flooding effects.

By the mid-2030s, the next time the wobble enters its tide-amplifying phase, global sea levels will have had another decade to rise due to climate change.

The study projected results out to 2080 by mapping “NOAA’s widely used sea level rise scenarios and flooding thresholds, the number of times those thresholds have been exceeded annually, astronomical cycles, and statistical representations of other processes, such as El Niño events, that are known to affect tides.”

US

Biden delivers election-year roasting for Trump but ignores anti-war protesters outside

Published

23 hours ago

April 28, 2024

admin

Biden delivers election-year roasting for Trump but ignores anti-war protesters outside

US President Joe Biden has delivered an election-year roasting of his rival Donald Trump, criticising his immaturity.

Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night, the 81-year-old responded to concerns that he is too old for a second presidential term.

“Yes, age is an issue – I’m a grown man running against a six-year-old,” he said, referring to his 77-year-old Republican opponent.

But in a more serious moment, the president told the gathered reporters: “I’m sincerely not asking you to take sides.

“I’m asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment.

“Move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalise our politics, and focus on what’s actually at stake.”

Mr Biden did not acknowledge the hundreds of demonstrators standing outside the event calling for an end to US support of Israel.

Earlier, he had arrived at the venue through a back entrance, avoiding most of the protesters.

Outside the main entrance, some shouted “Shame on you!”, running after well-dressed attendees as they hurried inside for the dinner.

Some chanted accusations that US journalists are not paying enough attention to the war and are misrepresenting it, shouting: “Western media, we see you and all the horrors that you hide”.

They were not alone – more than two dozen journalists in Gaza wrote a letter last week calling on their US-based colleagues to boycott the dinner.

The letter said: “The toll exacted on us for merely fulfilling our journalistic duties is staggering.

“We are subjected to detentions, interrogations and torture by the Israeli military – all for the ‘crime’ of journalistic integrity.”

Israel declared war on Hamas and launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel on 7 October, when Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took another 250 hostages.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge in Rafah, where Israel has conducted near-daily raids as it prepares for a possible offensive in the city.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

At the beginning of April, Reporters Without Borders said more than 105 journalists had been killed in the area since 7 October, with at least 22 of them killed in the course of their work.

The protests outside the correspondents’ dinner come as a protest movement sweeps across US universities – a growing revolt within a demographic Mr Biden will need to beat Mr Trump.

US

Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital after being moved to a New York jail

Published

1 day ago

April 27, 2024

admin

Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital after being moved to a New York jail

The lawyer for Harvey Weinstein says the former film producer has been taken to hospital after being moved to a New York jail.

It comes days after the movie mogul’s 2020 conviction for rape was overturned, with a New York court ordering a new trial in the landmark “MeToo” case.

Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, said his client was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for tests after his arrival on Friday at a New York City prison.

“They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health-wise,” Mr Aidala said.

The hospital did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Mr Aidala said he is still “sharp as a tack” mentally, and his health problems are physical.

Weinstein has had cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems for some time.

He was moved on Friday to the Rikers Island jail complex, in The Bronx’s East River, from the Mohawk Correctional Facility, in Oneida County, upstate New York, where he had been since 2023.

“He was not treated well. They refused to give him even a sip of water, no food, no bathroom break,” said Mr Aidala.

“He’s a 72-year-old sickly man.”

Frank Dwyer, a spokesperson with the New York City Department of Correction, said Weinstein remains in custody at Bellevue Hospital.

The disgraced producer has been in prison since 2020 and on Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals overturned his first rape conviction.

He has been serving a 23-year sentence after being accused of sexually assaulting ex-production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 following the landmark 2020 trial in New York.

The state’s highest court found the judge at the trial prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case.

In a 4-3 decision, the court’s majority said it was “an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behaviour”.

Mr Aidala said the decision was a victory for the defendant and any American charged with a crime, “no matter how popular or unpopular they are”.

“You can’t convict someone based on their entire life,” he said.

“You can’t allow more witnesses to testify against the defendant than the defendant is actually charged with.”

“You can’t throw out a hundred years of legal precedent because someone is unpopular.”

Weinstein remains in jail despite the recent ruling because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape, against which he is also appealing. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for that crime.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg – who is already involved in a hush money trial against former president Donald Trump – will now decide whether Weinstein will face a retrial for his 2020 conviction.

A spokesperson for Mr Bragg said in an email: “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”

Weinstein is scheduled to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court at 2.15pm (local time) on Wednesday in a hearing that will set a timetable for future appearances, assuming the retrial goes ahead.

Deborah Tuerkheimer, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, said whether there is a second trial will “hinge on the preferences of the women who would have to testify again and endure the ordeal of a retrial.”

“I think ultimately this will come down to whether they feel it’s something they want to do, are able to do,” she said.

Once considered the most powerful man in Hollywood, Weinstein was accused by dozens of women who claimed he bullied, pressured, coerced, or overpowered them while demanding sexual favours.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, and Lupita Nyong’o all accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, while actresses Asia Argento and Rose McGowan were among others who accused him of raping them.

He was also accused of reaching settlements to keep the stories quiet.

Weinstein had admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but has maintained his innocence throughout, saying any sexual activity was consensual.

US

Hundreds of homes damaged after tornado smashes through Nebraska

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2024

admin

Hundreds of homes damaged after tornado smashes through Nebraska

Hundreds of homes have been damaged and nearly 10,000 are without power after a tornado smashed through parts of Omaha, in the US state of Nebraska.

A number of tornadoes were reported in the state but the worst hit the suburbs to the northwest of the city, which has a population of 485,000.

The homes damaged were mostly in the Elkhorn area, police said, and emergency workers were going door-to-door to help people trapped in the debris.

Elkhorn residents Pat and Kim Woods said they took shelter when the tornado was about 200 yards away.

“We could hear it coming through,” Mr Woods said.

“When we came up, our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighbourhood’s gone.”

Mrs Woods added: “The whole neighbourhood just to the north of us is pretty flattened.”

But while some homes in the area were destroyed, others appeared untouched.

There were no reports of deaths but a number of people suffered minor injuries, according to Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who added: “People had warnings of this and that saved lives.”

One of the other tornados passed through parts of Eppley Airfield, the city’s airport, which was closed for almost an hour.

Passengers were sent to storm shelters, according to Omaha Airport Authority Chief Strategy Officer Steve McCoy.

The terminal was not affected but other airport buildings “sustained damage”.

The airport has now reopened, although flight delays are expected late into Friday.

The tornado then crossed the Missouri River into Iowa, where damage reports are still coming through.

Daniel Fienhold, who owns a steakhouse in Crescent, Iowa, said he watched the weather from outside with his daughter and employees.

“It started raining, and then it started hailing, and then all the clouds started to kind of swirl and come together, and as soon as the wind started to pick up, that’s when I headed for the basement, but we never saw it,” he said.

Three workers at an industrial plant were injured when another tornado struck near the Nebraska city of Lincoln on Friday afternoon.

The building collapsed with around 70 people inside and several had to be rescued from the debris.

The weekend is not likely to bring any relief – The Weather Service has issued tornado watches across parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.