Eating the Coastline

The oceans are gobbling up Alaska’s northern coastline in a hurry—a result of our planet’s warming climate. That could force some towns to move farther inland, away from the hungry ocean.

The Arctic is undergoing especially rapid change. Both air and ocean temperatures have increased three times faster than the global average. That’s drastically reduced the amount of ice covering the Arctic Ocean during much of the year. With more open water, waves can grow bigger and stronger, so they hit land with greater force.

At the same time, the warmer conditions are thawing more of the frozen land, making it easier for waves to eat away all the shoreline. In some parts of Alaska, the land has been retreating by more than 60 feet per year.

A recent study looked at the region around Point Hope, a small village on the northwestern coast. Part of it had to relocate in the 1970s as the shoreline was eaten away. Today, it’s threatened again. The airport runway is sometimes under water, and several cultural sites are endangered.

Researchers used computer models to look at what might happen over the next 50 years. They simulated changing ocean, air, and land temperatures, as well as changes in the amount of sea ice and other factors. They found that the coastline could retreat by about 150 to 300 feet by 2075. The loss could be more intense if more of the tundra thaws out—making it easier for the ocean to gobble up the Alaskan coastline.