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Melting glacier threatens to shove a mighty river off course

Climate change could send Alaska’s Alsek River into a new channel, with potentially far-reaching impacts for humans.
Rafters on the Alsek river, Alaska

Rafting and fishing on Alaska’s Alsek River face an uncertain future if climate change causes the path the river follows to the sea to move. Credit: Whit Richardson/Alamy

The retreat of a dwindling Alaskan glacier is likely to cause a local river to change course drastically within a few decades — with profound consequences for people in the region.

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Nature 592, 328 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00771-z

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