Permafrost thaw subsidence, sea-level rise, and erosion are transforming Alaska's Arctic coastal zone.

ABSTRACT: Arctic shorelines are vulnerable to climate change impacts as sea level rises, permafrost thaws, storms intensify, and sea ice thins. Seventy-five years of aerial and satellite observations have established coastal erosion as an increasing Arctic hazard. However, other hazards at play-for instance, the cumulative impact that sea-level rise and permafrost thaw subsidence will have on permafrost shorelines-have received less attention, preventing assessments of these processes' impacts compared to and combined with coastal erosion. Alaska's Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) is ideal for such assessments because of the high-density observations of topography, coastal retreat rates, and permafrost characteristics, and importance to Indigenous communities and oilfield infrastructure. Here, we produce

SUBMITTER: Creel R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11648609 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature