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| Impact of thaw and erosion of Arctic permafrost coasts. (1) Climatic and biogeochemical consequences are due to vertical and lateral carbon mobilization onshore, in the nearshore zone and offshore. (2) Marine ecosystem perturbations are mainly due to release of nutrients, pollutants, carbon and sediments to the nearshore zone, where they are: (i) fuelling primary production, (ii) changing chemical and optical properties such as increased ocean acidity and turbidity, (iii) buried in seafloor sediments, or (iv) transported offshore. The quantities of these fluxes, however, are as yet unknown. (3) Socio-economic impacts in the coastal zone include infrastructure damage, loss of cultural heritage, fishing and hunting grounds, and the threat of coastal community relocation.
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A holistic and transdisciplinary approach is urgently required to investigate the physical and socio-economic impacts of collapsing coastlines in the Arctic nearshore zone.
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Citations
... Despite the Arctic coasts are highly susceptible to climate change and therefore demonstrate the highest erosive rates in the world, their spatiotemporal dynamics are poorly investigated (Frederick et al., 2016). This knowledge gap severely limits the comprehension of Earth system models (ESMs), particularly carbon fluxes (Fritz et al., 2017a;Nicolsky et al., 2017). In detail, poorly documented shoreline changes abstain from correctly assessing Arctic organic carbon released by permafrost coast erosion; thence, its feedback to climate warming is underestimated (Nielsen et al., 2022). ...
Arctic coasts are transition zones influenced by terrestrial, marine, and cryospheric factors. Due to the degradation of the cryosphere exacerbated by climate change, many segments of Arctic coasts are characterized by severe erosions and thus resulting in many social-economic consequences. To assess the imminent coastal risks and increasing organic carbon fluxes released from Arctic erosional coasts, continuous monitoring of shoreline movement is necessary. Conventional studies employ spaceborne multi-spectral optical images to detect ample Arctic coasts' dynamics; nonetheless, the frequent cloud cover and Arctic haze limit the number of usable images. Thence, most studies merely utilize a few image pairs to estimate long-term rate changes, which deter statistically meaningful trend analysis and are likely biased by intra-annual variations. This study employs cross-mission synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images that are cloud-penetrating and weather-independent to depict 32-year spatiotemporal changes of Drew Point Coast along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. To efficiently and robustly extract shorelines, a non-manual intervention-required and cross-SAR sensor applicable approach is proposed. Based on the automatically delineated time series shoreline positions, each coastal segment's position–time records are modeled with a statistic-based coastal dynamics classification scheme that enables constructing non-linear trends of inter-decadal recession rates. Results reveal that 83.7 % of the coast exhibits continuous erosion during 1992–2023. Dynamically, 48.6 % of coast demonstrates polynomial change patterns with an erosive rate higher than −6 m/yr. Remarkably, 22.5 % of the coast has been statistically significantly accelerating. For instance, the erosional rate nearly double (93.8 %) between Drew Point and McLeod Point, while between Lonely and Pitt Point, the most erosive segment in the study coast, the retreating rate increases 285.57 % from −5.92 to −22.81 m/yr. These findings exemplify the high heterogeneity of Arctic coastal changes and highlight the opportunities of using spaceborne SAR data to empower the management and conservation of Arctic coasts.
... Arctic permafrost coasts account for 34% of Earth's coasts (Fritz et al. 2017). Rising temperatures thaw the permafrost, and the lack of sea ice increases exposure to storm waves, leading to rapid coastal erosion. ...
The cryosphere plays a critical role in maintaining the stability of the social-ecological system, but rapid cryosphere changes have been and are wide-ranging and have a profound affect, even threatening the achievement of the UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs). In the study, we review the opportunities and threats caused by cryosphere changes in achieving the SDGs. The results reveal that cryosphere changes are significantly related to the supply of sustainable fresh water (SDG 6), alpine hydropower (SDG 7), and climate action (SDG 13). In addition, they favorably support life on land and below water (SDG 14-15), and effectively affect the livelihoods (SDG 1-5), agricultural development (SDG 2), snow/ice tourism (SDG 8), infrastructure (SDG 9), regional inequality (SDG 10), and cities and communities (SDG 11), as well as affecting Arctic shipping routes (SDG 16). Long-term cryosphere threats far outweigh their contributions to the SDGs. The cryosphere contributes little to human emissions, but it is significantly affected by climate change. Areas affected by cryosphere changes need to strengthen resilience and enhance the ability to adapt to the influences of cryosphere changes (SDG 1-17) via financial transfer, multilateral international cooperation, and other practical policies.
