River Piracy Phenomenon Set to Steal Alaskan River, Scientists Predict
6 MAY 2021
River piracy, also known as stream capture, happens when melting glaciers divert the path of a river. Due to our warming planet, a major Alaskan river is under threat of being redirected in this way – stealing an essential source of water away from the ecosystems and people that rely on it.
The threatened waterway is the Alsek River, flowing down from the St Elias mountain range in Canada, to Dry Bay in Alaska. Before it reaches the Pacific Ocean, it passes through Alsek Lake.
Alsek Lake is separated from another body of water, the Grand Plateau Lake, by the Grand Plateau Glacier – and as that glacier melts away over the next couple of decades, these two lakes are almost certain to join up, redirecting the river through Grand Plateau Lake and away from Dry Bay.
Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route
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Glacier Melt to Redirect Alaska s Alsek River, Endangering World-Famous Rafting Route
columbia.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from columbia.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Print article The Alsek, a world-class rafting river that flows into the Gulf of Alaska from its headwaters in Canada, may soon abandon the lower part of its drainage for a steeper one 15 miles away. The Alsek River starts in the Yukon Territory, flows through British Columbia and then on to Dry Bay in Alaska. It is a rare northern river that cuts from the interior of the continent through rugged mountains to the coast. The re-route of the Alsek River’s ocean connection will be due to the extreme melt of Grand Plateau Glacier, which acts like a cork that prevents the Alsek from following a faster path to the sea.
The Alsek, a world-class rafting river that flows into the Gulf of Alaska from its headwaters in Canada, may soon abandon the lower part of its drainage for a steeper one 15 miles away.Â
The Alsek River starts in the Yukon Territory, flows through British Columbia and then on to Dry Bay in Alaska. It is a rare northern river that cuts from the interior of the continent through rugged mountains to the coast.
The re-route of the Alsek Riverâs ocean connection will be due to the extreme melt of Grand Plateau Glacier, which acts like a cork that prevents the Alsek from following a faster path to the sea.