River Capture in the Yukon

   River Capture Happening Now!    (- well almost)

The Guardian reports how the northerly flowing waters of the Slim River were diverted into the Alsek River which flows south. The diversion happened when water from the rapidly retreating Kakawulsh glacier eroded a channel to the Kaskawulsh River and eventually the Alsek. And all this happened in four days in May last year.

A view of the ice canyon that now carries meltwater from the Kaskawulsh glacier, seen here on the right, away from the Slims river and toward the Kaskawulsh river. Photograph: Dan Shugar/University of Washington Tacoma

The source paper in Nature Geoscience can be found HERE. But, unless you have a subscription you can only read the abstract.

The New York Times reports on it with more pictures HERE.

And Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports it HERE.