| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 20, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 20, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1818485 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Rainer Amon
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $975,283.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $975,283.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE SEATTLE WA US 98195-1016 (206)543-4043 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1013 NE 40th Street Seattle WA US 98105-6698 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ANS-Arctic Natural Sciences |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
Arctic coastlines, and in particular the northern coast of Alaska, are eroding at rates of meters per year. Coastal flooding events are becoming more common, as reductions in seasonal sea ice create large fetches for autumn storms. This project will improve understanding of oceanographic factors associated with coastal erosion and flooding, specifically the trend toward increasing surface wave activity throughout the western Arctic. The investigators will combine field observations and a coupled modeling system to quantify wave-ice-ocean interactions along the Alaska's northern coast. The outcome will be an open-source, process-based modeling system, including model grids and test cases for the northern Alaska coastal zone. This will enhance basic research, public infrastructure planning, climate scenario assessment, and policy-making capability. Public outreach will include K-12 events and public seminars, and the project will provide training for a postdoctoral researcher.
Understanding wave-ice-ocean interactions along the Arctic coast is essential to improving the skill of forecast and climate models in the region. These interactions continue to be a focal point for basic research because of the complexities and possible nonlinearities associated with these processes. The project will connect a rapidly changing climatology with the physical processes that are fundamental to Arctic coastal ocean, incorporating natural variability on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The investigators will apply recent progress in process-based modeling of coastal dynamics, provide detailed field observations along the coast for model validation and calibration, and generate a 20-year hindcast. The hindcast will then be used to investigate the climate signals in Arctic wave-ice-ocean coupling and determine: 1) the significance of coastal protection via scattering and dissipation of waves by sea ice; 2) the thermodynamic and mechanical effects of increasing wave energy; and 3) the changes in coastal flooding and circulation associated with increasing wave momentum. These results will fill a gap between the recent progress modeling wave-ice interactions in deep-water and existing programs studying erosion at the shoreline.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project studied the changing oceanographic conditions along Arctic coasts and the implications for coastal erosion. Data spanning a full annual cycle were collected at three field sites near Alaska (Icy Cape, Jones Islands, and Flaxman Island). Analysis of the data show clear signals of coastal protection by landfast ice, especially in terms of wave activity and water temperatures. This has informed the development of a coupled wave-ice model, in which the presence of ice attenuates wave energy. During the spring, landfast ice is thick and wave attenuation is complete. By late summer, the ice is gone and Arctic coasts are exposed to waves and water that is directly warmed by the sun-- both of which tend to erode the permafrost sediments. In the autumn, ice reforms but is initially thin and less effective at attenuating waves. In the winter, ice becomes thicker and there is no fetch for waves for form, though there are occasional events when waves form in leads.
These results have been used to assess the decadal trends in coastal wave activity, with a focus on the relationship to landfast ice. The trends are clearly increasing, though the inability of most climate models to resolve landfast ice causes significant bias. These trends, combined with increasing water temperatures, confirm that acceleration of Arctic coastal erosion is likely in the coming decades, with possible "tipping points" or feedback mechanisms related to the persistence of landfast ice.
The project included engagement with the local communities, including development of a hands-on science project building and using oceanographic sensors with high school students in Kaktovik. Additional outreach was done virtually, through live stream events and blogging from the ship during two research expeditions.
Last Modified: 11/18/2021
Modified by: James Thomson
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