Some of Alaska’s clear, icy blue waterways are turning a startling rust orange – so intense it’s visible from Earth’s orbit.

“The stained rivers are so big we can see them from space,” says University of California (UC) Davis environmental toxicologist Brett Poulin. “These have to be stained a lot to pick them up from space.”

After first noticing the problem in 2018 from river banks and fly-overs, National Park Service ecologist Jon O’Donnell, Poulin and their colleagues used satellite imagery and public reports to identify over 75 remote streams recently tainted this unusual orange color, across almost 1,000 kilometers (1,610 miles) of Alaska’s Brooks Range.

“There are certain sites that look almost like a milky orange juice,” describes O’Donnell. “Those orange streams can be problematic both in terms of being toxic but might also prevent migration of fish to spawning areas.”

Samples from some of these waterways collected between June and September 2022 contained high concentrations of iron and other toxic metals, including zinc, copper, nickel, and lead, when compared to nearby healthy streams. In some cases, these pollutants ramped up the water’s acidity from the usual pH of 8 to 2.3.

The results look similar to acidic mining runoff, Poulin says, yet there are no mines anywhere near these locations.

Instead, by examining satellite imagery from 1985 to 2022, O’Donnell, Poulin and their colleagues determined this strange phenomenon has only been occurring during the last decade, and it coincides with warmer weather and increased snowfall.

“Our working hypothesis is that the thawing of permafrost soil is allowing water to infiltrate deeper and interact with minerals that have been locked away for thousands of years,” explains Poulin.

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The Arctic is warming about four times faster than the rest of our planet. That extra heat melts frozen ground, increases microbial activity, and causes ‘shrubification’ – with those new roots further disturbing the soil. Together these processes are exposing the previously protected minerals to weathering and displacing them into watersheds.

“Climate change and associated permafrost thaw appear to be the primary drivers of stream impairment,” the researchers conclude. “Stream discoloration was associated with dramatic declines in macroinvertebrate diversity and fish abundance.”

This change in water chemistry due to acid rock drainage threatens not only wildlife but local people who rely on these streams for drinking water and subsistence fishing.

O’Donnell and the team are continuing their investigation in the hopes of understanding the broader ecological impacts for the region and working out when and where the toxic orange taint will strike again.

“There’s a lot of implications,” explains O’Donnell. “As the climate continues to warm, we would expect permafrost to continue to thaw and so wherever there are these types of minerals, there’s potential for streams to be turning orange and becoming degraded in terms of water quality.”

Their research was published in Communications Earth & Environment.

The business of rulemaking does not come up often with travelers. That is, until something goes wrong.

Lately, there’s been lots of attention on companies like Boeing, especially since the panel blew off an Alaska Airlines jet after taking off in Portland. Investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Department of Justice focus on rules and Boeing’s safety procedures designed to keep travelers safe.

For a long time, though, air carriers in Alaska have struggled with aviation rules designed around safety. Some of these rules are better suited for jet carriers flying between big airports. By contrast, Alaska’s aviation infrastructure is scattered across more than 100 airports, serving communities that are off the road system. For these communities, having reliable aviation service is crucial. Many of the rules address how aviators fly in bad weather.

One of the biggest aviation rule-making events is the FAA reauthorization bill, which is mandated every five years. There are specific statutes in the bill that should help Alaska communities and the air carriers that fly there.

The big parts of the bill include a mandate to the FAA to hire and train more air traffic controllers to fill up to 3,000 vacancies.

Another important part of the bill backs up recent DOT rules which mandate airlines must automatically refund tickets in cash instead of vouchers.

Other parts of the FAA bill are important for Alaskans, particularly those living off the road system in remote communities.

“The new bill addresses basic, fundamental issues that need to get fixed,” said Colleen Mondor, an Alaska aviation author and journalist.

The new bill includes dedicated funding for the installation and upkeep of weather monitoring systems to give pilots the “certified weather” they need to fly under instrument flight rules or IFR. Using IFR approaches, pilots generally can operate with lower minimums than visual flight rules (VFR).

“The (FAA) bill requires systematic improvements to the upgrade and maintenance of weather observing systems owned by both the FAA and the National Weather Service that experience frequent service outages, disrupting aviation operations throughout our state,” according to a statement from U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office. Sullivan was instrumental in adding Alaska-centric provisions in the bill.

“The automated weather observation system (AWOS) is a $100,000 piece of equipment that measures fog, wind, snow, pressure and temperature,” said Mondor. “It’s updated every few minutes.”

The quest for better aviation safety in Alaska goes back decades. The effort always gets renewed attention after there’s a fatal crash or an accident.

“We absolutely support it,” said Rob Kelley, head of Grant Aviation, referring to the push for better weather aids and instrument flight rules.

Grant Aviation flies to dozens of communities in Western Alaska on small planes. “We’ve got a lot of money tied up in IFR avionics,” said Kelley. “But we can’t use IFR because the weather reporting system is broken.”

Grant’s routes include dozens of daily flights in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. “The weather there is consistently marginal. So we can’t fly there. But we could fly on IFR,” said Kelley.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates every aviation accident. Since the 1990s, the NTSB has recommended air carriers to fly under IFR regulations.

“Since Jan 1, 1990 there have been 385 fatalities & 231 serious injuries in accidents involving Part 135 operators in Alaska,” wrote Mondor on X. “The cost has been high and it has been paid in blood. Alaska deserves what the Lower 48 has enjoyed for so long and I hope it finally happens.”

Part 135 refers to commuter carriers limited to nine passengers on a single flight. Part 135 carriers are the crucial “last mile” for Alaskans who live off the road system and are dependent on reliable air service more than urban dwellers. Often, Bush Alaskans depend on Part 135 carriers to go to work, to school or to the doctor. Further, these small air carriers provide a vital link by delivering mail and freight.

Two federal programs, by-pass mail and essential air service, subsidize air carriers to provide better, more affordable service to Alaska’s rural residents.

The new FAA bill “strengthens the Essential Air Service (EAS) program and triples its funding to ensure small and rural communities remain connected to the national airspace system. The EAS program benefits approximately 60 communities in Alaska,” according to Sen. Sullivan’s office.

The DOT rules and new FAA statutes can make for some tedious reading. But these new rules, when applied, can save lives. The new weather monitoring system by itself will not solve all the issues. There are many more components in the quest for better aviation safety in Alaska. But this latest round with the FAA reauthorization covers some crucial steps.