PERMAFROST EROSION ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST

• Main Author: Lewellen, Robert I.
• Other Authors: ARCTIC INST OF NORTH AMERICA ARLINGTON VA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1970
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *COASTAL REGIONS; *PERMAFROST; DEGRADATION; CRACKS; ALASKA; ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE; TERRAIN; EROSION; SOILS; FREEZING; ICE; MELTING; AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS; ISLANDS; *BEAUFORT SEA; TUNDRA; Barrow; Beaufort Sea; Ice; permafrost; Point Barrow; Prudhoe Bay; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0711344; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0711344

The purpose of the report is to illustrate and focus attention on the permafrost erosion along the Beaufort Sea coast of Northern Alaska. The thermal erosion of permafrost along the coast results in shore line recessions as great as ten meters (33 feet) per year. The recession is caused by wave action and air temperatures thawing the frozen sediments. The two areas which are discussed in detail are Elson Lagoon and Flaxman Island. Elson Lagoon is located south of Point Barrow, Alaska. Flaxman Island is adjacent to the Prudhoe Bay oil development activity. The receding shore lines must be considered before a logical definition of this region is possible. Prepared in cooperation with Denver Univ., Colorado, Dept. of Geography and Geology.