Background Articles

People living in West Dawson are urging the Yukon government to do more to support them while they wait for the Yukon River to freeze over, and provide them with reliable access to emergency services.

The erosion that prompted Gov. Mike Dunleavy's action is advancing on the Northwest Alaska community's water lines.

Bethel high school students in the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program have taken up magnet fishing, retrieving over 50 bikes and various other items from Brown's Slough.

Researchers believe that if permafrost thaw continues at its current rate and mercury keeps being released, it could pose a real threat to many communities throughout northern and western Alaska.

The ACAT report reveals that the Arctic Ocean Basin has the highest global concentration of microplastics, posing significant health risks to local wildlife and residents.

This research compiles over a century of local flood data in Alaska to improve future flood risk prediction and planning, addressing the lack of accessible historic flood information for community and regional use.

A new study found that the drying Great Salt Lake in Utah is now a major source of the gas emissions that are causing the climate to warm.

Blue-green algae blooms, exacerbated by climate change and nutrient runoff, are increasingly appearing in the Great Lakes, posing risks to human and environmental health.

German scientists from Alfred Wegener Institute are using classic planes to map and document the accelerating permafrost thaw in Northwest Alaska.

The melting of polar ice sheets due to climate change is causing Earth's rotation to slow down and its axis to shift, potentially surpassing the moon's influence on these dynamics and affecting technologies like GPS.

Agrigento, a tourist destination in Sicily, is facing severe water shortages, leading to rationing and the turning away of tourists, impacting the local economy reliant on tourism and agriculture.

As the US grapples with extreme heat, floodwaters force evacuations in the Midwest, including a submerged Iowa town.

Yellowknife is using water from Yellowknife Bay to refill its reservoirs due to unusually high outflow rates at a pumphouse, the cause of which is under investigation.

Alaska's impending water quality regulations may necessitate advanced treatment for contaminants like phthalates in wastewater, posing challenges for local systems to comply with stricter EPA standards.

The EPA is pushing Alaska to update water pollution rules due to Alaskans' high seafood consumption, with state officials acknowledging the need for revised standards.

Scientists are enhancing flood forecasts in Juneau as Suicide Basin refills, following an unexpected record flood last year caused by rapid drainage.

In Northwest Alaska, the Red Dog mine faces potential delays in expansion, risking future revenue and jobs for the local community, amid environmental and cultural impact concerns.

Rivers and streams in Alaska are changing color – from a clean, clear blue to a rusty orange – because of the toxic metals released by thawing permafrost, according to a new study.

Recent discoloration of 75 streams in Arctic Alaska reflects increased iron and trace metal loading following climate-driven permafrost thaw. These findings have considerable implications for drinking water supplies and subsistence fisheries.

Alaska's legislature has passed a bill to ban PFAS chemicals in firefighting foams, addressing the contamination of drinking water.