Highwater brings dramatic erosion

Observation by Jeffrey Luther:

Here's a photo from June 1, 2022 this is what 130+ ft of erosion looks like, you can see the trees (circled) are gone, plus how close the boat is to the edge when compared to yesterday. See document entitled June 6th. As of June 9th, 80 feet had fallen at the old landfill See photos and document entitled June 9th.

Of the photos from June 27th, in the 1st you will see a the gravel pit we have for new developments, and in photos 2-3 you will see how much of it has washed away. We had heavy rains all along the river and the water had risen about 10 inches overnight. The bottom cement pillows were about 6 inches above water, and this morning they were about 4 inches above the pillows.

LEO Network says:

Thank you for sharing Jeffrey, and for the excellent imagery and measurements. The high water this Spring clearly have some dramatic effect on the river bank and low lands around Noatak. LEO Network is sharing this observation with LEO Network members at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, as well as with Maniilaq Association and ANTHC's Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities, and the Center for Climate and Health, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Mike Brubaker

Rick Thoman says:

Well above normal snowpack at the end of winter and resulting runoff during the spring and then a wet June, with rainfall amounts generally one and half to two times average, have contributed to sustained high water levels on the Noatak River. This is similar to what happened in the spring and early summer of 2021.