State of the Arctic Coast 2009: Scientific Review and Outlook

• Main Authors: Forbes, D., Lantuit, Hugues, Rachold, Volker, Kremer, H., Floesser, G.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Arctic; ACIA; AHDR; AMAP; Arctic Climate Impact Assessment; Arctic Human Development Report; Climate change; IASC; International Arctic Science Committee; International Permafrost Association; permafrost
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/20566/; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.32719

The coast is a key interface in the Arctic environment, a locus of human activity, a rich band of biodiversity, critical habitat, and high productivity, and among the most dynamic components of the circumpolar landscape. A very large proportion of Arctic residents live on the coast and many derive their livelihood from marine resources. The coast is a region exposed to natural hazards and particularly sensitive to climate change; it is thus a high priority for change detection and awareness acknowledged by the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) and the Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR). Under the patronage of Land-Ocean Interaction in the coastal zone (LOICZ), the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and the International Permafrost Association (IPA), a new initiative was formed to fill the gap observed in existing reports and assessments and to highlight the uniqueness of Arctic coasts. Its objective is to produce the first review on the state of Arctic coasts and to provide an outlook on the fate of coastal biophysical and societal environments, underlining the complex interactions at work at the land-Ocean interface. This presentation provides an update on the progress of this report and a few excerpts from the document.