Increasing levels of resource development and population growth along Alaska's relatively pristine coastline require responsible environmental stewardship that is based on scientifically defensible monitoring and assessment. This thesis develops a methodology to assess the spatial distribution of coastal sediment trace metals and estimate their natural condition along Alaska's coastline. Marine sediments provide a better integrated long-term signal for naturally occurring and anthropogenic chemicals than repeated water measurements. The first of three manuscripts reports on marine sediment trace metal concentrations from a probabilistic sampling survey of Alaska's Southcentral coastal region. Results are described on a proportional [...]