bripat9643
Diamond Member
- Apr 1, 2011
- 170,169
- 47,316
- 2,180
My what a dumb ass you remain, Mr. Westwall. You really think that we cannot tell the difference between river erosion, and that caused by sea level rise and permafrost thaw?
Paul Laustsen and Ann Gibbs
July–Sept. 2015
in this issue:
next story
In a new study published July 2015, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found that the remote northern Alaska coast has some of the highest shoreline-erosion rates in the nation. Analyzing more than half a century of shoreline-change data, scientists discovered that the pattern is extremely variable, with most of the coast retreating at rates of more than 1 meter per year.
Above: Shaded-relief map of the north coast of Alaska showing study area (U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape; rectangular box) and selected geographic locations. Modified from figure 1 of "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along the North Coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape." [larger version]
"Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast of Alaska is threatening Native Alaskan villages, sensitive ecosystems, energy- and defense-related infrastructure, and large tracts of Native Alaskan, State, and Federally managed land," said Suzette Kimball, acting director of the USGS.
Scientists studied more than 1,600 kilometers of the Alaskan coast between the U.S.-Canadian border and Icy Cape, Alaska, and found that the average rate of shoreline change, taking into account beaches that are both eroding and expanding, was a loss of 1.4 meters per year. Of those beaches that are eroding, the most extreme case exceeded 18.6 meters per year.
Above: North coast of Alaska study area showing color-coded shoreline-change rates, boundaries of the 10 analysis regions (dashed boxes and numbers) used in the study, and key geographic locations. Figure 72 in "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along the North Coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape." [larger version]
"This report provides invaluable objective data to help Native communities, scientists, and land managers understand natural changes and human impacts on the Alaskan coast," said Ann Gibbs, USGS geologist and lead author of the new report.
Coastlines change in response to a variety of factors, including changes in the amount of available sediment, storm impacts, sea-level rise, and human activities. How much a coast erodes or expands in any given location is due to some combination of these factors, which vary from place to place.
Northern Alaska Coastal Erosion Threatens Habitat and Infrastructure
And I can give you many more articles from scientific sources saying exactly the same thing.
What does that have to do with the town of Newtok?
