A pirate is lurking in northern Canada, and global warming is only making it stronger.
The Alsek River recently stole water flowing into the Slims River and took it for itself, a phenomenon known as "river piracy" — which scientists blame on a massive retreating glacier distributing water in new ways.
The development is the first known case of river piracy in the modern era, and it's the first to be pinned in part on climate change, researchers wrote in a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
It also points to an unexpected consequence of human-caused global warming, which is melting the planet's polar caps at an unprecedented rate. Read more...
More about River Piracy, Yukon, Slims River, Kaskawulsh River, and Kaskawulsh Glacier
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