October flew by leaving us with a couple of light snowfalls. November came around with something slightly more impressive, but it wasn't the same. Mid December decided to make up for all of the snowfalls that we missed all at once, it seems like.
Permafrost thaw in Noatak is causing the condition of the grave site to degrade. A trench has formed and crosses are tipping over.
First report of a seal with poor hair growth this year in Norton Sound region.
After severe flooding from Storm Merbok, the waters have recided leaving the town digging out a giant sand box.
Hikers should be cautious when hiking the Castner Glacier trail since chunks of ice may fall and the streams and rivers are very fast.
Black insect never seen by a Yupiit of Andreafski Tribal member at his home in St. Mary's.
Two dead otters (one recent) on Kasitsna Bay side. We also found another one yesterday on the Kachemak side.
Walked two miles of spit and did not see any others.
We typically see them blooming in June and most of them have been without blooms for months.
A site visit to Newtok on September 30, shows severe erosion from impacts of storm (typhoon Merbok). The images show both severe permafrost melt and river erosion.
Die-offs of krill are in some cases associated with hypoxia (low oxygen) excess sediment suspended in the water column and changes in water temperature. There were recent reports of high levels of Alexandrium in water samples in the areas, and Norton Sound Health Corporation is performing some testing of krill samples (see below). There was also an unprecedented storm event only a week ago, unusual for the storm surge and early season.
Ali Ralson was riding her 4 Wheeler towards Cape Blossom and came upon a beach full of fish. It appears that most of the fish are stickleback although there may be other species involved too. This would suggest an environmental issue that would impact multiple fish species rather than a pathogen. One potential cause could be harmful algal toxins.
Over the past five years, there has been a steady increase in the number of dandelions spread throughout the surrounding area of Iqaluit.
A very small cub was photographed in Chistochina this week, raising questions about why it has not grown larger for this late in the year.
"I had never seen burrows like this, and they were everywhere on the Nuna. What seemed to be elaborate tunnel systems dug where there was apparently no permafrost, and sometimes the burrows led up to the bench behind."
The erosion of the Old Russian Cemetery from the impacts of the storm Merbokis also an unfinished process. The earth is actively moving, falling onto the beach bit by bit and sometimes in large chunks every day, to reach a state of stabilization after the storm.
The heavy rains and high water from storm Murdok today and Monday are contributing to the erosion of the old landfill and river bank.
The spiders are usually in multiple form in most areas, but it has not been witnessed in this form. This is described as a spider "ballooning" event, the term used when spiders launch themselves in to the air. These events might be happening more frequently as warming Arctic temperatures has been associated with increases in the population of some spider species such as the wolf spider (see Spider Baby Boom in Warming Arctic), and spiders moving further north and also having more then one hatch per season.
The aftermath of Typhoon Merbok left fuel tanks floating and home flooded, but locals also saw an opportunity.
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