Publication Date:
2022-10-04
Description:
Climate warming is particularly pronounced in the Arctic with temperatures rising twice as much
as in the rest of the world. It seems natural that this warming has profound effects on the speed
of erosion of Arctic coasts, since the majority consists of permafrost, composed of unlithified
material and hold together by ice. Permafrost stores approximately 1307 Gt of carbon, which is
almost 60 % more than currently being contained in the atmosphere. Understanding the main
drivers and dynamics of permafrost coastal erosion is of global relevance, especially since
floods and erosion are both projected to intensify. However, the assessment of the impacts of
climate warming on Arctic coasts is impaired by little data availability. We reviewed relevant
scientific literature on changing dynamics of Arctic coast, potential drivers of these changes and
the impacts on the human and natural environment. We provide a comprehensive overview
over the state of the art and share our thoughts on how we envision potential pathways of
future Arctic coastal research. We found that the overwhelming majority of all studied Arctic
coasts is erosive and that in most cases erosion rates per year are increasing, threatening
coastal settlements, infrastructure, cultural sites and archaeological remains. The impacts on
the natural environment are also manifold and reach from changing sediment fluxes which limit
light availability in the water column to a higher input of carbon and nutrients into the nearshore
zone with the potential to influence food chains.
Repository Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Type:
Conference
,
notRev
Format:
application/pdf
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