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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Karrat Fjord, Greenland Landslide & Tsunami
huge tsunami occurred in the Karrat Fjord on the west coast of Greenland, resulting in severe property damage and casualties in the tiny fishing village of Nuugaatsiaq. The seismic energy detected prior to the tsunami was so large it was first thought to have been the result of a magnitude 4.1 earthquake. However, the cause was a massive landslide on a steep slope of the fjord where millions of cubic meters of rock plunged into the water below, 32 kilometers northeast of the village. Forty-five structures, including eleven houses, were washed away or destroyed, and four people were killed.
Nuugaatsiaq, Qaasuitsup, Greenland
International Tsunami Information Center

'Very, very serious situation': In northern Labrador, it's getting harder to find food
According to numbers in the Food Security in Nunatsiavut survey, nearly 60 per cent of all households along Labrador's north coast struggle with access to food, and most worry about it running out before they have money to buy more.
Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
CBC News

Arctic Indigenous Peoples Are Leading the Way in Ecological Restoration and Climate Resilience
A major new international study has recognized the crucial role Arctic Indigenous Peoples have to play in ecological restoration efforts that help build resilience to major climate-change driven shifts in the distribution of land, marine and freshwater species.
Näätämö River, Lapland, Finland
TruthOut
By Hannibal Rhoades and Tero Mustonen, IC Magazine

Pushki making its presence felt on peninsula
A family trip in the Alaska wilderness can turn sour in a hurry if the proper precautions are not taken against the unassuming but dangerous plant known as “pushki.”
Seward, Alaska, United States
Peninsula Clarion

Sneezes, wheezes, tears: What's in store for this spring's allergy season?
Dust. Trees. Grasses. Mold. How to read the signs about whether 2016 will be gentle or monstrous for allergy sufferers.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Migrating Birds May Carry Viral Baggage
Right now, a lethal strain of bird flu is wreaking havoc in the Lower 48. It’s clear that migrating flocks have something to do with spreading the illness between farms and across continents -- but exactly what is still fuzzy. A remote spot in Southwest Alaska may hold some clues. Download Audio
Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Miami: How Rising Sea Levels Endanger South Florida
By century's end, rising sea levels will turn the nation's urban fantasyland into an American Atlantis. But long before the city is completely underwater, chaos will begin
Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Rolling Stone

Suspected Link Between Eastern Equine Encephalitis and Climate Change
Add the deadly eastern equine encephalitis virus to the list things we
might find more of in our climate-changed future.
Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States
ecoRI News

Veterinary Division - Reportable Diseases Report
All persons practicing veterinary medicine in North Carolina shall report these listed diseases and conditions to the State Veterinarian's office by telephone within two hours after the disease is reasonably suspected to exist.
North Carolina, United States
North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services news release

Tundra fire slows, but still aiming at Southwest Alaska villages
By Saturday, the East Fork fire had grown to just over 108,000 acres but triggered no mandatory evacuations.
St. Mary's, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

In ‘brutal’ heat wave at U.S. Open, Daniil Medvedev warns that a player is ‘gonna die’
Medvedev used an inhaler during a second-set changeover Wednesday while being looked at by a doctor, who checked his breathing with a stethoscope.
New York City, New York, United States
Anchorage Daily News

What is monkeypox, and what are Alaska health officials doing to prepare for its possible arrival?
In the absence of vaccines or treatments, the mortality rate for monkeypox is close to 10%. No cases have yet been identified in Alaska.
Alaska, United States

Fatal grizzly attack renews debate over how many bears are too many
The fatal grizzly attack in West Yellowstone has sparked a debate over the number of bears, with some arguing for delisting and state management to prevent future tragedies.
West Yellowstone, Montana, United States
NPR

Orphaned By the Flu
Winton remembers when this flu came to Wales.Lots of people died from this flu. Both his parents died at that time. He was about eleven years old when this happened in Wales. His father was Deland Kikitaaq and his mother was Kate Autasiyak. Winton's sister, Lucy Nagozruk, a retired school teacher is now living in Nome. His brother, Dwight Tevuk died five years ago at Nome.
Wales, Alaska, United States
UConn

Russian planes seed clouds as raging wildfires near Siberian power plant
Russian planes seeded clouds to bring down rain on huge wildfires raging in the Siberian region of Yakutia that in one place spread dangerously close to a hydroelectric power plant, authorities said on Monday.
Yakutsk, Sakha, Russia
ArcticToday

Gusty winds caused 2023 crash that killed ‘Flying Wild Alaska’ pilot Jim Tweto and passenger, federal investigators say
The renowned bush pilot was making a trip he’d made many times when the Cessna 180 crashed near Shaktoolik in June 2023.
Shaktoolik, Alaska, United States

Comments by Toby Anungazuk, Wales, Alaska, on "The Big Sickness."
When I asked my father a question about the flu, you can feel him withdraw into himself, see him dose his eyes, become very quiet, even start saying some names and block out (showing any emotions) when someone that was close to him dies. l have seen this in almost all the Elders who's parents died during the flu.
Wales, Alaska, United States

Get checked, Nunavut top doc tells Iqaluit residents complaining of skin issues amid water crisis
Nunavut's chief public health officer says Iqaluit residents complaining about skin irritations should get checked out by their doctors, but so far, Dr. Michael Patterson said he hasn't heard of any formal diagnoses.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC

The Big Thaw - Alaska becomes the nation's first frontier of climate disruption
Most of Alaska sits atop permafrost. But the ground is thawing, leading to unexpected and sometimes catastrophic outcomes — what scientists have called a “slow disaster.”
Selawik, Alaska, United States
Type Investigations

