Benjamin Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports in a study that he led along the Beaufort Sea Shoreline that coastal erosion has more than doubled there in the last five years. The research paper, Increase in the rate and uniformity of coastline erosion in arctic Alaska was recently published in Geophysical Research Letters. An erosion rate of up to 45 feet a year was observed along a 40-mile section of the Beaufort seashore.
A Significant Increase in Coastal Erosion
Jones and his colleagues compared their observations with those of an earlier study that showed the coastal erosion rate to be approximately 20 feet a year from the middle of the 1950s to late 1970s. It isn’t known at this point if the current doubling of the erosion rate is temporary situation.
Speaking of this concern in an USGS press release, Lead Author Jones says, “…they [current erosion rates] may well represent the future pattern of coastline erosion in the Arctic. Erosion of coastlines is a natural process, and this segment of coastline has historically eroded at some of the highest rates in the circum-Arctic, so the changes occurring on this open-ocean coast might not be occurring in other Arctic coastal settings. Taken together, these factors may be leading to a new era in ocean-land interactions that seem to be repositioning and reshaping the Arctic coastline.”
Threats to Cultural and Historic Sites
The rapidly advancing erosion of shoreline is an obvious threat the existence of coastal villages in Alaska. This threat effects both wildlife habitat and culturally important sites. In the area studied Jones noted the impact erosion has already had to sites like historic trading post and an abandon Inupiaq village site. Researchers believe studying the erosion process underway will help foster a better understanding of future shoreline loss caused by Arctic climate change.
Research by agencies like the USGS is vital to making good natural resource management decisions in rural Alaska. Poor planning will affect our people, our culture and our history.
Copyright © 2009 by Alan Sorum
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