Gay Sheffield, NOAA Sea Grant (US Dept. of Commerce) marine advisory agent, July 2014 at 31:00 in (emphasis added): “I’m here in Bering Strait and I know there’s people [on this call] from all over the state, so they may not be familiar with some of our events. Right after Fukushima blew, we had, and still sort of have… an unusual mortality event with four species of seals in this region, all the way from Bristol Bay, up to Barrow (the Russian side), and all the way into Canada… A lot of people were curious, because we have never been able to find an infectious disease. A lot of people were concerned and worried that this Fukushima radiation had some effect… Fukushima is a big concern in this region… Fukushima is always on people’s minds… Here’s the cover of the Nome Nugget, that’s our newspaper here, and the top story was the lack of radiation monitoring was really annoying people — that we had nothing, nothing was being done. It was a concern all the time on people’s minds — with the seals, with the birds, and what not… it was making the front news of the paper. I hope that lets others know that the concern people have in Western Alaska… it’s a big thing.”
A long list of unusual events soon after Fukushima may explain why it’s “always on people’s minds” in Alaska:
Alaska
Die-off of birds all over Alaska beaches, floating in Pacific — “They seem to be starving” — Record-breaking spike in rescues, “such a dramatic increase” — Deformed and abnormal animals reported
– Die-off of birds all over Alaska beaches, floating in Pacific — “They seem to be starving” — Record-breaking spike in rescues, “such a dramatic increase” — Deformed and abnormal animals reported (PHOTOS & AUDIO) (ENENews, Aug 8, 2015):
KBBI, Aug 4, 2015 (emphasis added): Bird Death Reports Are Up In Homer, Food Sources Possibly To Blame — The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is receiving multiple reports indicating a significant increase in dead and dying birds found on beaches… Leslie Slater is the Gulf of Alaska Unit Biologist for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge… says there are a lot of potential reasons for the increase in fatalities but the prevailing cause is likely tied to the birds’ food sources. “What we’re seeing more precisely is that birds seem to be starving. That’s sort of the ultimate cause of their deaths but something might be happening before that… biotoxins can build up through the food chain and ultimately cause the deaths of these birds.” These deaths don’t seem to be isolated to Homer’s beaches. There are reports of similar deaths down the Alaska Peninsula and the eastern edge of the Aleutians. Slater says it’s possible they could be related to dead whales found near Kodiak… She warns the public not to touch dead birds because they could be carrying disease.
Alaska’s Hubbard Glacier Advancing
– Alaska’s Hubbard Glacier Advancing (Ice Age Now, May 23, 2015):
Hubbard Glacier has been advancing into Disenchantment Bay for more than 100 years, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Scientists seek cause of mysterious affliction in Alaska polar bears with baldness and crusty skin lesions; Spiked after Fukushima, nearly 1,000% average — Gov’t: Ongoing reports of unusual number of ‘hairless seals’ with sores — “Seals continue to be reported with hair loss… it makes us nervous” (PHOTO)
Alaska Dispatch News, Dec 11, 2014 (emphasis added): Scientists seek cause of patchy baldness in some Beaufort Sea polar bears — Polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea area are suffering hair loss due to a condition called alopecia syndrome… but the precise cause of that stress is yet to be determined, according to a new study… in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases… Over the study period, 3.45 percent of the bears examined had alopecia syndrome — [loss of] hairs around the head, neck and shoulders, accompanied by crusty lesions on the exposed skin. The incidences peaked in 2012, when 28 percent of the examined polar bears had the problem. That was at about the same time a mysterious affliction, with patchy fur loss and bleeding skin lesions, sickened hundreds of Arctic Alaska seals, killing many of them. The affliction was seen among some walruses… There were some years when none of the captured polar bears had alopecia syndrome, and some years, like 2012, with relatively high rates… “They might be more energetically stressed, and then they encounter some other stressors,” [USGS biologist Todd Atwood] said… Further analysis of the Beaufort bears’ alopecia problems is planned…
Record snowfall in Juneau, Alaska
– Record snowfall in Juneau, Alaska (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):
1 Dec 14 – Eight-and-half inches of snow fell at Juneau International Airport on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 6.3 inches set back in 1946, while 9.1 inches fell at the National Weather Service office on Back Loop Road. That broke the record of 5.4 inches set in 2010.
