Why are Alaska’s rivers turning orange?

Researchers have identified and sampled 75 locations across northern Alaska’s Brooks Range where pristine rivers have turned orange. They suspect permafrost thaw due to climate change has released metals like zinc, copper, cadmium and iron into the streams, causing the orange hue and affecting habitat, water quality and other ecological systems. – Subscribe ➤ Get more from New Scientist: Official website: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: LinkedIn: About New Scientist: New Scientist was founded in 1956 for “all those interested in scientific discovery and its social consequences”. Today our website, videos, newsletters, app, podcast and print magazine cover the world’s most important, exciting and entertaining science news as well as asking the big-picture questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human. N