Sinkholes are <a href="/teacher_resources/main/frameworks/esl_bi8.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">natural hazards</a> in many places around the world. They are formed when water dissolves underlying <a href="/earth/Water/carbonates.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">limestone</a>, leading to collapse of the surface. Hydrologic conditions such as a lack of rainfall, lowered water levels, or excessive rainfall can all contribute to sinkhole development. On 2/28/2013, a sinkhole suddenly developed under the house outside of Tampa, Florida, leading to the tragic death of its occupant, Jeff Bush.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Southwest Florida Water Management District</em></small></p>An image of Hurricane Sandy taken by the GOES-13 satellite on October 28. This category 1 <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/hurricane.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">hurricane</a> was huge, spanning a horizontal distance of about one-third the US continental landmass. The storm came onshore in New Jersey, and gradually moved northeast. The storm disrupted the lives of tens of millions in the eastern US, doing billions of dollars in damage, resulting in over 30 deaths. Visit the National Hurricane Center's webpage on <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/">Hurricane Sandy</a> for details.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>This historic image is the first ever taken from a spacecraft in orbit about <a href="/mercury/mercury.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">Mercury</a>, the innermost planet of the solar system. Taken on 3/29/2011 by <a href="/space_missions/robotic/messenger/messenger.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">MESSENGER</a>, it shows numerous craters across the <a href="/mercury/Interior_Surface/Surface/surface_overview.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">surface</a> of the planet. Temperatures there can reach over 800F because Mercury is so close to the Sun and rotates so slowly. MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury earlier in March 2011.<p><small><em>NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington</em></small></p>The massive 9.0 magnitude <a href="/earth/geology/quake_1.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">earthquake</a> off of Honshu, Japan on <a href="/headline_universe/march112011earthquaketsunami.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">11 March 2011</a> generated a <a href="/earth/tsunami1.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">tsunami</a> that exceeded 10 meters on the coast near the epicenter. This image shows model projections for the tsunami wave height in cm which are in good agreement with the observed waves. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were lost, and their families, as we remember this event.<p><small><em><a href="http://blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience/files/2011/03/680_20110311-TsunamiWaveHeight.jpg">NOAA Tsunami Wave Height Projections image</a></em></small></p>On November 7, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines) made landfall, with imated wind speeds of ~315 km/hr - the strongest <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/intensity.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">tropical cyclone</a> to make landfall in recorded history. As Haiyan moved across the Philippines before reaching Vietnam and China, its <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/wind.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">winds</a> and <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/surge.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">storm surge</a> left devastation in its wake, leading to massive loss of life, destruction of homes, and hundreds of thousands of displaced inhabitants. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/iyw-how-to-help-typhoon-haiyan/index.html">How to Help</a><p><small><em>Image courtesy of COMS-1, SSEC, University of Wisconsin-Madison</em></small></p>As permafrost thaws, the land, atmosphere, water resources, ecosystems, and human communities are affected. Coastal areas and hillsides are vulnerable to erosion by thawing of permafrost. Thawing permafrost also causes a positive feedback to global warming, as carbon trapped within the once-frozen soils is released as <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/methane.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">methane</a>, a powerful <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">greenhouse gas</a>. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/permafrost_methane_intro.html&dev=1/k=/h/neptune/=/images/Windows_GIFT_AGU_2007-1.pps">Thawing Permafrost and Methane</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the USGS</em></small></p>


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