Search for: All records

As part of NSF Project 1848542, we assessed the impacts of Bering Sea storms on western Alaskan communities, focusing on Goodnews Bay and St. Paul Island. Field campaigns collected high-resolution coastal datasets to document storm-driven flooding and shoreline change. Cross-shore profiles were surveyed using a Trimble real-time kinematic global navigation satellite system (RTK-GNSS), extending from upland features to the waterline and repeated over time to capture coastal change. High-water marks (HWMs) were also recorded, providing elevation data for present and historic flooding events, including detailed measurements of Typhoon Merbok impacts in 2022. Indicators such as debris lines, seed lines, foam lines, and wet/dry lines were used to approximate total water levels, which integrate astronomical tide, storm surge, and wave runup. This dataset contains supporting tables and measurements from these surveys, which complement a broader assessment of storm flooding impacts on regional infrastructure. We encourage researchers to contact us with questions or requests for additional data. 

Arctic amplification of climate change has resulted in increased coastal hazards impacts to remote rural coastal communities in Alaska where conducting research can be difficult, requiring alternate methods for measuring change. The pilot program, Stakes for Stakeholders, was initially planned to be funded from 2016–2018. Upon project completion the work has shifted to individual community’s partnering with several agencies to continue the work. This research showcases a successful long-term community-based erosion monitoring program in two rural communities in Southwest Alaska. The resulting outputs from the workflow we developed were (1) locally prioritized data products, such as a hazard assessment report for Chignik Bay and (2) evaluation rubrics used to assess the suitability of future sites and the efficacy of the program. Our model of two-way communication, responsiveness to individual community needs, and attention to efficiency and effectiveness of the program workflow, can serve as a model for universities, for-profit, non-profit, Tribal, city, state, and federal research agencies and communities partnering to respond to global climate change.