Introduction

Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow) is located at the northernmost point of Alaska, 329 miles north of the Arctic Circle (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, 2019). With a population of 4,877 people,  Utqiagvik is on the larger side of Alaskan Indigenous communities. According to the special IPCC report on the ocean and cryosphere, the state of Alaska produces the least amount of emissions but reaps the worst consequences from climate change (IPCC, 2022). Current emissions are estimated to put us at 2.6ºC warming by 2070 (Beaumont et al, 2010 ). However,  the North America Arctic is warming at least three times the global average, putting Utqiagvik at higher risk of climate change related impacts (IPCC, 2022). The main threats identified by Utqiavik are coastal erosion, climate change, issues related to maritime activity and lack of housing (Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 2021).

 

Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Division of Community and Regional Affairs’ Community Photo Library.

 

 

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 2021.

Hazards

Utqiagvik is expected to continue and has been observed to lose 0.6 meters of coastline a year (Gibbs et al, 2015). By 2025 the coastline is supposed to erode by 28.5ft  (Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 2021). Today there is an observed acceleration in sea level rise (IPCC, 2022). With higher sea levels, storms in Utqiagvik have increased in both frequency and intensity (Naiden, 2022). Loss of permafrost and sea ice are potential tipping points that are likely underway and would have permanent and irreversible effects (IPCC, 2022). Permafrost is a carbon sink, trapping almost twice as much carbon that's in the air today (IPCC, 2022). The melting of permafrost is therefore not only detrimental to surrounding ecosystems, but hinders our ability to reduce carbon emissions.

 

 

  • It is “virtually certain” that the global mean sea level is rising and there is “high confidence” that the rising is accelerating (IPCC, 2022).
  • Northern Alaska, including Utqiagvik could see an almost 10ºC surface temperature anomaly by the end of the century without mitigation efforts (Van Houtan et al, 2021).

Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Division of Community and Regional Affairs’ Community Photo Library.

Exposure

  • Coastal communities will continue to be threatened by increasing sea level rise if we do not stay under 2ºC warming this century (IPCC, 2022).
  • Melting permafrost and glaciers puts indigenous communities more at risk for glacier outburst and landslides (IPCC, 2022).
  • Approximately 150 Alaskan communities are experiencing erosion, permafrost thaw, and flooding due to climate change at rates that are threatening their ways of life (Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 2021).

Permafrost Melt:

Since half of Alaska is underlain by continuous permafrost, permafrost melt is one of the biggest threats to Alaskan communities, whose whole infrastructure depends on its existence (Gray et al, 2018) (Van Houtan et al, 2021). Permafrost melt results in the ground sinking, which leads to damage to buildings, roads and other infrastructure (Gray et al, 2018). Permafrost melt and stronger storms threaten the coast and result in flooding in the communities. Melting permafrost and glaciers puts indigenous communities more at risk for glacier outburst and landslides (IPCC, 2022). The IPCC 6th assessment states that flooding and erosion from climate change affect over 87% of Alaskan communities.

 

Storms:

74% of the northern Alaskan coast is fronted by 5 meter or lower bluffs, which puts these communities at even higher risk for flooding and storm waves (Gibbs et al., 2015). Rising sea level doesn’t only directly threaten Alaskan communities but can damage their infrastructure such as water filtration systems, and power that can leave whole communities without clean water, power and heat for extended periods of time (Gray et al., 2018).

 

Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Division of Community and Regional Affairs’ Community Photo Library.

Vulnerability

Traditional Ecological Knowledge:

Rural communities such as Utqiagvik, rely more heavily on surrounding ecosystems and therefore are more at risk by their vulnerability (IPCC, 2019). Indigenous people’s culture relies more on the environment to sustain them and they have already experienced negative impacts that are affecting their land and seascapes (IPCC, 2022). Alaskan communities lose a sense of self and trust in the land to be able to rely on (Gray et al, 2018). Indigenous people’s culture relies more on the environment to sustain them and they have already experienced negative impacts that are affecting their land and seascapes (IPCC, 2022). Alaskan communities lose a sense of self and trust in the land to be able to rely on (Gray et al, 2018). Especially in indigenous communities, this also means the loss of cultural sites and historical artifacts (Gray et al, 2018) 

IPCC, 2019

IPCC, 2019

Food Insecurity:

Food insecurity occurs at a much higher rate in northern Alaskan communities including Utqiagvik. Indigenous people are more vulnerable to the decline of food systems and have an increased risk of malnutrition (IPCC, 2022). Previously, ice was usually stable by November for hunters (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, 2019). In 2018, shorefast ice did not form until January (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. 2019). Like other Alaskan communities, ice is how hunters are able to travel in the winter. Thinner ice increases the risk of falling through, and attempting dangerous routes that could lead to injury or death (Gray et al, 2018). Permafrost melt and stronger storms threaten the coast and result in flooding in the communities. Other sources of food, such as the shrimp population, have been declining for over twenty years due to warmer waters and ocean acidification (Gray et al, 2018). 

