Scientists from Canada and the United States discovered that one of the rivers of North America disappeared in 2016. A related study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Experts found that in 2016, the Slim River, located in the Yukon, virtually ceased to exist, the waters of which flowed northward (towards the Bering Sea) and fed the lake of the same name.
The reason for the shallowing of the river was the retreat inland of one of the largest glaciers in Canada, the Kaskavulsh glaciers. This natural phenomenon has changed the system of drainage channels that has been established over the past several thousand years, as a result of which water from the glacier began to leave not in the northern direction, through the Slims River, but in the southern direction, through the Kaskavulsh River towards the Pacific Ocean.
Changes to the river flow system. Photo: European Space Agency / Flickr
Scientists call the cause of the incident global warming. The Slims River existed back in 2015. Experts managed to detect her disappearance with the help of satellite images and exploration of territories using drones.
The authors of the study note that, in fact, the sudden disappearance of the river cannot but affect the local ecosystem, however, they note that there is no threat to the population depending on fresh water sources.