Five dead and four missing following explosion on oil production vessel off coast of Brazil.

Five workers are known to have died and another four are missing following an explosion on an oil and gas production vessel, about 40 km off the coast of Espírito Santo State in Brazil on Wednesday 11 February 2015. Seventeen other workers have been treated for injuries following the incident, two of whom are described as having 'grave' burn injuries. It is thought unlikely that any of the missing men are alive. The vessel has been named as the FPSO Cidade de São Mateus, which has been leased from the Norwegian company BW Offshore Ltd by the Brazilian state-owned company Petrobras. Seventy four workers were on the vessel at the time of the incident, sixty five of which were evacuated shortly after the incident. The dead have been identified as four Brazilian nationals and one Indian, all of those missing a understood to be Brazilians.

Archive picture of the FPSO Cidade de São Mateus. AFP/Getty Images.

The vessel is understood to have been producing both oil and natural gas at the time of the incident, which was caused by a leak from a gas pipeline. Production is believed to have been shut off safely, with no danger of continuing leaks causing an environmental problem. The hull of the vessel is reportedly intact, and has been towed into the port of Vitoria, where it is under investigation be a team of specialists.

Prior to the incident the vessel produced around 2.25 million cubic meters of gas and 350 cubic meters of oil per day, about 3% of Petrobras's total gas output and 1% of the company's total oil output. The oil and gas was then piped ashore via undersea pipelines.

The incident comes at a bad time for Petrobras, which has been embroiled in a corruption scandal during the past year, with three former senior executives facing criminal charges, over a dozen more having been arrested and questioned and the resignations of the former Chief Executive Officer and five other top executives having been forced.

See also...

Families evacuated after Trinidad oil leak.
Several families have been forced to evacuate their homes after an oil well in Penal on southwest Trinidad began leaking at about 11 pm local time on Saturday 26 July 2014. Resident in the area have described being woken by a loud noise that sounded like an...


Oil Spill hits Trinidad Beaches.
Beaches in South Trinidad were closed by authorities after being covered by a thick layer of crude oil on 18 December 2013. Local fishermen have also been prevented from putting to sea by the event, putting livelihoods at risk, and residents have complained...


Chevron & Ecuadorian government seek to use arbitration to settle Amazon damages case.
Oil extraction began in Ecuador in 1878, with a number of foreign companies operating in the country ever since. Texas-based oil...


Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

A new species of Earwigfly from Brazil.

Earwigflies (Meropeidae) are a small group within the Mecoptera (Scorpionflies), known only from four fossil and two modern species. Three of the fossil species are from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan, and the fourth from the Jurassic of Siberia, while the two modern species, Merope tuber and Austromerope poultoni are from North America and Australia respectively. Little is known of the biology of these Insects, the larvae having never been observed. It is thought that they may have been more diverse in the Mesozoic, and that the modern populations are a relict.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 15 February 2013, Renato Machado of the Department of Entomology at Texas A & M University, Ricardo Kawada of the Laboratório de Entomologia Sistemática at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo and José Rafael of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, describe a new species of extant Earwigfly from Espírito Santo State in Brazil.

The new species is placed in the genus Austromerope, and given the specific name brasiliensis, meaning 'from Brazil'. Austromerope brasiliensis is described from a single 20 mm male specimen caught in a Malaise trap (tent like net structure used by entomologists to trap flying insects) at Domingos Martins in Espírito Santo State Brazil.

Austromerope brasiliensis, male specimen from. Domingos Martins in Espírito Santo State Brazil. Machado et al. (2013).

