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Nearshore bathymetry is a vital link that joins offshore water depths to coastal topography. Seamless water depth information is a critical input parameter for reliable storm surge models, enables the calculation of sediment budgets and is necessary baseline data for a range of coastal management decisions. Funding from the Western Alaska LCC resulted in the purchase of field equipment capable of shallow water measurements in rural settings, allowing collection of nearshore bathymetry around western Alaska communities. The resulting vector data shape files of nearshore bathymetry for Gambell, Savoonga, Golovin, Wales, Shismaref, and Hooper Bay are available by following the link below.
This project established a permafrost monitoring network in this region, providing a baseline of permafrost thermal regimes for assessing future change at a total of 26 automated monitoring stations. Stations have collected year-round temperature data from the active layer and the permafrost starting from the summer of 2011. The strong correspondence between spatial variability in permafrost thermal regime and an existing ecotype map allowed for the development of a map of ‘permafrost thermal classes’ for the broader study region. Further, the annual temperature data was used to calibrate models of soil thermal regimes as a function of climate, providing estimates of both historic and future permafrost thermal regimes...
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The primary purpose of this project is to acquire long-term data series ontemperature of selected lakes to support management of nursery habitat of lakerearingjuvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in relation to climatechange. We adopted protocol developed by the National Park Service (NPS) toestablish moored all-season vertical temperature monitoring arrays in eight lakesof Kodiak, Togiak, and Alaska Peninsula/Becharof National Wildlife Refuges(NWR) in summer and fall 2011. We recorded lake temperature at a resolution of0.02°C on an hourly basis at various depth strata between lake surfaces and lakebottoms. Monitoring sites were visited annually or biannially to extract data andto service monitoring equipment....
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This project evaluated the potential impacts of storm surges and relative sea level rise on nesting geese and eider species that commonly breed on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta). Habitat suitability maps for breeding waterbirds were developed to identify current waterbird breeding habitat and distributions. Short-term climate change impacts were assessed by comparing nest densities in relation to magnitude of storms that occurred in the prior fall from 2000-2013. Additionally, nest densities were modeled using random forests in relation to the time-integrated flood index (e.g., a storm specific measure accounting for both water depth and duration of flooding) for four modeled storms (2005, 2006, 2009, and...
Categories: Data; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: BIRDS, BIRDS, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODELS, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODELS, DELTAS, All tags...
The western coastline of Alaska spans over 10,000 km of diverse topography ranging from low lying tundra in the north to sharp volcanic relief in the south. Included in this range are areas highly susceptible to powerful storms which can cause coastal flooding, erosion and have many other negative effects on the environment and commercial efforts in the region. In order to better understand the multi-scale and interactive physics of the deep ocean,continental shelf, near shore, and coast, a large unstructured domain hydrodynamic model is being developed using the finite element, free surface circulation code ADCIRC.This model is a high resolution, accurate, and robust computational model of Alaska’s coastal environment...
TheNorthSlopeofAlaskaliesonthenorthsideofBrooksRangeandincludesextensivecoastlinesalongtheChukchiSeaandBeaufortSea.TheseshorelinesarefundamentallydifferentfrommostofthecoastlineintheUSastheyareconsolidatedbypermafrostandsubjecttoperiglacialprocesses,includingcryogenicprocessesonshoreandnearshoreseasonalpackiceformation.ThesecoastsarehighlydynamicandundergoingsomeofthefastestretreatratesinNorthAmerica(GibbsandRichmondn.d.).Proposedoffshoreoildevelopmentactivitiesinthe ChukchiSeacoastandexistingoffshoredrillingislandsalongtheBeaufortSeacoastposeenvironmentalrisksforthesecoasts.Environmentalconcernsincludeincreasedairandseatraffic,accidentaloilspills,andpotentialportdevelopments.BOEMrequiresup-­‐to-­‐date,digitalmappingthatcanbeusedtosystematicallyassesstheseenvironmentalrisks.TheSh...
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The Anaktuvuk River Fire was the largest, highest-severity wildfire recorded on Alaska’s North Slope since records began in 1956. The 2007 Anaktuvuk River Fire was an order of magnitude larger than the average fire size in the historic record for northern Alaska and indices of severity were substantially higher than for other recorded tundra burns. An interdisciplinary team assessed fire effects including burn severity, potential plant community shifts, and effects on permafrost and active layers. Observers monumented, photographed, and measured 24 burned and 17 unburned reference transects, starting the year after the fire, and spanning the range of vegetation types and burn severities.
