Skywatch Media News for January the 16th 2020 the horrendous bush fires raging
across much of Australia have severely affected the biodiversity and the
ecosystem of the continent Down Under scientists are now warning of
catastrophic losses of animals plants and insects that will most likely lead
to the extinction of vulnerable species in our lifetime we have seldom if ever
witnessed widespread fires that compared to these
but what scientists have been able to determine is that catastrophic wildfires
have reshaped life on earth at least once before when a giant asteroid struck
the earth leading to the extinction of the dinosaur and the startup of global
fire storms here is an important factor with respect to Australia's biodiversity
it is only one of seventeen mega diverse regions on earth much of its species
populations are centered in the area that was devastated by the bush fires
from this diverse region of the world many birds and mammals are susceptible
to the elevated extinction risk for less Mobile invertebrates the future looks
even worse one of the area's greatly affected by the fires are the Gondwana
rainforests located along Queensland and New South Wales this is home to a
tremendous diversity of insects and land snails
so although extinction-level events often play out over an extended period
of time the full extent of the wildfire disaster in Australia is still unknown
fire disasters similar to the Australian bushfires have actually driven
extinctions before the evidence is found in the fossil records tens of millions
of years in our past in a period called the Cretaceous
- Paleogene extinction event the reign of the dinosaur came to an end
during this time period about 75% of all species on the planet were erased the
extinction was caused by an asteroid about ten kilometers wide this
tremendous rock crashed into the area of the Gulf of Mexico just north of the
Yucatan leaving a crater the size of Tasmania upon impact there were fine
particles that were thrown high into the atmosphere blocking out the Sun for many
years as a result of a nuclear winter the plants and the phytoplankton were
lost the asteroid also flung fiery debris across the atmosphere causing the
incineration of most of the Earth's forests this is evidenced by the massive
amounts of soot that are found in fossil records
only those animals and birds who had the means to escape the firestorms were
those that were able to survive while large earthbound mammals met their
demise the global wildfires along with other effects of the asteroid impact
completely restructured Earth's biosphere so what does this imply with
regard to the wildfires raging across the planet the fires that occurred
recently or that are presently occurring in places like Australia Siberia
California Canada and the Amazon are all regional contained to a certain
geographical area they are not known as the so called dinosaur firestorm
although they are taking place all over the world regardless of the scenario the
long-term effects of these regional fires could severely affect many life
forms for the simple reason that the planet has lost around half of its
forest cover over many years which is due to a variety of reasons including
pollution climate change and the invasion of feral species so
catastrophes in our ancient past provide ample evidence that fire storms can
contribute to extinctions among the species for Australia the earlier than
usual bush fires could portend a very troubling sign now seen around the world
across parts of Europe they are seeing dangerous fires during times of the year
when they were not previously seen in California it has gotten to the point
where fires are breaking out almost non-stop these fires have become a major
issue the ability for Australia's animals and plant species to recover
from the devastating fires is a big concern the extent of their loss may
never be fully known as for the origin nature is not alone the negligent
activity of humans who continue to implement deforestation practices across
Brazil the Congo Indonesia and other biodiverse regions of the world are as
responsible for the degradation of many species as is nature if you're like me
it is very difficult to watch these catastrophic fires consuming the life of
so many plants and animals while destroying everything in its path it is
an horrendous sight that is not easily forgotten but to understand the
ecosystem is to know that as long as there are plants and trees on this earth
there will be fuel for the fires humans are a resilient species we have the
ability to adapt to life changes as time progresses but the ecosystem is more
fragile the more disasters that are inflicted upon this earth the more
difficult it will be for its recovery in those biodiverse regions of the world
where animals and plants rely on one another for survival in recent days a
major event outside of the Australian bushfires took place when the Taal
volcano located in the Philippines erupted in an incredibly spectacular
fashion on January the 12th the intense activity culminated into a magmatic and
hydrovolcanic eruption characterized by thunder and successive flashes of
lightning volcanic ash reached 55 thousand feet above sea level
with sulfur dioxide emissions at an average of 53 hundred tons per day
the ongoing eruption generated a sixteen hundred and forty foot tall lava
fountain topped by a dark grey ominous looking plume that dispersed heavy ash
fall onto the surrounding municipalities On January the 14th
two days after the unrest begun multiple fissures opened up in the vicinity of
the volcano
the ground around the Pansipit river is so broken up that it has virtually
disappeared a total evacuation from within an eight point six mile radius
from the volcano was ordered for areas at high risk due to pyroclastic density
flow and the possibility of a volcanic tsunami the volcano is currently being
hit by hundreds of volcanic earthquakes resulting in deep fissures the
philippine seismic network recorded 520 earthquakes beginning on January the
12th with another 53 registered on January the 15th the intense seismic
activity is a strong indicator of perpetual magmatic intrusion beneath a
large volcanic edifice the eruption of Taal in the Philippines is a sign
written in the sky it is a direct warning of the hazards of global
volcanoes
throughout the ages disasters have been a part of our existence as devastating
as they can be for life on this planet they have always served a purpose for
they are the alarm clock of the world they are letting us know that it is time
to wake up thanks for watching