... The Arctic coastlines exhibit the highest erosion rates in the world (Reimnitz et al., 1988). Arctic coastal erosion could significantly contribute to the Arctic carbon cycle as large quantities of organic carbon stored in permafrost are directly exported to the ocean (Fritz et al., 2017). Coastal erosion can breach thermokarst lakes, leading to the initial draining of the lakes followed by marine flooding. ...
... Additionally, coastal erosion and land loss poses a considerable threat to native, industrial, scientific, and even military communities (Ding et al., 2021). The Arctic coastal erosion is expected to increase drastically in the future due to the permafrost thaw, declining summer sea ice cover, longer and warmer thawing seasons, increasing seawater temperature, and rising sea level (Fritz et al., 2017;Gunther et al., 2015). ...
... The Arctic accounts for 34% of Earth's coasts and has some of the fastest eroding coastlines (Fritz et al., 2017). Although the effects of coastal erosion on carbon cycle and infrastructure have been recognized, quantitative assessments of the effects of coastal erosion are largely lacking due to the sparse observational data. ...
Plain Language Summary
The Arctic is warming more than twice the global average. The Arctic is connected to the rest of the world through the climate system, it appears to be the first domino to fall, with the other dominoes pointing south. The Arctic science community and the people who live in the Arctic have known the rapid Arctic changes for a long time. It has been recognized that the cryosphere components are declining, and the carbon cycle in both the land and ocean will be affected by the cryosphere shrinkage. Despite some scientific breakthroughs, there are still major knowledge gaps in the Arctic carbon cycle. The policymakers at this stage are not only asking for more data about the Arctic changes, they also need scientific suggestions to cope with Arctic changes. The science community should work together to draw a full picture of the Arctic changes that include both natural and social systems.
... Incr easing glacial melt, permafr ost thaw, and pr ecipitation with climate c hange ar e expected to lead to higher riv erine disc har ge and a subsequent increase in the influx of T err -OM to coastal systems (Christiansen et al. 2005, Haine et al. 2015, Parmentier et al. 2017, Hanssen-Bauer et al. 2019, McCrystall et al. 2021. In addition, coastal erosion is an increasingly important driver for delivery of T err -OM and sediments to marine systems (Fritz et al. 2017 ). In coastal systems, riverine inputs interact with marine processes to shape nutrient dynamics , OM a v ailability, str atification, light av ailability, and temper atur e (Mann et al. 2016, Torsvik et al. 2019, McGovern et al. 2020. ...
Climate change is altering patterns of precipitation, cryosphere thaw, and land-ocean influxes, affecting understudied Arctic estuarine tidal flats. These transitional zones between terrestrial and marine systems are hotspots for biogeochemical cycling, often driven by microbial processes. We investigated surface sediment bacterial community composition and function from May to September along a river-intertidal-subtidal-fjord gradient. We paired metabarcoding of in-situ communities with in-vitro carbon-source utilization assays. Bacterial communities differed in space and time, alongside varying environmental conditions driven by local seasonal processes and riverine inputs, with salinity emerging as the dominant structuring factor. Terrestrial and riverine taxa were found throughout the system, likely transported with runoff. In-vitro assays revealed sediment bacteria utilized a broader range of organic matter substrates when incubated in fresh and brackish water compared to marine water. These results highlight the importance of salinity for ecosystem processes in these dynamic tidal flats, with the highest potential for utilization of terrestrially derived organic matter likely limited to tidal flat areas (and times) where sediments are permeated by freshwater. Our results demonstrate that intertidal flats must be included in future studies on impacts of increased riverine discharge and transport of terrestrial organic matter on coastal carbon cycling in a warming Arctic.
... Warminginduced retreat and thinning of the pan-Arctic sea-ice is increasing the influx of waters from surrounding seas into the Arctic Ocean (a process often termed "Atlantification") 5 . On land, permafrost melting and collapsing Arctic coastlines are altering ecological interactions and biogeochemistry 6,7 . The Antarctic Peninsula has already experienced substantial levels of warming 8 . ...