An 11-year-old record of 5.8 inches of snow at Lena Point was broken with Sunday’s snowfall of 9.6 inches.
Meanwhile, Pelican received 4.5 inches on Sunday, nearly double the old record of 2.5 inches on Nov. 30, 2006.
http://www.ktoo.org/2014/12/01/first-winter-snowfall-breaks-juneau-records/
Meteorologist: Winter Arrives Early In Alaska – Snow For All Canadian Provinces
– Winter Arrives Early in Alaska, says meteorologist (Ice Age Now, Oct 7, 2014):
Snow for all Canadian Provinces
“With up to 6 ft. of snow on tap for Alaska in the coming week… …one can only marvel at a state that reaches -80 deg. F in the winter, grows pumpkins that weigh more than a Smart Car, and was purchased from Russia for only $7.2 million,” writes Dr. Roy W. Spencer. “I’ll bet Putin is still pi$$ed.”
“Newsminer.com is calling today’s event a “winter storm”…but isn’t it still early Fall?
“As winter slowly sinks southward, all of the Canadian provinces can also expect some snow in the coming week.
(I don’t think snow in Alaska in early October is all that unusual. However, it’s a far cry from the “we’re-all-going-to-roast” scenario, isn’t it?)
This came from Dr. Roy W. Spencer’s website:
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2014/10/winter-arrives-early-in-alaska-snow-for-all-canadian-provinces/
Record Snowfall – Winter Arrives Early In Barrow, Alaska
– Record Snowfall – Winter Arrives Early In Barrow, Alaska (Ice Age Now, Sep 4, 2014):
Heaviest calendar-day snow on record anytime from August through the first week of September.
Barrow, Alaska, was blanketed by its first significant snowfall of the season Tuesday, turning the town into a winter wonderland just one day after Labor Day.
Tuesday’s 4.4 inches of snow tied the third heaviest September calendar-day snow on record in Barrow. Only Sept. 13, 1987 (5.1 inches) and Setp. 9, 2003 (4.7 inches) were heavier. Tuesday was its heaviest calendar-day snow on record anytime from August through the first week of September.
Read moreRecord Snowfall – Winter Arrives Early In Barrow, Alaska
Early September Blizzard In Alaska
– Early September blizzard in Alaska (Ice Age Now, Sep 3, 2014):
“Whiteout conditions should be expected.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK – 2 SEP 2014
NORTHEASTERN BROOKS RANGE- INCLUDING…ANAKTUVUK PASS…ATIGUN PASS…GALBRAITH LAKE… SAGWON…FRANKLIN BLUFFS …
BLIZZARD WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (last night) TO MIDNIGHT AKDT WEDNESDAY NIGHT…
Alaska: “Scientists alarmed by new mystery disease” — Pacific Northwest: “Alarming changes” — “Couldn’t believe my eyes” — “Scientists really stumped… It’s kind of an alien thing” — “Gotten much, much worse… a horror show… could wreak havoc on entire ecosystems from Mexico to Alaska” (VIDEO)
Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber (Washington), July 30, 2014: “I would say the disease hasn’t been abating. It looks to me like it’s raging,” [Rayna Holtz] said last week. […] Other islanders have reported steep declines in the sea star populations […] with an especially bad die-off in June. In May, a group of students […] counted about 800 sea stars […] in mid-June […] 60 to 80 percent of the sea stars were gone […] many of the ones that were left were visibly sick and “at death’s door.” The early summer die-off was also seen at other beaches around Puget Sound […] “The students were surprised, dismayed and somewhat astounded by the fact that these starfish were disintegrating almost before their eyes” […] Holtz observed the same thing across the harbor in Dockton. […] she counted just one juvenile sea star and no adult stars. “I couldn’t believe my eyes […] The areas that had not been touched in February have succumbed now.” […] Karlista Rickerson, an avid scuba diver […] estimates she’s seen about 80 percent of the sea stars disappear [underwater]. Some from the scuba community have been asked to count sea stars as deep as 120 feet […] “There aren’t any to count anymore,” she said last week.
