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In September 2017, a large iceberg roughly four times the size of Manhattan calved off of the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica (not to be confused with last July’s massive iceberg that originated from the Larcen C ice shelf further east). While the event itself isn’t that unusual — the Pine Island Glacier accounts for 25 percent of all of Antarctica’s annual ice loss — this iceberg began to break up shortly after separating from its host glacier, instead of doing so after drifting far out into the Southern Ocean, as ‘bergs from Pine Island typically do.read more

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An increase in the number of devastating earthquakes around the world is being predicted for 2018, according to the University of Colorado’s Roger Bilham and Rebecca Bendick of the University of Montana. The two geologists have made a detailed study on earthquake activity recorded since 1900, and found that increases in the number of major earthquakes tend to follow predictable cycles, and 2018 happens to fall in one of those years.
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A new study that documented rapid changes in the physiology of snail kites in the Florida Everglades has prompted researchers to question exactly how fast evolution can occur in a longer-lived animal – in this case: instead of occurring over a long period of time, over numerous successive generations; the changes in these birds, prompted by the introduction of a new species of prey available to them, took place in less than one-and-a-half generations.
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The phenomenon of mysterious booms is continuing around the world, with the sound of unexplained explosions being reported from locales as diverse as Michigan, Lapland, St Ives, Swansea and Yorkshire.

Booms reported by residents of six counties in Alabama have been investigated by police, NASA, and the Birmingham Alabama National Weather Service, with the latter tweeting on November 14:

"Re: loud boom heard: we do not see anything indicating large fire/smoke on radar or satellite; nothing on USGS indicating an earthquake. We don’t have an answer, and can only hypothesize with you. 1) sonic boom from aircraft; 2) meteorite w/ current Leonid shower?"
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