Climate change and seismic resilience: Key considerations for Alaska’s infrastructure and built environment

Alaska is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. Coincidentally, the state has also experienced dramatic impacts of climate change as it is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the United States. Through mechanisms such as permafrost thaw, water table fluctuation, and melting o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS ONE
Main Authors: Turner, Matthew M., Ghayoomi, Majid, Duderstadt, Katharine, Brewer, Jennifer, Kholodov, Alexander
Other Authors: Tajik, Nazanin, National Science Foundation
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023
Subjects:
glaciers
Ice
permafrost
Sea ice
Alaska
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292320
https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292320
Description
Summary:Alaska is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. Coincidentally, the state has also experienced dramatic impacts of climate change as it is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the United States. Through mechanisms such as permafrost thaw, water table fluctuation, and melting of sea ice and glaciers, climatic-driven changes to the natural and built-environment influence the seismic response of infrastructure systems. This paper discusses the challenges and needs posed by earthquake hazards and climate change to Alaska’s infrastructure and built environment, drawing on the contributions of researchers and decision-makers in interviews and a workshop. It outlines policy, mitigation, and adaptation areas meriting further attention to improve the seismic resilience of Alaska’s built environment from the perspectives of engineering and complementary coupled human-environmental systems.

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