Two Inupiat BLE LTER students stand at the base of an eroding shoreline on Barter Island Credit: BLE LTER
Consistent with reports from other regions of the Arctic and the Beaufort Sea Coast, coastal erosion rates appear to have increased along the shores of Elson Lagoon near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) over the last half century. Areas with historically low erosion rates are changing faster, but rates do not exceed those of areas with historically high erosion.
For Further Reading:
Jones, BM et al. 2018. A decade of remotely sensed observations highlight complex processes linked to coastal permafrost bluff erosion in the Arctic. Environmental Research Letters. doi: 10.1088/1748- 9326/aae471
Tweedie CE et al. 2012. Spatial and temporal dynamics of erosion along the Elson Lagoon Coastline near Barrow, Alaska (2002-2011). In Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, Volume 1: International Contributions, Hinkel KM (ed). The Northern Publisher: Salekhard, Russia; 425–430
