Exposed Permafrost in Tundra

Observation by Augusta Edmund:

This picture was taken on our berry picking trip up the Yukon River, right where the tundra starts (high grounds).

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation has been shared with the Permafrost Laboratory at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

On August 14th of this year, LEO members in Chevak submitted another observation of permafrost thaw in western Alaska. In an Anchorage Daily News Article, UAF permafrost scientist Vladimir Romanovsky describes how permafrost in this area is just below freezing, making it sensitive to warm temperatures.

Between 1949 and 2016, average annual temperatures in Bethel have warmed 4 degrees Fahrenheit. This warming is even more pronounced in winter, which has warmed 8 degrees Fahrenheit. This summer, July temperatures in Bethel were .46 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, while temperatures in Nome were .82 degrees Fahrenheit below normal. Erica Lujan