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Modern Erosion Rates and Loss of Coastal Features and Sites, Beaufort Sea Coastline, Alaska

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dc.contributor.author Jones, Benjamin M.
dc.contributor.author Hinkel, Kenneth M.
dc.contributor.author Arp, Christopher D.
dc.contributor.author Eisner, Wendy R.
dc.date.accessioned 2010-02-09T19:16:00Z
dc.date.available 2010-02-09T19:16:00Z
dc.date.issued 2008 en_US
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/10535/5534
dc.description.abstract "This study presents modern erosion rate measurements based upon vertical aerial photography captured in 1955, 1979, and 2002 for a 100 km segment of the Beaufort Sea coastline. Annual erosion rates from 1955 to 2002 averaged 5.6 m a-1. However, mean erosion rates increased from 5.0 m a-1 in 1955–79 to 6.2 m a-1 in 1979–2002. Furthermore, from the first period to the second, erosion rates increased at 60% (598) of the 992 sites analyzed, decreased at 31% (307), and changed less than ± 30 cm at 9% (87). Historical observations and quantitative studies over the past 175 years allowed us to place our erosion rate measurements into a longer-term context. Several of the coastal features along this stretch of coastline received Western place names during the Dease and Simpson expedition in 1837, and the majority of those features had been lost by the early 1900s as a result of coastline erosion, suggesting that erosion has been active over at least the historical record. Incorporation of historical and modern observations also allowed us to detect the loss of both cultural and historical sites and modern infrastructure. U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps reveal a number of known cultural and historical sites, as well as sites with modern infrastructure constructed as recently as the 1950s, that had disappeared by the early 2000s as a result of coastal erosion. We were also able to identify sites that are currently being threatened by an encroaching coastline. Our modern erosion rate measurements can potentially be used to predict when a historical site or modern infrastructure will be affected if such erosion rates persist." en_US
dc.language English en_US
dc.subject erosion en_US
dc.subject arctic regions en_US
dc.subject coastal resources en_US
dc.title Modern Erosion Rates and Loss of Coastal Features and Sites, Beaufort Sea Coastline, Alaska en_US
dc.type Journal Article en_US
dc.type.published published en_US
dc.type.methodology Case Study en_US
dc.coverage.region North America en_US
dc.coverage.country United States en_US
dc.subject.sector Land Tenure & Use en_US
dc.identifier.citationjournal Arctic en_US
dc.identifier.citationvolume 61 en_US
dc.identifier.citationpages 361-372 en_US
dc.identifier.citationnumber 4 en_US
dc.identifier.citationmonth December en_US


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