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Contemporary observations suggest that water may disappear entirely from portions of some North Slope stream-beds during periods of drought or low flow. Climate models project even drier summers in the future. This could pose a problem for migrating fish that must be able to move back and forth from breeding and summer feeding areas to scarce overwintering sites. This work uses the best available long-term hydrologic data set for the North Slope (in the upper Kuparuk River watershed) to develop a model to assess the vulnerability of stream systems to periodic drought, and the vulnerability of migrating fish to a loss of stream connectivity.
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The purpose of this project is to provide better information to industry and regulatory agencies regarding the likely locations of polar bear dens. This project integrates snow physics, high-resolution digital elevation data, and bear biology to produce more refined and accurate maps predicting suitable polar bear den habitat than are currently available. The work consists of data gathering, consultation between snow and bear scientists, modeling, and sensitivity studies to understand the various factors influencing den location and evolution along the Beaufort Coast.The proposed work is intended to refine current methods of identifying polar bear denning sites by incorporating higher-resolution topographic data...
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The Wildlife Conservation Society will assess the climate change vulnerability of bird species that regularly breed in substantial populations in Alaska using the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) tool. Initial work will focus on breeding birds in Arctic Alaska including shorebirds, waterfowl and waterbird species (loons, gulls, terns, jaegers), and land bird species (passerines, raptors, ptarmigan).
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Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) have a life-history strategy specifically adapted to the extreme climate of the North. These fish migrate to spawning grounds just after breakup in the spring, then migrate to feeding sites in early summer, and finally in the fall migrate back to their overwintering sites. The Kuparuk River is a perennial stream originating in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range on the North Slope of Alaska. Sections of the Kuparuk are periodically intermittent in that, during low flows in the system, these channel reaches appear dry. The flow varies between surface and subsurface in this permafrost-dominated environment, with subsurface flow being limited to the unfrozen thaw bulb around...
The compilation of an accurate and contemporary digital shoreline for Alaska is an important step in understanding coastal processes and measuring changes in coastal storm characteristics. Consistent with efforts by the United States National Park Service (NPS) at Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA) and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, high quality, defensible digital shoreline datasets are under development for select coastal parks in the State of Alaska. Near BELA, for the area from Cape Prince of Wales to Cape Espenberg, extended revised shoreline coverage can be produced using true color coastal shoreline imagery to update the boundary demarking the mean high water (MHW) shoreline, which represents...
​This project takes advantage of an existing helicopter platform on St. Lawrence that will be used to collect ShoreZone imagery of the island. This project is leveraging contributions by the Oil Spill Recovery Institute, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and NOAA Fisheries to collect imagery in the summer of 2013. The ABSI LCC will provided $10K to map the highest priority section of the St. Lawrence Island coastline.The ShoreZone mapping system has been in use since the early 1980s and has been applied to more than 40,000 km of shoreline in Washington and British Columbia. Through partnerships with other agencies and organizations, portions of southeastern...
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The Yukon North Slope is an arctic “hot spot” of climate change-induced effects with profound significance for the Inuvialuit and the larger region. In 1984, the Inuvialuit entered into a land claim agreement – the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) – with the governments of Canada, Yukon and Northwest Territories. A co-management body formed to make a plan, which was developed in 2003 but never ratified and is now considered out-of-date. Round River Conservation Studies is assisting WMAC(NS) in the collection, development and synthesis of spatial data, models and analyses of cultural and ecological values of the YNS.The project is a collaboration among the NWB LCC, Round River Conservation Studies, and the Arctic...
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The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska is a globally important region for numerous avian species including millions of migrating and nesting waterbirds. Climate change effects such as sea level rise and increased storm frequency and intensity have the potential to impact waterbird populations and breeding habitat. In order to determine the potential impacts of these climate-mediated changes, we investigated both short-term and long-term impacts of storm surges to geese and eider species that commonly breed on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.To do this, we used 29 years of ground-based surveys conducted as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s long-term waterbird monitoring program along with flood indices modeled...
