The Merbok storm of 2022 impacted the Old Russian Cemetery in Saint Michael. This cemetery was created in the 1830s when the northernmost outpost of the Russian American Company was established in that village. People were interred in that cemetery for about 100 years. The cemetery is on a 30 foot high bluff overlooking the bay.

Graves at the historic St. Michael cemetery in Alaska are eroding due to increased storms and erosion, prompting an archaeologist to recover exposed remains and coordinate efforts to re-bury them. Tom Wolforth’s prime mission was to appropriately handle the remains and make sure they could be reburied. He has been working closely with the tribe and the municipality to address their concerns. One concern, Martin said, was that these exposed remains could pose a risk of disease, especially if the dead had been buried during the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. But Wolforth assured them that if properly handled this shouldn’t be a problem.

Several communities in the Norton Sound are struggling with contaminated drinking water days after the significant September storm hit the region.

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 ice was so thick flowing down the river. It was forming so fast. It was freezing so fast. Just amazing. I’d never seen anything like that," one of the hunters, Rex Nick, said.

A tumor is present on the lower jaw of the sheefish (Stenodus leucichthys).

Fish caught while ice fishing has black patches on skin. Appears to be the same black fungal syndrome previously reported in Kipnuk.

Slimy sculpins (Cottus cognatus) are small, nocturnal, bottom-dwelling fish that lack a swim bladder to help them stay bouyant in the water. Their size and habitat allow them to easily avoid fishing gear designed for salmon.

Permafrost is becoming exposed in Western Alaska, in areas where the landscape transitions to tundra.

Rusty tussock caterpillars can cause skin irritation for people when handled individually, and are responsible to large defoliation events when populations are high.

Unusually high levels of seasonal pollen create a visible sheen on water.

Erosion of Russian era graves is a concern because of history with epidemic, and tribal office has to collect and rebury remains.

An unidentified fungus is growing along the eroding coastal bank.

During the summer of 2019, warm water temperatures lowered the amount of dissolved oxygen in rivers and caused salmon across the state, including Mountain Village, to die before they were able to spawn.

Dead chum salmon have been spotted floating down the Yukon river. Water temperatures are measuring at 70 degrees, the warmest in recollection.

Dead salmon and whitefish found along the banks of the Yukon River.

Around 60 ice seals have been reported dead across northern and western Alaska this month. The cause of the strandings and deaths is not known.

This walrus was found by a local fisherman and reported by LEO Network to the US Fish and Wildlife Walrus Hotline. The carcass is thought to be too old for necropsy or sample collection.

18 dead seals were found along the coast, and are like part of a larger mortality event that includes 60 seals total. The average number of dead ice seals normally found in a year is 18.