Friday, September 30, 2016

Signs of the Times: ‘China’s Dead Sea’ turns blood red (PHOTOS,VIDEO)

Signs of the Times: ‘China’s Dead Sea’ turns blood red (PHOTOS,VIDEO) 
RT
LATEST EARTH CHANGES WITHIN

The red-hued Yuncheng Salt Lake, also known as “China’s Dead Sea”, has recently become a popular destination for thousands of fascinated tourists.
The ancient salt lake, which is 500 million years old and covers 120 square kilometers, isn’t, in fact, a crime scene, but rather the natural result of algae in the water.

A rise in temperature and light intensity caused organisms called dunaliella salinas to recently turn red. While it certainly looks unusual, the phenomenon has been seen in France, the US, Turkey and more recently, Iran .
In the marine environment, Dunaliella salina appears green,” said Mohammad Tourian, a scientist at the University of Stuttgart, of Iran’s Lake Urmia that suddenly turned deep red in July.
However, in conditions of high salinity and light intensity, the micro-algae turns red due to the production of protective carotenoids in the cells.”


A salt lake which is separated by a road, shows parts of it in different colours due to algae, in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, China, September 25, 2016. © Wei Liang
READ MORE: Russian Arctic river turning blood-red ‘not a one-time thing’, NASA satellites show

Aside from it’s blood-like colour, the salty water means people can easily float on its surface, earning the lake the name: “China’s Dead Sea”.
The river’s striking colour is even more pronounced when compared to its other unaffected half on the opposite side of a road, located in the north China city of Yuncheng, Shanxi Province.
Locals have been taking salt crystals from the lake from more than 4,000 years, reported China Daily.





DEVELOPING: Solar Storm leaving parts of world glowing from auroras


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Parts of the world are expected to light up with a green glow tonight, as a strong solar storm continues to blast our atmosphere. The storm was caused by a hole in the outermost layer of the sun, opening the magnetic field up to stretch further than usual, which resulted in a gradual increase in the solar wind. An increase in solar activity means the chances of seeing the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, tonight in places like Canada, Scandanavia, Scotland and even northern England and are greater than usual.
The British Geological Survey, Aurorawatch UK and US body Space Weather Prediction Centre have all reported heightened opportunities of spotting the aurora, because a hole in the sun’s outer layer is facing Earth. ‘A G2 (Moderate) Geomagnetic Storm Alert was issued at 2048 UTC (4:48 pm ET) on 28 September as effects from a large coronal hole high speed stream continue,’ the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’ Space Weather Prediction Centre said. READ MORE