Gov’t reports “big, big decline” in Alaska caribou — “Mortality very high” after Fukushima releases began — “Low survival rate” for calves also in 2011 and 2012 — Official: “Worrisome” how quickly this happened… In truth, we don’t have an answer why (AUDIO)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, July 2014: Alaska‘s largest caribou herd, the Western Arctic Herd, numbered about 235,000 animals as of July 2013 […] That’s down from 325,000 caribou estimated in the 2011 census […] The recent census indicates a decline of about 27 percent [actually 27.7%] since 2011. Mortality was very high during 2011-2012 […] In addition to high adult cow mortality during 2011-2012, survival of calves born during 2011 and 2012 was relatively low.
Jim Dau, ADF&G biologist who has worked with the herd for more than 25 years: “The herd size right now, as of 2013, was 235,000 caribou, and that’s down about 27% since 2011 — so, a big, big decline in the last two years.”
Shocking Climate Change Update
GOT FOOD?
– “Megablizzard” forecast for eastern Australia (Ice Age Now, June 23, 2014):
“Best snowfalls in a decade.” Maybe the “storm of the century.”
…
– Aleutian volcanoes waking up (Ice Age Now, June 23, 2014):
Five volcanoes now simultaneously active, the most activity in 26 years.
…
– Record snowfall in Norway (Ice Age Now, June 23, 2014):
First time since records began that snow has been recorded in June.
…
– Surprise Snowstorm Clobbers Rockies (Ice Age Now, June 23, 2014):
June 20, 2014 – “A bizarre June snowstorm hit Glacier National Park in Montana and parts of Utah and Idaho this week,
…
– Confirmed – Earth’s protective magnetic shield is weakening (Ice Age Now, June 22, 2014):
The most dramatic declines are occurring over the Western Hemisphere, says European Space Agency.
USAF Dismantling HAARP, Admits They Can Control Ionosphere (Video)
– USAF Dismantling HAARP, Admits They Can Control Ionosphere (Video) (Before It’s News, May 15, 2014):
via ADN by Dermot Cole
The U.S. Air Force gave official notice to Congress Wednesday that it intends to dismantle the $300 million High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program in Gakona this summer.
The shutdown of HAARP, a project created by the late Sen. Ted Stevens when he wielded great control over the U.S. defense budget, will start after a final research experiment takes place in mid-June, the Air Force said in a letter to Congress Tuesday.
Responding to questions from Sen. Lisa Murkowski during a Senate hearing Wednesday, David Walker, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for science, technology and engineering, said this is “not an area that we have any need for in the future” and it would not be a good use of Air Force research funds to keep HAARP going. “We’re moving on to other ways of managing the ionosphere, which the HAARP was really designed to do,” he said. “To inject energy into the ionosphere to be able to actually control it. But that work has been completed.”
Read moreUSAF Dismantling HAARP, Admits They Can Control Ionosphere (Video)
Alaska’s Aquatic, Marine Life Dying Off Due To Widespread Contamination – Expert
FYI.
– Alaska’s aquatic, marine life dying off due to widespread contamination – expert (Voice of Russia, May 14, 2014):
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is beating the drum against marine ecosystem contamination after the most recent examination of soil and water at Seward Ship’s Drydock has shown the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals and petroleum byproducts.
