2006 Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum | Abstracts

Village-Based Monitoring of Coastal Dynamics Along the Beaufort Sea in Northern Alaska

Torre Jorgenson¹, Jerry Brown², Tim Buckley³, Chien-Lu Ping^4
1ABR, Inc., PO Box 80410, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-455-6777, Fax 907-455-6374, tjorgenson@abrinc.com
²International Permafrost Association, PO Box 7, Woods Hole, MA, USA, Phone 508-457-4982, Fax 508-457-4982, jerrybrown@igc.org
³Barrow High School, North Slope Borough School District, PO Box 960, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA, Phone 907-852-8950, Fax 907-852-8969, Tim.Buckley@nsbsd.org
⁴Department of Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences, Palmer Research Center - University of Alaska Fairbanks, 533 East Fireweed Avenue, Palmer, AK, 99645, USA, Phone 907-746-9462, Fax 907-746-2677, pfclp@uaa.alaska.edu

A village-based network for monitoring coastal dynamics along the Beaufort Sea Coast of northern Alaska was initiated in 2004 to provide local residents, the science community, industry, and policymakers information on changes along the coast. The network of four key sites at Barrow, Nuiqsut, Kaktovik, and Beaufort Lagoon is designed to monitor sea level and storm surges, wave dynamics, coastal erosion, sedimentation, and permafrost temperatures. Local teachers, students, village representatives, and scientists collaborate to collect the data that are available to students for use in classroom exercises and science fair projects. Information from the local network is provided to the circum-Arctic network of the Arctic Coastal Dynamics program. The village-based monitoring is supported by the National Science Foundation's Study of Northern Alaska Coastal Systems, Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, and EPSCOR programs, and the North Slope Borough's School District and Department of Wildlife Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., International Permafrost Association, and ABR, Inc.