NASA Terra Captures June 3 Bering Sea Ice Melt as Yukon Runoff Spreads Sediment
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · Jun 22
NASA Terra Captures June 3 Bering Sea Ice Melt as Yukon Runoff Spreads Sediment
1 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Jun 22
Summary
June 3 MODIS images from NASA's Terra satellite showed the Bering Sea in early summer transition, with sea ice broken into small fragments and nearing complete melt off Alaska.
Snowmelt-fed rivers were simultaneously flushing sediment and organic material into coastal waters, especially around the Yukon Delta, where brown plumes spread after river ice breakup and seasonal runoff.
Saint Lawrence Island—about 150 miles south of the Bering Strait—still had pack ice along its northeast coast, while surrounding floes curled into wispy patterns shaped by winds and currents.
False-color imagery also highlighted green tundra and marsh vegetation, dark blue ice-free rivers and thermokarst lakes, underscoring how rapidly Alaska's coastal landscape shifts at the start of summer.