Background Articles

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.

A new report breaks down climate impacts on health by US region

This LEO Network video documents coastal erosion impact on the old village of Meshik in Southwest Alaska and the pending lake draining event that will take out the road still used by the residents of Port Heiden. The rate of coastal erosion here is one of the highest in the world. Scientists and community members are working together to document the impacts and develop effective adaptation strategies.

The inhabitants of Lau Lagoon in Solomon Islands have lived in harmony with nature for generations. Now their entire way of life is vanishing beneath the waves.

The 500-foot, rock-filled trench won't be as long as experts advise and wasn't engineered to protect private property.

A UM study has found that tidal flooding has leaped by 400 percent in the last ten years thanks to climate change.

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

Warming of Alaska has dire consequences for state; effects of 7-degree rise in Alaska's temperature over last 30 years include buckling highways, shoreline erosion and forests killed by beatles; in Alaska, rising temperatures, whether caused by greenhouse gas emissions or nature in prolonged mood swing, are not a topic of debate or an abstraction; Sen Ted Stevens says that no place is experiencing more startling change from rising temperatures than Alaska and that problems will cost Alaska hundreds of millions of dollars; photos (M)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has disbursed $3.3 million to help Western Alaskans rebuild after ex-typhoon Merbok struck the coast a month ago.

Ricky Wright points to the bank of a creek to show one way his hometown has been affected by climate change. Many banks have eroded or collapsed, and now some favorite fishing spots that were once on solid ground are reachable only by boat.

Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences hypothesize that as the melting of the permafrost becomes more prevalent, so will the incidence of lung cancer.

With homes dilapidating, shores eroding and staircases falling off the houses, Point Lay residents are living through some of the most severe consequences of the warming climate in Alaska.

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.

Projections show rising sea levels could cause Canada’s beaches to retreat inland, in extreme cases by as much as half a kilometre. The best option may be to stand back and let it happen.

The temporary repairs would consume about 60% of the town’s annual budget for contract work on roads, a Girdwood official said.

The Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho is leading efforts to protect vulnerable community members from wildfire smoke indoors by distributing free portable air purifiers and providing education on indoor air quality. A nearby paper mill is a local source of emissions. But now, wildfire smoke is the main pollutant the reservation faces, a near-constant each summer.

Colorado Springs' housing boom is expanding into nearby cities, like Fountain. But new homes require water — and there are currently fewer than 9,000 taps to Fountain’s water supply.

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.”

The city told owners their buildings should not be occupied until snow is removed if they have a roof at risk of collapse.

Chukotka lawmakers have unanimously approved a law protecting permafrost landscapes and establishing a government service to monitor permafrost changes.