Austromerope brasiliensis is more similar to the Australian species Austromerope poultoni than the North American Merope tuber. As well as being the first member of the Meropeidae recorded in South America, Austromerope brasiliensis is the fourth Scorpionfly known from South America belonging to a family also known from Australia, other than the Bittacidae (Hangingflies), which are global in distribution. The other three species are all members of the genus Nannochorista, which is also known from Australia. The genus Nannochorista, along with a second genus, Microchorista, which comprises one species from New Zealand, comprise the family Nannochoristidae. All other Australian families of the Mecoptera are endemic (found only in Australia), whereas North American families of Scorpionflies tend to be found in Earasia as wel. One family, the Eomeropidae, comprises only a single species from South America. This implies that the Meropeidae had arisen before the breakup of the supercontint of Pangea in the Jurassic, with the lineages that gave rise to the modern genera Merope and Austromerope being trapped on Laurasia and Gondwana respectivel, while.most other famlies of the Meropidae apparently arose later.

See also Leaf mimicry in a Jurassic Scorpionfly, Three new species of Scorpionfly from the early Eocene of British Columbia and Washington State and A new species of Scorpionfly from Baltic Amber.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Flooding and landslides kill at least 47 in southeaster Brazil.

At least 44 people have died and over 65 000 have been driven from their homes as southeastern Brazil suffered the highest rainfall for 90 years this month. In Espirito Santo State 30 people are known to have died and over 61 000 more have been forced from their homes by flooding, which has affected 47 cities. Many more have lost power and clean water supplies, as rivers have burst their banks and landslides have swept away roads and bridges. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. In neighboring Minas Gerais State 17 people are known to have died and over 4000 people force to leave their homes.

Flooding in Santa Maria de Jetiba in Espiritu Santo State on 19 December 2013. EFE.

Late December is peak rainy season in southern Brazil, but this year's rains have been exceptionally strong. Brazil has suffered a string of flood-related disasters in recent years, most notably in 2011, when over 800 people died. The country has a rapidly growing population, with little effective urban planning, which has led to sprawling urban developments springing up with little thought to natural hazards, and in particular poorer neighborhoods often expanding up unstable hillsides, with the result that when floods occur (which is not unusual) communities are often quickly overwhelmed. This years exceptional rains have led to more widespread flooding, which may also persist for longer, and there is a distinct danger that without determined action the death toll may exceed that of 2011.

See also Five people killed by landslide in St Vincent, Six killed by Brazilian landslide, Five dead after Columbian landslide, 58 feared dead following Mexican landslide and Landslide kills twelve bus passengers as Hurricane Ingrid makes landfall in Veracruz State, Mexico.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

A new species of Toad from the coastal restingas of southern Brazil.

True Toads of the Family Bufonidae (a variety of unrelated Frogs from around the world are colloquially known as 'Toads', but the Family Bufonidae are the only group to which this is universally applied) occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica and Australia, and have been introduced to Australia. They occupy a wide variety of environments, including fairly arid, sandy regions where Amphibians are not generally expected. True Toads tend to be warty in appearance and to lack teeth. Most species can excrete toxins through their skins, and in many species male Toads can become female under some circumstances.

In a paper published in the American Museum Novitates on 14 November 2012, a team of scientists led by Pedro Peloso of the Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Herpetology) and Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History, describe a new species of Toad from the coastal resingas (shrubby woodland on acidic sandy soils) of Espírito Santo State in southern Brazil.

The new species is placed in the genus Melanophryniscus (South American Redbelly Toads), and given the specific name setiba, meaning 'seashells in abundance' in the local Tupi Guarani language; this being the popular name of the area where the Toads were found living.

Melanophryniscus setiba is a 13-16 mm reddish brown Toad with a warty skin and the majority of its fingers and toes greatly reduced, leaving it with one effective digit on each limb. The males are slightly more robust than the females.

Melanophryniscus setiba, adult male, 16 mm long. Peloso et al. (2012).

The hand (left) and foot (right) of Melanophryniscus setiba. Scale bar is 2 mm. Peloso et al. (2012).

The restinga forest where Melanophryniscus setiba was found. Peloso et al. (2012).

See also Two new species of Aromobatid Frog from Panama, New species of Frog from Japan, How Cow pats help the spread of the Invasive Cane Toad in northern Australia, Three new species of Frog from the Peruvian Andes and New species of Robber Frog from Panama.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.