Read moreAlaska’s Aquatic, Marine Life Dying Off Due To Widespread Contamination – Expert
Professor: Concerns Fukushima is impacting Alaska; “Unusual animals showing up dead… Seals with unknown disease… first cases of avian cholera” – NOAA: ‘Rare whale beachings’ in Alaska under investigation – Japan Paper: Mysterious sea creatures found one after another along coast (PHOTOS)
Nome Nugget, Mar. 27, 2014: Radiation sampling to happen for Bering Strait — Regional concerns about the possibility that Bering Sea waters could be radioactively contaminated […] “People throughout our region have repeatedly asked for testing of our subsistence foods and water,” said [University of Alaska, Fairbanks professor Gay Sheffield]. “Seals fell sick with a still unknown disease, we’ve had the documented first cases of avian cholera in Alaska, we’ve had unusual animals like the beaked whale showing up dead on the beach near Gambell and each time people throughout the region expressed concerns about the effects of Fukushima either in the air, and now with the approaching plume in the water,” said Sheffield. […] Gambell Tribal President Eddie Ungott agreed and said that his village is very concerned about radiation. […] IRA President Paul Rookok, Sr. said they are worried about the health of marine mammals […]
NBC: Record level of sick or injured California seals and sea lions turning up – ‘The numbers are extraordinary’ – ‘Scientists worried… The worst kind of perfect storm’ – Pups should be weighing 2 or 3 times as much, ‘severely malnourished’
– NBC: Record level of sick or injured California seals and sea lions turning up — “The numbers are extraordinary” — “Scientists worried… The worst kind of perfect storm” — Pups should be weighing 2 or 3 times as much, “severely malnourished” (VIDEO) (ENENews, April 18, 2014):
NBC Bay Area, Apr. 18, 2014: Seals and sea lions in California are turning up sick or injured at a record pace this year. Sausalito’s Marine Mammal Center has more animals in its care right now than ever before in its 39-year history. There are three factors at play: First of all, this is the time of year when pups get stranded or separated from their mothers for an unknown reason. Also last year’s sea lion epidemic sent malnourished, sick pups onto California shores at record levels. On top of that, a Monterey Bay algae bloom is making a lot of animals sick. Experts say it’s creating the worst kind of perfect storm.
Nearly 6,200 People Sign White House Petition For Alaska To Secede And Join Russia
– Nearly 6,200 People Sign White House Petition for Alaska to Secede and Join Russia (The Daily Sheeple, March 22, 2014):
“We the People,” the White House’s online petition website that claims it is “giving all Americans a way to engage their government on the issues that matter to them,” is currently hosting a petition for Alaska to leave the United States and join Russia.
The petition, written by S. V. of Anchorage, simply reads:
Read moreNearly 6,200 People Sign White House Petition For Alaska To Secede And Join Russia
Fairbanks City Council Unanimously Passes Fukushima Monitoring Resolution: Alaska And U.S. West Coast In Danger – ‘No Safe Levels Of Radiation … Constitutes Grave Risk’
H/t reader M.G.:
“On a grave, far more life threating note……..an update on Fukushima. Fairbanks, Alaska passes a resolution to monitor radiation………the governments do and say nothing. Cities monitoring three years later……it is a bit late, and won’t solve a thing.”
From the article:
“Larry Hartig, the state commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation [said] People ingest more radiation from eating a banana than from eating a tuna.”
Really?
– Fairbanks city council unanimously passes Fukushima monitoring resolution: Alaska and U.S. West Coast in danger — “No safe levels of radiation… constitutes grave risk” — Alaska Senator: “We need to be vigilant” (AUDIO) (ENENews, March 15, 2014):
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Mar. 10, 2014 (h/t Anonymous tip): Council to ask for more radiation testing […] [Fairbanks city] council will consider a resolution tonight that calls on the federal government and United Nations to do more radiation testing in Alaska waters. It asserts that health risks related to nuclear meltdown have been vastly understated […]
Alaska Professor: Fukushima Fallout A Suspected Factor In ‘Unusual Mortality’ Of Seals And Walrus
– Alaska Professor on Radio: Fukushima fallout a suspected factor in ‘unusual mortality’ of seals and walrus — We couldn’t test for plutonium (Audio) (ENENews, Jan 28, 2014):
Alaska Public Radio, Jan. 28, 2014 (at 4:30 in):
In the days and weeks following 3/11, cesium-134 levels were roughly equal to cesium-137 levels. It is highly unlikely that cesium-134 was detected in the seals from the 1990s. If cesium-137 levels were comparable, adding in the cesium-134 means the 2011 seals should have about double the total cesium levels than the seals from the 1990s.