Fairbanks winter air pollution holds clues for safe living in northern cities worldwide
A major source of pollution comes from wood-burning stoves. Other sources are vehicle exhaust systems, power plant emissions and heating oil. The air pollution can permanently harm respiratory function and cause other health problems.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

‘Some days we eat grass’: families on the edge in Afghanistan’s food crisis – in pictures
Drought, economic collapse and soaring food prices have pushed millions into hunger. Cash aid from the Disasters Emergency Committee is helping families feed their children and send them back to school
Afghanistan
the Guardian

Why a potentially deadly fungus from the American southwest is creeping closer to Canada
A fungus that lurks in desert soil makes thousands of Americans sick every year with a condition known as Valley Fever. Thanks to climate change, it’s spreading north.
Canada

Thawing permafrost could expose Arctic populations to cancer-causing radon
According to a new study, thawing of permafrost due to climate change could expose the Arctic population to much greater concentrations of the invisible, lung cancer-causing gas Radon.
ScienceDaily

Climate change is a health care emergency
As health care providers, we fully and completely recognize the immediacy and urgency of the moment. We must heed the words and wise counsel of Sir David Attenborough, “The impacts of climate change will be upon us for thousands of years ... The future of humanity and, indeed, all life on Earth, now depends on us.”
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Great Salt Lake is shrinking fast. Scientists demand action before it becomes a toxic dustbin
Great Salt Lake is also known as America's Dead Sea -- owing to a likeness to its much smaller Middle Eastern counterpart -- but scientists worry the moniker could soon take new meaning.
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
CNN

Protecting Alaska's Harvest
Seldovia, Alaska, United States
Karen Pinchin

Health officials to study mosquitoes in the Sea to Sky region after cluster of illness
Late last year, four people in the Sea to Sky corridor developed encephalitis after being infected with California Serogroup viruses (Snowshoe Hare and Jamestown Canyon viruses). Vancouver Coastal Health is launching a mosquito surveillance pilot in the Sea to Sky corridor after four locally acquired encephalitis cases linked to California Serogroup viruses.
Sea to Sky corridor, British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver Sun

Haines disaster considered 200-500 year storm event
An assessment by geotechnical experts will need to be completed in order to know the stability of the slide and understand continuing risk.
Haines, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Prevalence of serum antibodies to Coxiella burnetii in Alaska Native Persons from the Pribilof Islands
Q fever is a febrile illness caused by infection with the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. It is most often transmitted by inhalation of the bacteria after it is shed by infected livestock. The antibody prevalence in NFS samples from 2009 and 2011 (69%) was significantly higher than in 1994 (49%). The antibody prevalence of SSL samples from 2007 to 2011 was 59%. All NFS vaginal swabs were negative for C. burnetii, despite an 80% antibody prevalence in the matched sera. The significant increase in antibody prevalence in NFS from 1994 to 2011 suggests that the pathogen may be increasingly common or that there is marked temporal variation within the vulnerable NFS population.
Saint Paul, Alaska, United States
PubMed Central (PMC)

Worsening warming is hurting people in all regions, US climate assessment shows
The National Climate Assessment was released Tuesday with details that bring climate change’s impacts down to a local level.
Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., United States
AP News

Observed Evidence of Changing Forests:Testimonial for the Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report
The Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program is publishing a report called the Status of Tribes and Climate C...
Spokane, Washington, United States
YouTube

Mercury levels in Stellar sea lion pups are rising. Researchers look to the past to find out why
A new research project is building a timeline of mercury levels in the Aleutian Islands over the last few thousand years.
Unalaska, Alaska, United States
KTOO

The tropical disease that everywhere - Dengue Fever
Dengue is erupting in South America — and has even found its way to the US.
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Alaskapox no more: Newly discovered disease and virus renamed ‘borealpox’
The disease and virus likely exist well beyond the state’s borders, making the new name more scientifically accurate, officials say.
Alaska, United States

There's a crisis in the Yukon River
When Jody Potts-Joseph was growing up, her family mushed sled dogs during the harsh Alaskan winters to hunt and trap, feeding them salmon caught from the Yukon River by the thousands. But after rebuilding her sled dog team as an adult, Potts-Joseph, a member of the Han Gwich'in tribe, had to turn to store-bought dog food. The river that was once renowned for its salmon doesn't have enough to offer anymore.
Eagle, Alaska, United States
Yahoo News

Several drownings reported during Northwest heat wave
Several people have drowned or been reported missing after swimming in Pacific Northwest bodies of water during the record-breaking heat wave in the past few days.
Bellingham, Washington, United States
Bellingham Herald

Increasing Insect Reactions in Alaska: Is this Related to Changing Climate?
During the summer of 2006, Fairbanks Alaska experienced its first two known cases of fatal anaphylaxis as a result of Hymenoptera stings, presumably from yellowjackets. Statistically significant increases in patients seeking medical care for insect bite and sting related events are observed throughout the state, with 5 of the 6 regions experiencing at least a 6 degree Fahrenheit increase in winter temperature since 1950.
Nature Precedings

Coxiella burnetii in northern fur seals and Steller sea lions of Alaska
Coxiella burnetii, a zoonotic bacterium, has recently been identified in several marine mammal species on the Pacific Coast of North America, but little is known about the epidemiology, transmission, and pathogenesis in these species.
Saint Paul, Alaska, United States
PubMed

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