Showing you that I'm not just a nerd for economic data, I'm a nerd for all data, here are two items from opposite sides of the geological spectrum.
First, fire: Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. For years, it was spewing lava that ran in tubes down to the ocean - that is, until early March of this year, when fissures briefly opened up on the side of the volcano and the lava stopped. This completely drained the crater, called Pu'u O'o, from which it had erupted.
By early April, a small new pool of lava had formed at the bottom of the crater:
By a week ago, here is how it looked. Pu'u O'o is almost bursting at the seams with lava, to quote the geologists:
Lava has continued to fill the entire crater to the rim, and has begun to spill out. Here is the link to the webcam at the side of the crater.
Next, ice (or really, the lack thereof): Here is the most recent daily map of ice in the arctic ocean. This week, as you can see, the artic sea lane north of Asia is completely ice free. Ships can sail from the Atlantic Ocean east of Greenland, north of Russia, and through the Bering Strait to the Pacific Ocean, without ever encountering ice. The "Northwest Passage" through the islands north of Canada, has not opened - yet.
Have a nice weekend!
