The case of the disappearing land!

Coastal erosion in Alaska, who knew?! This was somewhat of a shock to me because I have not heard of this… ever. A study by the USGS showed the annual erosion rates jumped from an average of 20 feet per year in the mid 1950s to 45 feet per in 2002- 2007. The main stretch of coast line that is mostly affected 40-mile long beach line along the Beaufort Sea. This was published in the current issue of Geophysical Research Letters. The lead author and USGS scientist Benjamin Jones “cautioned that it is possible that the recent patterns documented in their study may represent a short-term episode of enhanced erosion. However, they may well represent the future pattern of coastline erosion in the Arctic.” This to me is alarming because if this is the “future pattern of coastline erosion”, future habitat would be loss to the massive erosion as well as historic places and other locations of historic value. The sizes of the chunks that are eroding are huge, as shown in the picture. USGS thinks that the recent increase in erosion rate, is cause by changing arctic conditions (which I am sure is code for climate change), decline in sea ice extent, increase in summertime sea surface temperature, rising seas, increase in storm power, and wave action. These factors could be leading to new “ocean-land interactions that seem to be repositioning and reshaping the Arctic coastline” any increases in erosion will have further ramifications on Arctic landscapes – like freshwater and terrestrial wildlife habitats, and in disappearing cultural sites, and impacting coastal villages and towns. Disappearing cultural/historical sites where documented along the coastal stretch of the Beaufort Sea. The historic sites that where lost include Esook, turn of the century trading post and the soon to be lost, Kolovik, abandoned Inupiaq village site. I see the lost of all the cultural along the coast very saddening because as the human race must learn from history, the lost of the historic/culture places means the lost of a part of what makes Alaskans Alaskans. This press release links back to chapter eight and the section on reports and proposals. This links to this chapter because the organization of the report is close to the “seven major sections” that are associated with this section of the public relation book, along with the readability of this report is aimed at the general public and not the specialized field of geology.