A scientifically-driven approach for the sustainable development of Arctic coastal zone

The Arctic coast has been strongly influenced by the effects of climate changes. Accelerating global warming and impact of storms imply a rapid permafrost degradation and drastic shoreline retreat in an Arctic coastal zone. In... [ view full abstract ]

The Arctic coast has been strongly influenced by the effects of climate changes. Accelerating global warming and impact of storms imply a rapid permafrost degradation and drastic shoreline retreat in an Arctic coastal zone. In many regions shoreline retreat exceeds 30 meters per year. Impact of storms on permafrost coast causes much faster processes than it has been expected. These processes impose large impacts on social and economic conditions in the region including quality of life, housing, infrastructure and developments. The observed processes significantly affect activities in the Arctic area and have also drastic effects on the degradation of glaciers by accelerating breaking and melting processes and, in consequence, accelerate climate changes. More effort is necessary to reduce negative impacts of climate changes on polar areas. These require a new approach to predict and control changes in the Arctic coastal environment. More effort is required to develop knowledge on increased coastal erosions through better recognition and understanding of physical processes as well as reliable modeling of permafrost thaw and shoreline shift. A novel approach to this problem has been proposed and its program is currently under implementation. The approach is based on original experimental investigations on wave-induced erosion of permafrost, a series of field measurement campaigns, and numerical modeling of erosion processes in Arctic conditions. Extensive experimental studies have been conducted to identify physical processes responsible for increased sediment transport rates of the frozen sandy bottom. Experimental data and theoretical analysis indicate that the new approach provide novel results of significant importance for understanding of erosion processes in polar areas. 

 Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from the Polish-Norwegian Research Programme operated by the National Centre for Research and Development under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 in the frame of Project Contract No. POL-NOR/200336/95/2014

Keywords: Climate changes, Permafrost erosion, Sediment transport, Arctic coasts