The northernmost state in the US Alaskaspends most of the year under snow and ice. With the arrival of the summer months, some of this snow melts and glaciers grow and form rivers. These waters, which are transparent under normal conditions, have turned orange so that they are visible even from space.

Realization of this situation in 2018 Jon O’Donnell, ecologist with the National Park Service. Using satellite images, he and University of California toxicologist Brett Poulin observed the extent and consequences of this change. The resulting situation revealed another unexpected effect of global warming.

Over the past ten years, orange water has been coming out of melting glaciers

Researchers studying Alaska’s Brooks Range On more than 75 streams observed this color change. In other words, this situation was not caused by contamination specific to a single source. The researchers then began collecting water samples from each stream. During the investigations, iron and other heavy toxic metals were found in these fluids.

According to researchers, the explanation for this situation is in global warming lies. Scientists argue that this situation has only occurred in the past decade and argue that the normally frozen soil has warmed due to global warming, causing materials to emerge from the soil. The impact of global warming is four times greater in the Arctic.