By Diana Haecker
On Sunday night, a plump ringed seal pup was spotted on the ice in front of Breaker’s Bar on Nome’s Front Street. UAF Alaska Sea Grant agent Gay Sheffield was called and moved the pup to a more secluded beach. The ice had likely gone out too fast and the mother finished up the normal weaning process on the ice chunks in front of Nome.
Researchers stepping off the research vessel Norseman II in Nome last weekend, brought significant news of having found very high concentrations of a phytoplankton called Alexandrium catenella in regional waters. Alexandrium is an algae that can produce saxitoxins, which can cause dangerous paralytic shellfish poisoning in people. The scientists issued an advisory, notifying Norton Sound Health Corporation, UAF Sea Grant and the Alaska Division of Public Health.
An asteroid known as 2022 EB5 exploded in the upper atmosphere north of Iceland at 21:22 UTC on March 11th....
Starting last week, regional residents reported numerous dead seabirds washing up on regional beaches. Alaska Sea Grant Agent Gay Sheffield said there were carcasses of murres, puffins, shearwaters and a kittiwake starting on July 28; in Golovin, Solomon, Nome and a dead Little Diomede.
Strong south winds hit 71 miles per hour in St. Michael, Shishmaref had its sea ice blown away and the Nome Airport saw 0.64 inches of precipitation – mostly in the form of rain - last weekend. The storm that hit on Saturday, Dec. 18 and continued all day Sunday brought the total precipitation for December thus far to 2.04 inches.
John Ahkvaluk , 56, a polar bear guard revealed that this is not a good sign for the village. It’s the first time in several years that bears come at this time of the year. “It’s a warning that they got no food out there and they came looking for it here,” he said. After the incident, Luchie Manlangit, the school principal, and I invited John Ahkvaluk to talk to the kids and to share some protocols if polar bear will come around again.
St. Lawrence Island, home to two native villages in the region, is also the summer home of several migratory seabird species, including kittiwakes, auklets, murre and shearwaters. Over the last several years, though, the bird colonies on the island have been shrinking, and no one has been able to determine why.
Poaching and climate change might be the reasons why more than 1,200 migrating animals did not make it across the wide Arctic waterway.
A 14-year-old boy was found dead along the trail; a 31-year-old male was also found dead at the site of a motor vehicle crash near the trailhead. Last Friday also happened to be the hottest day so far this year in that part of the park. Nearby Rio Grande Village recorded a sweltering 119 degrees — the highest in the park.
The number of ships entering Canada's Northwest Passage, and the distances sailed, are all increasing, says a new report from the Arctic Council.
By Julia Lerner Richard Jessee, a longtime summer miner, survived an aggressive bear attack near his cabin last week.
Two landslides near the village of Kuujjuaraapik in Arctic Quebec have been deemed "significant" by authorities but pose no immediate danger to the community. The events happened on Thursday and affected a thick clay soil zone near the village.
Researchers in Canada find that population did not bother making the 6,000km roundtrip in 2018-2019
After alerting the region to very high levels of harmful algal blooms west of Kotzebue and Gambell two weeks ago, scientist onboard the research vessel Norseman II have found even higher numbers of Alexandrium catenella algae cells near Wales, Diomede and Shishmaref.
The Road and Coastal Administration reported record-high waves at the south coast of Iceland as a severe storm swept the county.
Swarms of giant jellyfish are floating along the coastline of the Sea of Japan, and the damage they may cause to fisheries is feared to be the worst in more than a decade.
Scotland’s only working nuclear power plant at Torness shut down in an emergency procedure this week when jellyfish clogged the sea water-cooling intake pipes at the plant. To protect marine life and avert nuclear disasters, scientists are investigating the use of drones to provide estimates of jellyfish locations, amounts, and density.
Warm summer days lasted all August along the coast to the Barents Sea, from Hammerfest in the west to Kirkenes in the east. The latter is now experiencing the warm weather to last into September with several days reaching maximum temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius (68 F).
A localized round of heavy rain has wreaked havoc on the St. Johnsbury, Vermont, area, washing out some roads and damaging homes. This same area was hit hard with flooding just 19 days prior as the remnants of Beryl crossed North America. About two dozen rescues took place during the latest round of flooding and officials warned that the impacts could worsen as creeks rise further or more rain arrives.
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