Rivers Turn Bright Orange in Alaska

"In actuality, the orange tinted water is rust, released as the frozen ground in Alaska thaws out due to unchecked greenhouse gasses driving global warming. And it's leaking into the state's waterways, according to NOAA's annual report on the Arctic region, where it's posing a danger to local wildlife, residents and commercial fisheries. The day-glo rivers are also a bright orange flag that the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world."

""When the Arctic thaws and warms, it's having an impact on the global climate," Matthew Druckenmiller, lead author of the report and senior scientist with the Boulder, Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center, told the broadcaster. The planet is already showing signs of distress from global warming, such as large-scale forest fires and extreme summer temperatures outside the Arctic, which Druckenmiller described as a giant fridge for the planet."

"Zooming back to Alaska, people started noticing the orange waterways in 2018, according to NPR. ' We heard from people who live in the region - pilots who are often flying over, people in the national parks,'  US Geological Survey research hydrologist Josh Koch told the broadcaster. As temperatures heats up in the most remote parts of Alaska, permafrost - ground that usually stays"

Thawing permafrost in Alaska is releasing rust-colored iron into rivers and streams, turning popular waterways bright orange. The iron comes from frozen ground that is melting as greenhouse-gas-driven warming accelerates across the Arctic. The contamination is entering freshwater systems and threatens local wildlife, residents, and commercial fisheries. The Arctic is warming several times faster than the global average, reshaping landscapes, ecosystems, and livelihoods, and altering the Arctic's role in climate, economic, and societal systems. The warming contributes to sea-level rise and disruptive weather patterns outside the region. Observers first reported orange waterways around 2018, with pilots and park staff noting the change.

Read at Futurism