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Progress in Arctic Coastal Geomorphological Research in Times of Rapid Climate Warming Cover

Progress in Arctic Coastal Geomorphological Research in Times of Rapid Climate Warming

Open Access
|Mar 2024

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.

Schematic division of the Arctic corresponding to the chapters in the work and relevant publications on the Arctic coastal change research mentioned in this study.
Schematic division of the Arctic corresponding to the chapters in the work and relevant publications on the Arctic coastal change research mentioned in this study.

Fig. 2.

Schemes of the Arctic coasts: A – Coast of the still-glaciated part of the Arctic; B – Coast dominated by permafrost (non-glaciated domain).
Schemes of the Arctic coasts: A – Coast of the still-glaciated part of the Arctic; B – Coast dominated by permafrost (non-glaciated domain).

Fig. 3.

Cliff coasts: A – Unconsolidated sedimentary cliff formed in glaciofluvial sediments, southwest Disco Island coast (west Greenland); B – Cliff made of deposits from Paatuut landslide which entered the strait in 2000 and caused a tsunami wave, view from the Vaigat Strait (west Greenland); C – Bedrock cliffs covered with marine deposits, Kongsfjorden (northwest Spitsbergen) views to the southwest; D – Low rocky cliff skerry coast formed in marble, Wilczekodden in Hornsund (Svalbard), view from the west. Photo by M.Kasprzak (A), M.Szczypińska (B), A.Wołoszyn (C), Z.Owczarek (D).
Cliff coasts: A – Unconsolidated sedimentary cliff formed in glaciofluvial sediments, southwest Disco Island coast (west Greenland); B – Cliff made of deposits from Paatuut landslide which entered the strait in 2000 and caused a tsunami wave, view from the Vaigat Strait (west Greenland); C – Bedrock cliffs covered with marine deposits, Kongsfjorden (northwest Spitsbergen) views to the southwest; D – Low rocky cliff skerry coast formed in marble, Wilczekodden in Hornsund (Svalbard), view from the west. Photo by M.Kasprzak (A), M.Szczypińska (B), A.Wołoszyn (C), Z.Owczarek (D).

Fig. 4.

Coastal residential buildings in Greenland are exposed to the destructive activity of the sea: A – Ilulissat; B – Oqaatsut. Buildings of Qullissat were destroyed by the tsunami in 2000; C – Damaged residential building; D – Damaged mining infrastructure. Photo by M.Szczypińska (A, B, C), M.Kasprzak (D).
Coastal residential buildings in Greenland are exposed to the destructive activity of the sea: A – Ilulissat; B – Oqaatsut. Buildings of Qullissat were destroyed by the tsunami in 2000; C – Damaged residential building; D – Damaged mining infrastructure. Photo by M.Szczypińska (A, B, C), M.Kasprzak (D).

Fig. 5.

Examples of accumulation coastal landforms in the Arctic: A – View of the glacial river delta and marine-terminating glacier Eqip Sermia in the background; B – Lateral moraine of retreating glacier Eqip Sermia separating the lake (previous lagoon) from the open sea; C – Extramarginal outwash of the Scott River with visible sediment fluxes (Calypsostranda, Svalbard); D – Josephbukta Bay with fluvioglacial sediments and Renardbreen Glacier in the background. Photo by M.Szczypińska (A, B), O.Kostrzewa (C, D).
Examples of accumulation coastal landforms in the Arctic: A – View of the glacial river delta and marine-terminating glacier Eqip Sermia in the background; B – Lateral moraine of retreating glacier Eqip Sermia separating the lake (previous lagoon) from the open sea; C – Extramarginal outwash of the Scott River with visible sediment fluxes (Calypsostranda, Svalbard); D – Josephbukta Bay with fluvioglacial sediments and Renardbreen Glacier in the background. Photo by M.Szczypińska (A, B), O.Kostrzewa (C, D).

Fig. 6.

The coast opposite the Eqip Sermia glacier affected by a tsunami, which happened due to a calving glacier, was observed on August 8th, 2023. Photo by M.Kasprzak.
The coast opposite the Eqip Sermia glacier affected by a tsunami, which happened due to a calving glacier, was observed on August 8th, 2023. Photo by M.Kasprzak.

Fig. 7.

