Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
NRDC: Another Alarm Call from the Arctic: Its Rivers Are Turning Orange
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/another-alarm-call-arctic-its-rivers-are-turning-orangeThe once clean and clear waterways are rusting, a visually striking example of the catastrophic—and sometimes unpredictable—impacts of global climate change.
January 27, 2026
Clara Chaisson
Contributor
Back when author John McPhee wrote his 1977 bestseller Coming into the Country, chronicling his journey through Alaska, he described the Salmon River as “the clearest, purest water I have ever seen.” Designated a National Wild and Scenic River a few years later, the Salmon is a protected waterway running through one of the most remote areas of the country, the Brooks Range.
So when ecologist Patrick Sullivan flew over the waterway in 2019, he was surprised, and disturbed, at what he saw: The Salmon River had turned bright orange.
“It was sad and disappointing,” recalls Sullivan. “And a little bit freaky.”
Seven years later, the Salmon River is still running orange, but it’s not alone in its dramatic change of hue. More than 200 formerly clear streams and rivers across the Brooks Range have gone orange and cloudy, most within the last 10 years. While this phenomenon isn’t entirely new to science, the sudden uptick in orange waterways is thought to be the result of thawing permafrost, a phenomenon that is accelerating with climate change. The rusty influx comes from iron, once trapped in frozen ground but now released by warming earth and flooding into the watershed. Alongside it, scientists have detected toxic levels of metals like copper and zinc—all of which are threatening wildlife, people, and ways of life that have persisted for millennia.
…
January 27, 2026
Clara Chaisson
Contributor
Back when author John McPhee wrote his 1977 bestseller Coming into the Country, chronicling his journey through Alaska, he described the Salmon River as “the clearest, purest water I have ever seen.” Designated a National Wild and Scenic River a few years later, the Salmon is a protected waterway running through one of the most remote areas of the country, the Brooks Range.
So when ecologist Patrick Sullivan flew over the waterway in 2019, he was surprised, and disturbed, at what he saw: The Salmon River had turned bright orange.
“It was sad and disappointing,” recalls Sullivan. “And a little bit freaky.”
Seven years later, the Salmon River is still running orange, but it’s not alone in its dramatic change of hue. More than 200 formerly clear streams and rivers across the Brooks Range have gone orange and cloudy, most within the last 10 years. While this phenomenon isn’t entirely new to science, the sudden uptick in orange waterways is thought to be the result of thawing permafrost, a phenomenon that is accelerating with climate change. The rusty influx comes from iron, once trapped in frozen ground but now released by warming earth and flooding into the watershed. Alongside it, scientists have detected toxic levels of metals like copper and zinc—all of which are threatening wildlife, people, and ways of life that have persisted for millennia.
…