The record was driven in part by a heavy rainstorm that set Kotzebue's single-day precipitation record.
Unusual high water all summer in Noatak, causing massive erosion towards the airport and old buried landfill, exposing old trash into the river.
Photos show some of the erosion caused by surge of high water in late June on the Noatak River. As of June 29th, 24 feet of bank have been lost adjacent to the Noatak Airport, and 28 feet adjacent to the landfill.
River erosion in Noatak is posing a threat to wells and transmission lines along the bank as the river ebbs closer.
On Tuesday night, the state of Alaska saw thousands of lightning strikes. “Most of the 3,800 lightning strikes were concentrated in the Northwest Arctic,” said BLM Alaska Fire Service spokeswoman Beth Ipsen. There are several communities in close proximity to new fires.
Pacific sand lance can be found along the Western and Southern coasts of Alaska, although their distribution is based on habitat availability. Computer models suggest that there is a low probability this habitat exists near Kivalina.
Coonstripe shrimp (Pandalus hypsinotis) can be found at a depth of 30-300 feet in Norton Sound. During a strong storm, some washed up on a beach north of their known range.
October began with "an explosion" of COVID-19 positive cases despite efforts to tighten and extend restrictions. In the first five days 14 residents on the North Slope and 23 in the Northwest Arctic, upping active caseloads in each borough to 40 and 45, respectively.
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.
The rate of coastal erosion seems to be speeding up near Cape Blossom.
High water in the Noatak River causes erosion near the old dump site.
Unusually warm spring temperatures are rapidly melting above average snowpack, leading to flooding.
Staircases are separating from building and utility poles leaning.
The ground under the new road is developing a sink hole and affecting the foundation of the adjacent house.
It’s a dramatic drop from this winter’s balmy start, but this is a normal weather pattern for this time of year.
Ground settling is causing a wide range of impacts in Noatak, including to the water treatment plant. But are there benchmarks to monitor the changes in the water plant?
Danny Foster and Mike Hawley of Kivalina were ice fishing outside of town when they came upon something they’d never seen before. Incidentally, similar ice balls or ice eggs were reported on an ocean beach in Finland on the same day.
Noatak site experiencing thawing and subsidence.
Low water on the Noatak River may be the reason behind changes in the water quality in community wells. The water quality began to change in the plant as measured (eventually) by the need for twice as much chlorine and Naclo polymer in order to get an acceptable residual of chlorine. The change indicates that the well recharge had been depleted and the that wells began operating on stored water in the aquifer. This water would have been older, likely anaerobic and higher in organics and in inorganics such as iron and manganese.
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