Alaska’s Arctic Waterways Are Turning a Foreboding Orange

    • Moderator
    • 388 posts
    January 8, 2023 11:11 AM CST

    Alaska’s Arctic Waterways Are Turning a Foreboding Orange

    https://www.wired.com/story/alaskas-arctic-waterways-are-turning-a-foreboding-orange/

    The prevailing hypothesis is that climate warming is causing underlying permafrost to degrade. That releases sediments rich in iron, and when those sediments hit running water and open air, they oxidize and turn a deep rusty orange color. The oxidation of minerals in the soil may also be making the water more acidic. The research team is still early in the process of identifying the cause in order to better explain the consequences. “I think the pH issue”—the acidity of the water—“is truly alarming,” said Hewitt. While pH regulates many biotic and chemical processes in streams and rivers, the exact impacts on the intricate food webs that exist in these waterways are unknown. From fish to stream bed bugs and plant communities, the research team is unsure what changes may result.

    It's an amazing wonder of our earth, when minerals and sediment combined with environmental dynamics can bring the evolution of different colors of water like in this instance.