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.
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 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.
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?
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.
The flooding was caused by a weather system that moved up to the Bering Sea from the tropics, and raised water levels and dumped rain across much of western Alaska.
This comes just days after other reports of about 60 dead ice seals found from Kotlik to Kotzebue and Kivalina to Point Hope.
First mosquito sighting in Kotzebue.
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope
Willows budding about a month early 30 miles above the Arctic Circle.
Many foggy days in Noorvik during the fall of 2017.
"Yesterday we came over to do an assessment of the high-water flood storm," said Northwest Arctic Borough Deputy Director of Public Services Dickie Moto, who grew up in Deering. "They lost a lot of ground on the front and on the back side of town because of the high water and rough seas.
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