Categories: Data; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: BIRDS, BIRDS, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODELS, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODELS, DELTAS, All tags...
This project resulted in an extensive mapping of coastal change along the entire coastline of the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC). The work provides important baseline information on the distribution and magnitude of landscape changes over the past 41 years. The extent of change to the coastline and to coastal features, such as spits, barrier islands, estuaries, tidal guts and lagoons, was known to be substantial in some areas along the coast (e.g., portions of the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta), although the extent of change along the full Bering Sea coast was not well documented. With this analysis, changes can be summarized for different land ownerships or other units to assess the extent of recent...
Categories: Data; Tags: BARRIER ISLANDS, BARRIER ISLANDS, BARRIER ISLANDS, BARRIER ISLANDS, COASTAL AREAS, All tags...
This project resulted in an extensive mapping of coastal change along the entire coastline of the Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC). The work provides important baseline information on the distribution and magnitude of landscape changes over the past 41 years. The extent of change to the coastline and to coastal features, such as spits, barrier islands, estuaries, tidal guts and lagoons, was known to be substantial in some areas along the coast (e.g., portions of the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta), although the extent of change along the full Bering Sea coast was not well documented. With this analysis, changes can be summarized for different land ownerships or other units to assess the extent of recent...
Categories: Data; Tags: BARRIER ISLANDS, BARRIER ISLANDS, BARRIER ISLANDS, BARRIER ISLANDS, COASTAL AREAS, All tags...
Understanding the causes of relative sea level rise requires knowledge of changes to both land (uplift and subsidence) and sea level. However, measurements of coastal uplift or subsidence are almost completely lacking in western Alaska. This project provided precise measurements of prioritized benchmarks across the Western Alaska geography, improving the network of published tidal benchmark elevations, allowing for tidal datum conversion in more places, and providing a necessary component for improved inundation studies in coastal communities and low-lying areas. The project’s map of vertical velocities (uplift/subsidence) of western Alaska (see ‘Final Project Report’ & ‘Vertical Velocity Map’, below) will be combined...
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Understanding the causes of relative sea level rise requires knowledge of changes to both land (uplift and subsidence) and sea level. However, measurements of coastal uplift or subsidence are almost completely lacking in western Alaska. This project provided precise measurements of prioritized benchmarks across the Western Alaska geography, improving the network of published tidal benchmark elevations, allowing for tidal datum conversion in more places, and providing a necessary component for improved inundation studies in coastal communities and low-lying areas. The project’s map of vertical velocities (uplift/subsidence) of western Alaska (see ‘Final Project Report’ & ‘Vertical Velocity Map’, below) will be combined...
map background search result map search result map Mapping Suitable Snow Habitat for Polar Bear Denning Along the Beaufort Coast of Alaska Linking North Slope Climate, Hydrology, and Fish Migration Linking North Slope of Alaska climate, hydrology, and fish migration Moored All-Season Vertical Temperature Arrays in Lakes on Kodiak, Togiak, and Alaska Peninsula/Becharof National Wildlife Refuges Webinar 2016: Networked Monitoring of Salmon Habitat Temperature: Two Case Studies from Southwestern Alaska North Slope Coastal Imagery Initiative Webinar (2015 Oct 14) Part I Summary: Predicting waterbird nest distributions Climate Change Vulnerability of Migrating Bird Species Breeding in Arctic Alaska Anaktuvuk River Fire Monitoring Yukon North Slope Wildlife Management Plan Anaktuvuk River Fire Monitoring Mapping Suitable Snow Habitat for Polar Bear Denning Along the Beaufort Coast of Alaska Linking North Slope Climate, Hydrology, and Fish Migration Linking North Slope of Alaska climate, hydrology, and fish migration Webinar (2015 Oct 14) Part I Summary: Predicting waterbird nest distributions Moored All-Season Vertical Temperature Arrays in Lakes on Kodiak, Togiak, and Alaska Peninsula/Becharof National Wildlife Refuges Webinar 2016: Networked Monitoring of Salmon Habitat Temperature: Two Case Studies from Southwestern Alaska Yukon North Slope Wildlife Management Plan Climate Change Vulnerability of Migrating Bird Species Breeding in Arctic Alaska North Slope Coastal Imagery Initiative