Adaptation

In 2022,  Utqiagvik planned a five mile long, stone blockade against rising waters and storms in hopes to mitigate effects from erosion (Naiden, 2022). Temporary berms are added to protect from coastal erosion and flooding, but costs from these projects could be saved if a permeate bank was made (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, 2019). The Barrow (Utqiagvik) Comprehensive plan outlines a few different adaptation strategies that are already underway. These include offshore dredging for beach nourishment, construction of berms, and increased maintenance to the shore road (Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 2021). To date, more than $28 million has been spent by NSB to add gravel to the beach berms. Money alone will not be enough to save these highly threatened areas, Indigenous knowledge is a key in understanding sea level rise and predicting storms and protecting land from their waves (IPCC, 2019). Restoration of the coastline will protect from storm surges and erosion (IPCC, 2022). Projects to do so will also have positive impacts by preserving habitats and creating more jobs.

Resilience

Money alone will not be enough to save these highly threatened areas, Indigenous knowledge is a key in understanding sea level rise and predicting storms and protecting land from their waves (IPCC, 2019). As a recommendation, Utqiagvik should update their five year plan as it was written in 2017, and as of now is out of date. This would be a good opportunity to assess their biggest climate change worries in the community and request funding in order to increase their resilience and avoid relocation of their community.

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 2021

About the Author

Originally from Gorham, Maine, Laura Bolduc was in the class of 2024 at St. Lawrence University. She was an Environmental Studies-Mathematics combined major with a double major in Computer Science. She was also a member of the varsity swim team, a CS intern at Nature Up North and a Claire Booth Luce fellow. Her past work includes training a convolutional neural network to identify 32 different categories of species commonly photographed by game cameras in Northern New York. 

Sources:

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. (2021, February). Alaska's Environmentally Threatened Communities. Alaska DGGS. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2a0d221e55ca48dd8092427b50a98804

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. (2018). How Two Rural Alaskan Communities Helped Move Homes. Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities.https://createsend.com/t/j-ACB510A7E8DEAF972540EF23F30FEDED

Beaumont, L., Pitman, A., Perkins, A., et al. (2010, December). Impacts of climate change on the world’s most exceptional ecoregions. PNAS. https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1007217108 

Gibbs, A., Richmond, B. (2015). National assessment of shoreline change: historical change along the north coast of Alaska, U.S-Canadian border to Icy Cape. USGS. https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20151048 

Gray, S., Markon, C., Berman, M., et al. (2018). Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II. USGCRP. https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/26/#key-message-2 

IPCC. (2019). IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2019). 

IPCC. (2022). IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA.

Naiden, A. (2022, July). Along Utqiagvik’s eroding coast, hope that a seawall can help keep the community safe. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.ktoo.org/2022/07/21/along-utqiagviks-eroding-coast-hope-that-a-seawall-can-help-keep-the-community-safe/ 

Office for Coastal Management. (2023, February). Sea Level Rise Viewer. NOAA. https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr.html 

Steffan, W., Rockström, J., Richardson, K., et al. (2018, August). Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene. PNAS. https://www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10.1073/pnas.1810141115 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. (2019, October). Barrow Alaska Coastal Erosion Feasibility Report. Alaska District, USACE. https://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Portals/34/docs/civilworks/publicreview/Barrow/BarrowAlaskaCoastFinalFeasibilityReportsigned.pdf?ver=2020-02-14-191257-430 

United States Government Accountability Office. (2022, May). Alaskan Native Issues: Federal Agencies Could Enhance Support for Native Village Efforts to Address Environmental Threats. GOA. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104241 

Van Houtan, K., Tanaka, K., Gagné, T., Becker, S. (2021, July). The geological disparity of historical greenhouse emissions and projected climate change. Science Advances. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abe4342#body-ref-R1 

 

Image Credits:

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. (2021, February). Alaska's Environmentally Threatened Communities. Alaska DGGS. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2a0d221e55ca48dd8092427b50a98804

Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; Division of Community and Regional Affairs’ Community Photo Library

[Cover Image] Schildt, D. (2018). Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/8O-KsnJ2Yds