The Northern Climate Observer

The Northern
Climate Observer

Holding back the Sea - In 2009, the Alaska tribal health system began performing assessments looking at the relationship between climate change and community health. Erosion and flooding were two of the big concerns and the first place we visited was Point Hope, an Iñupiat community of about 700 residents located on a narrow point of land jutting out into the Chukchi Sea; elevation - about ten feet. Despite its apparent vulnerability to flooding, Point Hope is one of the oldest continuously occupied communities in the Arctic in an area with history going back to 600 BC. How could a community so exposed to erosion last for so long? One reason is the climate. The long cold season and the sea ice and shore ice that formed as reliably as the seasons, provided protection from the winter winds and waves. However, in the early 2000s that was changing, warming air and sea temperatures causing the ice season to decline and the erosion season to grow. The North Slope Borough and City of Point Hope has built all manner of sea walls. I recall climbing up the ten-foot sand berm (that had taken the summer to construct) and looking down to see the remains of a rock breakwater. Million dollar projects, which ultimately sink like sand through an hourglass. Now in Conception Bay, Newfoundland, on the opposite side of the continent, the ice is disappearing and the sea is rising up. You can read how recent storm events are carving away at their narrow breakwater and how a million dollars in repairs was destroyed by a storm a year later. A familiar story for communities on the front lines of climate change. You cannot hold back the sea, especially when the land is sinking and the sea is rising, but you can slow it down while you move out of the way. From the Resilience Desk read about the efforts by the village of Eklutna, to remove the dams and let the water and river run free. Mike Brubaker, Editor

	The Ocean Is Swallowing a Town That Can’t Afford to Fight Climate Change Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Conor McCann / Vice / September 11, 2021 A failing breakwater in Conception Bay South in Newfoundland shows just how ill-prepared most places are for the climate crisis. Read article on Vice
	Erosion at Cape Blossom Kotzebue, Alaska, United States Jacqualine Schaeffer / LEO Network / October 13, 2021 "The sea level rise and wind is making this happen because it is really vulnerable. We are always really amazed every time we go out there with the change, and pieces of earth the size of a house falling over." Read post on the LEO Network
	Nunavut breaks 47 daily temperature records in 1st 6 days of October Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada Amy Tucker / CBC / October 6, 2021 October is off to a warm start for parts of Nunavut. Justin Shelley, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says an upper ridge of high pressure is drawing up warmer than normal air into the territory. Read article on CBC
	Rare beluga whale sighting in Puget Sound stirs excitement — and concern Seattle, Washington, United States Hannah Weinberger / Cross Cut / October 4, 2021 It would be an obscure sighting of the species. The closest beluga population, which lives at least 1,400 miles away in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, is endangered and covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Read article on Cross Cut
	Rare clash between two distinct kinds of orcas in the Salish Sea — and the endangered fish-eaters won Point Roberts, Washington, United States Bellamy Pailthorp / KNKX Public Radio / October 12, 2021 Two distinct species of orcas feed and socialize in the waters of Puget Sound: fish-eating endangered southern resident killer whales and transient, or Bigg’s, killer whales, which feed on marine mammals and are more common. They seldom mix. Read article on KNKX Public Radio
	Low oxygen levels along Pacific Northwest coast a ‘silent’ climate change crisis Seattle, Washington, United States Michala Garrison / The Seattle Times / September 28, 2021 If upwelling starts a month earlier than usual, the amount of oxygen, already low, has to last until the fall when storms promote mixing which adds oxygen back into the system. As of late September this year, upwelling is still occurring and low levels of oxygen are still persisting. Read article on The Seattle Times
	With no dam to stop it, the Eklutna River is temporarily reborn. Many people hope to keep it alive for good. Knik-Fairview, Alaska, United States Alex Demarban / Anchorage Daily News / October 5, 2021 Conservation and tribal groups in 2018 removed a downstream dam in the river northeast of Anchorage. But an upriver dam provides the cheapest energy in Southcentral Alaska. For people from the Native Village of Eklutna the river’s rebirth was an important moment. They want the 12-mile-long waterway permanently restored, along with the salmon their late elders once described as abundant. Read article on Anchorage Daily News

The Northern Climate Observer is published by the Center for Climate and Health. We track news coverage from across the circumpolar north and provide readers with a curated roundup of climate change related events. Thank you for reading our newsletter and for paying attention to our changing world.

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Northern Climate Observer

The Northern Climate Observer is published weekly by the Center for Climate and Health. We track news from across the circumpolar north and provide readers with a curated roundup of climate change related events.

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Northern Climate Observer

The Northern
Climate Observer