Parts of Alaskan Coastline Eroding According to New Study
16.12.2009 - Water & Oceans, Land & Geology, Flora & Fauna, Arctic
The stretch of coastline between Point Barrow and Prudhoe Bay in Alaska is eroding fast according to a new study from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Conditions in the region are causing part of the coastline to be torn away by the warmer and more numerous large waves pounding away at the Arctic permafrost.
The cause of the problem is a combination of several factors: longer ice-free periods make it possible for warmer sea water to eat away at the shoreline, while a lower sea ice extent has resulted in increased wave height and intensity, as greater sea ice cover prevents large waves from forming.
To measure the rate at which the polygon-shaped pieces of shoreline permafrost have been being eaten up by the sea, researchers used a variety of methods and measurements including time-lapse photography of shoreline erosion, deployment of buoys attached to metal sleds to measure wave activity and sea temperature, and sediment analyses of the coastal bluffs.
While there are no towns close to the area under study, the erosion poses a threat to communities elsewhere such as the town of Kaktovik as well as abandoned military and petroleum infrastructure, creating a need for emergency solutions such as sandbag stabilization.