Polar ecosystems are experiencing amongst the most rapid rates of regional warming on Earth. Here, we discuss ‘omics’ approaches to investigate polar biodiversity, including the current state of the art, future perspectives and recommendations. We propose a community road map to generate and more fully exploit multi-omics data from polar organisms. These data are needed for the comprehensive evaluation of polar biodiversity and to reveal how life evolved and adapted to permanently cold environments with extreme seasonality. We argue that concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems via conservation efforts, to sustainably manage these unique habitats and their ecosystem services, and for the sustainable bioprospecting of novel genes and compounds for societal gain.
... Coastal erosion poses great risks to northern communities and infrastructure (Ford et al 2015, Radosavljevic et al 2016, Fritz et al 2017 and is expected to worsen as temperatures rise, sea ice retreats, and storms become more frequent and intense (Jones et al 2009, Irrgang et al 2022, Nielsen et al 2022. Previous analyses of remotely sensed imagery documented erosion of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast (ABSC), with an average rate of 1.8 m yr −1 from 1947 to 2012, but shoreline change rates in the region varied from 21.7 m yr −1 of erosion to 10.6 m yr −1 of accretion . ...
Arctic coastal environments are eroding and rapidly changing. A lack of pan-Arctic observations limits our ability to understand controls on coastal erosion rates across the entire Arctic region. Here, we capitalize on an abundance of geospatial and remotely sensed data, in addition to model output, from the North Slope of Alaska to identify relationships between historical erosion rates and landscape characteristics to guide future modeling and observational efforts across the Arctic. Using existing datasets from the Alaska Beaufort Sea coast and a hierarchical clustering algorithm, we developed a set of 16 coastal typologies that captures the defining characteristics of environments susceptible to coastal erosion. Relationships between landscape characteristics and historical erosion rates show that no single variable alone is a good predictor of erosion rates. Variability in erosion rate decreases with increasing coastal elevation, but erosion rate magnitudes are highest for intermediate elevations. Areas along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast protected by barrier islands showed a three times lower erosion rate on average, suggesting that barrier islands are critical to maintaining mainland shore position. Finally, typologies with the highest erosion rates are not broadly representative of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast and are generally associated with low elevation, north- to northeast-facing shorelines, a peaty pebbly silty lithology, and glaciomarine deposits with high ice content. All else being equal, warmer permafrost is also associated with higher erosion rates, suggesting that warming permafrost temperatures may contribute to higher future erosion rates on permafrost coasts. The suite of typologies can be used to guide future modeling and observational efforts by quantifying the distribution of coastlines with specific landscape characteristics and erosion rates.
... In general, warming of the Arctic is evident through a reduction in ice coverage and increase in air temperatures [1,2]. In certain areas, it also results in intense coastal retreat [3][4][5][6] and degradation of subsea permafrost [7][8][9]. The latter processes are especially important in the Laptev Sea, which is characterized by wide coastal and submarine permafrost areas [10][11][12][13][14]. Coastal and submarine permafrost in the Laptev Sea is a large carbon pool degradation, which is directly related to greenhouse gas emissions [4,15,16]. ...
... In certain areas, it also results in intense coastal retreat [3][4][5][6] and degradation of subsea permafrost [7][8][9]. The latter processes are especially important in the Laptev Sea, which is characterized by wide coastal and submarine permafrost areas [10][11][12][13][14]. Coastal and submarine permafrost in the Laptev Sea is a large carbon pool degradation, which is directly related to greenhouse gas emissions [4,15,16]. Moreover, oxidation of eroded carbon to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) plays a primary role in supersaturation of the water column in the Laptev Sea and the adjacent part of the East Siberian Sea, and causes extreme acidification there [17][18][19]. ...