Examples of coastal buildings and facilities in Svalbard vulnerable to damage due to their location: A – The Polish Polar Station buildings and facilities on the northern, eroding coast of Hornsund; B – The warehouse of the Polish Polar Station, as a result of long-term erosion of the Hornsund coast, is now on the edge of the land. Its southern wall has already been reinforced several times to prevent damage to the building; C – The remnants of 20th century mining activities are still visible in the landscape of Spitsbergen; D – Polish and Czech polar station buildings located ca. 25–30 m from the coastline at the bottom of Pyramiden Hill. The photo was taken from Petuniabukta Bay. Photo by Z.Owczarek (A, B, C), O.Kostrzewa (D).
Examples of coastal buildings and facilities in Svalbard vulnerable to damage due to their location: A – The Polish Polar Station buildings and facilities on the northern, eroding coast of Hornsund; B – The warehouse of the Polish Polar Station, as a result of long-term erosion of the Hornsund coast, is now on the edge of the land. Its southern wall has already been reinforced several times to prevent damage to the building; C – The remnants of 20th century mining activities are still visible in the landscape of Spitsbergen; D – Polish and Czech polar station buildings located ca. 25–30 m from the coastline at the bottom of Pyramiden Hill. The photo was taken from Petuniabukta Bay. Photo by Z.Owczarek (A, B, C), O.Kostrzewa (D).

Fig. 8.

Coasts with visible ice wedges and massive ice bodies: A – Alaska; B – Yukon. Photo by L.Farquharson (A), M.Lim (B).
Coasts with visible ice wedges and massive ice bodies: A – Alaska; B – Yukon. Photo by L.Farquharson (A), M.Lim (B).

Fig. 9.

Blocks failure caused by thawing permafrost: A – Alaska, B – Yukon. Coastal infrastructure threatened by coastal erosion: C – Alaska, D – Yukon. Nowadays, coastal strengthening can be encountered to slow down erosion processes. Photo by L.Farquharson (A, C), M.Lim (B, D).
Blocks failure caused by thawing permafrost: A – Alaska, B – Yukon. Coastal infrastructure threatened by coastal erosion: C – Alaska, D – Yukon. Nowadays, coastal strengthening can be encountered to slow down erosion processes. Photo by L.Farquharson (A, C), M.Lim (B, D).

The average rate of coastline changes in the Arctic since the end of the Little Ice Age, based on recent research_

LocationRegionAverage rate of coastal changes [m a−1]Publication
Arctic coastsArctic−0.50Lantuit et al. (2011)
Arctic coastsArcticfrom −1.00 to −2.00Forbes (2011)
SiniffikGreenland−0.30Luetzenburg et al. (2023)
Disko IslandGreenland−1.50Bourriquen et al. (2018)
IsbjørnhamnaSvalbard−13.00Zagórski et al. (2015)
CalypsostrandaSvalbard−0.19Zagórski et al. (2020)
HornsundSvalbard−1.90Lim et al. (2020)
RekvedbuktaSvalbard−2.22Wołoszyn et al. (2022)
West EuroasianSiberia−4.00Ogorodov et al. (2022)
East AsianSiberiafrom −2.00 to −7.00Ogorodov et al. (2020)
Bykovsky PeninsulaSiberia−0.59Lantuit et al. (2011a)
Muostakh IslandSiberia−20.00Vonk et al. (2012)
Ozero MogotoyevoSiberia−12.40Wang et al. (2022)
Northen AlaskaAlaska−1.40Gibbs, Richmond (2017)
Drew PointAlaska−38.30Wang et al. (2022)
Cape KrusensternAlaska−0.13Farquharson et al. (2018)
Cape EspenbergAlaska−1.53Farquharson et al. (2018)
YukonCanada−0.70Irrgang et al. (2018)
Herschel IslandCanada−0.68Obu et al. (2016)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2024-0008 | Journal eISSN: 2081-6383 | Journal ISSN: 2082-2103
Language: English
Page range: 127 - 156
Submitted on: Sep 21, 2023
Published on: Mar 7, 2024
Published by: Adam Mickiewicz University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
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© 2024 Zofia Owczarek, Zofia Stachowska-Kamińska, Oskar Kostrzewa, Małgorzata Szczypińska, published by Adam Mickiewicz University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.