Friday, February 20, 2009
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.
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I agree with you on this topic there is a lot of history that would be lost if the erosion continues. Also the amount of habitat for wildlife could have a devastating effect on many species, for example look what it could do to certain species of shore birds that need this type of habitat to survive. This will also have a negative effect on fish to because it could change the spawning substrate that they need.
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy I never knew that was happening in Alaska. I wonder if it is happening elsewhere. I can see the destruction it will be causing to both humans and wildlife. The wildlife that is effected from this erosion I’m not sure how they would even go about their protection and I wouldn’t imagine there is not much that can be done to prevent the erosion. And if there is I’m sure the cost is going to be overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty alarming and would be a big issue for ex vice-president Al Gore to bring up. I did like his movie about our world coming to a change due to climate change. I also wonder, how long did it really take us to get that far. I mean people are living longer and having better lives almost every day that a new science is discovered. So what I'm saying is its only inevitable to understand that we won't always be here. Some day humans may not exist due to our own beautiful disaster. This terrible erosion process that is being noticed up in Alaska is just the beginning of some of our worlds worse changes yet to come.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and disturbing blog. 20 to 45 feet a year doesn’t sound like a lot in our lifetime, but how about our children’s lifetime or our grand children’s lifetime? This is quite a few square miles a year being engulfed into the ocean. Where is all the dirt and rock going? This I’m sure is happening elsewhere and this is just polluting the water with debris. This is something that has to be looked at, but I don’t think it can be stopped.
ReplyDeleteThat is insane on how much land is eroding off that coast per per. I just have a few thoughts. What is that coast made out of? Is it a fairly soft material that allows it to be taken away by the seas? Also, is there a way to see how long this eroding has been happening, just imagine if this has been going on for centuries or even longer?
ReplyDeleteBut the earth is an everchanging place. Eroding happens everywhere, probably not this extreme. But it is faily common.
This is a very interesting topic you bring up. That is a lot of land being lost to erosion each year. All of those historical landmarks that are being lost because of the erosion can never be replaced. The wildlife will suffer greatly too as their habitat loss increases. Is there anything that we as humans can do to help prevent the erosion of the land? Or will the erosion continue no matter what we do? I think that we should at least try to prevent this from happening so that future generations will be able to enjoy the historical landmarks, the land, and wildlife of that area.
ReplyDeleteThe most disturbing part of this is that the cause of this is probably changing currents in the ocean that are caused by the increase of freshwater into the ocean from the melting of glaciers. This is part of the whole global warming trend that is changing our climate.
ReplyDelete