LEO Member Jeffrey Luther has been documenting erosion along the Noatak River for many years. His drone footage this spring captures new bank erosion features and icicle formations.
Kivalina residents report cracks on the sides of the recently built evacuation road which connects the village to the storm refuge site and the school. The team with the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities plans to visit the village and assess the damages at the end of August.
The river in Noatak is slowly cutting away parts of the road. This is an on going problem and the observation by Jeffrey Luther provides the latest in a series about erosion and related impacts.
This post is an update on the river erosion situation in Noatak, where a new channel is being cut by the Noatak River.
Noatak has lost 19' of river bank since May 19th. Now the road to the community gravel source is failing.
I'm guessing all the rain we received during summer of 2021 created the trench.
Community Water System at Risk: Extreme precipitation throughout the summer and sustained high water has resulted in erosion of the location for the water transmission line and Noatak's two water wells.
The multinational company that operates the Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska says that thawing permafrost linked to global warming has forced it to spend nearly $20 million to manage its water storage and discharge.
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