Alaska: Many Salmon With Strange Growths Inside, Concerns About Health And Safety – ‘… Never Caught Any Like This’ (Photo)
– Reports from Alaska: Many salmon with strange growths inside, concerns about health and safety — “Skin illness on white fish raise concerns… Never caught any like this” — Gov’t predicts ‘catastrophic’ king salmon run (PHOTOS) (ENENews, Jan 28, 2014):
Local Environmental Observers (LEO) Network, Updated Dec. 12, 2013 (emphasis added): Unusual growth observed in salmon tissue — Hydaburg, Alaska, August 12, 2013 (salmon) We have found strange growths in the flesh or meat of salmon. We were fishing for cohos (silver salmon) at the mouth of the Hydaburg River with line and reel. I caught about thirty fish. Most were fine but eight […] were filled up inside with strange growths that were either white or pink in color. On the outside the fish looked fine. The growths looked kind of like individual little salmon eggs, and about the same size. Other people were seeing the same kind of growths in their fish as well. We have only seen this in the cohos and not with the other fish (pink salmon, dog salmon, steel head or trout). We are seeing many coho salmon with these growths, and we are concerned about the health of the fish and the safety of the food. Brian Holter Jr, LEO […] says: this observation has been forwarded to the Fish Pathology Lab at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. According to lab staff, they may be able to determine the condition of the fish with a photograph. Lab staff are available for consultation.
Conditions Never Seen Before By Scientists In Pacific Seals And Walrus – Thyroid Cysts, Lesions Of Reproductive System, Retained Placenta
– Conditions never seen before by scientists in Pacific seals and walrus — Thyroid cysts, lesions of reproductive system, retained placenta — Hunters concerned — Oceanographers to discuss radiation from Fukushima on Alaska radio tomorrow (ENENews, Jan 27, 2014):
Alaska Marine Science Symposium (pdf), Jan. 20-24, 2014: Incidental Gross Necropsy Findings In Subsistence Harvested Ice Seals And Pacific Walrus […] Ice seals (ringed, bearded, spotted seals) and Pacific walrus are very important subsistence species for Arctic coastal communities. As part of the North Slope Borough (NSB) ongoing Marine Mammal Health Research program, the department of wildlife management conducts necropsies and baseline tissue sampling on subsistence harvested marine mammals. We present some results from our 2011-2013 general ice seal [ringed, bearded, and spotted] and Pacific walrus subsistence harvest monitoring and sampling efforts due to hunter concern NOTE: Case reports (type 1 alopecia/delayed molt; type II ulcerative dermatitis, delayed molt etc.) from the ongoing 2011 Northern Pinniped unusual mortality event disease investigation were not included and will be reported elsewhere. Results: Incidental gross findings among the three species included: lesions of the reproductive system (adnexal cysts, uterine and penile melanosis, cliteromegaly, cryptorchism, retained placenta), endocrine system (thyroid cysts, adrenal nodules), musculoskeletal system (synovial cyst), integumentary system (panniculitis, epidermal molt (aka dreadlocks), skin sloughing) and digestive system (microdontia; chronic interstitial pancreatitis, hepatic cyst; cholestatic jaundice; geophagia). Helminths were commonly observed in the gastrointestinal system of ice seals […] A variety of the observed pathological conditions (reproductive and endocrine lesions) are reported for the first time in Arctic Pinnipeds […]
University Of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick
– University of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick (ZeroHedge, Jan 25, 2014):
American sailors on the USS Reagan got really sick after having snowball fights with radioactive snow blowing off of the coasts of Fukushima.
