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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

Permafrost Melt Causing River Erosion
Severe permafrost thaw and erosion along Koyukuk River banks.
Allakaket, Alaska, United States

Permafrost cost: Long-term fix at Ross River school could require constant power
A Yukon school could soon require constant electricity during the summer merely to avoid sinking. The 'active refrigeration system' would freeze ground under the Ross River school. The device would be the first of its kind in Yukon.
Ross River, Yukon Territory, Canada
CBC News

More than 800,000 reindeer vaccinated against anthrax
In the course of summer, the whole reindeer population of the Nenets tundra will be made immune against the lethal bacteria infection.
Yamal Peninsula, Russia
The Independent Barents Observer

Thawing permafrost forces closure of Dawson City's rec centre
Permafrost underneath the structure is believed to have melted since last fall and key parts of the building might not be able to withstand strong winds or an earthquake, according to a professional engineer hired by Dawson City.
Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
CBC News

Local rivers possible solution for Iqaluit's imminent water shortage
While it researches long-term solutions, Iqaluit is looking at small fixes, like flexible pipe connectors, to stop pipes from breaking and leaking.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC News

Experts warn gas pipes are in real danger from exploding tundra
Gas pipes supplying Europe run right over swelling Yamal tundra which is deeply unstable to the release of underground methane.
Yamal Region, Russia
The Independent Barents Observer

When the Sea Wall Breaks: Climate Change in Teller, Alaska
Teller, Alaska is identified by the US Army Corps of Engineers as one of 31 villages in imminent danger of the effects of climate change.
Teller, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Institute

Gas pipelines supplying Europe 'in real danger from exploding tundra' - top scientist
Pipes are built over bulging and unstable Arctic pingos prone to violent eruptions caused by 'thawing methane gas', as seen twice on the Yamal peninsula this year.
Yamal Region, Russia
The Siberian Times

Methane explodes under Yamal tundra, creates another sinkhole
Locals say they saw flames and smoke as a major bubble of methane blasted below the surface and created another sinkhole in the Russian Arctic peninsula.
Yamal Peninsula, Russia
The Independent Barents Observer

Plenty of water? Canadian Arctic communities on the verge of running out
Looking at a map of Arctic Canada, it seems there are literally thousands of lakes and rivers, yet many Arctic communities are facing water shortages or threats of shortages to come.
Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut Territory, will be facing that problem in the very near future.
Andrew Medeiros (PhD)
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
Eye on the Arctic

Drying Ponds and Buttercups
I went to gather some yesterday and there was no water to speak of; in a pond that's has been filled with water my whole life.
Hooper Bay, Alaska, United States

Sinkhole pops up at Ft. Wainwright
A sinkhole has opened up on Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks. The 3-foot diameter void discovered Monday near a housing unit, is suspected to be the result of thawing permafrost.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Climate Change Drives Up the Cost of Canada’s Northernmost Highway
Chris Burn at Carleton University is tracking the growing cost of maintaining Yukon’s Dempster Highway as warmer weather brings more landslides, washouts and other challenges.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada
Arctic Deeply

Medieval Child’s Burial Unearthed in Northern Russia
Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
Archeology

'It scares me': Permafrost thaw in Canadian Arctic sign of global trend
For years now, buildings in Inuvik have been sinking due to thawing permafrost. It's part of a worrying trend across the Arctic, writes David Michael Lamb.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

Warnings of new Arctic explosions at some 700-plus sites in Yamal due to thawing permafrost
Scientists rush to site of latest tundra eruption - which formed a crater 50 metres deep - amid fears for homes and key industrial sites.
Bovanenkovo, Yamal Peninsula, Russia

Climate change hits Alaska's rural water systems
Thawing permafrost is warping water and sewer lines. Along the coast and rivers, erosion is threatening the lakes that communities use for drinking water or the lagoons where they dump sewage.
Unalakleet, Alaska, United States
KTOO

ANTHC searching for solutions to St. Michael’s frozen water lines
About 10 miles of above-ground water and sewer lines froze in mid-January. ANTHC suspects the lines were damaged when melting permafrost caused building foundations to shift.
St. Michael, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Here’s the dirt on the melting permafrost in Fairbanks
The unexpected appearance of sinkholes or groundwater flooding is something to which residents have grown accustomed.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Arctic Deeply

