The varnished wooden cross stands amid a cluster of grave markers tilted at odd angles in the cemetery, because the ground beneath them is sinking. Rising temperatures are thawing the once-frozen earth, forming pools of water that run through the graveyard.
The incident appears similar to an oil and gas release in 2017 blamed on thawing permafrost and hot production fluids.
Melting permafrost causing tundra to slip below sea level in northern Alaska.
In northern Alaska, an amphitheater of frozen ground thaws where a northern river cuts into it, exposing walls of ice. The feature, known by scientists as “yedoma,” is the largest of its kind yet found in Alaska. A great wall of ice holds a lot of treasures from the past, which science is eager to explore.
All Topics
All Countries
Any Date
Apply