LEO Network

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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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Observations

Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Arctic
Brown bears spotted by a resident for the first time on the island of Shishmaref.
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States

River Erosion on the Yukon Flats
Yukon Flats community dealing with river erosion and landscape changes that are threatening the loss of traditional harvesting areas.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, United States

More Brown Bears (Ursus arctos)
10-1-12 More brown bears - Koyukuk, Alaska, USA
Koyukuk, Alaska, United States

Thawing and Eroding Trail
Permafrost thaw is causing trail in Golovin to erode.
Golovin, Alaska, United States

Damage to ATV Bridge
Permafrost thawing causing bridge damage.
Selawik, Alaska, United States

Extreme Rain & Flooding
9-21-12 Extreme rain and flooding - Wasilla, Alaska, USA
Wasilla, Alaska, United States

2nd Major Wind Storm Hits Anchorage
A second major wind storm in less than two weeks swept through Alaska's largest city on Sunday, but unlike the earlier storm, its greatest intensity was mostly on higher elevations where gusts as high as 120 mph were reported, weather forecasters said.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
The Weather Channel

Unusual Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Sighting
Rare polar bear sighting in Sisualik summer camp, about 10-11 miles north of Kotzebue, AK.
Sisualik Fish Camp, Alaska, United States

Water Red in Harbor (Algae)
Red-colored seawater in boat harbor.
Saint George, Alaska, United States

Spruce Bark Beetle
We are worried about the effects of large infestation and about wildlife.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, United States

Unseasonable windstorm ravages Anchorage
At least 50,000 homes and businesses lost power late Tuesday, and outages continued through Wednesday.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Windfall Tree Devastation
The winds came east out of the Chugach Mountains and caused damage to forest, unlike anything we have seen in over 50 years. It is going to be expensive and time consuming to clear the windfall.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Windfall creates flood hazard
9-5-12 Windfall causes flood hazard - Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Unusual Skate Found on Arctic Beach
9-13-12 Unusual skate on Arctic beach - Barrow, Alaska, USA
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States

Heat lightning
9-1-12 Heat lightning - Kiska Island, Alaska, USA
Kiska Island, Alaska, USA

Harp seals

Community Water Distribution System Freeze Up
We performed a survey of community water lines to see how permafrost thaw and sinking foundations may be impacting homes, water and waste water systems. During the June visit we saw where foundation sinking was putting stress on pipe runs and junctions. Now in the winter we see evidence of freeze up in some of the homes where the junction boxes have been compromised, gaps in the insulation seal, and resulting freeze up and overflow of water.
Selawik, Alaska, United States
Tanya Ballot, John Warren, Mike Brubaker, Prithviraj Chavan

North Pacific 'super storm' makes its way toward Western Alaska coastline
The National Weather Service predicted one of the largest storms on record blasting up the Bering Sea coast. Could this be the first Arctic hurricane?
Anchorage Daily News

Ringed seal
Wrangel Island, Chukotka, Russia

Sick ringed seal
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States

Sick Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina)
Kodiak, Alaska, United States

Chiefs Concerned About Infectious Sockeye Virus
The Shuswap Nation Tribal Council is very concerned about the conclusive finding of the European Strain of Infectious Salmon Anemia virus (ISA) in sockeye in Rivers Inlet. The Secwepemc, like "most BC First Nations, have relied on salmon as the life blood of our people. Between 50 and 90 per cent of our people's diet consisted of salmon at the time of contact.
Rivers Inlet, British Columbia, Canada
Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper

Ringed Seal Mortality

Ringed seal stranding and mortality
Point Hope, Alaska, United States

Walruses suffer from similar disease afflicting Alaska ringed seals
Pacific walruses are beaching on Northwest Alaska shores, peppered with bleeding skin legions that have been observed on dying ringed seals in Arctic Alaska, according to federal biologists.
Point Lay, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Stranded ringed seals
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States

Mysterious disease killed scores of seals in Alaska
A mysterious disease, possibly a virus, has afflicted ring seals along Alaska's coast, killing scores of them since July, local and federal agencies said on Thursday.
Barrow, Alaska, United States
REUTERS

Mysterious disease takes toll on ringed seals in Alaska Arctic
Biologists are trying to determine what's ailing ringed seals that live off Alaska's Arctic coast. Scores of seals stranded on beaches this summer appeared to have skin lesions, and dozens have died.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States

Sick Ringed Seal
Koyuk, Alaska, United States

Stranded Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida)
Golovin, Alaska, United States

Sick Ringed Seal
Nome, Alaska, United States

Sick Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida)
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States

Ringed seal stranding

The Mystery Rust of Kivalina, Alaska
Last month a mysterious orange film ("goo" in the media vernacular) washed up on the shores of a northwest Alaskan village called Kivalina. An orange powder seems an odd product for the drying of crustacean eggs, but could make perfect sense for fungi -- specifically, the rust fungi.
Kivalina, Alaska, United States
Scientific American Blog Network

Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida) Mortality
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada

Seal stranding and mortality

Ice seal mortality
Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada

Ice seal mortality
Nome, Alaska, United States

Ice seal mortality
Hooper Bay, Alaska, United States

Walrus with skin illness
Point Lay, Alaska, United States

Ringed seal mortality
Uelen, Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia

Stranded seal
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States

Ringed seal mortality

Ringed seal mortality
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States

Strange seal behavior
Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut

Shell shock - thousands of Ninilchik clams wash up on beach in unusual die-off
A winter storm lashed the sandy beaches at the mouth of the Ninilchik River with ferocious waves, powerful enough to uproot thousands of razor clams.
Ninilchik, Alaska, United States
Redoubt Reporter

Strange seal behavior
Churchill Manitoba

Sick seals

Sick Seals
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada

Sick Seals
Coral Harbor, Nunavut, Canada

Troubling Decline in Caribou Herds of the Arctic
Across the Far North, populations of caribou — an indispensable source of food and clothing for indigenous people — are in steep decline. Scientists point to rising temperatures and a resource-development boom as the prime culprits.
Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada

Spider Webs Covering Acres of Grasslands
Spider webs covering vegetation along the Noatak River Delta resemble a mass "ballooning" event reported in Unalaska.
Noatak River Delta

The Seattle Times: Sports: Notebook: Humboldt squid make rare appearance here
Washington's outer coast
Seattle Times

Jumbo squid is captured in unfamiliar waters
Sitka, Alaska
msnbc.com

Too Many Sea Otters?
Some want to be able to kill them again off BC's coast. Part one of a Tyee special report.
Chesterman Beach, British Columbia, Canada
The Tyee

Oh, rats! Rodent sighting means Anchorage has infestations, too
Anchorage can no longer claim to be the largest port city in the Northern Hemisphere without known rat infestations. State biologist Rick Sinnott caught and kille dtwo Norway rats found living at a pond near a South Anchorage school. Professional exterminatiors hired by the city placed more traps at the scene Monday afternoon.
Associated Press

Spotted seal
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States

Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida)

Ringed seal
Golovin, Alaska, United States

Prickly sharks (Echinorhinus cookei) observed in the shallow head of Monterey Submarine canyon

Apparent native freshwater mussel mortality event

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