Disturbing melody of melting permafrost crater
This tadpole-shaped gash in the Earth's surface - around one kilometre long, and 800 metres wide - is enlarging by up to 30 metres a year.
Yakutsk, Sakha, Russia
Siberian Times

Vandalism of mammoth graveyards in Siberia
Unique paleontological sites are facing destruction from gangs seeking to sell prehistoric remains. The hunters are especially active in late summer, when the permafrost retreats leaving mammoth remains more visible.
Zhokhov island
Siberia Times

Kenai Peninsula permafrost thawing rapidly
A recent study estimates permafrost coverage on the peninsula has decreased by 60 percent since 1950. Permafrost is usually associated with Northern and Interior Alaska, but it also occurs in isolated pockets in wetlands on the Kenai Peninsula.
Ridgeway, Alaska, United States
KBBI Homer

Permafrost thaw altering chemistry of Yukon River
As Alaska warms and permafrost thaws, the chemistry of the Yukon River's water is transforming chemically, new research from the U.S. Geological Survey shows.
Pilot Station, Alaska, United States
Alaska Dispatch News

Newtok asks: Can the U.S. deal with slow motion climate disasters?
Newtok, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Warning of 'Collapse' in Siberia's Permafrost Cities
A new study has warned of the risk to buildings in urban areas across Russia's permafrost zone caused by climate change. The Russian-US analysis says a worst-case scenario could lead to a 75-95% 'reduction in bearing capacity throughout the permafrost region by 2050'.
Anadyr, Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
Siberian Times

Melting permafrost changes Yukon River
Tanana, Alaska, United States

Lake Drying
Decades have passed and ponds are drying up.
Chistochina, Alaska, United States

Russia plans to kill a quarter-million Siberian reindeer amid anthrax fears
A mysterious anthrax outbreak over the summer killed more than 2,300 reindeer and at least one child.
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Washington Post

Huge cull of 250,000 reindeer by Christmas in Yamalo-Nenets after anthrax outbreak
Freak warm weather followed by a freeze in winter 2013-14 caused an ice-over of pastures which led to the deaths of some 70,000 reindeer in a famine. This summer, there was an outbreak of deadly anthrax after the hottest Arctic summer on record.
Noyabrsk, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
Siberia Times

Nome Area Ponds Are Disappearing
Ponds in and around the Nome area are drying up.
Nome, Alaska, United States

Experts warn of threat of born-again smallpox from old Siberian graveyards
There was a town where up to 40% of the population died. Naturally, the bodies were buried under the upper layer of permafrost soil, on the bank of the Kolyma River. Now, a little more than 100 years later, Kolyma's floodwaters have started eroding the banks.'
Zashiversk
Siberia Times

Huge Thaw Crater
Downriver from Arctic Village
East Fork Chandalar River, Northeast Interior, Alaska, United States
Carter Brubaker, Vladimir Romanovsky, Ray Hander, Richard L Thoman Jr, Janet Jorgenson

DEC looks into whether drums in village's drinking water lake pose any hazards
State and North Slope Borough officials say Point Lay’s drinking water lake was wiped out by the nearby Kokolik River, which flooded and eroded the lake banks.
Point Lay, Alaska, United States

The Alaskan Highway Is Literally Melting
A critical artery is threatened by thawing permafrost.
Tok, Alaska, United States
Bloomberg.com

Siberian Heatwave Sparks Anthrax Outbreak, Killing A Child And Thousands Of Reindeer
Russian officials have said the death of a 12-year-old boy, a member of a reindeer-herding family from the Yamal tundra 1,300 miles north of Moscow, was the first fatality in Siberia linked to the pathogen since 1941. Twenty others have been diagnosed with anthrax.
HuffPost

An Anthrax Outbreak in Siberia Kills a 12-Year-Old Boy and Sickens Eight
Melted permafrost that exposed an infected reindeer carcass is believed to have resulted in the cases that killed a 12-year-boy and sickened eight others.
Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
The Atlantic

Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change kills boy in Arctic Circle
Seventy-two nomadic herders, including 41 children, were hospitalised in far north Russia after the region began experiencing abnormally high temperatures
Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
the Guardian

Crack in the Tundra
Possibly an effect of thawing permafrost.
Kipnuk, Alaska, United States

Global warming winners? North Slope brant thriving amid changes
Climate-induced habitat changes on Alaska's North Slope such as coastal erosion and permafrost thaw have produced more food for migrating brant, a study says.
North Slope, Alaska, United States
Alaska Dispatch News

River Erosion
Shungnak, Alaska, United States

Why Alaska's Arctic tundra is slowly sinking
Alaska’s tundra landscapes carpet a good portion of the state, from the North Slope to the elbow of the Alaska Peninsula. Researchers say it's slowly sinking in places -- as much as a fifth of an inch each year.
Teller, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Coastal Erosion
Coastal erosion near Cape Blossom
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States

Eroding Arctic coastline reveals human bones
When a storm exposes human remains in Barrow, there isn’t an established protocol. They are usually given to the federally recognized Native Village of Barrow for repatriation.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
Eye on the Arctic

Thawing ATV Trail
Thawing all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail.
Chuathbaluk, Alaska, United States

Gravesite Erosion
Permafrost thaw and storms are drivers.
Teller, Alaska, United States
Jennifer Demir, Ryan Brubaker, Racheal Lee, Anahma Shannon, Mike Brubaker, Kendra Lee, Tom Wolforth

Muddy River Raises Salmon Concerns
Thawing permafrost and river bank collapsed on the Cheenik Creek.
Golovin, Alaska, United States

Natural Gas Vent
On a rising tide, a line of bubbles from the mud under the water of Ugashik Bay can be observed rising forcefully to the surface.
Pilot Point, Alaska, United States
Mike Brubaker, Jennifer Skrada, Nikki Shanigan, Katey Walter Anthony

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

Brace yourselves, winter is coming
This summer has been one of the rainiest Ulaanbaatar has ever experienced, leaving behind puddles of water that result in cracked and deteriorated roads.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The UB Post

Tundra Slipping Below Sea Level
Melting permafrost causing tundra to slip below sea level in northern Alaska.
North Slope, Alaska, United States

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

Permafrost Thaw Threatens Ice Cellars
Arctic food storage system at risk.
Point Hope, Alaska, United States
Jacob Bell, Ryan Brubaker, Mike Brubaker

Erosion to Dump and Water Plant
Noatak, Alaska, United States

It's pothole season in Iqaluit. But does it have to be?
"Roads are actually getting worse in the springtime than they were even [a few] years ago. In a perfect world, we'd be able to re-engineer all of our roads and get them paved. It's going to be a long-term process to get there." say Deputy Mayor Kyle Sheppard.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC

A one of a kind northern permafrost cliff
In northern Alaska, an amphitheater of frozen ground thaws where a northern river cuts into it, exposing walls of ice. The feature, known by scientists as “yedoma,” is the largest of its kind yet found in Alaska. A great wall of ice holds a lot of treasures from the past, which science is eager to explore.
Nuiqsut, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Climate change forces removal of historic mountain hut
A historic site in Yoho National Park will be dismantled and removed this spring because of effects caused by climate change, Parks Canada announced Thursday.
Abbot Pass Refuge Cabin National Historic Site
CBC

Trans-Alaska pipeline under threat from thawing permafrost
The slope of permafrost where an 810-foot section of pipeline is secured has started to shift as it thaws, causing several of the braces holding up the pipeline to tilt and bend, according to an analysis by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
High North News

Researchers try packing down snow to preserve permafrost in N.W.T.
A permafrost scientist in the N.W.T. is leading an experiment that compacts snow near the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway to see if that will slow down permafrost thaw and protect buildings and roads built atop it.
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Permafrost thaw is causing Noatak's grave site to erode
The issue of erosion is not new to Noatak cemetery. The old cemetery was located near the Noatak's airstrip, but in 1993, the spring breakup caused 30 feet of erosion adjacent to the cemetery. Flooding during the fall of 1994 further threatened the site, so residents relocated 200 graves to the north side of town.
Noatak, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder
Alaska Media, LLC., Steve Keller designer and application developer

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