University of Alaska professors Doug Dasher, John Kelley, Gay Sheffield, and Raphaela Stimmelmayr theorize that radioactive snow might have also caused Alaska’s seals to become sick (page 222):
Read moreUniversity Of Alaska Scientists: Fukushima Radiation May Be Making Alaska Seals Sick
Scientists Present Links Between Unusual Alaska Seal Deaths And Fukushima Fallout – Skin Lesions, Hair Loss, Lethargy
Alaska Marine Science Symposium (pdf), Jan. 20-24, 2014 (emphasis added): 2011 Fukushima Fall Out: Aerial Deposition On To Sea Ice Scenario And Wildlife Health Implications To Ice-Associated Seals (Dr. Doug Dasher, John Kelley, Gay Sheffield, Raphaela Stimmelmayr) — On March 11, 2011 off Japan’s west coast, an earthquake-generated tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resulting in a major nuclear accident that included a large release of airborne radionuclides into the environment. Within five days of the accident atmospheric air masses carrying Fukushima radiation were transiting into the northern Bering and Chukchi seas. During summer 2011 it became evident to coastal communities and wildlife management agencies that there was a novel disease outbreak occurring in several species of Arctic ice-associated seals. Gross symptoms associated with the disease included lethargy, no new hair growth, and skin lesions, with the majority of the outbreak reports occurring between the Nome and Barrow region. NOAA and USFWS declared an Alaska Northern Pinnipeds Usual Mortality Event (UME) in late winter of 2011. The ongoing Alaska 2011 Northern Pinnipeds UME investigation continues to explore a mix of potential etiologies (infectious, endocrine, toxins, nutritious etc.), including radioactivity. Currently, the underlying etiology remains undetermined. We present results on gamma analysis (cesium 134 and 137) of muscle tissue from control and diseased seals, and discuss wildlife health implications from different possible routes of exposure to Fukushima fallout to ice seals. Since the Fukushima fallout period occurred during the annual sea ice cover period from Nome to Barrow, a sea ice based fallout scenario in addition to a marine food web based one is of particular relevance for the Fukushima accident. Under a proposed sea ice fallout deposition scenario, radionuclides would have been settled onto sea ice. Sea ice and snow would have acted as a temporary refuge for deposited radionuclides; thus radionuclides would have only become available for migration during the melting season and would not have entered the regional food web in any appreciable manner until breakup (pulsed release). The cumulative on-ice exposure for ice seals would have occurred through external, inhalation, and non-equilibrium dietary pathwaysduring the ice-based seasonal spring haulout period for molting/pupping/breeding activities. Additionally, ice seals would have been under dietary/metabolic constraints and experiencing hormonal changes associated with reproduction and molting.
Alaska Marine Expert: We really need to look at what’s happening to ecosystem from Fukushima radiation — Models don’t address ongoing releases at plant — “A lot of unknowns, a lot of uncertainties”
Doug Dasher, University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher, Nov. 6, 2013:
At 7:00 in
The concern has been we have these models indicating the potential for levels to increase, potentially up to what they saw in the levels in the North Pacific during the 1960s nuclear testing. That still would not indicate an immediate health problem or exceeding the FDA guidelines. But there’s a lot of unknowns, a lot of uncertainties. There are others that also have the same message that they want to get out, we really need to sample to understand this and we really need to look at what’s happening out there in the ecosystem at the same time. There’s an opportunity to do this. It’s a huge amount of initial release, and the models do not address the continuing release. Fukushima has continued to leak […] Run-off problems from the water they’re trying to pump out and contain on the site. The tanks are leaking, several typhoons have been through there this year. […] So there’s a lot of things taking place, it’s not a stable site. There’s that issue too, which we need to know what’s going on there now, so in case something else happens, we can be better prepared for it. And account for the accumulating long term leakage for at least the next couple of years as it continues to occur.
Fukushima Cesium Detected In Alaska Salmon Sample — Concerned Fishermen Forced To Pay For Tests Since Officials Not Doing It
Related info:
Loki Fish Co., Jan. 7, 2014: […] In response to customer concerns over radiation releases into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima, fisherman-owned Loki Fish Company [paid for] radiation testing on seven stocks of wild salmon. […] Although the FDA contends that there is no evidence that radionuclides from Fukushima are present in Alaskan and Pacific Northwest seafood at a level that would be harmful to human health, it has not published results. […] Of the seven samples, five did not register detectable levels of radionuclides. Two of the samples registered at trace levels – Alaskan Keta at 1.4Bq/kg for Cesium 137, and Alaskan Pink at 1.2Bq/kg for Cesium 134 [Cesium-134 is a “clear fingerprint” for Fukushima’s nuclear contamination].