Why Alaska Rivers Are Turning an Eerie Orange(atlasobscura.com)

    The reason for the change in color was as alarming as its hue: The waters are rusting. As permafrost melts, long-stored acids and metals—including iron—are released into rivers, where they interact with oxygen, turning the water from clear blue to a milky orange, according to new research in the journal Communications: Earth and Environment.

    That cost goes deeper than the rivers’ orange, turbid surface. The contaminated waters aren’t healthy for fish and the aquatic insects they eat, which threatens fisheries that local communities and wildlife rely on.