Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska
The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska is characterized by thermokarst lakes and drained lake basins, and the rate of coastal erosion has increased during the last half-century. Portions of the coast are <1 m above sea level for kilometers inland, and are underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Increased s...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0eea1f057aad446fb13aa7ab3d90764d 2023-09-05T13:17:06+02:00 Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska Ken D Tape Paul L Flint Brandt W Meixell Benjamin V Gaglioti 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 https://doaj.org/article/0eea1f057aad446fb13aa7ab3d90764d EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/0eea1f057aad446fb13aa7ab3d90764d Environmental Research Letters, Vol 8, Iss 4, p 045031 (2013) coastal erosion geese grazing lawn landscape change permafrost subsidence Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 2023-08-13T00:37:28Z The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska is characterized by thermokarst lakes and drained lake basins, and the rate of coastal erosion has increased during the last half-century. Portions of the coast are <1 m above sea level for kilometers inland, and are underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Increased storm surges or terrestrial subsidence would therefore expand the area subject to marine inundation. Since 1976, the distribution of molting Black Brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) on the Arctic Coastal Plain has shifted from inland freshwater lakes to coastal marshes, such as those occupying the Smith River and Garry Creek estuaries. We hypothesized that the movement of geese from inland lakes was caused by an expansion of high quality goose forage in coastal areas. We examined the recent history of vegetation and geomorphological changes in coastal goose habitat by combining analysis of time series imagery between 1948 and 2010 with soil stratigraphy dated using bomb-curve radiocarbon. Time series of vertical imagery and in situ verification showed permafrost thaw and subsidence of polygonal tundra. Soil stratigraphy and dating within coastal estuaries showed that non-saline vegetation communities were buried by multiple sedimentation episodes between 1948 and 1995, accompanying a shift toward salt-tolerant vegetation. This sedimentation allowed high quality goose forage plants to expand, thus facilitating the shift in goose distribution. Declining sea ice and the increasing rate of terrestrial inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence in coastal estuaries of Alaska may portend a ‘tipping point’ whereby inland areas would be transformed into salt marshes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Branta bernicla Ice permafrost Sea ice Thermokarst Tundra Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Brant ENVELOPE(7.105,7.105,62.917,62.917) Garry ENVELOPE(-62.233,-62.233,-63.350,-63.350) Environmental Research Letters 8 4 045031 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
coastal erosion geese grazing lawn landscape change permafrost subsidence Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
coastal erosion geese grazing lawn landscape change permafrost subsidence Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Ken D Tape Paul L Flint Brandt W Meixell Benjamin V Gaglioti Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska |
topic_facet |
coastal erosion geese grazing lawn landscape change permafrost subsidence Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska is characterized by thermokarst lakes and drained lake basins, and the rate of coastal erosion has increased during the last half-century. Portions of the coast are <1 m above sea level for kilometers inland, and are underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Increased storm surges or terrestrial subsidence would therefore expand the area subject to marine inundation. Since 1976, the distribution of molting Black Brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) on the Arctic Coastal Plain has shifted from inland freshwater lakes to coastal marshes, such as those occupying the Smith River and Garry Creek estuaries. We hypothesized that the movement of geese from inland lakes was caused by an expansion of high quality goose forage in coastal areas. We examined the recent history of vegetation and geomorphological changes in coastal goose habitat by combining analysis of time series imagery between 1948 and 2010 with soil stratigraphy dated using bomb-curve radiocarbon. Time series of vertical imagery and in situ verification showed permafrost thaw and subsidence of polygonal tundra. Soil stratigraphy and dating within coastal estuaries showed that non-saline vegetation communities were buried by multiple sedimentation episodes between 1948 and 1995, accompanying a shift toward salt-tolerant vegetation. This sedimentation allowed high quality goose forage plants to expand, thus facilitating the shift in goose distribution. Declining sea ice and the increasing rate of terrestrial inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence in coastal estuaries of Alaska may portend a ‘tipping point’ whereby inland areas would be transformed into salt marshes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ken D Tape Paul L Flint Brandt W Meixell Benjamin V Gaglioti |
author_facet |
Ken D Tape Paul L Flint Brandt W Meixell Benjamin V Gaglioti |
author_sort |
Ken D Tape |
title |
Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska |
title_short |
Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska |
title_full |
Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska |
title_sort |
inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the arctic coast of alaska |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 https://doaj.org/article/0eea1f057aad446fb13aa7ab3d90764d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(7.105,7.105,62.917,62.917) ENVELOPE(-62.233,-62.233,-63.350,-63.350) |
geographic |
Arctic Brant Garry |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Brant Garry |
genre |
Arctic Branta bernicla Ice permafrost Sea ice Thermokarst Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Branta bernicla Ice permafrost Sea ice Thermokarst Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 8, Iss 4, p 045031 (2013) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/0eea1f057aad446fb13aa7ab3d90764d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045031 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
045031 |
_version_ |
1776198407031881728 |