Large areas of the seafloor in the Laptev Sea consist of submarine permafrost, which has experienced intense degradation over the last decades and centuries. Thermal abrasion of the submarine permafrost results in upward advection of suspended matter, which could reach the surface layer in shallow areas. This process is visually manifested through increased turbidity of the sea surface layer, which is regularly detected in optical satellite imagery of the study areas. In this study, satellite data, wind and wave reanalysis, as well as in situ measurements are analyzed in order to reveal the main mechanisms of seafloor erosion in shallow areas of the Laptev Sea. We describe the synoptic variability in erosion at the Vasilyevskaya and Semenovskaya shoals in response to wind and wave conditions. Finally, using reanalysis data, daily suspended matter flux from this area was evaluated during ice-free periods in 1979–2021, and its seasonal and inter-annual variabilities were described. The obtained results contribute to our understanding of subsea permafrost degradation, the sediment budget, and carbon and nutrient cycles in the Laptev Sea.
... Given the role of groundwater as a major transport mechanism of terrestrial and permafrost thaw-mobilized carbon, nutrients, and contaminants to the nearshore ocean (e.g. Connolly et al 2020), and as a potential catalyst of drastic changes experienced along Arctic coastlines (Fritz et al 2017, Lecher 2017, Guimond et al 2021, Irrgang et al 2022, this understanding is fundamental for assessments and projections of nearshore biogeochemical processes that influence marine productivity and ecosystems. ...
Groundwater discharge transports dissolved constituents to the ocean, affecting coastal carbon budgets and water quality. However, the magnitude and mechanisms of groundwater exchange along rapidly transitioning Arctic coastlines are largely unknown due to limited observations. Here, using first-of-its-kind coastal Arctic groundwater timeseries data, we evaluate the magnitude and drivers of groundwater discharge to Alaska’s Beaufort Sea coast. Darcy flux calculations reveal temporally variable groundwater fluxes, ranging from −6.5 cm d ⁻¹ (recharge) to 14.1 cm d ⁻¹ (discharge), with fluctuations in groundwater discharge or aquifer recharge over diurnal and multiday timescales during the open-water season. The average flux during the monitoring period of 4.9 cm d ⁻¹ is in line with previous estimates, but the maximum discharge exceeds previous estimates by over an order-of-magnitude. While the diurnal fluctuations are small due to the microtidal conditions, multiday variability is large and drives sustained periods of aquifer recharge and groundwater discharge. Results show that wind-driven lagoon water level changes are the dominant mechanism of fluctuations in land–sea hydraulic head gradients and, in turn, groundwater discharge. Given the microtidal conditions, low topographic relief, and limited rainfall along the Beaufort Sea coast, we identify wind as an important forcing mechanism of coastal groundwater discharge and aquifer recharge with implications for nearshore biogeochemistry. This study provides insights into groundwater flux dynamics along this coastline over time and highlights an oft overlooked discharge and circulation mechanism with implications towards refining solute export estimates to coastal Arctic waters.
... Change in sea ice is gradual (Notz, D. and SIMIP Community, 2020), however, storms can abruptly change sea ice on the 540 shelves (Lukovich et al., 2021), leading to high waves and a destabilization of parts of the permafrost coast (Casas-Prat and Wang, 2020). The impact of coastal erosion on ecosystems is irreversible, as are socioeconomic impacts (Fritz et al., 2017). ...
Climate tipping elements are large-scale subsystems of the Earth that may transgress critical thresholds (tipping points) under ongoing global warming, with substantial impacts on biosphere and human societies. Frequently studied examples of such tipping elements include the Greenland Ice Sheet, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, permafrost, monsoon systems, and the Amazon rainforest. While recent scientific efforts have improved our knowledge about individual tipping elements, the interactions between them are less well understood. Also, the potential of individual tipping events to induce additional tipping elsewhere, or stabilize other tipping elements is largely unknown. Here, we map out the current state of the literature on the interactions between climate tipping elements and review the influences between them. To do so, we gathered evidence from model simulations, observations and conceptual understanding, as well as archetypal examples of paleoclimate reconstructions where multi-component or spatially propagating transitions were potentially at play. Lastly, we identify crucial knowledge gaps in tipping element interactions and outline how future research could address those gaps.
... Finally, we can conclude that the amplitude of these impacts in the post 2000 CE interval is unprecedented over the last 1300 years and thus over the history of traditional harvesting in the nearshore waters of the Canadian Beaufort Sea by the Inuvialuit and their ancestors. Fritz et al., 2017Seidenkrantz, 1995Seidenkrantz et al., 2021 CRediT ...
