Rapid Erosion Exposes Old Landfill

Jeffrey Luther provided the following observation:

Unusual high water all summer at Noatak, causing massive erosion towards the airport, and old buried landfill exposing old trash into the river, and beach downstream from the erosion. (As to the fabric in the image), it must be the lagoon liner, I don't know, it was put in place & taken out of service while I was still in middle/high school. On the airport measurements spot there's road fabric sticking out, but it looks different than what's by the arctic pipe.

Jeffrey wrote on 8-06-21:

Water is RAPIDLY dropping, I will take pics later on today.

Rick Thoman provided the following comment:

Following an unusually wet June, the Noatak River basin saw excessive rain again in July, resulting in the sustained high river levels and accelerated bank erosion. The automated weather station near the confluence of the Kelly and Noatak Rivers received more than six inches of rain in July, following five inches of rain in June. This is more than three times normal. The upper Noatak Basin received about twice the normal rainfall in June. Red Dog Mine received over a total of 14" of rain in June and July. The persistent rains were the result of a stable weather pattern, with warm high pressure anchored over Siberia and western Canada, and in between unusually persistent low pressure over the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas.