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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

Sinkhole Appears Along Road
Sinkhole appears along road
Quinhagak, Alaska, United States

Sewage Lagoon Vulnerable - Coastal Erosion
Coastal erosion potential threat to community sewage lagoon.
Quinhagak, Alaska, United States

Bluff erosion
9-24-13 Bluff erosion - St. Michael, Alaska
St. Michael, Alaska, USA

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

Unusual Lightning
Residents were amazed to see lightning actually arching down to the ground.
Atqasuk, Alaska, United States

Erosion Disrupts Swallows
6-3-13 Erosion disrupts swallows - Evansville, Alaska, USA
Evansville, Alaska, United States

Storm Disrupts Transportation
Severe storms wreak havoc to a Bering Sea community; the following weather conditions contributed to flooding, disrupting transportation routes, electrical transformers and seepage into local water wells.
Port Heiden, Alaska, United States

Lots of Earthquakes
Increasing number of seismic events.
Ketchikan, 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

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

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

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

River Bank Erosion
Erosion on the banks of the Koyukuk River is increasing in the community of Evansville and Bettles.
Evansville, 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

Wildfires burn in the Cariboo
Alexandria, British Columbia, Canada

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

194 killed in Kenya floods
Nairobi, May 6
Floods and landslides in Kenya have killed nearly 200 people, displaced 1,00,000 and strained critical infrastructure, with unprecedentedly high water levels at two dams forcing the ev
Kenya
Tribuneindia News Service

A landslide left an Anchorage 10-year-old unconscious and trapped in her room. Her parents pulled her from the debris.
“This has been a very trying time,” mother Tanisha Charles said. “You don’t prepare for this. You think of fires, you think of earthquakes, but you never think of a mudslide in the middle of town.”
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

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

Canada's AG warns Nunavut about dangers of not having a climate change action plan
Nunavut is not prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change and doesn't have a plan to deal with them, according to the latest report by Canada's auditor general.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
CBC News

Anthrax outbreak confirmed in Wood Buffalo National Park
Bison will usually contract the disease from contaminated soil while wallowing in dust baths. Spores develop in hotter temperatures and fluctuating water levels. Cooler temperatures will kill the spores and slow the outbreak.
CBC

Trucks stuck on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for past 3 days due to landslides
Many trucks have been stuck near past three days, following the closure of the Jammu- Srinagar National Highway due to landslides, owning to heavy rain.
Nagrota, Himachal Pradesh, India

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

McCarthy Road partially reopened near Chitina after collapse
The McCarthy Road was closed between Mile 0 and 1 in Chitina on Monday, June 3, 2024, after a portion of the road sank. The transportation department is still assessing the cause of the road settlement, Perreault said, but it is not river washout or a landslide.
Chitina, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Kenow wildfire burns north through park and beyond, but Waterton townsite spared
Lashing at the western boundaries of Waterton Lakes National Park since Friday, the Kenow wildfire’s devastating journey across the continental divide tore a fiery path through the beloved southwestern Alberta park — mercifully sparing much of the townsite but broke north along the entrance highway.
Waterton Park, Alberta, Canada
calgaryherald

Kolyma highway in Yakutia, also known as the Road of Bones, is on fire and temporarily shut
Elsewhere in Russia’s coldest region desperate authorities spike clouds to induce rain and tame wildfires.
Debin, Magadan, Russia
Siberian Times

Fire crews working to contain out-of-control wildfire in Wood Buffalo National Park
An out-of-control wildfire that destroyed 20 homes in a northern Alberta Indigenous community has burned its way into Wood Buffalo National Park.

Temperatures in the south touching 30 degrees later this week
The temperatures are rising further in Sweden this week, with large parts of central Sweden touching 30 degrees from Wednesday onwards. Many municipalities and regions are now banning people from using solid fuel such as charcoal or wood at public grilling areas outside built up areas.
Sweden

Tent Caterpillar Infestation
At one point our entire red brick house was covered in the black caterpillars trying to reach the adjacent forest. The silk web-like nests began to appear on our trees in May and within weeks, the forests foliage was decimated.
Woodford, Ontario

Landslide closes park road at Denali, buses stranded for about five hours
Of the 140 unstable slopes along the 92-mile park road, Pretty Rocks has the most potential to disrupt traffic.
Cantwell, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Volcano erupts on Atlantic island; lava destroys some homes
The president of the Canary Islands said that by 11 p.m. some 5,000 people had been evacuated from their homes.
Los Llanos de Aridane, Canary Islands, Spain
Anchorage Daily News

More wolves in southern Sweden
Preliminary figures from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences show that there are 69 wolf pack territories in Sweden today, and the number in the southern part of the country has increased.
Southern Sweden

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

Whitehorse landslide cleanup and wall construction set to begin next week
Cleanup of the landslide debris in Whitehorse and the construction of the sheet pile wall are set to begin on Wednesday or Thursday next week, say city officials.
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Earthquake swarm signals unrest at volcano in Alaska’s western Aleutian Islands
It’s not clear whether the unrest will lead to an eruption at Tanaga Volcano, which is located on an uninhabited island about 65 miles from Adak.
King Cove, Alaska, United States

Invasive slug species slimes into city
The European black slug was first introduced into Alaska in the 1980s in Cordova, Slowik said. It eventually made its way to Juneau and Ketchikan, likely hitching a ride on fishing gear, and is now prevalent across Southeast. A few years ago, people started seeing the slug in Whittier and Girdwood.

Warm weather affects everything from food to medevacs in Sachs Harbour, N.W.T.
Every year, Aklak Air switches to flying a Twin Otter to Sachs Harbour in the spring and fall because the gravel runway is too soft for other aircraft. The switch usually lasts for a few days, up to a week, but this fall's warm weather made it necessary for longer and its effects were felt beyond the runway.
Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada

Landslide damages water lines in Sequoyah County
"The damage happened at about 2 a.m. Monday morning when heavy rain caused the landslide and damaged about 2,000 feet of lines."
Sequoyah, Oklahoma, United States

Ice jam floods Buckland
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope
Buckland, Alaska, United States
Arctic Sounder

More than 500 empty barrels were collected by volunteers from the ancient Eskimo settlement of Unazik
Residents of the Providensky urban district, together with border guards and military personnel, cleared the territory near Cape Chaplin from barrels. Volunteers collected more than 500 old empty barrels near the ancient Eskimo settlement Unazik, Chukotka news agency reports.
Provideniya, Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia

Large wildfire on Lewis in the Western Isles extinguished
The fire came at a time of heightened risk of wildfires in parts of Scotland due to dry weather and large areas of dead vegetation. Other incidents included fires on Ben Lomond in the Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, on Gruinard Island in Wester Ross and near Dornoch.
Aviemore, Scotland, United Kingdom
BBC News

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

Opposites Attract? – Melanistic Big Cat and Lavender Guinea Fowl
Our melanistic cougar sighting occurred late spring in our own backyard, just over 10 years ago. In the growing dusk, I saw a large black animal about 12 feet up in the tree with one of our lavender guinea fowl in its mouth, delicate lavender feathers drifting down in front of me.
Valemount, British Columbia, Canada

In North Ural, researchers watch snowpack melt, exposing glacier’s boundaries
Snow is melting at a faster pace than ever in the Ural region and revealing the Igan glacier’s true area.
The Independent Barents Observer

A once-popular Anchorage mall has become an illegal dumping ground
The Northway Mall in northeast Anchorage sits almost totally empty. That’s led to people dumping loads of trash, furniture, appliances and industrial waste all over the property.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

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